After entertaining the representatives of the four countries, Hong Renji was tired and just wanted to rest. It also takes a lot of energy to eat and drink with others.

"What the hell are the British going to do?" Hong Renji asked Wei Ze with a rather dissatisfied expression. According to Hong Renji's original idea, since the Liberation Army has made an open posture, not only allowing foreign merchants to do business in China normally, but also implementing a policy of government policy that tends to balance imports and exports, Britain should also be satisfied. However, in reality, the British not only did not show the slightest sign of satisfaction, but when Hong Renjian held private negotiations with the British, the British side actually refused.

Wei Ze replied with a sneer: "What the British want is to completely overturn the status quo and completely dominate China's customs. They can sell whatever they want. ”

"Let the British dream!" Hong Renji said angrily. As foreign minister, Hong In-gil hopes to be able to coexist peacefully with foreign countries, and to continue to expand trade with foreign countries while maintaining the status quo. After negotiations with the British side, Hong Renji realized that Wei Ze's explanation of the British side's actions was only the original intention of the British, and this attitude of demanding the overthrow of the status quo was completely out of Hong Renji's bottom line.

Wei Ze looked at the excited Hong Renji and couldn't help laughing. Being able to make this foreign minister who advocates openness like this, Wei Ze is actually a lot more relieved about Hong Renji in his heart. So Weeser went on to explain: "The British now have a much better navy than us, so they now feel that it is not that they cannot fight us, but that they have no chance of victory. If the British send troops to land elsewhere, we can attack Hong Kong Island. After taking the base on Hong Kong Island, the British had no foothold in China. Other ports are not enough to serve as bases for a full-scale assault on us. ”

Hong Renji was even more puzzled when he heard this: "Then why don't the British give up?" ”

Weeser commented on this view: "If there is no port, can they go and take it." And if you want to destroy us, you don't have to do it with the British. ”

This was an understatement, but Hong Renji heard quite a killing intent from it. He hurriedly asked, "Governor, are we going to go to war with the British?" ”

Wei Ze frowned slightly at first, and then replied a little coldly: "Whether or not to go to war is naturally responsible for the General Staff, you only have to do one thing now, that is, to publicize our foreign policy to Europe and the United States as much as possible." Let them know that as long as they don't want to go to war with us, we welcome foreign businessmen to do business in China. ”

Hong Renji also felt a little regretful when he saw that Wei Ze was unwilling to talk to him about the war. If he knew some war arrangements, Hong Renji also felt that he was more confident in his heart when negotiating.

Hong Renji regretted it, and the British representative also regretted it even more. The statement of the Governor's Office has pushed the diplomatic situation to a very difficult situation, and Hong Renji has clearly expressed the bottom line of the Governor's Office. The gap between the two sides' positions is too great for expanding commercial trade to fill the huge gap between the wills of the two sides.

What Britain wants is to completely open China's trade gateway and reap the benefits from China without restrictions. In the long run, the UK does want to be able to expand its trade quota. But the long-term is always an idea, and Britain has a short-term purpose that must be implemented, and this purpose is the policy finalized by the bigwigs in Downing Street, London, England, that is, "legalize the big tobacco trade, control the Chinese customs, and the British enjoy extraterritoriality in China, and allow the British to preach freely in China." As a policy for Downing Street, Elgin had to get it done anyway. In the two Guang areas controlled by the Guangfu Governor's Office, these four articles are precisely unrealizable.

The modern civil service system can ignore so many details, and if the task is not completed, it will be replaced, and a black history will be recorded in the resume. In China, thousands of miles away from the British mainland, Ergin had little chance to defend himself in time. Therefore, no matter how reasonable the attitude expressed by Hong Renji is, and how desirable it is from a logical point of view, these cannot change Ergin's attitude and position. The contradictions between the British and the Governorate were irreconcilable.

"It seems that war is inevitable." This was the consensus among the British missionary corps. Despite this consensus, the information that should be sent to Ergin still had to be given, and the British sent ships to Hong Kong overnight to send back the latest minutes of the talks.

Two days later, however, the British delegation received an order from Erjin to "agree to an agreement with the Governor's Office, but only within the area controlled by the Governor's Office." He also urged the Governor to come up with specific terms for expanding trade and a catalogue of imported goods. ”

Such a change surprised the British delegates, could it be that the Elgin plenipotentiary had figured out the joints and was able to find a way to deal with the country? The British delegates were talking.

In the afternoon, the British side immediately presented the British side's opinion at the meeting. Hong Renji was surprised and very happy, and he immediately consulted on this. France, the United States, Russia, the representatives of the three countries naturally followed suit. On August 2o, the Governorate signed the draft Treaty of Foshan with representatives of Britain, France, the United States, and Russia, which was not a formal treaty between countries, and the Governorate appeared in the treaty as a local authority. Even so, the treaty meant that the British plenipotentiary Elgin recognized the status quo in the region and decided to maintain it.

By 1 September, the British delegates had finally returned to Hong Kong with the agreement. In any case, this is an encouraging good thing, the doors of old China are open to Britain, and the object of the agreement is still a very Westernized government.

But the Plenipotentiary of Ergin was not very optimistic about this, and he simply flipped through it and put the manuscript of the "Foshan Treaty" on the table. I haven't seen him for a few days, and Ergin looks a lot gloomy, as if he has a great deal of heart.

"Your Excellency, this document needs your signature to draw a pledge." The representative of the United Kingdom reminded with some unease.

"Wait." Ergin's voice replied tiredly. When his men left the office, Ergin stood up and stood at the office window. The office faces south and backs north, with windows in the north and south directions. Ergin, who stood under the window to the north, could not see the Governor's Palace, because the direction was not at all. However, what Ergin had in mind was the restoration of the Governor's Palace, and this opponent sabotaged Ergin's plan to fight all the way up from Guangdong, Fujian, and Shanghai, so that Ergin had to adopt a more risky strategy. If it was possible, Ergin would have strangled Wei Ze to death with his own hands.

At this time, Wei Ze said at a meeting of the General Staff: "The war has left us for the time being, but the war is bound to become a reckoning after the autumn, and when it explodes, the intensity will be several times greater than now." One year ...... At most, two years will be in the crosshairs of a decisive war with the British. At that time, we will have to use the navy to fight the British. Only when the British admit that the British are on the coast of China may not count, then the war will really end! ”

Hu Chenghe frowned and asked, "Governor, what does it mean to make the British admit that the British are on the coast of China, and what the British say may not count?" ”

Weeser wanted to say that the navy of the Liberation Army would be able to fight the British off the coast of China without gaining a foothold. But he himself immediately realized that this idea was too much to take for granted. If you want to defeat the British Navy off the coast of China, you must have warships that can match the British. The steel-armored warship doesn't need to be considered at all now, even if Wei Ze can come up with the design drawings, the Guangfu Army will not have the ability to build it. If you want to build such a warship, it will take at least 15 years to do so. Even with iron-clad warships to fight the British, it would take five or six years.

So Weeser had to say vaguely: "That is to say, ......, we have to make the British navy have no absolute chance of winning." Now we are using the 6th Army to threaten the British, so that they do not dare to fight on a large scale on the 6th. ”

"Oh!" Hu Chenghe nodded, with a very agreeable expression.

Wei Ze tried his best to maintain the expression of victory on his face, but he also felt very ashamed in his heart. It's not a good sign that I started to mess around in a fit of rage.

"Governor, are the British lying to us? They sign up with us first, and then they suddenly attack us when we relax? Wei Changrong tightened the strings of the struggle.

It's also a good thing to have such a comrade, Wei Ze smiled: "Then what plan do you have?" ”

Wei Changrong said seriously: "Let's build a fort by the Kowloon Sea!" The seaside is only two miles away from the old port of Hong Kong, and a random fort can directly bombard the port. Even if it can't really be bombarded, at least it can scare the British. ”

This Jian yì sounded a little too aggressive, and before Wei Ze could speak, Hu Chenghe objected, "You will definitely not agree with the British Yankees doing this." ”

Wei Changrong replied with a regretful expression of hatred that iron could not become steel: "If the British really don't want to fight us now, they will definitely come out to oppose it." If the British were still determined to fight us, they would not have objected. ”

Hu Chenghe didn't understand such a very dialectical thinking point of view for a while, but Lei Hu, the new commander of the Fourth Army, couldn't help but exclaim, "That's right, if the British want us to dismantle the fort, it means that they don't want to fight us." If their attitude is not so firm, it naturally means that they have a ghost in their hearts, thinking that we have seen through their thoughts, and at that time it will only force them to act immediately. There is still our defense line behind the Kowloon Sea, and even a fight at this time is not a bad thing. We will definitely be able to use the 6th Army to let the British know that they are powerful. Even if we take a step back, whether we put real or fake guns in the battery, as long as we can get a shell out of the battery, the British can't figure it out at all. There was not even a need to transport real fortress guns to the battery. ”

With such an explanation, everyone in the General Staff also understood a little. The British could use the navy to threaten the Liberation Army, and the Liberation Army could also use the 6th Army to threaten the British.

Hu Chenghe nodded again and again, and he exclaimed: "This is what the Governor said, let the British admit that the British are on the coast of China, and what the British say may not count!" ”

Weeser was tempted to say right away, it had nothing to do with his own imagination. But at this time, he could not explain this. At this time, Wei Ze changed the topic, "So do you have any other opinions on this?" ”

Military democracy within the General Staff was well done, and in the end this extremely provocative action was characterized as "initially provocative", and then it was dismissed.

However, the next day, an urgent telegram came from the Kowloon Military Division, "the four ** ships began to leave the port on a large scale, and the direction was unknown." Two hours later, an urgent telegram also came from the Humen Military Division, "The British fleet has begun to move north!" ”

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