Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 322: Tang Dynasty’s Pressure, Vietnam’s Blackmail

Suddenly, the expression on Horida Masamune's face changed because he saw a piece of news related to him on the second page of the newspaper.

[Recently, the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan sent an envoy to the court to donate 100,000 koku of grain to the people affected by the disaster in Shandong on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate.]

[Director General Guo of the Department of Foreign Affairs said that this demonstrates the traditional diplomatic relations and deep friendship between China and Japan, and expressed sincere gratitude to the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan on behalf of the people in the disaster area...]

After seeing this news in the newspaper, Masamune Horida instantly became energetic.

Because he realized that perhaps it wouldn't be long before he could go to meet the King of Tang.

And there is a high probability that the purpose of my coming here can be achieved.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Daily was the official mouthpiece, an official unit controlled by the Propaganda Department, and the focus of the Tang Dynasty's propaganda work.

Not those tabloids!
In this newspaper, no piece of news is superfluous.

Take the news about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s war in the northwest as an example.

The Tang Daily publicly praised Shi Dakai's decisive use of troops and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's effective suppression of rebellions more than once, and affirmed the practical significance of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's powerful blow to the rebels.

There is even a subtle intention to promote Shi Dakai as a national hero.

This shows that the Tang Dynasty stood on the side of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Otherwise, I would never express it like this!
By the same token, since the Tang Dynasty was able to publish the news of the shogunate donating grain to the disaster area in the Tang Daily, and had a powerful official like the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs publicly affirm the traditional friendship between the two sides.

This shows that the Tang Dynasty currently has a friendly attitude towards Japan.

If this is the case, then there is a high probability that Masamune Horita's purpose of coming to the Tang Dynasty can be achieved.

How could Masamune Horita not be excited about this?
Masamune Horida thought to himself that the grain given by the shogunate was not in vain.

Thinking of this, Masamune Horida put down the newspaper in his hand and continued to eat breakfast.

Just then, there was a knock on his door.

Soon, his samurai attendant Ichiro Fujita came in from outside, bowed before Masamune Horita, and then spoke.

"Report!"

"Your Excellency, the latest news came from the Tang Dynasty's Foreign Affairs Department. The King of the Great Tang Dynasty is preparing to meet you in person."

"I hope you can leave Shanghai and go to Jining as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Horida Masamune's expression became serious and he immediately spoke.

"very good!"

"The King of Tang is finally willing to meet me."

"Fujita, you must go and convey my order immediately. Instruct the delegation to prepare to leave for Jining."

Upon hearing this, attendant Fujita immediately clasped his fists in agreement, then turned and left.

……

Guangzhou, Department of Foreign Affairs.

Guo Songtao is processing official documents.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has been very busy lately, not only with the dispatch of ministers and consuls to Europe, but also with the stationing of embassies.

More of it is about the tribute missions sent by Southeast Asian countries.

Since the beginning of this spring, the Tang Dynasty first defeated the invading Eight-Nation Alliance and forced the alliance to sue for peace.

Subsequently, the Eastern Expedition and the Northern Expedition were launched, and provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Shandong surrendered.

It can be said that the trend is set!
Siam, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, Ryukyu and other countries in Southeast Asia all sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute.

I hope to establish good relations with Datang, the future big daddy of East Asia.

Even troublemakers like Vietnam and Myanmar, although they did not pay tribute, sent envoys.

All these matters need to be handled by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Therefore, Guo Songtao, the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, has been very busy recently.

Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door.

Immediately, the voice of Xu Yuan, Guo Songtao's secretary general, came from outside the door.

"Director, urgent call from Jining."

As soon as Xu Yuan finished speaking, Guo Songtao immediately looked up and said.

"Come in!"

When Xu Yuan entered the room, Guo Songtao asked repeatedly.

"An urgent call from Jining?"

"But what orders does the king have to convey?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan opened the telegram in his hand and began to report.

"Your Majesty has telegraphed that I have learned about Vietnam's ban on grain exports to the Tang Dynasty. The Department of Foreign Affairs will immediately negotiate with Vietnam. If necessary, you can ask the Guangdong-Guangxi War Zone and the Nanyang Fleet to cooperate in exerting pressure."

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao solemnly took the order and then said to Xu Yuan.

"Xu Yuan, go and draft a telegram and prepare to call back Jining."

"Just say that the Department of Diplomacy has received your order and will ensure that the task is completed."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan clasped his fists and left.

Guo Songtao then called another secretary and began to speak.

"Tell the Vietnamese envoy Hu Longshan to come and see me."

After hearing the order, the secretary clasped his hands and left.

Soon, the Vietnamese envoy Hu Longshan was taken to the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

And met Guo Songtao, the director of the Foreign Affairs Department, in his office.

"Vietnamese Ambassador Hu Longshan has met with Director Guo."

Hu Longshan bowed slightly as a greeting, but it seemed very perfunctory.

Guo Songtao narrowed his eyes, and did not ask Hu Longshan to sit down, but just asked with a cold face.

"Why did Vietnam ban the export of grain to the Tang Dynasty?"

"This is a huge violation of free trade rules and a huge provocation to the dignity of the Tang Dynasty."

"I am here today to lodge a solemn protest to the Vietnamese side."

"I hope Vietnam can give me and the Tang Dynasty a satisfactory answer!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Longshan sneered in his heart with disdain.

You Tang Dynasty is in trouble and you want food? Oh, I, Vietnam, won't give it to you!

It would be better if more of you Tang people starve to death. The more people starve to death in the Tang Dynasty, the happier Vietnam will be!

However, although Hu Longshan thought so in his heart, he did not dare to speak his true feelings in front of Guo Songtao.

He spoke perfunctorily.

"To reply to Director Guo, it's not just Datang that is suffering from disaster this year."

"Vietnam has also suffered a once-in-a-century large-scale typhoon and flood, and food production has dropped sharply in various regions."

"In fact, the surplus grain every year can continue to be exported to the Tang Dynasty!"

"I hope the Tang Dynasty can understand!"

Is Vietnam in trouble?

The answer is yes, it was.

But in fact, the disaster was not as serious as Hu Longshan said.

Anyone who has seen a map knows that Vietnam's territory is a long and narrow strip, and 90% of the country's land is coastal.

Given this geographical environment, will there be no disasters during typhoons?

Typhoons are often accompanied by floods.

Aren’t there both typhoons and floods coming together?
However, it will definitely not reach the point where grain production will be drastically reduced or even unable to be exported.

Vietnam's Red River Delta, Mekong Delta, and coastal plains are all major grain producing areas.

And they are basically major grain producing areas that can produce three crops a year.

Under such natural conditions, how could Vietnam suffer from food shortage?

To put it bluntly, the reason why Vietnam chose to ban grain exports at this time was not for anything else but simply to make things difficult for the Tang Dynasty.

Guo Songtao's face darkened, and then he said.

"But as far as I know, Vietnam is not short of food right now, and the ban on food trade is also an order issued by the Vietnamese government."

"I want to know, Vietnam knows that Tang Dynasty is short of food, but it prohibits the export of food to Tang Dynasty. Does it want to go to war with Tang Dynasty?"

There was no implicit threat in Guo Songtao's words, but a very direct threat.

If Vietnam continues to ban grain exports, the Tang Dynasty will have to resort to force.

Although Hu Longshan had been mentally prepared for this, he still couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart after hearing Guo Songtao's threat of war.

The reason is simple. The Vietnamese may not understand the gentle words of the Tang Dynasty, but they can definitely understand the roar of guns and cannons.

Although they have the support of Britain, France and other countries behind them, they are also afraid of being beaten.

Taking a deep breath, Hu Longshan spoke.

"Director Guo, the ban on grain exports is the decision of our Vietnamese court."

"I am only an envoy, I cannot be the master of the court."

When Guo Songtao heard this, his face turned cold instantly.

Hu Longshan continued to speak in a soothing tone.

"However, I can report this matter to the court, and there is a certain hope that I can convince the court to change its mind."

Well, Hu Longshan was obviously making false promises to Guo Songtao and the Tang Dynasty.

Although Guo Songtao's complexion improved slightly, his eyes were still cold.

Guo Songtao said coldly.

"ASAP!"

"The Tang Dynasty needs a satisfactory answer within a month."

"Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn you!"

The reason why Guo Songtao gave Vietnam a month was not because he was not anxious about the matter.

It’s because the Tang army needs some time to prepare for war.

According to the estimate of the General Staff, it should be completed in about a month.

A month later, if Vietnam reopens grain exports to the Tang Dynasty, things will be easy.

But if they don't agree, that's just fine, the Tang army should have almost finished its preparations before the expedition.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty could only communicate with Vietnam in a language that Vietnam could understand.

After saying this, Guo Songtao picked up the teacup and gestured to serve tea to the guest.

However, Hu Longshan seemed not to understand Guo Songtao's hint of holding up the teacup and continued speaking.

"Director Guo is right."

"I can urge the court to make a decision as soon as possible, but urging will also cost money..."

"I wonder if Datang can reimburse you?"

Hu Longshan’s meaning is very clear. I can try to persuade Vietnam to resume grain exports to the Tang Dynasty.

But it costs extra money!

This was clearly an attempt to blackmail Guo Songtao and the Tang Dynasty.

When Guo Songtao heard this, he almost laughed out of anger.

Haha, this is the first time someone dared to blackmail him since he became the Director of the Department of Diplomacy of the Tang Dynasty.

The Vietnamese envoy is really not afraid of death!
Guo Songtao said coldly.

"is it?"

"Haha, no need to rush."

"Vietnam can delay as much as it wants, as long as you can afford the consequences."

After he finished speaking, Guo Songtao slammed the table heavily.

"Come here, see the guests off!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several guards outside the door came in and asked Hu Longshan to leave.

Guo Songtao called his secretary again and asked him to make a written summary of the morale of his meeting with the Vietnamese envoys and then submit it to the cabinet.

He also contacted the General Staff and asked it to order the military to cooperate with him in putting pressure on Vietnam.

(End of this chapter)