Since the autumn hunt of Mulan in Xianfeng.
Prince Gong's Mansion became the temporary political center of the capital.
In order to protect his family, Li Qing had specially transferred a team from Prince Gong's army to the Prince Gong Residence.
Furthermore, the main hall of the Gong Prince's residence, Yin An Hall, had been restored, signifying that the Gong Prince's power was at its peak.
10th month, 18th day, Silver Peace Hall.
Gui Liang, Wen Xiang, Bao Yun and a few others filed in and knelt on the worship mat."This lowly official respectfully invites Your Highness the Gong Prince!"
"Get up!"
Gui Liang and the others stood up. Gui Liang, who had been in charge of the peace negotiations, said,"Wangye, we just received news that the British envoy Erjin has arrived at Dagu Pass and is preparing to rush to Tianjin under the protection of soldiers.”
Li Qing nodded with a smile." This Erjin is good at fortune-telling. This king had just had some free time and he came. If it wasn't for the fact that they don't believe in Taoism, this king would have even suspected that they were fortune-tellers.”
"Hahaha, it's a pity that they misread the divination. This time, the alliance army won first and then lost.”
"Of course not, they didn't expect that our Qing Dynasty had the resourceful and skilled Gong Prince!”
"Alright! Don't say such useless things." Li Qing looked at Baoyun, who could not stop complimenting him, and shook his head helplessly.
"Your Highness, I think that the Emissaries have always been arrogant. Since the alliance army has been defeated this time, shouldn't we leave them in the lurch for a few days to put an end to their arrogance?”
Gui Liang, who was in his seventies and had a head full of white hair, had dealt with the British envoy many times in the past few years and knew his character very well.
"Old father-in-law, I know what you are thinking, but after this battle, I know the gap between our country and the western countries. If we anger the British envoy and send troops over again, I'm afraid we will lose more than we gain.”
"Your Highness is right. Moreover, we have already agreed to meet on October 19th. Our Qing Dynasty is a country of etiquette. If we break our promise, how can we convince the public in the future?”
Gui Liang saw that even his son-in-law was not on his side, so he could only give up.
......
Tianjin
Tianjin was still in the hands of the allied forces. When the travel-worn Erjin returned to this ancient city, he couldn't help but sigh.
The last time he came, he was ambitious, but this time, he was a little sad.
Viscount Aldrich was also on the same boat as him. Half a month ago, Erkin was ready to set off from Hong Kong, but he received a telegram from his country halfway.
It turned out that the country had already received the defeat of Baliqiao, oh! No, it was news of a large number of nobles being captured. He wanted him to immediately think of a way to ensure their safety at all costs. For this reason, he agreed to let Meng Toban's allied forces give up resistance.
However, when he arrived in Shanghai, he received a telegram, asking him to return to Hong Kong to wait for orders. When Viscount Aldrich arrived in Hong Kong, the two of them would go together.
Erjin, who had been in the Sea of Zheng for a long time, knew that Palmerston couldn't handle the pressure in the country. The people who came this time must be the representatives of the captured nobles.
In fact, in the past twenty years, the British army had been fighting continuously, and there were countless casualties. They did not even have a chance to rest.
Especially not long after the Crimean War, they had to send troops to the distant east to fight.
In the end, before they could even see the benefits, the royal dragon cavalry became their captives.
Not only did the nobles demand reconciliation, but the public's emotions were also rising. They asked the government to come forward and save the children trapped in the distant East.
Palmerston was in a terrible state and had no choice but to resign from the Eagle Kingdom's upper house on October 3rd, 1860.
Immediately, the Queen agreed to the noble's request and let the Governor of Hong Kong, Bao Ling, and the former Minister to China, Viscount Aldrich, go to the Qing Kingdom with Erjin and Basharli.
Aldrich, who had just arrived in Hong Kong, didn't dare to stay any longer. He rested in Hong Kong for a few days, then set off with Erjin and the others to head north to Tianjin.
Under such circumstances, how could Erjin, who was used to being arrogant in the Qing Kingdom, feel comfortable?
......
Just as Erjin was sighing and thinking about how to take the initiative in tomorrow's meeting and turn the unfavorable situation into an advantage…
In the Gong Prince residence's Silver Peace Hall, everyone was currently criticizing Li Qing's greed.
Wen Xiang looked at the paper that the Gong Prince had given them. On it was written in detail the living supplies that the alliance army had spent from the 24th of September until now, as well as the protection fees that the Imperial Court had used a large number of troops to protect them for 24 hours. The total amount was two million taels.
Wen Xiang's brows knit tightly after seeing this. Such a number was extremely huge and almost everyone knew that this was the Gong Prince trying to take a bite of the allied army's flesh.
Li Qing looked at the few of them. Other than Gui Liang who was a little happy, the others were expressionless. Even Wen Xiang had a worried expression.
"Does Lord Wen Xiang have something to say?”
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm afraid the British might not agree to such a number. If the yellow and white things really caused the Three Kingdoms to attack again, I think that Your Highness has lost his priorities.”
"Baoyun, what do you think?"
"This lowly official thinks that two hundred thousand taels should be enough! The most important thing now is to sign the contract and invite His Majesty back to court.”
Li Qing's face darkened when he heard that. He sneered and said,"Do you know that the Eagle Country's Prime Minister has been forced to resign because of the capture of the allied forces?”
Wen Xiang was shocked. "Your Highness, are you serious?"
"It's absolutely true, and it's precisely because of this that this king dares to demand such an exorbitant price! As long as we don't let go of those defenseless soldiers, our country won't have to worry about the Eagle Country and Hair Country falling out with each other.”
"I see. Bochuan has learned his lesson. However, in that case, this humble official feels that this two million taels of silver is a little too little.”
Li Qing looked at Wen Xiang in surprise. "Then according to Lord Wen Xiang's opinion, how much should we use?”
After Wen Xiang heard this, he smiled and opened his hands,"Five million taels!"
Gui Liang was stunned. He really didn't expect Wen Xiang, who was always gentle, to be so two-faced.
"Bochuan, is your brain muddled from the fever?”Bao Yun said with her eyes wide open.
Only Li Qing understood what Wen Xiang meant.
He smiled and said," It seems that Lord Wen Xiang is living with the commoners. The benefits are really immediate. Even those who are considered to be profiteers have learned to raise the price on the spot and pay back the money when they land!"”
Hearing this, Wen Xiang cupped his hands and said,"The one who knows me is Prince Gong!”
"Good! As for the specific details, please go down and discuss it again!”Li Qing said proudly.
As soon as Li Qing finished speaking, Gui Liang, Wen Xiang and Bao Yun stood up and said in unison,""I will follow your orders!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。