Chapter Thirty-Four: The Appointment is Set

  "Alright, so it's those two people you mentioned, plus Qin Cheng. Your brother, the official enthusiast, is already a Tongzhi, so let's make up for him with some silver and donate a Daotai title. As for your hot-headed brother and Qin Cheng, let's donate a Zhifu title to each of them. This way, all the silver will be taken care of by the Zhang family." Li Mingfeng said.

  "That's natural, that's natural." Zhang Shiping hastily said, "However, the weapons, horses, uniforms and salary for the future, my family can't afford it."

  "I'll advance some of the silver first, and once the ticket number operation gets underway, the silver will be available. Moreover, it's not that many soldiers are needed, but rather a few thousand good ones will do, it's not like you need to mobilize an army of 100,000, where would so much silver be used?" Li Mingfeng's words were a reassurance to Zhang Shiping, who had thought that his family would have to support this army.

  Everything was arranged, Li Mingfeng sent Qin Cheng back to his hometown to recruit soldiers, and let Zhang Shiping start preparing for the ticket business. The two people took their tasks and returned to Guangdong to handle them separately. On this day, in Tianjin City, Li Mingfeng was alone again.

  The next day, Li Mingfeng informed Gong Cheng of the negotiation results and also told him about the 10% profit. Money doesn't bite, and Gong Cheng is a straightforward person who doesn't bother with polite refusals, so he agreed without hesitation. The two then went to see Weidmann and Bulblorn, these two foreigners had been waiting for a long time and were getting impatient, if there was no good news in the next few days, they would have to go see Guileang and Huashana themselves.

  After listening to the reports of the two translators, Bulbron and Weitema were both very pleased. Li Mingfeng handed over the two sets of Jingdezhen official kiln porcelain that he had prepared long ago, and then mentioned the matter of specifying the ticket number for the remittance of tariff silver in the treaty.

  The British and French envoys had long known that Li Mingfang was going to benefit from the middle, since the increase did not affect the interests of both countries at all, and the uniform exchange rate would indeed facilitate trade. The two Weitama also tacitly agreed to this matter.

  Everything was settled, and Weetman Pearson and Boule de Bourbon again summoned the American and Russian ministers to go to the governor's office to 'consult' on specific terms.

  This time, both sides only discussed some minor issues. The meeting was held in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere. After all, Li Mingfeng and Gong Cheng were just messengers, and the real masters had not met yet, so the talks could not be considered successful.

  The Russian envoy was the most depressed throughout the negotiations, and according to the Tsar's order, he had to make as much profit as possible under the name of mediation, but this negotiation did not have any credit for him, and the plan to coerce the Qing court was thoroughly futile.

  Britain and France were at odds with Russia, two years ago they were still fighting in the Crimean War, this time they reluctantly sat together because they had a common interest, both wanting to take advantage of China. Now Britain, France and America are all satisfied, who cares about the needs of Slavs?

  The negotiations ended, and the Grand Council held a grand banquet to entertain the envoys of the four countries. Many officials from the Board of Rites and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, who followed Guiliang and Huashana out of Beijing, also attended the banquet. Although they had no say in this level of negotiation, the nominal right to diplomacy still belonged to the Board of Rites and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, and it would be unreasonable not to let them attend.

  The banquet ended, the envoys of the four nations left the Governor's Mansion, and Weitaima sent someone to inform Elgin that the Qing had fully accepted all the proposed clauses. On the second day, British and French warships turned their cannons around, and most of the ships withdrew from the White River, indicating a friendly gesture.

  On June 20, 1858, after deliberation, the Qing dynasty finally accepted all the clauses. On June 26, 1858, the Qing signed the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin with Britain and on the 27th, the Sino-French Treaty of Tianjin with France. The United States and Russia also enjoyed the rights of Britain and France except for indemnity because they had mediated.

  The scene was unprecedented when the treaty was signed, with hundreds of Qing officials gathering in the governor's mansion. The prepared treaty was written in five languages: Chinese, Manchu, English, French and Russian. Representatives from each country signed one after another, marking the conclusion of the agreement. However, according to Western rules, for the treaty to take effect, the official document had to be delivered to the monarch's hand, then signed, and finally exchanged with the other country. This process took a long time, as it was a long sea journey from China to Britain, taking at least a year or two to complete.

  According to the agreement, specific matters on trade and tariffs will continue to be negotiated in Shanghai because such things are very complicated and require a long time of negotiation. The Allied Powers and the Qing government were eager to end the current state of hostility, so they signed the contract first and then discussed specific issues later.

  Li Mingfeng wasn't very clear about the specific historical situation, but he knew that within two years there would definitely be a big war. Otherwise, how could the burning of the Yuanmingyuan have happened? Now that the Allied army had retreated and the British ambassador had returned to his country to ask the queen to sign and seal, it would take at least half a year for this back-and-forth process. Therefore, Li Mingfeng was certain that the war would break out in the next half year to two years.

  It is said that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. In order to avoid being in a disadvantageous position during the impending war, Li Mingfeng set a bottom line for himself. No matter what, he could not still be under the control of the Qing court after half a year; otherwise, when the Qing and foreigners start fighting, he would likely be the first to be sacrificed.

  As for the current result, both Gui Liang and Hua Sha Na are very satisfied. Although they lost money, it was all the imperial court's money. They themselves not only didn't lose a single penny but also made quite a bit of profit from it.

  In early July, Li Mingfang and Gong Tang both took British and French warships south to Shanghai. Gui Liang and Hua Shanana also rushed to Shanghai by land a little later, and together with the Governor of Jiangsu and Jiangxi, He Guiqing, they drew up a commercial treaty.

  The British and American envoys personally took the draft back to their countries for the Queen and President to sign, while the French envoy sent a subordinate back to his country. The Russians had no interest in trade at all, only in land, so the entire Russian delegation returned.

  When Weetman left, the post of British Minister was taken over by his former deputy, Mr. Prouse, who was not familiar with Gong Xiang. As a result, Li Mingfang and Gong Xiang immediately lost their influence and had no opportunity to offer advice.

  The steamship sailed very quickly and in less than half a month, the British and French fleets had already arrived at the mouth of the Yangtze River.