"Please don't forget Lord Jouferi!" Henry's eyes were blazing, "He also led to the result of his resignation for the prosperity of France, if one day, I will also be impeached and removed from power by the parliament, then I would rather be a prisoner who bears the consequences of losing the war than sign a treaty that cannot fully occupy Vietnam in the case of a stalemate with China and the possibility of victory!" ”

It is true that Jouferi can be said to be the premier prime minister of the Third Republic, but after he stepped down, everyone forgot his merits, only remembered his defeat in the Suez Canal share struggle, and his defeat in Vietnam, and everyone evaluated him negatively, sometimes public opinion can not care, but sometimes public opinion can become the first dirt shoveled on your grave, and become the object of others scrambling to emulate. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Henry had already made up his mind that if the head of the Privy Council was still hesitating at this time, then even if he tossed himself down early, then he could not allow such a half-hearted person to exist, so he issued an order, "No one is allowed to have hesitant behavior and thoughts in the war against China, and the Privy Council please order immediately, Mile in Beiqi must carry out an active defense against the Chinese army, and if necessary, a counterattack can be organized!" ”

The army commander saw that Henry was a little anxious, so he had to agree, this is the right intention, it is impossible to take a defensive posture in the face of the Chinese attack, which is detrimental to the morale of the army, the naval commander is still relatively stubborn, he insisted, "Before the arrival of the North African fleet, I think the naval forces cannot use the tactics of surprise attacks." ”

"Then patrol the waters of Vietnam," said Henry, standing up impatiently, "and build the port of Haiphong!" At the very least, they must crack down on their coal industry, and the Chinese must not be allowed to extract these benefits from Vietnam! He stood up and made up his mind that if the situation of the war went bad again, the chattering naval commander in front of him must be replaced.

Henry continued to instruct the foreign minister, "We can engage with the Chinese and negotiate." ”

I was so passionate before, why did I instruct to negotiate at this time? The foreign minister seemed to understand something, "you mean to use negotiations to delay the pace of China's military operation." ”

"Yes, let them think that we have compromised," Henry touched his beard and said schemingly, "if they are a little slower, then France will have more chances, although now the ambassador has been expelled, but the trade consuls everywhere are still there, let's choose a place that is not the capital of China, there are too many people in Beijing, there is no secrecy effect, choose another place, and then ask the British to help us agree, try to see if we can delay the pace of Chinese advance." ”

Chonghua Palace is the place where Qianlong lived as a prince in the past, north of the West Sixth Palace, and was originally two of the five places in the west of the Ming Dynasty. Hongli moved to Qianxi No. 2 after the prince got married. After Hongli ascended the throne, this place was promoted to a palace as a place of auspiciousness, and the name was heavy. The name of Chonghua comes from "Shu Shundian", Kong Yingda Shu: "This Shun can follow Yao, and value the glory of its literature and virtue." Yao Shun is the ancient wise emperor, Shun succeeded Yao, and the descendants took Yao Tian Shun Ri as a metaphor for the ideal peaceful and prosperous era. The name of this palace was proposed by scholars Zhang Tingyu and Ortai, which was intended to praise the virtue of Emperor Qianlong and the succession to the throne, so that the country could have the rule of Yao Shun. On this day, the Empress Dowager Cixi held a cocktail party and invited ambassadors from all over the world to come to the banquet.

The British ambassador Wade took a sip of whiskey and nodded with satisfaction, the taste was exactly the same as that of London, except for the ceiling of the room, and the officials and attendants in Chinese costumes interspersed between tuxedos and evening dresses, it was no different from any drinking party in Europe, and even the accompanying music was the most popular minuet in Europe in recent years.

Is a gradually Westernized China, at least militarily and economically, a good thing or a bad thing for the British Empire? The good thing is that you can make money by selling a large amount of equipment and technology to the Chinese, and use the earned funds to promote the better development of the domestic economy, in fact, including Britain, Germany, Austria, and even France, which is now fighting with the Chinese, are eager to do business with the Chinese, this change is very terrible, you must know that the British through the two opium wars could not open the Chinese market, and the Empress Dowager of the East, who held this ball, just came to power to open the Chinese market, The Europeans gained the coveted Chinese market, and although it was not what was previously imagined, most of the exports to China were heavy industry and military industry, rather than light industries such as textiles.

He was in a reverie about some of the things that he didn't have, when suddenly a voice came to his ear, "Mr. Ambassador, our Queen Mother Her Royal Highness has arrived." ”

Wade woke up and found that Guo Songtao, the co-minister of the Prime Minister's Yamen, was already standing beside him with a wine glass and a smile, and not far away, the Empress Dowager Cixi was wearing a blue robe and also holding a glass wine glass, and walked over with a smile, "Mr. Ambassador, your arrival is really brilliant," the Empress Dowager raised her glass and gestured slightly to Wade, "Please, today's whisky was shipped back from Scotland, how does it taste?" You're British, and I know the English gentleman, who knows whisky best. ”

"I'm really ashamed," Wade bowed slightly, "I feel very honored to be able to accept your warm hospitality, Your Highness," Wade exchanged a few words of greeting with the Empress Dowager Cixi, and mentioned one thing, "There is one thing, I think I need to tell you face to face, Frenchman," Wade lowered his voice, "I hope to be able to negotiate with your country on the matter of Vietnam." ”

In fact, there is no need to lower your voice, a messy wine will be more difficult to eavesdrop than a quiet environment, the Empress Dowager Cixi jumped her eyebrows, "Oh? She glanced at Guo Songtao, "This is an unexpected surprise, but for specific diplomatic matters, please contact our Lord Guo Songtao directly, he is very skilled in handling the relationship between Britain and France, I believe he can handle it." ”

"Forgive me for asking the Queen Mother a respectful question," said Wade, "is your country willing to negotiate with France?" Of course, he didn't believe that the French wanted to negotiate, otherwise how could their reinforcements not stop, but he also needed to find out what the ruling Empress Dowager of China meant.

"Of course I do, China has always been a peace-loving country." The Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile. (To be continued.) )