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"Your Excellency, if you don't think the name of the war reparations sounds good, then we can change the name. For example, with the ransom of prisoners of war. You know, in this war, we captured tens of thousands of British prisoners of war. These prisoners of war are now held in prisoner-of-war camps, including important figures such as Governor Bonham of the Straits Settlements, Rear Admiral Allen, and Rear Admiral Burleyton. I think the British government will be happy to redeem these prisoners of war to Britain! Major General Sun Hao, chief of operations of the General Staff of the Xinhua Army, said.

"General Sun, when Governor Bonham surrendered to your army, didn't you reach an agreement that you would unconditionally release them after the war was over? Now why are they demanding ransom again, this is completely unbelievable! "Henry. Viscount Temple said. When he arrived in Singapore, he asked to see Governor Bonham, and Xinhua agreed to his request and arranged for a brief meeting between them. Hence why Governor Bonham surrendered at that time, Henry. Viscount Temple is also clear. Although it is shameful to surrender, Henry. Viscount Temple asked himself, if it were him, he would have done the same. After all, the defenders of Singapore were at the end of their rope and would have lost their lives if they continued to fight.

"Your Excellency, this is nothing more than a mention of mine, you can refuse. Still, that's the case. We can't agree. The war will not end. Major General Sun Hao said. He just wanted to be flexible, and Henry. Viscount Temple still disagreed, such words. Then there is nothing he can do.

Henry. Viscount Temple was a little hesitant, but he understood that Xinhua Guo's requirements for war reparations were very insistent. If Britain refuses to pay, there will be no peace treaty. However, if Britain paid war reparations to the new country, it would be for the prestige of the British Empire. It will be a heavy blow. Perhaps, Major General Sun Hao's opinion was correct, and the ransom for prisoners of war was used instead. Britain will look much better on its face.

"Well, we can pay the ransom to Xinhuaguo. But £10 million is too much for us to afford. "Henry. Viscount Temple said. 10 million pounds is already equivalent to one-fifth of the UK's fiscal revenue. Such a large sum of money. If it is given to Xinhua like this. It will undoubtedly make the British flesh ache for a long time. Of course, they wish they could have less. Of course, the premise is that Xinhua can agree.

"Your Excellency, ten million pounds may seem like a lot, but when it is spread evenly over each prisoner of war, there is not much. At present, our Xinhua Army has captured more than 60,000 prisoners of war, and there are more than 20,000 British civilians. If you do the math, it's just over a hundred pounds per person, which is not expensive. Lin Zihao said. More than a hundred pounds. That's just more than 400 Chinese dollars. Judging from the current prices, it is undoubtedly a huge amount of money. Of course. This is nothing for a world hegemon like Britain. They make a lot more money every year from colonies around the world. If nothing else, India and Britain are now able to amass at least £10 million a year.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, you cannot do this. The war has nothing to do with those civilians, they are also victims of war, and you should release them unconditionally, instead of using them to blackmail us. "Henry. Viscount Temple retorted. Now, like a shrewd businessman, he began to calculate.

"Your Excellency, those civilians in the prisoner of war camp have to consume a lot of food every day. We can't keep them for nothing, can we? If it weren't for the friendly relations between our two countries, we would have let them exchange their labor for living necessities a long time ago. Lin Zihao said.

"No, absolutely not, you can't do that to English gentlemen." Henry. When Viscount Temple heard that Xinhua actually wanted those Englishmen to work, he immediately jumped up. How can the noble Britons be like those natives?

"Your Excellency, if you insist, then we can't do anything about it." Lin Zihao said helplessly.

"Sir Viscount, think about it, there are tens of thousands of prisoners of war, and so many civilians, and if you can bring them home safely, what a victory it will be for you personally from your Whigs. Their families and friends will surely thank you for that. When the time comes, I am afraid that your influence will exceed that of the Conservative Party. And His Excellency the Viscount is probably able to become a strong contender for the next Prime Minister! Major General Sun Hao said suddenly.

Henry. Viscount Temple's eyes suddenly lit up, tens of thousands of prisoners of war and civilians, plus their joiners and friends, there were hundreds of thousands. And the votes that these people can influence will at least be increased several times. This will have a huge impact on him and the Whigs. If they can get the support of these people, then this cabinet, first of all, will be stable, and the influence of the Whig Party may be able to truly surpass the Conservative Party. In Britain, the Conservative Party is very powerful and has always suppressed the Whigs. If he can get this done, the Whigs might be able to turn things around. Henry. Viscount Temple hesitated a little, and understood how much this matter had benefited him. In his mind, he was undoubtedly inclined to support this plan. However, £10 million is a lot of money and will not necessarily get a guò.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, Your Excellency the General, the indigenous Indians from the prisoners of war need to be eliminated. They are nothing more than servant troops recruited by the British and Indian armies, their lives and deaths have nothing to do with the British Empire, we will not spend money to redeem them, you can dispose of them at will. "Henry. Viscount Temple said. This is what he just thought, among the prisoners of war in the Xinhua Kingdom, there are 20,000 Indian indigenous troops, and if these Indian natives also have a ransom of more than 100 pounds, it is not worth it. India has a population of hundreds of millions, and the British can recruit soldiers at will, and there is no shortage of them.

In the eyes of the British, especially the senior British cabinet officials, the indigenous Indians were nothing more than slaves of the British. Their only role was probably to earn wealth for Britain and serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield. When necessary, it can be discarded.

"Well, Your Excellency, the natives of India don't count. Well, the British side still has to pay us a ransom of seven million pounds. Lin Zihao said. The British refused to redeem the Indian natives, so he had no choice. However, domestic construction is about to begin, and large-scale infrastructure construction also requires a large amount of labor. These indigenous Indians, just in handy, are not a waste.

"Seven million pounds, that's too expensive. Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, in this case, we will pay a ransom of five million pounds, which is a lot of money. "Henry. Viscount Temple said.

"Your Excellency, do you know how much war reparations the Manchu government has paid us? It was a full 30,000,000 taels of silver, and when converted into pounds, it was 7,500,000 pounds. The British Empire wouldn't be poorer than the Manchu government, would it? Lin Zihao teased.

"No, it's not a question of poverty or not. Although the British Empire is rich, there are also many places where we need to spend money. Seven million pounds is too high. In my opinion, five million pounds is undoubtedly appropriate. "Henry. Viscount Temple said.

"Well, let's go one more step each, six million pounds, and the British government will pay six million pounds to redeem these prisoners of war and civilians." Major General Sun Hao said.

Henry. Viscount Temple pondered for a few seconds, then nodded. Six million pounds is undoubtedly a lot of money, but it would certainly be a good deal if he could make him more popular personally and the Whig Party as a whole than the Conservatives. Besides, this money is not for him to pay for himself, anyway, it is all used for the money of the treasury. What's more, the British government can also transfer this money to overseas colonies at any time, there are so many colonies for Britain to exploit, the British government does not have to worry about money at all.

At this point, the two sides finally reached an agreement. Next, the personnel of both sides drafted a draft contract. The drafts should be sent back to their respective countries for consideration, and only after they have been considered can they be formally signed.

Under the terms of the treaty, Britain would transfer the Straits Settlements and the Australian colonies to Xinhua and pay an additional £6,000,000 to Xinhua for the redemption of prisoners of war. After the treaty came into force, the state of war between Xinhua and Britain ended. The Xinhua Army was no longer allowed to launch attacks on India and other colonies.

After the draft was drafted, both sides sent people to send it back to China. It's just that the UK is too far away from Singapore, and it takes more than four months to go back and forth. This means that if the treaty is formally signed and entered into force, I am afraid that it will have to wait until May or June 1844, and if the two sides can use telegraph communication, the problem will be easily solved.

The negotiations between Xinhua and Britain in Singapore have attracted the attention of the world from the very beginning. During this period, the negotiations were suspended for a time, and the Xinhua navy launched an attack on India, making countries think that the negotiations between Xinhua and Britain would break down. However, then the news that Xinhua and Britain had reached an agreement came very shocking. In addition, I don't know what happened, the draft was leaked on the way back to the UK, and then the whole of Europe and the whole world knew what kind of treaty Britain and Xinhua had signed, which shocked the whole world even more. Does Britain have times when it bows its head? (To be continued......)