Xiao Bao Ling really didn't deceive Wu Chaoyue, Yang Xiuqing was indeed very interested in forming an alliance with the British to resist the Qing Dynasty, and he did have two very sincere negotiations with Xiao Bao Ling, but they couldn't be negotiated because of the huge price difference. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

The reason why Yang Xiuqing is willing to form an alliance with the British is obvious, first of all, of course, multiple friends are better than one more enemy. Secondly, after establishing friendly relations with the British, the Taiping army could obtain a large number of advanced weapons and equipment to make up for the gap in weapons and equipment between the Taiping army and the Qing army. - The Qing army is not a fool, except for Wu Chaoyue, who is also an enemy and a friend, who threw off the Taiping army in terms of weapons and equipment, the Qing army on the southeast coast has long begun to upgrade its weapons and equipment, and the Taiping army has never been able to occupy the entire territory of Zhejiang and Fujian, the biggest reason is that the Qing army on the southeast coast is also ahead of the Taiping army in terms of weapons and equipment. After suffering a lot of losses in a row, Yang Xiuqing naturally wanted the Taiping soldiers to be equipped with foreign guns and cannons.

There is a third point, the only one in the old Hong family who was able to serve under Yang Xiuqing, Hong Renji also played an important role in it, Hong Renji, who had received modern education in the West, knew the strength of Britain very well, and knew that once a military alliance with Britain was concluded, the Taiping Army would receive how strong support it would receive, so Hong Renji not only strongly advocated promoting this matter, but also repeatedly persuaded Yang Xiuqing to make huge concessions in exchange for this great opportunity that was almost equivalent to pie in the sky.

However, it is a pity that the British are too greedy, and the conditions of the alliance are not only unacceptable to Wu Chaoyue, but also unacceptable to Yang Xiuqing, whether it is the legalization of the opium trade and the opening of all territories to the British, or the cession of land and the permission of British garrisons, Yang Xiuqing categorically refused. Yang Xiuqing's conditions for the alliance were only to open some new treaty ports, bear some of the military expenses needed by the British army for warfare, and expand the scale of trade, which could not satisfy the greedy appetite of the British at all.

In addition, Yang Xiuqing, out of consideration for the foundation of Gongwei's rule, also put forward the condition that the British were forbidden to preach in the areas controlled by the Taiping Army. The British, though not as zealous in proselytizing as the French, found it rather absurd.

It was precisely because of the lack of benefits from Yang Xiuqing that Xiao Bao Ling went to Hankou to bargain with Wu Chaoyue, but what Xiao Bao Ling never expected was that although Wu Chaoyue was far easier to communicate with than Yang Xiuqing, he was also far more cunning than Yang Xiuqing, not only did not accept the harsh conditions offered by the British, but also hinted that he could collude with other powers such as France and the United States to oppose the Qing Dynasty, and in turn forced the British to make concessions.

However, it is not a big problem for the British side, Yang Xiuqing and Wu Chaoyue can not get benefits, and the Manchu court can extort money, in fact, when Wu Chaoyue and Xiaobaoling were bargaining, the British army, which had already made several preparations, had successfully captured Zhoushan with the help of the French army, and then sent troops to Shanghai to establish an advance base, and officially sent a note to He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, asking the Manchu court to agree to the harsh conditions put forward by Britain and France within a time limit, otherwise it would attack Dagukou again, And attack Beijing by force.

At this point, Emperor Xianfeng had no choice but to order He Guiqing to prevent the foreigners from going north no matter what, and at the same time actively prepare for war at Dagukou, preparing to continue the plan of promoting peace by war proposed by Devil Liu, making the foreigners suffer a little on the battlefield, and then forcing the foreigners to make concessions at the negotiation table.

At the critical moment, there was also a very cheating call for Wu Chaoyue in the Manchu court - that is, many courtiers suggested that Wu Chaoyue, who was good at conquest and proficient in foreign affairs, should be transferred to Zhili as the governor, responsible for presiding over the defense of Dagukou and presiding over negotiations with foreigners.

Fortunately, Emperor Xianfeng categorically rejected this proposal without any consideration, and angrily denounced on the spot that the first to put forward this suggestion was simply ridiculous - let Wu Chaoyue, who almost wore a pair of pants with foreigners, control the Zhili army, if Wu Chaoyue suddenly colluded with foreigners to rebel, then the wild boar skin family would not be killed and slaughtered by Wu Chaoyue immediately?

Of course, of course, Emperor Xianfeng couldn't say this idea directly, and the excuse for angrily scolding Ruilin was also the center of the world, how could Huguang Heavy Land leave Wu Chaoyue's seat? And after being scolded, Wu Chaoyue's old boss Ruilin also immediately changed his words and said: "The slave should die, the master reprimanded it, Huguang is heavy, and he can't leave Wu Chaoyue, who can fight well, and the slave retracts the invitation." But the slave still felt that Wu Chaoyue's talent could not be wasted, so he asked the master to consider copying a copy of the conditions proposed by the foreigners and sending it to Hubei, so that Wu Chaoyue could help the staff and staff to see if he could find a way to revise the contract that was acceptable to both the court and the foreigners. ”

Thinking of the surprise that Wu Chaoyue gave himself when he participated in the Dagukou negotiations, Emperor Xianfeng did not refuse again, and immediately nodded and said: "It makes sense, just do it, immediately copy a copy of the shameless request made by the foreigners and send it to Hubei, so that Wu Chaoyue can suggest how to modify the response." ”

Of course, Emperor Xianfeng gave Wu Chaoyue a big problem, because the content of the amendment proposed by Britain and France was also extremely harsh, and Wu Chaoyue suggested that Emperor Xianfeng agree to that article, and he would immediately be a traitor who left his name in the history books. So after reading the edict sent by Emperor Xianfeng at the post station, before he had time to see the content of the amendment proposed by Britain and France, Wu Chaoyue had already laughed bitterly and lamented: "People sit at home, disaster comes from heaven, now it's okay, I have to be scolded as a traitor to Wu Xiao again." ”

"Comfort Ting, this matter must not be mixed up." Zhao Liewen also hurriedly warned: "Because of Ye Mingchen's matter, Hanyang already has a lot of resentment against foreigners, and if you get involved in this matter, if anyone takes the opportunity to fan the flames, I'm afraid Hanyang will have to make trouble like Guangzhou." ”

"Not really." Wu Chaoyue shook his head and pointed out sharply: "There are two reasons why the xenophobic atmosphere prevails in Guangzhou, one is that the foreigners attack Guangzhou first every time, and the people naturally hate the foreigners when they suffer from the war. Second, after the foreigners forced the imperial court to open more commercial ports, the 13 banks in Guangdong lost the privilege of monopolizing import and export trade, and none of the officials, merchants, and even military pirates were not affected by the economy, so the xenophobic atmosphere was born. ”

"Hanyang is different here, the foreigners have not started a war in Hubei, and the common people have not suffered the sins of the foreigners, on the contrary, they have taken a lot of economic advantage because Hankou has become a treaty port, so the Ye family can't afford to make much trouble no matter how much trouble they make."

After being confident in the stability of his own territory, Wu Chaoyue picked up the transcribed exchange clause with a sad face and looked at it carefully, but the more he looked at Wu Chaoyue, of course, the more sad he became, the more he sighed, and couldn't help but read out loud, "Allowing British and French ministers to be stationed in Beijing, allowing foreign missionaries to enter the interior to preach freely, and allowing British and French citizens to freely enter the interior for trade and sightseeing, these are very negotiable." ”

"Open eight treaty ports, including Tianjin, reduce customs duties and sub-export taxes, allow free trade in opium, cede Kowloon to the British, allow French missionaries to freely purchase land and build churches in the provinces, and pay six million taels of silver to Britain and six million taels ......of silver to France."

Thinking of this, Wu Chaoyue couldn't bear to throw away the treaty and scolded: "It's just a pit for Lao Tzu, even if I suggest agreeing to one of these terms, Lao Tzu's traitorous infamy in this life will never be washed away!" ”

"The few articles you read earlier, it is estimated that the imperial court will not be able to agree." Zhao Liewen smiled and said: "Especially the first article allows British and French ministers to be stationed in Beijing, if you dare to suggest that the imperial court accept it, the emperor will definitely be able to skin you!" The last time Dagukou failed to negotiate, that is, the emperor would never agree to let foreigners live in the capital, and he was not allowed to change the contract in Beijing. ”

"It seems that the old way is the only way to go." Wu Chaoyue said helplessly: "Let's just say that I have a very close past with foreigners, and foreigners have also asked me about the court's attitude towards the exchange of contracts, in order to avoid melons and fields, I dare not publish ......, huh?" ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue suddenly remembered a major event, and hurriedly picked up the treaty to read it carefully, and after thinking for a while, Wu Chaoyue suddenly said: "Huifu, why don't we share the emperor's worries and ask the emperor to allow the British and French ministers to be stationed in Hankou?" Set up a national yamen of the prime minister, which is specifically responsible for foreign affairs? ”

"You're not afraid of trouble?" Zhao Liewen was stunned and said suspiciously: "Let the foreign envoy be stationed in Hankou, and set up a prime minister's yamen of various countries, which is specifically responsible for foreign affairs, and the emperor will push this envoy to you, so you are not afraid that you will be angry at both ends at that time?" ”

"Huifu, you don't know diplomacy, you don't know the doorway." Wu Chaoyue shook his head and said: "Being in charge of diplomacy is by no means a chore, but a beautiful one. If this is done and the diplomatic power is in our hands, the British and French governments will only recognize the official documents issued by me in the future, and they will only come to me if they have diplomatic contacts, and the notes I submit to foreign countries will have legal effect. ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue saw that there were no outsiders present, and couldn't help but add, smiling and whispering: "For example, if I tell a foreign court that the emperor has given me the throne and that I am the head of state of China, it is equivalent to an official announcement by the imperial court to a foreign country, and foreign governments will also give priority to accepting my announcement." ”

Zhao Liewen laughed when he heard this, and said, "Weiting, be careful when you speak, this kind of joke can't be messed around." But to hear you say that, it seems like a good idea to take this messenger over. ”

"There are also countless economic benefits." Wu Chaoyue said: "If you are in charge of diplomacy, you must manage the treaty ports, and it is equivalent to taking all the treaty ports of the Qing Dynasty into your hands, and I have the right to manage all the business in the treaty ports in the future, and I also have the power to supervise and even directly control the collection of tariffs. ”

was warmly said by Wu Chaoyue, Zhao Liewen nodded and said: "If you think it is advantageous to do this, then do it, this is also an explanation to the court and the emperor." ”

Wu Chaoyue was not in a hurry to let Zhao Liewen write an excerpt, because Wu Chaoyue was still worried about a problem - if the War of the Two Crows ended early because of this, and Emperor Xianfeng was not driven to Hubei to kill rabbits because of this, wouldn't he have picked sesame seeds and lost watermelons? Although this may be very small, Wu Chaoyue, who has been waiting in Hubei for more than four years on this day, must not take the slightest risk.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Wu Chaoyue categorically gave up the idea of immediately defrauding the diplomatic power, and was determined to wait for the British and French forces to enter Beijing and drive Xianfeng to Rehe to consider whether to do so, and immediately changed his words and said: "This method cannot be rushed, if the emperor agrees immediately, and the foreigners also agree immediately, then we will be in big trouble, and the foreigners will definitely come to Hankou to trouble us immediately, and the imperial court will immediately kick the matter of negotiating and changing the contract to me, and then my black pot will be on my back." ”

Considering this possibility, Zhao Liewen also nodded immediately and said: "It is reasonable, this matter cannot be rushed, we have to wait for the imperial court and the foreigners to start negotiations, and when the talks are almost complete, we will stand up and put forward this suggestion, so that we don't have to carry the black pot of betraying the country, and we can take the opportunity to take advantage of it." ”

After pondering for a long time, Wu Chaoyue then ordered: "Let's use the old way, melon field and Li Xia, in order to avoid suspicion, I can't talk nonsense, and the matter is big, the foreign minister is far away from Gyeonggi, and he doesn't dare to talk about the major affairs of the court." Try to be as respectful as possible, and there is ....... ”

"What else?" Zhao Liewen asked.

"And." Wu Chaoyue hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Report to the emperor, just say that as far as I know, the opium trade is illegal in Britain and France, and those who sell and smoke opium will be punished with serious crimes. ”

"Comfort Pavilion, this foreigner will never agree." Zhao Liewen reminded in a deep voice: "If the court and the emperor insist, the foreigners will definitely use force." ”

"If you don't mention this, will the foreigners give up?" Wu Chaoyue asked rhetorically, sighed again, and said: "Try your luck, the big problem of opium will have to be solved sooner or later, and the sooner it is raised, the better." ”

Zhao Liewen promised, sat in front of the bookcase to write an excerpt for Wu Chaoyue, who was sorry for the eight shares, Wu Chaoyue was not idle, he continued to think with his hands on his chest, and said secretly: "History has gradually changed, just sit and wait for Xianfeng to be driven to Rehe, it is inevitable that it is a little too passive and conservative, and I have to find a way to reach out to the capital Dagukou, one is to see the opportunity to take advantage of the advantage, and the other is to ensure that the foreigners take the wild boar skin away." How can we do this without a trace? ”

What kind of chaotic ministers and thieves, what kind of mediocre tyrants, after Wu Chaoyue's reply was sent to the capital, Emperor Xianfeng not only scolded Wu Chaoyue for his incompetence and refusal to share his worries, but also had a bad idea about Wu Chaoyue's proposal on the opium trade, and said secretly: "Wu Xiaomanzi's suggestion to use opium to make a fuss may wish to consider it, and agree to let foreigners sell opium freely, and it is not bad to pay less compensation and open fewer ports." ”

After pondering, Emperor Xianfeng yawned, and couldn't help but think of the smoking gun that was already on the pseudo-dragon couch. (To be continued.) )