"Your Excellency the Governor, why do we send troops to occupy the New Territories? Judging from Ren Chao's previous appearances, this Ren Chao is very tough and will never give up any territory. Two years ago, in such an unfavorable situation, Ren Chao dared to rashly start a war with Tsarist Russia, and I think he will definitely not give up the New Territories to us today. Lieutenant General Will asked with a brow and a puzzled expression.

"Occupying the New Territories is just a bargaining chip, if Ren Chao is willing to give up the New Territories, that's good, but if he insists on not giving up the New Territories, then we can also exchange the New Territories for some other benefits, such as commercial benefits, I think you should understand this!" Sir Brie explained with a smile.

"But I heard that the French warships have sailed to the coast of Guangxi, and it seems that they also want to take advantage of the opportunity, and if we return the New Territories to the Qing State in this way, we will not be ridiculed by those French." General Will said with a frown.

"Those stupid French don't dare to offend the Qing Dynasty! They're just taking the opportunity to make some gain, just like us. The French warships came over, just for show. Because they don't want to offend the current Qing government at all, or even dare not offend. Sir Brie said with a look of disdain.

"Why?" Lieutenant General Will asked with a puzzled face, although the current strength of the Qing Kingdom is getting stronger and stronger, and the strength of the French is declining, but after all, the French are an old power, and their strength is still far greater than the current Qing government.

"My esteemed General Will, I would advise you to pay more attention to the recent international form. In Europe, Russia and France formed allies to jointly oppose the Allied bloc led by Germany and Austria. The two sides are tense and may fight at any time. As I just said, the current Qing State is no longer the Qing State of a few decades ago, and in the world, the Qing State is also a powerful force that cannot be ignored. So neither Germany and Austria-Hungary, nor Russia and the French. Now they are trying to win over the Qing government to join their respective alliances. The Germans hoped that the Qing would contain the power of the Tsarist Russia in the Far East, while the French and Russians feared that if war broke out in Europe, the Qing army would stab the Russians in the back. So now these two groups are trying their best to win over the Qing government to join their respective alliances, do you say that the French dare to offend the Qing at this time? If the Qing State was offended, then the Qing Congress would not hesitate to join the side of the Central Powers, and the Russians and French did not want to suddenly have such a powerful enemy. So this time the French are just putting on a show and taking the opportunity to reap some commercial benefits in Guangxi, so you should understand! My esteemed General Will! Sir Brie carefully analyzed.

"I see, thank you for your advice, I know what to do!" Lieutenant General Will said respectfully.

Negotiations then began between the Cabinet Foreign Office and the British Consul-General in China. The British first demanded that the Qing government fulfill the so-called Lend-Lease Treaty signed between Deshou and them, and lease the New Territories to the British for a period of 99 years. At the behest of Ren Chao, the negotiators categorically rejected the British side's rude demands.

At this time, the troops of the Tiger Ben Army rushed to Guangdong in a steady stream, and the British had no choice but to put forward a few other demands instead, not to cede the exclusive right to build roads and open mines in the southwestern provinces to France; Nanning was added as a commercial port, and Britain was allowed to build the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway.

After some negotiations, the two sides finally reached a consensus and signed the Sino-British Treaty of Friendship and Commerce. The Qing government promised not to cede to France the monopoly of road construction and mining in the southwestern provinces. The British were allowed to invest in the construction of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway in the form of a shareholding, but the ownership of the railway was owned by the Qing government. As for the opening of the port for trade, it was not mentioned in the treaty. Because before the treaty was signed, the cabinet was already strongly supported by Ren Chao. It was resolved that all cities along the coast and along the Yangtze River basin would be opened to trade. Although the port is open to trade, a large influx of foreign goods can have a certain impact on the economy of various places. However, it was impossible for the Qing Dynasty to adopt a policy of closing the country to the outside world for the rest of its life. It is imperative to open the port for trade, and from the perspective of long-term interests, the opening of the port for trade is still conducive to China's economic development. Just like the entry into trade in later generations, although there are certain disadvantages, the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages from the overall consideration.

As soon as the treaty was signed, the British army immediately withdrew from the New Territories and returned to its original defense area, and the Tiger Army successfully took over the New Territories. In fact, after recovering Guangdong, Ren Chao wanted to take back Macau together. The British Ren Chao can't afford to provoke him for the time being, and the little Portuguese Ren Chao still doesn't look at it. But no, Portugal is nothing remarkable, but behind Portugal stands the British Empire, which is now a British protectorate, equivalent to a special form of subjectivity. In this case, Ren Chao could only temporarily cancel his plan to recover Macau.

After getting rid of the British, the Tiger Ben Army immediately marched into Guangxi, in fact, the French had already been unable to do it when they saw that the Qing and Britain had begun negotiations. He took the initiative to find the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the matter of Guangxi. The attitude of the French was much better than that of the British, and they professed to trade in good faith, and had no other meaning. After a brief discussion, Ren Chao promised the French to participate in the construction of the railway in Guangxi in the form of investment and shares, and allowed the French to invest in several factories and mines. Of course, it is only a shareholding, which means that the ownership of these railways, whether it is minerals, is still owned by the Qing government. The French also got some sweetness, so they obediently left.

As soon as the French withdrew, the second town of the Cantonese army stationed in Guangxi immediately surrendered to the Tiger Army. If you don't surrender, you can't help it! The 30,000 Tiger Ben Army has already entered Guangxi, and they are not one on a one-on-one, not to mention that the Tiger Ben Army still has an advantage in strength, and surrendering at this time is tantamount to the wisest choice.

At this point, the Liangguang incident was completely resolved, and Ren Chao successfully brought Guangdong and Guangxi provinces under his command, and the price paid was only more than 100 casualties of the Tiger Ben army, which was undoubtedly minimal.

Not only did they successfully recover Liangguang, but the strength of the Tiger Ben Army also made the warlords in various places honest again. On the afternoon of the day when the Tiger Army broke through the city of Guangzhou, Ren Chao issued a telegram announcing to the world that the Tiger Army had recovered the city of Guangzhou in only a few hours.

As soon as the news came out, Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, Shengyun, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Gong Shou, the governor of Sichuan, and Song Fan, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, issued telegrams to crusade against Deshou's rebellion. But at this time, Deshou is dead, and they are just putting on a show. (To be continued......)