The period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's development and growth was not during the tenure of Sir Elgin, his predecessor Bao Ling served as the highest military and political governor in the British Far East during this period, and his predecessor and former Lord Wenhan visited Jinling City on the battleship Hamilz before he took office, and had a cordial and friendly exchange of views with the King of the West, who had only recently captured Nanjing.

It was also from that time that several principles of peaceful coexistence between the two sides were basically settled, and this treaty was the famous "Western Secret Treaty", the most basic core of which was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's recognition of the benefits of the "Jiangning Treaty" signed by the Manchu Qing and the terms in which Britain also enjoyed benefits in the treaties signed by the Manchus and other countries. At that time, Lord Wenhan seemed to have been fooled by the king of the west, and in addition to the three basic terms, the new treaty was agreed to wait until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had completed the overthrow of the Manchu Qing and the unification of China.

This "Western Secret Treaty" is very imperfect, at least in the eyes of the British at the moment, and the benefits are too little. Within a few years, the Taiping Army had completely taken possession of all five treaty ports and had almost monopolized all of China's trade exports. After the "Western Secret Treaty", the two sides successively signed a number of attached treaties around tariffs, concessions and other issues, but these treaties were all carried out around the "Western Secret Treaty".

When Lord Wenhan's successor, Bao Ling, came to China, he wanted to revise the treaty, but according to the provisions of the Western Secret Treaty, the new treaty would have to wait until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom unified China, so the British were a little dumbfounded. Although Bao Ling subsequently won a treaty with the opening of several treaty ports, including Tianjing, and the dispatch of ministers to Tianjing, before the end of his term of office, there was still a long way to go before the British wanted the Chinese market to be completely opened.

After the arrival of the current British Minister, Sir Elgin. He was instructed by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister that, in addition to resolving the Manchu issue, he must facilitate the signing of a new treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. So the British did not hesitate to recognize the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in exchange for the negotiation of a new treaty. Unfortunately, the king of the West seems to have been uninterested, and insisted on unifying the whole country before negotiating a new covenant.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had the most powerful army in the Far East, with at least twelve infantry divisions under the command of the Western King, and the soldiers were all elite professional soldiers, and the weapons used were similar to those of the British army. As for the combat effectiveness and will to fight, according to the feedback of some officers from various countries who participated in the Taiping Army, the Taiping Army was only slightly weaker than the French Army. In addition to these regular armies. The Taiping Army also has a huge reserve force, and the huge township militia groups in various places are also armed forces that cannot be underestimated. In addition to the weakness of the navy, the Taiping army did not seem to be afraid of the Anglo-French expeditionary force on land.

At this moment, the British army, which had ended the war in India, was assembled. Having joined forces with the French army from North Africa, Ergin knew that the Anglo-French alliance of nearly 50,000 might not be able to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so the British had always considered opening the gap in the exchange of treaties from the weaker Manchus first.

After the assassination of the last mission, negotiations between the British, French and Manchu broke down. The Taipings also closed the door to negotiating a new covenant. But with the end of the war in India, Britain and France began to have enough confidence again, the Manchus invited the Americans to mediate and resume negotiations, Ergin was very satisfied, and now the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom actually agreed to negotiate a new treaty, Ergin had a feeling of being hit by a pie.

Ergin put aside his gentlemanly demeanor, and he stepped forward quickly to take the note from Midile's hand and read it. Since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Shanghai, the official notes exchanged between the two sides have been in both Chinese and English versions. In terms of text translation, the Ministry of Rites of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has set up a translation department to deal with foreign-related translations. Strive to make the translation of both languages more accurate.

Ergin looked at it again and again, and finally made sure that he was not dazzled, and he turned back happily and said: "Gentlemen, we are about to completely open the door of this ancient country, and China will be fully opened to the British Empire!" ”

The French minister Bourblon had a jealous expression, because France had the British "Western Secret Treaty" in front of it, so France also signed a treaty with Britain when it made a treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, France also wanted to negotiate a new treaty, but the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom never allowed it.

Seeing Bourblon's disappointed expression, Midile took out a second official document and said to him: "Your Excellency, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has also sent a note to France, and England and France can negotiate a new covenant together, and the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has entrusted me to hand it over to you when I arrive at Dagukou." ”

Bourblon took the note in surprise and read it, and scolded Midil for waiting so long to bring it out, but after reading it, he quickly laughed.

Or Ali Guo was more cautious, and after reading the note that came, he frowned and said, "Why does the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have to participate in this negotiation?" ”

Midile explained: "After receiving the note, I met with the king of the west, and the king of the west was mainly worried about unfairness, because once the Manchus opened the treaty ports in the north and reached a new treaty with us, then the British and French would inevitably use the new treaty signed with the Manchus as a benchmark to negotiate with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wanted to participate in this negotiation." ”

It sounded reasonable, but everyone present suddenly thought of another question, and Ergin frowned and said, "Then it will become a five-party negotiation between our Britain, France, the United States, the Qing Kingdom, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Midile nodded: "It is such a minister, Mr. Five-party negotiation is the requirement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. ”

Ali Guo sneered: "That king of the West is still the same, he has to intervene in everything, and then he has to get benefits, five-party talks, he wants to stir up the situation, will the Qing people be willing to sit with a group of rebels and negotiate a treaty with us?" ”

Erjin and the others were silent, and quickly calculated, Midile shrugged his shoulders and said: "The attitude of the King of the West this time is also very resolute, if Britain and France negotiate a new treaty with the Qing Kingdom, he will not recognize the new treaty, and at the same time, since the Jiangning Treaty, the basis of the Western Treaty, has been replaced by a new treaty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will completely abandon the Western Treaty." ”

Ali Guo immediately shouted angrily: "What?! He's threatening and blackmailing! We negotiated a treaty with the Qing Kingdom, and it had nothing to do with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! ”

Midile spread his hands indifferently and said, "Then let's wait for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to continue to expand their territory until we unify all of China before negotiating a new treaty with them." But General Grant, according to your military commander's estimate, how long will the Qing army be able to resist the Taiping army? ”

Grant said slowly: "In fact, according to the current strength of the Taiping army, they can do their best to go north and conquer the capital of the Qing State, I believe they have this ability, but their command has chosen to march to the southwest, they seem to want to solve the Qing army in the southwest, and then go north after they have no worries." This strategy is a slow but prudent one. According to my estimate, as long as the Taiping army eliminated the Hunan army, the largest military group of the Qing army in the southwest, it will definitely be able to unify the whole of China within three years, of course, this is on the basis of no external influence at all, after all, there are Russians in the north, and I can't imagine what kind of plan they will have. ”

Midile turned his head and said, "Okay, now we can analyze it, if we sign a new treaty with the Qing Kingdom alone, but the new treaty is not recognized by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will unify the whole of South China, and after the richest provinces of China become the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, won't we get the same benefits as before?" ”

Erjin touched his chin and said, "You mean that even if we make a new covenant with the Qing Kingdom, we may have done useless work?" ”

Midile shrugged and said, "It's not useless, at least we've created a very strict obstacle for future negotiations with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. ”

Rear Admiral Brodt, a French admiral who had not spoken, suddenly said: "Gentlemen, in fact, we should not waste our time and energy on the Qing Kingdom, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is an important object of our cooperation in the future, at least in my opinion, without the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom participating in this negotiation, the treaty that came out may be nullified in a few years." ”

The French were more inclined to cooperate with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, for the simple reason that Napoleon III hoped that a Christian country would emerge in the Far East to replace the barbaric Manchus, and the French consul Gro also said earnestly: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Manchus are gradually losing their territory, and the current government will be replaced in the near future, and even if a new treaty is signed, it may face the risk of being annulled, so why don't we take this opportunity to negotiate and sign a new treaty with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as soon as possible?" ”

Ali Guo shook his head and said, "But I don't think the Qing government will agree to sit down and negotiate with the rebels." ”

Midile exclaimed, "Why should we be concerned about this? Wasn't it the Qing State that took the initiative to negotiate? Although the Americans intervened, we can also add a precondition for the resumption of negotiations, that is, to allow the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations. In this way, the negotiated new treaty can effectively open up the entire Chinese market and maximize our interests! ”

Sir Elgin rubbed his temples, stood up and said slowly, "Gentlemen, don't argue anymore, listen to my thoughts." Whether it is the Qing Kingdom or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they are our opponents at the negotiation table, what we think of as diplomats is to protect our national interests to the greatest extent, and there are pros and cons for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations, but from the current point of view, we have no reason to refuse this tempting proposal, so I support the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations! ”

Following a few strokes of Ergin's palm, Ali Guo, who still wanted to speak, sat down, and then said: "The Qing State may not agree to sit down and negotiate with the rebels, but please note that this is not a peace negotiation between the two sides, but a negotiation related to the interests of Britain, France, and the United States, so the Qing State has no reason to refuse, and cannot refuse, as a condition for the resumption of peace talks, the Qing State must agree to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to join the negotiations." As for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they must show sincerity in negotiating a new treaty. Midil, you and Ali Guo should return to Tianjing at once, and be sure to understand the true intentions of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and see if they really have the sincerity to negotiate a new treaty. ”

In the end, Erjin said word by word: "In the end, no matter who we negotiate with, we must ensure that the new treaty can be implemented, and for this reason, neither the Qing Kingdom nor the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can threaten us in any way, please remember this!" (To be continued......)