Tianjing, Xiwangfu, Xiwang Study, three provinces.

Sanxingzhai is the name taken by Hong Yun'er, Xiao Yungui knows what she means, that is, she hopes that she can save herself every day and make fewer mistakes. Now that he is the only person in power in the kingdom of heaven, every decree and military order affects the lives, happiness and well-being of thousands of people, so he must save his life.

On the chair on the left side sat the French Minister Bourblon, his beard still slightly upturned, with the usual warm smile on his face, and his demeanor was still the same French nobility and elegance.

Xiao Yunguiqiang pressed the urge to rush up and wipe out all his mustaches, and asked very calmly: "Is this all the British need?" ”

Bourblon elegantly put down the blue and white porcelain tea bowl, he was distracted just now, he couldn't put down the blue and white porcelain tea bowl in his hand, he was feeling the strong and far-reaching artistic atmosphere of this ancient nation. After being awakened by the words of the King of the West, Bourblon nodded and said slowly: "Your Excellency the King of the West, we in France regret this conflict, standing on a neutral standpoint, France does not want the situation to expand, the conditions of the British are indeed a bit harsh, but I think this incident was provoked by the Taiping Army first, if it were not for the Taiping Army's detachment to forcibly block the British fleet from entering the Pearl River Estuary, this tragedy would not have happened, so it is beneficial to the Taiping Army to agree to the request of the British to avoid war and stabilize the situation in the Far East, Otherwise, it will affect your army's military operations in Guangdong. ”

With a bang, the blue and white porcelain tea bowl held in the hand of the West King was crushed by him, and the blood was undoubtedly mixed with the tea and stained the West King's thick right hand. The King of the West looked at Bourblon with a grim face and said, "Is this the neutral position of the French? ”

Burblon was taken aback by the West King's actions, and before he could speak, the West King continued coldly: "Our army first launched a military deployment that day. Not to mention the provocation of the British fleet, it also forcibly entered the mouth of the Pearl River, which hindered the military operations of our army. Our front-line commanders had repeatedly issued warnings, but the British fleet ignored them, and our troops fired warnings, but only solid shells were fired, and the targets were not British ships. But the British fleet was the first to fire artillery and sink our ships, and then a clash broke out. I would just like to ask Your Excellency the Minister that the French fleet was treated like this. What will you do? Or agree to the harsh demands of the British?! ”

Bourblon was somewhat speechless, and if it was a third party attack on the French fleet in the course of a military operation, it would be an act of war. There is absolutely no compromise in France. But he came today to mediate, hoping to resolve this conflict peacefully, so he had to bite the bullet and say: "Your Excellency King Xi, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not France, and the Taiping Army fleet is not a French fleet, and there is a difference between the two. ”

"What's the difference?"

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not have a mature industrial system, and its national strength was far inferior to that of the United Kingdom, which was known as the empire on which the sun never set, although the Taiping army had a large number of land forces. But the British only need to close the ports, and the Taiping army will suffer great losses......"

Bourblon's words were harsh but true. Compared to the stinging pain in the palm of his hand, Xiao Yungui only felt that the pain in his heart was even more unbearable! At this moment, he is no longer the person who only thought about self-preservation, he has taken over the burden of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, his oath to fool others to join the Taiping Army is no longer a joke, and the burden of national rejuvenation has become his goal, so there is no more than him who can feel the inner pain of being despised and the country's weakness.

Do you have to bow to the British in the end after doing so many things? Although the strength of the British fleet in the Far East has weakened, they still have the ability to blockade and attack the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo, as Bourblon said, and at the same time, the Taiping naval division in Guangdong will be very dangerous, once the Taiping naval division is annihilated at sea, the Taiping army that has landed on the coast of Guangzhou will also face a siege situation, and the ambitious plan to sweep the two Cantons may be aborted.

Bourblon noticed the change in the unstable face of the King of the West, and then persuaded: "The naval strength of the British in the Far East is very strong, once the conflict expands, the army of the Taiping army in Canton will be seriously threatened, and there is an old saying in your country that the great man can bend and stretch, please consider the conditions of the British seriously, as long as your country agrees to most of the conditions, France can negotiate with the British in the amount of compensation." ”

Xiao Yungui was no longer shocked or angry, his thoughts were pulled back by Bourbulon's sentence of Nengqu Nengshen, he looked at Bourblon lightly and asked: "Mr. Minister, I want to ask you a question, when Britain and France fought a Hundred Years War, the British army and national strength at that time were far stronger than France, but France fought a war for one hundred and sixteen years, and did not hesitate to use it in exchange for victory, I want to ask what supported you French to do this?" ”

When Bourblon heard the king of the west ask about the heroic deeds of his ancestors, he immediately said with a smile on his face: "Your Excellency the king of the west, the French are a people who will not give in, and our loyalty to the country and His Majesty the Emperor is the belief of the French in the final victory!" ”

Xiao Yungui nodded and said: "You are right, we used to be too superstitious about this so-called ability to bend and stretch, so we were ruled and enslaved by the Manchus for nearly two hundred years. But now it's different, we Han people have established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, what we want to do is to rejuvenate the nation, we will lose the so-called ability to bend and stretch in the future, and we will not bow our heads to anyone and compromise again! Two hundred years ago, it was because of our compromises and concessions that we lost everything, including national dignity! Today we will not give up anything, even if it is just a compensation of one or two pieces of silver, and it will be a terrible disaster to promise the British any conditions! How can a country and an army that are accustomed to subservience to the power of power accomplish the rejuvenation of their own nation?! ”

Bourblon was silent, he felt the difference between this place and the Manchu rule from the moment he stepped into Tianjing City, the streets of Tianjing City had already spread the details of this conflict, and the fanatical people and army even organized huge demonstrations to demand a declaration of war on the British, and the British in Tianjing did not even dare to go out. He didn't know if the mediation of Lu Dao's trip would be successful, but he hoped that unlike the fanaticism of the people, at least the king of the west should keep a cool head, but now it seems that the king of the west is actually the most fanatical person.

"Your Excellency the King of the West, in the face of commendable spirit and absolute strength, I am inclined to the latter, I don't want to see the outbreak of war, it will not benefit anyone." Bulblon persuaded him last time: "Please think twice about Your Excellency the King of the West. ”

Xiao Yungui waved his bloodstained hand and said lightly: "Don't think about it anymore, if you compromise once, there will be a second and third time, and we are still a nation that can't stand up after the worst!" Please go back and tell the British that we in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are very dissatisfied with this incident, and we also put forward the following conditions: First, publicly apologize to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! Second, punish the British commander of this incident of the conflict, hand over the perpetrators who fired the first cannon to be tried by the military tribunal of our country! Third, compensate our army for the pensions of dead and wounded soldiers and military expenses of 300,000 taels! Fourth, in the future, when the Taiping Army takes military action, the British army must remain at a safe distance! ”

Burbulon gasped, it was impossible for the British to agree to these conditions, these conditions were even put forward to provoke the British to go to war, could it be that the Taiping army was sure to defeat the British? Bulbulon was stunned for a long time before he hesitated and asked, "Your Excellency the King of the West, are the Taiping troops sure to defeat the British?" ”

Xiao Yungui's answer was very simple: "No." ”

Bourblon shook his head and said, "Then I don't think these conditions can be realized." ”

Xiao Yungui slowly stood up and said: "I have decided, even if it is a hundred-year war like France, I will persevere, I don't want anything to bend and stretch, I just want my rejuvenated nation to straighten my back!" Even if the jade is burned, I don't want to grovel to live! ”

After the last day, Burbulon kept shaking his head and walked out of the study of the King of the West, and the courtyard outside was full of important civil officials and generals of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Many of them knew Bourblon, but today it seemed that Bourblon did not know them, and their calm and determined gaze revealed an unyielding, bloodthirsty flame that seemed to burn everything. Bourblon left the Western Palace, under a blazing gaze, he did not understand what these people thought, was it really wise to go to war with an invincible enemy for the sake of the indomitable spirit of the nation? In fact, Bourblon is the one who doesn't understand, the Hundred Years' War fought by the French in the early years and the later Napoleonic wars are both manifestations of the indomitable French people, and the enemy that France faced at that time was not only the British? If the French at that time had yielded and compromised, where would the French Empire be today?

Soon after Burbulon left, the tall and sturdy body of the King of the West appeared under the eaves at the gate of the Three Provinces, and a group of civil and military officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom consciously approached him. Hong Yun'er, who was standing at the front, noticed Xiao Yungui's bloody right hand, she didn't ask how the wound came from, she just walked to his side, took out her embroidered handkerchief and silently wrapped the wound for him.

Xiao Yungui glanced sideways at Hong Yun'er, only to see his wife's eyes full of encouragement, at the moment he took a deep breath, his eyes swept over the military generals of the Heavenly Kingdom, and then said loudly: "The French came to mediate, asking us to bend and stretch, this king has refused, and we have also put forward our own conditions to the British!" ”

The cheers and approvals rang out, but Hong Renji, Wei Zhijun and the others frowned, is it wise to go to war with the British at this time?

Their doubts were dispelled by the words of the King of the West, "Some people may think that it is unwise for this king to do this, but what I want to say is that we must face this threat, even if it is war, we cannot back down!" If we compromise and succumb today, there will be constant threats and wars coming to us! If we want to rejuvenate the nation and unify the whole country, we must defeat an enemy that is impossible to defeat! Have you forgotten that when the Jintian Uprising was in place, we only had 20,000 people, and we were facing a million demon army of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. For me, the British and the Manchurians are the same, and no one can bully us! Even if this war is fought for a hundred years, we will not be able to bend and stretch again, because we are not a single person, we are a nation! (To be continued......)