Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 453: Victoria's Bad Days (6K)

Don’t think that the 1500 million required to auction a banking license is a lot.

But the Shanxi merchants did not think so.

Because in their view, as long as they can get this banking license.

So, if they spend 1500 million now, they will earn back 1.5 million or even more in the future.

These mature and experienced businessmen understand a very simple truth: money is a bastard and should never be saved when it is time to spend it.

……

At noon, I stayed in the Shanxi Merchants Guild Hall and had a meal and a lot of drinks with everyone.

In the afternoon, after a nap, Qiao Zhiyong said goodbye to everyone and got on the carriage to return to Sihai Hotel to rest.

Well, Qiao Zhiyong booked a room at the Sihai Hotel for more than just one day.

Instead, it was decided on for ten days in one go!

According to the plan, he will have to stay in Beijing for a while. The Qiao family is not short of money, so he will not treat himself badly in life.

Sitting in the carriage, Qiao Zhiyong gradually became drunk and leaned against the carriage, and fell asleep without realizing it.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped. The obvious pause sobered Qiao Zhiyong up and he couldn't help but open his eyes.

He poked his head out and asked.

"Lao Liang, why did the carriage stop?"

Upon hearing this, housekeeper Lao Liang responded immediately.

"In reply to the master, the road ahead is blocked. We can only wait."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhiyong just nodded and said nothing more.

If it was in Qi County, Shanxi, naturally no one would dare to block his road, but this is the capital.

There are so many big shots!
No matter how arrogant Qiao Zhiyong was, he didn't think he could still survive in the capital. It would never be wrong to be honest and low-key.

But soon Qiao Zhiyong could no longer sit still in the carriage, and called out to the butler Lao Liang, asking him to help him get out of the carriage to get some fresh air.

After getting off the carriage, the autumn wind blew and Qiao Zhiyong's drunkenness came back.

And at this moment, he also saw why the road was closed.

At the end of the road, a group of prison vans appeared.

In each prison van, there is a prisoner wearing prison uniform.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"It's Marquis Pingle. The person imprisoned in the first prisoner car is Marquis Pingle!"

"There are also the Earl of Dong'an, the Earl of Anping, the Earl of Huaining..."

"Oh my god, there are so many big shots. What have they done wrong?"

"How come even these big shots are sitting in the prison van?"

"..."

People couldn't help but talk about it, but most of them had a gloating expression on their faces.

For ordinary people, seeing big people get into trouble is a rare change in life.

Seeing that everyone was confused, someone in the crowd spoke up to explain.

"Don't you usually read newspapers?"

"It was reported in the Tang Daily that these nobles were involved in smuggling and selling opium. The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation and severe punishment, with no leniency."

"No, my head is about to fall off!"

After hearing this, everyone around suddenly understood.

"I see!"

"So it was because of the opium trafficking. He deserved it."

"That's right. He is not satisfied with being an official and a noble. He still sells opium and harms people. He deserves to die. The emperor should kill him!"

"It seems that the imperial court is really determined to ban opium. Even these nobles who sell opium will be beheaded."

"Not only that, the imperial court is going to war with the foreigners from England in order to ban opium, isn't it?"

"But this is a good thing. Opium is really harmful to people. It's better to ban it!"

"Yes, kill those foreign devils and tell them to sell opium to our Tang Dynasty."

Qiao Zhiyong stood there, watching the prison van pass by him and listening to the discussions around him, with a complicated expression on his face.

People say that these businessmen are pitiful and are like lambs to be slaughtered in front of those in power.

But these so-called noble ministers are actually no different from them.

With just one order from the emperor, people would still be beheaded.

……

Outside the execution ground, on the second floor of a teahouse.

Listening to the noise outside the teahouse, Peng Zhengjue couldn't help but sigh. He picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all. He slammed the glass heavily on the table and said angrily.

"Oh, Lao Zhang and his gang are so stupid. Why did they have to sell opium when they could do something else? Now they have lost their lives."

Peng Zhengjue also came from the Tiandihui, and he made a lot of contributions in the process of Tang Dynasty's conquest of the world.

Now he also holds a high position in the court.

However, he was a sensible person. After Li Yi ordered the ban on smoking, he cut off his business.

Therefore, this time the court’s strict crackdown on smoking did not involve him!

At the side, Xu Sheng, who was as thin as a bamboo pole, heard this and said with a unhappy expression.

"Although Lao Zhang and his men were wrong, His Majesty's direct order to execute them was too ruthless."

"They all risked their lives for the Tang Dynasty, but now they've only had a few days of good life and they've lost their heads."

Although Xu Sheng didn't say anything on the surface, he was accusing Li Yi of ungratefulness in his words.

He was just short of saying something as outrageous as "When the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked"!

Peng Zhengjue said unhappily when he heard this.

"Xu Sheng, be careful with your words. Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Where do you get all this nonsense from?"

"Don't you want the head anymore?"

As a founding monarch, Li Yi had great prestige in the army, so naturally his subordinates could not interfere with him at will.

When the man heard this, he realized that he had said something wrong, so he slapped himself lightly on the face and said nothing more.

On the side, another man named Zhou Kai spoke.

"But I think Lao Zhang and his men didn't die unjustly."

"Emperor Dezuren fought against the British to ban opium and died in the Opium War."

"Don't mention that your majesty is the emperor. If my father died because of opium, I would kill anyone who dares to mention the word opium in front of me..."

Zhou Kai is a filial son, so he can understand Li Yi's behavior.

Well, the so-called Emperor Dezuren that he mentioned here is the posthumous title and temple name that Li Yi conferred on his father after he ascended the throne.

Everyone was silent when they heard the words.

Peng Zhengjue took a deep breath and spoke.

"Okay, stop talking about this."

"We came to the execution ground today just to send Lao Zhang and the others off for the last time. Let's be quiet and don't get ourselves involved..."

"Drink, drink!"

……

At the execution ground, Marquis Pingle, Earl Anping, Earl Huaining, Earl Dong'an and others, as well as prisoners such as Sun Xiang and Bob, were all taken to the execution ground.

The executioner stood on a high platform, holding an imperial edict and reading aloud.

"In obedience to the Emperor of Heaven, I decree:"

"Pingle Marquis Sun Donglai, Anping Earl Zhang Erhe, Huaining Earl Li Hu, Dong'an Earl Song Bo and others were involved in more than ten major crimes, including opium trafficking, corruption, intentional homicide, smuggling of commercial goods, occupying farmland, tax evasion, speculation and profiteering."

"The evidence is irrefutable, and we have all the witnesses and materials. After a joint trial by the three judicial departments, they sentenced him to death, stripped him of his title, and confiscated his property!"

"Execute now!"

"I hope that the government and the people will take this as a warning and abide by the law. If there are repeat offenders, they will be investigated and dealt with according to the law and will not be tolerated."

"Appreciate this!"

As the executioner finished speaking, the soldiers on the execution ground raised their guns.

"Turn on the safety."

"aim."

"put!!"

The next moment, the law enforcement soldier pulled the trigger, and a burst of gunfire rang out.

Several flowers of blood bloomed behind the first four prisoners brought up!
Driven by the kinetic energy of the bullets, their bodies fell forward to the ground.

After a few struggles, he died.

The bodies were dragged away and replaced by the second group of prisoners.

Immediately afterwards, there was another burst of gunfire.

The body fell to the ground again!
There were bursts of cheers all around the execution ground.

……

The British Legation!
Baldmi flipped through the newspaper in his hand with a gloomy expression.

This newspaper contains the latest issue of the Datang Daily, which contains the most important domestic and international news.

On the first page of the newspaper, there is a line of bold and black characters.

[With the recognition from the Great Khan of the Mughal Empire of India, the Heavenly Khan is born again! 】

This report records in detail that the Great Khan of the Mughal Empire of India, Bahadur Shah II, respected the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty as the Heavenly Khan and was willing to be a vassal of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty will also open up arms trade to the Mughal Empire and provide assistance to the best of its ability to support the Mughal Empire's national independence movement and the Indian people's struggle for an independent international status.

This is really bad news for the British people.

The importance of India to Britain is self-evident. In Britain's eyes, India is the back garden of the British Empire.

But now, the Tang Kingdom has stretched one foot into Britain's back garden and is trying to stir up trouble.

This is something the British absolutely cannot accept!

For the British, compared with the Tang Dynasty's interference in India, even the capture of the Straits Settlements by the Tang army and the capture of Governor Charles were not a big deal.

Baldmi's heart was filled with solemnity, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed for the Prime Minister.

With the Tang Dynasty's interference, it became much more difficult for Britain to quell the Indian rebellion.

This also made Baldimi not feel happy even when he read the news in the newspaper that Tsarist Russia lost Irkutsk and Lake Baikal changed hands.

Because, now Britain is in a much worse situation than Tsarist Russia!

Baldmi couldn't help but sigh.

"Well, India is just too far away from the British mainland."

"Otherwise, Daying wouldn't be so passive."

……

Vienna, Austria!
The conference site.

Envoys from Britain, France, Tsarist Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Prussia and other countries gathered together and were arguing fiercely.

The focus of their dispute is the interests of Crimea.

"Tsarist Russia must completely withdraw from Crimea and the Black Sea. Tsarist Russia is not allowed to build arsenals and warship ports along the Black Sea and Danube. This is the bottom line of Britain."

British envoy Fleming slammed the table and made a very tough statement.

The Russian envoy immediately raised a rebuttal.

"No, this is absolutely impossible!" "The Empire will never withdraw from Crimea and the Black Sea. Crimea and the Black Sea are the core interests of the Empire."

"We have not been defeated, and we will never give up our interests!"

At this time, Tsarist Russia was more confident than when it participated in the Vienna Conference in history.

Because the situation faced by Tsarist Russia now is much better than in history.

On the contrary, the situation faced by Britain is somewhat passive!
Seeing this, the French representative on the side quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and speak for the Tsarist Russian representative.

France did not want to see Tsarist Russia's power in the Middle East being weakened too much to the point where Britain became the only powerful country.

The Prussian representative also stood up and spoke on behalf of Tsarist Russia.

The representative of the Ottoman Empire stood behind the British representative, and his position was self-evident.

The Austrian representative did not make any statement, but occasionally spoke a few words in favor of Britain, but did not offend Tsarist Russia too much.

As time went by, the negotiations gradually reached a stalemate.

The atmosphere in the air is becoming more and more tense!
Well, they had been arguing for several days, but their differences were so great that they could not reach a consensus.

Just at this moment, the door of the conference room was knocked from outside.

A servant ran in hurriedly, leaned over and whispered a few words in the ear of the Tsarist Russian envoy.

In an instant, a gleam of light flashed in the eyes of the Tsarist Russian envoy. He slammed the table and began to speak.

"You want us to withdraw from Crimea and the Black Sea?"

"No way!"

"I think you British guys should get out!"

"I'm telling you, either you British people withdraw from Crimea and get out of the Black Sea, or we'll continue fighting!"

Upon hearing this, the British envoy Fleming was stunned. He was a little confused. Was Tsarist Russia crazy?

You still want to fight?
Although Britain is currently eager to quell the Indian uprising, it is somewhat unable to continue fighting in Crimea.

However, even if the war could not continue, the situation would still be better than that of Tsarist Russia.

If the two sides fight again, there will definitely be problems within Tsarist Russia.

However, just as the British envoy was about to respond, another servant ran in and whispered to him.

In an instant, the British envoy's face changed.

Couldn't help but exclaimed.

"God, is this true?"

The servant who came to report the news nodded and said solemnly.

"Sir, this is indeed true."

"The Tang Empire has already conquered the Straits Settlements and recognized the vassal status of the Mughal Empire. The British Empire is facing more obstacles in suppressing the Indian rebellion."

The British envoy was horrified, but he also understood why the Russian envoy suddenly became so arrogant.

It turned out that they had seen that Britain had to withdraw from Crimea and reinforce India.

The British envoy tried to keep his expression unchanged and said through gritted teeth.

"impossible!"

"Great Britain is indeed in a bad situation right now, but how much better can your Russia be?"

"Hasn't your Lake Baikal also been lost?"

"Why, can you persuade the Tang people to return Lake Baikal to you?"

Upon hearing this, the Russian envoy said expressionlessly.

"We can accept the outcome of losing Lake Baikal and Siberia."

“But can Britain really accept the outcome of losing India?”

Siberia is certainly important to Tsarist Russia, but its importance is not greater than that of the Near East.

But for Britain, India is indispensable.

Upon hearing this, the British envoy's expression became even uglier.

Upon seeing this, the Russian envoys became more aggressive.

……

Buckingham Palace, London!
Queen Victoria sat on the throne with a gloomy face.

The slightly plump chest rose and fell violently.

"How dare they!?"

"Don't the Tang people know that India belongs to Great Britain? Who gave them the courage to get involved in India's affairs?"

"Damn it!"

In front of Victoria, Prime Minister Palmerston said with a very ugly expression.

"Your Majesty, according to the news that has been sent back so far, the Tang Empire has already taken over the Straits Settlements and may send troops to India at any time to support the Indians in their fight against Great Britain."

"We, Great Britain, must suppress the rebellion of the Mughal Empire as soon as possible before the Tang army sends troops to India."

"To prevent the Tang army from joining forces with the Mughal Empire's rebels. Once the two join forces, the situation that Great Britain will face will only become more critical."

If it was only the Indian army that rebelled, Britain would not have taken it seriously.

Because they had colonized India for such a long time, they had already figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the Indians and did not take the combat effectiveness of the Indian soldiers too seriously.

However, if the Tang army gets involved, that would be another matter!
According to the latest news from the Straits Settlements, the Tang army suffered a very exaggerated casualty ratio against the British army when attacking the Straits Settlements.

In the Battle of the Straits Settlements, the Tang army suffered only dozens of casualties, but the British army lost more than 3,000 soldiers, and the rest were almost all taken as prisoners of war.

It can be said that the British Empire has lost all face!
But it is also enough to prove how strong the Tang army's fighting power is.

Once the Tang army and the Indians join forces, the combat effectiveness that can be exerted by the two combined into one is definitely more than just one plus one equals two.

Victoria took a deep breath and then asked.

"Mr. Prime Minister, how do you think Great Britain should handle the current situation?"

Palmerston took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, I think that Great Britain may try to negotiate with the Tang Kingdom next, so that the Tang Kingdom will not interfere in the situation in India."

"In addition to trying to negotiate, I also think that Britain may need to mobilize more troops as soon as possible to fight in India and suppress the rebellion in India as soon as possible."

"Lest it be too late, there will be changes!"

Victoria's face darkened when she heard this.

"Have things really come to this?"

Victoria was used to being strong and did not want to bow to an Eastern country.

Even so, this Eastern country has already demonstrated considerable national strength.

Well, the British Empire still has to maintain its reputation as the global hegemon.

Palmerston smiled wryly.

"Your Majesty, the most important thing for Britain today is not face, but to quell the Indian rebellion as soon as possible."

"If we fail to quell the Indian rebellion, Britain will lose its dignity, not to mention its reputation."

Victoria took a deep breath after hearing this.

"All right!"

"Then this matter will be left to the Prime Minister to arrange..."

However, Victoria had just said half of her words when her servant Brown walked in from outside.

Brown walked up to Victoria and Palmerston and said solemnly.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, something happened in Vienna."

"The delegation sent by the Tsarist Russia made exorbitant demands during the negotiations, attempting to force Britain to withdraw from the Black Sea and Crimea..."

Victoria's face suddenly became even gloomier when she heard this.

I couldn't help but say it through gritted teeth.

"Shet!"

"Damn the Russians! They even dare to take advantage of the situation and rob Britain!"

Palmerston also had a grim look on his face and stood there without saying a word.

Queen Victoria looked at Palmerston again and asked.

"What is your suggestion, Prime Minister?"

Palmerston took a deep breath and spoke solemnly.

"Your Majesty, I think the French will have some thoughts on this as well."

"The reason why the French sided with the Russians in this peace talk is that they don't want to see Britain dominate the Middle East."

"But if Great Britain completely withdraws from Crimea, the Black Sea, and the fight for the Middle East, that would be something the French would not want to see."

Well, once Britain completely withdraws from the Middle East, Tsarist Russia will become the only superpower, and may even expand further into Eastern Europe through the Middle East, threatening the French position on the European continent.

This is not a good thing for France either!
The British have always been masters at striking a balance.

As long as the French do not want to see Tsarist Russia dominate the Middle East, Britain will have room to maneuver in this matter.

Victoria's expression softened slightly when she heard this, but she still spoke.

"Resolve the Crimea issue as quickly as possible, then send troops to India to quell the Indian rebellion."

"I don't want India to continue to be in chaos..."

Palmerston nodded to show that he understood.

However, just as he was about to leave, Victoria suddenly stopped him and spoke.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I think there is no need to discuss Crimea. Let's just withdraw our troops."

"I don't believe that the Russians will remain indifferent after we withdraw our troops!"

"Once the Russians take the initiative to attack, France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia will have to increase their investment if they don't want the Crimean War to collapse."

"Just let them fight on their own!"

This is a typical case of Victoria just wanting to give up.

Or it can be said that the UK now needs to focus its main attention on India and is unable to take Crimea into consideration.

In addition, she was very angry about France's attitude and wanted to cause trouble for France.

It's normal to give up!

Upon hearing this, Palmerston hurriedly began to advise.

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

"If Great Britain really does this, there will be no place for Great Britain in the Near East."

"Perhaps Britain can use the withdrawal of troops as a means to threaten the French to increase their investment in Crimea."

"But we can't just withdraw without doing anything!"

After hearing this, Victoria stopped the urge to give up and just waved her hand to signal Palmerston to step down.

Seeing this, Palmerston saluted, then turned and walked away, leading his men out of Buckingham Palace.

The carriage was traveling on the streets of London, and there was a lot of noise all around.

Palmerston lifted the car curtain to look and found that there were obviously many more beggars on the streets of London than before.

On the streets, many unemployed workers gathered, holding signs and shouting loudly, creating a noisy and chaotic scene.

“Give us jobs!”

"We want bread!"

“Raise workers’ wages!”

"..."

(End of this chapter)