The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 77 Going to Yingtian Prefecture for Negotiations
So Franklin simply shook his head and rejected the British proposal:

“If it were two years ago, the people of the thirteen colonies in North America would certainly be willing to accept His Majesty’s terms.

“But now we can’t accept it.

“The Ming Dynasty did have only tens of thousands of expeditionary forces in North America, and they were scattered across several towns and islands in North and Central America.

“But they now actually had command of at least a hundred thousand colonial troops, including twenty thousand Continental Army soldiers and a large and variable number of militia.

“Because they led the Continental Army and militia to many great victories, they were recognized, trusted and followed by officers and soldiers.

"It is impossible to execute an order to send the mainland army and militia to fight against the Ming expeditionary force.

“Unless the Ming expeditionary army suddenly becomes tyrannical and begins to persecute the people of the colonies and plunder their wealth.

“But this is almost impossible to happen.

"The Ming fleet even brought authentic Ming tea, silk and porcelain to the North American people.

“It’s nothing like the defective products that the English merchants used to sell to North America.

"This made the merchants and people in North America more yearning for the Ming Dynasty and more disgusted with the British Kingdom.

"The Ming army is cultivating the wasteland created by the war and planting crops on its own. It will also provide enough goods for the purchase of other supplies.

"Because the Ming Dynasty is much richer than Britain, they don't need violent plunder, they just need normal exchange.

"The current Ming expeditionary force has been welcomed by both merchants and farmers in the colonies.

"So the colonial people will not fight against the Ming expeditionary force."

British intelligence officers were very surprised by Franklin's response.

After repeatedly confirming Franklin's attitude, he returned to England to report with great regret.

King George III once again held a royal conference, with the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary participating again.

The king was furious before he had even read the entire report:

"Why? Why are they, as English people, unwilling to cooperate with their king's troops, but willing to cooperate with the Ming people?
"Are these people born traitors? They are cooperating with the pagans of the Ming Dynasty. Aren't they afraid that they won't be able to go to heaven after they die?"

The Home Secretary, Earl Shelburne, also said with a dark face:

"Your Majesty, the most important thing is actually interests, not the race of the opponent or what kind of beliefs they hold.

“If all the goods sold by the Ming Dynasty to Europe are transferred through North America in the future, local merchants will wholeheartedly follow the Ming Dynasty.

"Ordinary people in the area will certainly be bewitched by these profit-seeking businessmen and follow the expeditionary force from the Ming Dynasty."

George III's expression was extremely gloomy. He clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth while cursing:
"These bastards, these scum of England, I curse them all to go to hell after they die!"

Foreign Secretary Fox sighed and said:
“In fact, during the Seven Years’ War, the people of the colonies were very willing to cooperate with the royal army.

“Many of the current North American Continental Army and Militia generals are soldiers who once served in the Kingdom of Britain.

“It was with their help and that of the colonial people that we were able to defeat the French army in North America during the Seven Years’ War.

“We thus acquired almost all of French North America, including the great plains behind the Appalachian Mountains.

“But after the war, His Majesty forbade the colonists to cross the Appalachian Mountains and live on the lands they had seized.

"This is seen as a betrayal by the colonial people, so they will take back the benefits they deserve with their own hands."

Fox exposed George III's shortcomings in person, and George III was almost out of control. He clenched his fists and slammed them on the table.

Prime Minister Lord Rockingham quickly stepped forward to prevent the conflict between the two sides from escalating further:
“We originally prohibited the thirteen colonies from expanding westward in order to avoid conflicts between the thirteen colonies and the original French colonists and the indigenous peoples.

“And that’s all in the past. There’s no point in discussing it now, and these are not the real key reasons.

“The Ming people actually used the expeditionary forces as officers and controlled the command of the North American Continental Army and militia.

“The Ming expeditionary army was indeed dispersed, but it was precisely because they were dispersed that they were able to control enough militias.

“By offering direct trade with the Ming Dynasty, local merchants and farmers were willing to follow the Ming Dynasty, while local merchants controlled public opinion.

“So we really can no longer directly separate the North American colonies from the Ming Dynasty.

"Everything is back to square one. Accept Ming's conditions.

"We still have to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty first. The Ming Dynasty at least won't ask for Jersey and Gibraltar."

After hearing what the Prime Minister said, George III finally realized the reality. He leaned back in his chair and said weakly:

"Then invite Ming to send representatives to negotiate."

The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary wanted to take over the conversation, but Foreign Secretary Fox jumped in again and interrupted:

"The commander of the Ming Dynasty's North American fleet told us in his response that we should go to Yingtian Prefecture for negotiations." The key point is that the journey to the Ming Dynasty is long. It takes half a year to go there, and a whole year to come back.

"If we simply invite the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and he refuses to come to Europe for negotiations, then a year's time will be wasted.

"How much extra tax revenue and interest would be lost if the nominal war continued for another year?
"So it would be safer to send someone directly to Yingtian Prefecture to discuss the matter."

George III always disliked Fox, but what Fox said did make sense, so the king stared and said nothing.

The Prime Minister saw the situation and immediately stepped in to mediate:

“Your Majesty, no one would want to go to Paris for negotiations, and the French would not like to come to London for negotiations.

"Plus, the Qing Kingdom and Shun Kingdom in Shenzhou are also actually participating in the war, so it would be more appropriate to negotiate in Yingtianfu."

George III was still unhappy, but he had no choice but to accept this reality:

"Well, let Earl Shelburne go to Yingtian Prefecture to discuss the ceasefire with the Ming Dynasty and sign a ceasefire agreement."

Lord Shelburne immediately stood up and agreed:

"Your will."

Fox immediately jumped out to object again:

"Your Majesty, negotiations and signing are external affairs, and should be the responsibility of me as Foreign Secretary, while Earl Shelburne is the Home Secretary."

George III stared at Fawkes again.

Fox was not afraid of the king at all and just stood there looking at the king.

The Prime Minister had to step in to mediate again:

“Your Majesty, in order to take into account the opinions of all parties and avoid unnecessary trouble in the future, the main thing is to end the war as soon as possible.

"I suggest that the Home Secretary, the Earl of Shelburne, and the Foreign Secretary, the Lord Fox, jointly be in charge of the negotiations."

George III waved his hand impatiently:
“Then the Prime Minister should also go with you, otherwise the two of them will just argue when they get there and won’t be able to decide anything.

"We can give up all our overseas territories, but this is the bottom line of the negotiations. You should try your best to keep some of them."

The Prime Minister and the two ministers were speechless, but this was indeed the safest option.

Earl Shelburne and Fox certainly did not submit to each other, and the interest groups they represented were completely different.

Only the Prime Minister, the Marquis of Rockingham, who was recognized by different factions and finally compromised, could barely reconcile the conflict between the two sides.

Moreover, with the departure of these three leaders and representatives, the king can finally have some peace and quiet for a while.

The British Royal Conference has ended temporarily, and the Prime Minister still has two tasks to do next.

The first was to go to the parliament to persuade the members, and the second was to try to persuade the French and Spanish to go to Yingtianfu together to negotiate and sign the contract.

The former should not be too difficult, as lawmakers are already tired of this war.

There was no problem on the French side. It was better to let the French sign the contract in Yingtianfu than to argue over whether to sign the contract in London or Paris.

The only problem is that the Spanish still don't want to give up the idea of ​​capturing Gibraltar.

But now the Spaniards have no chance to decide.

The British envoy directly told the King and Prime Minister of Spain that Britain had reached an agreement with the Ming Dynasty on the terms of the armistice.

The thirteen colonies in North America will also sign the agreement, and France has decided to go to Yingtian Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty to sign an armistice treaty.

After the treaty was signed between Britain, the United States, France and the Ming Dynasty, Britain could continue to fight Spain alone.

If the Spanish were willing to accept an armistice, Britain would return the Mediterranean island of Menorca.

Menorca is located in the Mediterranean Sea east of Spain. It was ceded to Britain along with Gibraltar after the War of the Spanish Succession.

Menorca is certainly not as important as Gibraltar, but now Gibraltar can never be taken back, and taking back Menorca is worse than having nothing.

The Spaniards then realized that they did not have the ability to fight against Britain alone and had to arrange people to go to Yingtian Prefecture.

In early February 1781, Britain, France and Spain each organized an escort fleet to escort delegations from various countries to the Ming Dynasty.

French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes, and American Representative John Adams were already in Ming Dynasty.

Benjamin Franklin, the American representative who remained in France, would also travel to Ming Dynasty on the French fleet along with other French representatives.

The Spanish mission was led by Prime Minister José Monino Redondo, Count of Floridaflanca.

(End of this chapter)