Chapter 541 Declaration of War

“Although the United States and Qing Dynasty have established diplomatic relations for many years, and we have sent ministers to the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty has never sent ministers to the United States, and they have no plans to do so.

What is even more troublesome is that our minister in Shanghai is far away from the Qing capital and cannot communicate effectively with the Qing Dynasty. In this case, how should we use diplomatic means to resolve our interests and demands in the Qing Dynasty? ” Buchanan was very confused.

The relationship between the United States and Qing Dynasty is relatively good. Despite this, the two countries are still unable to communicate effectively through normal diplomatic channels.

The U.S. Consul General in Shanghai also complained to the federal government many times that Qing officials were repelled from dealing with them. In many cases, the remaining consul generals and consuls could only conduct briefings and exchanges with Chinese businessmen and local officials who could speak English.

As for direct communication and dialogue with the central government of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, forget it.

In the "Treaty of Tianjin" signed during the Second Drug War, the first article is that the British envoys to China, their dependents and attachés can live in the capital, or can travel to and from Beijing at any time, and can rent land and houses in Beijing. Hire husband servants. The British side can set up consulates and station consuls at various ports for trade.

It can be seen how much the great powers at that time wanted to establish a permanent embassy in the capital of the Qing Dynasty and establish an effective dialogue mechanism with the central government of the Qing Dynasty.

"What we want is real benefits, and what the Qing Dynasty wants is face. As long as we take care of the Qing Dynasty's face, it is not impossible to send envoys to the capital," Liang Yao said.

"Then how to take care of the face of the Qing Dynasty?" Buchanan asked.

"Sending a Chinese consul-general with a Chinese face, one with braids, will be considered as taking care of the face of the Qing Dynasty." Liang Yao gave the answer.

"If you lower your posture, be more humble, kneel down to the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and respect the Qing Dynasty as the supreme kingdom of heaven, when the emperor of the Qing Dynasty is happy, he will also reward some useless but expensive gifts. The Qing Dynasty sends gifts to its allies. The gifts are always generous.”

"Can an American Consul General with a Chinese face enter the capital? Is it that simple? A Chinese-faced American Consul General is also an American? Is there any essential difference?" Buchanan felt incredible.

Buchanan had rich experience and resume as a diplomat. From 1821 to 1845, Buchanan served as minister to Russia for 24 years. During this period, he promoted the signing of the U.S.-Russian Commerce Convention and the U.S.-Russian Navigation Convention, successfully completing the treaty. tasks assigned to him by the federal government.

Buchanan also relied on his diplomatic contributions to successfully enter the central government of the federal government. Therefore, Buchanan still has considerable experience in diplomatic work and has his own set of ideas and opinions.

All countries' diplomacy adheres to the principle of putting interests first. This is the first time for Buchanan to see a country like the Qing Dynasty that puts face first. It makes diplomats like Buchanan who have rich diplomatic experience a little confused.

Buchanan served as Minister of Tsarist Russia for 24 years. He did not learn a few words in Russian, but instead learned to speak authentic and fluent French in St. Petersburg.

He originally thought that Tsarist Russia, as a peripheral country on the European continent, was already different enough, but he never imagined that there was a country in the far east that was even more different and more difficult to deal with than Tsarist Russia.

"Yes, it's that simple. The United States has an advantage over Britain and France in this aspect." Liang Yao said with certainty.

"For other countries, there is no difference in the color and race of American ministers, but for the Qing Dynasty, the difference is huge. This is a very complicated knowledge."

As a country of immigrants, the United States is a melting pot of races. No matter what skin color, you can find it in America.

Liang Yao originally hoped that Buchanan would let him recommend another suitable candidate for minister to the Qing Dynasty. Buchanan seemed to have seen Liang Yao's thoughts and had his own concerns and ideas. It may also be the governor of Utah Territory recommended by Liang Yao. At present, Not very successful.

This time, Buchanan did not ask Liang Yao to recommend a candidate for minister to the Qing Dynasty.

"Your suggestions are very useful. I will consider this issue carefully and choose a suitable minister." Buchanan said calmly.

"At the same time, I also hope that the Qing Dynasty can also send a minister to the United States and establish formal bilateral diplomatic relations. In this regard, can you provide some effective suggestions?"

"This is much more difficult than sending an envoy to the Qing capital." Liang Yao shook his head and said.

"I'm afraid no officials in the Qing Dynasty are willing to come to the United States to serve as ministers, but I can work hard."

Letting officials of the Qing Dynasty go to the United States to serve as ministers would be more uncomfortable than exiling them to Ningguta. Ninggu Pagoda is only more than 1,200 kilometers away from the capital, while the straight-line distance between Washington and the capital is tens of thousands of kilometers.

"gentlemen!"

While Liang Yao and Buchanan were talking, Chase hurried in and said.

"Madam is giving birth!"

Hearing that Elizabeth was going to give birth, Liang Yao didn't care much, said sorry to Buchanan and left.

Many people gathered in front of Elizabeth's room, including servants from Wei Xiuju, Liang Yao's father, Elizabeth's brother Kony and others.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the closed door, and Elizabeth's painful shouts could be heard from inside the door.

Liang Yao's heart was in his throat.

It was raining moderately in the sky, and the raindrops drifted in the wind, hitting the windows with a crisp knocking sound.

The noise from the raindrops hitting the window made Liang Yao uneasy.

Giving birth is still a very dangerous thing in the 21st century with more advanced medical technology.

In the 19th century with relatively low medical standards, the danger was no less than walking through the gates of hell.

Suddenly, the room became quiet.

Liang Yao anxiously turned his head and put his ear against the cold glass window, trying to listen to the sounds coming from the delivery room, but he could only hear his own rapid breathing and heartbeat.

He felt his palms were wet, and he was holding a cigarette that he had taken out at some point but had never lit. Time seemed to be unusually slow at this moment, and every second seemed as long as a year.

A sense of powerlessness, this rare feeling surged into his brain. As a second-born human, there were not many things that could make him feel powerless.

He did not believe in ghosts and gods, but at this time, the only thing he could do was to pray silently for Elizabeth, praying that God would bless her to survive this difficult ordeal, and praying that she and the child would be healthy and safe.

Suddenly, a baby cried in the room, the door slowly opened, and a doctor came out with a gentle smile on his face and nodded to Liang Yao.

Liang Yao rushed in excitedly, almost tripping over the threshold but didn't care.

When he came to the bed, he saw the sweat and fatigue on his face, Elizabeth holding the child in her arms, with satisfaction and joy in her eyes, and Liang Yao's heart finally let go.

At this moment, anxiety and uneasiness finally turned into happiness and joy.

"Let's give our child a name." Elizabeth was tired and happy.

"It's a boy." The mother standing by the bed reminded him, "It's a boy."

Hearing that it was a boy, Liang Yao's emotions did not fluctuate much, but his father Liang Shaochen shouted excitedly, muttering words like ancestors bless, Liang family has descendants.

"How can you name it so casually?! I have written down the child's birth date, we must worship the ancestors first and choose an auspicious day to name the child!" Liang Shaochen interrupted.

"Isn't the President here with us? Let's let him stay here for a few days and ask him to name our grandson. Wouldn't it be better?"

"You let the President of the United States, who can't even recognize a single Chinese character, name our child?"

Liang Yao was speechless. Buchanan knew English, French, and a little Russian, but he didn't know Chinese. How could this old guy know the Chinese naming system?

"Just listen to Dad." Elizabeth said when she saw the father and son in a stalemate.

"Let's follow the traditional Chinese etiquette and give the child a name."

As she was talking, Elizabeth poked Liang Yao, made a gesture to Liang Yao, and pointed at Zoe who was about to leave the room.

Liang Yao looked at Zoe, who looked a little lonely, and carefully handed the baby in the swaddle to Elizabeth's arms, then got up and chased after her.

"Zoe, yes"

"Don't say that, I'm fine, but I feel a little uncomfortable when I see so many people accompanying sister Elizabeth when she gave birth, and you are also by her side." Zoe tried her best to control her emotions and said.

"I was sorry for you in the past, and I will always be with you and the child in the future." Liang Yao stepped forward and hugged Zoe and said.

Zoe didn't say much, just leaned on Liang Yao's shoulder and sobbed softly.

At some point, Liang Qianqian ran up, pulled the corner of Liang Yao's clothes, blinked her big eyes, and asked helplessly and pitifully: "Dad, grandpa doesn't like Qianqian anymore after having a younger brother. Just now, he only had his younger brother in his eyes and ignored Qianqian. Did dad also dislike Qianqian after having a younger brother?"

Hearing Liang Qianqian's unintentional words, Zoe sobbed even louder.

Children are very sensitive. Zoe has lived in California for so long, and it is impossible for her not to know the bad tradition of China's preference for boys over girls.

"How could that be, silly child." Liang Yao squatted down and hugged Liang Qianqian tightly.

"My brother is Daddy's good child, and Qianqian is also Daddy's good child."

"Qianqian just heard Grandpa say that he would hold a banquet for my brother and invite guests." Liang Qianqian said in a crying voice.

"When Qianqian's birthday comes, Daddy will also hold a banquet for Qianqian, hold a dance party, and invite many guests to celebrate Qianqian's birthday, okay?" Liang Yao scratched Liang Qianqian's nose and said.

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"If you don't enter Guangzhou, you won't enter China!"

"Enter the city! You must enter the city! The Qing Dynasty has been dragging on the establishment of embassies from 1842 to 1857 without any results. I think they just want to cheat!"

"We must teach these Qings some lessons and let them know the consequences of ignoring the British Empire!"

"We must not only enter Guangzhou, but also set up an embassy in the capital of Qing! To prevent similar things from happening again!"

"There are also inland markets! In addition to the five ports, we also need Qing to open up inland markets!"

"The Qing navy attacked our fleet in Hong Kong and beheaded two brave English soldiers in public!"

"This is an insult to the British Empire!"

At the same time, in the Parliament Building of Westminster Palace in London, England, a group of well-dressed British gentlemen were indignant, denouncing the Qing Dynasty and listing all the "crimes" of the Qing Dynasty against the British Empire. It was so lively.

Originally, there were some inappropriate voices in the parliament that opposed declaring war directly on the Qing Dynasty and sending troops.

These dovish MPs believed that the British Empire had just experienced the Crimean War and needed to recuperate, so it was not appropriate to send troops.

However, with the hawkish representative Palmerston taking office as prime minister and foreign minister, and a series of confusing behaviors and operations by the Guangzhou authorities.

The influence of dovish MPs in parliament gradually declined.

In particular, the news of the Battle of Humen reached London, which shocked the whole country.

The number of British soldiers killed and wounded in the first trade war with China was not as many as this battle.

Major newspapers, led by The Times, were also afraid of chaos in the world, and they criticized and accused the government of inaction on the Far East issue. As a result, the "legal merchants" doing business in the Qing Dynasty could not even obtain basic personal safety.

Under the instigation of the media, the voices of the British people demanding to send troops to wash away the shame of the Battle of Humen became stronger and stronger.

This is exactly what Prime Minister Palmerston wanted to see.

Palmerston can be said to be an old acquaintance of the Qing people.

Before the first trade war with China, Palmerston was the foreign minister of the British Empire.

At that time, Palmerston was known for his tough attitude towards China.

When Parliament was still arguing about whether to solve the trade problem with China through diplomacy or to send troops directly, Palmerston overruled the opposition and clamored that the only way to deal with the Qing Empire was to beat it up first.

Before 1840, Britain had not yet had a direct military conflict with the Eastern superpower, which had one-third of the world's population, and knew very little about the military strength of the Qing Dynasty.

Due to fear of the huge size of the Qing Empire, there were not many British politicians like Palmerston who strongly advocated war against China.

The reason is self-evident. Conservative British politicians who did not understand the Qing Empire were unwilling to take a military adventure, and were even more unwilling to bear the consequences of a war failure.

The process of voting on the bill to go to war with China in the British Parliament was also full of twists and turns. After three days of discussion, the war faction only won by a narrow margin of 271 votes to 262 votes and approved the proposal to go to war with China.

It can be seen that before the war, British politicians did not have a complete chance of defeating the mysterious and huge super empire of the Qing Dynasty, and many MPs believed that this was a military adventure.

The victory in the trade war with China brought great political prestige and influence to Palmerston.

As a result, Palmerston's reputation in the political and civilian circles rose, and then he naturally entered the cabinet.

However, the benefits brought to the subjects of the British Empire by the victory of the war were not as rich as the politicians promised at the beginning.

The saying that every inch longer hem of Chinese clothes is enough to keep all British textile factories busy for decades now seems to be an outright lie.

In addition to Fu Shou Gao, British goods do not seem to be popular in China.

Voices questioning the trade war with China in the UK have also risen.

More and more British people are puzzled as to why the British high-quality and low-cost industrial products still cannot occupy this huge market after the Qing Empire opened its market and even gave up its tariff autonomy.

The first trade war against China was initiated by Palmerston alone. It was impossible for Palmerston to deny the necessity of this war. To deny the trade war against China was to deny himself.

In this regard, the British cabinet headed by Palmerston explained to the people that the Qing court was obstructing the legal trade between Britain and Qing, and preventing British residents from entering Guangzhou to do business was ironclad evidence!

Therefore, it was necessary for Britain to finish this unfinished trade war and force the Qing government to completely open the door to Britain's high-quality and low-priced industrial and commercial products!

"Gentlemen, please be quiet!"

In the center of the Parliament Building, Palmerston made a sound like a bell. He pressed his hand and signaled the members in the building to be quiet.

Soon, the noise stopped.

The parliament hall was solemn and solemn. The huge arch hung high, and the golden chandelier flashed warm light, reflecting the bright and magnificent scene.

On the seats, the members sat in silence, waiting for the arrival of this historic moment with a heavy and expectant mood.

Palmerston stood on the podium in the center of the parliament. He was wearing an elegant black dress and a dazzling badge, and he looked at the audience solemnly. His voice was majestic, firm and sonorous, echoing in every corner of the hall.

"Dear members of parliament, today we stand at the crossroads of history, facing a difficult and important decision."

Palmerzon's vulture-like eyes swept across the seats, and he paused and continued: "Our great motherland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as a civilized and just country, has repeatedly tried to reach an agreement with the Qing Dynasty to resolve the Fushou Cream and a series of trade issues through peaceful diplomatic means."

At this point, Palmerston's face sank, and his voice suddenly became firm and tough: "However, dear members of parliament, the indifference and unreasonableness of the Qing government have left us with no choice. In order to defend our right to free trade and our dignity, we must take military action against the Qing Empire."

The air in the hall was almost frozen, and the tension was everywhere, which made the members almost breathless.

Palmerston stared at the members of the House of Representatives, his eyes were determined and arrogant: "Now I am here to announce to you the voting results of the British China Action Bill. The bill was passed with 497 votes in favor and 36 votes against!

We will declare war on the Qing Empire! This will be a difficult battle. We have to defend not only our own interests, but also justice and morality. "

Palmer's voice became more and more passionate. He raised his right hand and swore: "We will defend our great Queen Victoria, our homeland, the people of the British Empire from generation to generation, and freedom and justice with tenacity and courage!"

For a time, thunderous applause and cheers rang out throughout the parliament hall. People raised their arms and shouted long live, and excited members threw their hats into the air.

Palmer's declaration of war once again started the huge war machine of the British Empire.