Chapter 336 We Did Not Declare War on France
Chapter 336 We Did Not Declare War on France
A month and a half later, Hailing, Prince Rui's Palace.
This small courtyard is too small for a prince, and now with three more children, it is even more crowded.
Wenxiu was very disappointed and gave birth to another daughter. Hu Liuniang seemed to have a daughter's constitution and gave birth to a second daughter. Only Maria happily gave birth to a boy.
It turned out that he already had four sons, Jiliang, Jiming, Jisi and Jizeng. Shao Quanzhong actually didn't care much about whether the sons were boys or girls.
The three children were brought together and Shao Quanzhong was asked to give them a name.
Shao Quanzhong still favored boys over girls, so he first named the mixed-race child Shao Jisen, but Maria gave him a nickname, Alfred. Since giving birth to a son was a great achievement, Shao Quanzhong let her call him whatever she wanted.
Wenxiu's daughter was named Shao Jifang, and Liuniang's daughter was named Shao Jiqing.
The two who gave birth to daughters were not happy, especially Liu Niang who did not give birth to a son. She was extremely depressed. Shao Quanzhong kindly comforted her, "As long as the surname is Shao, I will be happy."
The family here was having a great time, but Isabel, who was even more unhappy, came to report.
She has been home for a year, but there has been no improvement. The old man and the old lady are very suspicious about her health and have been urging her to see Dr. Fei.
"Report, the French Consul in Shanghai, Blainey, has lodged a strong protest. His term of office was about to end and he was about to return home. He has been waiting for you to apologize for a month and a half, but you didn't go, and he also got the news that the song and dance troupe ran to Beijing to perform. Shao, how do you think we should respond?"
Shao Quanzhong curled his lips, "Doesn't France always say that our Qing Dynasty is a backward and ignorant country? Of course it is inefficient. They have protested three or four times. Have they sent warships and troops?"
"No, according to the latest intelligence, the French Far East Fleet is staying on the Shanghai beach."
"That's it. Napoleon III and the Prussians are now facing off with a million-strong army. Who knows when the fight will break out. How can the French have the energy to come to the Far East to cause trouble for me? They are just bluffing."
"But, the Grand Council has sent a fifth letter to the court, asking you to quickly resolve the misunderstanding with the French. Look—"
"Well, tell the French that I'm leaving for Shanghai right away and will arrive within a month."
Ahem, it takes Shao Quanzhong a month to walk from Hailing to Shanghai, which is the speed of hiking and sightseeing.
Shao Quanzhong really left as he said and took a boat to Zhenjiang that day.
"Report, a call from Cadiz, the Minotaur-class 10,000-ton steam-armored sailing battleship Dingzhen II has been completed and has been temporarily received by Liu Buchan, the commander of the Spanish Royal Fleet stationed in Spain, in Cadiz, where it is currently undergoing sea trials."
"Report, call from London. Under the promotion of Irish MP Isaac Butt, the British Parliament passed the Irish Land Act, which stipulates that if tenants improve the land, the landlord must pay when the land is taken back. At the same time, tenants are allowed to take out loans to purchase land."
Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, "It's just a drop in the bucket. Which tenant can afford to buy land with a loan?"
Shao Quanzhong was not idle in Zhenjiang. Grain boats kept arriving. Half a month later, all the new Anhui troops arrived in Zhenjiang. A month later, the heavy artillery brigade of the Huai Army of the Jiangning Provincial Government boarded the transport ship of the Nanyang Navy.
Shao Quanzhong left the forty thousand-ton transport ships ordered from Britain in Spain. The Zhenjiang Shipyard has not been idle in recent years and has built another eighty transport ships.
The river was filled with sails. Shao Quanzhong used the remaining Wang Fu-class battleship Zhendong of the Nanyang Fleet as his flagship, and brought four Johnson-class cruisers, five 1,350-ton ironclad ships, and eighty escort transport ships to Shanghai.
…………May 1870, the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign, July 7, 19 in the Western calendar, Tianjin, prefectural government office.
Zeng Guofan, the Qing Dynasty's Grand Tutor who was in charge of handling the Tianjin Incident, was in a heavy mood. With today's handling results, Zeng will be infamous in history.
But are the French so easy to deal with? What about Shao Quanzhong? After more than two months of procrastination, didn't he go to Shanghai to apologize to the foreigners?
The Portuguese gave up Macau, the United States gave up consular jurisdiction and concessions, but did the British and French follow suit? They were the world's top powers, but our Qing Dynasty could not even begin to compare with them.
Ji Ze, whose horizons were broadened during his time as an ambassador in the United States, sent a telegram to himself saying that France's current industrial capacity was far from what the Qing Dynasty could catch up with. According to optimistic estimates, it would take another 20 years for the Qing Dynasty's total industrial output to catch up with France, let alone catch up with Britain.
Ten years of accumulation, ten years of training, three thousand Yue soldiers can conquer Wu, and the task of defeating the French and the barbarians to avenge my humiliation will be handed over to the young people of Shao Quanzhong and Ji Ze. My generation, facing Britain and France, will inevitably lose sovereignty and humiliate the country.
Opposite him was the French ambassador to the Qing Dynasty, Luo Shuya, who was accompanied by foreigners and reporters from various countries, waiting for him to admit defeat.
Zeng Guofan took difficult steps, his hands trembling, and walked towards reporters from various countries holding a decision signed and sealed by himself.
The above decision was: In the Tianjin Church Incident conflict between the Qing Dynasty and France, the French Consul in Tianjin, Feng Daye, and his men were not guilty of shooting and killing the entourage of Tianjin Magistrate Liu Jie.
18 angry people who beat the murderer Feng Daye to death were executed, 25 people were exiled, Tianjin prefect Zhang Guangzao and county magistrate Liu Jie were dismissed from their posts and exiled to Heilongjiang, and they were required to pay 46 taels of silver as compensation to the French and send an embassy to France to apologize.
Zeng Guofan walked slowly with turbid tears in his eyes, Luo Shuya was arrogant, and reporters from all over the world had their cameras ready.
Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried horse hooves outside the door, and the door was pushed open with a bang. Dozens of new soldiers ran into the prefectural government office, led by the Fengtai Camp Commander Dong Jun.
Dong Jun ran to Zeng Guofan and knelt down, "Master Taifu, I'm kneeling on behalf of Shao Quanzhong. He asked me to convey his message that you have been wronged."
Dong Jun stood up, snatched the letter of confession from Zeng Guofan's hand, tore it into pieces, threw it on the ground, and walked to the front.
"By order of Prince Rui and General Shao, Minister of Foreign Affairs, our Qing Dynasty declares that Feng Daye was executed on the spot by the angry masses for murder in the Tianjin Incident. He deserves the punishment."
"All patriotic people were released on the spot. Tianjin prefect Zhang Guangzao and county magistrate Liu Jie were not afraid of power and stood up for the people. Prince Rui personally submitted a memorial to commend them."
"From now on, the French diplomats stationed in Beijing will be expelled, the relationship between the two sides will be downgraded to consular level, and the consular jurisdiction of French citizens in Qing Dynasty will be abolished."
"Seize and confiscate all French assets in China and take back the French Concession. Seize all French merchant ships and assets in Hawaii, Sulu, Lan Fang, Annan, and Chenla as preliminary compensation to China."
Luo Shuya took a long time to react, "Have you declared war on France?"
Dong Jun faced the cameras of reporters from various countries and said, "No, we have not declared war. Since you invaded the six provinces of Annan, our vassal state, you have been waging war against our country without declaring war."
"You, you are responsible for your decision today. You will regret it--"
"Blast out!"
(End of this chapter)