Midile and others left, and a person came out of the inner hall. It was Zuo Zongtang, the first counselor in the West Hall. He saw him angry and said hatefully: "These barbarians are too bullying people! I only sent a clerk to spread the message, but I really don't take us seriously."

Xiao Yungui uttered, but in fact he didn't care much about the British's actions. After all, the Taiping Army now only occupied a dozen cities of rebels. For Britain, which claimed to be the Empire of Sun Never Setting, it was already considered that they could send a full-power minister to contact the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. But Lao Zuo seemed to think that face was more important, and Xiao Yungui was also puzzled why the Chinese people just wanted face, and sometimes they would rather give up very practical interests for the sake of face.

Xiao Yungui had no choice but to smile and said, "These British people do not understand etiquette, Mr. Zuo doesn't have to be angry." Then he looked back at the sitting Queen Mother of the West, and said with a stern face: "Why didn't you say a word just now?"

Hong Yuner smiled and asked back, "What do you want me to say? We will not accept this treaty directly? So what if you don't accept it? Are we the final say in Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Guangzhou?"

Xiao Yungui said a little discouragedly: "Then you can't express nothing, right?"

Zuo Zongtang held back his anger and took the note from Wang Kaiyun and looked carefully and said, "The purpose of the trip to the West King is very simple. It is to tell us three things: one is that they will not help each other, two is that we hope that we will continue to abide by the Treaty of Jiangning, and three is that we hope that we will not attack Shanghai."

Xiao Yungui nodded and said, "We have already speculated these conditions when we discussed them in advance. They will definitely put forward these conditions. This is how these arrogant British people."

Zuo Zongtang frowned and said, "The first one is beneficial to us, but the second one is a bit unacceptable. The Qing court's defeat and the contract signed must be counted on us. What is the reason? The third one is even more bullying. Can't we fight in Shanghai in the future?"

Xiao Yungui touched his chin and said, "Mr. Zuo, don't be anxious first. Dealing with these barbarians requires patience. We now have to discuss how to trick their ministers from the ship and sit down with us to discuss. Our West Palace must take the right to negotiate with the barbarians in order to help us use troops against Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If the Heavenly King and the East King and the others contacted the barbarians, I think that would mess up the matter. As long as there is room for negotiation with the barbarians, I believe our best debater will have a solution." At this point, he looked at Hong Yuner with slightly frowning eyebrows and smiled badly with bad intentions.

Zuo Zongtang asked strangely: "Best Debate?"

Xiao Yungui laughed dryly, Hong Yuner gave him a look in shame and annoyedness, and then said to Zuo Zongtang: "Mr. Zuo doesn't have to pay attention to him, he is talking nonsense."

Zuo Zongtang understood that it was the young couple who were acting like a flowery couple. As they got closer to their contact, Zuo Zongtang found that the Huobao couple was very strange. Basically, neither of them lived together. Most of the Western Kings would stay in the palace, while the Western King Niang liked to stay in the women's camp. Perhaps during the war, the two had no time to take care of their children's relationship. This was also the place where Zuo Zongtang admired the Xiwang couple, and felt that it was worth abandoning his wife and having them together. But sometimes when he saw this Huobao couple playing Huobao couple, Zuo Zongtang would often miss his wife.

Seeing Zuo Zongtang's expressions strange, Hong Yuner knew that he missed his wife and children again, and then changed the topic: "The King of the West is right. The British minister was willing to come to Nanjing on his own initiative, which means that they wanted to understand us and see if they could gain benefits from us. And from their notes, it seems that there is room for negotiation. However, for a long time, we have weak countries and no diplomacy, so we should also see our strength clearly. So far, we have not overthrew the Qing Dynasty. The land we occupied is still very small, and we cannot challenge the great powers such as Britain and France. We should still deal with them patiently at the moment."

Xiao Yungui smiled and said with a treacherous smile: "Yes, the British want the reception etiquette at the ministerial level. I can give it to them. Anyway, the Kingdom of Heaven has not received foreign envoys yet. We have the final say on what etiquette should be used. As long as it is not too contemptuous, the British should not care. I want him to suffer a loss. We give the etiquette to receive the ministerial etiquette between other countries. In that case, the British admits in disguise that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is China's legal government. The rest is the matter of us and them on the negotiating table. I don't believe that I can't fool him."

Zuo Zongtang seemed to not understand what the relationship between the British Chengshe and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was, and asked strangely: "What the relationship between the foreign little boys who do not recognize our Heavenly Kingdom?"

Hong Yuner explained: "Mr. Zuo, now there are many powerful countries in the world. The relationship between countries is not as simple as we thought before. Whether the British recognize our regime or not has a lot to do with us. However, if those barbarians recognize our regime and provide what we need, they will also have some requirements, most of which are demands about interests. The best situation is that if both sides can take their own needs, it is the best way to do this. This method is called a win-win."

Zuo Zongtang figured out Hong Yuner's words. Hong Yuner explained that there were too many things ahead of time. Lao Zuo hadn't figured it out for a while. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Western King, we cannot just give in to the barbarians..."

Xiao Yungui raised his hand to interrupt Zuo Zongtang, and said with a smile: "We also have our interests. Don't worry, Mr. Zuo, the barbarians will not get much advantage from us. Do you think I am a person who will be taken advantage of by others?"

When Zuo Zongtang saw him laughing treacherously, he knew that the Western King was full of bad water, so he must have some tricks to embarrass the barbarians. He didn't say anything at the moment, but he just felt that the Western King and his wife even understood how to deal with the barbarians. It was a blessing for heaven.

Soon Midile received the answer from the King of the West. The King of the West would meet at the King of the West tomorrow morning. The King of the West would send his guards to escort the British minister himself, and at the same time accurately agreed to give the British minister a reception ceremony at the level of the king of heaven. He also told Midile that he could fully negotiate with Lord Wenhan on behalf of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Xiao Yungui did not want the king of heaven and the king of the East to come after the arrival of the king. The king of heaven was arrogant and would definitely mess up the matter, so he would come to discuss with the British. Xiao Yungui made up his mind to take action first and then report, and then make a batch of jewelry and jades to fake tributes sent by the British. He did not believe that he could not fool the king of heaven and the king of the East. Xiao Yungui believed that as long as there were tributes, the arrogant king of heaven would agree to give the British the power to do business. He would not even report the remaining details and clauses.

Midile was very happy. Although the Western King did not reply to the three important requests they made, it also explained the reason. The Western King hoped to sit down with the minister to discuss, rather than pass on messages through people. Midile admired this method. He had dealt too much with Qing officials. Those officials seemed to be afraid of dealing with foreigners, and they would be exempted if they could be avoided. Some people even pretended not to be sick. However, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom really wanted to meet the British minister, and there was no obstacle to kneeling and worshiping. It can be seen that the Western King seemed to understand some Western etiquette, which also made Midile feel that this trip was worthwhile.

Later, the King of West arranged a sumptuous banquet to entertain Midile and the soldiers who accompanied them. Midile noticed that they also prayed before cooking, which made Midile and others feel like they were in their own world. During the meal, Midile and the six soldiers received fine wine, but neither the King of West nor the Queen of West did not drink alcohol. They only drank tea. Midile asked, and the King of West smiled and said that the doctrine stipulated that drinking was not allowed. This action made Midile feel that they were more like Puritans.

In the afternoon, Midile returned to the "Halmis" and reported the situation in detail to Lord Wenhan.

Lord Wenhan said with some confusion: "Is that Western King Xiao Chaogui? What else do he want to discuss with us?"

Midile nodded and said, "Yes, the Western King I met was Xiao Chaogui, the number three figure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. As far as I know, their Heavenly King and Eastern King are still on their way to Nanjing."

Lord Wenhan frowned and said, "Can what he said represent the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Can it represent their king?"

Midile said sincerely: "Your Majesty, the Western King has made it clear that he can represent the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and that he is different from the Eastern people I have ever contacted. He is a devout Puritan. I think his words are trustworthy. We can only deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom through him."

Lord Wenhan pondered for a moment and said, "Well, since that's the case, then we will go ashore to meet the rebel leader. I hope we will gain this time and will not be pushed around like we did when dealing with Qing officials."

The next morning, Wenhan, Midile, Colonel He and his party brought fifty British soldiers ashore and, under the escort of one hundred Western King's personal guards, boarded the prepared official sedan chair. At the gate of the Western King's Mansion, several officials from the Western King's Mansion received them, and even set off salutes. All the reception etiquette made Wenhan feel very satisfied.

When they arrived at the lobby of the Western King's Mansion, Wen Han met the Western King. Like Midile and others, he just took off his hat and bowed. The Western King came forward enthusiastically to shake hands with him and greet them to sit down. Both sides introduced each other's personnel involved in the negotiations. In addition to Lord Wenhan, Midile and Colonel He Bo, there were two civil servants. In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, there were Xiao Yungui, Hong Yuner, Zuo Zongtang, Wang Kaiyun and several official registrars.

Wenhan indeed felt the uniqueness of the Western King. After taking the seat, neither side talked nonsense and started the negotiations. Wenhan reiterated three conditions on behalf of the British Empire and repeatedly emphasized that the interests of the British Empire must be guaranteed.

Wenhan said pure English, Midile meticulously translated him into Chinese. Xiao Yungui smiled and said patiently after listening: "Are you satisfied with the reception etiquette we arranged?"

Lord Wenhan did not doubt that he was, and nodded, "I am very satisfied, your army is very sincere in negotiations."

Xiao Yungui smiled and said, "Yes, Lord Wenhan is the first foreign minister to visit since the founding of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Of course, we handled it according to the etiquette of receiving ministers between countries. I hope that after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Britain and our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we can get along with each other for a long time."

Lord Wenhan was shocked when he heard this and hurriedly said, "Your Highness the Western King, we and your army are still only in the stage of understanding each other, and do not want to establish diplomatic relations with your army."

Xiao Yungui laughed and said, "Lord Wenhan, we do it according to the etiquette of the minister. As a diplomat, you will not be confused about the difference."

Before Wenhan could speak, Hong Yuner continued to smile and said, "Lord Wenhan, we have heard all the three requests you just made. We welcome Britain's neutrality. As for the second article, we require us to inherit the Treaty of Jiangning signed by the Qing Dynasty, what you mean is that Britain recognizes our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as the legal government of China and inherits some of the debts and obligations left by the Qing Dynasty. Can I understand this way? Since Britain has recognized the legal status of our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in China, we can sit down and discuss other cooperation matters."

Wen Han was stunned. He didn't expect that the Western King and his wife were so cunning and misinterpreted their meaning. Relying on the other party's lack of a translation, he couldn't help but blurt out his English slander, "Damn the yellow-skinned monkey, so cunning."

The conversation between the two sides has always been translated by Midile. Wenhan's uneducated words, Midile naturally would not translate this sentence. He had to pretend not to hear it. But he didn't expect that after hearing this, the beautiful Lady of the King of the West was full of anger and her pretty face turned red. He stood up and said loudly in pure English: "Lord Wenhan, is this the tone of your British gentlemen? If you think we are not worthy of your respect, please leave immediately. Even if the war finally starts, we will prove with blood that our skin color is not the object of your pleasing! In addition to losing all the face of the British diplomats, you also made you Britain lose the so-called interests! You speak such harsh words in such a formal diplomatic occasion, I believe that your British Queen will be shamed for this!"
Chapter completed!