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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 616: It doesn¡¯t matter anymore

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    Grant's suggestion still failed to arouse the interest of Montauban and other French generals. They hated returning to the ship to fight again. Colonel Dupin made a questioning voice: "General Grant, according to our intelligence, the military strength of the Taiping Rebellion is about  Including the establishment of at least seven or eight field armies, the establishment of each field army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not be less than 40,000 people. Here we are facing only one army of the Taiping Army, and the south is their base camp, except for a few who are still there.  In addition to the field army confronting the Qing army, there are at least four field armies in the south, which are no less than 160,000 elite field troops. Can we win?"

    Wu Shili actually sided with the French this time: "I am also worried about this. Although the Taiping Army left in the south is unlikely to gather heavy troops in one place, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom still has a large number of reserve troops, which they call local villages.  soldiers, and each coastal city also has a considerable number of coastal defense troops and maritime anti-smuggling troops. In recent years, we have also noticed that the Taiping Army has strengthened various coastal defense forts. I am worried that once these places are attacked, they may fall into another war.  The grueling Battle of Dagukou."

    Grant still insisted on his opinion: "Gentlemen, fighting against the Taiping Rebellion does not necessarily require a military victory. Once we declare war, we must first protect our concession, so it is very necessary to withdraw southward to defend the concession, and Hong Kong cannot have any accidents."  . First guard several ports and ensure the navy's coastal supply lines. Then we can use the navy's strengths to block the trade channels of the Taiping Army. If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom loses trade, I don't think they can sustain the war for a long time."

    There is no doubt that Grant¡¯s proposal is currently the most beneficial option for the coalition forces from a military perspective. This proposal maximizes strengths and avoids weaknesses.  It gave full play to the advantages of the coalition navy. After all, the empire's navy has dominated the world's oceans for a long time.  The Taiping Army's navy, composed of several old British and French warships, could not become a threat to the coalition navy once the coalition navy blocked the five ports.  The constant harassment of Taiping cities along the coast and along the Yangtze River was very passive for the Taiping Army.  Once the war continues, the Taiping Army will not last long. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's business income now accounts for a large part of the national income, and many people make a living from it. At the same time, the regular army of the Taiping Army has completed the transformation of thermal weapons. To a large extent, they  Relying on supply transportation by sea and the Yangtze River waterway, they also relied on the arms trade to a certain extent. The output of the several arms factories of the Taiping Rebellion in the south could not meet the arms needs of the entire army.  Some arms still need to be imported.

    Grant¡¯s intention was simple but ruthless. He immediately grabbed the Taiping Army¡¯s throat. His plan was to slowly strangle the Taiping Army, starting with economic destruction.  Although Xiao Yungui said he was not afraid of the coalition's trade ban, once such a thing really happened, even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could win the war with its huge land and population base, the industry and commerce that had worked so hard to develop before would inevitably be destroyed.  Going back to the Manchu and Qing era is even worse than the Manchu and Qing era, and after losing trade.  A large number of people engaged in industry and commerce will lose their jobs and society will become unstable. It will take more than ten years to develop again after the war. In this way, the industrialization process of the Taiping Rebellion will fall even further behind the great powers.  in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Once you fall behind other countries, you will be beaten.  It is very likely that the Taiping Rebellion won the national war, but lost the opportunity to compete for supremacy in the next century.

    Although Grant's plan seems perfect.  But the French did not support it, and the officers on both sides began to argue over their own opinions.  Finally, Sir Elgin knocked on the table, and everyone became quiet for a while.  The knight began his speech: "Generals, thank you very much for analyzing the war situation from a military perspective, but we have to understand one thing. We have not declared war with the Taiping Rebellion yet."

    Grant and others looked at Sir Elgin in astonishment, and heard him continue: "War is a continuation of politics, and politics is driven by interests. I want to know what are the benefits of declaring war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"

    Everyone present fell silent, and there was no more noise. Sir Elgin was sent to China by British Prime Minister Palmerston to serve as an envoy with authority. He had some power to negotiate and declare war, so Sir Elgin¡¯s  He has more power than Grant or anyone else because he is an excellent politician and he knows exactly what he should do with the British in the Far East.

    "In the south, we ship a large amount of goods from the British mainland for trade every month, and then ship Chinese goods back to sell to European countries. In the south, we cooperate with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on many projects, including railways, telegraph lines and undersea  The laying of telegraph lines and even the large iron bridge connecting the concessions and Hongkou in Shanghai are under intense construction. In the south, we are also preparing to establish an embassy district in Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Rebellion. Gentlemen, before declaring war, we must weigh  Benefits, what benefits can we get from declaring war?"

    After returning from Nanyuan Camp, Sir Elgin gradually calmed down.?A calm politician can think of many more things.  His words reminded everyone present, yes, what are the benefits of declaring war?

    "Once war is declared, I think General Grant's suggestion is the best suggestion, but blockade of trade is a double-edged sword. While it will hurt the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we must also bear very huge and painful losses. If we cannot quickly force the  If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom surrenders and the war continues, our commercial interests will be fatally hit in the Far East and may benefit other countries." Sir Elgin's voice was steady and powerful, and the content of his words was thought-provoking.

    Finally, Sir Elgin concluded: "Gentlemen, the matter has exceeded the scope of my power to decide. Regarding the declaration of war against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, I need to report to the country in detail, and then the parliament will make a decision!"

    Immediately afterwards, Lord Grotto also nodded and said: "Unfortunately, gentlemen, declaring war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not a trivial matter. We cannot make a decision immediately. I must report to His Majesty the Emperor before making a decision."

    General Montauban clenched his fists tightly and said: "Gentlemen, the Taiping Army has completed the siege of Beijing. As long as they are willing, they may launch an attack tomorrow. Are we just watching the fruits of victory that are about to be obtained?"  Was it snatched away? When the domestic decision is returned to the Far East, I'm afraid we will have to go to Beijing to find the Western King to deliver the war declaration note. But by that time, the Manchu Qing government has been eliminated, and we will declare war again.  What¡¯s the point?¡±

    Everyone was silent. General Montauban was telling the truth. To send the news back to Britain and France, he could only rely on ships at this time. Even the fastest clipper ship would take one or two months to go back and forth.  Time, and the indecisive efficiency of the British Parliament will inevitably trigger a new round of disputes, and it is possible to waste more time.  And how long will it take for the Taiping Army to capture Beijing?  The most conservative estimate is that it will not take more than a month, not to mention that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom still has plenty of time to continue to increase its troops under the walls of Beijing.

    Once the Manchu Qing government was eliminated, the coalition forces lost their goal. Without the Manchu royal family, the appeal of rebel nobles such as Mianyu and Ronglu was far from enough to establish a country.  What¡¯s the point of declaring war at that time?

    "It's very meaningful!" Sir Elgin's words were sonorous and powerful: "If Britain and France want to ensure the interests of the Far East, they must make the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom surrender. Even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom completes the unification of China in the future, if their new government has any influence on us, Britain and France in the Far East  If the interests of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are damaged, we still need to go to war. What's more, once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom eliminates the Manchu Qing government, we can ask the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to inherit all the treaties signed by the Manchu Qing government. At the same time, we can also ask them to negotiate new contracts, which will benefit the interests of Britain and France.  It is better to be able to continue and be guaranteed than to start a war without a clue now."

    Everyone understood what Sir Elgin said. As the situation changes, the political goals of Britain and France can be adjusted and changed, so Ronglu and others were abandoned under such circumstances.

    Of course Ronglu could not sit still and wait for death. He made a final struggle. He immediately stood up and said: "Your Excellency, Minister, I hope you can consider another possibility. What if Beijing can persist until the news from the two countries comes back?  "

    Sir Elgin shrugged and said: "If such a miracle really happens, we can still proceed according to the previous plan. A divided China is easier to deal with than a unified China."

    Everyone laughed. After listening to the translation, Mian Yu and others looked ashamed, but Ronglu was red with excitement. He continued: "I know the temper of the Queen Mother of the West in Beijing. She gathered heavy troops to guard her.  Beijing, while personally sitting in the capital, shows that she will never give in easily, and perhaps we can give them some support during this period of reporting the news to the two countries."

    Sir Elgin became interested: "Oh? Like what?"

    Ronglu said slowly: "For example, provide them with some weapons and ammunition support, or release some prisoners and arm them to attack the supply lines of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or directly contact the Qing army in Jianghuai and provide them with arms, as well as Heilongjiang and other outside the customs  We can also provide material support to the Qing army to let them hold back the Taiping army."

    Everyone was quiet again, and there were no more jokes. Ronglu's suggestion was indeed very tempting. It would be beneficial to the coalition forces to maintain the current situation without new changes. If a miracle really happened, the Qing army would  If they can hold the capital for one or two months, the coalition forces can make a lot of preparations, including mobilizing a group of reinforcements from India.

    And Ronglu¡¯s desperate struggle to protect himself has sold out the country¡¯s future even more thoroughly. He no longer cares (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!

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