Zai Chun vaguely felt that this time the master was using a practical combat model to teach him some truths that could only be understood but not expressed in words.
The tit-for-tat confrontation between Xiao Letian and the Duke of Newcastle was on the verge of rupture several times. The British Duke was so angry at Xiao Letian's attitude that he almost went crazy.
The Duke of Newcastle is a high-ranking British aristocrat. He can stand beside the king and help him hold the gloves and scepter during the king's ceremony. For such a big man with such a status, you can imagine the authority of this person with the support of Britain's top national power. How big.
If we have to make a horizontal comparison, the status of the Duke of Newcastle is no less than that of Prince Gong and Prince Chun. If we rank the most powerful people in the world, then with the strong national power of the British Empire, the Duke of Newcastle is absolutely capable of defeating Prince Gong and the devil. six.
If we consider the problem according to the inertial thinking of Chinese official circles, if Xiao Letian does not give the Duke face and bargains every penny and penny, then the Duke should have become furious and use his power to suppress Xiao Letian.
How can we negotiate as equals when there is an imbalance of power? Even if we negotiate, we will never tolerate repeated rejections from our opponents.
But something shocking happened. Instead of being furious, the Duke was pulled back from the edge of rage again and again. Several negotiations could not go on, but in the end he was able to find new points of appeal and continue to argue. .
In a daze, Zai Chun recalled his previous wrong views on the two Opium Wars. At that time, when he was young, his ideas were basically instilled by his masters and courtiers.
In the Qing court at that time, the explanation for the two Opium Wars was simply that the British had strong ships and powerful guns, and the British were greedy, shameless and unreasonable.
At that time, Zai Chun also thought so. Everyone has a very simple value, that is, I have the right not to play with you!
This idea was very simple, and it was a common attitude among officials and intellectuals at the time. In their eyes, how could anything be so unreasonable in the world?
We, the Qing Dynasty, have a vast territory and rich resources, but we are unwilling to open our customs to do business with you, the British. Is this our right? Why should I be beaten just because I don't want to play with you? A war is about to break out, what about you British?
Besides, isn't Guangzhou's Thirteenth Industry open? You want tea, silk, porcelain, bristles, rhubarb... It's not like we won't sell these goods to you. Why do you have to force us to sell all the coastal cities? What about openness?
Our own Qing Dynasty, our own home, who we want to come in and who we don’t want to come in, isn’t this a matter of course?
This truth is really impeccable, but does this seemingly reasonable truth really work? Today, Zai Chun finally had serious doubts about his previous views.
Recalling some historical allusions that his master once told, coupled with this sudden business negotiation, Zai Chun felt as if a shell in his heart suddenly shattered, and something inexplicable came out with a pop.
"It turns out... it turns out that business just happens naturally and naturally! We thought wrong before, we really did..."
Zai Chun had an epiphany. He finally understood the biggest mistake made by various dynasties since ancient times. So many emperors and generals thought that business activities could be controlled and they were subject to power. They could not escape from the hands of these big shots. Heartfelt.
The policy of suppressing business, as well as the lowest ranking of scholars, farmers, industry, and merchants, gave the emperor and ministers the illusion that business was completely controllable.
wrong! Big mistake. Only today did Zai Chun realize that business is a natural thing and cannot be controlled by the iron cage of power.
The more power is suppressed, the more business practices will become perverted, but will not disappear.
The Qing Dynasty closed the customs itself, leaving a small opening of thirteen lines. Does this mean that the power of the Qing Dynasty can control the ocean trade between Europe and China?
This is really the most ridiculous thing in the world! The commercial exchanges between Europe and the Qing Dynasty never stopped. Even during the war years, European ships could still obtain Chinese goods.
Ship after ship of porcelain, silk and satin, tea, bristles, medicinal materials... A huge amount of Chinese goods were pulled back by European merchants. While China exported countless goods, it only purchased a very small amount of European goods.
Only a few Western luxury goods such as glass and watches could earn money from the Qing Dynasty, but compared with the huge export volume of Chinese goods, this was a huge deficit.
The whole of Europe was obsessed with Eastern goods, but the East had no interest in European industrial products, which resulted in a serious outflow of precious metals.
A large part of the gold and silver plundered from Africa and North America flowed into the Chinese people, which suddenly made Europe a stupid daughter-in-law making a wedding dress.
In this natural business behavior, both sides are unequal, and the huge deficit makes European countries unable to breathe. However, China's goods cannot be cut off because there is no alternative production base.
The Qing Dynasty could not see this situation, and they could not understand it. They were immersed in the aura of the Celestial Kingdom and were complacent.
The contradictions are accumulating and getting deeper, but the Qing Dynasty has closed the negotiation window to resolve the contradictions. When the deficit is so big that it has affected Britain's national security, and when the door to any peaceful solution is locked, what else can be done without fighting? manage?
Zai Chun finally had an epiphany today. Only now did he understand that there were two wars over opium dumping. In fact, the core root cause was that the East and the West had not launched such a grand negotiation as Master Today and the Duke.
Problems and conflicts are like this. If you face them squarely, don't evade or suppress them, talk openly and honestly, argue and fight, you will naturally find a balance point in conflicts and confrontations, a point that everyone can accept.
Didn't Xiao Letian always say, "The so-called negotiation, the so-called treaty, the most perfect form is that both parties feel unhappy and frustrated at the loss, but when they come back, they are both willing to carry it out... Only this kind of cooperative relationship can last forever." !”
Europeans understand this, and so does Xiao Letian. It’s a pity that the Qing Dynasty didn’t understand it, and those rotten Confucians didn’t understand it!
"Okay, dear head of state, you are really a master of negotiation. I really admire you. Just follow the conditions just now. I hope our cooperation can continue for hundreds of years. Cheers!"
After a full hour of bickering, the Duke and Xiao Letian finally reached a final agreement. The two sides raised their glasses and clinked their glasses together, and a gourmet business empire spanning Europe and Asia was launched.
At the same time, Zai Chun also had an epiphany. He chewed this sentence over and over in his heart, "What makes sense may not necessarily work, but what does work definitely makes sense...but that truth may not necessarily be what you want." That’s all!”
"This is like sailing against the current. People always make progress in the face of adversity. Compromise and disputes are the river flowing against the current... If you want the ship of the Qing Dynasty to continue to move forward, you must understand this truth!"
