It's just half an hour later, Guo Songtao took his entourage and his entourage out of the British Embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane with a hesitant face, and when he got into the carriage, he instructed Xie Yunong: "Shut up for me about this matter, and don't let a trace of news go out!" I'm going to see the king of parliament, and our prime minister's yamen can't be the master of this matter. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Guo Songtao did not return to the lobby of the Prime Minister's Yamen, sat in the carriage, all the way out of the capital from Chongwenmen, and walked to the west, the carriage was fast and steady, the official road was clean and smooth, and the carriage drove very happily, but it was more than half an hour to the Old Summer Palace, he went straight to the Old Summer Palace, Feiyunxuan waited outside for a while, and Prince Gong summoned him.

When he arrived at Feiyunxuan, he saluted, and before Prince Gong gave him tea, Guo Songtao couldn't help it, "King Yizheng, the British are too much of a bully, their attitude is very poor, and the conditions put forward are absolutely unacceptable to us. ”

Prince Gong sat behind the bookcase, put down the fold in his hand, and said curiously, "What's the matter?" Yunxian, it's rare for you to lose your temper. ”

"The British side asked the British to escort Edward to China," Guo Songtao said helplessly and in a fiery tone, "and it can be seen that the British are not sincere." ”

Prince Gong frowned slightly, "How can this be?" In the waters of the Qing Dynasty, how can warships of other countries enter and sail? Edward's visit to the Qing Dynasty was agreed upon two or three years ago, and the relevant etiquette or form of casualty must not be aggressive in the British, so what is the purpose of doing it now? Prince Gong thoughtfully walked out from behind the case, "Yunxian, don't say it yet, wait for someone to come and discuss it together," he raised his voice and called Sula, "Please come over from Jinglian Zhongtang." ”

After a while, a thin and fifty-year-old man with a goatee entered Prince Gong's duty room, he first saluted Prince Gong, Guo Songtao saluted him, Prince Gong shouted affectionately, "Qiuping, the matter of the British, I asked you to come to discuss, you have dealt with the British in Ili before, you probably know their temperament, and we will refer to them in detail." ”

Jing Lian, Yan Zashi, the word Qiuping, subordinate to the Manchurian Zhenghuang Banner, he was a Jinshi in the second year of Xianfeng, and moved from the fifth editor to the cabinet bachelor. Dian Fujian Township Test, the Ministry of Labor, and the North Korea. In eight years, he was awarded the title of Counselor of Ili. In the Agu Bai Rebellion, he was not afraid of danger, protected Urumqi, and united with the great lama of Chenghua Temple, fought several counterattacks, and then became the first governor of Xinjiang, and concurrently served as the political envoy of Western Xinjiang, after Zuo Zongtang left office, he raised Jing Lian as the governor of Xinjiang, and the minister of trade in Yili, and then served as the governor of mountains and rivers, oh, that is, the governor of the Central Plains, the governor of Shandong and Henan, Guangxu entered the military in five years, and concurrently served as the Ministry of Industry Manshangshu, Jing Lian nodded, "Listen to the prince." ”

Guo Songtao said again about the meaning of the British sailing and escorting their own fleet, "It's not that the British fleet is not allowed to come in, but if the British warships reach the mouth of Dagu, the government and the opposition will inevitably lash out." ”

Needless to say, it is nothing more than spending so much money to set up a sailor, and actually let the British warship swagger into the mouth of Dagu, which is exactly the same as the absence of a sailor during the Daoguang Xianfeng period. The rest of the disrespectful and insulting words will definitely fill the ears, "If it's just scolding, forget it, it's okay for us to endure it, I don't know about military affairs, but I know that the importance of hydrology and geography, and only the movements of the Beiyang Naval Division, these are not known to foreigners." ”

"These are second," Jing Lian sat on the rosewood chair and thought slightly, "The British invaded twice in the old years, I am afraid that they have already figured it out, and the most important thing is the national system. In order to welcome a crown prince of the British, the country was actually broken into by the British fleet. ”

"The world says that the battle is won in a row, and the gap between my Qing Dynasty and the foreigners is gone," Prince Gong shook his head, "It's still Yelang arrogant, don't say anything else, the British, you really can't offend, at least on the surface, you can't help but give them face, otherwise there will be our good fruit to eat, Yunxian, please continue, what else?" ”

"Not only that," Guo Songtao shook his head, "In addition, the British also demanded that all Chinese officials who greeted them in Tianjin kneel to greet them. ”

。。。

"Kneel down?" The Empress Dowager Cixi was very surprised, and her eyebrows were raised into the cloud temples on her forehead, "He wants Chinese officials to kneel to greet him?" ”

"Yes."

"Are the British crazy?" The Empress Dowager Cixi shook her head, "Not to mention the difference in etiquette between China and foreign countries, as soon as he introduced the crown prince, he wanted to make hundreds of officials kneel to greet him?" What is not madness? Why does this British ambassador sound so frizzy now, and is this what a diplomat should say? Should I advise the British Foreign Office to recall this ambassador? ”

The Empress Dowager Cixi stood up and looked at a glass fish tank in the hall on a rosewood seat, which contained several colorful goldfish, the Empress Dowager Cixi took the bait from the hands of the palace maid and threw a few into the water, and the goldfish immediately scrambled for the bait, "Compared with the escort of the fleet, the etiquette of kneeling and welcoming is nothing," the Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the tumbling water and was silent, "The British definitely don't want to go to war, they have no reason, and they don't have the time to toss with us, Why? If we ignore the impudent demands of the British, Edward is already in India, and our two countries have announced that he is going to visit China. It's not us who are so disgraced. ”

"Guo Songtao's meaning, they have deduced it and think that if Edward does not come to China, it will probably be our fault." Someone said this.

"Sixth Master," Empress Dowager Cixi raised her head and said with a smile, "Blame? It's just that we are not as good as the British, and if we are strong, then they are at a loss. ”

"If he comes, according to the requirements of the British, the fleet will let him escort him, and our officials will kneel down at the dock to greet them, and they will gain a lot of face, but we will ignore him at that time, and we will not talk about the negotiation matter, let him wander around Beijing by himself, and you will not go to see the sixth master, so that this visit will definitely not be fruitful in the end." Empress Dowager Cixi shook her head, "They are so aggressive, they don't conform to the usual style of the British, they must have some other cards they want to play, so tough, they probably want to express something." (To be continued.) )