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The rise of the new Chinese state made the British side nervous. The British Straits Settlements, in particular, have always regarded Xinhua as the greatest threat. The British, for their part, had always used the Straits Settlements as a base for continued eastward expansion. However, the sudden appearance of the new Chinese kingdom suddenly made it extremely difficult for Britain to continue its eastward expansion. The whole of Nanyang has become the territory of Xinhua State, and perhaps soon Vietnam of the Indochina Peninsula will be added. It was as if a shackle had been formed that blocked the way for Britain to expand eastward!

The British Governor of the Straits Settlements, Bonham was a man of great talent, although the last attempt to form a coalition between the Spanish Expeditionary Force and the Dutch Indonesian colonies against the New China failed in defeat. However, the talent he showed in this still made the British side very satisfied! Such a governor would be very helpful in safeguarding British interests in the Far East. This time, for example, Governor Bonham immediately wrote a detailed assessment report after learning of the Xinhua war's war against Vietnam, and asked a British Navy warship to send the report home. In the report, Governor Bonham made a detailed assessment of the power of Xinhua and Vietnam, and finally concluded that Vietnam was no match for Xinhua but that it would take a year or more for Xinhua to annex Vietnam and stabilize the situation in Vietnam. And this time is enough for Britain to complete its revenge on the Qing State! Retaliate against the Qing Dynasty, defend the interests of British merchants, and further open up the Chinese market. Very important for the UK!

As the industrial revolution continues to develop, science and technology have further increased industrial capacity, which requires a broader market to consume those industrial products. Even if India is taken. But the UK still feels that the market is not big enough. At this time, China, with a population of more than 300 million, became fat in the eyes of Britain and other European powers. With a population of more than 300 million, much more than the population of all of Europe combined, even if you can only get a tenth of the market, it is enough to eat a mouthful of oil!

Of course, the prerequisite was for the Manchu government to open up the market. The Manchu Qing Dynasty, which implemented a policy of closing the country to the outside world. Blocking the access of British goods to the Chinese market. In the process of trade between Britain and China, the huge trade deficit is unacceptable to the UK. After the Industrial Revolution. The British bourgeoisie tried its best to sell industrial products to China in an attempt to open the door to China with commodity trade. However, until the twenties and thirties of the 19th century, China's trade with Britain still maintained the status of more than two or three million taels of silver every year. In order to change this unfavourable trade situation, the British bourgeoisie resorted to diplomatic means and forceful representations. Failed to achieve the goal. They adopted despicable means, relying on the method of "destroying the human race" to smuggle a large amount of opium, a special commodity, into China to satisfy their infinite desire for profit.

The opium trade brought astonishing profits to the British bourgeoisie, the Anglo-Indian government, the East India Company, and the opium dealers. It has broken China's long-term advantage in foreign trade and turned China from a superpower over the past 200 years into a superpower. "The smoke of crows and poison is a disaster unseen in China for 3,000 years." The large import of opium caused an annual outflow of 6 million taels of silver from China, and a serious silver shortage occurred in China. As a result, silver is expensive and money is cheap, and the treasury is depleted. The treasury is empty. The importation of opium has seriously corrupted social morals and destroyed the physical and mental health of the people. The spread of tobacco and poison not only caused mental and physical damage to the Chinese, but also destroyed the social productive forces, causing the depression and decline of industry and commerce in the southeast coastal areas. The serious harm caused by the opium trade to Chinese society has attracted the attention of the Qing government and the broad masses of the people. The Qing government, acting in its own interests, issued eight bans from 1821 to 1834; Witnessing the social crisis, a section of the ruling class demanded reform of maladministration and a strict ban on opium in China. In December 1838, Emperor Daoguang appointed Lin Zexu as the minister of the Qin Mission and sent him to Guangdong to ban smoking. In March 1839, after Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou, he ordered foreign tobacco dealers to hand over all opium, and promised not to sell it again, guaranteeing that "the ship will never dare to carry opium in the future, and if it is brought, once it is found, the goods will be lost, and the person will be punished and willing to admit his guilt", and from June 3 to June 25, most of the opium stocks that legally belonged to the British were destroyed.

The Manchu government's ban on smoking caused British merchants heavy losses. They strongly demanded that the government retaliate against the Manchus. Bonham, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, also waved his flag for these British businessmen. However, the British government feared a crushing defeat in a war with a large country with a large territory and a large population like China. Therefore, the demands of the merchants are shirked in every way.

Governor Bonham's report was also signed by the British Army and Navy commanders in the Straits Settlements, which made the report much more feasible. However, Governor Bonham still felt that this was not enough, and he wrote a long letter to Eric, the special envoy of the Straits Settlements in Manila, asking him to test the attitude of Xinhua. If there was a war between Britain and the Manchu government, what kind of attitude the Xinhua Congress would adopt was very important to Britain! Even if Xinhua is now at war with Vietnam, no one dares to guarantee whether Xinhua still has the strength to interfere in the British war against the Manchus!

On June 30, 1839, Erik, the British envoy of the Straits Settlements to Manila, visited Lin Zihao, the foreign minister of the new Taiwan Straits, and consulted Xinhua on the current situation in the South Seas and the Far East as a whole.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, congratulations on your country's victory in the war in Vietnam! At present, your army has eliminated the main force of the Vietnamese army, and soon, the whole of Vietnam will be occupied by your army! When the time comes, your country's territory will be further expanded! Envoy Eric said with a smile on his face. The Xinhua army wiped out the main force of the Vietnamese army in just three days, which once again shocked the British side, so the attitude of the new Chinese army became even more important!

"Your Excellency the Special Envoy, the Vietnamese government oppresses the local Chinese, and the Xinhua Kingdom, as a country established by the Chinese, of course cannot turn a blind eye! Xinhua has absolutely no intention of undermining the stability of the South Seas, and our war against Vietnam is just to safeguard the interests of the Chinese! Lin Zihao, Foreign Minister of Xinhua, explained with a smile.

"Of course, the British Empire fully understands what Xinhua is doing, and if British nationals are treated unfairly in foreign countries, the British government will also intervene!" Envoy Eric said.

"Thank you for your understanding!" Lin Zihao said.

"Yet, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary! You know, the British merchants in the Qing Kingdom in the north have also been treated unjustly! Their goods were rudely seized by Qing officials and then destroyed. This seriously damaged the interests of the British Negotiations, and the glory of the British Empire was provoked! The British government protested against the Qing government, but the Qing government ignored it! If the British Empire waged war against the Qing State in order to safeguard the interests of the British Empire. Does Xinhua think this approach is feasible? Envoy Eric asked. The reason why he just said that Britain supports Xinhua to safeguard the interests of the Chinese in Vietnam is to gain the support and understanding of Xinhua on this issue!

"Of course, Your Excellency! If war breaks out between Britain and the Qing Kingdom, this is a matter between your two countries, and Xinhua will never interfere! Lin Zihao's attitude is very resolute.

After listening to Lin Zihao's statement, although the expression on his face was unmoved, Envoy Eric was already ecstatic in his heart. What he wants is this statement of Xinhuaguo! If there was no interference from Xinhua, then Britain's war against the Manchus would be even more fearless!

"However, Your Excellency Foreign Minister, the main body of the Xinhua Kingdom is the Chinese, and the Chinese are all from the Qing Kingdom!" Special Envoy Eric asks questions!

"To correct it, the main body of the new Chinese country is the Chinese, but it is the Manchu people who rule China now! There is the most essential difference between the Xinhua State and the Manchu government! One day, if Xinhua has enough strength, it will definitely find a way to overthrow the Manchus! Lin Zihao said.

"Your Excellency, Foreign Secretary, then, why did the Xinhua Kingdom not form an alliance with the British Empire and jointly wage war against the Manchus? If our two countries are united, then there will be a better chance of victory! Envoy Eric's face was full of smiles. Xinhua Guo's attitude towards the Manchus was very satisfying. This shows that the new and Qing countries are enemies, not allies!

"Your Excellency, our country is now making every effort to deal with Vietnam, and so far we have invested more than 70,000 troops in Vietnam! Vietnam's territory is not small, and its population is several million. Stabilizing the situation in Vietnam is not something that can be done in a moment! Before stabilizing Vietnam, Xinhua was no longer able to start a new war! Lin Zihao said helplessly.

"That's a shame!" Envoy Eric said with some regret, but in fact, his heart blossomed. He wished that Xinhua would be mired in the war in Vietnam, and it was better to sink deeper and deeper and consume all its national strength. In this way, Xinhua will not be a threat to Britain, and Britain can rest assured that it can boldly wage war against the Qing State, and after cleaning up the Qing State, it can turn around and clean up the Xinhua Kingdom! When the time comes, the British Far East strategy will be a success!

Of course, this is just a one-sided statement from the Xinhua side! The British side, through its own intelligence agencies, also determined that Xinhua was now focusing all its energy on the battlefield in Vietnam. Although the Xinhua Army had eliminated the main force of the Vietnamese army, the whole of Vietnam was resisting the invasion of the Xinhua Army, and according to the assessment of the British side, Vietnam was very likely to become a quagmire of war! (To be continued......)