Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 319 The Minister of Military Affairs Visits Donggang
From December 12th
Diplomatic consultations between Britain, France and the State of Chu to end the war officially began. The first round of consultations broke down after just one day, as the positions of both sides were completely diametrically opposed.

When the news was reported, Foreign Minister Zheng Xin was so angry that he threw a cup and cursed the British and French powers, saying that "they are all despicable people," "their intentions are not pure, and they are not determined to stop the war," and "they call it negotiations, but they are actually speculation, which is truly hateful."

The relevant matters were extremely important and were reported in a written form to the emperor. After reading it, King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not seem very angry.

If you don't have high expectations, you won't be disappointed.

The nature of these European powers has always been to take advantage of others, to be shameless and to confuse right and wrong, and to be the real robbers.

This was reflected in the demands for diplomatic negotiations to end the war, with the British and French sides demanding;

The Chu army unconditionally withdrew from Singapore and East Malaya, opened up the Greater Manila area as a tariff-free preferential trade zone, established Manila, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, and Xi'an as free commercial ports, and established concessions.

There were a series of conditions, a total of 130 items, including granting consular treatment to people traveling between Britain and France, punishing more than 5 Chu army generals who committed serious crimes during the war, reducing armaments, handing over the ironclad fleet and sailing battleship fleet, and compensating Britain and France for the war losses of 19 million silver dollars.

If I hadn't held the real letter of negotiation in my hand, I would have really thought I had seen it wrong.

No one would agree to any of these outrageous conditions, and the first round of peace talks to end the war naturally collapsed.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was well aware of the nature of these European powers and was mentally prepared, but he still had some expectations, which were completely shattered at this moment.

The shamelessness of the British and French powers exceeded his cognitive limit. This clumsy diplomatic blackmail was an attempt to get something at the negotiating table that could not be obtained on the battlefield.

Since the mid-19th century
In the successive treaty revisions with European powers, the Qing court was repeatedly bullied and had to cede a large amount of sovereignty, which formed the inherent impression that "Orientals are easy to bully". The negative impact also spread to this war negotiation.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu responded wisely. He did not close the door to negotiations in a rage, nor did he make exorbitant demands for colonial rights in Western Malaya and even Indochina from the British and French powers. Instead, he responded calmly.

After the negotiations broke down, an important news item was published in the Manila World Weekly published in Manila the next day, which attracted the attention of envoys from various countries stationed in Manila.

This newspaper reports;
Lieutenant General Qian Jiang, the highest official in the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, recently led a military inspection team to Donggang City on Shangri-La Island for a two-week frontline military inspection and made important deployments.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed
The fleet accompanying Lieutenant General Qian Jiang to Donggang City was loaded with no less than 3 advanced rifles and more than 200 tons of ammunition, more than 170 ten-pound field artillery and a large amount of military equipment to fully arm the local 8 troops.

Donggang's more than 30 local militia groups are enthusiastically engaged in combat readiness training. Their officers and soldiers are eager to serve as pioneers for their country and achieve great feats on the vast battlefield...

The "8 troops" mentioned in the report are definitely not that many in number. This is an exaggeration strategy commonly used by China to deter the enemy.

The entire Chu State underwent three military expansions, and the total number of troops was only around 8.6, distributed on the main island and on the battlefields of Singapore and Malaya, and the expenses were quite tight.

The reason why it was able to hold on was that the Chu State had a long tradition of armed militia.

“8 troops” cannot be that large, but if the number is reduced by half, then there must be some.

Early in the morning
British Minister Carl Philip sat down at the breakfast table, picked up the newspaper and began to read it leisurely.

When he saw the news report, he was so scared that his hand shook and half of the scalding coffee spilled. He immediately screamed in frustration.

No matter how slow-witted he was, he understood that the Chu State had seen Britain's fatal weakness and was using force to intimidate it.

If we do not respond, the situation may develop into something that no one wants to see.

Carl Philip no longer had the heart to enjoy breakfast. He cursed a few words in frustration, hurried back to change his clothes, and got on a carriage with his entourage and rushed to the Manila Telegraph Office.

He wanted to send a telegram immediately, as the situation was rapidly deteriorating out of control.

When Carl Philip arrived at the telegraph office, he saw the French negotiator Jean-Pierre Belmondo getting off the carriage, hurried up the steps, and rushed into the telegraph office door.

That look of smugness on his face really made Carl Philip grit his teeth in hatred.

Although the French were an ally in name only, their interests in Southeast Asia were not the same, and there were many areas of conflict.

Take Australia for example.

If the Chu State really sent troops to Australia and started a large-scale war, the French would only open champagne to celebrate without feeling sad at all, and would laugh so hard that their back teeth would be exposed.

It is obvious what will happen next. They will definitely try their best to sabotage the negotiations with Chu to stop the war.

Just think about it

If one of Britain, France, and Chu were actively hindering the negotiations, how many twists and turns would that cause? Making progress even more difficult would be a waste of time. Wouldn't that just add to the trouble?

Carl Philip had a lot of resentment in his heart, but he didn't dare to delay at all. After getting off the carriage, he hurried up the steps and followed into the door of the telegraph office.

all of these

The two strong men saw everything. One of them gave a look, and the other one quickly lowered the brim of his hat and followed him into the telegraph office.

The business hall of the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office is a five-story Victorian-style building. This type of Western-style building with a light luxury style is quite common in the Nanyang region, and Manila is no exception.

Classical Chinese architecture is mostly made of wood and is not suitable for building high-rise buildings. Victorian buildings with corridors are very common in cities.

During the rainy and humid rainy season, it can provide shelter for pedestrians.

This architectural style was also favored by many foreigners and some Chinese merchants. Land within the city was expensive, and buildings along the streets were mostly three to five stories high, making them more economical to rent out. Inside the telegraph office, the bustling queue of people waiting to send telegrams reflected one aspect of Chu's economic prosperity.

After the Anglo-French allied forces retreated, the Chu State quickly lifted the ban on ports and markets, and domestic port transportation and markets quickly resumed prosperity, with the busy scene of forests of boats and an endless stream of people reappearing.

Shipping companies are extremely busy as the market demand for product and raw material transportation is booming. This has led to a flood of orders from shipyards, guiding more social funds to be invested in the shipbuilding industry.

The Chu government issued a ban
In the name of eliminating obsolete ships and protecting forest resources, the construction of wooden ships over 100 tons was banned, and the domestic shipbuilding industry was guided towards the direction of building iron barges.

Some traditional shipyards can only accept orders for fishing boats and are far behind in accepting orders for medium and large cargo ships.

With the withdrawal of the British and French forces, the operation of the Chu government returned to normal, but various affairs were much busier than before, and the Prime Minister's Office and various departments also expanded their staff.

Located on both sides of Glory Avenue, the Prime Minister's Office and various deployment office buildings were built one after another and moved out of Intramuros Manila to work in new deployment compounds.

The originally cramped office conditions have been completely transformed into more spacious office spaces that can accommodate more people, and the government establishment has also been expanded to a certain extent.

Ganquan Palace

After Prime Minister Li Hezhang finished reporting on cabinet affairs, King Zheng Guohui of Chu invited him to a side hall and served him tea. This was a special relationship between the two of them, as both monarch and minister, teacher and friend.

Drink a few sips of tea

Li Hezhang put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, these foreigners are not as calm as they appear. The Minister of Military Affairs's visit to 'scare the tigers' has been more effective than expected."

"Fake it? That's a common tactic used by foreigners." Zheng Guohui continued with an indignant look on his face, "Only the corrupt imperial court would be so frightened by these foreigners that they would obediently offer up any goodies."

Li Hezhang knows

Your Majesty said this specifically to him, intending to use his channels to influence his second brother Li Hongzhang, who was gaining increasing power in the court, and perhaps also his eldest brother Li Hanzhang.

But the court has been plagued by long-standing problems and is in dire straits. How can it be solved by human power?

Li Hezhang nodded, then continued, avoiding the topic. "It won't be long before Britain, France, and other countries will demand to reopen negotiations. Your Majesty, please advise us on how to respond."

After hearing this, King Zheng Guohui of Chu picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

He relaxed his body and lay back, tapping his slender fingers lightly on his knees. He considered for a moment before speaking;

"We can talk, the door to negotiations is always open.

But there is a way to talk about it, and we can clearly tell the representatives of Britain and France;

Don't expect to get at the negotiating table what you can't get on the battlefield. That's pure wishful thinking and a waste of time.

Of the 19 points proposed by the other party, only one or two can be discussed. The rest are not allowed and there is no need to raise them again.

As soon as it was mentioned, the negotiations broke down immediately.

What we want

The spheres of influence were divided according to the existing actual occupied areas, which included Singapore and East Malaya. Both sides recognized these as the other's territory, which was the spoils that Chu deserved.

During the negotiation period, all hostile military actions should be stopped. This is the bottom line that cannot be crossed.

Regarding issues such as war compensation and civilian losses, none of them are allowed. Not a single silver dollar will be paid as compensation, and not an inch of land will be given up. If you don't accept it, just fight again.

If the other party disregards trust and loyalty, and plays tricks of doing one thing openly and another secretly.

Once again, the army will invade Singapore or East Malaya, reigniting the war and bringing disaster to the people.

The Chu State would not be polite either. All responsibility for escalating the war would be borne by Britain and France.

Hmm...that's about it. Let's discuss it first. This won't happen overnight."

"Your Majesty, I understand." Prime Minister Li Hezhang did not express any opinion on this point and carried out the order unconditionally.

This is also what King Zheng Guohui of Chu admired about him very much. As a diligent deputy, he took on the heavy government affairs and organized all walks of life in the country in an orderly manner. His contribution was invaluable!
Prime Minister Li Hezhang knew the bottom line. A place like Singapore was very hot to the touch. The Chu State could not hold on to it and would eventually have to hand it over.

But in the negotiations

We must maintain a tough attitude of not giving up an inch of territory and force the other party to come up with more chips in exchange. At least the three states of East Malaya must be obtained. This is also the second bottom line.

Otherwise, how can we explain to our countrymen that we fought such a huge war with so much effort but achieved no results?

As for Australia
King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not have a clear mind, so we can only wait and see what happens to this matter. Things in the world are unpredictable and difficult to predict in advance.

The British are not people who are easy to bully, and they will not give you everything you want. You can only try your best to get it.

(End of this chapter)