Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye was indeed not sure that he could defeat the Anglo-French coalition force of only 20,000. After all, there were too few Qing troops capable of fighting. There were only more than a thousand people led by Zuo Baogui of Shanhaiguan, plus 600 people under Zhu Hai. The rest were a mob of cowards who were vulnerable to a single blow. Now they could only be deterred. If a decisive battle really came to a head, the chances of winning would be as low as Ma Huateng's Jingyefu!

If Liu Ye were given three to five years to train a province's worth of elite soldiers, that would be possible, but it's far from possible now.

Fortunately, Elgin and Gro were also frightened now. Both sides were afraid of both ends and no one was willing to start a war easily.

Elgin and Gros had no choice but to change the plan. Both sides sat down again and began to bargain!

After a whole day of bargaining, the two sides finally reached a consensus:

The first issue was the Kowloon Peninsula. Under Liu Ye's insistence, Prince Gong and Elgin reached a consensus to lease the Kowloon Peninsula to the British indefinitely, but the rent could not be reduced. The annual rent was 100,000 taels of silver, and the rent would be directly deducted from the annual indemnity.

The second issue is the issue of compensation. The Qing government compensated the British and French governments with two million taels of silver. At the same time, all cultural relics looted by Britain and France had to remain in China and could only take gold and silver away from China. In order to compensate for the losses of Britain and France, the Qing government once again invested two million taels of silver to redeem all the cultural relics!

The third question is that the Qing government opened ten cities along the southeastern and northern coasts as commercial ports, as well as six cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, allowing British and French merchants to trade freely. However, it still did not grant unilateral most-favored-nation treatment to any country.

The fourth question was that Britain and France were allowed to open legations in Beijing to handle diplomatic affairs among the three countries. At the same time, consulates were opened in cities such as Tianjin, Dalian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, and Nanjing to handle local foreign affairs. The envoys would not have to perform the kneeling ceremony when meeting the emperor.

The fifth question is that the Qing government had an obligation to protect the personal safety of British and French citizens in the Qing Dynasty and allow pastors from both countries to preach freely in China.

Finally, all the consensus was reached, and Liu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. As for Gro and Elgin, as long as they could return with victory, that was more important than anything else. It would be best if they could obtain the greatest benefits. If they could not obtain the maximum benefits, then they would have to ensure the key benefits!

What was the key benefit? Establishing normal diplomatic and trade relations with the Qing government. As for indemnity, the more the better, but if it couldn't be obtained, there was nothing that could be done. What was truly important was opening up China's vast market. The Qing government had already opened sixteen cities as treaty ports, and with the existing ports already open, the total number exceeded twenty, ensuring a steady flow of British and French products to China. This was the ultimate benefit.

If there was anything they were dissatisfied with, it was the unilateral most-favored-nation treatment. The two sides had a fierce dispute over this issue. Even Britain and France had proposed to grant each other most-favored-nation treatment, but Liu Ye sternly rejected it, which frightened Prince Gong, who was afraid that the negotiations would be ruined just because of this issue.

In the end, Liu Ye still managed to hold on. What a joke! Once most-favored-nation status is granted, it means a significant reduction in tariffs. Losing tax revenue is a minor issue. Extremely low-priced European products will sell well in China, shattering the Chinese market! This loophole must not be opened!

After seeing off the envoys of the two countries, Prince Gong was not happy. There were many parts in the treaty signed this time that made him confused. Although he agreed to sign such a treaty, he really couldn't say what kind of situation he would face in the court.

In particular, one of the rules stipulated that envoys did not need to kneel down when meeting the emperor. This was a huge blow to the Qing Dynasty's inherent vassal system. Moreover, missionary work was deeply abhorrent to the moralists. With just these two points, he was afraid that he and Liu Ye would be attacked to pieces by the court officials!

Prince Gong looked worried and asked, "Liu Ye, are you sure there won't be any problems with what you're doing? I've always felt uneasy, especially regarding the etiquette of the audience. This is extremely disrespectful to the Emperor. If the Emperor takes it seriously, I'm afraid you'll be in big trouble. And then there's the matter of missionary work. Allowing the spread of foreign religions could cause huge conflict among the people!"

Liu Ye smiled bitterly and replied, "Your Highness, if we don't agree to these two terms, we'll probably have to pay real money! You don't really think we can defeat the Anglo-French coalition, do you? With the veteran soldiers in Henan and Shaanxi, let alone the Anglo-French coalition, even if I could gather all the troops in Baoding, we could defeat them all. In the final analysis, we don't have the capital to challenge them. Are we going to pay millions or even tens of millions of taels of silver just for a little face? Give them unilateral most-favored-nation treatment? It's just a little empty reputation, and this face is only worth a few cents? What I value is our actual interests, which is the most important thing!"

Prince Gong asked, "Then why did you agree to open so many treaty ports? You didn't even bargain! Once the ports are opened, a large amount of Western goods will flow into the interior, which will have a huge impact on the government!"

Liu Ye shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, I just want these goods to rush in. Only when these goods rush in will we do everything we can to sell them. Since ancient times, trade has been the foundation of a country's prosperity. Hundreds of years ago, the Southern Song Dynasty, with only half of its territory, resisted the Mongol and Jurchen cavalry for over a hundred years. Why? Because of trade. Strong trade provided them with sufficient money and food, and the treasury was full. Only when the treasury was full can we guarantee our war!"

Prince Gong nodded in confusion. These things were still a little difficult for him to accept. Although Prince Gong was smart and capable, he was just smart and capable. It did not mean that he was proficient in modern Western affairs. He was not proficient, he just wanted to learn more about Western affairs.

Prince Gong smiled bitterly and said, "I hope so. However, you must also be prepared. With such a big thing, I'm afraid the court will not be able to calm down. We two will bear the brunt of it. I am an iron-hat prince. The emperor can't do anything to me. At most, he will put me aside. But you are different. The public opinion is overwhelming. If you don't handle it well..."