Many years later, there was a debate about whether the country where Asia's first railway would be built was Vietnam or China. But the conclusion that the first railway was a freight railway is not disputed.

The Governorate imported steam engines from Britain and built a short freight railway between the port of Hong Kai and the Hongji coal mine in Vietnam. Not long after the completion of this railway, the railway between the Foshan Iron and Steel Center and the port was also built. Coal and ore no longer need to be pulled by carts, and the trains easily transport the mountains of ore to the steel mills for smelting.

This was a very important trade between China and Britain, and Britain exported technology, equipment, and the help of engineers to China, earning hundreds of thousands of taels of silver at one time. In addition to the award from the British and Hong Kong authorities, the Ministry of Communications of the Governor's Office also appeared as an official unit of the Railway Bureau.

Neither China nor the UK consider each other to be their friends. Although the British side of Downing Street, after analyzing the situation in China, believed that there was no need for the British side to send 100,000 troops to set foot in the Guangfu Governor's Mansion in Guangdong for the time being. However, this only means that the British central government does not want to go on an expedition, and it does not mean that the British central government really understands what is really going on in the Far East.

Therefore, when the British in Hong Kong learned from the French side that the Governor's Office was negotiating privately with the French, they immediately became excited. China and France had fought a war, and the losses of either France and China in the Far East could effectively cheapen the British, so the British were happy to see the French beaten all over their faces. By the same token, any two powers that would completely bypass Britain to negotiate would make the British side extremely nervous.

Britain desperately tried to figure out what the Governor's Office and the French were talking about. They asked this question when they invited Hong Renji, the foreign minister of the Guangfu Governor's Office, to tea, and Hong Renji only said one sentence and had nothing to say.

The French side was infiltrated by the British, and they soon received news from the French side. The Governorate was preparing to open a commercial route to Siam, which passed under the noses of the French, and if they could not reach a peace agreement with the French forces in southern Vietnam, the Liberation Army was not at ease with the safety of this route.

According to information received by the British side, the negotiations did not go well. The French, who had suffered a lot in the Kowloon area, opened their mouths and demanded that the Governor's Office compensate the French for their losses, while accepting many French conditions. The Governor's Office immediately told the French, and if they did not agree, the Governor's Office would have to send troops to South Vietnam to help the Vietnamese fight. After driving the French out of Vietnam, the Liberation Army could sail as much as they wanted.

Seeing the contradictions between the two great powers, the British were overjoyed. The European-stirring stick is best at mixing in these things, and the focus of conflict is on the sea, which is what Britain does best.

On September 1, 1860, the French, together with the British consul in Canton, went to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Governor's Office, Hong Renji, and the British openly stated that "they will not accept any military conflict between the Liberation Army and the French at sea." Hong Renji was stunned when he heard this, the Liberation Army was not ready to send the navy to fight a naval war with France. God knows where the British got this shit news from.

Just when Hong Renji didn't understand what the British meant, Zuo Zhidan, the representative in charge of military content in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who attended the meeting at the meeting, said very keenly: "Won't the British side accept us to transport troops from the sea to fight in South Vietnam?" ”

The British delegates blinked, and with their knowledge of Hong Renji, this man knew a little about the situation in Europe, but he was not a very shrewd person. So Britain is ready to send out some vague signals to muddy the waters as much as possible. What I didn't expect was that someone on the Chinese side was able to directly point out the core of the problem. This disrupted the original plan of the British.

So the British representative said: "We oppose a military attack on France. ”

"That means you don't object to a French military attack on China?" Zuo Zhidan said.

The British representative only sneered, but did not answer. He also did not expect that the Liberation Army would be pressing forward step by step, and it was really a very failed action to make the contradictions so clear on diplomatic occasions.

However, Zuo Zhidan obviously had a different idea from the British, he smiled at the French representative, and said in a non-hostile tone: "Why haven't I heard the news of the merger of France and Britain?" Or was Britain willing to fight for France unconditionally? Or is it now that Britain fights for France without money and benefits? ”

France is also a dignified power, and even diplomats are a little self-contained, and the face of the French representative became extremely ugly when he was ridiculed like this. But this time, the French side did have the intention of relying on the strength of the British, and was so ridiculed by the Liberation Army that France could only admit it temporarily. With the French military power in the Far East, they did not have the capital to be able to fight the Liberation Army independently.

Zuo Zhidan did not continue the pursuit, he said: "We negotiated with the French side about the shipping lane, and the purpose was peace, not war. I know that the Hundred Years' War between France and England, when the British were about to win, Joan of Arc led the French army to another series of victories. Turned the tide of the war. Later, the British captured Joan of Arc and burned her to death on the grounds that she was a shrine maiden. But after a hundred years of fighting, isn't there still peace in the end? I also know that after the French Revolution, Britain joined the anti-French alliance. First fought with the French Republican government, and then with the French Emperor Napoleon, fought for more than ten years, and finally made peace......

Listening to the representatives of the Liberation Army talk about old accounts between Britain and France, the British representatives really did not expect that there would be such a figure in the Far East who was familiar with the history of Britain and France, and that this figure even knew about Joan of Arc in France. The British delegate turned his head to look at the French delegate, but saw that the expression on the French delegate's face was cloudy. It seems that this statement is still convincing.

"The goal of war is peace, and all parties go to war for the peace that their side wants. That's why there are negotiations, and there are attempts at peace based on the strength of war. Our Liberation Army knows very well that if we can't win, we can't talk about winning. So when the French representative makes a military threat, we also have to show our strength. I would like to say again to the representative of France that if we are really aiming at war, then we don't have to show anything, we just have to find the best time to fight. We show this power precisely because we don't want to use it. Zuo Zhidan said seriously, and the French representative gradually listened to it. France naturally looks down on China, even if it suffers a big loss in reality, knowing that the military strength of the Liberation Army is not something that France can hostile, France still regards China as a barbaric country. Now that they have heard the talk of war and peace that can only be heard in the European negotiations, the French delegates began to feel a little different.

If France can overwhelm China militarily, even if the representatives of the Liberation Army can talk like lotus flowers, the French side will not turn a deaf ear. Now that the Liberation Army does have the ability to commit troops to South Vietnam and defeat the French army, then China is a reasonable country, not a country that only knows how to solve problems with war. This is a very important thing for France.

In conclusion, Zuo Zhidan said: "We are willing to negotiate with France on issues only related to China and France, and the two sides will reach a peace agreement." I don't quite understand why the British side raised the threat of war in this negotiation in pursuit of peace! ”

After finishing speaking, Zuo Zhidan looked at the British representative intently, his face full of provocation.

The British delegate was furious, believing that there were two meanings in what the representative of the Governor's Office had said: one was to tell the French that China did not want to go to war with France, and the other was to use the historical grievances between Britain and France to sow discord between the two. Both of these meanings were intended to allow the French to negotiate with the Chinese alone, leaving the British out of the negotiations.

For the world hegemon Britain, he can accept defeat. On the road to rise, the British have accepted numerous defeats. But the British could not accept that they were excluded from other powers, and that they would be ostracized if the other powers were able to solve the problems of both sides on their own. One of the fundamental reasons for Britain's rise is that as a European-stirring stick, he has successfully intervened in almost every contradiction and conflict in Europe, making all parties in Europe fight endlessly. Thus gradually establishing Britain's absolute influence on the European continent. Once this influence is lost, and the continent solves its own internal problems, Britain will become the target of public criticism. That would have been a very tragic end.

So the British representative hastened to say: "Let's talk about this first." Take a break! ”

In the middle of the break, the British delegates tried to explain to the French how unreliable the Governorate was, and how insidious and cunning the barbarian Orientals were. As European countries, the expansion of Britain and France in the East had to rely on the strength of the Europeans themselves.

No matter what the French side thinks in their hearts, they must give the British some face. Expansion in Vietnam was an important breakthrough for France, and cooperation with the British was indispensable. So the negotiations after the break made no progress, and in the end it ended hastily.

After the meeting, Zuo Zhidan attended an internal discussion meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After the discussion, he went to see Wesser. After reporting the negotiation process to Wei Ze, Zuo Zhidan said: "Governor, the information you gave me, as well as the outline of the conversation, seem to be really useful. The French side clearly did not have the attitude of relying entirely on the British at the beginning. ”

"It doesn't matter, those who should leave will leave. You should quickly familiarize yourself with the work now, and you will have to take more responsibility in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the future! Weeser said.

"More responsibility?" Zuo Zhidan repeated.

Hearing that Zuo Zhidan seemed to understand something, Wei Ze further said: "Yes! Shi Dakai withdrew, and Guangxi's Dachengguo also withdrew. There will be those who will continue to exit in the future. Times have changed. I've always believed in comrades, so I don't want them to make painful choices. Comrade Hong Renji is a good comrade, and we must take special care of him. ”R1058