Ergin had been the Governor of Canada, and he was upset at the mention of the Yankees. Especially when I watched the Yankees endure their gloating expressions and try to pretend to be sincere and say "I am willing to mediate between Britain and the Governor's Office". In his heart, Ergin just wanted to learn from the representative of the Liberation Army to say "Falk squid mum" to the British representative!

The United States mediated between the Manchus and the Anglo-French forces, a task assigned to the Americans by the British. When was it the turn of the Americans to take the initiative to intercede for the British? A bunch of colonial traitors still want to see the jokes of the British, is this not waking up?

"If the United States is willing to attack the Liberation Army, we will be grateful." Ergin laughed. Britain is now the world's number one power, and this seemingly weak statement does not damage Britain's dignity at all.

The representative of the United States, of course, knew the ridicule in Ergin's words, and it was certainly okay to turn around and laugh at the British, but the mockery did not make any sense. The British had a great advantage in the Far East, which really angered the British, and it was not difficult to drive the United States out of the Far East.

It was only a war of words that provoked a war of words, and the American representative did not flinch from this, he smiled and said: "We can contact the Liberation Army and ask them to hand over the wounded French to us, and we will transfer them to France." ”

Erjin snorted, "We have already sent someone to contact the Governor's Mansion for this matter. ”

The expression on the face of the American representative froze for a moment, he did not expect the British to act so quickly, and they had already hooked up with the Liberation Army as soon as the battle was over. The European-stirring stick really lives up to its name.

The next day, however, the situation changed to the bewilderment of the American delegates. The night before, the Liberation Army sent the seriously wounded French soldiers on the battlefield to the shore and brought them back to Hong Kong by the British. The next day, the captured French soldiers and the lightly wounded were also returned to Hong Kong.

The United States received information that it was said that after the French soldiers of the Sixth Army returned to Hong Kong, they would have to find the navy desperately. At the end of the battle, the French navy launched a heavy artillery attack on the possible pursuit of the Liberation Army. However, the Liberation Army did not rush out of the position to pursue at all, and the shells fell on the head of the French 6th Army, and one or two hundred French 6th Army was solved with a single cannon alone. This lawsuit was finally suppressed by the French commander, and it did not turn into a bloody battle between the 6th Army and the Navy.

On the third day, the British, American, and French consulates in Guangzhou sent back one after another, and the Liberation Army proposed to convene a meeting on the military conflict to discuss how the matter should be handled. Naturally, the French clamored for a declaration of war on the Governor's Office, and the Americans had no such impulse at all. The United States originally came to fight soy sauce, crossing the vast Pacific Ocean to fight with the Governor's Office, which is the willfulness of a country like France. The Americans only hoped that the war would not affect their business in Canton. Therefore, the US side readily said that it would negotiate with the Governor's Office for the Restoration of the Metropolitan Government. To the surprise of the Americans, the British side also sent a representative to Canton. The French first shouted that they would rely on the navy and the Sixth Army alone to fight the Liberation Army, but after only half a day, the French representatives boarded the ship in a huff and went to Foshan with the British, American, and Russian representatives.

Shipping on the Pearl River was very lively at this time, and there were fewer and fewer small sailing boats, and the fleet of three or five barges towing behind a small steamer accounted for nearly half of the number on the Pearl River. The representative of the United States looked at the ships and barges. It was a ship with an iron skeleton, the quality of which was unknown, and the wood used for the wooden shell was so bad that it could be seen at a glance that it had been unloaded from other ships. These hulls can sink with a single shot, and in the eyes of Americans, who are extremely rich in high-quality wood, these hulls are not easy to burn when used for fire.

Although Foshan is not as good as Guangzhou, it is not a small and poor city. The Governor's Office clearly did not have the idea of giving the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it in wartime, and the city was very well guarded at this time. Artillery was assumed on the waterway docks, and outside the city gates there were temporary camps of garrison units of considerable size. The city gates and city walls were defended by troops. The police in the city and the armed police patrol back and forth.

The American representative roughly estimated that even if he could break through the Humen Fort and capture the city, he was afraid that only 20,000 troops would be needed. And this is already the limit of the four-nation coalition. As for how to deal with the influx of recovering troops from other regions after the capture of the city, then God can only leave the fate to God.

With such an awareness, the representatives of the United States completely abandoned the idea of a military solution. At least until the Americans decided that the British would win a decisive victory, they would no longer be involved in a military attack on the Liberation Army.

Although the military preparations were very sufficient, the etiquette of the Liberation Army was very good. The banquet was hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Governor's Office, Hong Inji, and the banquet was Western, and the traditional foreign meal system was implemented. A beautiful waitress in a suit and bow tie dragged a tray to and from the delegates' seats. Steaks, seafood, and fruits are served one by one. The liquor is not the traditional rice wine of Guangdong, but rum. This was a real joy for the delegates from all over the world.

Of course, the dinner party naturally did not discuss any military affairs, and talked about import and export transactions. Seeing the opportunity, the U.S. representative asked the question, "Are you willing to import American pine planks?" Marine, high quality and fair price. ”

"Didn't the U.S. say your oil there is better than whale oil?" Hong Ren parroted what Wei Ze asked him to say.

"Do you want oil?" The U.S. representative was pleasantly surprised, "How much do you want?" ”

"The quality of our Russian pine is better than that of the Americans!" The representative of Russia also interjected.

The French representative originally wanted to say nothing, but when he heard that the representatives of the United States and Russia actually started to negotiate business with the Chinese side, he immediately looked at the British representatives.

The corners of the British delegate's mouth couldn't help but twitch a little, the United States and Russia had originally come to make soy sauce. If they wanted to expand their trade with China, they had to follow the British. However, it would be ridiculous that the Chinese delegates had clearly shown signs of trade with the United States and Russia, and that the two countries had really been able to negotiate a deal.

The British representative spoke at that time, "This time we are here to discuss the issue of this military conflict, not the issue of trade. ”

Even on an occasion such as a dinner party, when it came to the issue of principle, Hong Renji immediately raised his left hand, raised his index finger and shook it in the air. "I don't think so, I think it's because of the lack of agreement on trade that there will be wars."

As soon as these words were spoken, the rest of the room fell silent. This short sentence directly points to the essence of the problem.

Hong continued, "The British side hopes to make a big profit in China, so it doesn't care about the damage that the big smoke does to the Chinese people's bodies. The purpose of Britain is to come to China to make money, and the health problems of the Chinese have nothing to do with the British. But for us, the first thing we need to consider is the health and happiness of the Chinese. That's why there was war. ”

Although this is very polite, it is a very serious and upright attitude. The British delegate shook his head slightly, and was ready to make a rebuttal.

And Hong continued: "The current situation is that the trade of countries with China is a situation, that is, the trade is unbalanced, and China buys too few goods from the world. We at the Governor's Office acknowledge this fact, and we also believe that it is necessary for China to buy more goods from all over the world. However, this must be fair trade, not other countries using their military superiority to wage war against China and then force themselves to do business with China. This is undoubtedly the case with this military conflict. A military victory can bring reparations, a military victory can bring forced trade, and the war itself becomes a means of profit. The Guangfu Governor's Office could not accept this, and the Chinese people could not accept it. ”

With the ability to defeat the enemy, Hong Renji's words seem very weighty. Although the representatives of Britain, France, the United States, and Russia all believed that war itself was a means of making profits, when there was no guarantee of victory in the war, they still hoped to temporarily use some peaceful means to make money.

"We will expand the amount of foreign goods we can buy, hoping to resolve trade disputes through peaceful means," Hong continued. Of course, we will also continue to strengthen our military strength, and a strong military force is to defend China's interests from infringement. In this regard, I hope that you will be able to believe in our sincerity and determination. ”

Speaking of which, it is almost the end, since the Governor's Mansion has pointed out the core contradictions, there is no need to play any more twists and turns if you want to fight and peace. The British representative simply said that among the four countries, Britain was the only one who had never given up its intention to militarily wipe out the Liberation Army.

When it comes to the core issue, the position of the British boss has finally shown its power. The British delegates remained silent, and the representatives of the other three countries did not say anything about it. On international issues, when it is not about its core interests, no country is willing to directly contradict the British. This is the strength of the British, and this is the prestige of Britain as the world's leading boss.

Hong Renji saw that everything that should be said, and he smiled: "The next dish of beef brisket with tomato sauce tastes very good, everyone must try it." ”

With food as a reason, the atmosphere that had almost been tense was eased in an instant. Everyone began to concentrate on the food, and from time to time expressed their opinions. No one talked about politics anymore, and the whole atmosphere of the dinner seemed to be cheerful.

After the dinner, Hong took a copy of the basic provisions of the contract and negotiated with the representatives of the four countries. In addition to not allowing the tobacco trade, not allowing foreign missionaries to China, and not accepting extraterritoriality, the other provisions of the Restoration of the Governorate were far more open than those of the Manchu government.

The above three are most beneficial to the United Kingdom, Russia, the United States, and France do not have big sources of cigarettes, they just want to expand their exports to China. Moreover, after the speeches at the dinner, the tone of the whole content also made the delegates of various countries aware of it. After reading the content, the eyes of the representatives of the other three countries fell on the faces of the British representatives. If the representative of Britain is willing to speak, other countries can follow.

But after the British representative put down the text, he never said a word.

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