Chapter 28 Entering Tianjin for the First Time

  After chatting for about an hour, Elgin and the American Minister Reed, Russian Minister Putiatin arrived. Elgin was a military commander and did not participate in the negotiations, he just came to see them off. The three ministers took Li Mingfang and Gong Xiang on the sedan chairs that had been waiting under the warship and went to Tianjin to slaughter fat sheep. French Minister Bourrely had already entered the city, so he didn't go with the others.

  The three envoys were escorted by four hundred British cavalrymen to the gate of Tianjin, but the cold and quiet gate made Li Mingfeng feel uneasy.

  Logically, the Qing representative should have been waiting at the gate to greet them. However, not only were there no high-ranking officials from the imperial court, but also not even a single official with a top hat and peacock feathers was present at the gate; instead, only dozens of Eight Banner soldiers were waiting for the envoys of the three countries.

  Li Mingfeng thought to himself, it seems that the Grand Scholar Guiliang, the Minister of Personnel Shana and the Imperial Commissioner Qiying are going to take a tough stance against the foreigners.

  The three envoys were furious, but they couldn't vent their anger on these small soldiers, so they secretly made up their minds to teach those arrogant Qing officials a lesson.

  Several sedan chairs arrived at the Zhili Governor's Yamen, where French Minister M. Boulbon had been waiting at the gate to greet them, and then he complained incessantly to Wietinghoff about the rudeness and arrogance of Qing officials.

  These people are not soft persimmons that can be pinched at will. Seeing this situation, everyone is burning with anger, but they can't explode due to etiquette.

  It wasn't until several people walked to the back hall of the Zhili Governor's mansion that they saw the real masters - Grand Scholar Gui Liang and Minister of Personnel Sha Na. These two men were both wearing red hats with crane feathers. Li Mingfeng stood behind them, stealing glances at them, and saw that they were both thin and bony, Gui Liang looked like he was in his seventies or eighties, as if a gust of wind could blow him down, Sha Na's beard was flecked with white, looking to be in his fifties.

  The Qing side did not have any interpreters, while the foreign side had Li Mingfang and Gong Tang, as well as six or seven other Western missionaries who spoke Chinese. These ten-odd people all stood at the side. Guiliang and Hua Shanana sat upright in the great hall, the British and French envoys sat on the east side, and the American and Russian envoys sat on the right side. The United States and Russia still considered themselves to be mediators and refused to sit with Britain and France.

  Gui Liang ordered a servant to bring tea for the foreign guests.

  A few people took a sip of tea, and then Gui Liang opened his mouth: "My great Qing has always been unwilling to start a war with England and France, but the two countries have been pressing my great Qing tightly. Now they have even sailed their warships under the city of Tianjin. Is it really because they think my great Qing has no one?"

  Gong Chang translated the words to Weetman, but before Weetman could respond, French Minister Bourboulon couldn't bear it anymore: "You are too disrespectful to our two countries. I have been here for many days, and every time we negotiate, you are always arrogant. This time, all the ministers of several countries are present, and you still dare to be so conceited. Do you really foolishly think that the brave warriors of England and France cannot occupy Tianjin?"

  Hua Shana stroked his white beard and said calmly, "Everyone, don't get angry. Lord Gui is also upset because your two countries have been bullying others for too long. Is it necessary to resort to arms just for trade?"

  "Trade and commerce were the requirements before the war, now the Allied forces are attacking Guangzhou in the south and Tianjin in the north, spending countless amounts of silver. Now if we want to negotiate a settlement, it won't be as simple as that." Gong Cheng translated for British Minister Plenipotentiary Thomas Wade.

  Gui Liang's face sank upon hearing this and he said in a cold voice, "What else do you want? Do you also want us to compensate for your military expenses?"

  "It is"

  "You beat me and spent our Qing dynasty's silver, are you going to make our Qing dynasty pay for it?" Gui Liang was old in age and big in temper.

  A missionary translated for Burlingame: "Not only to compensate for the military expenses and open ports for trade, but also to allow our foreigners to travel freely on the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and to allow us to build churches in the Qing Dynasty and gather believers."

  Gui Liang listened to these conditions, his face turned iron-green and he didn't speak, but his fists were clenched tightly. Hua Shana continued: "Since the founding of our great Qing dynasty, there has never been a precedent for allowing foreigners to move about freely. And as for opening churches, that's also impolite - our great Qing has Buddhism and Taoism, we fundamentally don't need your set of things."

  Gui Liang sighed: "Now that I have internal worries and external troubles, I don't want to argue with you, opening a few ports is possible, but the other items are out of the question."

  The interpreter translated what he said into the past, and all four envoys shook their heads in refusal of this condition.

  After a long discussion, the gap was too big and it was impossible to reach a unified opinion. The British and French envoys left their seats in anger, while the American and Russian envoys stayed there to intimidate and entice the two high-ranking officials of the Qing Dynasty.

  Li Mingfeng and Gong Cheng also followed the two envoys back to their residence, where they rested in the mansion arranged by the Qing government for foreign representatives. Shortly after sitting down, Weetman and Bulblon sent someone to invite them over to discuss matters.

  The two of them did not dare to hesitate and got up to see the ambassadors of the two countries. Entering their room, they saw the two men sitting there with worried expressions on their faces.

  "Why are you two so worried?" said Gong Cheng in English.

  "Mr. Kung, Mr. Li, you two sit down quickly, we have something to discuss with you," said Weetama.

  As soon as the two sat down, Witte said: "This time I came to the East on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress, and the opening of ports and allowing our citizens to pass freely are the two things that must be achieved. The remaining compensation for military expenses is Erlkin's request, and France and Russia have their own requirements. However, from the reaction of these high-ranking officials of Qing today, it seems that the gap between us is too large, and it is difficult to reach a reconciliation."

  Gong Cheng heard the loud voice saying: "If reconciliation is not possible, then we will rely on the sharp firearms of the Allied Army to take down Tianjin, which will be a matter of days. Once Tianjin falls, the Allied Army will be at the gates of Beijing, and at that time, even half of the Xianfeng Emperor's empire can be negotiated."

  Li Mingfeng stared blankly at the magnanimous and fervent Gong Cheng, thinking that this man had thoroughly devoted himself to serving foreigners. He even genuinely intended to invite wolves into his home. But then he thought again, the person in front of him was none other than Gong Zhenlun, who led the Anglo-French coalition army to burn down the Yuanmingyuan in history.

  "Wei Tuo Ma sighed and said: 'At present, the empire is in a difficult situation, with limited military strength, and it's probably hard to engage in large-scale warfare with Qing country.'"