Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 455 Weird Negotiation

After the intensive arrangement by the Qing court, the courier set off from the capital before six o'clock in the morning and rushed to Tianjin at an expedited speed of [-] miles.

Fu Chang'an received the edict in the afternoon, and he felt a little relieved when he saw that the imperial court had issued an edict to the troops stationed in the eastern part of Zhili.Then he ordered people to find Tianjin Daoqiao Renjie, and ordered him and the English to negotiate with the Beihai Navy.

Qiao Renjie is 44 years old and was born in Juren.He learned martial arts when he was young, and he was quite courageous. After becoming an official, he became famous for catching robbers, so he was specially promoted as a co-prefect of Shuntian South Road.In the history of another time and space, Qiao Renjie became famous not because of catching robbers, but because he was responsible for entertaining the Macartney delegation who went to Rehe to meet Qianlong.

However, because of the appearance of Beihai Town, Qiao Renjie and Macartney met in advance.And the famous young Stangton was only nine years old at this time, and he also lived with his father on the "Dingbei".

Qiao Renjie first took people to Dagukou, and then boarded the "Dinghai" by boat to meet Macartney.After listening to the other party's request, Macartney was of course willing, but he also put forward a condition.

"Master Qiao, all of us are living on the boat now. Can you find us a place to live on the shore? If there is something to do, it will be convenient for communication."

How dare Qiao Renjie agree to such a thing, so he replied that the matter will definitely be conveyed to the higher authorities, please wait patiently.Everything about the Qing Dynasty must be decided by the emperor, and even the imperial envoy in Tianjin has no right to agree.However, the capital is very close to Tianjin, and there must be news within a day or two.

Macartney was very happy to hear that, and immediately consulted Sir John Jervis, the leader of the officer corps.After some selection, Horatio Nelson and the deputy envoy Stendon and his son became the final candidates.So the next morning, the three of them, the translator, and Qiao Renjie, who had changed into civilian clothes, boarded a [-]-stone sand boat, carrying some gifts from England, and headed for the big ship in the North Sea.

When the sandship was one nautical mile away from the Thunder God, a black assault boat galloped towards the sandship.When they saw the long white waves coming out from the tail of the Zodiac, the British on the sandboat let out bursts of amazement.

Horatio Nelson said to George Staunton beside him: "Their ships have no sails or oars. I don't know what they use to drive them. It's really amazing. If they can obtain this technology, the navy of the British Empire will definitely be able to dominate Atlantic and Indian Oceans."

Staunton nodded, but did not speak.According to the information obtained by the mission from the Governor of Madras and Macau, this force, which has been confronting the huge Qing Empire for several years, relied on super powerful weapons and ships to traverse the coast of the Qing Empire, and even the Governor of Guangzhou and the Macau authorities They all suffered a lot.

What surprised him the most was a rumor he heard in Macau.Two years ago, the "king" who was in charge of Beihai Town landed in Guangzhou, took only a few dozen people, and captured a large number of local officials in Guangzhou. What he was facing at that time were thousands of heavily armed elites .

And from the general of the Manqing Water Division, Stangdong also heard that the "king" was leading an army to fight against the Tsarist Russian Empire in the north.

This is too bizarre!He really couldn't think of anyone in this world who could challenge two huge empires at the same time, not even the British Empire dared to do so.

And his son Xiao Sidangdong stood beside his father, looking curiously at the two big ships not far away, thinking that the deck is so big, can he ride a horse on it?

After the North Navy's speedboat approached the sand ship, it ordered the other party to lower its sails to slow down, and then boarded the ship for inspection.

Qiao Renjie was panicked when he heard that the other party spoke extremely fluent Mandarin.Although he is from Tianjin Road in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he is also a Han Chinese; strictly speaking, he is from Shanxi, and has nothing to do with the Qiao family in Qi County.

The Qing government strictly blocked the news outside the pass, and people in the officialdom only knew that the court had been defeated and fought repeatedly.For many people, whether it was in Jinchuan, Myanmar, or Junggar, which one didn't they lose first and then win?There is nothing to be afraid of the occasional failure, the world is still peaceful in the pass, and no one will think that the rule of the Manchu Qing is unstable.

However, for Qiao Renjie, when he saw the big ship of Beihai Navy with his own eyes and heard the fluent mandarin spoken by the soldiers, he finally understood that the other party was a far more terrifying existence than any previous opponent.He looked back at the five huge sailing battleships, which were not a little bit worse than the Thor and Thunder in front.

At this moment, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind, and immediately made his back drenched in sweat.

"Since ancient times, the Hu people have no national destiny for a hundred years!"

After some inspection, the soldiers of the marine battalion ordered the British on the sandboat not to carry any weapons on board; except for a few people in charge of negotiations, no sailors were allowed to board.

In the eyes of Horatio Nelson and others, everything about the Thunderbolt and the Thunder God is new. Although the two ships have the same shape, the size difference is more than double.

Whether it's the huge anchor chain hanging down into the sea at the bow, or the towering "flagpole" at the bow, or the dizzying ship building, and the rifles in the hands of the Marine Battalion soldiers, even the one parked in the distance The 1000-ton sailing merchant ship is also full of question marks in Nelson's eyes.

When a group of people walked up the gangway and boarded the deck, they suddenly had a bright view. The wide deck made them all open their mouths, and they couldn't close them for a long time.At this moment, Qiao Renjie's legs were sore and dizzy, and he almost sat on the deck.

Many years later, when Qiao Renjie recalled the moment he boarded the Jinglei, he couldn't help but feel a little proud.Except for Chen Xinhuai from the Guangdong Haiphong Yamen who had been on the Thunder God, he should be the first Manchu Qing official to board the Jinglei; most importantly, he was not a prisoner at that time!

Nelson saw the cannon covered with colorful tarps on the deck at a glance, and he tried to figure out what kind of weapon it was from the shape.However, an officer on the deck interrupted his reverie, and after a brief exchange of greetings, he led a group of people into the poop.

A group of people followed the officer around and up the stairs, and there were two soldiers with guns behind them.When Qiao Renjie felt that he could no longer crawl, the officer led them to the door of a cabin on the third floor.

"Report! The other party's negotiator has arrived!"

"Please come in." Following the order of a man with a southern accent, Qiao Renjie, Stendon and his son, and Nelson walked into the cabin and met Deng Fei, the head of the North Navy's Admiralty Department.

"Sit down, gentlemen."

Nelson and Staunton looked curiously at the oriental man across the long table. He had short hair about an inch long, was less than six feet tall, and was wearing a speckled grass-green dress.The other party has a thin face. Although he is smiling, the protruding cheekbones and pursed lips show a character that is soft on the outside and strong on the inside.

The most noticeable thing is that there is a pair of exquisitely crafted double-lens glasses on the bridge of this person's nose, which looks less like a soldier and more like a scholar.

Behind this person, against the wall, stood a taller man, wearing a dark green helmet, standing upright like a guard.And this person also wears a pair of glasses, but the lenses are actually black, making it impossible to see his face clearly.

"Are you drinking coffee or tea?"

"Ah, you guys actually have coffee? Then give me a cup." Horatio Nelson was very surprised. He didn't expect there to be coffee here, but he just didn't know how it tasted.

Stanton said: "I'd better have a cup of tea, what kind of tea do you have?"

Deng Fei smiled and said, "How about black tea? It's winter, and drinking some black tea is good for your stomach." After finishing speaking, he looked at Xiao Stangdong, who was staring around with big eyes, and asked, "How about a cup of hot chocolate for you?" Sample?"

After listening to the translator's words, Xiao Sidang nodded hastily.It had been a long time since he had had hot chocolate since leaving Madras.

After Deng Fei explained to the soldiers at the door, he immediately said to Stang Dong: "This is your child? He looks so cute. What's his name?"

If it weren't for the murderous "guard" standing behind the other party and the accompanying Qiao Renjie, Stangdong and Nelson would have thought they were visiting someone else's house.

"Dear Your Excellency, I am the deputy envoy of the East India Company of the British Empire, George Staunton." After finishing speaking, Staunton introduced Nelson beside him, and finally touched his son's shoulder and said: "This is My son, George Thomas Staunton."

Qiao Renjie and the translator also quickly handed over their hands, saying that one of them was responsible for recording the content of the meeting, and the other was the translator.After finishing speaking, Qiao Renjie took out paper, ink, pen and inkstone from the cloth pocket he carried with him and put them on the table.

When he heard Nelson's name, Deng Fei was stunned for a moment, thinking that this is not "Sir Admiral Seasickness", why did he come to China?
In March 1787, Nelson, who had just concluded a lawsuit, married a widowed young woman, Francis Finney Nisbay, on the island of Nevis, and then the two returned to England.

Because his expenses during the lawsuit were borne by the government, officials of the Navy Department were dissatisfied with him. In addition, the number of warships in service during peacetime was small, so Nelson never had the opportunity to lead the ship to sea.

Just at this time, the five second-class sailing ships built by the Ministry of the Navy for Daiqing were nearing completion, and a group of retired officers needed to be sent to China for training.So on the recommendation of Sir John Jervis, Nelson and his wife boarded the fleet to China.However, since the Qing Dynasty did not allow Western women to accompany them on board, Francis stayed in Macau with some other family members.

However, no one noticed that when Deng Fei was introducing himself to several people, the eyes of the "guard" behind him, hidden behind sunglasses, kept staring at Xiao Sidangdong.

Nine-year-old Stangton seemed to have noticed something, tilted his head and looked at the guard, feeling a little scared, so he tightened his father's hand.

"Little bastard, it's you!" Zhao Xin cursed in his heart.

George Thomas Staunton, this is an extremely important figure in the history of Sino-British relations in the nineteenth century.

It was he who brought the technology of vaccinia vaccination to China; it was also he who opposed Palmerston's motion to "establish a court in China".

However, it was also he who refused to kneel to Jiaqing, declaring that the dignity of the British Empire was inviolable; in the famous House of Commons debate in 1839, he strongly endorsed the aggression against China, which influenced many members to vote for it.

".After the fullest consideration, I stand by the views previously expressed. But the actual breakdown in our relationship with China cannot be attributed solely to the lack of vigilance or foresight of Her Majesty and current Ministers if we submit to such atrocities and business concerns in China. Downgrade, without any attempt to defend it, the consequences will be transferred to our vast empire in India, where our political dominance will be severely damaged, and the day is not too far away. I am therefore very much in favor of an expedition to China."

All because of economic interests, all because of Lin Zexu's "cigarette sales" in Humen.

Shit sinologist!Bullshit Messenger of Peace!The unforgettable memory of this period of history makes Zhao Xin want to jump on him and strangle him to death!
Just when Little Staunton felt the "murderous aura" emanating from the man wearing black glasses opposite him, making his mouth pouted in fright, and tears were about to fall, a cat meowed suddenly from outside the door.

"Meow~~"

So Little Staunton let go of his father's hand, leaned against the wall, went to the door and looked out, and found a fat and big orange cat squatting in the aisle.A moment later, a figure flashed at the corner of the aisle, and a very beautiful girl walked over with a long black ponytail.

"Duofu, why are you running around? Go quickly."

King Duofu turned over to reveal his white belly, which meant that he wanted to be hugged by A Miao.A Miao said: "Don't hug me anymore, I'm getting all hairy. Let's go."

Xiao Sidangdong walked out of the cabin, came to Duofu, and asked curiously: "This cat is really fat. What's its name?"

A Miao blinked her eyes, imitating Zhao Xin and spreading her hands, expressing that she didn't understand at all.

(Dover: "Another slave!")
At this time, Sidangdong saw his son go out, he apologized to Deng Fei quickly, and was taken aback when he walked to the door.Deng Fei also probably knew what was going on, so he came over and said to Stangdong in English: "Mr. Deputy Envoy, if you don't mind, let's talk about the business first. As for your son, you can let this girl take him first." The restaurant next door waits. The food on our boat will make your son fat."

After speaking, he told A Miao about the situation again, and A Miao agreed with a smile.

Stangton was stunned, he didn't expect the other party to speak fluent English.However, thinking of his mission, he immediately expressed his gratitude, gave his son some instructions, and then returned to the conference room.

At this time, the coffee and tea were served, and Nelson picked up the cup and smelled it, and said in surprise, "You actually have Jamaican coffee beans?"

Deng Fei said: "Actually, I prefer to drink tea, but there are people on board who like coffee, so they have to have two cups every day."

Nelson and Staunton looked at each other, wondering if these people still haunt the Caribbean?I haven't heard of it!

Come to think of it, it's French!According to the representative of the Thirteen Banks, the gentleman who was sent by Beihai Town to Guangzhou Thirteen Banks had a very good relationship with the French.

Next, negotiations between the two sides began in a strange atmosphere.

Two Englishmen came, but they represented the Qing Dynasty; although Deng Fei represented the Beihai Navy, Zhao Xin stood behind him.

At the beginning of the meeting, Stangton asked Deng Fei about the intention of the Beihai Navy to come to Dagukou, and whether it planned to go to war with the Qing Empire.Nelson expressed that he would like to visit the Thunderbolt after the meeting, or if it is convenient, he can see the sailing ship.

What are you thinking? !Deng Fei immediately rejected Nelson's request.

Not to mention that the two sides are still friends and foes, even if the armistice negotiations are over, you British don't even think about spying on it.Both Zhao Xin and Deng Fei will regard the British Empire as the enemy of the shit-stirring stick that has stirred up the whole world and has been stirring up into the 21st century.

Deng Fei told Stangdong that the Beihai Township fleet purchased soybeans in the Liaodong Peninsula and traded them fairly. As a result, they were attacked by the Qing army, and naturally they had to fight back.

Qiao Renjie, who was scribbling aside to record, cursed shamelessly in his heart. Why did he attack the Jinzhou Water Camp stationed in Lushun when he bought soybeans?As for your boat and that cannon, even if you give him ten guts in the Jinzhou Water Camp, he wouldn't dare to provoke him!
However, Nelson and Stangton expressed their understanding of the North Navy's approach.First of all, they don't understand the poor combat effectiveness of the Jinzhou Water Camp, and secondly, as a bandit country that colonizes overseas everywhere, the behavior of the Beihai Navy is understandable in their eyes, and it is completely fine!

Then Deng Fei said that since the Manchus could launch a sneak attack shamelessly, they should bear the consequences for the failure.The purpose of Beihai Navy's visit to Dagukou this time is to start negotiations with the Qing government and discuss personnel mobility.

After listening, Stangton asked: "What if the great emperor of the Qing Dynasty does not agree to negotiate?"

"Gentlemen, I want to reiterate that the Beihai Navy is also Chinese. Like the people under the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they are all descendants of Yan and Huang! If Qianlong disagrees, we will sink all five sailing ships and bombard Dagu port, and land in Tianjin."

Deng Fei glanced at Qiao Renjie and the interpreter, saw the two of them wiping the sweat on their foreheads with their sleeves, and said with a sneer: "At that time, it will be easy for the Beihai Navy to enter Beijing. Please pass on my words to the Manchurians." Officials, I will only give them three days. If there is no reply, we will bombard the Taku Fort at six o'clock in the morning three days later. At that time, please transfer to other ships in advance to avoid danger."

Staunton and Nelson showed regret on their faces, and finally asked: "What level of officials in the Qing Empire do you want to start negotiations with?"

"Bachelor, Minister of Military Aircraft!"

"Shua!" Qiao Renjie's hand trembled suddenly, and the brush drew a long ink mark on the paper.

(End of this chapter)