Wang Kaiyun's negotiations were not going well. Britain and France were resentful of some of the Far East interests they lost last time. Bao Ling and Blombul's requirements were very strict. They demanded that all cities under the Taiping Army be opened, the current tariff rules were modified, the concession area was expanded, etc.

When Xiao Yungui saw the conditions proposed by Britain and France, he kicked over his table with a pale face, and a roaring roaring shout resounded throughout the vast study of King Xi. Not to mention that the West Palace did not gain control of the entire city under the rule of the Taiping Army, most of the territory of the Taiping Army was still under the rule of several princes in Tianjing. Even if Xiao Yungui was able to be the master of his family now, he would not dare to agree to such conditions.

However, among these conditions, Britain and France did not mention the legalization of opium. With the development of foreign trade in Suzhou Province and other places, bulk foreign cloth, steel, and arms transactions began to gradually replace the opium trade. In addition, the Taiping Army in Suzhou Province governed the use of opium and selling opium under the rule, the demand for opium in Suzhou Province plummeted, and the United Kingdom began to take action against the East India Company. Therefore, the British government did not support the legalization of opium trade. Some British merchants even believed that doing so would reduce the purchasing power of Suzhou Province for other goods.

Although there is no legalization of the opium trade, other conditions are still harsh. These conditions are only exchanged for Britain and France's agreement to maintain neutrality and not interfere with the military operations of the Taiping Army in South China. This is not the principle of equivalent exchange at all, so Xiao Yungui was very angry.

After waiting for him to vent his anger, Hong Yuner stepped forward and smiled faintly: "If you kick all the tables over and let Britain and France change the conditions, I don't mind you kicking a few more times."

Xiao Yungui slowly calmed down. He rubbed his temples by himself and said in a deep voice: "These foreigners bully people too much! Do you really think we are easy to bully?"

Hong Yuner then poured a basin of cold water: "It is indeed easy to bully. A feudal agricultural power with a literacy rate of less than one percent is indeed easy to bully for a country that has completed the industrial revolution."

Xiao Yungui was speechless, and Hong Yuner continued: "Maybe we should think about the problem in another direction."

Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "Change the direction?"

Hong Yuner nodded slightly: "Yes, change direction. Britain and France can use the Qing army to put pressure on us, and we can also use the Qing army to influence Britain and France's policies towards us."

Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment, and Hong Yuner's words made his eyes lit up: "What do you mean is to provoke the relationship between Britain, France and the Qing army. If they get into evil, Britain, France will change the strategy of suppressing us?"

Hong Yuner smiled so well: "Yes, do you still remember the cause of the Second Opium War, the Ma incident and the Yaro incident?"

Xiao Yungui nodded and said, "Remember, but history has been changed beyond recognition by the butterfly effect we have brought, and these two events may not necessarily happen."

Hong Yuner said slowly: "In fact, the fundamental cause of the Second Opium War is not these two events. The war is the final result of irreconcilable contradictions. Although Britain and France have begun to sell weapons to the Qing army, the conflict between them has not been resolved. The Qing court still despised and guarded against Britain and France, and Britain and France are not satisfied with the results of an Opium War. They want to continue to expand trade and colonize with China, so the two families have irreconcilable contradictions."

Xiao Yungui touched his chin and said with a wicked smile: "What do you mean is that the cooperation between the two companies is only temporary. As long as there is a slight spark, will the two companies turn against each other?"

Hong Yuner nodded and said, "Yes, the pressure the local governors of the Qing court was under was the same as ours. On the one hand, they had to deal with the unreasonable demands of Britain and France, and on the other hand, they had to ask for Britain and France." At this point, Hong Yuner paused and said coldly: "If we arranged for the dead soldiers of Bai Zetang to do several cases to blame the Qing court, would you say Britain and France turn their fingers against the Qing Dynasty?"

Xiao Yungui also thought of this method in his mind. He quickly weighed the pros and cons. Finally, he shook his head and said, "This is likely to provoke a war between Britain, France and the Qing Dynasty. I am worried that the British and France will disrupt the military power comparison in the entire Far East after sending an expeditionary force. In other words, Britain, France is not easier to deal with than the Qing Dynasty. It is likely to lead a wolf into the house. I don't want to see Beijing suffer the same disaster in history. What I want is a complete Beijing city, not a Beijing city that has been ravaged by foreigners."

Hong Yuner frowned and said, "There must be a war between Britain, France and the Qing Dynasty. This is inevitable. Do you really think that if we don't provoke it, we can avoid this war?"

Xiao Yungui shook his head and said, "I know war is inevitable. But I think it may be possible to change the outcome of the war. The domestic situation is too complicated now. We need time to integrate the Taiping Army first and then the Northern Expedition. At that time, whether we went to war with Britain and France or Britain and France and the Qing Dynasty, we all have the ability to change the outcome of the war. But now we cannot change the outcome of the war. So it is best not to provoke a war between Britain and France. Whether the British and French expeditions are coming to fight the Qing Dynasty or us, the results after the battle are unbearable."

Hong Yuner still couldn't understand: "What's the matter with us after customs clearance?"

Xiao Yungui sighed and said, "There are three reasons. First, if Britain and France go to war with the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty will be defeated. After the Qing Dynasty is defeated, it will turn to foreign masters. Then the foreigners and the Qing Dynasty will join forces to wipe out us. Second, if the Qing Dynasty is defeated, it will sell a lot of interests and even lose a lot of territory in the north. Russia will take advantage of the situation to rob. In the end, even if we win, the territory in the north will have to be recovered through a long war. Third, once Britain and France organize an expeditionary force to the Far East, there will be an additional robber in our inner courtyard with swords and guns, and they will have the power to intervene in our civil war at any time."

Hong Yuner was silent for a while and said, "Are you afraid of going to war with Britain and France?"

Xiao Yungui shook his head and said, "I am not afraid of going to war with Britain and France, but I am afraid of fighting an unprepared war."

Hong Yuner lowered her head and thought for a while and said, "I think we should give it a try. I remember that after the Ma Pussy incident and the Yaro incident in 1856, Britain and France started war against China. After two Dagukou battles, it took three or four years to send the expeditionary force. Maybe we have time to prepare."

Hong Yuner was right. From the incident of Ma and the Yaro incident, to the attack of the British and French coalition forces in 1860, it took three or four years. Three or four years to him, Xiao Yungui was indeed enough to destroy a few princes and integrate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, Xiao Yungui was very worried that the current historical process had deviated. At least in history, there was no such thing as the joint fleet led by Grant in Shanghai that did not leave. He could not be sure whether Britain and France were determined to treat the war.

Seeing that Xiao Yungui was a little difficult to make a decision, Hong Yuner said, "Why should we ask the left prime minister for his opinion?"

Xiao Yungui nodded and said, "Yes, if you are not determined in foreign affairs, you still have to ask the left prime minister, but you can't tell him about the Second Opium War in history."

Hong Yuner smiled and said, "That's natural, you think I'm stupid." Then Hong Yuner went to the telegram room to send a newspaper to Suzhou. With the telegram line between Suzhou and Shanghai, the connection between Suzhou and Shanghai is more convenient, so Xiao Yungui was able to stay in Shanghai for a long time.

Zuo Zongtang's reward came soon. After listening to Hong Yuner's suggestion, Zuo Zongtang gave a clear reply: "If a person has no long-term plan, he will have immediate worries. Your Highness is worried that the barbarians will start a war against our China. How can you know that the barbarians are not worried about failure after the war? Using the art of unity and unity to defeat the Qing Dynasty, foreign friends are necessary at present. If the battle between China and the United States cannot be avoided in the future, in the future, how can we know that we will lose? Yu Guan, the foreigners acted, although they were mostly threatened by ships, but they still had no preparations for a big war. I thought the strategy of the Western King's Niang was feasible!"

After reading Zuo Zongtang's reply, Xiao Yungui suddenly realized that he was not ready to go to war with Britain and France. Didn't Britain and France also not prepare for this? Otherwise, Britain and France would directly make excuses to start a war in the Temple Street and the Sakhalin Island incident in front of him. Why bother to compromise? The Crimean War has just ended, and Britain and France need time to digest the sequelae of the war.

Moreover, provoking the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France to get into evil, it is beneficial to the Taiping Army at present, and the worries in front of him have not been resolved yet. How can we take into account the long-term future?

Finally, Hong Yuner smiled very sinisterly and said, "Don't forget that our old classmates are there in the Qing Dynasty. Wouldn't you cause some trouble for him? He hit Changsha and his hands were stained with our brother's blood, so it should be a bit unhappy."

Xiao Yungui finally nodded and said, "Okay, let Bai Zetang start to act, but we must do it neatly and not let Britain, France or the Qing Dynasty find that we are doing it."

Hong Yuner smiled and said, "Where do you think it is better to start?"

Xiao Yungui said without thinking: "Of course it's still Guangzhou, there's a powder keg, and China and the United Kingdom and France are so angry about Ye Mingchen, the governor, and the British Consul in Guangzhou is the Baxiali who is famous for his bad habits."

The couple looked at each other and smiled, then decided to make up their plans, and the butterfly's wings began to flap actively again.

In the afternoon, the couple had lunch and were about to break up and work their own business, but Qian Jiang and Tong Qiangsheng came to ask for a meeting. Xiao Yungui and Hong Yuner immediately summoned the two in the study. The Intelligence Department and the two giants of Bai Zetang came to meet at the same time, which shows that this matter is extremely important. Since the Guangdong Rebel Army transferred to Fujian, Tong Qiangsheng returned to Shanghai and handed over the affairs of Guangdong to the people of Bai Zetang's Guangdong branch to take over. After returning to Shanghai, Tong Qiangsheng has been working with Qian Jiang to appease the internal affairs, and at the same time strengthened the surveillance and intelligence analysis of Tianjing.

After entering the room, they gave a quick gift. Qian Jiang's first sentence after getting up was: "Your Highness, from the analysis of various information sent back by Tianjing, the Eastern King wants to attack the North Palace and the Wing Palace in the near future!"
Chapter completed!