"I will report the matter to His Majesty the Emperor truthfully. I believe His Majesty will be very interested!"
The French "little clerk" consul talked about his plans with a happy face, as if the man who claimed to have inherited the cause of the great Napoleon I and to make France great again would give him a promotion or title because of this matter.
The British consul Aliguo was a little unclear about the latest national conditions in France. He just looked at this French guy who didn't go to church to worship God very much last year and now suddenly became superstitious. He asked with confusion: "Is it possible that your Majesty, the Emperor of France, Do you like stories about the devil?"
Before the French guy could answer, the vulgar American redneck laughed, took the question that he was very interested in, and replied: "Rutherford, don't you think this is a very interesting thing? A man from hell. The devil disguised himself as a savior, bewitched countless ignorant people from the mountainous areas of China and lived in despair, and then led them to challenge a cruel and pagan feudal dynasty.
And we, a group of kind and honest people from civilized and progressive countries, will help the ignorant Chinese recognize the true face of the devil and support them in overthrowing the feudal dynasty and establishing a republic..."
This American redneck was halfway through his nonsense when he already felt the rather unfriendly looks from Aliguo and Aitang.
What does "overthrow the feudal dynasty and establish a republic" mean? Do you, a rude American redneck, want to oppose the great Queen of England and the Emperor of France?
"Ahem," Major Ma Hui coughed twice awkwardly and shrugged: "I just think fighting the devil is a cool thing, and we may also gain great benefits from it! Don't you think it's cool? ?」
Aliguo frowned, and then looked at the French consul. This former clock shop clerk, now an elegant middle-aged man who has entered the French diplomatic community, took a sip of a cup of milk tea provided by the British Consulate, and explained with a smile: " Of course, our wise and great French emperor would not believe that the devil exists in China... However, the Russian Orthodox priest's report was very detailed and well-founded, with not only human witnesses but also physical evidence.
I think this is a very true lie, and it may improve Europeans' faith in God.
Because the evidence for the existence of the devil can also prove the existence of God! After all...the devil was also created by God. If there is no God, where did the devil come from?" After that, he made a cross on his chest.
Now Aliguo and the American Ma Hui finally understood that the logic of this French "little clerk" consul was quite clear, and he was also very capable of seizing opportunities. He could actually find out what aroused the French Emperor from this "ghost story" The opportunity that Your Majesty pays attention to - it seems that he must have further opportunities in the French diplomatic community where talents are scarce.
As soon as he was inspired by this Frenchman, Aliguo's thoughts suddenly opened up. He nodded and said: "It seems that we need to conduct an in-depth investigation into the problem of demons found in China... We can tell the Qing Empire , if the devil they think really exists, as the Empire or the United States under the blessing of God, our country will definitely fulfill its obligations to God!
At the same time, we can also tell those insurgents who may soon sweep across the south of the Yangtze River. If they are not the devils described by the Tatar court, but a group of Christians who resist tyranny, then we have reason to believe that their victory will help We, the three countries under the blessing of God, can obtain truly fair trade in China, a vast land with a population of 400 million people!"
"Oh, Rutherford, why is it so hard to understand what you British diplomats say?" Major Ma Hui, a red-necked man from the United States, didn't seem to understand what the British diplomat said. He looked at the imperial civil servant from London. Frowning a pair of thick yellow eyebrows, he asked, "What exactly do you want to say? What kind of policy should we adopt?"
After listening to the words of this red-necked American diplomat, Aliguo had the urge to kick him back to the United States to grow cotton with the black slaves! Aren't diplomats supposed to speak in a roundabout way? They can't say anything. To put it bluntly, are you still a diplomat?
Fortunately, the United States is no longer a well-managed colony of the British Empire, otherwise an uneducated fool like you would definitely not be a diplomat.
"Okay then," Aliguo picked up the milk tea on the table and took a sip. He organized his words by the way, and then frowned and said: "First of all, I personally think that the so-called Chinese devil incident is just a drunk Russian priest. Lies. But the ignorant imperial court seemed to believe this Russian priest, and wanted to use this to win our support - to support them in annihilating the rebellious Christian heretics.
Secondly, this is an opportunity for our three countries to jointly exert influence on the Tatar dynasty and Christian heretical rebels.... If the Qing Empire can agree to the terms of the treaty amendment proposed by our three countries, open the market to us, and allow the free import of opium, allow..."
Aliguo talked a lot more, while the American redneck tilted his head, smiled and said in a standard Oxford accent: "Britain has no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests." !I think this principle also applies to the Tatar court, the Christian rebels...or the devil?"
Aliguo was stunned for a moment, but finally nodded: "Yes, of course!"...
Shanghai Beach, Huangpu River.
When the consuls from Britain, France, and the United States were discussing the "Great Powers' Policies Against Demons," they all agreed that the devil from heaven who did not exist was standing on a ship that had sailed into Wusongkou an hour ago. Qianliu was sitting on the sand boat, crossing his arms and looking at...the Shanghai beach that would soon be his!
Today's Shanghai is not yet the largest city in the Far East, and it does not have much of a lively atmosphere. The ten-mile foreign market has not yet been formed. Today's Shanghai concession area only stretches from the Suzhou River in the north, to Shanghai County in the south, to the Huangpu River in the east, and to the west. It is about to reach the People's Square in later generations, with a total area of ​​less than 3,000 acres. It is under the jurisdiction of the British and French consulates, which is the so-called "British Concession" and "French Concession". In addition, Americans are also from Hongjiang River to Suzhou River. I bought hundreds of acres of land during this period and wanted to open up an American concession. However, I had not yet received permission from the Qing government, so it was considered a "grey concession."
The American "grey concession" is located on the north bank of the Suzhou River and is not connected by the Waibaidu Bridge. It is inconvenient to communicate with the British and French concessions and the Shanghai County, so it has not developed much. The British and French concessions have a bit of a "foreign flavor", especially In the "Bund" area on the west bank of the Huangpu River, smooth roads have been built, some Western-style buildings have been built, and many piers have been built near the Huangpu River. Many long trestles extend from the Bund to the middle of the Huangpu River. Far away, it connects to the dock berth floating on the water.
Almost every berth is anchored with Western-style sailing ships with a relatively deep draft, including clipper ships from the United States and sailing warships that symbolize the maritime hegemony of the British Empire!
Most of the Chinese-style boats on the river are Fu boats, sand boats, and bird boats. These boats with shallow drafts are docked at berths closer to the river bank. The number of these berths is too small compared to the boats that want to dock, so There are seven or eight boats queuing up at each berth.
In addition, there are several small sentinel boats that go back and forth between various types of ships. They are all carrying soldiers in uniform. I don’t know which yamen they belong to?
At this time, Luo Yaoguo suddenly saw a Western-style sailboat parked beside a long trestle nearby being dragged away from its original berth by a small steamboat that was "chugging" and emitting white smoke, and began to sail towards the center of the Huangpu River.
So Luo Yaoguo pointed to the vacant berth with a folding fan, smiled and said to Wu Ruxiao beside him: "Master Wu, there is a seat over there, let's move up to it!"
"Isn't this... inappropriate?"
Wu Ruxiao had worked in Guangdong Thirteenth Industry for many years, and had also been to Hong Kong. He knew the rules on foreigners' docks, and immediately reminded: "These berths are for foreigners' big ships. Foreigners' big ships are also queuing up in the Huangpu River!"
Chapter completed!