The forces run by Xiao Letian will never let the Ryukyu monarchs and ministers act as they please without any response. When King Shangtai finally decided to contact Gong Cheng and try to negotiate, less than ten minutes later, in a hidden military warehouse, Liang Kun and Fan Siam and several shopkeepers and managers of Lotte Foreign Company, including more than a dozen officers from the New Army, had already gathered together.
These are all the people in charge of Xiao Letian currently staying in Ryukyu. If the French warships get this information, with just one salvo, Xiao Letian's command system in Ryukyu will be completely paralyzed. It will take Xiao Letian ten years if these people are dead. Can't even turn over.
"Why are you making it so bright? Put out two more oil lamps." The old shopkeeper Fan Lian became very stingy. There were only four lanterns in the warehouse, but now he has put out two more lamps, leaving only a few weak lights. The atmosphere in the warehouse was extremely tense.
Dozens of top-quality Cuban cigars were distributed. Almost everyone, regardless of whether they knew how to smoke, shared a cigar. One by one, they cut off one end and lit it against each other. After a while, the warehouse was filled with thick cigar smoke. gas.
No one spoke, everyone was thinking. In the darkness, they saw fire spots flickering in the air. Those who didn't know the details thought this place was haunted.
After being silent for a long time, old shopkeeper Fan Lian spoke up, "Brothers, the situation in Ryukyu has reached its most critical moment. Our enemy is not only the French, but also the thief Gong Cheng... Don't think that This old guy is easy to deal with. Not only can he use the power of the British, but he also has inextricable connections with the Manchu and Qing court..."
"Hey, Gong Cheng can still hook up with the imperial court. Isn't he a traitor recognized by the Manchu and Han Dynasties? He didn't lead the way to burn down the Old Summer Palace." An officer asked in the darkness.
"Ahem...there are no permanent enemies, only eternal interests..." General Liang Kun coughed a few times while lying on the blanket. "I have heard of Gong Cheng before. He lived in Shanghai with the British. After the concession, there were many suggestions for killing the Heavenly Kingdom soldiers. Do you still remember the British Sir Gordon? Gong Cheng was the matchmaker behind him..."
"Now the demons of the Qing Dynasty have also understood that although the British and French burned the Old Summer Palace, paid a lot of money, and signed an agreement with everyone, they finally received strong support from the Western devils... Many of you don't know, The British mercenaries are really powerful. They can attack the concession with a small knife. How many people died, but they still couldn't defeat them in the end..."
"When the foreign devil named Gordon came, these foreign soldiers began to train the foreign gun team for Qing Yao, but many of them killed our brothers in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven was eventually destroyed, and one-third of it was destroyed by these foreigners. It’s in hand…”
Liang Kun is a typical strong general, and he definitely cannot analyze these things by himself. The above are all the knowledge points that Xiao Letian gained in the small class, but Liang Kun is the one who has experienced them and has the deepest feelings.
Gong Cheng betrayed the country, destroyed the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, and asked the Manchus to apologize for their face, dignity, and money. The seaport city had to be opened to the public. On the surface, this seemed like a big loss, but within a few days The Manchu and Qing court suddenly discovered that things had developed unexpectedly.
Originally, the royal family thought that foreigners were just a bunch of robbers who would not go home and spend their money well after being forced to do so. However, this group of foreigners were so stubborn that they actually said that if they submitted a treaty with the Qing Dynasty, they would recognize that the Qing Dynasty was the only country in China. The master of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is rebellion.
Since the Qing Dynasty is in trouble, and our two countries have just signed a very 'friendly' agreement, it is not impossible for us to send some mercenaries to help you suppress the chaos in the Qing Dynasty. The quality is guaranteed, dear, and the charges are low, dear, the effect is Obviously, dear.
Damn it, the noble foreigner just burned down the city of Beijing, and now he is going to work for the Qing Dynasty. Where can you find such a good thing in the world?
If they don't agree to this, Cixi and the others will really have their heads in water. Isn't it just to give them some money? Anyway, in the end, they will collect taxes from the Han people, spend the Han people's money, kill the lives of foreigners, and ultimately protect the Manchus. If you don't agree to the country, you will suffer retribution.
Blessings come and misfortunes follow, and misfortunes follow blessings. The Manchu people once again realized the essence of this sentence. Thinking about it from another angle, if they had known that foreigners were so generous, why didn't they sign the agreement earlier? It wouldn't cost much by then. Moreover, the Old Summer Palace has been preserved.
More than once, when Xiao Letian talked about this in his small class, he threw away his chalk and sighed for a long time, "Western civilization does believe in strength. In many ways, it is no different from bandits, but their contract spirit is really worth learning. "
At the end of the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Manchu Qing court and the Han governors tasted the "sweetness" of the foreigners. All kinds of weapons and equipment were sold by the shipload. There are many large loans in the foreigner banks waiting for you. Negotiation, as long as there is collateral, you can do business.
In the end, all the mercenaries from the foreign masters came up, and the leader was actually a British lord. This satisfied the Qing court so much that they even regained a lot of the face they had lost in front of the British.
"Look, this is the majesty of the Qing Dynasty. Although there were some conflicts with the British before, didn't the British still come to serve the Qing Dynasty in the end? Come on, give this Gordon the title of admiral and a yellow mantle. , admiring peacock feathers..."
By 1864, the first year that Xiao Letian came to this world, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was finally destroyed, and the Manchu and Qing courts were filled with joy. By this time, their hatred of the British had long been thrown into the Pacific Ocean, along with Gong Gong. Orange's little bit of hatred has also dissipated.
Liang Kun sighed and said, "The Manchus are not so shameless when it comes to reconciling with Gong Cheng, but when negotiating with the British, they really cannot do without this traitor. In the end, they just turn a blind eye. I pinched my nose and admitted...I can guess without looking, now the command of Qingyao Xisaku on Ryukyu Island must have been transferred to Gong Cheng."
The warehouse fell into silence again, and everyone racked their brains to think of ways to break the situation. After a while, the old shopkeeper sighed and said, "This is not the end of the difficulty... What we have to face now is the opposition from the Ryukyu court. , now the Ryukyu people have a rift with us, these indigenous officials are about to swallow Gong Cheng’s bait, and they want to negotiate a peace.”
"Ah." The crowd immediately went crazy. "How can this be done? The whole East Asia knows about Gong Cheng's character. How can you believe this kind of person?"
"Although I can't guess what Gong Cheng's evil plan is, I don't believe him, let alone the French. Talking about peace is a ghost..."
"I don't understand diplomatic matters, but military matters cannot be hidden from us... Although the fighting has been fierce these four days, it is far from being broken. Both sides still have the energy to fight. At this time, what about negotiations? Aren't you a liar? There is no conspiracy and I ate this box of shells..."
"Yes, that's right. There is no winner in the war and no one is convinced. How can negotiations be successful at this time? How about some common sense..."
There was a chaotic quarrel among the crowd. Everyone was full of doubts about this negotiation and even more angry at the private actions of Ryukyu monarchs and ministers.
At this time, a second shopkeeper in the corner suddenly said, "I don't understand the war, but I know how to do business... Different people will have different views on things. To put it bluntly, it depends on their hearts. How big the pattern is.”
"Compared to a snack shop owner who has known how to settle accounts with coppers all his life, compared with a big businessman who calculates hundreds of thousands and millions of silver dollars every day, his mind must be different... The small country of Ryukyu has been bullied by the Japanese for hundreds of years. They They are afraid of being poor and living a hard life, and being prudent has become their only choice..."
The second shopkeeper took a long puff of his cigar, and light blue smoke floated in the room. "Damn it, it was because the French didn't give them a way out before. If they didn't fight, they would be destroyed. You said they would fight or not, but now they suddenly found out There is a way to survive without fighting, and the minds of these people are beginning to waver again..."
"Damn, it's the most annoying thing to work with this kind of person. He's a good character and you can't beat him or scold him, but the business environment is small, and the stingy things he does can make people mad to death..."
When the second shopkeeper said this, everyone thought that it was really the case. We can also meet this kind of people in our lives. This kind of people have a very common problem, that is, doing bad things with good intentions. This is the path that Ryukyu monarchs and ministers are taking now. old road.
"Well, you have grown up, so what do you think we should do?" Fan Yan asked with his eyes shining.
The second shopkeeper narrowed his eyes, "If I do business and meet such a partner, and don't want to completely fall out with him...then we will grab his shares. As long as we occupy the most shares, then we have to Listen to me in everything, if you want me to say it, we will have a big showdown with them and put the contradiction on the table..."
"Let the people of Ryukyu choose whether to follow us or follow the surrender faction."
Hiss... there was a gasp of air in the whole warehouse. These big soldiers didn't dare to think of a mutiny, but it turned out that the second shopkeeper was actually considering military advice.
"Damn, no wonder the Prime Minister keeps saying that businessmen are the most courageous group in the world. They really dare to fight at the critical moment."
The second shopkeeper looked a little embarrassed for everyone to see, "No, no, no, don't look at me like that. I didn't say that I wanted to rebel. I just said that the shares should be reorganized. The economy of Ryukyu is now completely supported by our Lotte Group. The army is also based on the new army, and even our college students have the most scholars."
"We have actually controlled the entire Ryukyus. We own the largest share of the shares. Why can't we make the decision? Not only that, we also have foreigners supporting us. The Han descendants and Japanese immigrants in Ryukyus are also of the same mind as the Prime Minister. Why don't we make the decision, why should we let those in Shuri Castle decide our fate?"
"Yes, that's right." All the officers jumped up and shouted angrily, "Today's Ryukyu has already changed. It is only natural that the prime minister should replace him. People like Jin Changsen can't even think of restoration."
"If you dare to surrender, let them ask me if I will accept my gun."
Liang Kun and Fan Ru were both dumbfounded. They secretly gathered everyone to analyze the current situation, but they were about to mutiny as they talked. There was something wrong with this rhythm.
