Zeng Jize was about to continue, but he remembered a regular knock outside the door, which was the agreed code for delivering the message.

Wu Chaoyue hurriedly opened a crack in the door, and then a church priest handed in a secret letter.

"My lord, it's a secret report from Calais." Wu Chaoyue's expression tightened, and he hurriedly reported to Guo Songtao. Every time I see news from Calais, it's a matter of urgency.

The submarine cable connecting the UK and France was laid from Dover in the south of England to Calais in France. In Calais, a telegraph office was set up specifically for transit. In order to learn the news from Britain in time, Guo Songtao specially hired a local man to be stationed in Calais, and also deliberately established a good relationship with the staff of the telegraph office, searching for useful information from the telegraph office every day, and when he encountered really urgent news, he immediately sent another telegram to Paris through the telegraph office in Calais.

And this time Guo Songtao left Paris and came to Nantes, and this telegram was even sent to Nantes, which shows that the matter is very urgent and very important. Therefore, Wu Chaoyue's hand holding the telegram trembled a little.

Guo Songtao also knew that the matter was urgent, so he directly took the telegram that had been translated by his subordinates in London and read it quickly.

"Smack!" Guo Songtao slapped on the wooden backrest of the church seat, his face changed greatly, and his chest was also undulating.

"Uncle, but what happened?" Zeng Jize asked.

"Just received the news that it happened in Plymouth, the seaport in the southwest of England! The British side has already taken a brazen attack on our Chinese Empire!

An ocean-going trading fleet called Xu Hu Kee Trading Company from Shanghai was seized by the British Navy when it arrived at Plymouth Harbor, and the owners of the trading house were Hu Xueyan and Xu Rongcun, both of whom I had heard, and that Hu Xueyan had also met once, and the two of them happened to be on the fleet at that time, so that the fleet fled directly, but two merchant ships were sunk by British warships. One of the merchant ships, which was loaded with a huge amount of holy oil, was about to sink when the crew ignited a fire and caused an explosion, destroying two British warships and causing heavy losses on both sides. Fortunately, the other two escaped to the port of Brest, a naval base in southern France. But now the British warship chased and circled outside the port of Brest, and was negotiating with the French, asking to enter the port to search the ship. Guo Songtao said indignantly.

"What?" Zeng Jize was taken aback and said, "This damn British! What an open declaration of war they make! Sir's expulsion of our consular and diplomatic personnel of the Chinese Empire stationed in its territory, and now the public seizure and seizure of merchant ships, and the opening of artillery attacks on merchant ships whenever they are dissatisfied, are naked acts of war! ”

Guo Songtao nodded, calmed down, and said, "Yes!" I will soon rush back to Paris, and in my capacity as the special envoy of the Chinese Empire to Europe, I will demand that the French side refuse the unreasonable demands of the British, and that the other two ships of the Xu Hu Kee firm must not be sunk or captured by the British warships. At the same time, I will make solemn representations to the British Embassy in France to protest against their hostile acts, and make public statements in the major European newspapers, strongly condemning Britain's declaration of war, demanding that they give an account to the Chinese Empire, and reserve the right to pursue and retaliate!

Jie Gang, you rest in peace, and take the train back to Paris for your uncle. This matter is a big matter, and I have to arrange for someone to report it to the country immediately. It is hard to imagine how angry Your Majesty must have been when he heard the news! ”

...........

Paris, France. Inside the Royal Palace Santa Creu.

Emperor Louis Napoleon Bonaparte threw the telegram in his hand on the table, looked at the head of the Minister of State, Alexander Valewski, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baron Ottoman, and laughed somewhat gloatingly.

"Why is Your Majesty so happy when you read the telegram?" Valewski asked knowingly.

"Hehe, Valewski, Ottoman, don't you see that the Kingdom of Great Britain is going to be unlucky?" Louis no longer hidden, and laughed nakedly: "This time, because the British were angry that the Chinese Empire was involved in their own rebellion and the rebellion in Ireland, they not only expelled all the diplomatic personnel of the Chinese Empire, but also searched everywhere for the spies of the Chinese Empire, and also carried out a partial trade ban and increased taxes on goods from the Chinese Empire.

I thought it was just British Prime Minister Russell for the sake of face, but I didn't expect that this time I happened to encounter a large Chinese trading fleet rushing to Britain, and the navy actually launched a direct artillery bombardment, four ships were blown up and dozens of people died, and both sides suffered heavy losses. The Chinese Empire is no longer what it used to be, and its strong rise makes the French Empire dare not despise it, and Russell's treatment of it like this will inevitably cause strong opposition from the Chinese Empire.

Wait to see the show, then the Chinese Empire will definitely not give up, and the two countries will fight locally, even if they do not fight head-on on a large scale. ”

Valewski said admiringly: "Your Majesty's eyes are like torches. Britain has just lost Ireland, if because of this incident, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, Feng Yunshan, provoked the fire, and fully supported the princes of those Indian princely states and the Sikh Kingdom, and even sent troops to the Hindustan region, I am afraid that the British army in India will be completely defeated, and at that time, the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, known as the empire on which the sun never sets, can only obediently become the Kingdom of Britain. Your Majesty, this is a great opportunity for our French Empire to rise! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Duke is very right! I heard that although the emperor of the Chinese Empire was soft-tempered, he was extremely tenacious, very protective of the people in the country, and was a staunch Chinese element. When he learned about the British warships attacking their merchant ships, he would most likely take revenge. When the time comes, they will lose both, and it will indeed be a good thing for us in France. Foreign Minister Baron Haussmann chimed in: "It is better for the two sides to declare war directly, and cut off trade on the surface, but in fact, trade cannot really be cut off, in this case, our French Empire is right between the two countries, and it is a great power in the world, and both of them have great trade exchanges, just right, they can become intermediaries, and at that time, the trade volume between these two countries alone can push the trade of our French Empire to an extremely high level." I, the French Empire, will also become a trading power. ”

"Your Majesty, I suggest that you write a letter of condolence to the Emperor of the Chinese Empire and to Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Russell of Great Britain, expressing their regret for the losses they have suffered in this incident! At the same time, he said that he would not interfere with the Chinese merchant ships hiding in the port of Brest and the British warships outside the port, and that we would remain neutral. In this way, both parties will hate each other even more. "Valewski has a bad idea.

Louis nodded: "I hope that the two powerhouses of this thing can eat dog." As long as Britain's strength is greatly weakened, and Tsarist Russia is still in the weak period after the defeat, then the whole of Europe will be the world of France. When the time comes, I will be able to accomplish the great cause of unifying Europe for my uncle. ”

The three laughed together.

..........

The Chinese Empire, in the Imperial Palace of the Holy Capital City, in the Imperial Garden.

Feng Yunshan, who was sitting in the pavilion, was injured and bruised, and his face looked a little hideous. At the foot of the pavilion, Vice Premier Zeng Guanlan, Chief of General Staff Zuo Zongtang, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Ruxiaoren stood side by side, while Navy Minister Luo Xuan, Director of the Special Service Department Fan Ruzeng, and Feng Yunshan's personal chief of guard Liu Shengbang stood in the pavilion.

"The main reason for announcing the three of you and the king of Xinzhong here today is that I am very angry. Fan Ruzeng, you can show all the urgent reports of your secret service department to all the adults. Feng Yunshan was still angry in his heart, and threw the candied fruit in his hand in front of Fan Ruzeng, who was so angry that he even called Fan Ruzeng, who had always liked to call Fan Aiqing, by his name.

Luo Xuan, who was closest to him, quickly changed the content of the emergency report, changed color, and after handing the emergency report to Zeng Guanlan behind him, he saluted Feng Yunshan and said: "Your Majesty, this is the British lady who openly declared war on my Chinese Empire!" We as gentlemen should fight! Wei Chen is not talented, and he recommended himself as the general of the expedition to the west, and is willing to lead the South Ocean Fleet and the newly established Indian Ocean Fleet, and then call 3 infantry divisions and 1 artillery division in the 6th Field Corps to conquer India in the west, and give the British girls a hard lesson! ”

Luo Outline said a little vulgar, but he was eager to fight. But Feng Yunshan didn't speak, and turned his head to look at the other three.

At this time, Zeng Guanlan and Zuo Zongtang, who had already finished reading the emergency report, also spoke one after another.

Zuo Zongtang said: "Your Majesty, the urgent report from Lord Guo Songtao is related to the face and vital interests of the Chinese Empire, and this matter cannot be backed down. Unless Britain makes public reparations, repeals the unjust clauses and restrictions against our Chinese Empire, and pays huge compensation to the families of the employees of the Hsu Fu Chi Trading Company who died in Britain, and hands over the naval officers and soldiers who committed the murder to be sentenced and disposed of by our Chinese Empire. Otherwise, fight! ”

Zeng Guanlan also said categorically: "Your Majesty, Weichen is also like the opinion of King Xinzhong and Lord Zuo, whether it is tolerable or unbearable, declare war on it!" Wechen will do his best to do a good job in logistics. ”

Wu Ruxiao also followed and said, "Your Majesty! This matter is completely because Britain is the first evil to invade our Chinese empire, and we cannot tolerate it, otherwise it will deal a heavy blow to the high morale of our country! I have to ask for an explanation. And judging from the behavior of the arrogant British Navy, as well as the attitude of British Prime Minister Ross towards our Chinese Empire revealed by Lord Guo, we must declare war on it and respond to their hostile behavior! ”

"Smack!" Feng Yunshan slapped on the railing of the pavilion, stood up with a swish, and shouted: "Good! Since all of you are in favor of declaring war, I will fulfill the wish of the British, and if it wants to fight, I will fight! ”