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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 657: Logical

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    Xiao Yungui stood at the gate of the Taiping Army camp, watching the neatly arranged British and French surrender troops passing in front of him. In a daze, he felt that his madness was comparable to that of the real Cixi in later history. That Cixi was as good as the whole world.  The world's countries have declared war, but now he has declared war with the three most powerful countries in the world at the same time. Oh, there is also the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which is also a big country in the world. He is one of four big countries at war. It seems that he is also a  Great guy.

    Through this battle, the Taiping Army almost completely wiped out the landing force of the British and French coalition forces. The results and impact of the battle were huge. According to Xiao Yungui's understanding of the history of the British and French parliaments, he was almost certain that when the news returned to the two countries,  , the prime ministers of the two countries will inevitably fall, the cabinets will be dissolved, and then there will be a new round of fierce debate about war or peace.  But judging from the usual imperialist behavior of Britain and France, they are very likely to organize an expeditionary force again. This time the scale of the expeditionary force will be larger, and what will follow is a more severe test.

    Although the situation will become serious, fortunately, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not completely helpless. Xiao Yungui still has a chance. This opportunity is that Britain and France are too far away from China. After Britain and France have stabilized the political turmoil and completed the parliamentary debate and decided to send troops, they will organize an expedition.  It would be at least a year before the new British and French expeditionary forces arrived in the Far East.  During this year, Xiao Yungui needed to quickly complete the unification of the country. In the northeastern region, the Taiping Army needed to send troops to threaten Russia's Nerchinsk and other places, forcing Russia to sign a peace treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and end the war.  Then, the Taiping Army could concentrate on dealing with the pressure from Britain and France.

    At the same time, Xiao Yungui is not prepared to solve the current dilemma solely from the military aspect.  The Taiping Rebellion can also start from two aspects: diplomacy and politics.  In terms of diplomacy, before Xiao Yungui went north.  He had already met with the Prussian diplomatic corps, whose leader was a celebrity.  Bismarck, one of the Prussian Three Giants.

    Bismarck served as the Prussian minister to Russia in 1857. During his stay in Russia, he repeatedly heard that Russia's expansion in the Far East was frustrated. In 1858, Muravyov, the governor-general of the Russian Far East, returned to Russia to report on his duties. During this period, Bismarck visited the legendary  Governor.  Bismarck and Muravyov talked about the situation in the Far East. Bismarck was surprised that the expansion of the established power Russia in the Far East would be restricted by a newly rising East Asian rebel. In Bismarck's impression, the Qing Dynasty in East Asia was no less behind and ignorant than  India, sooner or later this country will be colonized and annexed by foreign powers.  But now a sudden rise of the rebels has taught the Russians a lesson.

    Muravyov has great difficulties. Russia has never had strong control in the Far East. The reason is still the same old problem. The distance is too far. The Far East has always been a place where Russia exiled criminals. Muravyov can only gather together  A group of desperadoes dealt with the rebel army in the Far East.  After losing Sakhalin Island and the Heilongjiang seaport, the two sides fought long-term small-scale wars around the Russian settlements along the Heilongjiang River. The rebel army called the Taiping Army was always able to easily defeat the Russian army in the Far East.  And the more they fight, the stronger they get.  The Russian settlements and outposts along the Heilongjiang River were pulled out one after another. Muravyov had to shrink his troops and retreat to the starting point - Nerchinsk.

    A big reason why Muravyov came back to report his duties was to get Alexander II to agree to send more reinforcements eastward, otherwise he might not even be able to defend Nerchinsk in the Far East.  But unfortunately, Russia was in a period of weakness at this time.  Alexander II inherited a mess after succeeding to the throne. He needed to face the consequences of the failure of the Crimean War and various domestic problems exposed by the defeat.  90% of Russia's population were serfs. If Alexander II wanted to reform the country, he had to reform the serf system.  He established the "General Committee on Peasant Affairs" in 1857.  Begin preparations for reforms to abolish serfdom.  1858 was the first year when reforms were attempted, and strong force was needed domestically to ensure the advancement of reforms.  Therefore, Alexander II could not give Muravyov more support, so only a new batch of exiled criminals were given to Muravyov, and other support was pitiful.

    Bismarck heard an important message from Muravyov's complaints, that is, a powerful force is rising in the Far East. The Taiping Rebellion, an emerging country, may soon replace the Manchu Qing in ruling the land of China. This is for Prussia  Perhaps this is an opportunity. Prussia wants to revive the German Empire and needs supportive friends in the Far East.

    After Bismarck explained the situation to the country, the Regent William I generously asked Bismarck to go to China as an envoy to contact this mysterious emerging country in the East. So Bismarck followed the footsteps of Muravyov and Russian Minister Putyatyn to the Far East.  go.  Although Muravyov failed to receive any assistance on his return trip, Alexander II sent Putyatyn and Muravyov to the Far East to have a good talk with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom if necessary. It is best to stabilize the situation first.  The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will wait until the Russian side has its internal affairs sorted out, and then turn around and come back to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  So??Tiyating sent an envoy to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on behalf of Russia. Unfortunately, the Russian plan was seen through by the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom declared war on Russia.

    When Bismarck arrived in Shanghai, the largest port in the Far East, the first news he received surprised him, that is, the Taiping Rebellion declared war on Russia.  Although the two countries had been undeclared war before, they still retained a way out. This declaration of war by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom completely demonstrated to the great powers their determination to defeat the enemy.  The careful Bismarck discovered that Russia's strength in the Far East was indeed inferior to that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's declaration of war was actually preparing to force Russia to sign a treaty in the future. They hoped to regain more northern land.  Declaring war, which seemed like a risky move to outsiders, was something highly commendable in the eyes of the future iron-blooded prime minister.  In fact, Prussia is also in the same situation. There are many powerful countries around it. Prussia wants to complete the unification of Germany and even declare war with more countries. Austria, Denmark, France, etc., and maybe Britain and Russia will step in because of their own interests.  In Bismarck's eyes, the Taiping Rebellion controlled the prosperous areas south of the Yangtze River in China. Its population, food, minerals and industrial power far exceeded the total of Russia in the Far East, so it was logical to declare war.

    Bismarck was lucky. When he arrived in Shanghai, it happened to be the time when the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the King of the West, was preparing to lead his elite troops north. After Bismarck informed his name, he was immediately received by the King of the West. For this reason, the entire fleet headed north.  The time was delayed for an hour and a half because of Bismarck alone.

    Bismarck met the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the Taiping Rebellion naval flagship "Dingyuan". This British standard first-class battleship had three gun decks, 108 guns, a capacity of 895 people, and a displacement of 3,500 tons, which made Bismarck more determined.  Judgment, the Russians will suffer defeat in the Far East.  Although Prussia now has a good relationship with Russia, Bismarck didn't mind seeing the Russians languishing in the Far East. In the eyes of this iron-blooded prime minister, strength meant everything.

    In the reception room of the Dingyuan, Bismarck expressed Prussia's willingness to engage in commercial trade and deeper exchanges with the Taiping Rebellion to the King of the West.  After hearing this, the King of the West also expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation with Prussia. He then asked about the domestic situation in Prussia, and Bismarck also gave a detailed explanation.  The King of the West listened very carefully and asked questions from time to time. The one he asked most about was the situation of Prince William.

    When they met for the first time, Bismarck saw a capable and wise Eastern king. He generously expressed his desire to order advanced artillery technology from Prussia. At the same time, Bismarck was also surprised by the boldness of this king. He keenly felt that the Western King  The Second Northern Expedition was unusual.

    Regarding the Western King's northern expedition, Bismarck pointed out without hesitation that the Western King led such a huge military force northward, probably not with the intention of conquering Russia in the north.  And the king admitted it unabashedly. He expressed his concern about the British and French forces going north. He was worried that after the British and French forces defeated the Manchus, they would actually intervene in the war between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Manchus. By then, the situation would be terrible.  Unthinkable.

    Bismarck was a little surprised, but the King of the West generously stated that he led his army north this time in the hope of preventing this from happening, even if a direct war broke out with the British and French forces.

    Bismarck, instead of laughing at the Western King's overestimation, expressed appreciation for his boldness. If Britain and France could make a big comeback in the Far East, especially France, Prussia would be very happy to see it.

    ??Then the King of the West mentioned the issue of German unification. Bismarck agreed with the King of the West. If the country wanted to be truly unified, it could not succumb to the interference of foreign forces. Only iron and blood could completely forge an unstoppable nation.

    The more than an hour-long meeting ended quickly, and the King of the West invited Bismarck and his party to stay in Shanghai for a few more months, waiting for Bismarck to return triumphantly from the north before discussing other possible cooperation projects in detail.  Bismarck was also happy to see what the situation would be like if the Western King went north. If he failed to go north, Prussia would not have to anger Britain and France for a failed country. But if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom showed her powerful side,  Prussia would not miss a good opportunity.

    Although the meeting with Bismarck failed to reach any substantive alliance treaty, Xiao Yungui concluded after thinking about it that when the British and French forces in the north were annihilated, Prussia should fall to the Taiping Rebellion. At least they had a common path to rise.  Enemies, the traditional powers of Europe, Britain and France.

    Diplomatically, Xiao Yungui can interact with Prussia and other countries to achieve the purpose of containing Europe. Politically, Xiao Yungui will certainly not give up his efforts to negotiate peace. On the day of recapturing Dagukou, a US warship was parked there.  , the American company Levi Lian was on board.  The Americans originally wanted to follow Britain and France into Beijing as victors, and then get a share of the fruits of victory in the war. What they did not expect was the sudden appearance of the Taiping Army.

      Knowing that the Americans were still in Dagukou and had not left with the British and French, Xiao Yungui understood that the Americans relied on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and did not declare war on the United States and were not in a hurry to leave. The American minister was waiting for an opportunity to fish in troubled waters, so Xiao Yungui  Let the troops in Dagukou send a message to Lie Weilian, hoping to meet with Lie Weilian in Tianjin to discuss the United States as a mediator to mediate the war between Britain and France and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, novels  Better updates faster!
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