Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 283 Tariff Agreement? No, Tariff Negotiation!

Late at night, Hong Kong City Hall conference room.

The conference room was filled with the aroma of tea, and a teapot was bubbling on the stove, emitting steam.

Guo Songtao sat on the left, and opposite him sat Elgin.

Well, there are only Guo Songtao and Elgin in this conference room now.

"Director Guo, why did you invite me here so late at night?"

Elgin asked, his expression full of fatigue.

It was obvious that Elgin was exhausted after several days of negotiations and arguments.

Guo Songtao raised his hand to signal Elgin to drink tea. He also picked up the teacup and took a sip, then spoke.

"I invite His Excellency the Earl to come down, of course, for negotiations!"

Elgin picked up the teacup and drank all the tea in it in one breath. The fresh tea aroma filled his mouth.

Although he is a British man and prefers black tea, he has to admit that green tea also has a unique flavor.

Putting down the teacup heavily, Elgin spoke.

"Negotiation? Then why did you invite only me to come?"

Guo Songtao smiled.

"Because today's negotiations are not between the Tang Dynasty and the Allied Forces, but between the Tang Dynasty and Britain."

The reason why the negotiations in the previous few days were not smooth was partly because the conditions proposed by both sides were too outrageous and it was impossible to reach a consensus, so naturally no agreement was reached.

But more importantly, it was because the Tang Dynasty didn’t really want to talk.

From the beginning to the end, the Tang Dynasty had no intention of negotiating with the coalition as a whole, but wanted to talk with each country separately.

Because the coalition as a whole is difficult to deal with.

But if the coalition forces split, it would be much easier for the Tang Dynasty to control other countries.

When facing an alliance of enemies, the stupidest thing to do is to confront them head-on.

A truly smart person will first divide and disintegrate the enemy, and then defeat them one by one.

Just like what the Qin Dynasty did to the six kingdoms in Guandong in the past!

Pull one faction, attack another, divide and disintegrate...

When Elgin heard this, his face changed and his expression became serious and earnest.

"What do you mean?"

Guo Songtao continued.

"The Tang Dynasty can sign a peace treaty with Britain, refuse war reparations from Britain, resume trade with Britain, and open up its inland market to British merchants. All of these are negotiable."

"But only for Britain!"

When Elgin heard this, his mind was racing.

He understood what the Chinese official across from him meant.

This is to divide Britain and the Allied Forces!

However, Elgin accepted the challenge anyway.

“Then return it to Hong Kong…”

Guo Songtao flatly refused.

"This is impossible!"

"Hong Kong is our Tang Dynasty territory. The Tang Dynasty will not give up an inch!"

After hearing this, Elgin thought for a while and then continued to ask.

“What about the tariff agreement?”

Guo Songtao said with a smile.

"It's not impossible to negotiate a tariff agreement, but the UK also needs to give something."

Elgin asked.

"What do you mean?"

Guo Songtao calmly put forward the Tang Dynasty's demands.

"The Tang merchant caravan must obtain the right to trade in the British Indian colonies, and the tariffs imposed by British India on the Tang merchant caravan must also be agreed upon by both parties."

To put it bluntly, this is a step forward.

If you want a tariff agreement, fine.

But this time it was not our Tang Dynasty that was defeated and asked for peace, but your coalition forces that took the initiative to ask for peace.

If we want a tariff agreement, then both sides must also agree on the tariffs on your side.

If you don’t agree, that’s great, then I have a reason to reject you.

It was you who didn’t agree first!
It doesn't matter whether you agree or not, it's just exchanging market for market.

The Chinese market is admittedly huge, but the Indian market is also not small.

In addition, the distance from China to India is much closer than that from Europe to India.

The Tang Dynasty did not lose!

The reason why the tariff agreement seems to be humiliating to the country is that the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the agreement unilaterally.

In other words, if others want to set your tariffs, you cannot say no. If you say no, they will attack you.

Isn't this a loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country?

However, the Tang Dynasty is not entering into a unilateral agreement now, but a mutual agreement with Britain.

To put it bluntly, isn't this just a tariff negotiation?

What is so humiliating about tariff negotiations?
Which country in later generations has not talked about this?
Upon hearing this, Elgin couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Damn, this was the first time he met someone who dared to demand a tariff agreement from Britain.

When have I, Big Troublemaker Ying, ever been wronged like this?!
Elgin flatly refused.

"Impossible, India belongs to Britain."

"Britain can't share India with anyone!"

Hearing this, Guo Songtao took a deep breath and said.

"This peace talk was initiated by your coalition forces, not by the Tang Dynasty." "Your coalition forces lost the battle and don't want to pay any price, yet you still want the Tang Dynasty to open up its market. How can such a good thing happen?"

"If you don't know, you would think that the Tang Dynasty lost this battle!"

"The Tang Dynasty can open its market to you, but it cannot be a unilateral opening of the market by the Tang Dynasty."

"If they can't even open their markets to each other, then I don't think the UK has the sincerity to negotiate."

"Let's keep fighting!"

Upon hearing this, Elgin couldn't help but turn pale.

But before he could say anything, Guo Songtao added a sentence.

"By the way, I have an appointment with Sir Gro from France for a meeting later."

Guo Songtao's meaning was very clear.

If you don't talk, there are plenty of people who will!
Your coalition forces are not united, and France may not necessarily agree with you, Britain.

Elgin's face became even uglier when he heard this, but he still took a deep breath and said.

"Yes, I can agree to allow the Tang merchant caravan to go to India for trade, but the number of merchant ships must be limited."

"Moreover, Britain will not negotiate with anyone regarding India's tariffs."

Guo Songtao raised his teacup again and motioned for Elgin to drink tea.

Guo Songtao didn't care about limiting the number of merchant ships.

Because there are not many ships in the Tang Dynasty that can sail on the ocean, so just limit the number, and the impact will be limited.

As for what to do if there are more ocean-going ships in the future?
Haha, by that time, the Tang Dynasty’s navy should have been developed. By then, we can slowly discuss whether India will be British or Chinese.

Guo Songtao continued speaking slowly but firmly.

"Okay, in that case, we can trade, but our Tang Dynasty will not negotiate tariffs with any country."

Elgin looked unhappy, but he still agreed.

Afterwards, the two sides agreed to send ambassadors to each other, to set up embassies in each other's territory, and to redeem the British hostages held by the Tang Dynasty.

Soon, the two sides reached a consensus to ignore the war and neither side demanded compensation from the other.

The two sides sent ambassadors to each other permanently, established embassies, and resumed trade. In addition, it was agreed that the Tang Dynasty would send a group of students to study in the UK.

After discussing this, Elgin was visibly relieved.

During this expedition, he finally completed part of the mission.

Being able to restore trade is better than having no gain at all!

In this way, when he returns to his homeland, he will have an explanation to give to the masters of the parliament.

Elgin got up and left, and as he left the town hall, he saw another carriage coming.

Looking at the carriage marked with French emblems, Elgin couldn't help frowning.

And Gro in the carriage also saw Elgin and Guo Songtao, who seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation with Elgin.

He couldn't help but frown!

I had a bad feeling. Could it be that Tang and Britain had reached a consensus?

Soon, Elgin got in his carriage and left.

Gro also got off the carriage, and Guo Songtao took a few steps forward and welcomed him into the conference room.

As soon as the two men sat down, Guo Songtao didn't say any nonsense and started asking questions directly.

"Sir Gro, I don't understand why France wants to organize a coalition to invade our Tang Dynasty this time?"

"Don't we have a very deep traditional friendship between the Tang Dynasty and France? I think there should be no conflict between the Tang Dynasty and France, right?"

You know, in the few years after the Battle of Guangzhou, Britain was banned from trade by the Tang Dynasty.

Most of the commercial interests that originally belonged to the British were taken over by France.

Guo Songtao didn’t understand why France wanted to join the coalition!
Ge Luo sat opposite Guo Songtao, feeling somewhat uneasy, but he still spoke.

"Director Guo, you are right."

"There is indeed a very deep traditional friendship between the Tang Dynasty and France."

"This incident was just a misunderstanding..."

Guo Songtao sneered when he heard this.

"In this case, France is admitting that it is responsible for this war?"

"If that's the case, should France compensate the Tang Dynasty for this war?"

Gro's tone paused, and he was secretly annoyed that he was being picked on. After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth to refute.

"Then the Tang Kingdom must also be held responsible for the damage done to Minister Bulbulon and make compensation!"

Guo Songtao said with a sneer.

"If it weren't for your French army that first harassed the coast of our Tang Dynasty and wantonly plundered our Tang people, would our Tang Dynasty have cut off Bulbulon's hand?"

"Since you first expanded the war to civilians, don't blame me, the Tang Dynasty, for revenge."

"Could it be that the best army in Europe during Napoleon's time has now fallen to the point where it only dares to attack civilians?"

"Napoleon is about to be disgraced by you!"

When Ge Luo heard this, his face turned blue and red, looking extremely ugly.

But there is no way to refute it!

Because what Guo Songtao said was true, they really could not defeat the Tang army, so they bullied the people of the Tang Dynasty.

As a result, I didn't get much advantage.

If Napoleon knew about this, he would probably jump up and hit him on the head!

Guo Songtao also took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and brought the topic back to the main topic.

"Let's put aside these unrealistic topics for now. Let's not waste time on this kind of thing."

"Let's get down to business."

"It is time for the war to end and for trade to resume, but this is the price France paid for initiating this war."

"When the Tang Dynasty opens its market to France, France will also open its market to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty's caravans will also go to France's colonies in India and Africa to trade."

"What does Ser Grog think?"

(End of this chapter)