In the Governor's Office in Guangzhou, the British consul on the guest seat put down the fragrant Chinese tea, stood up and nodded, because the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi said: "I am so stupid and dull, I don't know what you mean."

"Maybe you don't know what conditions Zhao Ziwei, the commander of the Guangdong rebels, had given us," the British consul stared at the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and said sneered: "He promised to protect all the interests of foreigners in Guangdong, and promised that he would strictly abide by the Treaty of Nanjing signed with your country, and give us all the things we did not get in the past, that is, to enter Guangzhou City, and allow missionary at the trading port, and all kinds of goods will pass tariffs, etc...."

"He is a beast. If you mention his name, it is probably inappropriate to be in this place that represents the pressure of the Qing Dynasty." Ye Mingchen smiled slightly.

The British Consul sighed and spread his hands and said, "I'm sorry. But you need to know how attractive these conditions are to our British Empire citizens. There are many people now, and he is a Protestant! However, the war in Guangdong has seriously affected our trade, and we do not want this state to continue for too long."

"Don't worry, Lord Minister, I have organized a group training in Guangzhou City. With the original Eight Banners Green Camp Warriors, the Zhao Bian is just around the corner." Ye Mingchen sneered with a "I see through you".

"But as far as I know, your country's warriors have failed continuously in Dongguan and Shaozhou. The rebels have planned to siege Guangzhou. Is Guangzhou safe?"

"Mr. Consul, victory or defeat is common in military affairs, and this is the plan of the Qing Dynasty, not something you should worry about. Don't worry, with me here, these traitors and rebels will never have a good end." Ye Mingchen smiled.

Looking at the smile of the white-faced official, the British Consul was stunned for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Sir, I would like to advise you to open Guangzhou City to us immediately according to the provisions of the Treaty of Nanjing. The more foreign citizens there are in Guangzhou City, the more common interests we and your country will have, and the stronger the Guangzhou City will be!"

If it was not Mr. Ye Mingchen sitting on it at this moment, but Wu Xu, the Shanghai Daotai who was looking for thick thighs to hug him at this point, would have been surprised and rolled down with all his face, and crawled down with his father and mother crying to his mother to hug the consul's thighs and ask for help: "Sir, come on! Don't just diplomatic officials and businessmen, send your army too! You can do whatever you want to exchange for me!"

But Ye Mingchen is not Wu Xu. Even if his official position is the same or even lower than that of the other party, Ye Mingchen will not look at Wu Xu at all!

Wu Xu's fame was donated, and Ye Mingchen was a dignified Hanlin family!

This gap is probably the difference between students who bought diplomas from Shanji University in later generations and Harvard full-price graduates.

Ye Mingchen is the most authentic Confucian elite, and he is the backbone of this social civilization.

All he said was loyalty to the emperor and the country, courtesy, righteousness and integrity. He was a person who read the books of sages, not to mention seeking foreigners, he looked down on foreigners from the bottom of his heart, and racially discriminated against foreigners! Culturally discriminated against foreigners!

What is the difference between letting him surrender these barbarian foreigners and killing him?

Moreover, the two have a huge difference in their official positions and career achievements. Wu Xu is not worthy of carrying shoes to Lord Ye Mingchen.

How successful was Ye Mingchen in becoming an official?

Ye Mingchen was born in the 14th year of Jiaqing (1809), and was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Daoguang (1835). He was selected as a Shujishi in the Hanlin Academy to be the editor. In the 26th year of Daoguang (1848), he was promoted to the governor of Guangdong. In that year, Ye Mingchen was forty years old. From the idle position of the "Seventh-rank" editor of the Hanlin Academy to the governor of a provincial chief (from the second-rank), Ye Mingchen took ten years (including 27 months of Ding You obeying the system) to nine levels!

Jump to level 9 in ten years!

And this is not the pinnacle of his life.

The second year after becoming governor, that is, in April 1849, Ye Mingchen demonstrated the majesty of the Celestial Empire! It reflected the prestige of the Qing Dynasty!

This is the refusal of the British to enter Guangzhou City with Governor Xu Guangjin.

He mobilized many local gentry to oppose it, claiming that the governor and the governor were united, and the gentry and the people were united. The "military group" 100,000 oppose the British entering Guangzhou City in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Nanjing.

The British weighed the pros and cons and gave up their plan to enter the city in April.

Emperor Daoguang, who had just been slapped by a foreign gangster, felt that his younger brother had regained his face. He was applauding. He said: Xu and Ye "don't break a soldier or send a arrow, and they can be pacified for a long time and be in great peace." So he was happy to be granted the first-class viscount of Xu Guangjin and the first-class baron of Ye Mingchen.

Soon, 43-year-old Ye Mingchen was promoted to the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Isn’t this the achievement and glory that all Confucian disciples dream of?!

How can such a life not make the person involved be full of energy and confidence?!

As a result, until now in 1853, foreigners from the other four trading ports had entered, and only Guangzhou City still implemented the "closed-off country". Foreigners, including the consulate, could only meet outside the city or at the port. In other places, foreign consulates and Qing ministers met every day, but Guangzhou could not see Ye Mingchen at all. They ignored you foreigners at all. But they would not offend you. Even if you sent a note to meet, I would be sick, right?

This greatly gained the face of the Qing emperor.

Therefore, Ye Mingchen also became a model of officials in the Qing Dynasty, a model of Confucianism and a careful heart for the emperor.

But it is obvious that this man made his fortune by discrimination and resisting foreigners. How could he tolerate the British consul's re-introduction to the city?

And at this moment, the British consul's set is obviously threatening and extortion - if you don't let us come in, you will be in danger.

Danger?

This is a threat!

This is blackmail!

You are ridiculous!!!

You are shameless!!!

You're decent!!!

The world's ridiculousness!!!

My Qing Dynasty is the supreme country of the Heavenly Kingdom. How can you, the ignorant barbarians, be threatened by you? You are just relying on the strange and lustful skills that harm the country and the people. Without the Confucian spirit as your pillar, you are destined to be a group of barbarians from low-class countries!

Ye Mingchen had a fire in his stomach, but his face was as calm as water. He looked at the British consul and smiled, "I didn't let you enter the city. But now you also see that there are long hairs outside. I have been catching spies registered household registration and training recruits in the city, and it is in chaos. It's not the time to enter the city. When the long hairs are destroyed, I will go to find you the address of the consulate in person. Is there anything else? Mr. Consul."

The British consul sighed dejectedly, sat there for a while, smiled in dismay, and said, "There is nothing else to discuss with the adults."

Ye Mingchen glanced at the dejected foreigner with the look of "a fox with its tail stepped on", smiled proudly, raised the tea bowl and said, "Please have tea."

"Send it! Guest!" The servant behind Ye Mingchen immediately shouted in a long voice.

In Huizhou City, the rebel leader Zhao Kuo was in a bad mood. He pointed to the two braided guys kneeling on the ground and asked Zhong Jialiang next to him in surprise: "Is this the master of Western Affairs you have found for me?"

Zhong Jialiang looked helpless, and he said, "Mr. Marquis, you gave me a few days. Where can I find a comprador in English for you? Besides, they may not necessarily come here, right? These two people are my followers and often go to Guangzhou, Hong Kong. Although foreign languages ​​are not as strong as Marquis, they can only understand them."

"Hmph! There is nothing you can do if you don't need it!" Zhao Kuo stomped his feet angrily, "All up, report to your own house."

"The villain Xiao Zuye used to work as a snack stall outside Guangzhou city. He learned some foreign languages. Later, he changed his career as a foreign medicine salesman. He has followed Mr. Zhong in the past two years." The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with a rat-headed and deer-headed man, but his face was pleated and goatee-bearded, and he looked fifty years old, with a smell of sweat and feet all over his body.

The second one is Lu Bingcheng, who is quite talented, but his face is weak, and he looks like he is overly drunk and sexy. Moreover, this kid is an absolute British citizen. According to the later words, he was a Southeast Asian overseas Chinese. However, Zhao Kuo doubted where this guy who had never been to the UK came from, and his spoken language was also a mess. He used to be a comprador in Hong Kong, but later he went bankrupt and followed Zhong Jialiang.

"Now, people who are good at Chinese say I am a bandit, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to find an unscrupulous businessman who can speak English." Zhao Kuo was very depressed and fierce.

After a while, he pointed at the two people and said, "From now on, you two are my diplomats, Zhao Kuo. You are going to the areas where foreigners gather in Hong Kong and Guangzhou."

"Marty, I can't kill people in war." Xiao Zuye was shocked.

"Who told you to kill people in war?" Zhao Kuo snorted and said, "Will you treat and give gifts? Will you drink a brothel? Will you say good things?"

"We do it all the time, we do it all, but we haven't done it with foreigners." Zhong Jialiang answered for them next to him.

"Now I'm doing it to foreigners." Zhao Kuo said: "I'll give you a lot of money. The two of you are now local businessmen who have a good impression of me. Your task is to find foreign journalists, bribe him, and let them say good things about me in the newspaper."

"What are we saying?" Lu Bingcheng raised his head in surprise.

"What are you saying? Zhong Jialiang tells you later that in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, my people have already contacted the brothers of the Tiandihui, and the money is taken directly from them every day." At this point, Zhao Kuo changed his fierce expression: "I will give you a high reward, and I will have a good reward. But the money can only be spent in restaurants, brothels and targets. If it enters your own pocket, I will directly find someone to kill you, do you believe it?"

"The villain dares not." The two of them immediately bowed and kowtowed.

"Will foreigners accept our bribes?" Zhong Jialiang was a little worried and asked Zhao Kuo in a low voice.

"Definitely! Someone will!" Zhao Kuo sneered: "I didn't ask them to work as consuls from various countries. Their target is journalists. These are all small people. I don't believe that foreigners who can make money in the Far East will go to newspapers to sell articles? If a reporter posts a soft article, I will give them both extra rewards."

In my impression, even the clean and honest United States in later generations had been in chaos for a while, Chicago gangs were rampant, police embezzled and accepted bribes; India's East India Company also had corruption, and even the Qing Dynasty customs controlled by foreigners in history were not a monolithic part.

What about the Far East in this distant and chaotic world?

Besides, journalists are now famous in the West with "high IQ and low reward". Buffett, who was famous in later generations, said that he wanted to be a reporter for a while when he was young, but the wealthy families behind him felt that this profession had this shortcoming and did not let him go.

Now he is just doing some paid news. Foreign reporters eat, drink, drink, and take a bunch of money to brag about him. What's wrong with Zhao Kuo? Anyway, there are already some of the foreigners.

"When you go, I will hand over the way to them the letter I gave to the consuls of the Three Kingdoms." Zhao Kuo turned around and took three "legged letters" from the table, and then said, "You can go out and call Zhu Qingzheng over."

Seeing the three of them leaving, Zhao Kuo collapsed on the chair and murmured: "The dice was thrown out, but I don't have time to wait for the result. I have to let Baitou immediately mobilize Foshan forces to prepare to siege Guangzhou. Success or failure depends on God's will. Oh, God, if you really have it, can you bless me again?"

At this moment, three huge steam warships were moored in the Shanghai port, and these three ships would determine the fate of the three countries.

【Author’s Note】:

Some netizens pointed out yesterday that there were no foreigners in Guangzhou. He was right.

The concept of ancient Guangzhou City is different from that of the present. The narrow sense of Guangzhou City must refer to the extent of the wall enclosed, while the broad sense of Guangzhou City may refer to the city wall and the surrounding radiation area.

Because my previous information included Luo Xiaoquan, it showed that Hong Xiuquan went to Guangzhou to find him, and his church in Guangzhou was burned, and the signs of the first Opium War were reflected in the foreigners' "Guangzhou Chronicle".

So I took it for granted that ten years after the First Opium War, some irrelevant foreigners would enter Guangzhou City.

But I was wrong, this is my bug.

The location of his church seems to be outside the Guangzhou city wall. So it is also Guangzhou, but not Guangzhou city.
Chapter completed!