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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 558: Licha Hotel

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    The issue of the British and French Expeditionary Forces' use of several ports such as Shanghai and Dalian Bay has been under negotiation since the beginning of the year. Different from history, the British and French allied forces captured Guangzhou, Shanghai, Dalian Bay, etc. in another time and space.  Several ports and temporary anchorages were used as forward bases for the expeditionary force, but now they are in the hands of the Taiping Army. Therefore, if the British and French coalition forces want to use these ports, they must first negotiate on the use of the ports.  ()

    When the Taiping Army marched into Guangzhou for the landing battle, the friction with the British army was not just a simple conflict. Xiao Yungui knew that it was Britain and France putting pressure on him. Fortunately, the Taiping Army withstood the pressure later, and Xiao Yungui was also glad that he  They launched a campaign against Guangzhou first, otherwise it would be very troublesome if they were captured by the British and French.

    Considering that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom currently has more than 200,000 field troops and 500,000 to 600,000 to 600,000 rural corps reserve troops, the British and French allied forces have long extinguished the idea of ??seizing these ports by force. It is very unwise to start a war with the Manchu and Taiping forces at the same time.  Unlike the Crimean War, the Far East is still too far away from the British and French mainland.

    "Your Excellency King Xi, you are blackmailing! We can also use Keelung Port and Nagasaki Port!" Sir Elgin was very dissatisfied with the landing fee of one tael of silver per person per day for military personnel, and he said angrily  .

    Feltwood Perot, the admiral of the British squadron, also said angrily: "Your Excellency, King of the West, please understand the current situation. If our British and French forces make peace with the Manchus alone, and then join forces with the Qing army to deal with the Taiping Army, by then  Our fleet will blockade all Taiping Army ports, and I believe His Excellency the King of the West will not be happy either."

    Xiao Yungui smiled instead of getting angry.  Sure enough, political and diplomatic negotiations are a kind of game based on one's own strength, and a compromise of interests is achieved through blackmail and counter-blackmail. Britain and France can indeed make peace with the Manchus alone.  But it seems that the lost profits are not just the landing fee.  The current situation is that Xiao Yungui has a good deck of cards, while Ying and Fa's trump cards are not very good, so they can only bluff. However, Xiao Yungui is also a little worried that Ying and Fa will desperately play in the end and bet all their wealth with him. Ying and Fa will lose.  It was only a partial defeat, but if the Taiping Army lost, it would mean everything.

    But in this case.  But there was no room for compromise. Xiao Yungui coughed and said calmly: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This sentence also applies to us in the Taiping Army!" After that, he walked away.  The envoys from Britain and France were left stunned.

    Maihua Tuo said in disbelief: "Will the Taiping Army unite with the Manchu Qing Dynasty to fight against us?"

    American Minister Lieutenant Lieutenant stood up, flicked his hat, and then put it on elegantly. He placed the civilized stick heavily on the ground in his hand, coughed slightly and said: "Gentlemen, I hope everyone will carefully consider our direction. At this time, we are involved in China."  A civil war is definitely not a good idea. This is not Crimea, and China is not Russia." After speaking, Lieweilian bowed slightly and apologized before walking away.

    A few days later, after repeated consultations and disputes, the British and French coalition forces, under the mediation of the United States, reached a series of temporary agreements with the Taiping Rebellion for stationing and transferring large numbers of troops at ports. The British and French coalition expeditionary forces could use Shanghai, Dalian Bay and other Taiping forces.  The port under control is different from the port concession sold in later generations.  This time, the British and French forces used the port on a per-capita and per-day basis.  Although the billing methods are different, Xiao Yungui feels that he has still betrayed the country's sovereignty.  But there is nothing that can be done about it. The final limit for Britain and France is here. If they exceed this limit, they will desperately gamble against Xiao Yungui's entire fortune in the Far East. Now Xiao Yungui cannot afford to gamble for the time being.  That's all.

    On the bank of the Huangpu River in the Bund of the British and American Settlement, a Victorian Baroque building is particularly eye-catching. This is the first hotel run by foreigners in Shanghai - the Licha Hotel.  The Rich Hotel was built in 1846, when Shanghai was only three years old.  The British businessman Astorhoff Richard built a hotel named after him between the British Concession and the Shanghai County. It was called the Richard Hotel. It was the earliest modern hotel in Shanghai.

    After the Taiping Army occupied Shanghai, everything in the concession remained as usual. Because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Administrative Department vigorously developed Shanghai's business and trade, the Licha Hotel not only did not decline, but became more and more prosperous.  After being expanded last year, the current Licha Hotel has 156 guest rooms. In addition, there are bars, dance halls, poker rooms and other entertainment facilities. There are often opera and dance performances in the lobby downstairs, so the hotel guests  Like the clouds, it has become one of the preferred residences for wealthy Chinese and foreign businessmen living in Shanghai.

    On the day after Britain, France and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom signed a temporary agreement on the use of Shanghai and other ports, several Chinese guests in Chinese costumes came to the lobby of the Licha Hotel. The hotel lobby manager was an Englishman named Smith. When he saw this  A few people didn't look like they were here to check into the hotel.

    I saw a Chinese man in Chinese clothes sitting on the sofa in the hotel lobby.??, several other men in rich clothes stood next to him. Smith was used to seeing guests coming from all over the world. When he saw this man's demeanor and posture, he could tell that he was either rich or noble, so Smith was very polite.  He came up and said hello: "Gentlemen, do you need anything?"

    Smith used to dislike the Qing people with their pigtails and slavish looks, but he liked the Taiping people who had their pigtails cut off. They were straightforward, sincere and believed in God. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Shanghai, it brought a lot of business opportunities, so he  The hotel's business is getting better and better, and now half of the rooms in the Richa Hotel are occupied by Chinese businessmen and wealthy guests, who are Smith's guests.  Because last year, in 1856, after the Sino-foreign joint venture Wells Bridge was built on the Suzhou River, the hotel owner Li inspected a piece of land on the north side of the Wells Bridge and wanted to negotiate with the Shanghai Navy Secretary to purchase the land and build a new hotel.  Check the hotel and move there.  Therefore, there is no ethnic discrimination here at Smith. On the contrary, guests from the Chinese business community are very welcome.

    The man in Chinese clothes who was sitting calmly on the sofa nodded slightly. He had a Chinese character face, and there were many scars on his face. Although his face was ferocious, he had a smile on his face. He was dressed in what is now popular in Shanghai.  The Hanfu winter robe is made of high-quality fabrics. Smith recognized that the embroidery pattern on it is from the famous Su embroidery. Not many people can wear this kind of clothes. It is said that the finished products made by Su embroidery are specially used by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  of.

    "We are here to find someone. Is Ms. Li Xuanji here?" The man in Chinese clothes asked in fluent English, which surprised Smith because he had just asked the question in Chinese.

    Ms. Li Xuanji is another distinguished guest of the Richa Hotel. Although she is an Oriental, she is noble, generous and beautiful. Her husband is Clifford, the youngest son of the famous British Rothschild family. This time  It is said that I came to Shanghai to inspect the Guangdong Railway investment project with my husband.

    "Oh, you mean Mrs. Rothschild, she went out with several ladies." When Mrs. Rothschild said it in Smith's mouth, she spoke with great respect and did not dare to mean any blasphemy.  It¡¯s no wonder that as a financial giant in the 19th century, the words Rothschild are a kind of glory in the Western world. Even in later generations, there are as many as 153 species of insects, 58 species of birds, 18 species of mammals, 14 species of mammals,  Three kinds of plants, three kinds of fish, three kinds of spiders and two kinds of reptiles bear the name "Rothschild". In Antarctica, there is even an island also called "Rothschild".

    When the man in fine clothes heard Mrs. Rothschild's words, his expression visibly stiffened. After a few twitches of his mouth, he managed to spit out a few English words: "Okay, I'll wait for her here."

    Smith did not dare to neglect these men in fine clothes. The person who came to see Li Xuanji must be related to the Rothschild family. Not many people knew that Clifford and his wife came to Shanghai this time. Those who knew must have a lot of connections. Maybe it was  A wealthy Chinese businessman talking about big business, so Smith made the best Fujian Dahongpao tea for several guests, and then Smith went about his own business.

    An hour later, Smith returned from patrolling the room and saw the man in fine clothes still sitting there. The tea in front of him had not been touched. The few followers behind him did not move either. Smith felt that the tea was a pity.  If you know better, you won't need to treat him with such expensive tea.

    At this moment, the hearty laughter of several ladies came from the revolving door of the hotel. Smith looked around and saw Mrs. Rothschild returning with several of her female companions. He immediately greeted her and smiled slightly.  He bowed and said, "Madam, there are several gentlemen looking for you. They are waiting over there."

    Mrs. Rothschild wore a fine wool fabric dress coat with a yellow velvet collar, but the pleated skirt did not use a bustle, which made her look more fashionable. The tight waist of the dress highlighted the lady's slender waist, and her head was  The purple round-brimmed hat made the lady look more noble and generous.

    "Thank you. I'll go see them right now. Who are they?" Madam's English accent was soft and gentle. Smith took some Chinese folk crafts purchased from Madam today and said, "They are all Chinese. They should know Madam. These things  I will send it to the lady's room myself."

    The lady's gentle smile was very charming: "Thank you, Mr. Smith." Smith nodded slightly and turned around to deliver the things to the house. When he reached the stairs, he heard the lady's exclamation of surprise. Smith immediately looked back.  , I saw the lady standing next to the sofa in the lobby, covering her little cherry mouth with both hands, her delicate body trembling with excitement, and it seemed that the lady's tears were flowing down.  Smith shrugged, wondering if those people were Madam's relatives?  Thinking of this, he still walked over and asked: "Madam, are you okay?"

    "It's okay, Mr. Smith. I'm so excited to see an old friend. Please excuse me. I need a separate reception room." The lady really cried.

    Smith agreed immediately and was about to leave., the man suddenly said: "Mr. Smith, right? This Dahongpao tea needs to be washed before brewing, otherwise there will be impurities" (To be continued)
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