Chapter 261

? "Mr. Hong, what do you think of the negotiations with the British?"

"Mr. Hong, what do you think of the negotiations with the British?" After the day's negotiations with the British, Vézé directly named Hong Renxuan at the meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Vézé directly asked an outsider who was temporarily recruited, and this person was a relative of Hong Xiuquan. The people who attended the meeting were either surprised or thoughtful.

Hong Renxuan thought for a moment and said: "Ten thousand people come to court, the Four Barbarians and Di Rong barbarians, all the light words need not be said. Stamping the words' light and dirty 'is a matter of winning a battle of words, it's not practical, and will only invite trouble. "

"Are you afraid of the British?" Luo Dagang, who also participated in the meeting, asked calmly. As the leader of the navy, he had many opportunities to deal with the British on the water, and Luo Dagang was also asked to familiarize himself with diplomacy with the British.

Hong Renxuan replied calmly: "If we also have strong ships and cannons, and many machinery industries, we can fight with the British. That is for profit. Cursing because we can't win against the British is just venting our anger. No matter how much we curse, it won't help. "

Vézé had begun to nod. He actually wanted to see Hong Renxuan's ideals and ideas in diplomacy, but he did not expect Hong Renxuan to show a very realistic attitude. This attitude was exactly what Vézé's Ministry of Foreign Affairs needed the most. In the negotiations with the British these days, the diplomats in the Viceroy General's Office were annoyed by the British's domineering attitude. They never gave up any possibility of infiltrating, influencing, and even leading the Viceroy General's Office, customs, and justice. Even if Vézé's attitude clearly set the bottom line, the British did not give up. Faced with such a situation, the group of people in the Viceroy General's Office even suspected that the British were preparing to fight with the Viceroy General's Office.

Under such strong opposing emotions, abuse of the British has become a common thing, and the more they scolded, the more they scolded. From foreign devils to Yingyi, and later on, even such a genteel term as "Di Rong" was used. Vézé also asked in private, and about 50% of the cadres who scolded the British actually understood the meaning of "Di Rong". Wei Ze, on the other hand, felt a little happy. Scolding people had actually become a form of knowledge dissemination.

However, Vézé's subordinates probably did not have Vézé's calmness. Li Yuchang, who was in charge of diplomacy, asked Hong Renxuan bluntly. "Mr. Hong, we are not happy. There is no need to greet these British with a smile!"

It was obvious that Li Yuchang's words represented everyone's thoughts. The British placed great importance on the recovery of the Viceroy's Office, and this importance included military importance. In the Hong Kong concession, although the British did not dig trenches or carry out preparations for war, they implemented a considerable degree of control in the concession. Hong Kong's army and navy maintained a considerable level of combat readiness. The Liberation Army was a fairly modern military force, and they could completely see the attitude of the British. Therefore, the people of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs looked at Hong Renxuan with considerable dissatisfaction.

Vézé did not want everyone to vent their unfriendly attitude towards the British on Hong Renxuan. He waved his hand. "This is not Mr. Hong's business. If we are useless, then we have to admit that we are useless."

It was naturally useless to scold people. If Vézé had a dreadnought in his hands, he did not need to scold them. He could directly beat the whole world in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. But he did not have such an armed force in his hands, so Vézé really did not dare to completely fall out with the British. If the two sides played a long-term confrontation now, the British could hit too many important targets of the Viceroy General's Office. Since Hong Renxuan's attitude towards diplomacy was very correct, Vézé continued to ask, "Mr. Hong, how do you think we should deal with the British's aggressive posture?"

Hong Renxuan hesitated for a moment, showing an expression of embarrassment as he wanted to talk to Vézé in private.

"Our Restoration Society does not adopt a system of one person acting arbitrarily, but democratic centralism." Vézé first introduced the system of the Restoration Society to Hong Renxuan, and then continued, "So even if I want Mr. Hong to join, then I have to relay Mr. Hong's ideas to my comrades. I think Mr. Hong knows very well that everything will change once it is relayed, so it is better to let Mr. Hong say it himself. "

Vézé's frankness stunned Hong Renxuan for a long time. Finally, he finally stood up, first cupped his hands to the crowd, and then said, "I have been in Hong Kong for a few years, and I have seen what the British have done, and I really have some feelings. The system established by the British is indeed much better than … than Manchu Qing. So I feel that at this time, the British should be my teacher. So in the past few years, I have been thinking about how to establish a new system. In addition to consulting learned people, I have also thought about it again and again, and now I have a preliminary idea. "

After talking about his main ideas, Hong Renxuan took out his ideas. These ideas are basically the British, as well as the European and American systems that Hong Renxuan met through missionary work in Hong Kong. After thinking and summarizing, Hong Renxuan came up with a work point that needs to be completed. Including the development of transportation, postal services, mining of mineral resources, water conservancy, incentives for manufacturing, banks and insurance, the establishment of village officers and soldiers, the establishment of press officers, the establishment of public treasury and tax authorities, the prohibition of corruption, the development of cultural, educational and health undertakings, incentives for charity, the prohibition of superstition, the prohibition of drinking and smoking, the prohibition of drowning babies, the prohibition of human trafficking and the use of slaves, etc.

Hong Renxuan summed up the contents of the 28 things that need to be done, and at this time also began to calmly talk about such a pile of eloquent talk, looking quite frightening. Many of the comrades in charge of foreign affairs of the Restoration Society stared blankly, and some even began to quickly record in their notebooks.

Luo Dagang said with a somewhat malicious smile, "I didn't expect Mr. Hong to be such an all-rounder, knowing so many things!"

How could Hong Renxuan not hear the meaning of Luo Dagang's words? He quickly replied, "I've been in Hong Kong for a long time, seeing how the British govern Hong Kong, I think there are some good ways, so I just came up with them. If you want me to say how they do business, I can talk about my experience. But if you ask them how they run these businesses, I don't know. If you ask me to do it, I'm afraid I'll do bad things. I think I should not be as good as you in doing these things. But some of what I just mentioned, we can do it ourselves, and some we need to learn from the British. So when negotiating with the British, if you can't reach the key point, you might as well not talk about the key point, just talk about the need to learn, the need to cooperate. "

"What if the British refuse to give up fighting with us?" Li Yuchang asked.

"Refusing to give up fighting with us doesn't mean that the British will fight with us now." Hong Renxuan's attitude is still relatively calm, "As far as I've seen the British, the purpose of their war is to make money, they are definitely not willing to do a losing business. In this case, as long as we can make the British feel that fighting with us is a sure loss, and that it is impossible to recover in the future, they will think clearly about the pros and cons, and then make a choice! "

Although Li Yuchang was a Huizhou businessman, he was, after all, a Chinese, and accepted Chinese culture. In Chinese culture, war is first and foremost a major event of justice. Compared with this justice, losing money or making money seems very unimportant. But Hong Renxuan clearly pointed out that the basis of the British's view of war is to lose money or make money, which made Li Yuchang not only unhappy but also despise the British. He first snorted with disdain, and then said, "Barbarians are barbarians, barbarians are all beasts with human faces, and fear power but not virtue!"

Such a statement clearly resonated with the crowd. Everyone either chimed in or nodded in agreement.

When Vézé saw this situation, he couldn't go on. Naturally, he, like Li Yuchang and others, did not have the slightest good opinion of the British. Vézé thought he was not a racist, but he felt that when he could build a large fleet that could cross the five oceans, it would be best to kill all the British. Thinking of the extermination of the British for the purpose of the British, Vézé's conscience did not feel self-condemned at all.

It's just that the situation is stronger than people. Vézé is about to march into Qiongzhou, and if he completely falls out with the British, the British can attack Vézé's ships at sea. At this stage, Vézé will lose a lot of money. So Vézé adjourned the meeting, and then called Li Yuchang, Hong Renxuan, and Luo Dagang to the next office.

"Before we have the combat power to fight the British at sea, I am not ready to enter a state of war with the British." Vézé said fiercely. "In the future, we can't fight the British now!"

After expressing his attitude, Vézé asked Hong Renxuan, "But I have something to ask Mr. Hong, would you like to join us in the cause of building a new China?"

Hong Renxuan was not surprised. He was not stupid. Vézé repeatedly asked Hong Renxuan to participate in the recovery of the Commander-In-Chief's office, and the intention of soliciting him was clear. Hong Renxuan slowly said, "Military Governor Wei, you are a capable man. If we follow you, we will be able to establish a new China. But I just want to ask one thing, how are you going to deal with the Taiping Rebellion? "

"When Manchu Qing is still here, I will naturally not take the initiative to fight with the Taiping Rebellion." Vézé stared at Hong Renxuan and replied, "However, when we are about to liberate the whole of China, if the Taiping Rebellion blocks our way, then we can only win with swords and spears! But that is only because the two sides have different positions, not because I have any malice against the Taiping Rebellion and the brothers of the Heavenly State. As for you, Mr. Hong, although you are a relative of Hong Xiuquan, I just want to ask if Mr. Hong is willing to join us, and if you are willing to go on the same path with us. If you are willing, then you are our comrade, and we will certainly not regard you as a relative of Hong Xiuquan! "

Hong Renxuan listened to this and sighed, "Since Military Governor Wei thinks so highly of me, then I will serve the Military Governor Wei. But in the future, if I want to leave … "

"If you want to leave, we will not stop you. Everyone has their own aspirations, and we can't force them. " Wei Ze said frankly, "However, if you want to leave, we only request that you publicly tell everyone that you're leaving and why you're leaving. As long as you can speak frankly, then we will not only send you away, but also give you travel expenses! "

Li Yuchang frowned, wanted to say something, but did not say it. Luo Dagang could not help but smile, and even nodded slightly.

Hong Renxuan was silent for a moment. Vézé's words sounded too lenient, but at this time, if he questioned Vézé's words were not sincere, it would be too ridiculous. Most importantly, Hong Renxuan did not hate working for Vézé. At this time, Hong Renxuan finally made up his mind, he said, "I don't know how to fight …"

Vézé smiled and said, "I don't want Mr. Hong to join the army. This time, I want Mr. Hong to lead the negotiations with the British!"

"What about me?" Li Yuchang couldn't help but ask.

"Comrade Hong Renxuan said that covering the word" light "is a matter of winning a verbal victory, not practical, and will cause trouble. Comrade Li Yuchang, it is good that you firmly support our interests in restoring the Viceroy's office. But when negotiating with the British, we need to adhere to principles, but at least a cooperative attitude and not bring personal emotions into the negotiations are also necessary. Comrade Hong Renxuan will be responsible for this matter. You do some more detailed work! "Vézé gave orders to Li Yuchang.

"Commander-in-chief!" Li Yuchang shouted.

Vézé looked at Li Yuchang's aggrieved expression, he could not help but smile bitterly, "Comrade Li Yuchang, if you want to kill all the British, I can say that I am no less than you. You probably just want to kill all the British people in Hong Kong. Kill all the British people who are dealing with us. But what I want is to kill all the British on the whole earth. "

At this point, Vézé could not help but gnash his teeth. He stopped talking, took a few deep breaths, and then continued in a calm tone, "But since this can't be done, and we can't beat the British fleet at sea. Then we will cooperate with the British and accept their existence. People say that a villain takes revenge from morning till night, but a gentleman takes revenge ten years later. The river flows east for thirty years, and the river flows west for thirty years. Once we become stronger, we'll be able to deal with these British devils however we want to! To forge iron, we need to be strong ourselves. Let's bury our heads and work hard first! "

Li Yuchang actually knew that Vézé did not have a good opinion of the British, but at this time, after listening to Vézé's words, the deep hatred was a hundred times deeper and more resentful than Li Yuchang's dissatisfaction because of the setbacks in the negotiations. If Vézé was not a clever liar, then he must have really wanted to kill all the British. This kind of attitude was no longer anger born out of anger, but the unforgettable hatred that could only be found in those who had endured hardships to gain courage.

In the face of such an even more intense emotion, Li Yuchang did not dare to insist on his own opinion. After thinking for a moment, he finally said, "I will listen to Military Governor Wei's orders!"

Seeing that Li Yuchang had expressed his stance, Vézé turned to Hong Renxuan, "Then comrade Hong Renxuan will be responsible for the following negotiations!"