1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 322 My Cannon Has Never Been Unfailing
The first article of the treaty text provided by the British side demanded that 200 acres, or more than 1,200 mu, of land in the Hankou area be ceded as a British concession, and another 100 acres be ceded as a public concession.

The occupied areas were selected by the British, and the British concessions were under the full management of the British. The British were free to build fortresses and station troops within the concessions, without being bound by the laws and regulations of the Northern Palace.

The tariff rates for all import and export goods in the three towns of Wuhan need to be jointly agreed upon with the United Kingdom.

Foreign opium, including but not limited to high-grade opium, medium-grade opium, and low-grade opium, and their raw materials, are permitted to be legally imported, traded, and held in treaty ports after paying taxes in accordance with regulations.

British citizens, and even any Chinese employed by British institutions, enjoy extrajudicial rights (consular jurisdiction), and all lawsuits are adjudicated by the British consulate; the North Palace has no right to intervene.

British ships have the right to freely enter the Yangtze River and all its tributaries, and may anchor at will to protect the interests of British merchants and civilians.

British missionaries had the right to freely preach and the right to perpetual land leases, allowing them to go deep into the interior to preach and to permanently lease land to build churches, hospitals and schools, without being subject to the jurisdiction of the North Temple Law.

With each additional report he read, Peng Gang's expression darkened further.

Although he hadn't finished reading the treaty carefully, Peng Gang didn't want to continue reading.

Such a harsh and unequal treaty would make anyone who didn't know better think that the Qing army had already reached the three towns of Wuhan, and that Peng Gang was doomed if he didn't quickly cling to the coattails of the British.

Aleksandr smiled and added in an almost condescending tone, “Your Highness, these terms are proven international practices that have proven effective in the East. Accept them, and you will immediately become a member of the civilized world and gain unparalleled power. Reject them…”

At this point, Aleksandr deliberately drew out his words, emphasizing, "That would be a great pity, and could lead you to unpredictable isolation and predicament. We hope you can make... a wise choice that is in the best interests of the people."

Peng Gang remained silent with a gloomy face. The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sounds were the heavy breathing of the crowd and the faint crackling of sandalwood burning in the incense burner.

Mintin and Mashali held their breath, waiting for Peng Gang's reaction, wondering if the Englishman's bait could catch this big fish.

After a moment of silence, Peng Gang finally raised his head.

He didn't look at Aliguo, but instead slowly and one by one scanned the faces of Mintini and Mashali. His sharp, murderous gaze sent a chill down Mintini and Mashali's spines.

Finally, Peng Gang's gaze was fixed on Al-Liguo's smug face: "Al-Liguo, you, and the empire you represent, built on global plunder and fraud, have committed a... foolish and unforgivable mistake."

You have mistakenly conflated a regime born of oppression and seeking a new life with the feudal Tartar dynasty in the north that sold out its sovereignty and clung to life.

You are trying to treat me and the people I represent with your pirate-style, sugar-coated gunboat diplomacy, which has worked time and again with India, Africa, and the weak Qing Dynasty.

As he spoke, Peng Gang reached out and picked up the British treaty text with two fingers, as if picking up a filthy object contaminated with plague, and threw it into the spittoon in front of Aleksandar.

"This thing is not a pledge of friendship, but a declaration of war, an open and blatant robbery."

Unilateral most-favored-nation treatment? This is the most unfair clause in the world. It means you only want to greedily take without giving equal respect. True friendship is built on equality and mutual benefit, not on one party's endless, one-sided exploitation of the other.

Concessions? Every inch of this land beneath my feet was watered with the blood of my brave soldiers; how dare you lay a finger on it?! You want to recreate Hong Kong or Shanghai on the mainland? Absolutely not!
Regarding extraterritoriality and the right of navigation on inland waterways, Mr. Alcock, do the citizens of France, separated from your country by the English Channel, and the citizens of the United States, separated from your country by the Atlantic Ocean, enjoy extraterritoriality on British territory? And do French and American naval vessels have free access to and from the Thames River?

With each question Peng Gang posed, his voice rose a notch.

Representatives from the British, French, and American missions listened to the translations provided by their respective interpreters.

A barely perceptible look of disappointment crossed Mintin's face.

Masali and Kim Neng-hyung remained calm. They were pleased that Britain had reached a most-favored-nation agreement with Peng Gang. If Britain and Peng Gang had failed to reach an agreement, it might not have been a bad outcome for the United States.

Aleksandr was astonished to discover that this Eastern ruler in the hall not only fully understood the substance of each clause, but could also refute it with sharp language, and his understanding of Western countries was even far superior to that of Wu Jianzhang, the Shanghai Daotai who was well-versed in Western affairs.

"Does His Highness the Northern King mean that it's difficult for us to reach an agreement?" Aleksandr, who was usually very adept at handling diplomatic situations in the East, was unusually flustered and said with a frown.

Aleksandr gradually realized that the Northern King was not as easy to deal with as he had seemed at their first meeting.

"I will not reach an agreement with diplomatic officials who do not respect me or my people. I will not recognize the legitimacy of any unequal treaties signed by the Qing government with any foreign country. All trade and diplomatic matters must be based on the principles of equality and mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity."

If you can accept and abide by this principle, our negotiations can continue; otherwise, I will have to see you out.

After speaking, Peng Gang raised his hand in a gesture of seeing the guests off, then turned his head to look at Mintin and Mashali.

“Consul Mintini, Minister Massali, I think you French and Americans are not as rude and uncultured as the British, who don’t even know the word respect.”

“Your Highness, I admit that you have a broader perspective and a better understanding of the outside world than the officials of the Qing Dynasty.” Aleksandr suddenly stood up, his expression changing drastically, and threatened.

"Since you have some understanding of the world beyond Asia, I think you should be aware of the vast disparity in strength between us. I hope you will carefully consider my suggestion. You cannot bear our wrath. I came to Wuchang today with goodwill and diplomatic personnel to negotiate with you. I don't think you want me to come with the Royal Navy fleet next time. Forgive my bluntness, but considering the strength of both sides, you are not yet in a position to discuss equality with us."

Aleksandr used his usual tricks. In the past, whenever the word "fleet" was mentioned, even the more assertive Qing officials would often give in, whether out of fear or to avoid trouble.

Since the Northern King before us is knowledgeable about Western countries, this local warlord should understand that his small regime is insurmountably inferior to the British Empire, and should therefore be more pragmatic.

“Come if you want, my cannons are never bad. I’ll be waiting for you in Wuchang at any time.” Peng Gang waved his hand abruptly, his sleeves whipping up a gust of cold wind, interrupting Ali Guo without any politeness.

"It is regrettable that our negotiations end in this manner. Guards! Escort the Consul from Alizadeh!"

If they were on the coast, Peng Gang would be somewhat wary of the Royal Fleet that Aleksandar had mentioned, but since he was inland, the Royal Fleet would need to get past Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing first if it wanted to reach Wuchang unimpeded.

Al-Li snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Mintin hesitated for a moment, then got up and left with Ali.

American diplomats, on the other hand, were more ambiguous, wanting to stay behind alone to continue their contact with Peng Gang.

The United States is very different from Britain and France. Britain and France started their industrialization earlier, and their manufactured goods were of high quality and low price, with a vast market for dumping in their colonies.

These are conditions that late-developing countries like the United States do not possess.

The War of Independence only freed America from colonization politically. Economically, America, or at least half of the South, was still effectively an economic colony of England and Europe.

It exports industrial raw materials such as cotton to Europe and imports more expensive manufactured goods.

To counter the impact of European manufactured goods and protect the industries in the North, the federal government had to continuously raise tariffs, but with each increase, the rift between the North and the South deepened.

After all, the North and South have completely different economic structures, and their perspectives are dictated by their respective interests. Their expectations for tariffs are completely opposite: the North wants high tariffs, while the South wants low tariffs, or even zero tariffs.

Peng Gang's letter clearly stated the need for cooperation in the industrial sector, which was a golden opportunity for the northern industrial capitalists who were being pushed to the brink of survival by their European competitors.

Even a small part of the Chinese mainland market is extremely important to the United States, which lacks overseas markets.

Moreover, the other party can also provide high-profit commodities such as tea, silk, and porcelain.

"Your Excellency Masali, please do not forget our agreement."

Seeing that the American delegation, led by Masali, was not very willing to leave, Aleksandar stopped and stared intently at Masali, waiting for him to get up and leave.

Mashali felt very uncomfortable being stared at by Aleksandar and Mintin, who had just turned his head. Reluctantly, he got up and left the hall with them.

Instead of returning directly to the lodgings Peng Gang had provided, Aleksandar went angrily to the Hanyangmen Wharf where warships were anchored and shouted to Lieutenant Colonel Robert, "Robert, fire a couple of shots into the river first, teach those yellow-skinned monkeys a lesson." Lieutenant Colonel Robert hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the cannons aimed at the Lily over 300 yards away and reminded Aleksandar, "Sir, doing this might cause misunderstandings and unnecessary trouble. I hope you can calm down."

There were more than thirty cannons nearby, pointing directly at the Yangtze River. Although these cannons were outdated from more than two centuries ago, they were still three or four hundred yards away from their ships.

Their ships were large targets, and they were so close together that if they opened fire and a conflict ensued, Robert and his sailors might not come out on top.

Moreover, three or four hundred armed Northern Palace soldiers are stationed at the Hanyangmen Wharf, patrolling and guarding the area at all times.

These Northern Palace soldiers were strong and disciplined, and there wasn't a single officer who smoked opium. Many of them were even equipped with brown bes flintlock muskets, far superior to the Qing soldiers Robert had seen in treaty ports like Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Furthermore, their ship carried not only military and diplomatic personnel, but also representatives from foreign trading companies conducting inspections.

Robert did not think that firing at this time to provoke and pressure the other side was a good option, and hoped that Aleksandr could remain calm.

Following the direction Robert pointed, Aleksander looked and indeed saw more than thirty cannons of various types pointing directly at them. He was furious: "Despicable! Damn it! Ungrateful bastard! He'll regret the decision he made today!"

"These foreigners are far too arrogant and domineering; they have no manners whatsoever."

The West Flower Hall of the Northern Prince's Mansion witnessed Zuo Zongtang's extreme indignation at the arrogant and rude behavior of the Aleksandr during this diplomatic negotiation.

Although Zuo Zongtang was a pragmatic person, as a scholar from the Celestial Empire, he inevitably had some patriotic sentiments.

Aleksandr's words and actions that morning deeply offended Zuo Zongtang.

“Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong under the Qing government, was afraid of trouble and avoided foreigners like the plague. In order to avoid contact with foreigners, he would agree to any conditions, just for a moment of peace and tranquility,” Peng Gang said, picking up his teacup and blowing on the steam.

"Wu Jianzhang, the Shanghai Daotai, was a comprador who came from a family of merchants. He had shares in many foreign firms and was willing to grant any request from foreigners without any bottom line. Foreigners were spoiled by these people."

Peng Gang had no idea what the Qing officials responsible for dealing with Westerners at the three ports of Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Ningbo treated on a daily basis.

Peng Gang had heard about the attitude of Qing officials in Guangzhou and Shanghai who were responsible for dealing with Western foreign affairs.

After all, Luo Dagang used to be active in Guangzhou, and Tang Zhengcai and others had only recently returned from Shanghai.

Since the Jintian Uprising in Guangxi, anti-Qing armed forces in Guangdong and Guangxi rose up in rebellion, and Xu Guangjin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, presided over military affairs to suppress the bandits for a long time.

In reality, the person in charge of handling Western affairs in Guangzhou was Ye Mingchen, the Guangdong governor who called himself Su Wu. Ye Mingchen's approach to handling Western affairs was either to delay or to pay money to keep quiet. Later, he earned the title of "Six No's Governor-General": no fighting, no peace, no death, no defense, no surrender, and no departure.

This thing calls itself the "Su Wu of the Sea," which is a pure insult to Su Wu. Su Wu would rather die than submit, herding sheep for nineteen years before finally returning to the Han Dynasty.

Ye Mingchen's fate was to be locked in a cage by the British and sent to India to be exhibited as an animal for their amusement.

As for Wu Jianzhang, who came from a servant background in the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou, he was good at understanding the intentions of foreigners, so he was highly regarded by foreign merchants. He accumulated his initial capital by flattering foreigners and became rich.

Tang Zhengcai, who had just returned from Shanghai, told him that Wu Jianzhang held shares in Shanghai Qichang Foreign Firm, Jardine Matheson, and Baoshun Foreign Firm.

The officials appointed by the Qing court to deal with Westerners were all the same kind of incompetent; it would be a miracle if the Westerners learned manners and respect.

"Many things in the world go wrong because of complacency," Zuo Zongtang said with a worried expression.

"The foreigners' treaty is too harsh. Given the current situation, that British consul Alcock is certainly unwilling to compromise. Even if some clauses are conceded, the treaty is still too harsh and unacceptable."

"England isn't the only Western country we can cooperate with," Peng Gang said, taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

“Alli has revealed his conditions, but Mintini and Mashali have not yet revealed theirs. The interests of the foreigners are not aligned, and there are even disagreements.”

French Consul in Shanghai, Mintini, was not confident that he could win them over from Aleksandr.

However, based on the intelligence provided by Tang Zhengcai, Chen Alin, and others, as well as his performance that morning, there is still a good chance that the U.S. Minister to China, Marshal, will be persuaded to accept the position.

Peng Gang glanced at the clock in the West Flower Hall and, seeing that it was almost lunchtime, ordered Chen Alin to go to the accommodations of the American delegation members to invite Masali, Jin Nengheng, Smith, and their families to the Northern Prince's Mansion for a meal and tea.

Faced with Peng Gang's invitation, Ma Shali, Jin Nengheng, Smith and others were very happy and did not hesitate. They brought their families and rode in the carriage provided by Peng Gang to Peng Gang's mansion.

Compared to the British mission, the American mission was much more unprofessional.

Masali was a businessman, Kim Neng-hyung was a railway worker who came to China to seek his fortune, and Smith was a bank clerk. There wasn't even a formally trained diplomat among them; it was just a makeshift operation.

“I really like the gift you sent from America. China is a country of etiquette, and we value reciprocity. Since you have come all this way to give me this gift, I, as the host, should naturally reciprocate,” Peng Gang said to the three of them.

"These are official kiln porcelain pieces, specially supplied to the imperial court by the Jingdezhen Royal Porcelain Factory, and are presented to you all."

As soon as Peng Gang finished speaking, three maids behind him came forward carrying three pieces of official kiln porcelain from the Jiaqing period and showed them to Ma Shali and the others.

Masali, Jin Nengheng, and Smith have all been working in China for a long time and have done some porcelain business, so they are well aware of the value of imperial porcelain.

At that time, in the eyes of Europeans, the Americans were just a bunch of American country bumpkins. Although the United States was a republic, its citizens, from top to bottom, greatly admired the lifestyle of European aristocrats.

The porcelain produced by the Royal Porcelain Factory, exclusively for the imperial court, held immense appeal for them; it was a type of porcelain that was difficult to acquire even for those with money.

The three were very excited to thank Peng Gang and accepted the gifts he gave them.

"Oh my goodness, I have never received such a precious gift! I extend my sincerest gratitude to you!"

"Your wives also have some." Peng Gang waved his hand, signaling the maid to present the six bolts of fine silk that had been prepared to the female members of the delegation who had accompanied him.

Peng Gang then dined with members of the American mission.

Those who can thrive in foreign lands are all shrewd and calculating. Through a few brief exchanges during the meal, Peng Gang learned that these men were all people who wouldn't act without a clear objective and were driven solely by profit. Therefore, he refrained from directly delving into discussions about purchasing arms and cooperating on other industrial projects.

Pursuing profit at all costs means that problems that can be solved with money are generally not very big problems.

Problems that can't be solved with money are the real troubles. For example, dealing with a professional diplomat like Aleksandr is not something that can be solved simply by spending money.

After the meal, Peng Gang treated them to Ninghong tea.

Ninghong tea is produced in Yining Prefecture, Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province (during the Qing Dynasty, Xiushui County was under the jurisdiction of Nanchang Prefecture, not Jiujiang Prefecture).

Yining Prefecture is the closest black tea producing area to the Beidian controlled area, bordering Tongshan County in the south of Wuchang Prefecture.

After drinking tea, Peng Gang led the members of the American mission by boat to the tea warehouse in Hankou.

In recent days, the North Palace Treasury has almost emptied the tea market in Hankou, and the North Palace's tea warehouse has stockpiled a total of more than 7,750 shi of tea.

The main business of Jardine Matheson & Co. in China was tea. The head of the company, Kim Neng Heng, was worried because the Jiangnan region was affected by the war and Jardine Matheson & Co. could not obtain enough tea.

Seeing the mountain of tea leaves before them, Kim Nung-hyung and his assistant Smith's eyes lit up.

(End of this chapter)