Chapter 357: The face of the court can be so thick......
"No, no, no, things are far from being as simple as after you have you as our counselor, I can't imagine that this empire is really willing to sell its interests and save face." Macartney smiled disdainfully: "Seriously, don't say it's me, even those of us can't see through this." ”
"Yes, Mr. Liang, what you have done makes us realize that you are indeed an excellent person with political acumen, and that people like you cannot be used by this empire, it is really ...... If you are in our empire, you will definitely be a good diplomat. "Staunton, the head of the East India Company, is now overjoyed, and he has to admit that Liang Sanhuai does have a few brushes, if it weren't for his help, the negotiations wouldn't have gone so smoothly, if it wasn't for his advice, there were many things they couldn't get at all, because those Qing ministers were really rotten and stubborn.
Although Staunton had to admit that the two high-ranking Qing officials did have profound knowledge, and it could even be said that they had the potential to become scholars, the problem was that they were as tender as children in kindergarten who did not have the same name.
And if Liang Sanhuai in front of him becomes their negotiating partner, Staunton doesn't know if he can get enough results by playing against this guy, at least, after he stands on the side of the British, every move he points out seems to be aimed at the weaknesses of these Qing officials, and even those Qing officials are happy to accept some losses.
This guy does have the ability to sell people, and the other party happily counts the money for him.
"It's not something to be happy about betraying the interests of your country, please forgive me for being rude, I need to calm down, I'm sorry." The loss and regret on Liang Sanhuai's face, as well as the complicated emotions in his eyes, made Macartney and the others stop talking and watched Liang Sanhuai walk into the cabin.
"This is what a true patriot is." Macartney looked at Liang Sanhuai's lonely back and said with emotion.
Major General Ford nodded, agreeing with Macartney. "I think I should try to persuade him, after all, this rotten empire has nothing to be nostalgic for him."
"Wait a minute, let him be quiet for a while, I'm sure he'll figure it out, I just hope that before we leave the East, I can persuade him to come with me to Europe, if such a man is abandoned, it will be a loss for the Empire, his keen political sense, and his sensitivity to dissecting the nature of things, are all the best of a good statesman and diplomat, and I hope he will be my assistant to us in the service of the British Empire." Macartney lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and then gracefully spat out a smoke ring.
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"But he's an Oriental." Staunton said with some hesitation.
"What's this, our British Empire has never cared about the nationality or even identity of talents. Otherwise, the British Empire would not be as powerful as it is today. Staunton Taipan, please remember this. ”
"I'm sorry, I lost my words, indeed, if he can be used by us, it will indeed be a good thing for the empire, and it will be of great help to the empire in formulating political strategies for the East in the future." Staunton said with a somewhat awkward smile.
"You're right. By the way, I don't know what happened to Colonel Henry's side, I hope those Qing people are not cheating. However, they should not be cheating, otherwise, we will have more reason to continue to interfere with the Empire's rule over the land, and it feels good. Major General Ford said with a smile on his eyebrows.
"Yes, His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Empire 'rewarded' us with one million two hundred silver, tsk, tsk, it is really a very valuable wealth." Staunton deliberately bit the word reward very hard, which immediately provoked the smug laughter of the members of the legation.
"Gentlemen, don't forget, their Emperor His Majesty, in order to take care of us who are far from our homeland, has temporarily borrowed Hong Kong Island to live with us, and it is so merciful that their Emperor Majesty has heard God's will, so he is so merciful, right?" So said a member of the legations.
"A bunch of stupid b." Lying in his cabin while leisurely muttering a cigarette and shaking his legs, Liang Sanhuai, who had a wicked smile on his face, commented after hearing the laughter and discussion coming through the cabin door.
"You, what are you talking about, our Great Qing Kingdom, actually ......" Jiangning Mansion, in a restaurant, an old man who was well-dressed and had a graceful demeanor couldn't help but get up, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Be quiet, Brother Zhipu, the wall has ears." The frightened person next to him almost wanted to cover the old man's mouth, and looked at no one on the left and right with a frightened look, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"How is this possible?" When the old man, who was called by another person, slowly sat back in his chair, he was still shocked.
"Impossible? Hmph, if the court really has the ability, it should have driven those Yingyi out of the Yangtze River two months earlier, and it still needs to wait until now? And it was a quiet departure, you say, if it wasn't for the court giving them any benefits, would they be able to leave? The other person next to him looked disdainful, picked up the flask, poured a glass for himself, and drank it all. The dignified Heavenly Empire has now deceived those externalized barbarians, but they can only give in and hum ......"
"Brother Ning He, you can't say that, I am a dignified Heavenly Empire, with millions of heroes, and the four Yi are subdued, and now it is said that it is a small setback, but it is only those Yingyi who have peeked into the loopholes of my Qing Dynasty coastal defense, so they are left to enter the void, hmph, if they dare to go ashore, how can they be free so far." The other interjected.
"Brother Chong, don't you forget the English letter to the Qing Dynasty, and then look at the reaction of the court and our Fu Dashuai, who is known as the first general in the country, to this matter, are they afraid to go ashore, or the court does not dare to let them go ashore? Does this still need to be discerned? What are the soldiers and horses of our two rivers, Xiongshi? Hmph, don't you know? They can't do what they should do to catch thieves and quell rebellions, but they are very comfortable with smuggling and pretending to be pirates to plunder business and fish. ”
Whether it is in the official residence of Jiangning Mansion where the guards are heavily guarded and high-ranking officials gather, or in the picturesque Suzhou-Hangzhou gardens with small bridges and flowing waters, or in the courtyard of the deep mansion and the ethnology of the famous families with strict rules, whether it is those high-ranking officials who talk about the people's livelihood and scrape the ground with a small shovel in their hands, or those literati who are strangled by the literary prison and can only study ancient books all day long, or study the eight shares hard, or linger in the romantic places all day long, suddenly there is something more in their hearts. A hint of confusion, as well as feelings of loss and disappointment spread throughout the country.
The dignified Heavenly Empire, the center of the world, and the place of worship of Zhuyi, actually made a group of small Western barbarians who came from thousands of miles so helpless that they were at a loss, and the Qing Kingdom had more than a million strong soldiers and tens of thousands of elite sailors, but they couldn't help a small envoy fleet on the other side.
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These invaders asked the invaded for food and supplies, and the court obediently sent them forward without saying a word, and now, those invaders retreated, but the tsunami was just beginning to take shape.
And when the full text of the Zhenjiang Treaty appeared in Liangjiang, Fujian, Liangguang and even the Central Plains, the whole country was shaken, although the court vigorously advocated that it was the winner, but as long as it was not an idiot, as long as it was not a brain rework patient who let the door out of the door to sandwich two deep grooves, they all understood how the desperate preach of how benevolent and righteous the court was, how grateful Yingyi was, and the court was just a bone, so Yingyi climbed up and licked his toes and wagked his tail.
This kind of news not only dealt a heavy blow to the prestige of the court, but also made the people and intellectuals of the entire country feel a sense of confusion that they had been kicked off the championship position.
“…… Repentant, repentant and sincere, I am the suzerain of the world, and I pity its sincerity, so I forgive the unintentional loss of England and give it a million taels of silver, in order to show the benevolence of my Qing Dynasty and the sincerity of tribute from England thousands of miles away. ”
“…… Tens of thousands of miles away from their hometown, drifting lonely and miserable, admiring my Qing Dynasty's submissive heart, I specially bestowed the English people who are living in the East and live in the unknown island in the waters of Guangdong, and give the name Hong Kong Island, to show my Qing Emperor's praise for the obedience to Zhuyi......"
"I want to vomit......" Bai Shusheng listened to this Zhenjiang treaty, and whispered to Monk Chen next to him with a pale face.
"Don't seduce me, it's disgusting, Lao Tzu is full of goosebumps all over his body now." Even Monk Chen, who couldn't understand classical Chinese, was as if he had just swallowed a fly at the moment, and his expression was as uncomfortable as he was.
"The cheeks can be thick to such an extent, regard defeat as a victory, surrender as unbearable, indemnity as a reward, and land cession as benevolence. Sun Shijie smiled coldly.
"This court patronized and wiped his face with rouge, where did he expect that his cheeks would have been exposed so that the world could see it clearly." As soon as Ni Ming opened his mouth, he said something that was vicious enough.
"Okay, don't read it anymore, everyone understands, right?" Liang Pengfei scratched his numb scalp, really, he couldn't stand this kind of perverted language art to the extreme.
"Understand what?" Monk Chen patronized and cleaned up the goosebumps on his body, but he didn't expect Liang Pengfei to suddenly ask like this, and couldn't help but ask in amazement.
(To be continued)