The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 249 Lord Wei, let's sign the "Equal Treaty"! (Request subscription, request votes)
Wade was speechless again!
Luo Xueyan saw that Wade was speechless for a while, but he was not in a hurry. Instead, he asked Sushun, Shengbao, Li Hongzhang and others to sit down one by one, and then asked the servant he borrowed from Wu Jianzhang to serve coffee. Then he introduced Sushun, Shengbao, Li Hongzhang, Yuanbao, Bai Siwen and others to the somewhat distraught Wade, and then asked Wade solemnly: "Sir, can you answer my question now? To whom does the sovereignty of the Shanghai Concession, as well as the judicial, administrative, and defense powers closely related to sovereignty, belong?"

"Lord Luo!" Wade looked at Luo Xueyan with displeasure, "Is this the time to discuss these issues? If you don't send troops quickly, the entire Shanghai will be occupied by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. By then, your army will lose its military pay and supply of weapons and ammunition!"

"Lord Luo, Lord Wei is right!" Shengbao, the assistant military minister of Jiangsu, thought what Wade said made sense, so he spoke up for the foreigners.

Li Hongzhang, who had met Luo Xueyan once before, also advised: "Brother Xueyan, reinforcements are urgent!"

Imperial Commissioner Su Shun also nodded and said, "Xueyan, before we can resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the country. Now is not the time to argue with the foreigners!"

Luo Xueyan would not listen to these reactionary bureaucrats. He smiled and clasped his fists towards the three of them: "Master Su, Master Sheng, Shao Quan, don't worry, I will definitely be able to take Shanghai back. I am 100% sure! However, the issue of the Shanghai Concession must also be properly resolved during this opportunity. If we miss this opportunity, there will be no more of it!
I shouldn't say this, but Shanghai will be my territory from now on. All the weapons and salaries for my new army will come from Shanghai! Shanghai's interests are all in the ports, and the ports' interests are all in the current concessions.

If this concession cannot be recovered, Shanghai’s profits will be reduced by more than half! If the profits are reduced by more than half, the new army will also be reduced by more than half! "

After hearing what Luo Xueyan said, Sushun, Shengbao and Li Hongzhang were speechless. They just looked at this "Westernization genius" with suspicion, wanting to see what he could come up with.
Luo Xueyan turned to Wade and spoke in "Oxford accent" English: "Sir, my recovery of the sovereignty of the Shanghai Concession does not mean expelling foreign merchants from Shanghai. In fact, not only will I not expel foreign merchants from Shanghai, but I will work with them to build a larger, more dynamic and more open Far Eastern metropolis!
I will also sincerely welcome businessmen from Britain, France, the United States and other countries to Shanghai to set up industries and invest in business. I will give them national treatment and protect their private property and business interests.

Moreover, I would welcome foreign friends to participate in the daily management of this metropolis. Shanghai's various judicial and administrative agencies would hire capable gentlemen from foreign countries as consultants or civil servants.

The primary schools, middle schools and universities I run in Shanghai will hire foreign experts as teachers, and the hospitals I run in Shanghai will also welcome foreign doctors.
In addition, I will establish an advisory council in Shanghai elected by citizens with a certain amount of property to serve as an organ to assist me in legislation and administration.

Under my management, Shanghai will become a prosperous, civilized and progressive metropolitan city like New York, Paris and Frankfurt!

I suppose you British wouldn't set up a concession in New York, Paris or Frankfurt, right?

As for the Jiang Customs you've been thinking about, it will be under my control in the near future! I promise that the Jiang Customs will be a clean, efficient and responsible government agency! It will hire consultants from the UK, France and the US and operate in the manner of the UK Customs.

But don't think of putting the customs under your control, because that is our Chinese customs!"

Wade now had a feeling of unreality. His British soldiers were defeated by the Qing tax collectors outside the Jianghai Customs Office in Shanghai! He saw a "demon" who understood national sovereignty on the city wall of Shanghai County, and now he was discussing with a Chinese warlord with an "Oxford accent" how to turn Shanghai into a prosperous and progressive metropolis.

It's only been ten years since the Opium War. Isn't this country progressing too fast?

If we continue to progress like this, imperialism will never be able to catch up!

"Lord Luo," Wade shook his head again, "Although what you said is very attractive, I do not have the right to agree to abolish the Shanghai Land Lease Regulations. Only the plenipotentiary minister has such power."

"No, you have the right!" Luo Xueyan shook his head. "If you don't have such authorization, why do you come to me for help? Asking for help always costs something."

As he spoke, he said to Wu Ruxiao: "Ruxiao, show the agreement I prepared to Lord Wei."

"What agreement?" Wade frowned.

"Don't worry," Luo Xueyan said with a smile, "This is a fair and just treaty. According to this treaty, the British Consulate and the French Consulate will transfer all the judicial, administrative and defense rights of the concession to me! And I will send troops to restore order in the former French Concession and British Concession areas and protect the lives and property of expatriates from various countries."

At this time, Wu Ruxiao had already handed over to Wade two copies of the "Abolition of the Shanghai Land Lease Regulations and Related Post-Settlement Agreement" in both Chinese and English, which he had prepared long ago.

Wade took the treaty text and read it carefully, and found that it was indeed an "equal treaty".

As a British diplomat stationed in Asia, I am not used to signing an "equal treaty"! "Lord Luo," Wade said to Luo Xueyan a little unwillingly after reading the treaty, "I am just a vice consul. Even if I sign the treaty, as long as Consul Alcock and Minister Wenxian object, the treaty will have no legal effect.

Moreover, the paddle-wheeled gunboat that Minister Bonham is on will arrive in Shanghai soon, along with a battalion of British troops!"

Luo Xueyan smiled slightly and said to Wade in English: "Sir, please sign it. Only if you sign it, Minister Wenxian will be able to arrive in a Shanghai that welcomes him. Moreover, I believe that when he returns from Jiangning Prefecture, he will approve of this agreement and support me in building a Shanghai that is open to everyone."

Wade was stunned, looked at Luo Xueyan in surprise and asked, "But how did you know that Minister Wenxian planned to go to Jiangning?"

"I'm just guessing," Luo Xueyan shrugged, "What else can I do? I'm not Luo Yaoguo."

Shanghai County, Yu Garden, Dianchun Hall.

A large banner with the inscription "Holy Angel of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, King Wu Luo" has been hung high in the courtyard outside Dianchun Hall.

The "fake devil" Zhu Ba was sitting in the middle of Dianchun Hall at this time, eating steamed dumplings with a 15- or 16-year-old boy who looked a bit chubby. The boy was in the growth stage and had a very good appetite. He swallowed the steaming steamed dumplings in one gulp as soon as they were served. Because he ate too fast, his mouth was burned several times, making a series of "hissing" sounds.

Zhu Ba looked at him with such greed and kept laughing: "Abao, eat slowly, there is plenty. Dip it in vinegar to relieve the greasiness."

The young man turned out to be Zhang Bao, one of the twelve disciples. He and Wang Xier were the youngest of the twelve disciples. Because of their young age, they were not assigned any positions. After graduating from the lecturer class, they continued to follow Luo Yaoguo for "further studies" and handled some documents. Later, Wang Xier also filled the vacancy of Ji Chunhua and became one of the four female guards. Now she is with Su Sanniang. Zhang Bao has always followed Luo Yaoguo and can be regarded as a "little secretary".

This time, Luo Yaoguo came to Shanghai under the name of Luo Xueyan and naturally brought him with him. However, he did not let him go with the troops to Kunshan. Instead, he was sent to Zhu Ba to teach Zhu Ba how to "pretend to be a devil" and meet foreigners.

Although Zhu Ba looks "very devilish", Luo Yaoguo's devil is a progressive devil who is educated and understands Westernization. Zhu Ba is a country devil from Hunan. He has no problem fighting and killing, but he is not good enough to pretend to be a cultural devil or a Westernization devil.

So Luo Yaoguo personally wrote a "Devil's Guide" and asked Zhang Bao to give it to Zhu Ba, and to give some guidance so that Zhu Ba would understand it.

As the two were eating the dumplings, a soft and pleasant female voice in Wu dialect suddenly came from outside the Dianchun Hall courtyard: "Is the Holy Angel Prince in there? Your servant Zhou Xiuying greets you."

Zhu Ba and Zhang Bao looked at each other. Zhang Bao quickly put down his chopsticks, stood up and stood behind Zhu Ba, looking like Zhu Ba's bodyguard.

"come in."

Only after seeing Zhang Bao standing still did Zhu Ba shout.

"Yes."

Zhou Xiuying responded softly, then walked quickly into Dianchun Hall. As soon as she entered the room, she knelt down in front of Zhu Ba who was having breakfast and kowtowed respectfully.

"What's the matter?" Zhu Ba asked.

Zhou Xiuying paused, and asked in a somewhat dissatisfied tone: "Lord Holy Angel, I just heard someone say that you are going to give up Shanghai?"

(End of this chapter)