Early the next morning, the large government conference room was filled with a solemn atmosphere, a long table was in the center, on the left sat Wang Feng, Wang Youling, Li Hongzhang, Sheng Xuanhuai and other important Chinese officials, on the right sat Queen Victoria, Rebel Muston, Foreign Secretary Di Reresley, Robertson and other British dignitaries, both sides have several stenographers, responsible for recording everyone's speeches, as for the translation, there is none.

Chinese people sitting here can speak fluent English, there is no barrier to communication, although it is very awkward to communicate with people in a foreign language in their own country's government, but what to do? The British do not speak Chinese except for Wen Xian, and for the sake of face, it is not necessary to forcibly drag a translator over, and it may not be able to translate accurately, you know, in this kind of meeting, even a word misunderstanding will cause great trouble.

Bonham had no official position in the British government, so he had no power to advise on national policy, and his only role was to put out fires, and in the event of a collapse between China and Britain, his special capacity as the father-in-law of the Chinese emperor might play a mediating role.

Everyone knows that this meeting will be very difficult, and it may lead to a full-scale confrontation between China and Britain, of course, this confrontation is not necessarily in the form of war, and perhaps China and Britain will take this as an opportunity to carry out historic cooperation and open a new chapter in human civilization.

After saluting each other, no one spoke, and the atmosphere took on a touch of weirdness.

"Ahem~~" Wang Feng coughed twice and took the lead in saying: "No matter what the outcome of the talks, today is a historic moment, because the leaders of China and Britain are at the same table for the first time, which is a milestone event in the history of human development." Here, I would like to begin by thanking your country, Mr. Magalny. It was he who was the first to discover the external power of the Qing Empire. Finally, on the thirty-fifth year of his death, Britain launched a war against China, which ended in the complete defeat of the Qing Dynasty. “

Wang Feng raised his glass and shook the red wine in the glass.

The British only thought that Wang Feng was talking back, and they all showed embarrassment, and the rebel Mustun even sneered: "Your Majesty the Emperor of China." You're laughing. ”

"No!" Wang Feng stood up and said solemnly: "This is my true feeling, although the invader is an abomination, but the invader can also impact a country's inherent and rotten political system, if it were not for the Qingying War twenty years ago, the Chinese would still live in the dream of the Central Empire, and the Chinese would not know that the outside world is undergoing earth-shaking changes."

The Qing-British War is certainly a stain on Chinese history, but it is shameful and courageous. At the same time, he also opened a door for the Chinese, and the British defeated the Qing state, which covered an area of more than 10 million square kilometers, at the cost of only 100 casualties, which made China's recognized people realize their arrogance and pathetability. Realize that you are nothing more than a poor frog at the bottom of a well.

More and more Westerners have set foot in China after the opening of the port of five, bringing new ideas and new cultures, and more and more Chinese have seen the outside world. There are also more and more Chinese who are not satisfied with the status quo of being oppressed and enslaved, and are trying to break the inherent prison.

1851. Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing have taken historic steps, although they are for various reasons. There is still a considerable degree of narrow-mindedness and one-sidedness, but it is undeniable that their anti-Qing uprising sounded the death knell for the decaying Qing Empire, and it was the Qing-British War that affected them, and the root cause of it was Mr. Macartney's trip to China.

The enemy is not only used for hatred, but also for reference, reference, we Chinese pay attention to cause and effect, today's effect is the cause planted by Mr. Margarney, so I don't have the slightest meaning of joking, ladies and gentlemen, please. “

Wang Feng shook his glass again, and suddenly, the mood of the British was a little complicated, Napoleon once pointed out that China is a sleeping lion, don't provoke him, but the British didn't take it seriously, provoked China, and the result was that only twenty years later, they lost all their colonies in the Far East.

If the Qing-British War had not broken out, would China have remained in chaos with the world? Will it again pose a threat to British interests?

Many people have thought of this question, and there is a trace of remorse on their faces, which is a little inexplicable, just like an argument that has emerged in modern times, if Japan had occupied the three eastern provinces and stopped, would today's Northeast and Korea become Japan's territory?

At first glance, this does make sense, at that time China was divided, there was no ability to recover the three eastern provinces, as long as Japan continued to migrate to the northeast, it is really hard to say what will happen in a few decades, but people's greed is endless, when you touch all of them, then will the next one touch a big four joys? Japan and Britain both have such a problem, and in the face of an empire that exudes the smell of decay, who does not want to swallow it in one gulp?

Queen Victoria raised her glass and smiled: "Thank you, this is my thank you on behalf of Mr. Macartney, for giving him such a high opinion." “

Wang Feng and Queen Victoria clinked their glasses lightly and said with a slight smile: "I don't comment on whether Mr. Macartney is a positive or negative figure, but he does constitute the cause of China's modernization, in order to commemorate him, the Chinese government will choose a site near the river where the Treaty of Nanjing was signed, and I hope that on the day of its completion, your country can send a representative to participate in it and witness this special relationship between China and Britain." “

Queen Victoria seemed to have adjusted her mentality, and smiled slightly: "Mr. Macartney also taught us the British one thing, that is, everything must be fully discussed and carefully planned at any time, even if the object seems to be in decline, it must not be given a chance to turn around, so I am very much in favor of building a monument to Mr. Macartney in China, one person, one thing, two meanings, isn't it interesting?" Our Minister will be representing the British Government at the inauguration of the monument, cheers! ”

The queen shook the wine glass to Wang Feng slightly, and each took a small sip with Wang Feng, and the rest of the people sitting opposite each other also touched their glasses a little and stopped after tasting it.

This is actually the first confrontation between China and Britain before the formal talks, Wang Feng tried to plant a shadow in the hearts of the British through Macartney, from the first half, it seems that it is going to succeed, as long as the British have regrets, it will unconsciously have an impact on the subsequent negotiations.

It's not much, Queen Victoria is not an ordinary person after all, she saw through Wang Feng's conspiracy, and resolved it in a light manner, this game can be regarded as a draw.

However, Wang Feng does have the intention of building a monument to Macari, the Japanese can build a monument to General Perry for the Black Ship Incident, why can't the Chinese build a monument to Macartney? Knowing shame can still be brave, and the attitude towards shame is not to turn a blind eye, but to face him. (To be continued.) )

PS: Thank you for the tip~~~~ from the person in charge of Pailong Bay and the accounting institution