Xu Qing knew that he would definitely be able to capture the hearts of Isabella and Eugenie, because Xu Qing thought that people like himself were very attractive to capable women, especially in this era. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 But the next day, Xu Qing was summoned by the newly appointed British Foreign Secretary, Palmerston.

"Oh my God, it's him? Is it this Palmerston, and how is it still him? Xu Qing was depressed.

This Palmerston, maybe ordinary people don't quite understand who this old boy is, but Xu Qing knows that this Palmerston is a famous British diplomat, who advocates being tough on China and forcing China to open its market. He advocated internal conservatism and external expansion, serving as British Foreign Secretary during the First Opium War and British Prime Minister during the Second Opium War, and suppressing the Taiping Rebellion in China. Provoke the Crimean War, and even make trouble during the American Civil War!

"Damn, did you meet my idol back then?" Xu Qing smiled bitterly in his heart.

That's right, this Palmerston was actually half of an idol before Xu Qing crossed over. Although this old boy launched the first and second opium wars, this old boy is really a capable person, because this guy is afraid that the world will not be chaotic, and he has taken advantage of the international turmoil almost several times and gained a lot of benefits.

Of course, ordinary people may not know who he is, but they must have heard of one of his famous sayings - there are no eternal friends and enemies between nations, only eternal interests.

True, this phrase was not uttered by Churchill, but by him. This diplomatic proposition of his has become a diplomatic proposition recognized by Britain and even the whole world in the future. In fact, if it weren't for this old boy who launched a war to invade China, then maybe he would be Xu Qing's entire idol back then, not half of it.

"This time, I'm going to fight against my idol back then, is it a blessing or a curse?" Xu Qing also felt a little troublesome in his heart, this guy was by no means a person easy to deal with.

But since the other party summoned him, he could only bite the bullet.

"I've seen Your Excellency the Foreign Minister!" Xu Qing took the initiative to greet.

Palmerston looked at Xu Qing like an eagle, and Xu Qing also hurriedly looked at each other, without any weakness. It was a long time before the Palmaston spoke.

"Minister Xu Qing, at that time, we launched a trade war, that is, we hoped that China would take the initiative to open up the market, and then let our merchants trade freely. But then you came to England and applied for a revision of the corresponding Jiangning Treaty, and we both agreed to amend it. However, your China's strategy of opening up to the outside world has not been able to come up with it for a long time, so it is a little inappropriate for us, right? Therefore, I hope that you, China, will step up its efforts to open up as soon as possible and take the initiative to cooperate with it. Palmerston said.

Xu Qing hurriedly excused himself and said: "Your Excellency, at present, we in China do not know much about the West, I think we should strengthen our understanding before we talk about it!" So please give us some time, otherwise we may not be able to complete it, or it will be detrimental to both of us to rush to open up with all our might. ”

However, Palmerston still said firmly: "Minister Xu Qing, if you China does not increase its efforts to open up for a long time, then our British Empire's army will not be so easy to agree!" ”

Hearing Palmerston's threat of force, this Xu Qing was not surprised, because he knew that this Palmerston was a hardliner against China. It is hoped that China will be forced to open up by force or forceful means, but Xu Qing must play Tai Chi, otherwise it will be troublesome once it is directly opened, and with China's current capabilities, it cannot bear the consequences of direct and complete opening up.

However, since the other party threatened with force, Xu Qing also replied strongly: "Your Excellency Foreign Minister, although in the war a few years ago, you Britain gained a certain advantage, but if you do it again, do you still have the confidence that you can absolutely win?" At that time, China was indeed a little weak, and we were not well prepared politically and militarily. But if you do it again, will your faith still succeed? ”

"Or do you think you can force us to compromise by force? You know, we, the Chinese army, will not trip over the same stone in the same place! ”

Xu Qing's analogy made Palmerston a little helpless. Although Palmerston wants to force China to open up, it does not mean that he will despise China. Palmerston also agreed with Xu Qing's words, China, as a big country, can't be tripped by the same stone twice in the same place, right?

But this Palmerston clearly overestimated the power of the Chinese emperor's bureaucracy, who tripped over the same stone twice, three, four, five times, until they were overthrown.

But the British did not understand, even Palmerston, who claimed to be tough on China, would not have realized that the Manchu court had reached this point. They measured the Manchus by the ideas of smart people, and as a result they frightened themselves. In the final analysis, neither side knows each other very well, they are all covered by clouds and mountains and fog, and it is completely up to Xu Qing to explain.

"Minister Xu Qing, I just hope that you will take the initiative and let your country cooperate with the opening of the market as soon as possible. Otherwise, we in Britain will not agree, because we in Britain can't wait. So I hope you can do it as soon as possible, not too slowly, otherwise we can't wait, and that may not be a good thing for us in the UK or you in China, understand? Palmerston said.

Xu Qing just replied: "I'll do my best!" ”

Xu Qing left the British diplomatic department, and felt that cold sweat came out of his back. This old thing is not easy to deal with, fortunately, this old thing is not in China in this era, but Xu Qing knows the West very well. In this situation of information asymmetry, Xu Qing finally barely passed. To be honest, if it was face-to-face and the two sides were facing each other with symmetrical information, Xu Qing would probably lose his underwear in front of this old thing.

Xu Qing is also bullying them for information asymmetry, if Xu Qing and this Palmerston confront each other in the information age in the future, then Xu Qing may lose completely. This time it was barely passed, and the British did not know that China was a paper tiger, so they were still very cautious and did not want to start a second war rashly.

"Minister Xu Qing, what's wrong?" John Russell asked.

Xu Qing hurriedly asked: "Prime Minister John Russell, this Palmerston actually forced us to speed up the opening up?" Isn't he your cabinet member? ”

John Russell was already Prime Minister, and Palmerston was his Foreign Secretary.

John Russell took the initiative to say: "Minister Xu Qing, this time I appointed this Palmerston as Foreign Secretary, in fact, I have a last resort. I'm in favor of free trade, but I also think it's better to be more conservative if we respect China. ”

Xu Qing once again emphasized: "Prime Minister John Russell, I would like to emphasize once again that we in China hope to guarantee the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and I hope you will not interfere in our internal affairs." Although opening up to the outside world is what China has promised, how to open up and how to open up is the power of our Chinese government, and it does not mean that you can interfere at will, understand? ”

John Russell replied again: "Minister Xu Qing, I understand what you mean, in fact, as far as I am concerned, I also support gradual and steady opening up, which is actually beneficial to both sides. But in the council, I was under a lot of pressure. In the parliament, many lawmakers are not satisfied with the progress of China's opening up. ”

"Even on the issue of Hong Kong, we have decided to return this Hong Kong to China. But the problem is that the Chinese government, although it has taken back Hong Kong, has also appointed a so-called "magistrate" of Hong Kong. But in fact, the 'magistrate' does not go to Hong Kong to work. The so-called hired civil servants were not given any orders. According to our report, you Chinese Achilles tendonitis spent some money, and you take our civil servants around every day to do nothing. ”

"As for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) that you have promised, it is not even a castle in the air, it does not exist at all. Is this also your China's sincerity? I wonder if I don't see the sincerity of your Chinese government. ”

Xu Qing thought to himself: "Hehe, you can see the sincerity of the Manchu court, then there is a ghost." Fortunately, you still don't know much about the situation in China, and the Manchu court is also a bit crooked, and actually appointed a magistrate, and then did not manage the teacher. As for the so-called consultants and civil servants, they are entertained with good food and wine every day, so that they do not do anything. ”

"In fact, this so-called SAR after the return of Hong Kong is completely nominal, and in fact it does not exist at all."

Xu Qing actually knew very well in his heart that the real value of the revised Nanjing Treaty did not lie in the return of Hong Kong and the so-called judicial power. In fact, Xu Qing really knew that the revised Nanjing Treaty was essentially more symbolic than practical in terms of returning Hong Kong, and the real value lies in those international student policies, and using the indemnity of the Nanjing Treaty as the cost of international students is the most meaningful.

"Our parliament is under a lot of pressure right now, and behind those members of the parliament are businessmen. Do you know? Your market of 400 million people in China, such a huge market, is almost not much weaker than our whole of Europe. Such a large market, for those merchants, it is also a piece of fat. Seeing that the fat is right in front of their eyes, can they not be nervous? Therefore, they can't bear it, and they hope that I can appoint this Palmerston as foreign minister and put more pressure on you China, so that you China can speed up the progress of opening up. “

"Of course, this is also the reason for the pressure in the council, and we don't have anything to do."

Xu Qing finally understood what was going on, but in fact, it was nothing more than those British businessmen who couldn't wait. With such a huge market in China, they are all a group of vicious wolves who see fat meat. It's too difficult to let a group of wolves look at the fat meat, but they can't eat it. So they want to force China to speed up the opening up and let them enter the Chinese market as soon as possible to make money!

But can Xu Qing agree? Let's not say that he could not agree to such a big condition on behalf of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but that he personally did not support rashly increasing the intensity of opening up.

Judging from the experience of later generations, in fact, it does not mean that the more open the better, and a more stable opening up is still very necessary. Otherwise, once it suddenly opens in full force, it will be like a flood bursting its banks, and a large number of various things from outside will come in. At that time, not only will all kinds of Westerners' industrial products hit the domestic market, but even Westerners will also see China's weakness clearly, and who knows if they will change their attitude towards China.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty was resolutely not open up, while Xu Qing's opinion was that it was okay to open up, but it was not the time yet. In the short term, the interests of Xu Qing and the Manchu Qing are actually one, and of course Xu Qing can't sell the Manchu Qing "teammate" at this time, not to mention that selling it will not do him any benefit, but will do more harm.

Xu Qing thought for a while and said directly: "Prime Minister John Russell, if you can't suppress those in your country, then we don't need to say more." We in China uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and you must not interfere in our internal affairs. If you should do this, then I can sever diplomatic relations with Britain on behalf of China. Anyway, there is not just one country that has a crush on our Chinese market and has patience. For example, in France, as long as the interests are sufficient, I think that even if the king of France hates me again, we can turn the war into a friendship. Even my relationship with Queen Isabella of Spain, you know that. ”

"I'm not taking sides with Spain, that's because I know Britain hasn't done anything more excestic. But if you do something more excessive, then we can't talk about it. If you are not willing to abide by the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, I can announce on the spot that I will sever diplomatic relations with you, Britain. As for the war, we are not afraid, and we do not believe that you can still get cheap in the second war. ”

Hearing that Xu Qing actually threatened to "break off diplomatic relations", and also brought out the French and Spain, this made John Russell immediately uneasy. The relationship between Xu Qing and Spain, everyone knows this, in case Xu Qing favors Spain, it is not a good thing for cause and effect. As for France, although the French king hates Xu Qing very much, he has enough interests, and it is not impossible to compromise.

"Mr. John Russell, I think the current economic crisis in France is very serious, and they are looking for markets all over the world with pigs' heads and can't find the temple gates. If I am willing to allow them to open up, I think their poor and crazy factory owners, and those financiers who are about to cry because of bad debts, will be very happy. ”

Hearing Xu Qing's words, John Russell immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly said: "Okay, okay, I'll go and appease those businessmen first, I'll appease you first, understand?" ”