(Every one of your subscriptions, recommendations, and favorites is a great support for "Iron and Blood"!) It's not easy to get a new book, so please support it, thank you! "Iron and Blood" Novel Group: 150536833, welcome book friends to join and discuss the plot together!! ）

"In the end, it is their strength that determines where China belongs in the future!"

Ali Guo's answer left Wen Han in silence, as he had witnessed the faith and support of the Chinese in the so-called Ming emperor in Hong Kong and Guangzhou! But now Ali Guo's answer clearly tells him a fact, strength determines everything. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

After being silent for a long time, Wen Han held his chin and said:

"You have had direct contact with them in Shanghai, and our intelligence shows that the Wuchang side is currently subservient to Jiangning, does this mean that they are obeying the orders of the Jiangning rebel army?"

"This ...... Well, at least on the surface, this is a well-known thing, just some time ago, the Grand Governor also accepted the canonization of Jiang Ning, but we don't know much about them, and we have not had direct contact with the Taiping army. ”

A little dissatisfied with Ali Guo's answer, Wen Han's eyes flashed with a trace of dissatisfaction.

"Well, in that case, I'd like to hear Mr. Midile's opinion."

Ali Guo gestured to the Indian waiter who was standing aside, and the waiter went out, and in a few moments brought Midil in.

Midile, the first secretary and general of the consulate in Shanghai, was thirty-six years old, with high eyebrows, broad forehead, blond hair and gray eyes, and a shaved beard on his face. He went to work at Jardine Matheson in Guangzhou at the age of 17 and worked in China for 20 years, speaking not only fluent Cantonese, but also fluent in Mandarin. Four years ago, he was hired by the consulate in Shanghai to gather information and intelligence on anti-government groups and gangs. Although this man was in a low position, he was able to provide extremely professional advice to the British government, and Lord Wenham also admired him very much, and wanted him to succeed Aliguo as consul in Shanghai, but only when Aliguo's term of office expired.

"Mr. Midile"

Wen Han saw Midile walk in, got up and shook hands with him:

"I have read your report on the situation in China, and your report is very original, and I have submitted the report to London as a guide for London's decision-making on China. You may be seated, Mr. Midile. ”

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency."

Midile sat down generously. Wen Han looked at him and said:

"The current form of China, as you said, is in a period of unprecedented change. You are a China expert, and I would like to hear your assessment of the rebels, after all, no one knows them better than you. ”

"Thank you for the compliment,"

The minister's compliment made Midile nod approvingly, he had entered Jiangning and Wuchang as a businessman, and both sides had a certain understanding of this.

"Your Excellency, in the present situation in China, we will have to face several questions: Can the government of the Emperor of Manchuria survive? How long has it been around? The government of the Great Emperor was a government with the Manchurian aristocracy as the core, and it was a corrupt and unpopular government. For more than 200 years, the anti-Manchu struggles of the Han and other nationalities have risen one after another and have never stopped. After the rebels conquered the capital, they even slaughtered almost 500,000 Manchurians, which is almost half of the population of Manchuria in Chinese mainland, which shows their hatred of the Manchurians, the Taiping army is the largest rebel army, even the rebels in Wuchang are also subject to them, this submission is superficial, and now there are rebellions of different sizes everywhere in China. These rebels had a bitter grudge against the Manchurian Emperor...... Therefore, I do not think that it is likely that the rebels will overthrow the Manchurian regime in the short term. However, the rule of the Great Emperor in South China will be gone forever. ”

Midile said "gone forever" very seriously.

"If the British Empire intervenes in the civil war in China at this time and helps the government of the Great Emperor, it will only prolong the war indefinitely, and it will not benefit our commerce at all. Can China's involvement in the Chinese civil war prevent the victory of the rebels? If you can't answer in the affirmative, the best strategy is to remain neutral and sit on the sidelines. ”

Midille believed in his own analysis, and this was a central part of his report – neutrality, so that Britain would have room to maneuver in the future.

Ali Guo squinted at the subordinate who was talking in front of the minister, and he disagreed with Midile's opinion:

"Your Excellency, I thought that Mr. Midtille had overestimated the rebels. Yes, the rebels were inflicting a major blow on the government of the Great Emperor, they almost occupied the capital, seriously shaking the Emperor of Manchuria. But this is a good time for China to intervene in China, and if we take the opportunity to intervene, China can take the opportunity to put forward more conditions to the emperor and open up the major cities and towns along the Yangtze River and along the coast, and China will not only get more commercial benefits, but also take the opportunity to ask for the establishment of a legation in Beijing. If the rebels are too strong, we can consider having the Far East Fleet and the French warships in China share the task of assisting in the defense of Shanghai. ”

"Now it is clear that there is no such possibility, we must prepare for war with the Russians! The same is true of the French, who have only three boats compared to us. ”

Colonel Hob bluntly refused, saying that he would rather fight the Russian Navy than to fight the Chinese war, thus bringing him more honor.

"Of course, if you get an order from London, although there are only eight warships left in my fleet now, China's shipbuilding technology and ordnance technology are more than two hundred years behind our country, and the so-called Chinese naval warships are all vulnerable toys, and presumably the rebel sailors will not be much stronger. We don't have to turn to France, my battleship is enough for this task. ”

This is a kind of self-confidence, an unprecedented self-confidence brought by strong strength and unrivaled across the ocean for a century.

"Mr. Colonel, you are too confident! You don't see the rebel warships, maybe their warships are converted from merchant ships, but, believe me, they are by no means the old Chinese navy, and our intelligence indicates that their fleet is a modern fleet trained by retired British naval officers. ”

On the one hand, Midile retorted to Hober, and on the other hand, he firmly opposed British intervention in the Chinese civil war.

"We cannot blindly intervene in the Chinese civil war without the facts being clear, and if the ultimate victor is the rebel army and not the emperor, our position in China will be very embarrassing, and this may even lead to the complete loss of Britain's hard-won interests in China in the future, which is something we must avoid."

He was a very persuasive man, and Lord Wenham also tended to remain neutral, and the reality of Britain's involvement in the question of war with Russia also made him agree with this view, and this was also the attitude of London, and he nodded:

"Mr. Midile, your opinion is very informative, please start preparing and go to Wuchang with me in two weeks."

Go to Wuchang!

Although he already knew that the purpose of the minister's visit to Shanghai was to go to Wuchang, he did not expect that he would go to Wuchang with the minister, although he had been to Wuchang once as a businessman, but he was still excited because of this invitation.

"Okay, Your Excellency, I'll go and prepare."

"Your Excellency, Minister!"

In this regard, Ali Guo still has reservations.

"The rebels will definitely attack Shanghai in the future, and if they threaten the concession, what will we do when the time comes?"

"Well, that's a problem,"

Wen Han pondered for a moment:

"We must pay close attention to the movements of the Taiping Army, and no matter what happens, we will never allow them to enter the Shanghai Concession, which is a basic premise of ours. Colonel Hebo, please send all the additional warships to Wusongkou, and resolutely defend the concession once the rebels attack Shanghai. Mr. Alliko, London's determination to maintain British interests in China and the interests of the concessions remains unchanged, but for now we must remain neutral and observe future developments, so as to make the most advantageous decision for Britain. ”

Two weeks later, the cruiser "Halmis" left the Shuntai dock and slowly headed for Wusongkou under the impetus of a steam engine. In the stern of the ship, because he already had the experience of going to Jiangning, Wen Han specially asked Uncle He.

"Colonel, our warship has never arrived in Wuchang, will there be any problems when sailing along the way, there are many sandbars hidden in the Yangtze River and under the water."

HMS Halmis is a steam-engine-sail, double-powered, wooden-hulled, three-masted ship with a displacement of 1,300 tons and 34 24-pound guns. Such a warship sailing on the ocean will naturally encounter problems that are unfamiliar with the hydrology of the waterway when sailing on an unfamiliar river.

"Of course, there were no problems, and it also gave us the opportunity to survey the waterways and draw charts. Your Excellency, I believe that one day the Royal Navy of the British Empire will sooner or later be free to patrol the Yangtze River as if it were entering and exiting five ports. ”

Listening to Uncle Ho's answer, Midile, who was standing next to him, shrugged his shoulders and said.

"Colonel, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed this time, if we want to enter Wuchang, we must temporarily dock on Chongming Island, and after getting the pass, they will send pilots to guide us, otherwise, we can't pass through the fort in Jiujiang, let alone reach Wuchang."

"You said we need to register on Chongming Island, why didn't we do it in advance?"

He Bo asked rhetorically, with a slight hint of impatience in his tone, both because of Midile's attitude and because of the trouble these Chinese had brought him.

"It's all Chinese request, confiscate the boat to Wuchang, you have to register on Chongming Island on the day you leave Shanghai, they don't accept early registration, but rest assured, the process is very fast, it takes one to two hours, but I believe ......"

Turning to look at Lord Wenhan beside him, Midile smiled and said sincerely.

"Because of the arrival of His Excellency the Minister, they will complete the registration in a shorter time, and for them, the visit of His Excellency the Minister is also something they have been waiting for for a long time." (To be continued.) )