1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 341 Consider it carefully
After this incident, the people of Wuchang, who had originally welcomed the army's triumphant return, gathered on the streets in front of Wuchang City, and even near the Northern Prince's Mansion, to ask Peng Gang to stand up for them and severely punish the foreigners who caused the trouble, so as to comfort the souls of the dead.

Peng Gang's good mood was completely ruined; he felt even more disgusted and uncomfortable than if he had eaten an Indian honeybee.

Peng Gang's opening of Hankou to French and American merchants and missionaries, and his permission for France and the United States to open consulates in Wuchang, was not without its challenges.

When the steamship first arrived in the three towns of Wuhan, it terrified two elderly Confucian scholars to death. Consequently, some of the older Confucian scholars in the three towns of Wuhan gathered on Qianjie Street in Wuchang to protest.

Peng Gang's success was due to the fact that the newly established regime had little historical baggage, and that he enjoyed extremely high personal prestige among the military and civilians of the three towns of Wuhan. In addition, some merchants in Hankou had already profited from trade orders signed with French and American trading companies.

Only then could the initiative to open Hankou as a treaty port proceed smoothly.

Members of the French and American delegations were even more anxious than the British delegation, arriving at the Northern Prince's Mansion earlier than the British delegation's representatives, braving the insults and all sorts of projectiles thrown by the people of Wuchang, to request an audience with Peng Gang.

After all, Peng Gang only allowed the British delegation to enter Hankou for business investigations with permission.

Peng Gang's cooperation with France and the United States has been finalized, and trade orders have been signed. Members of the French and American delegations can not only freely enter and exit Hankou, but the construction of their consulates in Wuchang has even begun.

Neither Mintin nor Masali wanted this incident to affect their countries' cooperation with Peng Gang, nor did they want to lose the inland market they had worked so hard to secure.

Peng Gang had already learned the whole story: three Indian Madras soldiers under the command of the British mission had infiltrated the Hanyangmen Wharf and harassed women who were washing clothes near the wharf. They used foul language, touched women inappropriately, and even pulled down their pants, attempting to commit indecent acts. As a result, two women, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide.

“This matter has nothing to do with our country. None of our mission members, whether they are members of the inspection team visiting Daye or business representatives and missionaries operating in Hankou, have ever done anything out of line to disturb your country’s people. We hope Your Highness can distinguish right from wrong,” Mintin said, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

“I will naturally distinguish right from wrong.” Peng Gang first stated his attitude towards the demands of the French and American missions.

Mintini, Mashali, and the others relaxed slightly upon hearing Peng Gang's words and breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as they were about to express their gratitude to Peng Gang, Peng Gang, without waiting for them to speak, continued, "Similarly, I hope that you all can discuss this matter objectively and distinguish right from wrong."

As you all know, the two ladies committed suicide because they could not bear the humiliation. The people of Wuhan were outraged and indignant. In order to ensure the safety of your two diplomatic missions and business people.

Until this matter is properly resolved, to avoid affecting your personnel, French and American personnel should refrain from traveling to Hankou or appearing on the streets of Wuchang. I will arrange for you to be placed in a safe location and ensure your safety.”

"This..." Smith frowned upon hearing this and asked with concern.

"May I ask, Your Highness, when will this matter be properly resolved?"

They, Russell & Co., have already selected a plot of land in Hankou for the construction of their building. If Russell & Co.’s personnel are unable to travel to Hankou, it will definitely delay the construction schedule of the building.

"When a proper solution can be reached does not depend on me, but on the attitude of the British. I believe you all know more about the diplomatic stance of the British diplomatic representatives than I do, and have more authority to speak on it. If they continue to negotiate with me in the same way they deal with Qing officials, the worst-case scenario is the closure of the Hankou port," Peng Gang said.

“I must take into account the opinions of the local people and your personal safety. The people of Wuhan cannot tell whether you are English, French, or American.”

Mintin, Massali, and others had already understood Peng Gang's meaning. Peng Gang simply hoped that the members of their French and American missions would stand on his side and resolve the matter properly as soon as possible to quell public opinion.

"Your Highness, the British Consul Alcock requests an audience."

As they were talking, Chengxuan Liu Sijin suppressed his anger and whispered to Peng Gang, who had just returned to the Northern Prince's Mansion, to report.

Peng Gang slowly looked at Liu Sijin, his face revealing neither joy nor anger: "Tell Alizarin that I am discussing important matters with the consuls of France and the United States. Tell him to wait in the side hall first."

Peng Gang decided to leave Aliguo out of the picture for a while.

After Liu Sijin left, Peng Gang spoke with the French and American delegations for another fifteen minutes.

Peng Gang feigned regret, stating that if this matter could not be properly resolved, it would affect normal trade relations and the already agreed cooperation with France and the United States.

Peng Gang's willingness to open Jiujiang as a treaty port instead of Hankou reassured the members of the French and American missions.

Of course, Peng Gang did not really intend to replace the opening of Hankou with the opening of Jiujiang, but rather to give the French and American missions a glimmer of hope.

In order to prevent the French and American missions from completely siding with the British mission.

After the conversation, Peng Gang had someone lead the members of the French and American delegations to the living room to rest and have tea.

After the members of the French and American delegations left the main hall, Peng Gang then received the British Consul, Alcock, in the main hall.

Before long, Aliguo arrived at the main hall of the Northern King's Mansion to meet Peng Gang, led by Liu Sijin, the disdainful official of the Northern Palace.

Alcock tried his best to maintain the demeanor of a British envoy, but the unease deep in his eyes could not be completely concealed. He tapped his delicate cane lightly on the ground repeatedly to mask his inner anxiety.

Although the conflict has temporarily eased, the storm caused by those three Indian Madras soldiers is far from over.

Aleksandr disliked the humid and sweltering summers in China, and he disliked the current thorny situation even more.

He was not surprised by the misdeeds of those colonial soldiers; such things happened frequently in Shanghai, and they had resulted in deaths on more than one occasion.

The only difference was that the Wuchang authorities did not grant them consular jurisdiction. Whether they were British soldiers or Indian soldiers, they did not receive any preferential treatment in the three towns of Wuhan.

He could no longer exert pressure on local officials to easily quell the matter, as he had done in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In the past, conflicts have occurred in Shanghai and Guangzhou, whether between British soldiers and local Chinese or between British Indian soldiers and their employees and Chinese.

The Qing government seemed to be very afraid of locals gathering in large groups and would not hesitate to disperse the local population, even during wartime.

During the trade war with China eleven years ago, British Indian soldiers of the Madras Infantry Regiment raped women in Sanyuanli, Guangzhou, and looted burial goods from coffins. They were surrounded by tens of thousands of local people at the Sifang Fort.

In the end, it was actually the Guangzhou Prefect Yu Baochun and the magistrates of Panyu and Nanhai counties who stepped in to relieve the British army from the siege, dispersed the local militia, and allowed the British army to withdraw from the Sifang Forts at a leisurely pace.

This matter once puzzled Aleksandr. It seemed that the officials of the Tatar government were more afraid of the people under their rule spontaneously gathering together than of foreign enemies, even if their spontaneous gathering was to resist foreign enemies.

"Consul, please have a seat." Peng Gang skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"I wish to see the Consul today for two reasons. First, it concerns our trade; second, it concerns justice for human lives."

After speaking, Peng Gang gestured to his guards to place a small camphor wood box on the tea table next to Aliguo, open it, and peel off the oil paper. Inside the oil paper were several pieces of dark, shiny, and uniformly textured opium.

Aliguo's pupils contracted slightly. He naturally recognized the object, but he didn't understand Peng Gang's purpose in showing him the opium, and felt completely confused: "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?"

"This is something Consul Aleksandr is surely familiar with," Peng Gang said slowly. "This is opium seized by my soldiers in Hunan. It comes from Yunnan and Guizhou, and is of the highest quality. Consul, you may take a closer look and see how it differs from the opium produced by your East India Company along the way." In the years leading up to the Opium War, a fierce debate arose within the Qing ruling class regarding the prohibition and relaxation of the ban on opium.

Xu Naiji, then Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, even submitted a memorial in 1836 advocating the lifting of the opium ban. He proposed legalizing the opium trade to increase tax revenue, prohibiting officials and soldiers from smoking opium while allowing civilians to smoke it, and widely cultivating opium in the interior to replace imports and prevent the outflow of silver.

Although Xu Naiji's absurd proposal to replace foreign cigarettes with domestically produced ones failed to be adopted more than a decade ago.

However, more than a decade later, driven by substantial profits, the tobacco planting area in the Yunnan-Guizhou region grew exponentially, and the quality of the tobacco was no less than that of imported tobacco of the same grade, while the price was even cheaper. The high-quality and inexpensive local tobacco has already occupied a part of the domestic tobacco market.

While in Guangxi, Peng Gang discovered that some of the seized opium was not imported to the British East India Company, but came from Yunnan and Guizhou.

Although the domestic opium industry has begun to rise, the three scenarios that Xu Naiji predicted have not occurred.

The Qing government's fiscal revenue did not increase significantly, and officials and soldiers were even more addicted to drugs along the way than the general public, and the outflow of silver did not stop.

Aleksandr frowned slightly. He was an opium dealer who profited greatly from it, but he was also well aware of its dangers. Aleksandr himself did not touch opium. A chill ran down his spine. He forced himself to remain calm and cautiously replied, "Your Highness, I don't quite understand..."

"You don't understand?" Peng Gang's lips curled into a sneer.

"Then let me put it more clearly. China is a vast country with abundant resources. In the past, it was the corruption of the Qing government and the obstruction of channels that allowed your country's opium to circulate rampantly. Now that I control Hunan and Hubei, it is as easy as turning my hand to clear the channels for opium in Yunnan and Guizhou."

"The Consul is British; he should be well-versed in market economics. Let me ask you: if my Yunnan-Guizhou opium were of superior quality to that produced by the East India Company, yet its cultivation costs, transportation costs, and even its final selling price were far lower than your opium shipped across the ocean, what would the result be?"

Peng Gang paused, his tone growing increasingly sharp: "The result will be that not only will you be barred from dumping another chest of opium into Hubei and Hunan, or even other parts of mainland China. If I truly wanted to engage in such a dirty business as opium as you, given time, with the advantage of price and quality, I could resell Yunnan and Guizhou opium to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and even ship it to your homeland, England. Mr. Consul, imagine when cheap and high-quality Chinese opium floods the streets of London, Manchester, and Liverpool, harming the health of your British citizens and emptying your country's pounds. I wonder what your Parliament and Her Majesty the Queen would think?"

As he listened, fine beads of sweat appeared on Aleksandar's forehead. He stubbornly replied, "Your Highness, this is just a theoretical deduction. International trade involves many complex factors."

“Complex factors?” Peng Gang sneered. “As long as the profits are high enough, even the most complex problems can be resolved by profit-driven businessmen.”

“Your Highness, may I examine this opium?” Aleksandr asked.

In recent years, a type of opium of unknown origin has indeed appeared in the open ports, squeezing out a small portion of the British East India Company's opium market. However, Alcock has never been able to determine the specific origin of this opium.

Al-Li wanted to have someone try the opium to confirm whether Peng Gang's words were true or a lie.

Peng Gang readily agreed: "No problem, give it a try and you'll be able to tell if it's real or fake."

Looking at the confident and straightforward Peng Gang, Aliguo already had his answer in his heart.

However, Aleksandar was still not giving up and summoned two South Asian-looking attendants to test the opium.

The method of testing cigarettes in the country was very simple and crude: they simply let these two old drug addicts from South Asia smoke.

Aleksander's actions eased Peng Gang's mind somewhat; the fact that British gentlemen didn't treat the people of their South Asian colonies as human beings suggested that there was still a possibility of resolving the matter.

Two old South Asian opium addicts, carrying opium, were led outside the palace to test it for a moment. Afterward, they confirmed to Aliza in curry-accented English: "Your Excellency, this, this is indeed not a product of our East India Company. The taste is very rich, it is top-quality, no less than our East India Company's opium."

Aliguo impatiently indicated that he understood, and then picked up the black tea that Peng Gang had prepared for him and took a sip, feeling annoyed.

Seeing that he had disrupted the thoughts of the opium dealer Aleksandr and gained control of the negotiation, Peng Gang moved on to the second matter: "Consul Aleksandr, now let's talk about the second matter, concerning the lives of two innocent ladies at Hanyangmen Wharf."

Aleksandr tried to steer the conversation back to a path he could better control: “Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. I need time to report to our Minister in my country. Furthermore, this was purely an accident, and I feel sorry and regretful about it.”

"An accident?" Peng Gang's eyes turned icy instantly, and he said in a cold voice.

"The two women from Wuchang who committed suicide after being wronged and humiliated were described by the consul as nothing more than an accident."

Aleksandar felt the pressure increase sharply. He adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable: "Your Highness, I deeply regret and mourn the misfortune of those two ladies."

Regarding the soldiers' misconduct, I guarantee that they will be severely punished upon our return, including whipping, solitary confinement, and even repatriation to India for hard labor. Furthermore, I will order strict discipline among all mission personnel to ensure that similar incidents never happen again.

Foreigners in the five open ports along the coast enjoyed preferential treatment for more than a decade. With the opening of Hankou, more and more Western merchants will come to Hankou to do business and live there for a long time. Peng Gang did not want the foreigners to bring the bad habits they had developed under the Qing government to Wuchang.

Peng Gang intended to use this incident as a model to facilitate future control over foreigners in Hankou.

Peng Gang was naturally dissatisfied with the outcome of the case involving Ali.

"This is not a colony of India or Africa; this is Wuchang. Forgive my bluntness, but I am very dissatisfied with your handling of this matter."

This is not a matter of your internal military discipline; it is a case of harming my citizens on the territory of my Heavenly Kingdom. The people of Wuhan must be given a clear and just explanation according to the laws of this land. Those three soldiers from Madras, India, committed crimes on our territory; we have territorial jurisdiction, and they must be dealt with by us.

The public outcry in Wuhan is boiling over. If the perpetrator is not brought to justice and publicly executed in Wuchang, giving the people an explanation, I cannot appease them. If any extreme actions are taken against your personnel at that time, you will bear all the consequences.

Consul Aleksandr, if you are willing to hand over the three colonial soldiers who caused the incident, our diplomatic and trade affairs can still be discussed.

"Which is more important, the soldiers of the three colonies or the commercial interests of England? Your Excellency Alcock should weigh the options carefully. I will give you two days to consider. During these two days, I will temporarily appease the people of Wuchang and ensure your safety. If you do not provide a clear answer after two days, I regret that I can no longer guarantee your safety at the Hanyangmen Wharf in Wuchang."

Although Peng Gang sent troops to control the Hanyangmen Wharf where the British fleet was located, he did not disperse the angry Wuchang people gathered at the wharf.

It is obvious what would happen if Peng Gang transferred the soldiers from the North Palace at Hanyangmen Wharf.

As for a fight to the death, the British warships were within range of heavy artillery on the city walls near Hanyang Gate, and Peng Gang still had five armed steamships available.

If it really comes to that, it's uncertain who will die and who will break through.

Ali Guo was deeply troubled and restless, while Peng Gang refused to yield an inch on judicial sovereignty.

If the stalemate continues, it is certain that the opportunity to open up the inland market will be lost, and it may even trigger a local military conflict. France and the United States have already gained enough benefits from Peng Gang, and they will most likely stand by and do nothing.

Before the situation of the Far East civil war becomes clear, domestic politicians will never support him in easily starting a war against a potentially powerful local regime for the sake of three insignificant Indian Madras soldiers.

Not long after returning to the Lily, representatives of the French and American delegations, Mintini and Massali, came to pay a visit to Aleksandr.

Mintin and Masali were remarkably in agreement, both hoping that the Kingdom of Al-Ahli would handle the matter carefully to prevent it from escalating and affecting relations between all countries and the Wuchang regime. After all, ensuring the opening of the inland market was the primary objective of their trip.

(End of this chapter)