On the seventh day of October in the ninth year of Guangxu, the news came out of Hue City, the capital of Vietnam, that Emperor Xiehe, who had been on the throne for only three months, was poisoned and killed in the Qiancheng Palace, and the Empress Dowager Ci Yu was hanged.

Emperor Jianfu's edict on the enthronement made it very clear that the liquidation of Emperor Concord and others was not for the sake of fighting for power and profit, but for the sake of thousands of generations of Vietnam, and Emperor Concord and others for their own selfishness, disregarding loyalty and serving the Heavenly Dynasty, and signing such a treaty of loss of power and humiliation with legal persons, it is really hateful, and the first thing to announce his accession to the throne is to declare that the "Hue Treaty" signed before will be null and void. He also repeatedly emphasized that "Vietnam is a barrier to China, and Vietnam can follow suit if there were loyal ministers in the past." ”

Guo Songtao said such a thing at the end of the banquet with a smile, Prince Gong not only changed his color, he sighed and said to Bao Jun beside him, "Vietnam has been troubled since then. ”

"Vietnam hasn't stopped all these years, why should the prince worry," Bao Jun said with a smile, he could see the French ambassador's face flushed, this is definitely the most interesting program of today's banquet, and I heard Prince Gong say this, "Since there has always been something going on, this time is nothing, but what's going on in Vietnam, this year is already the fourth king." ”

Albert stood up and loudly protested against China's manipulation in it, Guo Songtao's face sank: "Mr. Ambassador, please be cautious, if you don't have any real evidence, please don't speak at will, this is a formal occasion, you can't speak as you like, according to your ambassador, it is obvious that the Vietnamese people have made a free choice." ”

This sentence "free choice" seems very ironic, Albert was nakedly slapped in the face again, compared to the previous in the embassy, it can be said that it is a shame to throw in front of the envoys of various countries, obviously, just now the Empress Dowager Cixi said that she just knew the news of Vietnam, deliberately to tease Albert, I didn't expect Albert to be so stupid, all of a sudden was put on the phone, it is foreseeable that for a period of time in the future, this "free choice" will become an enduring joke in the diplomatic circle.

What's more, even if the Chinese had the potential to organize or promote this coup d'état in Hue City, was this what could have been said back then? You can secretly fight with the Chinese forces, but you must not say such things in the open, the Chinese will never admit the existence of these activities, this Albert probably thinks that there is a cabinet prime minister who is a good friend, and he can do whatever he wants.

Several ambassadors thought with disdain in their hearts, the German ambassador Jonas showed a disdainful expression on his face, the atmosphere in the hall was very paradoxical, although the Chinese officials wanted to celebrate, but there seemed to be nothing to celebrate, Vietnam has always been a vassal of China, and there is no need to celebrate if it is lost, not to mention that Prince Gong is sitting in his position, it seems that the butt and the stool are growing together, not moving at all, and there is no joyful expression on his face, and he can't celebrate without permission.

Albert's face turned red, and then he turned blue, he glared at Guo Songtao, brushed his sleeves and left, the banquet seemed to have no need to continue at this time, the British ambassador Wade stood up, said goodbye and left, after a while, the envoys of various countries had already dispersed, leaving only Empress Dowager Cixi and a group of Chinese.

The Empress Dowager Cixi picked up a small piece of rouge smoked fish maw from the Qianlong pastel yellow ground blue and white dinner plate with ebony silver-covered chopsticks, put it in her mouth and chewed it carefully, then drank a sip of milk tea, and smiled at the people in the hall, "Everyone disperse, it's late at night, rest early." ”

"Please the will of the Queen Mother, how to deal with the affairs of Vietnam?" Prince Gong asked, "The canonization envoy is going." ”

Although Prince Gong was very dissatisfied with the fact that the five provinces had entered Beiqi, since the Vietnamese had made a move to submit to China and leave aside the French, China had to act to support the Vietnamese king, and the previous Concorde Emperor signed a treaty with the French, and the canonization envoy of the Li Fan Yuan never went to Hue to canonize it, which is of course a fact preached by the French: the Chinese have given up their nominal control over Vietnam.

But now is a great opportunity, canonizing a pro-China king is a very appropriate and timely act, the Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, "Send the canonization envoy immediately, I heard that this king is still young?" The Empress Dowager Cixi turned her face to ask Guo Songtao, and Guo Songtao said yes, "In addition to the original reward, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will give the emperor more things that the emperor usually likes to the king of Vietnam, and then order," the Empress Dowager Cixi wiped her hands with a towel embroidered with a golden dragon and threw it on the dining table, "Ministry of Rites, give Chinese clothes." ”

Xu Tong sang an ode: "I gave the Qing Dynasty uniform system to the vassals, and it is really the Empress Dowager's grace." ”

Empress Dowager Cixi smiled slightly, "Then I ordered the Ministry of War to give him 300 muskets and 10 cannons, and give him to defend Hue City, don't let the French fight again, and they will be in a hurry to surrender again." ”

Wade got lost in the Old Summer Palace, delayed a little, and when he got out of the palace gate, the lights were brilliant outside, the guards were on duty with lanterns, several carriages stopped on the side, the French ambassador Albert and the Japanese ambassador Taichi Tanabe stood and talked together, Albert saw Wade come out, left Taiichi Tanabe, and walked towards Ambassador Wade.

"Mr. Ambassador," Albert held out his hand to Wade, "what attitude do you think the Chinese have shown today?" ”

Wade looked at Albert's white-gloved hand, and slowly reached out to shake Albert's hand, "They show the efforts of an ancient country to become a modern country, this kind of effort allows us to see that their troops are very strong, although the words of the Russian ambassador are very direct, but they are very clear that your country's control over Vietnam is far from in place." ”

"This requires the support of Great Britain," Albert said sincerely, "France has always been Britain's most loyal ally on the European continent, and there is no doubt about it, and now the situation in the world is changing, and in Asia, we also need to join forces." ”

Ridiculous, Wade sneered in his heart, any relationship between countries needs interests to speak, not what flattery can solve, in Europe, Britain needs France to guard against Germany and Russia, but in Asia, fighting for India's colonies, fighting for control of Suez, this is not an ally relationship at all, before the French were hooked up by the Chinese on the shares of the Suez Canal to compete with Britain for control, here calculate themselves, has not yet calculated it, Wade just smiled and nodded and did not answer, Albert saw that Wade did not enter the oil and salt, so he could only throw out the conditions that he had prepared before, but he was a little reluctant to pay, "When we rectify the three countries of Vietnam and Laos, I personally think that between Vietnam and Myanmar, there is no need to exist Thailand, a nominal subject country of China, and an actual Southeast Asian power." France's sphere of power in Southeast Asia will not affect Bangkok. ”

This is obviously the meaning of wanting to divide the sphere of influence with the British, Wade still smiled slightly, in the case of Bangladesh and Burma blocking access to Indochina, this so-called condition is really just a gimmick, the British have no land access to Thailand at all, if the navy is needed, then the consent of the French is not needed at all.

Not to mention that Thailand is the most powerful country in Southeast Asia, with a military far superior to Myanmar and Vietnam.

The French were so shrewd in their calculations that they said it on such unaffordable terms, and Wade and Albert walked together to the carriage of the British Embassy, and the chamberlain opened the door for Wade, and Wade turned to Albert and said:

"I agree with that, but we have no other interests in East Asia, and you have heard, Mr. Ambassador, the Queen Mother of China said that she would give Prince Edward a big gift, and in such a situation, we cannot stand with your country and put pressure on China, but," Wade got into the carriage, half of his face hidden in the shadows, "I think now, at this time, we need to teach the Chinese a lesson." ”

(To be continued.) )