(PS: Sanjiang, ask for tickets and collect.) ）

Devil Six didn't believe Wu Chaoyue's words very much, but considering Wu Chaoyue's eloquence, and let the foreigners wait for Xianfeng's reply and have to make a request at the negotiation venue, so after hesitating again and again, Devil Six still decided to give Wu Chaoyue a chance, and he didn't feel at ease and advised: "You can't talk nonsense, and you can't agree to any conditions offered by foreigners at will, if not, don't blame the ruthlessness of the national law!" ”

Wu Chaoyue nodded confidently, and the devil Liu also led everyone back to the negotiation venue and asked to continue the negotiations. Then, after a while, Bulblon and Matthew Perry and other foreign negotiators also returned to the meeting, and after announcing the continuation of the negotiations, Bulblon preemptively said: "Mistergon, we reiterate once again that we will never make any concessions to the conditions previously offered, and we will never agree to amend a single word of the treaty!" ”

"Dear Mr. Bourblon, you must not speak so absolutely." Wu Chaoyue opened his mouth and said with a smile: "If the new conditions proposed by our side can make you more satisfied, and can also allow you to obtain greater and more commercial and economic benefits, then you will not agree to revise them?" ”

Burbulon and Perry, Laurio and other negotiators looked at each other in surprise, and after nodding to each other, Bourblon said: "Dear Wu, if the new conditions you put forward can make us more satisfied, then of course we can consider revising them. But Wu, if the new conditions you put forward are not as good as you say, then we can only stick to the conditions you put forward before. ”

"Rest assured, Mr. Bourblon, it will definitely satisfy you, and it can be said that it will surprise you."

Wu Chaoyue replied confidently, then picked up the minutes of the meeting made by Li Hongzhang before, and said: "Mr. Bourblon, to reiterate our position, regarding the original treaty you proposed, our side unconditionally agrees to Articles 1, 2, 5, and 7, agrees to the establishment of a French concession in Shanghai, agrees to open the three treaty ports of Tainan, Wenzhou and Chaozhou, and agrees to compensate your fleet of six countries for the military expenses of 200,000 taels of silver. Dear Mr. Bourblon, please double-check whether the conditions we have put forward are in line with your records. ”

After carefully checking the minutes of the meeting very professionally, the veteran diplomat Bourblon nodded and said, "OK, it is completely in line, but Wu, we will never accept these conditions." ”

"Mr. Bourblon, since you don't want to accept it, let's revise and add to it." Wu Chaoyue snapped his fingers and said, "In view of your refusal to accept our conditions, then I propose to modify the amount of compensation in my personal capacity. ”

Hearing this, Devil Six's face turned pale, for fear that Wu Chaoyue would not know how to say an astronomical amount, so he hurriedly shouted: "Wu Chaoyue, when will this king allow you to promise to pay compensation to foreigners?" Shut up this king! ”

"Lord Wang, you didn't fully understand what I meant." Wu Chaoyue replied with a smile: "I am suggesting that the amount of compensation be revised in my personal capacity, which has no legal effect, and you and Mr. Bourblon can not accept it." If you don't believe me, ask Mr. Bourblon. ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue also smiled at Burbulon, who thought that Wu Chaoyue was greedy for the bribe he promised, and wanted to take this opportunity to betray the maximum amount of compensation for the Manchu court, so he nodded and said to Devil Zi Liu: "Yes, Mistergong, Wu only revised the amount of indemnity with his personal proposal, and it has no effect, and you and I can not accept it." ”

Devil Ziliu breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and Wu Chaoyue was not polite, and immediately said: "Mr. Burbulon, I propose that the revised amount of compensation be specifically approved, and our side will send personnel to verify your military expenditures in this military operation, as well as your commercial losses, and truthfully compensate." In other words, how much military spending you have spent this time, as well as the loss of commercial profits, we will compensate for how much, one tael of silver is not much, and one tael of silver is not a lot! ”

Before Wu Beyond finished speaking, there was already a big uproar at the venue, and Bulbulon couldn't help but cry out in surprise no matter how old diplomats he was, and blue tendons began to bloom on his forehead, and Perry and Laurio and others roared out angrily, shouting in their own Chinese, either saying that they would never agree, or accusing Wu Beyond of talking nonsense and joking. Devil Liu's side didn't know the blessing in the midst of blessings, and asked Wu Jianzhang suspiciously: "Lord Wu, how much is your grandson talking about?" Why did foreigners get excited like this? ”

"Back to the prince, what my grandson said means compensation according to the price, that is, how much military spending the foreigners have spent this time, how much business has been delayed, and how much will be compensated." Wu Chaoyue replied in a low voice, and said: "If the foreigner really agrees, then even if the foreigner desperately reports the flower account, it will only be fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver at most." ”

"Fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver?" The devil was happy when he heard it, and hurriedly asked, "Will the foreigner agree?" ”

"We will never say yes!" Burbulon answered Devil Six's question for Wu Jianzhang, and said angrily: "Wu, do you understand diplomatic negotiations? You're not negotiating, you're joking! We will never agree to your ridiculous conditions! ”

"Dear Mr. Bourblon, will you agree or not, please listen to my supplementary terms." Wu Chaoyue smiled slightly, raised his voice, and said, "In addition to suggesting that the number of indemnities be revised, I also suggest adding a few peace agreements in my personal capacity. In the first article of the supplementary clause, the Qing imperial court promised to ensure the supply of coal at the port of Shanghai, promised to sell coal at market prices to merchants and warships from the six European and American countries participating in the negotiations, and allowed the warships and merchant ships of the six countries to enter and leave the port of Shanghai freely to replenish coal, water and grain. ”

Hearing this, Burbulon and the others were a little angry, nodded and said, "Wu, your supplementary clause is barely presentable, but Wu, what do we want so much coal for?" ”

"Mr. Bourblon, General Perry, Consul Laurio, and the consuls and generals of all countries here, you still don't know much about the Qing Dynasty." Wu Chaoyue said quietly: "I have a ban on mining in the Qing Dynasty, no matter what minerals are mined, they must be allowed by my Qing Dynasty, and it is illegal to mine coal without authorization, so if you want to get sufficient coal supplies in Shanghai, you must get the help of my Qing Dynasty!" ”

Bourblon and Perry and the others whispered, and after a while, Laurio said, "Wu, what you said is indeed very correct, but it is not important, as far as we know, the coal that can be purchased at the port of Shanghai is barely enough to meet our sailing needs. ”

"It's barely guaranteed now, but what about the future?" Wu Chaoyue retorted unceremoniously: "Dear Mr. Laurio, will you still be able to purchase enough coal in Shanghai in the future?" Don't forget, there are more and more steamships sailing on the world's oceans, and your six European and American countries are also paying more and more attention to the technological development of steamships. ”

"And." Wu Chaoyue paused, and then said: "And you want to build a modern factory on the land of the Qing Dynasty, can you do without coal?" How can an advanced steam engine operate without an adequate supply of coal? Do you want to leave a cheap and efficient steam engine and use human labor to weave and spin yarn with water? To make steel from charcoal again? ”

After listening to Wu Chaoyue's far-sighted remarks, Bourblon and Perry and the others all nodded slightly-after all, they knew the importance of coal as an energy source in the era of the steam engine, so after discussing it in a low voice, Burbulon said: "Wu, we accept this supplementary clause, and accordingly, we are willing to reduce some indemnity, but we still will never agree to the reparation conditions you proposed. ”

As soon as he heard that the foreigners were willing to cut some indemnities, the devil six was of course overjoyed, and hurriedly whispered to encourage Wu Chaoyue to continue to work hard, but Wu Chaoyue was not polite, and said: "Article 2 of the supplementary clause, the Qing Imperial Court promised not to interfere in the war between the six European and American countries and Japan, and during your war with Japan, your warships can purchase supplies at will in various treaty ports of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty promised to unconditionally recognize the international condominium zones or concessions established by the six European and American countries in Japan, and also unconditionally supported and recognized your territorial claims in Japan! ”

There was another uproar in the venue, and when Devil Six hurriedly asked Wu Jianzhang what this meant, Wu Jianzhang, who was also stammering, finally came back to his senses and whispered to Devil Six: "That is, if the foreigners fight with Japan, we promise not to interfere and not help the Japanese, and at the same time, we must sell food and weapons to the foreigners to help the foreigners fight Japan." And if a foreigner robs the land in Japan, we will recognize it as the land of the foreigner. ”

"That's fine." Devil Liuyi agreed, "We have no clan relationship with Japan, and the Japanese king has not accepted the canonization of our Qing Emperor, no matter how foreigners fight with Japan, it is none of our business, this is no problem, the emperor can definitely agree." However, what is the use of this for foreigners? ”

"What's the use of that?" Burbulon and the others also asked suspiciously, and said: "Wu, although your promise was very useful when we were at war with Japan, we are not at war with Japan now, so why do we want to start a war with Japan?" ”

"yes, why are we at war with Japan?" Laurio also smiled and said, "Wu, not only is your article useless to us, but on the contrary, it also has the intention of instigating us to go to war with Japan, what good will it do you?" ”

In addition to Perry, the American representative, who was very interested in Japan, other foreign representatives also shouted loudly, accusing Wu Chaoyue of having no effect on them in this supplementary clause, but Wu Chaoyue quieted them down with only one sentence, "Two-thirds of the silver in the Qing Dynasty comes from the Japanese silver mines!" ”

The venue suddenly became much quieter, and the representatives of the six countries all rolled their eyes, and Wu Chaoyue added: "Consuls, generals, if you don't believe my data, I can ask our Qing Dynasty Prince Gong to immediately copy the figures of the Qing Dynasty's imports of silver to Japan from the Qing Dynasty History Museum for your reference!" ”

"Dear gentlemen, Wu didn't lie to you." Perry suddenly opened his mouth and said, "As far as I know, the Iwami silver mine in Japan was first mined in the fourteenth century, and it still produces silver until now, and it is the most important financial source for the Japanese shogunate!" ”

"Bring me the map of East Asia! Tell me where the Iwami Silver Mine is? ”

The British representative, Colonel Yaling, shouted loudly, but when his subordinates were scrambling to find a map of East Asia, Wu Chaoyue smiled and said: "Mr. Colonel Yaling, as far as I know, the Iwami Silver Mine still has silver output, but after all, it has been mined for more than five hundred years, and the output has dropped a lot, so now the largest silver mine in Japan is no longer the Iwami Silver Mine, but the Ikuno Silver Mine." ”

"Then tell me, the Ikuno Silver Mine is there!" Yaling changed her words.

"Absolutely." Wu Chaoyue smiled and said: "However, although Japan's silver mines are abundant, the Iwami Silver Mine and the Ikuno Silver Mine together are not worth as much as a gold mine in Japan!" As far as I know, the gold reserves of that gold mine in Japan are ...... if converted into pounds. ”

"How much?" Yaling hurriedly asked.

Wu Chaoyue didn't rush to answer, but first asked for a quill pen and white paper, and then asked Yaling: "Colonel Yaling, if I'm not mistaken, your country's currency is based on the gold standard, and one pound is equivalent to one pound of silver, which is about equal to about twelve taels of silver in the Qing Dynasty, isn't that so?" ”

Ya Ling nodded quickly, and praised Wu Chaoyue's mastery of British currency, and Wu Chaoyue asked again: "Then may I ask General Ya Ling, how many grams of gold is a pound sterling?" ”

Yaling, who was only familiar with the imperial unit, was a little dumbfounded, and when he just wanted to mention the conversion, Bourblon, who was the first metric unit in China, quickly replied: "One pound is equivalent to gold, which is about 7.32 grams." ”

"Thank you." Wu Chaoyue thanked him, and then immediately calculated the value of the gold reserves of the Japanese gold mine converted into pounds and silver, and after a long time, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Dear gentlemen, it is a very amazing figure, the gold reserves of the gold mine in Japan are equivalent to more than 27 million pounds!" The equivalent of silver is more than 320 million taels of silver! And I can guarantee that this number is still only a small amount, and I will try to say as little as possible about the gold reserves of the gold mine in Japan. ”

The venue was full of saliva, and every foreigner was stunned in front of these two astonishing figures, and their eyes were green, and after a long time, Bourblon said with difficulty: "Wu, are you serious?" Is there really such a big gold mine in the island nation of Japan? How come we've never heard of it? ”

"Dear Mr. Bourblon, in such a situation, do you think I will joke and dare to joke?" Wu Chaoyue's expression was very serious, and he said: "The reason why you haven't heard of that gold mine is because no gold mine has been discovered in Japan, so it is still a primitive mineral that has never been mined. ”

"And how do you know?" Bourblon hurriedly asked.

"Of course, I was told by the explorer who discovered this gold deposit." Wu Chaoyue smiled and said: "I can also tell you an even more amazing news, the ore grade of that gold mine in Japan is the highest in the world, with an average of 80 grams of gold per ton of ore!" ”

"Tell me, that gold mine is there!" Laurio asked with red eyes - what the Spanish colonists liked best, I think my friends must know.

"Supplementary Article 3!" Wu Chaoyue suddenly raised his voice and said: "Wu Chaoyue, a citizen of the Qing Dynasty, unconditionally told the specific location of the large gold mines in Europe and the United States and Japan!" But if you don't accept the previous clause, this article will be scrapped, and Wu Chaoyue will choose European and American countries to develop this gold mine! ”

The meeting room was silent again, and the representatives of the six countries had their own ghosts, peeking at each other's expressions and reactions, and they also knew very well in their hearts that if they collectively rejected Wu Chaoyue's conditions, then there would definitely be countries that would trade privately with Wu Chaoyue alone and monopolize that tempting large gold mine. After thinking about it for a long time, Burbulon asked again: "Wu, then how can we be sure that you are not telling a lie?" If you have deceived us, or you have been deceived by the gold mine discoverer, and you have provided a gold mine that is not so big, wouldn't we have lost a lot? ”

"If I lie to you, let me kill you!" Wu Chaoyue replied categorically, and said: "And I can also tell you clearly, I once saw the gold particles mined in the Japanese gold mine with my own eyes, and it is absolutely true!" ”

"It's hard for us to believe it." Bourblon said helplessly.

Of course, Wu Chaoyue also knew that there was no basis for his words, but he was suffering from no evidence to prove that he knew that the Japanese gold mine really existed, and just wanted to continue to gamble and swear, but Wu Jianzhang, the comprador grandfather who had thought of Wu Chaoyue, suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Dear gentlemen, you can doubt whether my grandson is telling a lie, but the Iwami Silver Mine and Ikuno Silver Mine in Japan are facts, right?" You should have heard of the Sado Gold Mine in Japan, right? The ratio of gold and silver in Europe is 1:15, do you know what the ratio of gold and silver is in Japan? Last year it was 1 to 5! Isn't this proof that Japan has plenty of gold?! ”

"Also, if Japan's huge market is fully developed, how much opium you can sell, how much cotton and cotton yarn you can sell, haven't you thought about it? Don't you know how convenient it is for you to open up the Japanese market by using Shanghai, a port across the sea from Japan, as a logistics base? ”

The representatives of the six countries were all silent, constantly calculating and weighing the pros and cons in their hearts, and Wu Chaoyue secretly praised that the comprador grandfather was really generous enough to sell other people's countries, and then said: "Dear gentlemen, my grandfather and I both know that one of the reasons why you came to Dagukou this time is to rescue us, and we are very grateful in our hearts, and we will treat you as our closest friends for the rest of our lives." ”

"Therefore, as your closest friend, I must remind you that the most important purpose of your visit this time is to further open up the vast and unlimited trade market of the Qing Dynasty, not to start a war with the Qing State, the Qing Dynasty has already made very sincere concessions to you, and you have already obtained the desired result, so why risk the breakdown of negotiations for a deserved indemnity?"

After discussing a few words in a low voice with the other delegates with complicated expressions, Burblon got up and said, "Mistergon, we ask for a temporary suspension of negotiations to discuss how to revise the content of the treaty. ”

"Okay, okay, no problem."

The devil nodded again and again, and he was extremely glad that he had a good eye and insisted on bringing Wu Chaoyue here. When Bourblon walked to the door of the venue with the other delegates, he remembered one more thing, and hurriedly turned back to Wu Chaoyue and asked: "Wu, there is something I am very curious about, how did you say that the exploration expert who discovered the gold mine in Japan knew the gold reserves of that gold mine?" ”

At this time, there was no technology to estimate the reserves of mineral resources, so the gold mines discovered in California three years ago and the Australian gold mines discovered last year could not estimate the gold reserves, but Wu Chaoyue did not know this, so he could only answer truthfully: "As far as I know, it seems that the length and thickness of the ore vein are determined, and then some ore samples are mined to calculate the weight of ore per cubic meter, and the gold content per metric ton is calculated, and then the amount of gold reserves can be derived." ”

Before Wu Chaoyue's words were finished, the eyes of the representatives of the six countries had already lit up, and they hurriedly memorized the mineral resource estimation method that had not yet been invented in this era, and then Bourblon nodded and said, "Thank you, my good friend Wu, I thank you for our French mineral exploration personnel." ”