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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 741: Conditions for the Kingdom of Heaven

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    A hundred years later in this time and space, the historical circles of China and Britain are still arguing about the cause of the war that took place in the Far East a hundred years ago. The British believe that the war was started by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, while the Chinese believe that the war was started by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.  This war was caused by the British intervention in the Chinese Civil War, but no matter how much rhetoric was fought, the final outcome of the war was something that historians on both sides could not change.

    Xiao Yungui was not surprised at all that the British and French would propose such an outrageous peace treaty after their defeat. He was not even angry. He just felt it was a little funny.  In particular, the British actually used the blockade of the Far East as an excuse to threaten China to compromise. It seems that for the sake of their own face, the British have really forgotten the ultimate purpose of launching the war.  The purpose of the British expedition to the Far East was to expand the opening of the Far East market. They initially hoped to support a Qing government in the north controlled by the neo-Westernization faction, and then force the Taiping Rebellion to rule across the Yangtze River from this government.  Needless to say, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had a lot of trade and industrial and commercial cooperation with Britain, France and other countries, but one bad thing was that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cracked down on the opium trade.  Although the Qing court in the north did not suppress the opium trade, it was far less open than the Taiping Rebellion in the south.  Therefore, the British ultimately hoped that a north that would accept the opium trade and an open south would coexist in the Far East. In order to achieve this goal, they did not hesitate to launch a war. Their fundamental political purpose was to further open up the opium trade and the Far East market.

    But to their surprise, the Taiping Rebellion¡¯s extraordinary troops not only blocked the first British and French expedition, but also used the British and French intervention in the civil war as an excuse to start a war.  Then the expeditionary force was annihilated and the Manchus were brought to submission in a short period of time.  So the object that Britain and France wanted to support no longer existed.  In other words, no matter what, Britain and France will lose the largest opium trade partner in the Far East.  Since the first goal can no longer be achieved.  So the second goal is to further open up the Far East market, but the British also pretend to block the Far East. Isn't that harming others and not benefiting ourselves?  Can the UK afford to lose the Far East market?  The answer is obviously no.

    The UK is now known as the world's factory. Most of the products they produce need to be exported for trade, and the Far East, a market with a population of more than 400 million, plays an irreplaceable role. If the UK really commits a blockade of the Far East, then the UK may have a new outbreak.  An economic crisis.  This crisis had already erupted around 1846, when Britain won the First Opium War.  Everyone in the country thought about doing business with 400 million people, so the British industrial machinery was fully activated. However, the goods they trafficked encountered strong resistance from China's traditional small-scale peasant economy. As a result, many goods could not be sold, which eventually led to  economic crisis.

    So when Xiao Yungui heard the mediation news brought by the American Minister Burlingame, he first scoffed at the British and French blockade threat. He said to Burlingame: "Are the British crazy?"

    Burlingame also feels that this time the British are a bit difficult to understand, but this time the Americans will not stand on the British side. First of all, the American tradition is to hate the British.  Secondly, the relationship between the Taiping Rebellion and the United States is relatively good. He immediately said: "Dear Majesty the Emperor of China, I think the British may not have completely woken up, but one thing is for sure. That is that they do not want the war to continue."

    Xiao Yungui nodded with a smile, turned back to Zuo Zongtang and said, "Prime Minister Zuo, what do you think we should do?"

    Zuo Zongtang also smiled and said: "The British came from thousands of miles away. What they want is trade. They don't really want to blockade our country. This is obviously completely contrary to their original intention of coming far. I want to come more  Most of them are threats. But since the British want peace talks, we can also put forward conditions to test. If they are determined to make peace, then even if our conditions are a bit outrageous, they will still try to sit down with us.  We got up to talk. But if they still respond forcefully, then I think we will continue the people¡¯s war.¡±

    Burlingame was slightly disappointed and asked: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, what kind of conditions will you propose?"

    Zuo Zongtang smiled and said: "In general, our conditions are three. The first is to abolish all unequal treaties previously signed with Britain and France, and to renegotiate the commercial and trade treaties between the two sides. The second is to return Hong Kong Island and  Some other islands occupied by Britain and France. The third article is war compensation of 30 million pounds, and the cost of redeeming British and French prisoners of war will be calculated separately."

    Hearing this, Burlingame felt unbelievable. It seemed that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was using the power of victory to open its mouth.  Although Burlingame is not a British person, he feels that the limit that the British can accept is definitely not like this. However, as a mediator, he still bites the bullet and reminds him in good faith: "Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, these three conditions for the British  People will not agree. The abolition of the previous treaty means the return of British interests in China, including concessions, ports, most-favored-nation treatment, andAll the rights enjoyed by the UK, including civil jurisdiction, will be lost, Hong Kong Island will have to be returned, and huge war reparations will be paid. These are unacceptable to the British.  "

    Xiao Yungui shook his head and said: "Minister Burlingame, these are our country's conditions. As the victorious party, doesn't it have the right to propose any conditions to the defeated party? Although we take back all the privileges of Britain and France, the trade treaty can be renegotiated, and the port can  There are more. Concessions must be abolished, but British and French businessmen who come to our country to invest, build factories or live in can be given land in concessions, but we do not allow group concessions to appear. You know, we have lost our sovereignty in concessions, but these places were originally  It is our territory. Most-favored-nation treatment and consular jurisdiction must be recovered. War reparations must be paid, but the specific amount is still negotiable. As for the ransom of prisoners of war, don't we need to pay for supporting these prisoners of war for more than a year?  "

    Burlingame also knew that the senior leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had always had a tough stance, so he had no choice but to say: "Well, we can only try to coordinate as much as possible." Burlingame paused and then said: "His Majesty, Mr. President also asked me to convey something.  That is to thank your overseas consortium for its support in our domestic war to suppress the rebellion, and the interests of your consortium in the United States will be protected to the maximum extent."

    Xiao Yungui laughed and said: "Your country needs a lot of weapons to counter the rebellion. We just did what we can. The railway we invested in and built can be used free of charge by your country during the war. These are nothing." Xiao Yungui said this.  The man smiled happily, but what Burlingame didn't know was that the overseas consortium of the Taiping Rebellion, led by Hu Xueyan, was also transporting weapons and other supplies to the Southern Army from Mexico and other places.

    After the two sides discussed some other matters, Burlingame immediately left the capital, and he immediately conveyed the results of the negotiation to the south.  Three days later, the news came to Shanghai. The Shanghai telegraph office sent the news to Fujian in just ten minutes. Two days later, the US consulate staff in Hong Kong received the news.

    When they learned about the conditions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Sir Collington and Sir Elgin were both in great shock. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was going to continue the war. The great British Empire would not accept such a humiliating result.  .

    But after calming down, the two knights discovered that they seemed to have nothing to do. The other party was unmoved by their own threats, but they did not refuse to start the peace talks. This shows that the hope of ending the war is still there, but as the victor  , the conditions proposed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will of course be somewhat harsh.

    Sir Elgin's opinion was to have face-to-face discussions with the other party first, to find the other party's final limit or to find a compromise. At first, he also felt that the domestic demands were a bit outrageous. It was impossible for any defeated party not to pay war reparations.  What's more, they still have more than 30,000 captives and hostages, not counting the people left behind in the concessions trapped in Shanghai, Ningbo and other places.  Perhaps out of a matter of face, if the prisoner ransom is increased at that time, the other party will give up the war compensation. It is the same compensation, but in a different name, and maybe the country can accept it.

    As for restoring the pre-war status, before the war, Britain only had five trading ports in the Far East, plus the three that were later opened in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Suzhou. But this time the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has occupied the north. I believe that with Xiao Yungui's attitude of opening up trade, Britain may  With more open ports in the north, it goes without saying that the number of treaty ports will increase.  The concession may be able to be given up. The main thing is to give up the power of garrison, public security and independent judicial power in the concession.  Now it seems that garrisoning troops is unnecessary. The garrison in the Shanghai Ningbo Concession is the best example. For a military power, it cannot tolerate foreign troops stationed on its own territory. Moreover, even if a conflict breaks out, the troops in the concession will not be able to play any role.  , this war has shown that apart from sending hostages to the enemy, the garrison in the concession has no role.

    As for the power of public security and consular jurisdiction, Britain and France had to ask for these two rights because of the darkness and ignorance of the Qing court. But now the laws implemented by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are much better than those of the Qing court, and prisoners can also get justice.  Moreover, the local police department of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also had very strong security capabilities. It was not the corrupt, dirty and dark rule of the Qing Dynasty at all. It would be okay to hand over these two powers.

    The land in the concession was originally rented. The Taiping Rebellion was the first to implement the "Regulations on Land Leasing for Foreign Businessmen" in Nanjing and other places. According to this charter, there was no such thing as a concession in Nanjing and other three places, but foreign businessmen could still rent land to build factories.  , warehouses and residential buildings, etc., but you need to pay a one-time lease fee of fifty years, so you don¡¯t have to worry too much about renting land. It is nothing more than changing the form of the concession.

    But among the conditions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the most difficult to negotiate may be the issue of the return of Hong Kong Island. Britain will not be willing to give up this natural harbor. If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?What should we do if we want to return Hong Kong?

    As for the French, the two knights ignored them. They were just following the British. They were more concerned about how the captured French soldiers and generals could return home in dignity.

    So after discussion, the two knights decided to negotiate with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom first. Since the military operation could not succeed, they had no choice but to sit back at the negotiating table (To be continued)
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