In fact, the British are also stuck in a fixed thinking. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

They know that the Chinese do not understand the norms of diplomacy.

But a diplomatic document that can represent more than 10 million people in the eyes of Westerners, and will also be presented to the British king, directly blindfolded them, this heavy diplomatic document, let them immediately bring into the Western model, because it is too similar to the way they often use.

Therefore, for a while, they forgot that the Chinese did not understand the norms of Western diplomacy.

As for saying that the Chinese do not understand the diplomatic norms of the West, the Chinese have a set of Chinese systems, which was slowly formed during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, but unfortunately it has not fully developed and matured, and was interrupted by the unification of the Qin State, and then China does not need to engage in diplomacy with equal friends, so this set of diplomatic systems that has just sprouted is fixed there, otherwise who dares to guarantee that China will not develop a set of its own mature and rational diplomatic norms.

In the history of the West, once the people of a certain region as a whole did not recognize the obligations imposed on them by the central government, and then began to carry out legally legitimate diplomatic acts on their own, they were bound to declare their independence, and then began to seek recognition from other countries, such as the Netherlands, which broke away from Spain, Belgium, which separated from the Netherlands, Sweden, which separated from the Danish Empire, and even the United States, which became independent from Britain.

They simply could not understand that after the local people no longer recognized the legitimacy of the decrees of the central dynasty, they would continue to stay in the dynasty and accept the rule of this dynasty, and it was even more difficult to understand that the dynasty would also approve of the local people's practice, which was completely inconsistent with the logic of Western politics and diplomacy.

When Wei Tuoma solemnly brought this document back to Hong Kong, and told Ergin and others that Zhu Jinglun had sent a representative to England in the hope of presenting the British king, they began to argue about what they believed was about to happen, that is, what would they do if Guangdong announced its independence from the Qing Dynasty. Is it support, is it admitted, or is it denied, and then it is confrontation.

As for whether the Cantonese people would choose not to secede, they didn't think about it at all, the documents came out, and they all sent representatives to ask to see the British king, and what else was there to doubt, they didn't need to discuss it, and they all decided in their hearts that those representatives sent to the British king would definitely put forward the fact that they would establish an independent state in person, and seek the recognition and support of the British.

Wei Tuma believed that if Guangdong broke away from the Qing Dynasty, it would not necessarily be a bad thing for the British, and they could take the opportunity to expand their interests in Guangdong, but they needed to worry that if the British recognized the newly established government of the Guangdong people, it might annoy the Qing Dynasty and have a detrimental effect on the treaty they had just signed.

Bao Ling believes that as far as the whole of Guangdong and even the whole of China are concerned, Zhu Jinglun, who led the independence movement (they take it for granted that Zhu Jinglun is leading an independence movement, in fact they are right), and the Xin'an government he leads, are the easiest to communicate and exchange.

If they succeed, Bao Ling believes that Britain should recognise the government in the interests of the long term. However, Bao Ling suggested that in order not to provoke the Qing Dynasty for the time being, Britain should not recognize it immediately, at least not first, but should not take the lead in recognizing the Guangdong government, but wait for the attitude of other countries to be clear before deciding.

At the same time, he suggested that the British government could cooperate with the independent government of Guangdong, as it had done in India, and vigorously develop cooperation with the princes of the local princely states while maintaining relations with the Mughal Empire. The way they behaved in the UK, they ended up winning the whole of India.

Even if Zhu Jinglun is an experienced diplomat, he still doesn't know what a lot of assumptions and associations a group of British people have developed because of one of his documents.

In fact, he has never encountered such a situation in his later life, and although he is familiar with the Western diplomatic system, you can never be a Westerner in your bones to think exactly the same way, which is determined by cultural roots.

At this time, of course, Zhu Jinglun will not sit back and wait for the attitude of the British, diplomacy is like a battlefield, the initiative is very important, he does not wait for the British to decide, he has taken the lead, he found Hurd, the British, at this time Hurd should be a very important intermediary, at least Hurd's identity acts between China and Britain, definitely more freedom than Zhu Jinglun directly negotiating with Wei Tuma or Ergin, and it can also give both sides more buffer.

"Mr. Hurd, I have come to you in the hope that at this tense time, I hope that you will take advantage of your special background between China and Britain to do your best to maintain peace between the two sides. You have seen that your country's ambitions for our territory have succeeded in angering our people, or the people of the core of the vast east, to be precise. Everyone is already forming a free army and has decided to fight to defend their land. ”

Hurd is well aware of the current situation, the situation is indeed very tense and sensitive, and peace and order are fragile like a thread.

Hurd, like Weituma, is a very skilled Chinese expert, but at this time Hurd did not have the idea that the Cantonese people wanted to be independent, because he knew the Chinese better than Weituma.

The world's first set of Chinese pinyin, which is compiled by Chinese is called Weituma Pinyin, which can be said to be the world's first-class expert in the field of Chinese and language and writing.

However, Wittoma's understanding of China is no longer in the same direction as Hurd's, which understands the thinking of the Chinese.

The reason for this difference is that whether Wei Tuma compiles pinyin or compiles dictionaries, he is using Western linguistics to study Chinese Chinese characters, and he is interpreting China with a Western world view, perhaps he is better than anyone else's interpretation, but he is still interpreting with Western concepts, as if he is going in the wrong direction, although he is walking fast and steadily, he is going farther and farther.

Hurd is different, he himself does not have much professional Western academic skills, so he does not have professional interpretation ability, but he is very patient and down-to-earth in China for more than ten years, and he is studying all the time, and what he learns is not a Chinese dictionary compiled by Westerners, but directly starting from the Chinese classics, he reads the Four Books and Five Classics, reads Laozi Zhuangzi, and he is directly reading Chinese from the ideological point of view.

Therefore, the tension that Hurd thought was not the tension that Wittuma and others thought was about to break out of an independent war, but the fear that his compatriots did not recognize the situation and intervened in the wrong way, which eventually led to a direct conflict with Guangdong, and Hurd was very sure that once the British army set foot on the land of Guangdong, the war would definitely break out, and he knew very well that in the face of defending their own land, the courage of the Chinese to break out was rare in the world.

"Mr. Zhu, I have great admiration for your recognition of peace. I am very willing to do my part to contribute to peace between Britain and the Guangdong, and I will feel very honoured to do so. ”

Zhu Jinglun nodded: "Then please go to Hong Kong, first use an informal way to let the other party understand that not seeking to cede land is our final bottom line, I hope that His Excellency Erjin in Hong Kong can consider the feasibility of our establishment of peace on this basis." ”

Zhu Jinglun hopes to set the tone for the other side, or for possible negotiations, that is, under the condition of ensuring the territorial integrity of Guangdong, everyone is talking about other things. If the other party is willing to talk, in fact, Zhu Jinglun can find out his bottom line, and if the other party is not willing to talk, then he has to really prepare for war. Therefore, letting Hurd go, nominally to convey Zhu Jinglun's bottom-line issue on the negotiations, is actually to use Hurd to test the attitude of Erjin and others.

What kind of attitude Erjin had, he couldn't figure it out himself, Bao Ling and Wei Tuoma's opinions were very reasonable and professional, which made it difficult for him to make a choice for a while.

He is a government official with a lot of administrative experience, he has been the governor of Canada, and soon he will be the governor of India, but he really doesn't know the Chinese too well, and he needs an expert who really understands the Chinese to help him analyze it.

"Okay, let's talk about it for now. Since the representatives of the Chinese are back in London, perhaps we should wait patiently for instructions from London. ”

After Erjin finished speaking, everyone adjourned.

Soon after, Hurd's arrival made Ergin, who still had no clear understanding of the situation, feel like a treasure, and immediately invited Hurd to communicate with him in person.

Hurd was an Englishman, and his position was always that of the British, and deep down he was proud of that capacity, and his loyalty was dedicated to the British Crown, there is no doubt about that.

Therefore, Hurd told Erjin about his understanding of the situation in China in 1510, and at the same time conveyed Zhu Jinglun's sincerity for peace to Erjin.

Ergin was unusually surprised after hearing this: "You mean that Mr. Zhu, the head of the Xin'an government, does not want to break away from his government?" ”

Hurd affirmed: "As things stand, I don't see any signs of rebellion on his part. ”

"But their army is already armed!"

Ergin was even more confused, in his opinion, the people of the entire county began to form an army, and secretly sent people to deliver diplomatic documents to the British king, and then it was not independent? How is this possible!

Hurd sighed: "Their rural society has always had a strong tradition of self-government, and the Chinese call this the imperial power does not go to the countryside, and the rural armed forces are often temporary and generally used as a supplementary force for the government army." ”

Erjin was not completely unclear about the issue of rural armed forces in China, and Guangzhou was surrounded by this kind of rural armed forces at that time, but he always felt that this time was a little different.

"But what do they say about their diplomatic documents?"

Just because of this document, Ergin felt that this time was different.

"Judging from the content of their documents, there is nothing that indicates that they are about to leave the government. ”

Ergin added: "Then what about the explanation that they went to visit Her Majesty in secret?" ”

He Dedao: "They think they are going to reason with the queen, and they call this kind of behavior face-to-face reasoning. ”

Ergin became more and more confused: "Are you saying that they are not going to conduct diplomatic actions and seek support?" But this is obviously a diplomatic move! ”

Hurd didn't know how to explain it.

Erjin waved his hand and said, "You mean, they don't have the will to be independent of the Qing government, so they formed an army to show us hostility?" ”

"That's right, they think we're violating their interests!" ”

Ergin didn't understand: "But we are only fighting for our interests, if there is a loss of their interests, it is also their central government, shouldn't they first petition their government, and then their government will come forward and negotiate with us?" But why didn't they express their dissatisfaction with their government's actions at all, but showed us their attitude directly! ”

At this level, even Hurd did not understand, and he did not understand, why the local strata of Chinese society, in such circumstances, did not choose to express their dissatisfaction with their government, and even he found that not a single Chinese felt that they should express their attitude to the government, and most Chinese completely blamed foreigners for their losses.

It is clear that their government has not fulfilled its obligation to protect them, but they have formed an army and do not put pressure on the government, but directly to the British, as for their government, Hurd instinctively felt that their government was very supportive of this kind of private confrontation with foreign enemies, and he did not understand this, because it meant that the local forces weakened the power of the government.

"Perhaps there is a special social contract between their government and their people, whose main objective has never been to protect people's lives and property, and their people have never pinned their security and interests on their government," Hurd lamented. ”

Ergin sighed: "So, when they are forming an army now, they are not seeking to establish a government that is responsible for themselves, but they are provoking the British?" ”

As soon as Hurd heard this, he immediately sensed that Ergin seemed to have the intention of taking military action, and immediately explained.

"Nor can it be understood in this way, in short, their behavior is not very in line with diplomatic conventions, but it is not a provocation to the British, they think they are defending their own interests, and the reason why they are forming an army is only to put pressure on us, like a hedgehog that has shrunk into a ball and shows its spikes."

Ergin said: "This is a threat? They are intimidating us! ”

Hurd knew that Ergin had the right thing to do this time, but he couldn't say that.

"It's not a threat, it's a fear, and they feel the fear. ”

Ergin nodded: "You mean they are afraid, so if we take a tough attitude, it is possible for them to compromise?" ”

Hurd smiled bitterly: "No, that would really cause a war!" ”

Dissatisfied with the obligations imposed on oneself by one's own government, but not trying to form a new responsible government, presenting diplomatic documents to the opposing monarch, but not conducting diplomatic activities, forming an army, but not to threaten the other side, but if the other side insists on defending their interests, it can really cause war.

How can such a country and nation be understood by an Elgin who has only experience as a governor of Canada?

"But we have to defend our interests."

Ergin's attitude was resolute, even if it caused war.

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

Ergin asked.

Hurd sighed: "Maybe we should patiently put pressure on their imperial court, and only the Chinese government is the most experienced in managing the Chinese." ”

Ergin nodded: "I think so too, yes, according to normal diplomatic procedures, we should protest to their government against their failure to fulfill their treaty obligations." ”

Ergin's concept is that in the treaty, the Qing government promised to cede Kowloon to them, and Britain had obtained the interests of Kowloon, so it must be maintained, not to mention the government's instructions, London asked him to obtain the jurisdiction of Kowloon without objection from France, and he did it, but the locals refused to agree, and legally let the locals accept the obligation to cede the land, which should be borne by the Qing government, not them.

As for the matter of giving up the benefits obtained in the treaty, satisfying the locals, and then making peace with the British, Ergin did not think about it at all, not that he did not know how to be flexible, but that since he had obtained benefits, why should he give up, and he gave up the benefits he had already obtained in the case of government instructions, and the consequences were very serious, the first Hong Kong governor Yilu once sold land in Hong Kong, and was dismissed by the London government as not fulfilling the government instructions, and Ergin really did not want to work in China. But he was absolutely unwilling to end his duties in China in this way, which was at stake in his honor.

But when he thought of having to deal with the Beiping government again, hand over the note, and then pull the strings, and even negotiate again, who knows what unimaginable problems will be caused, and to negotiate, he thought of his younger brother Prus, who went to negotiate with Monk Lingqin last time, and was finally captured, and when they were returned, many people turned out to be parts, for which Ergin burned the three mountains and five gardens in Beiping.

So if we go to negotiate this time, will we send the army again, and if we don't send the army, will the other side not negotiate!

The more I thought about Ergin, the more I felt that it was an endless trouble.

"Is there no way to defend our interests without military action?"

Hurd sighed: "It's difficult, unless they are willing to give up possession of the territory of Kowloon. ”

"But it's impossible."

Ergin sighed, it was the government's order to ask for the Kowloon Division, he couldn't help but obey it, and after obtaining benefits, he had to give up, which was even more troublesome, unless there was a war, and then Britain was defeated, but this was also impossible.

Hurd also has nothing to explain.

After a moment of silence, Ergin said, "I wonder how Mr. Pashali is doing now?" Did poor Pashali regain his spirits? Would you like to come with me to visit Mr. Pashali? ”

They tried their best to bring Pashali back from Beiping this time, but unfortunately Pashali turned out to be crazy, and before he was rescued from Beiping, he was already crazy. (To be continued.) )