There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 412 "The Treaty of Nanjing?"

After the Chinese envoys Lan Fang and Dai Yan left, the next person to be received was the British envoy.

Because it was only a temporary meeting summoned by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and not a real state-level exchange, no other officials from the Han side participated except for the officials from the Hong Temple.

The British mission was only permitted to meet with Sir Edmund, the chief envoy sent by the East India Company to China, and Henry, the deputy envoy who served as the company's interpreter.

Edmund and Henry soon arrived in the hall.

Henry hadn't even reacted yet, but Edmund, the company's chief envoy to China, already had an undisguised look of amazement on his face.

Before he arrived, the officials of Hongsi Temple had explained to him that the new Han Dynasty had just been established, and His Majesty the Emperor could not bear to harm the people, so he was not in a hurry to conscript laborers to build palaces on a large scale, and could only condescend to live frugally in the temporary palace.

When Edmund heard this, he didn't feel much; at most, he just thought that this Eastern monarch was really good at putting on a show.

But now that he had actually seen it, Edmund finally understood that this emperor of the Eastern Empire was truly a great monarch.

Such a great empire, yet the palace where its monarch resided was so simple, simpler than the palace of any monarch he had seen since arriving in the East.

Even the palace in his homeland, England, where the king resides, is far more luxurious than that of this Eastern monarch.

"Cough cough!"

Seeing that Edmund, the British instigator, remained unmoved, the official from the Court of State Ceremonial, who was leading the way, could only helplessly feign a cough to give a hint.

Upon hearing Edmund's cough, his interpreter Henry promptly whispered in English, "Sir Edmund, you should perform the kneeling ceremony for His Majesty the Emperor of China as a sign of respect for the Chinese monarch!"

"Sir Edmund Harkness, Special Envoy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the East India Company, pays his respects to His Majesty the Great Emperor of China!" Edmund realized what was happening and quickly performed a proper kneeling bow to Nie Yu, following the etiquette taught to him by the Court of State Ceremonial.

Compared to several years ago, when Macartney visited China, he refused to kneel before Emperor Qianlong, which greatly displeased the emperor.

Sir Edmund's kneecaps were noticeably softer, not as hard as those of the Macartney mission a few years earlier.

The East India Company was already in dire straits. Their war in India had depleted the company's financial resources, and the Boston Tea Party further exacerbated the company's economic woes. Taking advantage of this, the British government reclaimed the East India Company's shareholder rights.

Macartney's previous failed visit to China had nearly pushed the East India Company to its limit.

Now that we've finally got another chance, it's just a matter of kneeling. They kneel to the King in England too. What's wrong with kneeling to an Eastern emperor?

Even this kneeling gesture was a new addition that Nie Yu specifically requested, and it will not be counted as a special etiquette exception in the future, but will only be used for British overseas use.

For no other reason than to see if the kneecaps of the British were really that hard and couldn't bend.
"No gifts, please give me a seat!"

Nie Yu nodded slightly. The show of force of kneeling had been given, and then came the return courtesy of being offered seats. Edmund and Henry took their seats, but their backsides hadn't even warmed up yet.

Edmund said, “Your Majesty the Great Emperor of China, Edmund has come to China on behalf of the United Kingdom and the East India Company to discuss with Your Majesty specific matters concerning future trade cooperation between China and Britain!”

The fact that they got straight to the point so quickly shows how anxious Edmund was, and how anxious the East India Company was as well.

Nie Yu nodded: "I have already reopened the maritime trade routes in Guangzhou and Macau. There will be no more isolationism in the future. As long as they abide by the laws of my Great Han, British merchants can also conduct free trade in Guangzhou and Macau without being misled or exploited by the Thirteen Factories of Guangdong in the past."

These words undoubtedly show that the Han Dynasty was different from the pseudo-Qing Dynasty and had already opened up the country from its previous closed-door policy.

Being able to trade freely in Guangzhou, no longer subject to the constraints of the Thirteen Factories in Guangdong, was a great thing for most foreign merchants, who could finally do business and make money freely.

Henry's merchant translator, hired by the mission, was all smiles; he could finally do business again in Guangzhou.

However, while Henry, an ordinary British merchant, was satisfied, and Nie Yu also opened the country from its closed-door policy, Edmund, the East India Company's special envoy, was clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

Edmund said, “Your Majesty the Great Emperor of China, the United Kingdom and the East India Company are very grateful for Your Majesty’s generosity. However, the Company has seven requests that we hope Your Majesty will grant!”

Nie Yu had already somewhat anticipated this, but he still wanted to hear what the other party had to say: "Which seven demands?"

Edmund, having been granted permission, immediately produced a list. The sight of the list made Henry's eyelids twitch, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

Edmund saw nothing wrong with it and picked up the list to read: "The East India Trading Company of the United Kingdom, through a shareholders' meeting, adopted seven treaties:"

First, the Han Empire and the United Kingdom of Great Britain formed a strategic alliance.

Secondly, the company's British subsidiaries are willing to abide by the laws of the Great Han Dynasty, but are not willing to do business only in Guangzhou and Macau. They should also open up trade in ports such as Zhoushan, Ningbo, and Xiamen, and in the future, ports such as Tianjin should also be opened.

Third, the company hopes to establish a warehouse in Nanjing so that the company and British merchants can sell their goods.

Fourth, the company needs a small island or vacant land near Zhoushan to store goods, but will not station troops or set up any fortifications. Fifth, the company needs to be granted permission to own a similar small island near Guangzhou, or at least be able to reside in Guangzhou year-round, where it can ride horses and exercise, but will not disturb the lives of the locals.

Sixth, the company and its British merchant ships may be exempt from taxes or at least not subject to additional taxes when sailing between Guangzhou and Macau or on the Pearl River.

Seventh, unless otherwise stipulated by the Chinese Emperor, no customs duties or taxes shall be levied on British goods or ships, and if such stipulations exist, copies shall be sent to the company and British merchant ships.

The scene was deathly silent, because no one spoke at all.

All the officials present were so astonished by Edmund's words, the English envoy's words, that they were completely speechless.

Okay, okay, seven demands? Is this what you call seven demands?
Anyone who hasn’t forgotten their junior high school history knows that these so-called seven demands are none other than the later Treaty of Nanjing.

The only difference between the two is that the Treaty of Nanjing explicitly demanded the cession of Hong Kong Island, while Edmund's seven demands only mentioned Zhoushan and similar small islands near Guangzhou.

Aside from the Macau Peninsula, which has become a port, the only other similar island near Guangzhou is Hong Kong Island.

Coloane Island and Bingzai Island are too close to the Macau Peninsula. The British are still allies with Portugal, so the East India Company does not dare to covet Macau for the time being.

"hehe."

Nie Yu laughed, not out of extreme anger, but simply amused by the stupidity of the British East India Company.

Nie Yu knew, of course, that these so-called seven demands were actually the same demands that Macartney had made to Emperor Qianlong during his visit to China a few years ago.

Even Emperor Qianlong, the old dog, couldn't agree to such a demand, or rather, such a treaty. These East India Company merchants really thought highly of themselves, actually believing that he could agree to it.

Sure enough, businessmen are short-sighted; all they care about is profit. Talking about politics with a group of businessmen is just nonsense.

No wonder the British royal family took action against the East India Company; those guys were asking for far too much. If he were the King of England, he would also be wary of the East India Company.

After all, the American Revolutionary War was enough for Britain. The East India Company was too powerful, even having its own minting rights, the power to wage war on behalf of the country, sign treaties and alliances on behalf of the country, establish colonies on behalf of the country, and expand its territory abroad.

Nie Yu laughed for a moment, then immediately stopped, and waved his hand: "Men, throw him out!"

Two or four Han soldiers immediately entered the room and dragged the bewildered Edmund outside.

"NO, NO, I am the company envoy, you cannot do this..."

No one translated this passage, and no one cared what happened to Edmund. Two guards carried Edmund out of the palace hall.

Henry tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Your Majesty, this was our oversight. I didn't expect the company's senior management to act this way..."

Nie Yu interrupted, "Whether you thought it or not has nothing to do with me. This is just a warning. Go back and tell your company's delegation members that if they continue to hold such thoughts, thinking that the Great Han is so easy to fool, then there is no need for us to continue talking. From now on, the Great Han and Britain will be enemies forever. No British ship will be allowed to enter any Chinese port again."

"Don't even think about using Indian warhorses to blackmail me. I don't only get Indian horses from British merchants. And India isn't just a colony of Britain; I also have the Portuguese in Macau!"

Henry, who had originally wanted to try harder, had a sudden change of expression when he heard about the Portuguese in Macau.

He was unaware that the Portuguese in Macau had already been defeated by the Han army and had their governor expelled, and that they had virtually no friendly relations with the Portuguese in India.

Henry believed that since the Han Dynasty had Portuguese in Macau, and the Portuguese had even sent an envoy, the Han Dynasty no longer needed to rely on the British, and could obtain warhorses entirely through the Portuguese.

Britain and Portugal were allies, not suzerain and vassal states. Britain could not possibly order Portugal to ban trade with China.

If it were truly banned, who would compensate Portugal for the lost profits? Moreover, Britain's diplomatic relations with China would be completely severed as a result.

Henry's expression shifted several times, but he ultimately dared not voice any objection and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will explain to the company delegation as soon as possible, and this situation will certainly not happen again!"

Henry was taken away, but Nie Yu did not rest and continued to summon the Portuguese.

Although it was called a summons to the Portuguese, they were actually just an extra. The Portuguese in Macau had completely broken away from Portugal, and even the governor of Macau, who was appointed by the Portuguese government, had been driven away.

Macanese people of Portuguese descent residing on the Macau Peninsula are gradually becoming citizens of the Han Chinese community, thanks to the active mobilization and promotion efforts of local officials.

Their mission to the court this time was both to fulfill a request from the Han Dynasty and to ask His Majesty the Emperor to grant the Macanese Portuguese a new nationality.

"Let's call them Portuguese!"

……

(End of this chapter)