The unequal treaties proposed by Britain and France to the brothers of the prince were basically the same as the historical "Sino-British Treaty of Beijing" and the "Sino-French International Treaty", the main contents of which were to open a bunch of new treaty ports, including Tianjin, to pay Britain and France 8 million taels of silver each, to cede the Kowloon Peninsula to Britain, to allow the French who were enthusiastic about missionary work to buy and lease land in the Manchu provinces, to build churches freely, and to allow Britain and France to recruit Chinese laborers to go abroad. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The biggest change came from the efforts of the Hubei side, which changed the permission for foreign envoys to be stationed in Beijing to be stationed in Hankou, Hubei, and set up a premier's national affairs yamen in the capital of Hubei Province, which was responsible for negotiating and liaising with the ministers of various countries, helping Western countries to communicate with the Manchu court, and handling all foreign affairs of the Manchu court.

Knowing that Wu Chaoyue was easy to deal with in diplomacy and familiar with Western cultural customs and political systems, and that it was far easier and more efficient to communicate with Wu Chaoyue than with any Manchu official, Britain and France reluctantly agreed to change this article, but put forward a supplementary condition, that is, the British and French ministers should present their credentials to Emperor Xianfeng in person.

Emperor Xianfeng did not issue an order for the prince and brother to sign the treaty because of this article, but it was not because Wu Chaoyue shamelessly stole the diplomatic power of the Manchu court - on the contrary, Emperor Xianfeng was very happy that Wu Chaoyue took the initiative to let the ministers of various countries be stationed in Hubei, and even praised Wu Chaoyue for his loyalty and sensibility, and decided early to let Wu Chaoyue concurrently serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of the Prime Minister's Yamen, and deal with foreigners for the imperial court.

What really made Emperor Xianfeng hate was the additional condition put forward by Britain and France on this article - let the British and French ministers present their credentials to him in person! Emperor Xianfeng refused to meet with foreigners! There are two reasons for reluctance, one is that foreigners will not kneel and kowtow when they visit him, which will damage his majesty! The second is that Emperor Xianfeng is worried that foreigners have proposed to meet him countless times over the years because they are uneasy and kind, and they want to take the opportunity to assassinate the king and kill him!

Because of this, Emperor Xianfeng repeatedly secretly told the princes and brothers, asking them to erase this article no matter what, otherwise they would never be allowed to sign a contract.

The brothers of the prince and the prince of alcohol wish that Emperor Xianfeng would give such a will, because once the negotiation is reached, it will be their brothers and sisters who sign the traitorous treaty, leaving behind the infamy of the ages, so what the prince and the prince hope most is to drag the negotiation time as long as possible, until the Emperor Xianfeng feels that they are incompetent, and another minister will carry this black pot and sign this traitorous treaty.

Therefore, after nearly a month of long negotiations, when it was absolutely impossible for the foreigners to make any concessions, and when the British and French forces occupied the capital, the prince and the prince still refused to sign the treaty, and continued to send people to Rehe to try to persuade the Xianfeng Emperor to change the negotiator.

Thanks to the blessing that the British and French forces are still reasonable, the subordinates of the prince and the prince can also freely enter and leave the palace of Prince Gong with their documents to transmit information, so on the afternoon of the second day of the secret conversation between Huang Sheng, Guo Songtao and Gong Cheng, the brothers and the devil six already knew the news that the British and French forces had begun to rob the Old Summer Palace, and also knew that Wen Feng, the minister in charge of the Old Summer Palace, had committed suicide by jumping into the sea because he could not stop the foreigners from robbing him.

In this regard, although the two brothers and the devil were a little distressed, they didn't care much about it - anyway, the things in the Old Summer Palace didn't belong to them. The nineteen-year-old Prince Alcohol still selectively forgot the great achievements of his ancestors when he entered the customs, and hummed: "Foreign devils, it really exposes your shameless nature of not understanding etiquette!" Transform into a barbarian! ”

"Fortunately, I just grabbed the Old Summer Palace, not the Forbidden City." The prince also patted his chest and said: "The foreign devils robbed the Old Summer Palace, we can also use the excuse that the Old Summer Palace is outside the city, saying that there is no way to take care of it, if the foreign devils rob the Forbidden City, we will have no way to explain to the imperial brother." ”

Only the devil six didn't say anything, but he also said in his heart: "Just grab it, grab it, anyway, everything in the garden belongs to the royal brother alone, and no matter how much the foreign devils rob, it has nothing to do with me." Although I'm a little sorry for the royal brother, it's best to put a few fires when the foreigners grab things, teach the imperial brother a lesson, and force him to sign a contract directly, so that we don't have to worry about carrying the black pot, and I can also rely on this opportunity to make a comeback. ”

Of course, it can't be said that the three brothers don't care about the life or death of the Old Summer Palace, at least the prince asked the messenger casually about the specific robbery, when he learned that in addition to the British and French forces, there were many nearby Haidian people who also joined the robbery, and volunteered to help the foreigners transport and grab the jewelry and cultural relics in exchange for the foreigners agreeing to share the benefits with them, the prince suddenly burst into a rage, and roared angrily: "These Han barbarians are simply lawless, and they dare to help the foreigners rob the Old Summer Palace?" Who is the leading Han barbarian, ask if it is clear, and when the matter is over, the king wants his whole family to die! ”

"Clear." The messenger replied truthfully: "It is a flag slave of the Zhenglan Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, named Li Chongnian, and almost all of the people who helped foreigners rob the Old Summer Palace are flag people. Also, I heard from the eunuchs who escaped from the Old Summer Palace that a few days ago, there were already bannermen running into the Old Summer Palace to steal and rob. ”

Hearing this, of course, the prince's expression was how embarrassed and embarrassing it was, and he scolded after a while: "These dog slaves are poor and crazy, and in order to make some money, even the master can sell them." ”

"It's also to blame Su Shun." The prince turned his gun and said: "He cut off the hardcore crops of our banner people, and our banner people have no choice when they can't get by, otherwise, then this will happen?" ”

The prince nodded his head, and also thought that Su Shun, who cut off the money and food of the banner people to supply the front line, should bear the first responsibility, and the prince of alcohol, you just scolded Su Shun for his domineering and domineering, bullying the Han man, and hating Su Shun so much that the devil Zi Liu, who hated Su Shun so much, did not open his mouth to echo, but he also secretly wondered in his heart - can you make Emperor Xianfeng feel that the reason why the children of the Eight Banners helped the foreigners to grab the Old Summer Palace was because of Su Shun's putting the cart before the horse and harshly treating the Manmeng flag people?

When the prince and the prince were scolding Su Shun vigorously, someone suddenly came to report from outside the door, saying that the British minister Prus and the French minister Bourblon had jointly asked to see each other and had come to deliver a diplomatic note to the prince's brothers. The three brothers, who had gradually become familiar with the rules of Western diplomacy, did not dare to slack off, and hurried to the lobby together to meet with Pruth and Burblon.

Pruss and Bourblon obviously came prepared, and after meeting with the three brothers, they did not say a few words of greeting, and immediately took out a diplomatic note jointly signed by the British and French ministers, and the fluent Chinese Bourblon said: "Misterton, Misterol, you have a saying, freezing three feet, not a day's cold, the present situation, not a day's integration, I, the British and French ministers, today submit to your government the official note as follows. ”

"In view of the repeated perfunctory prevarications made by your Plenipotentiary in the peace negotiations and the barbaric acts of your army in the unjustified detention and murder of British and French diplomats, the British Plenipotentiary, General Ergin, and the French Plenipotentiary, General Gro, decided at a meeting to issue an ultimatum to your country."

"If, within five days, your imperial court still does not accept the request of the British government and the French government to amend the treaty, and formally signs the "Anglo-Qing Treaty of Beijing" and the "Franco-Qing Treaty of Beijing", the British and French forces will burn down the Old Summer Palace and send troops to Zunhua to conduct a comprehensive and thorough archaeological study of the tombs of the previous emperors of your country, in order to retaliate for the barbaric acts of the emperor of your country who ordered the arrest and abuse of British and French diplomats, and to urge your court to accept the sincerity of peace in Western civilized countries as soon as possible!"

When he heard Bourbulon threatening to burn down the Old Summer Palace, the corners of the mouths of the prince and the prince only moved, and there was no abnormal reaction, and the devil six couldn't help but feel happy in his heart. However, when Burbulon threatened to go to Zunhua to go to archaeology, the three brothers were inevitably a little stunned, and Burbulon had just finished reading the note, and the three brothers immediately asked: "Mr. Burbulon, you said to go to Zunhua for archaeological research?" What is Archaeological Research? ”

"It is to dig up the six mausoleums of the first emperors of your country, Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang, and study the cultural relics and burial goods in them, as well as the burial of the bodies of the previous emperors of your country."

Before Bourblon's polite answer was finished, the prince of the prince, the devil six and the prince of alcohol had already pounced on him with red eyes, and the prepared Bourblon immediately retreated, and the French soldiers accompanying him immediately pointed their long and short muskets at the three brothers of the prince and shouted in French. Then Bourblon smiled and said, "Mistrian, you don't have to worry, please rest assured, we have no habit of degrading corpses, the coffins and bodies of your ancestors will not be harmed in any way, and we will dispose of them according to our habits." ”

"What do you want to do with the body of our former emperor?" The prince asked with blood-red eyes and roaring.

"It is our French habit to be buried in a different place, as in the coffin of Emperor Napoleon, and to be buried in a place where we think it is more appropriate." Bourblon politely replied: "In addition, if the mausoleum is difficult to open, it is our habit to bombard it with cannons, just as His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon knocked off the nose of the Sphinx with a cannon in Egypt. ”

"Our habit in the UK is to bring it back home, do further scientific research, and then decide whether to collect it in a museum in the British Empire or sell it to our private collectors in the UK." Pruss said more politely: "Please rest assured that we will treat the remains of your ancestors with kindness, just as we treat the mummies and sarcophagi of the Egyptian pharaohs, and protect and collect them with the most advanced technology." ”

"Mr. Bourblon, Mr. Pruss, do you know that if you do this, our emperor and court of the Qing Dynasty will definitely fight you to the end?!" Devil Six also roared with red eyes.

"Mr. Yixun, this is your freedom, and we respect your choice." Bourblon replied with a smile, and said more politely: "The ultimatum has been issued, and our mission has been completed, so we will take our leave first, and we will wait for your good news." ”

With that, Bourblon handed the ultimatum to the soldiers, shoved them into the hands of the prince, and then turned and left. On the other hand, Prus smiled and said, "Miston, please make a wise choice as soon as possible, for the commander of our British army, Mr. Earl of Elgin, his family has always been very interested in collecting antiquities, and his father, the old Earl of Elgin, moved almost the entire Parthenon to England when he was in Athens. ”

"Mr. Ergin has perfectly inherited his father's hobbies." Gong Cheng's employer, Pruth, added with a smile, "So after Mr. Chongnian Li proposed to carry out an archaeological excavation of the tomb of the emperor of your country, Mr. Ergin was very interested and very much hoped to collect a few oriental old mummies in his Scottish estate. ”

After smiling, Prus also strode away, leaving the three brothers of the prince in the same place with big eyes to small eyes, all of them were as colored as earth, and after a long time, the three brothers of the prince also roared in unison, "Li Chongnian! You dog minion, if you don't cut you with a thousand knives and put you to death, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in the heart of this king! ”

After the roar, the devil six didn't dare to continue to play tricks, so he could only hurriedly say to the prince and the prince: "Fifth brother and seventh brother, this matter cannot be delayed, we must report to the imperial brother immediately, and ask the imperial brother to decide!" Otherwise, once the foreigners really arrive in Zunhua to excavate the imperial tomb, our three brothers will not only be ashamed of the imperial court, but also worthy of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty! ”

The prince and the alcohol prince nodded together like chickens pecking rice, and hurriedly asked the devil to write an excerpt to Emperor Xianfeng on behalf of the sixth generation, and at the same time, they said together in their hearts: "Even if the imperial brother does not agree to sign, we also have to sign, if we sign, we will only be scolded and carry the black pot, if we don't sign, if the foreigners really dig up the imperial tomb, our black pot will be even bigger!" ”

Then, naturally, when Kuaima rushed to Rehe with the report of the three brothers of the prince and the ultimatum of the British and French forces, Emperor Xianfeng of course collapsed on the pseudo-dragon chair on the spot, and none of the civil and military ministers such as Su Shun and Zaiyuan present were not pale, trembling all over, and could not make any sound for a long time. It was still a long time before Mu Yin came back to his senses first and shouted: "Your Majesty, fight with foreign devils!" Mobilize all the soldiers and horses in the Qing Dynasty and fight with foreign devils! ”

"Fight your mother's head!"

Mu Yin's fart slapped on the horse's leg, in exchange for Emperor Xianfeng's scolding, as well as a hysterical roar, "Mobilize all the soldiers and horses in the world? Within seven days, can the soldiers and horses of the provinces rush to Zunhua to protect the imperial tomb? Get lost! Get out! ”

Mu Yin fled to the outside of the hall with his hands and feet, and an even more hysterical roar of Emperor Xianfeng soon sounded behind him, "Sign!" Tell Yi Cheng and Yi Xun to sign immediately! Foreign devils must not touch a single grass and tree in the Zunhua Imperial Mausoleum! We must not let foreign devils touch a single grass or tree in the mausoleum of my ancestors!! ”

In this way, when there was no other choice, Emperor Xianfeng could only be forced to agree to accept the British and French ministers to submit their credentials in person. As a result, the British and French ministers were relieved by this, and gave an explanation to the domestic government, but Ergin, who really liked the archaeological work, was very regretful, and said to the prince and brother: "Misterton, Misterol, I will open the mausoleum of your ancestors and take a look, and I will not take anything, can you promise to let me satisfy my curiosity?" ”

"General Ergin, you can just ask our Fujin to accompany you for the night, but you must not touch our imperial tomb! We must not touch our imperial tomb! This is the answer that the prince and the prince are crying and shouting.

By the way, because the two brothers signed the treaty before the time limit of the ultimatum, the British and French forces, who had already made a lot of money in the Old Summer Palace, also fulfilled their promise and did not set fire to the Old Summer Palace again, and the Old Summer Palace of the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens also escaped the catastrophe. And Li Chongnian, the banner man who led the way to rob the Old Summer Palace for the British and French coalition forces, also escaped from the capital early and fled to Penglai, Shandong Province to live in seclusion, and changed his surname, and gave him a surname with words in the door.

There is also a very important point, because there is a clause in the Beijing Treaty that allows the British and French ministers to submit their credentials to the Xianfeng Emperor in person, or the Xianfeng Emperor, who does not want to meet with the British and French ministers, refuses to return to the capital, and once again instructs the princes and brothers to negotiate perfunctory with the foreigners, trying to avoid meeting the foreigners, and the period of returning to Luan is delayed again and again, and because he gradually likes the life in Rehe, he does not want to return to the capital more and more, and like history, he indulges in wine-colored opium in Rehe, and his physical condition gradually deteriorates rapidly. (To be continued.) )