The self-tone bell in the Ziguang Pavilion has already pointed to the twelve o'clock and started to sing. The history of the self-tone bell in the Forbidden City can be traced back to the era of Matteo Ricci. This old man was regarded as the ancestor by Chinese watchmakers in later generations. But at this moment, Baxiali, who was irritable in the Ziguang Pavilion hall, did not have such good mood to commemorate this ancestor. He walked around irritably and restlessly, and had been waiting for several hours, he no longer had patience.

After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom declared war on Britain and France yesterday, Baxiali volunteered to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty. After a thrilling journey, Baxiali came to the capital of the Qing Empire that he had always dreamed of. Of course, he was much later than Prince Gong's return to Beijing, so he and Gong Cheng and other entourages sat on a hanging basket and boarded the walls of Beijing, and then entered Beijing.

Baxiali was frustrated by this. As a diplomatic envoy, he should not be treated like this. However, after Gong Cheng was relieved, he cheered up slightly. Gong Cheng told him that the capital of the Qing Dynasty is now threatened by the Taiping Army and the coalition forces, so he naturally did not dare to open the city gate in the dark. Since ancient times, envoys entered and left the surrounding cities in wartime, so Baxiali let it go.

The person who received them was an official from the Ministry of Rites, with the title of Assistant Minister. He was very polite and lived in a good place. However, Baxiali failed to meet the higher-level Qing officials overnight. Prince Gong asked the Assistant Minister of Rites to bring them to wait for the audience at Ziguang Pavilion tomorrow morning.

According to the Qing Dynasty system, Emperor Xinzheng gave foreign vassals and Mongolian princes and princes to feast each year. In the past, he was mostly in Fengze Garden in the South China Sea. After the 26th year of Qianlong, he moved to Ziguang Pavilion until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Ziguang Pavilion was always the place where the Qing emperors met with foreign envoys. Even in the later generations, the founding of New China was still the same.

But Baxiali's visit was not smooth. He waited for the whole morning in Ziguang Pavilion. He still couldn't wait for the reception of the Qing emperor and the Queen Mother of True Power. He didn't know that. During his first night and the first morning in Beijing, the coalition forces were attacked by the Taiping Army.

Just when Baxiali couldn't help asking Gong Cheng to ask when the eunuch outside the hall could meet, an eunuch came in and said loudly: "Come to the English envoy Baxiali, Gong Cheng, and Qianqing Palace to meet!"

After listening to the translation, Bashali couldn't wait to follow the eunuch. He didn't have time to appreciate the royal palace and garden scenery along the way. He just wanted to see the person he should meet soon.

When he arrived at the eastern warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace, he saw that more than ten Qing ministers were already full of them, and a screen was blocked by him. There could be vaguely seen someone behind the screen. Baxiali stepped forward and took off his hat and bowed, and gave him blessings to the Qing emperor and the empress dowager according to the etiquette. But a Qing minister next to him with a bearded face looked glaring and shouted loudly: "I am the envoy of the small country, why don't you kneel down to salute when you see me, the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty?!"

After listening to Gong Cheng's translation, Bashali replied: "We in the British Empire do not have the etiquette of kneeling and worshipping, and even when we see our own queen, there is no need to kneel down."

After hearing the translation, the minister was even more furious. He rolled up his sleeves and seemed to be about to come up and beat Bashali, which scared Bashali. Fortunately, Prince Gong stopped him in time and said, "Monster, don't be reckless!"

After hearing the name of the minister, Gong Cheng whispered to Baxiali, and Baxiali realized it. It turned out that this Qing minister who seemed to have a deep hatred with him was Prince Senggelinqin, who had been fighting with the coalition forces for a long time in the Jintang area.

Although Senggelinqin wanted to beat up Baxiali, the foreigner, she thought she was right in front of the imperial court, so she endured this tone. After Prince Gong stopped Senggelinqin, he bowed to the person behind the screen and said, "Empress Dowager, as far as I know, the British did not have the ceremony of kneeling down, and during the Qianlong period, the British envoy Malgni came to see him. Finally, he barely performed the etiquette of kneeling down on one knee and was also received by Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, I begged the Empress Dowager to exempt them from kneeling down."

A Qing minister immediately stood up and said, "Your words are wrong. Since ancient times, China has been a country where all nations come to pay tribute, and there are their own etiquette and rules..." Regarding the etiquette of meeting, the Qing ministers in the warm cabinet began a lengthy dispute since then, which made Baxiali widen his eyes. Does this etiquette issue also take so long to argue?

The ministers in the hall were divided into two factions, one was headed by Prince Gong and the other was headed by Senggelinqin. The two sides were quarreled. At this moment, an eunuch hurried to report: "Empress Dowager, Lord Li Hongzhang has an urgent military report." So the room suddenly became quiet.

Li Hongzhang quickly walked into the Dongguan Pavilion, hurriedly saluted and said loudly: "Empress Dowager, Changmao and foreigners have fought in Tongzhou, and the momentum is quite huge!" As soon as this statement came out, the ministers in the room immediately started to talk.

After hearing Gong Cheng's translation, Baxiali was shocked. He immediately said to Gong Cheng: "Tell them not to bother with this etiquette issue. I can bow to the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty on one knee. We must start negotiations immediately!"

After Gong Cheng said the meaning of Baxiali, the person behind the screen spoke for the first time: "Since that's the case, let's follow the old rules of Emperor Qianlong. So are you, letting everyone come from all over the world to laugh at it." Seeing that the Empress Dowager said this, the ministers no longer argued.

When Baxiali held back his anger and saluted on one knee. After Li Lianying said he was waived by the side, Baxiali immediately stood up and said, "His Royal Highness, the rebels of your country have now been attacked by your capital. Our British and French coalition forces can join forces with you Qing to fight the rebels..."

After Bashali mentioned the conditions of the British and French coalition forces, the person behind the screen nodded softly: "Sixth Master, please tell us about our conditions too."

At that moment, Prince Gong coughed and said a little embarrassedly that the conditions for the discussion were discussed in advance were handed over to Mianyu, Ronglu, Hengfu and other traitors. The second was to show the world that the so-called uprising of the foreigners was wrong. The foreigners still supported the Qing court as the legal government of China. The third was to return the soldiers who had been captured before. The fourth was to return the current occupied Jintang and other places, and let the court send officials to re-govern these places. The foreign soldiers could only temporarily station in these places. The fifth was to promise to compensate us for five million silver to compensate us for military expenses, to compensate the dead and injured soldiers, and to appease the people who were poisoned by the war in the Jintang area.

After hearing this condition, Bashali was very angry and said loudly: "It is impossible. The British Empire was not defeated, and it is impossible to compensate for any expenses!"

Before Gong Cheng could translate the English, the person behind the screen had already said loudly in English: "Then there is no need to continue talking. These five conditions are the basis for us to restart negotiation and cooperation, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the military and civilians in the world!"

The ministers and Bashali in the house were stunned. The empress dowager could speak English? Then before Bashali could come back, the empress dowager shouted loudly in Chinese: "Take the British envoy down, and today's negotiations end here. In the future, Britain and France do not agree to this condition, so there is no need to negotiate again!"

Amid Bashali's loud protest, he and Gong Cheng were taken out by several Qing Palace guards who were like wolves and tigers. Prince Gong wanted to stop him but could not stop him. After Bashali was taken down, Prince Gong asked angrily: "Empress Dowager, is this a bit too arbitrary? The British envoy spoke out. We can continue to talk, and we can't speak so much."

The person behind the screen sneered: "Britain and France are both jackals and wolves. Now they are attacked by Changmao very urgently, so they want to negotiate so urgently. I just took this opportunity to make them surrender and make our Qing Dynasty the greatest benefit. What's wrong with that?"

When Senggelinqin saw Baxiali being held out, she felt very happy and said, "That's true for these foreigners to know how powerful we are!" Prince Gong said, "You are confused! If there is no restraint from foreigners, Changmao will be at the city every night, and the defense lines between the two Huaihe Rivers will not be able to defend, and the Qing Dynasty will not be far from destroying the country!"

The person behind the screen seemed to be very unhappy and slapped the teacup on the table. Li Hongzhang listened on the side and said coldly: "Prince Gong, why did you say such a discouraged word? He also cursed me that the Qing Dynasty was destroyed? Is this another thing a prince should say?"

Prince Gong's face changed slightly. What he said anxiously for a moment was indeed a bit rebellious. Just as he was about to speak up for a few words, the person behind the screen also spoke coldly: "It's extremely uncontradictory! Prince Gong, has the heavy state affairs recently made you confused? You should go home first to reflect on it. Don't get involved in state affairs recently!"

When this statement came out, the King Gong Party inside the house was shocked. It was rare to see the Queen Mother get so angry. However, Gui Liang and others still bit the bullet and persuade him, but the Queen Mother still did not allow it and ordered the officials of the clan official to take Prince Gong home to take care of him.

When Prince Gong walked out of Qianqing Palace with a sneer, he murmured to himself: "It's over, it's over, the Qing Dynasty is dead in the hands of this woman..."

After Prince Gong was taken down, Li Hongzhang stepped forward and asked, "Empress Dowager, now Changmao is going to war with foreigners, how should we act? Changmao and foreigners are going to war, and the three camps of Changmao outside the capital must be empty. Should we send troops to capture these three camps first?"

The person behind the screen said lightly: "When two tigers fight, there will be one injury, or it may be a snipe and clam fight. The fisherman is profitable, why are you anxious? Now it's the first day of the war, so more people will be sent to inquire about the news. We will wait until both sides are exhausted and attack the three camps! Na Ying sent Bashali to leave the side, but don't let him leave the capital, and then make a decision after the situation is clearer."

The ministers in the room took the order together, and then they all retreated. The man behind the screen sighed and said to himself: "I hope you can defeat the foreigners as soon as possible. I cannot delay it for too long. When the situation is clear, I cannot stop those people. They will definitely ask to capture your three camps first and lift the siege of the capital..." (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, the novel is better and faster!

...
Chapter completed!