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Erkin was the governor of Canada, and he was unhappy when the Americans were mentioned. Especially when the Americans resisted the gloating expression and tried to pretend to be sincere and said "willing to mediate for the British and the Commander-in-Chief's Office." Erkin just wanted to learn from the Liberation Army representative and say "Fuck you" to the British representative!
The UA mediated between the Manchu Qing and the British and French coalition forces, that was the task assigned to the UA by the British. When was it the UA's turn to volunteer to mediate for the British? A group of colonial rebels wanted to see the British make a fool of themselves, were they still dreaming?
"If the UA is willing to attack the Liberation Army, we will be very grateful." Erkin smiled. The British was now the world's most powerful country, and this kind of seemingly weak words did not damage the dignity of the British.
Of course, the UA representative knew the sarcasm in Erkin's words. Of course, it was okay to mock the British, but this mockery was meaningless. The British had a great advantage in the Far East. If the British were really angered, it would not be difficult to drive the UA out of the Far East.
Just provoking the argument, the UA representative did not back down. He smiled and said, "We can contact the Liberation Army and ask them to hand over the French wounded to us, and we will transfer them to France."
Erkin snorted. "We have already sent someone to contact the Commander-in-Chief's Office."
The expression on the UA representative's face froze for a moment. He did not expect the British to act so fast. After the battle, they had already colluded with the Liberation Army. The European shit stirrer really lived up to its reputation.
However, the next day, the change in the situation made the UA representative even more confused. The night before, the Liberation Army sent the seriously wounded French left on the battlefield to the shore, and the British took them back to Hong Kong. The next day, the captured French soldiers and the lightly wounded were also sent back to Hong Kong.
The UA received news that after the French soldiers returned to Hong Kong, they were going to fight the Navy. At the end of the battle, the French Navy carried out a fierce artillery attack on the Liberation Army that might pursue them. But the Liberation Army did not rush out from their positions to pursue. The shells fell on the French Army, and one shot killed one or two hundred French soldiers. The lawsuit was finally suppressed by the French commander and did not turn into a bloody war between the army and the navy.
On the third day, the British, American, and French consulates in Guangzhou sent people back one after another. The Liberation Army proposed to hold a meeting on the military conflict to discuss how to deal with it. The French side naturally wanted to declare war on the Viceroy of Glory, but the Americans had no such impulse. The United States was only here to be a bystander. Crossing the vast Pacific Ocean to fight a war with the Viceroy General's Office was something only a developed country like France would do. The Americans only hoped that the war would not affect their business in Guangzhou. Therefore, the United States readily stated that they were going to negotiate with the Viceroy's Office. To the surprise of the Americans, the British also sent a representative to Guangzhou. The French people first shouted that they wanted to fight against the Liberation Army by relying on the Navy and Army alone. After shouting for only half a day, the French representative angrily boarded the ship and went to Foshan with the representatives of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia.
The shipping on the Pearl River was very lively at this time. There were fewer and fewer small sailboats, and a small ship with three to five barges behind it occupied nearly half of the fleet. The American representative looked at the ships and barges. It was a ship with iron bones and a wooden shell. The quality of the iron bones was unknown, but the wood used for the wooden shell was really bad. At a glance, it could be seen that it was pieced together from other ships. This kind of wooden shell could be sunk by a single shot. In the eyes of the Americans, who were extremely rich in high-quality wood, these ship shells were not good for burning.
Although Foshan was not as big as Guangzhou, it was not a small and pitiful city. The Viceroy General's Office obviously did not want to give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of during the war. The security of the city was very tight at this time. There were artillery on the waterway dock, and there was a temporary camp for a large garrison outside the city gate. There were troops guarding the city gate and the city wall. The police and armed police in the city patrolled back and forth.
The American representative made a rough estimate. Even if they could break through the Tiger Gate Fort, it would probably take 20,000 troops to capture the city. This was already the limit of the four-nation coalition forces. As for how to deal with the Liberation Army from other areas after capturing the city, they could only leave their fate to God.
With this awareness, the American representative completely gave up the idea of a military solution to the problem. At least until the American side decided that the British had won a decisive victory, they would not be involved in the military attack on the Liberation Army.
Although the military preparations were very adequate, the Liberation Army's hospitality was very good. The host of the dinner was Hong Ren, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Viceroy General's Office. The reception banquet was Western food, and the traditional foreign way of eating separately was implemented. A beautiful female receptionist in a suit and bow tie dragged a tray to and fro next to the representative's seat. Steaks, seafood, and fruits were served one by one. The wine was not the traditional Cantonese yellow wine, but rum. This really made the representatives of various countries very happy.
Of course, there was naturally no discussion of military and national affairs at the dinner. They talked about import and export business. Seeing that there was an opportunity, the American representative asked a question at the time. "Are you willing to import pine boards from the United States? For ships, the quality is good, and the price is reasonable. "
"Didn't the United States say that the oil there is better than whale oil?" Hong Ren parroted what Vézé asked him to say.
"Do you want oil?" The American representative was surprised and happy. "How much do you want?"
"The quality of our pine wood in Russia is better than that of the United States!" The representative of Russia also interrupted.
The French representative originally wanted to say nothing, but when he heard that the representatives of the United States and Russia had actually started to talk business with the China side, he immediately looked at the British representative.
The corners of the British representative's mouth could not help but start to twitch. The United States and Russia were originally here to be bystanders. If they wanted to expand trade with China, they had to follow after the British. However, the representative of China actually showed obvious signs of trade with the United States and Russia. If the two countries really negotiated a deal, wouldn't it be ridiculous?
The British representative immediately said, "This time, we are here to discuss the military conflict, not to discuss trade issues."
Even on an occasion like the dinner, when it came to issues of principle, Hong Ren? Immediately raised his left hand, raised his index finger, and shook it in the air. "I don't think so. I think it is precisely because of the trade issue that everyone has gone to war."
As soon as this sentence was said, everyone in the room was silent. This short sentence directly pointed out the essence of the problem.
Hong Ren? He continued, "The British side wants to make a lot of money from China, so they don't care about the health of the Chinese people at all. The purpose of the British is to make money in China, and the health of the Chinese people has nothing to do with the British. But for us, our first consideration is the health and happiness of the Chinese people. That's why there is a war. "
Although this was very impolite, his attitude was very serious. The British representative shook his head slightly and was ready to refute.
As for Hong Ren? He continued, "The current situation is that the trade of other countries with China is a situation where there is a trade imbalance, and China buys too little from the world. The Viceroy General's Office recognizes this fact, and we also believe that it is necessary for China to buy more goods from the world. However, this must be fair trade, and not other countries using their military advantages to wage war against China, and then forcibly doing business with China. This military conflict is undoubtedly like this. Military victories could bring about reparations, military victories could bring about forced trade, and war itself could become a means of profit. The Viceroy General's Office cannot accept this, and the people of China cannot accept this. "
With the ability to defeat the enemy, Hong Ren? His words seemed to carry a lot of weight. Although the representatives of Britain, France, the United States, and Russia all believed that war itself was a means of profit, they still hoped to temporarily use some peaceful means to make money when there was no guarantee of victory.
Hong Ren? He continued, "We will expand the purchase quota of foreign goods, and hope to resolve trade disputes through peaceful means. Of course, we will continue to strengthen our military strength. A strong military strength is to protect the interests of China from being infringed. On this point, I hope everyone can believe in our sincerity and determination. "
At this point, it was almost the end. Since the Viceroy General's Office had pointed out the core contradiction, there was no need to beat around the bush if they wanted to fight or make peace. The representative of Great Britain simply stopped speaking. Among the four countries, Great Britain was the only one who had never given up the plan to destroy the Liberation Army militarily.
When it came to the core issue, Great Britain's position as the leader finally showed its power. The representative of Great Britain did not say anything, and the representatives of the other three countries did not express any position on this. On international issues, no country was willing to directly oppose the British when it did not involve their own core interests. This was the strength of Great Britain, and this was the prestige of Great Britain as the world's leader.
Hong Ren? Seeing that everything that needed to be said had been said, he smiled and said, "The next dish is beef brisket with tomato sauce. It tastes very good. Everyone must try it."
With food as a reason, the once tense atmosphere was instantly eased. Everyone began to concentrate on tasting the food, and from time to time expressed their own opinions. No one talked about any more topics related to politics, so the whole atmosphere of the dinner party seemed to be joyful and harmonious.
After the dinner party, Hong Ren? He took a basic clause of the contract and discussed it with the representatives of the four countries. Apart from not allowing the big tobacco trade, not allowing foreign missionaries to China, and not accepting extraterritoriality, the other clauses of the Viceroy General's Office were far more liberal than the Manchu Qing government.
The above three clauses were the most beneficial to Great Britain. Russia, the United States, and France did not have a big tobacco source. They only hoped to expand exports to China. Moreover, after the speech at the dinner party, the tone of the whole content was also made clear to the representatives of various countries. After reading the content, the representatives of the other three countries' eyes fell on the face of the representative of Great Britain. If the representative of Great Britain was willing to speak, the other countries could follow.
But after the representative of Great Britain put down the document, he did not say a word.
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