1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 320 The British, French and American Missions

“These are just some outdated boats,” Peng Gang said, shaking his head.

“Apart from the fact that the United States is not as powerful as England and France, and its navy is weak, the navies of England and France are ten times the size of these ships and have more advanced steamships.”

The science and technology of the 19th century were advancing rapidly, and inventors emerged in great numbers.

After generations of technological accumulation, steamships finally moved from blueprints to reality in the 19th century.

The Clementine, a steamship designed and built by American Pennsylvania engineer and inventor Robert Fulton in 1807, was launched in New York Harbor and successfully completed its voyage, proving the practical and commercial value of paddle steamships.

As a result, paddle steamers were widely adopted.

In less than thirty years, European inventors continuously optimized and broke through the design of steamships, making great use of paddlewheel steamships, and discovered that propellers, which were completely hidden below the waterline, had advantages over paddlewheels.

In 1845, the British Navy even conducted a tug-of-war experiment to determine the superiority of propellers in terms of efficiency and thrust, as well as their better stability, seaworthiness, and spatial layout.

By the 1850s, the technological advantages of steamships had been recognized by naval powers, although steamships were far from being fully widespread.

However, the British Royal Navy had already begun to build a large number of propeller-driven warships and directly convert existing sailing warships into steam-powered paddlewheel ships.

Peng Gang was not exaggerating. For the navies of Britain and France, especially the Royal Navy, the largest warship moored at Hanyang Wharf was HMS Lily.

It doesn't even meet the standards of a third-class battleship of the British Royal Navy; at best, it can only be considered a paddlewheel frigate.

In terms of technological sophistication, it can't be described as particularly advanced.

"A ship ten times larger than this?" Liu Bingwen, standing next to Peng Gang, also found it unbelievable.

The paddle steamers near Hanyang Wharf, each with a displacement of over 300 tons, were already enormous in Zuo Zongtang's eyes. He found it hard to imagine what ships ten times larger than these would look like.

“During the late Ming Dynasty, China was still able to build large ships, but now even small boats have become the face of the Fujian and Guangdong navies,” Peng Gang said sarcastically.

The rice boat was the flagship of the Qing Dynasty's navy, with a displacement of "up to" 250 tons, making it one of the largest warships in the Qing Dynasty's navy.

As they spoke, through his binoculars, Peng Gang clearly saw several small boats being lowered from the steam paddle steamer and heading toward the dock.

On the small boat, the figures of envoys dressed in smart Western military uniforms or dress uniforms were clearly visible, their brown or golden hair particularly striking in the sunlight.

"Let's go, let's meet these foreigners." Peng Gang put away his binoculars and stepped down from the Hanyang Gate tower.

The journey from the dock to Hanyang Gate.

Squads of spirited Northern Palace soldiers, some wielding flintlock muskets and others long spears and swords, lined up in neat rows on both sides of the open space at the command of their officers. Their weapons gleamed coldly, and their military bearing was magnificent.

Outside, the Wuchang residents, strictly confined to a certain distance, stood on tiptoe, craning their necks, their faces filled with curiosity as they pointed and whispered among themselves at the strangely dressed members of the Western delegation.

The U.S. Minister to China, M. Sullivan, and the Acting Vice Consul in Shanghai, Kim Nung-hyung, visited with their wives, who were wearing crinoline dresses that were currently popular among upper-class and middle-class women in Europe and America.

This skirt features a birdcage-shaped crinoline made of materials such as whalebone and thin wire, replacing the earlier multi-layered petticoats. The skirt has an extremely large diameter, large enough to hide a person.

Although the diameter of the crinoline skirt at this time had not yet developed to the exaggerated level of six or seven meters, or even eight or nine meters, its voluminous skirt was still very visually impactful.

This is the dress worn by Scarlett O'Hara, the leading actress in the classic Hollywood film Gone with the Wind.

The attire of the two female members of the American delegation was an eye-opener for the people of Wuchang. The vast majority of Wuchang residents could not appreciate this aesthetic and bluntly said that the two Western women were dressed like hens laying eggs.

Fortunately, they were far from the delegation members, and with the presence of the Northern Palace soldiers, they dared not make a loud noise, so the delegation members could not hear the discussions of the people of Wuchang.

The soldiers lining the route from Hanyangmen Wharf to Hanyangmen were all from the Training Battalion, the First Regiment, and the Second Regiment.

These soldiers were the most elite troops under Peng Gang's command, and their morale and military bearing were impeccable.

The British consul in Shanghai, Alistair Alcock, was quite surprised. Previously, he had only encountered undisciplined Qing soldiers in coastal areas, so addicted to opium that they would be breathless after walking just a few steps—rotten to the core, utterly unlike any soldiers. These so-called rebels, as described by Qing officials, looked more like competent soldiers than the regular Qing army.

By observing the holy soldiers of the Northern Palace standing on both sides, A Liguo and the others seemed to understand why this army, known as the Heavenly Kingdom Army, had suddenly appeared in the Jiangnan region as if descending from the heavens, and occupied almost all the major cities along the banks of the Yangtze River.

Before long, Peng Gang, accompanied by the North Palace officials, appeared at the Hanyang Gate to welcome the visiting delegations from England, France, and the United States, as well as the business representatives of the three countries' trading companies.

To facilitate his sales efforts, Peng Gang has changed into a magnificent Jiangning Yunjin dragon robe.

This brocade fabric was obtained by Hong Yang and his men from the Jiangning Textile Bureau after they captured Jiangning.

Overjoyed at establishing his capital in Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan rewarded each of his brothers in the Shentian family with some dragon robes.

Peng Gang was also fortunate enough to receive some Yun brocade material, but unfortunately there wasn't much of it, just enough to make a Yun brocade dragon robe to save face.

The demeanor of the Northern Palace representatives, led by Peng Gang, was quite different from that of the Qing military officials that Aliza and others had previously encountered.

Peng Gang and his colleagues were neither humble nor arrogant, but open and forthright, and did not shy away from directly contacting them.

Aleksandr vaguely realized that this time they were not facing the corrupt, arrogant, and cowardly Manchu officials they had expected, but rather a well-disciplined army full of rough and tumble spirit, and a young ruler with a completely different temperament and piercing eyes.

In diplomatic settings, strength is always paramount. It was only natural that Aleksandr, along with the representatives of the British delegation, stepped forward first and, in accordance with the diplomatic etiquette of the "civilized world," removed his hat to greet Peng Gang.

To Aleksandr's surprise, Peng Gang did not ask them to kneel in worship.

Not only were the Manchus obsessed with the kneeling ceremony, but even the Heavenly King and the Eastern King, whom the Aleksander had previously visited in Nanjing, insisted that the British delegation kneel and pay homage to them.

This led to a rather unpleasant situation between Aleksandar and the Tianjing authorities.

Perhaps this Northern King is more pragmatic and easier to communicate with than the other princes of the Heavenly Kingdom, Aliza thought to himself.

“Your Highness, I am honored to have this audience with you as Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as her plenipotentiary envoy. I am deeply honored to convey to Your Highness the most sincere greetings and warmest assurances of friendship from my monarch.” Aleksandr greeted Peng Gang in English.

After Aleksandr finished speaking, the interpreter stepped forward tremblingly, ready to translate.

However, what happened next left everyone present, whether Chinese or Western, speechless with astonishment.

Peng Gang nodded slightly, glanced at the interpreter with a queue beside Aliza, and said in English, "Gentlemen of England, France, and America, as the host of this land, I welcome your visit."

Aleksandr spoke quite quickly, and to be honest, Peng Gang didn't fully understand what he said, only catching some of the main words.

But that was enough. In diplomatic settings, even if Peng Gang didn't speak English, he could guess what the other person was saying in the first sentence.

Immediately afterwards, Peng Gang greeted the French Consul in Shanghai, Mintini, in French.

Peng Gang's English level is not low, and as for French, the word "hello" already accounts for one-fifth of his French vocabulary.

Upon hearing this, the French Consul in Shanghai, Mintini, opened his mouth slightly, almost dropping the beaver fur hat in his hand. His deep blue eyes were filled with extreme shock and confusion. He subconsciously adjusted his white gloves, wondering if he was hallucinating.

After realizing what was happening, Mintini revealed a satisfied and proud expression.

At this time, French had a stronger influence than English, especially in Europe, where it was the official language of diplomatic occasions.

The Russian nobility even disdained speaking Russian, regarding it as a language used by the lower classes. They were ashamed of speaking Russian or simply could not speak it, taking pride in speaking French.

During the Crimean War, there were even bizarre instances where Russian military officers of noble birth were unable to communicate directly with lower-ranking officers and soldiers because they could not speak Russian.

Peng Gang greeted him in French. Although it was just a simple "hello," it greatly satisfied the vanity of the French delegation members, including Mintini, who thought it was a good start and were full of expectations for the upcoming meetings.

(End of this chapter)