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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 660: The Rat Throwing Weapon

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    The USS Minnesota is a steam-sail hybrid battleship with a three-story gun deck, 96 guns, and a crew of 748. It is the largest American battleship in the Far East. Levy Lian came to the Far East on her.  ¡­¨QThis battleship is extremely intimidating in the Far East. Apart from the main battleships of the British and French Allied Navy, there is only the Dingyuan first-class battleship of the Taiping Rebellion Navy in the entire Far East that can rival her.  This ship later participated in the American Civil War and belonged to the Union Army. During the naval battle, it was beaten and stranded by the Confederate wooden ironclad Merrimack. The reason was that her armor was not thick enough because she was only a wooden battleship.

    After arriving at the American battleship, Elgin, Gro and others breathed a sigh of relief. Looking back on the nightmare days of the past few days, they seemed to be in a dream.  Levi Lian was very warm and generous. He and other Americans on the ship provided some personal items to Elgin and others for free. The poor British and French people lost all their personal items. In fact, most of them were stolen by them.  Stolen by Nanyang coolies.

    After taking a shower, eating, and tidying up his personal image, Sir Elgin changed into a crisp tuxedo and finally regained some dignity. Then they gathered in Levi Lian's living room to discuss what to do next.

    Before the meeting began, Elgin and others thanked Lieweilian for his help, and Lieweilian said that as a Western white man, this was not worth mentioning.  When the meeting officially started, Levy spoke first. He clarified the position of the United States: "Gentlemen, in view of the current situation in the Far East, we should end the chaotic war situation as soon as possible and restore the trade order in the Far East. The United States will continue to maintain its position during the war.  neutral."

    The American position disappointed the British and French ministers.  At the same time, it is not surprising that the Americans had previously received a lot of funding from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  Moreover, the complete annihilation of the British and French landing forces this time also allowed the Americans to see the tyrannical strength of the Taiping Army.  Americans remain neutral as a matter of course.

    Elgin pondered for a moment and then said: "Your Excellency, Minister, we understand the position of the United States, but the Taiping Rebellion's shameless preemptive declaration of war and subsequent sneak attacks are intolerable to our two countries. The British Empire will definitely retaliate." Gro also nodded and said:  "The French Empire will also use war to regain its dignity. We must let the people of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom know the consequences of declaring war with us."

    Levi Lian is not surprised as to why the defeated ones still have such a strong background, because Britain and France have strong industrial capabilities and their navies can span the world.  At that moment, Wei Lian also nodded and said: "I know that the two countries will not give up. But I just want to remind you that the ultimate goal of the war is interests. The war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot bring any benefits to Britain and France. Pay attention, sir.  They are any interests! The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not the Manchu government. I believe they have the ability to withstand the subsequent retaliation from Britain and France. Once the war continues to expand or prolong, the interests of every businessman who trades or invests in the Far East will be harmed."

    Elgin shook his head and said: "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has not yet completed the unification of the country. Our fleet in the Far East will teach them a lesson next. Mr. Lieweilian, you are right, we need to restore order as soon as possible, but this is before we can  After defeating the Taiping Army. Only after they admit defeat and actively seek peace can peace come."

    Levi Lian knew that Sir Elgin had great-power feelings, just like when the United States became independent more than 80 years ago.  Britain arrogantly declared that it would capture all traitors and hang them in Britain.  And what about the French?  They are still immersed in the imperial power of Napoleon, and they also firmly believe that the French Army is the best in Europe and even the world.

    So.  Lie Weilian no longer wasted time. After pondering for a moment, he said: "The five trading ports and the Zhenjiang, Tianjing and other ports later opened by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot be blocked. This is our request, and I think it is also the request of merchants from other countries.  , including British and French businessmen. A war is a war, and business interests cannot be harmed."

    Elgin secretly cursed the Americans as country bumpkins who have fallen in love with money, but he said politely: "Mr. Minister, we can't guarantee it. It depends on military needs."

    Lie Weilian said unceremoniously: "Sir Elgin, since the Taiping Army dared to declare war, do you think you can still maintain the safety of the southern treaty ports and concessions? I exchanged opinions with His Excellency the King of the West in Tianjin,  His Excellency the King of the West has promised that if the British and French navies do not take the initiative to attack the treaty ports, then he will ensure the security of the concession."

    The expressions of Elgin and Geluo both changed. They did not expect that the Western King would use the concession as a bargaining chip for blackmail, but then they thought that it would be them who made the choice, instead of spending their troops to invade the concession and plunder it, and then capture a large number of prisoners.  There is no benefit except for the foreign civilians in the concession. It is better to surround them, trap them in the concession, and become hostage bargaining chips in their hands. This will make Britain and France use the most powerful weapons when attacking the treaty ports.

    Seeing the changes in the expressions of Elgin and Geluo, Lie Weilian continued:??Of course, His Excellency the King of the West also said that other military targets are not protected and can be attacked by the British and French coalition forces. After all, the two sides have declared war, but trade cannot be affected.  At the same time, the King of the West can also promise to release non-combatants such as journalists and missionaries as a sign of sincerity.  "

    Journalists and missionaries?  Those people were of little use, and their release would only increase the burden on Elgin and the others, and Elgin was worried that those reporters would talk nonsense.

    But Elgin was also undecided. In the end, he just said: "Your Excellency, Minister, we need to go back to Shanghai in the south first. I will meet with our businessmen and military representatives to re-evaluate the situation before we can decide whether to agree to the Western King's request."  Conditions. After that, I will write a detailed report to the country based on the attitudes of all parties and changes in the situation." Guero also agreed with this plan.

    Lie Weilian seemed to have known that they would make such a request. He said slowly: "I understand this. Before I came back, His Excellency the King of the West also expected that the two of them would do this, so he asked me to tell you that  If you two agree to the request, you can stay and continue the negotiation. If you want to go back to the south first, that's fine. Anyway, if you want to negotiate by then, please take a boat to the north or come to Tianjin for talks."

    Erjin and Geluo looked at each other. They did not expect that King Xi would guess so accurately, as if his every move was calculated by him.  But Elgin thought deeper. The so-called assessment of the situation when he returned to the south was actually just a pretense. He mainly wanted to concentrate the navy and the remaining army forces in the south, and first tentatively attack the Taiping Army along the coast or along the river.  Firstly, it is to let the Taiping Army taste the power of the British and French armies and take revenge; secondly, it is to test the Taiping Army's combat readiness in the south. If it is vulnerable, the British and French can safely increase their troops and ships until they are defeated.  The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be defeated until it becomes a servant state. If the war situation is still unfavorable, it means that the war cannot be expanded.

    But if the King of the West could have guessed that they would propose to go back to the south first, it was impossible not to guess their purpose of going back. Since he could guess, why did he let them go so generously?  Did he lay some traps for them in the south?

    Elgin couldn't figure it out, and Levi Lian's words interrupted his thoughts: "Your Excellency, Minister, since you plan to go back to the south first, our U.S. Navy will escort you back first, but there is one thing I would like to ask you for. We, the United States, remain neutral.  Yes, all ships flying the American flag entering and leaving the Taiping Rebellion ports are protected by the United States. Please ask the British and French forces not to attack, otherwise we will regard it as an act of war."

    Elgin and Grou widened their eyes. How could the Americans protect their trade so strongly?  But then I also figured out that the United States had just experienced a steel economic crisis. In recent years, it had mostly relied on cooperation with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to gradually get out of the economic trough. Now they protect business and trade to protect their own lifeblood.

    Elgin and Grou looked at each other, and one thing was clear to each other. They could not cause trouble at this time, and the Americans could not be offended for the time being. Although the Americans only had eight warships in the Far East, they were still an important force.  At the same time, if the Americans are entangled in the melee, the situation will become even more chaotic and out of control.

    So Elgin and Groh happily agreed to Levi Lian's request, and the two sides initialed a treaty, the "Far East Wartime Trade and Commerce Treaty" signed by Britain, France and the United States. This treaty bound the military actions of the three countries during the war and mutually agreed.  Commitment to protect the commercial and trade interests of the other party, but only effective in the Far East.

    Wei Lian was satisfied. He had protected the interests of the United States in the Far East at the minimum cost, and he could minimize losses during the war. Britain and France gave him their promises, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also gave him their promises, so Wei Lian felt that he was the biggest winner.  .

    Elgin and Grou were also satisfied. After all, the Americans only gained the right to continue trade during the war, and the scope of interests did not expand. However, they could return to the south. As long as they could go back, they would be able to fight a turnaround and regain what they had lost.  Dignity and everything.

    Xiao Yungui, who was far away in Tianjin, was satisfied. He defeated the British and French coalition forces as he wished, and his diplomatic strategy began to ferment. He was not afraid that Elgin would return to the south and start organizing retaliatory actions. In the deduction before the decision to declare war,  Everyone agreed that Britain and France would definitely retaliate, no matter what, so Xiao Yungui prepared an even bigger surprise for the British and French coalition forces in the south.  He believed that before long, Britain and France would go north to Jintang again to negotiate with him.

    The next day, Lie Weilian, the representative of the mediating country, notified the King of the West of the news about the British and French ministers. Xiao Yungui naturally welcomed them back south, and at the same time returned some personal belongings of the coalition forces that the Taiping Army had recovered from the Nanyang coolies, including  Some letters home from Sir Elgin.  At the same time, the King of the West released all captured coalition journalists and missionaries and asked them to follow Elgin and others back to the south.  It's surprising?, two British reporters asked to stay and continue to interview with the Taiping Army. They boldly wanted to report the process of the war from another angle, and the King of the West actually agreed (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated.  quick!
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