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Volume One: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 691: The Last Attempt

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    The quarrel in the British Parliament continued, and the Whigs' counterattack seized on two key points: one was the global strategic interests of the British Empire, and the other was the dignity of the British Empire.  ¨RMost of the Whigs¡¯ debate speeches revolved around these two themes. The current empire on which the sun never sets has colonies all over the world. As the British industry known as the world¡¯s factory, it needs the undeveloped raw material base of the Far East and  Product dumping ground, while the Taiping Rebellion developed its own industry and commerce and strict tariff barriers caused damage to British interests!

    After Derby's speech, another friend of Elgin, the Whig and former Foreign Minister Clarendon stood up and spoke. Elgin was promoted to Minister Plenipotentiary to the Far East by him. To a certain extent, Derby was disgusted with Elgin.  , just disgusting with his former foreign minister.  Therefore, Clarendon's speech is very meaningful. Regarding Elgin's actions, he must firmly support it, but he is embarrassed to fully agree with it.  But he grasped one aspect: "I don't believe that Elgin's actions are without problems, but changing places, gentlemen, according to the circumstances at that time, no one can do anything that harms British interests, so Ergin  There is nothing wrong with Sir Jin's approach. Sir Elgin has conducted business negotiations with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom many times before, but the effect is not great. More and more local products of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are squeezing our market for British goods, especially commodities such as opium.  , normal trade is impossible in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. And the Manchu Qing government in the north has become a dumping ground for opium. Sir Elgin and we both believe that the Manchu Qing government cannot fall, and even its existence can continue our arms trade and opium in the Far East.  Trade continued, so Sir Elgin made the right choice at the time! Now we have no choice but to support Sir Elgin.¡±

    Another important point is the dignity of the British Empire.  Ever since Britain started its global expansion strategy, it has always been them bullying others.  Africa, America, and Asia are full of empires on which the sun never sets.  When had the British Empire been so humiliated?  Moreover, the British Empire regarded it as the Taiping Rebellion that it had single-handedly supported to fight against Russia. This was a shameless betrayal and a serious provocation.

    Lord Granville, the Whig government spokesman, said impassionedly during the debate: "I think the Taiping Rebellion is a shameless and devoid of morals. They take advantage of our sympathy and fraternity and forget how we have helped in the past.  Theirs! We brought them civilized customs, but they gave us barbaric war! Wake up, gentlemen, the country we built is humiliating us, and we must fight back hard! Otherwise, the country will become more and more miserable.  More and more countries will follow suit! Who is next? India? Egypt? Or the Arab world?"

    Palmerston's speech was: "Xiao Chaogui, the leader of the Taiping Rebellion, was the most brutal barbarian who brought shame to the nation, and was the chief culprit of all crimes that trampled on human dignity and mutual trust; Cobden's motion will make it worse."  Old friend Elgin is sad; if this condemnation bill is passed, our compatriots will have no dignity at all in China. Be careful, your decision may be a blasphemy against the dignity of the British Empire overseas."

    The two factions hold their own opinions and argue endlessly. Just like the previous two Far East Wars, public opinion is also polarized. Some support launching a retaliatory war, while others support a peaceful solution and allowing the captured soldiers to go home as soon as possible.  However, because the Crimean War ended not long ago, the British were somewhat afraid of launching another large-scale war, so public opinion still favored a peaceful solution to the incident.  But public opinion is not impossible to influence, and this heavyweight influence lies with their Majesty the Queen.  It is undeniable that during Queen Victoria's reign as Queen of England, the British Empire became the most powerful country in the world, and the British loved this queen very much.  Therefore, her words and deeds can change the direction of public opinion, just as her support for the Opium War twenty years ago brought huge benefits to Britain.  The British trust their Queen.

    But this time, Her Majesty the Queen has not made any statement, and both the cabinet and the opposition parties know it.  Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for news from France and Russia. Her wise Majesty the Queen knows very well that Britain's weak army cannot complete this great expedition alone. If troops are forcibly transferred from other colonies, it will inevitably affect the rule of other colonies.  , so Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for allies who can fight alongside her to appear.

    In St. Petersburg, the capital of Tsarist Russia, the majestic Winter Palace still stands on the Palace Square in St. Petersburg. Heavy snow covers the entire city, shrouded in white.  Tsar Alexander II walked around irritably in his bedroom. Fine firewood was burning in the fireplace. The warm flames dispelled the cold air in the whole room, but it seemed to be too hot. The Tsar looked very irritable.

    Suddenly, his chamberlain came in tremblingly and said: "Your Majesty, Count Suvorov and Onkovsky are here."

    The Tsar came to his senses, nodded and said: "Let them in!" After a while, the two Russians?The nobles came to the Tsar's house.

    After saluting the Tsar, the Tsar asked the two men to sit down. He first looked at Count Suvorov, the leader of the St. Petersburg Noble Council, and said: "My dear Count, the serf land reform plan you recently enacted seems to be very conservative. I have already  I have heard rumors from all sides that are unfavorable to the empire¡¯s reform of the serfdom system, and I hope to hear your opinions personally.¡±

    On March 30, 1856, Tsar Alexander II, who had just succeeded to the throne, already explained the necessity of serf reform when he summoned the Moscow nobles. The reason was very simple. The feudal serf system was still implemented in Russia at that time. Serfs had no land but had to  Unpaid labor for the landlords resulted in low productivity and hindered the flow of people to factories, severely limiting the development of Russian capitalism.

    On January 3, 1857, the tsarist government established the Secret Committee on Peasant Affairs. Most of the people who participated in the committee were big aristocratic landowners. The tsar hoped that they could make a difference, but they were not enthusiastic about reform, and the committee did not solve any problems.  On November 20, the Tsar issued an edict to Nazimov, the governor of Vilna Province, allowing the three provinces of Lithuania to establish provincial committees of nobility, requiring the adjustment of the relationship between farmers and landlords in accordance with the following principles: retaining the ownership of all land of the landlord; the landlord enjoying the security of the hereditary territory  rights; ensure proper and complete payment of national, local and currency taxes.  In fact, this edict is the government's preliminary reform program.  In addition to allowing farmers to gain personal freedom, this program did not touch the feudal production relations.

    The edict was sent to the governors of each province.  and publish it in the newspaper.  After the edict was promulgated, each province successively established provincial noble committees based on the edict.  By the end of 1858.  In all European and Russian provinces, except for Arkhangelsk, noble committees have been generally established.  The great aristocratic landowners accounted for 10% of the aristocracy, but owned 30% of the serfs.  They enjoy high-ranking officials, generous salaries and various privileges. They are staunch supporters and powerful pillars of feudal serfdom and oppose any reform.  The announcement of the Tsar's edict aroused great dissatisfaction among them, and under the leadership of Count Suvorov, the St. Petersburg Noble Council was established.  The plan they drew up was the most conservative one.  The main contents of the plan are: all land will still be owned by the landlord; farmers can use the allocated land indefinitely under the condition of full service; and landlords' control rights over farmers will be guaranteed.  It can be seen that they are the biggest obstacle to serfdom reform.

    Count Suvorov said calmly: "My Majesty, the plan formulated by the St. Petersburg Noble Committee is most in line with the current reform needs. What we need is not reform but improvement. My Majesty, excessive reforms will make the entire  Russia is in turmoil."

    The Tsar's thick beard trembled slightly, and then he said calmly: "Count, I hope you can notice something. Throughout last year, 297 serf uprisings broke out across Russia, causing the entire Russian army to be paralyzed.  We are in a state of domestic counter-insurgency, and in the Far East, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has officially declared war. I can't send a single soldier to support Muravyov in the Far East. The Far East Navy has been destroyed, and Muravyov has retreated to Nerchinsk. Vladivostok  and Kamchatka Peninsula are also under the threat of their military fronts, and I need to end the domestic chaos as soon as possible."

    Count Suvorov said very calmly: "Your Majesty, no offense, those remote places in the Far East can get very few benefits. Moreover, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is about to end the Manchu rule in the Far East. Maybe it is time to negotiate a new treaty with them.  Are we going to give up the dignity and interests of the nobility in exchange for those useless large tracts of forest land in the Far East?"

    The Tsar chuckled softly and said: "But now the situation has changed. The British Ambassador recently expressed his willingness to unite France and send troops to the Far East with us. I think this is a good opportunity."

    Count Suvorov shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, the British and French are our enemies. They are the most untrustworthy. The late emperor was forced to die by them. Do you want to join forces with our enemies?"

    The Tsar finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly: "That's enough! Count, watch your words! I want you to dissolve the Noble Council of St. Petersburg immediately, and all reform matters must obey the government's edict!"

    In Russia, the authority of the Tsar is unshakable, and Count Suvorov would not have a direct conflict with the Tsar. He stood up and bowed politely and said: "We obey your Majesty's order and will dissolve the committee.  But Your Majesty, I hope you will consider it. Excessive reforms will make all nobles dissatisfied." After saying this, he respectfully withdrew.

    Next, the tsar looked at Onkovsky, the governor of Tver Province, and his tone turned gentle and said: "My governor, I have seen your Tver Province plan. It is very good. I plan to promote it nationwide."

    The serfdom reform plan proposed by Onkovsky of Tver Province represents the interests of those landowners in the non-black soil belt who hope to transfer their economy to the capitalist track.  Plan requirements: complete abolition of serfdom; through redemption?The land was distributed to the peasants; the land was redeemed by the peasants themselves, and the ransom of the feudal land rent should be borne by the state. Onkovsky's views were the most progressive views among the landowners at the time, and they were also favored by the tsar.

    Onkovsky said worriedly: "Your Majesty, although our plan is the most beneficial to the reform, each province currently has its own serf reform committee. Although you just dissolved the St. Petersburg Committee, other nobles will not implement it.  For this kind of reform, they can only accept a certain degree of improvement. And I worry that once our reform is difficult to implement, it will inevitably make the aristocrats and landlords dissatisfied, and they will not be able to meet the requirements of the serfs. The result will be that both sides are dissatisfied, which will bring harm to the country.  There will be greater turmoil.¡±

    The Tsar clenched his fists and said: "I will use force to ensure the implementation of all this! I will not back down. If Russia does not carry out reforms, it will be abandoned by the world."

    Onkovsky said: "Your Majesty, what the count just said is right. We cannot send precious troops to the Far East now. The only way to solve the problem there is through negotiation. Otherwise, domestic reforms will be slowed down by the war. We  More will be lost.¡±

    The Tsar thought for a moment and then said: "But I don't want to lose the opportunity for this adventure. If we join forces with the British and the French, maybe we can get something from the Far East that we lost in the Crimean War. I still have a  I will send the 30,000 Cossack Cavalry Reserve to the Far East for a final try. If it still fails, we will abandon the Far East" (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
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