Wu Chaoyue once hoped that foreign friends could come to visit him, but Father Martin and Luo Weilin, who had a good relationship with Wu Chaoyue, never appeared, the reason was not that Martin and Luo Weilin and others were not righteous, in fact, in the early morning of the second day after the arrest of the ancestors of the Wu family, Luo Weilin and Mai Dox and others had already gathered more than 20 foreign priests to visit Wu Chaoyue, and they also agreed to make a fuss in front of the customs yamen like last time, forcing Weng Xincun to release the ancestors of the Wu family. However, it is very regrettable that these foreign priests could not even enter the city gate, so they were stopped outside the city by the city gate guards of Shanghai County, saying that they were not allowed to enter the city.

The reason why Yuan Zubi did this was, of course, because of the persecution from Qin Chaweng's heart, and because he was afraid that foreigners would enter the city to make trouble like last time and make things difficult to clean up. However, Yuan Zubi did this, but it is definitely not an abuse of power, on the contrary, there are quite good reasons.

As mentioned earlier, Xu Guangjin, the governor of Guangzhou, and Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong, did this in Guangzhou three years ago, organizing the people to guard the streets of the city gates, and resolutely not allowing the British to enter the city of Guangzhou, under the pretext of exploiting the loopholes of the "Treaty of Nanjing," which stipulated that foreigners could go back and forth between the five ports of Guangzhou and Shanghai for business, but did not stipulate whether foreigners were allowed to enter and leave the cities of these five cities, foreigners are not allowed to step into the city of Guangzhou.

After the incident, when the British minister at that time asked to negotiate with Xu Ye and the two, Xu Guangjin and Ye Mingchen pretended that the imperial court required them to act in accordance with the treaty, but they still flatly refused. However, only Guangzhou did this, and the xenophobia in the remaining four treaty ports of Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, and Xiamen was not as strong as that of Guangzhou, and the local officials did not have the courage of Xu Guangjin and Ye Mingchen, and they all turned a blind eye to the entry of foreigners into the city, and never had a dispute with foreigners because of this incident.

Even if he didn't have the guts to offend the foreigners, in order to curry favor with the Qincha and buy time to kill the ancestors and grandsons of the Wu family, Yuan Zubi still ordered that foreigners should be forbidden to enter the city - at least before Weng Xincun left Shanghai. At the same time, in order not to make a big fuss, Yuan Zubi was very careful to ask the defenders to explain to the foreigners that this was an order from Qin Chaweng, explaining that the treaty did not stipulate that foreigners should enter the city, so they were not allowed to enter the city, and asked the foreigners to be calm and not impatient, and then reopen Shanghai City to foreigners after Yuan Zubi explained clearly to the above and obtained the consent of the above.

The city of Shanghai, which was normally free to enter and exit, suddenly issued a ban on foreigners like Guangzhou, and the foreign priests such as Luo Weilin and Maadox were of course both angry and puzzled, and repeatedly protested, but the city gate guards still did not allow Luo Weilin and others to enter the city except for nodding and constantly explaining. Father Zhongyang had no arms to force his way in, so he was forced to return to the concession in a hurry, and went to negotiate with the consuls of various countries, so that the consuls of his country could help solve this matter.

Not to mention the consuls of other countries, but only said that the British priests of Luo Weilin and Maddos found their consul in Shanghai, Ali Guo, and explained the situation of being refused to enter the city, although Ali Guo was also very angry at the sudden ban on his citizens entering the city by Shanghai, but he was very helpless, and spread his hands to Luo Weilin and others and said: "Dear Father Priest, I am very sorry, I think you also know that Guangzhou in China also did this, and at that time, the parliament of our British Empire in order not to affect trade with China, Order the minister of our country to make concessions to the Chinese court, so I have no way to help you in this matter. And strictly speaking, because of our negligence in signing the Treaty of Nanking, the local officials in China did have the power to prohibit us from entering the city. ”

"Of course." Ali Guo hastened to add: "I will report this situation to our Minister Plenipotentiary in China, Mr. Wen Han, and ask him to decide what to do, whether to negotiate with the Chinese court, or to let our parliament decide whether to take the necessary measures to force the Chinese court to revise the treaty." ”

"How long is that going to be delayed?" When he heard this, he was bitter and said, "Mr. Aliguo, can you immediately dispatch a few warships into the Yangtze River as you did last time, and immediately force the Chinese government to make concessions?" ”

"Dear Father Maddos, last time it was because the Chinese injured you and Luo Weilin." Aliguo smiled and said: "In order to protect your personal safety, I sent warships into the Yangtze River to put pressure on the Chinese government, and there are good reasons, and our country's parliament and ministers do not blame me. But this time the situation is different, your personal safety is not threatened, and there is a precedent in Guangzhou, and I have no way to explain to Mr. Minister and the parliament if I dispatch warships into the Yangtze River without authorization. ”

Father Luo Weilin and Maddox were greatly disappointed, and Ali Guo comforted him: "Honorable priests, bear with me a little, anyway, you don't have any property in the city, and it doesn't matter whether you enter the city or not. ”

"But if we don't go into the city, our friend Chaoyue Wu will be escorted to Beijing by stupid Chinese officials, and handed over to the even more stupid and ignorant Chinese court."

Meadows said distressedly, but it was okay that Meadows didn't say this, but before he finished saying this, Ali Guo had already stood up and said in surprise: "Beyond Wu is going to be escorted to Beijing by Chinese officials?" Why? ”

After listening to this, Meadows remembered that he had not yet told Ah Liguo the news that Wu Chaoyue had been arrested, and he hurriedly told Ah Liguo what he and Luo Weilin had seen and heard in Shanghai yesterday, explaining that Wu Chaoyue had been arrested for helping Western missionaries and building factories in partnership with Westerners, and also said that Wu Jianzhang had also been arrested. As for Ali Guo, his face became more and more ugly the more he listened, and finally he simply slammed his fist on the table and roared: "Bastard! These bastard Chinese officials, it's just a bunch of bastards! ”

"Mr. Aliko, what's wrong?" Luo Weilin asked suspiciously, "Why are you so angry?" ”

"Because by doing so, we British merchants are going to suffer huge commercial losses!"

Ali Guo roared again, and after listening to Ali Guo's introduction, the priests such as Luo Weilin and Maddox also understood why Ali Guo suddenly became angry. It turned out that since Wu Chao signed an agreement with British businessman Billy to establish a joint venture textile factory, Ali Guo not only reported this matter to China as his major political achievement, but also made every effort to help Billy purchase machinery and equipment from China and hire skilled technicians, and hoped to use this matter as an opportunity to open up the vast and infinite Chinese mainland market. Not to mention the high profits from the sale of industrial equipment and the proud political achievements, Billy, the British businessman who was responsible for advancing funds to purchase equipment, had to suffer huge losses, and Aliguo, who was the protector of British expatriates in Shanghai, was naturally furious.

By the way, in fact, Ali Guo still has a large investment in Baoshun Foreign Company, which is run by Billy, and Wu Chaoyue and Billy actually have many shares in the textile factory that Wu Chaoyue and Billy are going to establish, so Wu Chaoyue is unlucky, and in fact, Ali Guo will also suffer economic losses!

After listening to Ali Guo's introduction, the priests such as Maddox and Luo Weilin were silent—they were well aware of the economic virtues of their consuls. As they expected, after going around the office a few times, Ali Guo first asked Luo Weilin and the others to go back and wait for the news, and then immediately sent someone to call Billy, the boss of Baoshun Foreign Bank, and told him about Wu Chaoyue's situation, but Billy immediately screamed when he heard it, "God! Aren't we losing a lot? Mr. Aliguo, you can't help but come forward in this matter, Wu didn't even give me the deposit, and the manager who purchased the equipment and hired the workers has been gone for so long, no matter what, it's too late to notify him to stop purchasing, even if the equipment you bought can be returned, you have to discount it! ”

"Why didn't you even call Wu Jiao for a deposit?" Ali Guo asked angrily.

"Mr. Aliko, have you forgotten that you said you didn't need it?" Billy retorted: "At that time, I reported to you that Wu asked for cash on delivery, and you said that in order to encourage Wu's enthusiasm to cooperate with us, he could be given special preferential treatment, and also said that Wu's grandfather had always had good credit, and he could fully afford the investment financially, and as long as he signed a formal contract, he did not have to worry that Wu would repay the debt, so I did not even need to collect a deposit, and first advanced funds for him to purchase industrial equipment, so as to show the sincerity of our cooperation with him." ”

Ali Guo was speechless - the old Wu family really didn't mean to pay the bills, Wu Chaoyue even bought the land for the factory in advance, and Ah Liguo also knew about it, but Ah Liguo never expected that the Manchu court would give him such a show. In a fit of anger, Ali Guo couldn't help but think about the old tricks of the year, but he was worried that there was no plan to start another war with China for the time being, so he couldn't make up his mind for a long time.

When he was thinking and hesitating, the priests such as Luo Weilin and Maadox, who had already said goodbye and left, rushed in quickly, and shouted in a panic before they entered the door: "Mr. Aliguo, it's not good, Wu is in danger, his life is in danger!" ”

Ali Guo and Billy, who were worried that they would not be able to receive payment from Wu Chaoyue, were shocked when they heard this, and hurriedly asked Luo Weilin and others about the reason, Luo Weilin and others immediately handed over a handkerchief with blood characters written on it to Ali Guo, saying that it was handed over to them by a Chinese woman who claimed to be Wu Chaoyue's friend, and when Ali Guo and Billy hurriedly read the content of the blood book again, they saw that the blood book written in English was their business partner Wu Chaoyue, and the content was to ask Father Zhongyang to go to the capital to help complain, and to help escort the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family into Beijing, lest the enemies of the old Wu family assassinate them on the road.

After reading Wu Chaoyue's blood book, Ali Guo and Billy naturally looked even more ugly, and Ali Guo's heart was even more shaken, when someone suddenly came to report outside the door, saying that it was the French Minister Plenipotentiary in China who asked to see him, and directly explained that it was because of Wu Chaoyue's arrest that he came to discuss with Ali Guo, and Ali Guo was overjoyed when he heard it, and hurriedly greeted him in person, invited Bur Bulon to sit in the room, and then immediately handed over the blood book he had just received to Bour Bulon to watch.

After quietly reading Wu Chaoyue's blood letter for help, Burbulon said directly to Aliguo: "Dear Mr. Aliguo, what do you say? As far as I know, Baoshun Company, which established a textile factory as a joint venture with Wu, also has many shares in you, and this matter is also related to your vital interests. ”

Ali Guo hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth, and said: "Our foreign minister once ordered Minister Wen Han not to engage in armed conflict with the Chinese imperial court unless it endangers the personal and property safety of our citizens, so I want to try to negotiate. ”

"It's useless to negotiate." Bourblon said very frankly: "With your British intelligence ability, you must already know the reason why I came to Shanghai, I have asked several times to meet with Xu Guangjin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, to discuss further business cooperation, but Xu Guangjin has not made any reply to my request every time, and I have no way to come to Shanghai and ask Wu Chaoyue's grandfather, Wu Jianzhang, to help me deliver a diplomatic note to the Governor of Liangjiang in China. (Historical events, and Burblon stayed until the end of the following year before leaving Shanghai.) ）

"But although Wu Jianzhang forwarded the diplomatic note on my behalf, the Chinese governor of Liangjiang has not given me any reply so far. Now that Wu Jianzhang, the only person who can communicate with us normally, has been arrested by the Chinese imperial court, if you still want to use diplomatic means to recover your losses, I am afraid that you will not even be able to find the Chinese official who submitted the diplomatic note. ”

Ali Guo nodded with a gloomy face, and Bourblon said: "Also, after Guangzhou, Shanghai also ordered us Westerners to enter the city today, if we don't react, the remaining three port cities of Xiamen, Fuzhou and Ningbo are likely to follow suit, the domino of Guangzhou is not supported by your British government, if you don't hold the second domino of Shanghai, what chain reaction will there be in the future, isn't it worth worrying about?" ”

Ali Guo nodded again, and said with a gloomy face: "In the case of Guangzhou, I originally strongly advocated the settlement of the dispute by force, but the weak members of the National Assembly refused to agree. If they had used the Qingpu Lesson Plan as I did, the stupid Chinese court would have given in long ago. ”

"Mr. Aliko, I think you should take urgent measures." Bourblon smiled and said: "I can help you, I am Minister Plenipotentiary, and I have the power to mobilize all French and armed merchant ships sailing on the Asian seas." ”

"Dear Mr. Bourblon, will you help me like this?" When Ali Guo heard this, he was overjoyed and asked uneasily, "Why?" Wu's chosen business partner this time is not your France? ”

"The reason why Wu chose you British businessmen to cooperate is because your intelligence work is excellent, and our French businessmen are too stupid!" Bourblon said frankly: "In fact, I once suggested that the French businessmen in Shanghai try their best to fight for the opportunity to cooperate with Wu, but they hesitated, they could not believe that there would be such an enlightened Chinese as Wu in Shanghai, which made you cheaper, but now they regret it and want to jump into the Huangpu River, and have repeatedly begged me to negotiate with the Chinese court to allow them to set up factories and banks in China." ”

"Dear Mr. Aliguo, you and I are well aware that there is no use in dealing with the stupid and ignorant Chinese court." "So I think we should seize this opportunity, use the Wu incident as an excuse to force the stupid Chinese court to allow us to legally establish factories and banks in the East, to force them to open more trading ports, and to force them to establish a fast and efficient diplomatic communication channel, so that we don't have to wait for months for a trivial matter, and in the end we get nothing." ”

Ali Guo was greatly moved, but he still hesitated a little, and said: "But without the support of my own government, I am afraid that the strength of the fleet that you and I can mobilize is still a little insufficient. ”

"It doesn't matter, we can bring in consuls from other countries as well." Bourblon said lightly: "Opening the port and allowing Westerners to set up factories and banks in China is also of great interest to them, and they can't just take advantage of it, right?" Also, China's civil war is expanding, and the army that calls itself the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has reached the interior of China's Hunan Province, and the Chinese court must be extremely afraid of fighting on two fronts, and we only need to use a small force to reap the rewards handsomely. ”

Hearing Burbulon's words, Ali Guo finally made up his mind and asked, "Then dear Mr. Burbulon, what about you who came forward to invite the consuls of other countries to hold a meeting?" Or will I do it? ”

"Of course, it's best for you and me to join forces to invite you." Bourblon replied with a smile: "Great Britain, which is the first in the navy, and France, which is the first in the army, have joined forces to invite them to do something that is beneficial to all countries, and I am afraid that they will not come immediately?" ”