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Wei Ze used to find it strange that the Barbarian Race was able to win one victory after another so easily after they were armed to a certain extent. As people of an industrial society, it was only natural that civilization would prevail over barbarism. When Wei Ze sent Luo Dagang to lead more than ten thousand troops to attack Jingzhou, he suddenly felt that he understood this matter.
Of course, the Restoration Society was not a barbaric army, but the reason why the Liberation Army was able to achieve military victories so easily was not because the Liberation Army was more civilized, but because the Liberation Army's military capabilities far surpassed their opponents. The barbaric conquest of civilization in history was based on the same principle. The barbarians relied on their military strength to overcome their civilization. Then, both sides would rely on military strength to solve the problem. This had nothing to do with the level of civilization and development of both societies.
Moreover, when civilizations fought against barbarians, 99% of the time, the civilized side emerged victorious. The reason why the barbaric conquest of civilization was so impressive was precisely because the probability of such a thing happening was too low, and there were too few cases. That was why it was so eye-catching.
The reason why Vézé thought of this problem was that his negotiations with the British had entered a critical stage. There had always been a dispute over trade between the two sides. The British strongly urged them to join in the establishment of the customs and even the judicial system.
Vézé was naturally furious at the beginning. This was a humiliation to the country! However, reality was stronger than people. Vézé's men's performance in these two aspects disappointed Vézé. Vézé didn't think that he would lose the war if he allowed his brothers to take up arms and fight to the death against the United Kingdom. There were only a few thousand British in Hong Kong, and the weapons they used were nothing special. At least at this stage, the British only had artillery that was stronger than Vézé's Liberation Army. Both sides used firearms, and before the Minet rifle was fully popularized, even if the British had a better gun barrel than Vézé's, it was not an overwhelming advantage.
However, military superiority and the advantages of an industrialized society were two different things. The British had a relatively democratic upper class, and their understanding of the modern social system was indeed much better than Vézé's subordinates. Vézé had complete confidence in the Englishman, but how much could he do alone? Actually, he couldn't do much. Currently, Vézé spent most of his time mobilizing the middle and upper management and training them.
This group of middle and upper echelons was indeed incomparable to the United Kingdom, which meant that many of Vézé's ideas couldn't be realized in the short term. Therefore, Vézé thought of Mr. Lu Xun's famous article "The Doctrine of Bringing". Therefore, he had to painfully admit that he did not necessarily lack the help of the Englishman.
"Will I be known as a traitor to my country?" Vézé couldn't help but think about his funeral.
But it couldn't be helped. Some things had to be done against one's will. Therefore, even though Vézé was extremely unwilling, he still began to negotiate with the Englishman at the agreed time.
The Englishman was full of expectations and provided Vézé with a proposal based on the previous negotiations. The Englishman thoughtfully took out a Chinese manuscript.
This kind of document had been exchanged a long time ago. In fact, Vézé had already finished reading it. Facing the British representative, Vézé sneered, "We can let the Englishman be the deputy, but all decisions must be in our hands. We hired you to participate in the construction of our customs, not to hand over our customs to you! Don't you dare misinterpret our position! As for the construction of the legal system, we can't accept the British system. Because your legal system has nothing in common with China's. You play with cases, but we don't. For us, the legal provisions themselves represent our attitude towards the law. The legal provisions can be adjusted, but the judicial spirit will not change. This is something that can't be compromised! "
The British representative didn't show any signs of backing down. "What we offer is the most advanced system in the world. It will be of great benefit to you to fully adopt our system. Governor Wei, you are a very wise man, and my country thinks that you are a civilized man. So you don't have to refuse. "
Wei Ze was unhappy. When the British said that, he couldn't help but get angry. "Then, are you here to negotiate with us with a cooperative attitude? Or are you trying to force your ideas on us and force us to accept your proposal? Is that a piece of advice that I can ignore? Or is it a threat that I have to take seriously? I want to know your attitude! "
Speaking of this, Vézé suddenly remembered the British TV series Yes! Prime Minister. It was an episode about British diplomacy. Sir Humphrey, an outstanding representative of the British civil service, said that the British Prime Minister and the American President didn't actually discuss any specific matters. The specific work was discussed by the deputy ministers in charge of foreign affairs. The British Prime Minister and the American President actually just made a statement and decided that the two sides could hold talks. So in the TV series, when the British Prime Minister and the American President met, they were actually scolding the French together, and both sides were very happy.
Now, Vézé didn't have a reliable foreign minister in his hands, so he, as the commander-in-chief, could only negotiate with the British himself. To decide the specific content of the negotiations between the two sides. In the face of the Manchu Qing and the Taiping Rebellion, Vézé naturally felt that his talents were above the two sides in terms of quantity and quality. But in the face of the damn British, Vézé obviously didn't have such confidence.
So he turned his head angrily and didn't look at the British. In fact, he glanced at the back row and looked at Hong Renxuan, who was in the back row on his side. This guy was brought by Vézé from Hong Kong to participate in the meeting as an observer. The other representatives didn't quite understand what Vézé's point was. Only Hong Renxuan frowned slightly and looked calm. It seemed that he had heard something.
Wei Ze turned his head. At this moment, he suddenly remembered that it was written in a book he had read that this group of people in the diplomatic world were all old foxes who were proficient in accidents. Any performance of the negotiating opponent, a glance, these guys who were more shrewd than monkeys would be able to find clues in it. It was not the right time to expose the importance that Vézé attached to Hong Renxuan.
As the de facto foreign minister, Vézé had already told the British the line that Vézé had drawn. The British should not expect to impose their own ideas on Vézé. The so-called bottom line of negotiation was gradually completed through such quarrels and probing. In such a final common acceptance point, the two sides built their own interests.
"Governor Wei, you are a man who understands the law. It is because we sincerely hope to reach cooperation with you that we pay special attention to these institutional issues. Our agreement must be abided by … "The attitude of the British representative softened a little.
Vézé waved his hand, "We are not talking about an agreement, we are talking about a legal issue. That is to say, this law will be enforced equally. I have a personal suspicion that you want to get more benefits from this law and fix it in the form of a law. For us, this law is not only a means and way of management, but also the spirit of our political philosophy. So we can't use our spirit to accommodate your interests. If you think so, I can tell you that it is absolutely impossible. "
Speaking of this, Vézé finally felt a little better. However, he felt a little guilty. After all, before the other side openly threatened him, he shouted, "Don't try to use threats to make me give in", which was the standard mentality of the weak. So Vézé continued, "Now we have a trade imbalance between the two sides. We export more goods to the British than we import from the British. I think this imbalance should be changed, and both sides should reach a trade balance. However, this is an issue of trade policy, and it has nothing to do with what kind of law we establish. Your current proposal makes me feel that you're trying to get me to enact a law that will definitely make you more money. That's impossible. This is my attitude, and this is also my bottom line! "R1058
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