Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 129 Zhu Jingtang?
After Zhu Jing'an heard these conditions, he almost laughed out of anger.

Why, do these foreigners think his surname is Aixinjueluo or Yehenala?

If Zhu Jing'an really agreed to all these conditions of the foreigners, then he would probably be scolded as Zhu Jingtang by future generations!

Unless the situation faced by the Ming Dynasty has reached the point where the war situation will collapse if foreign aid is not introduced.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Zhu Jing'an to agree to such excessive demands from foreigners!
Gritting his teeth, Zhu Jing'an spoke.

"The foreigners' demands are too excessive, and I cannot fully agree to them."

"But as long as they can provide certain assistance to Ming Dynasty, the governor can agree to a few conditions that are not excessive at his discretion."

"I'd better help Huang Shilang to lead the team to negotiate with the foreigners!"

When Huang Shilang heard this, he bowed and bowed.

"I wonder what requests the Grand Governor is willing to agree to to those foreigners? I would like the Grand Governor to make it clear."

"In this case, it will be easier for me to negotiate with those foreigners."

Zhu Jing'an frowned and thought for a while, then spoke.

"The first step is to allow foreigners to come to Ming Dynasty to trade, settle, preach, and travel under conditions that I can agree to."

"Then, if the foreigners want to set up an embassy in Guangzhou, the governor can agree to it, but they are not allowed to station troops in Guangzhou."

"Third, although I cannot agree to the conditions required by various countries for ceding land and leasing concessions, I am willing to take a step back and establish a free city in the Xin'an area of ​​Hong Kong to allow merchants from all countries to enter and exit trade freely."

"In the free city, dual-axis management is implemented. Foreigners are managed by representatives sent by foreigners in accordance with Western laws, while Chinese people are managed by the Ming government."

"No country is allowed to station troops in the Free City, and the sovereignty of the Free City belongs to the Ming Dynasty."

"As for customs duties, it can be negotiated and agreed upon by Ming Dynasty and all parties."

Zhu Jing'an intended to turn Guangzhou into Ming Dynasty's window to the world.

But this window must be under the control of Ming Dynasty, and cannot be decided by foreigners.

The foreign exchanges he wanted were equal and fair exchanges and trade with foreigners, rather than being humiliated and forced to open the country.

Of course, in order to get some support from foreigners, Zhu Jing'an now tolerated the burden and made substantial concessions.

Allowing foreigners to enter the country freely and establish embassies is the right thing to do.

This will become a common international practice in later generations!

It’s nothing!
But the establishment of free cities and customs tariff negotiations are real concessions.

Needless to say, the establishment of the free city was actually Zhu Jing'an's disguised agreement to cede the concession to foreigners.

It’s just that the concession cannot be in Guangzhou, but must be along the coast.

Moreover, foreigners could not station troops in the concession, and the sovereignty of the concession still belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

The dual-axis management of the free city is actually an infringement of the judicial sovereignty and territorial sovereignty of the Ming Dynasty.

The customs tariff agreement is a naked infringement of Ming Dynasty’s customs sovereignty.

Zhu Jing'an really made concessions in order to get help from foreigners in the war against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty!

Of course, in Zhu Jing'an's view, these so-called concessions are just expedient measures to endure the humiliation!
In the future, when Ming Dynasty has established a firm foothold, completed the great cause of restoring Ming Dynasty, and successfully integrated China's resources, it will definitely make those foreigners double the benefits they took advantage of.

There is no doubt about this!
Huang Quan heard this and responded with clasped fists.

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, I will go to discuss with the foreigners later!"

Zhu Jing'an nodded in agreement.

……

After Huang Quan resigned, Zhu Jing'an ordered to summon the Ming army generals to come to his study for discussion.

The accompanying Ming army generals, He Jin, Zeng Yao, Zhong Haishan, Tian Wenchang, Zhang He, Fang Yuan and others came to Zhu Jing'an's study as soon as possible after receiving the order.

"I will finally meet the Governor!"

All the generals bowed down together.

Zhu Jing'an sat behind the desk and nodded slightly.

"Plain body, no courtesy!"

"Sit everyone!"

After finishing speaking, he said to his followers.

"Have some tea!"

The attendant nodded and accepted the order, and then served tea to the generals of the Ming army.

Zhu Jing'an looked around and then spoke.

"I have called you here today because I have an important matter to discuss with you."

"The negotiations between Huang Shilang and the foreigners are not going well. There is a high probability that the two parties will not be able to reach an agreement on the terms, and the talks may collapse."

"When the time comes, foreigners may invade our coastal areas along the Ming Dynasty. The military must be prepared to welcome foreign attacks at any time."

Although Huang Quan was sent to negotiate with the foreigners again.

But Zhu Jing'an actually doesn't have much hope for negotiations.

Because foreigners' greed is endless and they don't understand the necessity of compromise and leaving room.

Zhu Jing'an's concession would only make them think that Ming Dynasty was weak and could be bullied.

In order to prevent the foreigners from jumping over the wall after the failure of negotiations, they invaded the coast of Ming Dynasty and used military means to force Ming Dynasty to agree to their demands.

Zhu Jing'an wanted to prepare the Ming army for war in advance.

It would be best if the two parties negotiate and reach an agreement.

If the talks break down, even if the foreigners don't take the initiative to invade, Zhu Jing'an will be ready to send troops to regain Macau.

Originally, Zhu Jing'an was not that obsessed with Macau.

Before completing the great cause of expelling the Tartars and restoring China, he did not want to create extraneous problems and create enemies out of thin air for himself.

However, there is no choice, those foreigners are really shameless!
In this case, Zhu Jing'an was not prepared to endure it.

When the talks break down at the negotiation table, the truth will be revealed on the battlefield!

How should I put it? Due to cultural differences, there is a big difference in thinking between Westerners and Chinese.

Different from the Chinese people who like to compromise and the golden mean, in Western thinking, there is no sense of compromise and concession at all.

In their eyes, the struggle is life and death.

In their view, if you choose to compromise, it means that you are giving in and they will not make corresponding concessions.

On the contrary, they will feel that you are easy to bully, and they will only choose to bully you and slaughter you even more.

Grab as much profit as possible!

And will not choose to leave any room for you!
The most typical example is Germany after World War I...

Britain, France and other countries really pushed Germany to death at the Paris Peace Conference.

Only when you beat them to pain and scare them will they correct their attitude and talk to you at the negotiation table.

This is the bad nature that exists in the bones of Western nations.

Well, in the words of some colonists, it can also be called "adventurous spirit."

Therefore, Zhu Jing'an no longer has much hope for negotiations.

He knew that his compromises and concessions would most likely be regarded as guilty and weak by those foreigners.

The probability that foreigners will agree to their concessions is far less than the probability that they will intensify their demands and make more extreme demands.

For this reason, Zhu Jing'an has already prepared for the worst!

Since those foreigners don't know how to speak well at the negotiation table, let the cannons of both sides do the talking.Zhu Jing'an looked at Zhang He and asked.

"How is our naval force reorganized? Are we sure we can fight against the foreigners?"

Zhang He has now been promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty Naval Battalion, responsible for overall planning of the development and expansion of the Ming Dynasty's navy.

Zhang He heard this and spoke.

"Back to the Governor, after our army captured Guangzhou, we began to recruit the soldiers and horses of the Qing Dynasty's Guangdong Navy Town, and reorganized them, eliminating the old and weak, and replenishing military pay."

"There are now more than [-] large and small warships and more than [-] naval personnel."

"After receiving the land grant and silver reward from the imperial court, the morale of our navy was high."

"If the foreigners dare to invade, my brothers will definitely give them a head-on blow, so that the foreigners can't bear the consequences!"

The quality of the Guangdong Navy of the Qing Dynasty was quite good. It was deployed in a coastal defense town like Guangdong, and the quantity and quality of its warships were guaranteed to a certain extent.

In addition, he often fights against foreign bandits on the sea. He has rich combat experience and his combat effectiveness is guaranteed.

However, when facing the Ming army, the Qing army's Guangdong Navy chose to surrender.

The reason for this is also very simple.

Because Ming Dynasty controlled Guangzhou.

After taking control of Guangzhou, using the vanguard battalion as a guide, they quickly took control of the entire Guangzhou Prefecture.

The Guangdong Navy is based in Guangzhou, and the families and properties of its officers, soldiers and generals are naturally also in Guangzhou.

After the Ming Dynasty took control of Guangzhou, the family members of the Guangdong Navy fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty...

Then, after receiving Zhu Jing'an's guarantee that he would promote and appoint the original generals of the Guangdong Navy, the Guangdong Navy returned to the Ming Dynasty as a matter of course.

Their family members have already fallen into the hands of Ming Dynasty. How many people in the Guangdong Navy still dare to fight against Ming Dynasty?

Why, you even gave up your parents, wife and children for the sake of the imperial court?

Although some Qing generals wanted to resist stubbornly, they were unable to cause any trouble in the end because they had no fighting spirit.

The surrender of the Guangdong Navy was one of the reasons why Zhu Jing'an had the confidence to choose to fall out with the foreigners.

This isn't the time of the Duck War yet.

The strength of the foreigners in the East is just that. Most of the ships are merchant ships, but there are not many warships at all. The soldiers are mostly mercenaries and sailors on the ships, rather than the elite of their military.

Besides, the British did not actually fight the Duck War with their own strength in the East, but with troops mobilized from all over the world.

At present, the power of Britain, France and other countries in the East is still relatively limited.

At the very least, their official power is relatively limited.

In Zhu Jing'an's view, as long as he made proper arrangements, the Guangdong Navy and the forts in Shajiao, Humen and other places could completely ensure the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense.

Zhu Jing'an nodded and said.

"Very good, the navy immediately started to prepare for war, ready to face the invading foreigners at any time."

"Subsequently, the governor will order someone to provide a batch of new firearms to the Navy, and Commander Zhang will be ready to receive them."

Zhang He responded with clasped fists.

The new firearms Zhu Jing'an mentioned were actually the latest batch of rockets sent from Wuxuan.

The prototype is the famous Congreve rocket in history!

That's right, it was the Indian who used the British to defeat the British after he invented it.

Then, after the British tried every means to get it, during the Second Duck War, they used the Congreve Rockets that had a record of success.

But what is different from the original version is that Zhu Jing'an provided new design ideas for it, adding a tail fin to the missile body, adjusting the missile body structure, and redesigning the launcher.

There are no other major changes!

But even these simple changes still make Ming's improved rockets much higher than their original Congreve rockets in terms of range, accuracy, and power.

After this rocket was invented, it was replaced by the name "Changying", which was taken from the Changying in "If you don't see it, the Han army will end, and the weak-headed prisoners will ask for Changying".

It means the long rope used to capture the barbarian chiefs!
This rocket has three different calibers: 100 mm, 150 mm, and 200 mm.

It is divided into three types: light, medium and heavy, with different uses.

Obviously, the codename of the Changying rocket was not chosen by Zhu Jing'an, but by Zhu Jiazhuo.

Otherwise, according to Zhu Jing'an's habit, he would not use literate words as weapons codenames and find allusions for them.

Most likely, the names are straightforward and straightforward: Type 100 light rocket, Type 150 medium rocket, and Type 200 heavy rocket.

Originally, Zhu Jing'an was planning to use these new rockets against the Qing Dynasty's Guangdong Navy. Unexpectedly, the Guangdong Navy took the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

Those rockets are not used!

Now is the time to bring foreigners to the forefront of this new type of firearm.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Jing'an turned his attention to He Jin who was aside. Zeng Yao and other infantry generals spoke.

"The infantry must also immediately start preparing for war."

"The St. Paul's Fort, A-Ma Fort, and Songshan Fort built by the Francois in Macau are all fortified cities that can be counted."

"Our army must be mentally prepared to overcome difficulties and dangers, even if it means paying a certain price..."

Zhu Jing'an arranged the war with an expressionless face.

However, at this moment, another messenger walked in from outside, came to Zhu Jing'an's side, and said something in his ear.

"Grand Governor, the Qing army from Yongzhou has moved south. According to reports from our frontline soldiers, the Qing army's forward has passed Lechang and is approaching Shaoguan..."

And Shaoguan is the gateway to Guangdong and Guangxi!
Once you pass Shaoguan, you will reach the essence of the Pearl River Delta.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, his expression froze obviously.

He originally thought that Fulong'an's troops would not seize credit and advance rashly, but would choose to stabilize the front in Hunan and wait for the Qing army's reinforcements from various provinces to arrive before moving south.

In this case, Ming Dynasty will also have more preparation time to rectify the manpower and material resources of Guangdong and Guangxi and expand its military and prepare for war.

Unexpectedly, Fulongan actually chose to use troops against Guangdong and Guangxi at this time.

In this case, things will all pile up together!

There were foreigners in the south and Qing troops in the north.

Now the situation facing Ming Dynasty has once again reached a critical moment of life and death.

The only good thing is that the Ming Dynasty's command center, Guo Xing Yuan, is still stranded in the high mountains of Guangxi.

Instead of arriving in the Pearl River Delta!
Even if Zhu Jing'an is defeated, there is still room for change. He can retreat to Guangxi and find a way out.

Rather than being dumped by others!

Otherwise, things would be really unimaginable.

Zhu Jing'an took a deep breath, frowned and said to the generals.

"Our army's frontline detectives received news that the Qing Imperial Envoy Fulong'an led the main force of the Qing army from Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces southward."

"The vanguard has now arrived in Shaoguan. Let's discuss it and see how Ming Dynasty will respond next."

As soon as Zhu Jing'an said this, the expressions on the faces of the Ming army generals also changed one after another.

Many people are aware of how dangerous the situation that Ming Dynasty is facing now is!
If one of them is not good, the whole front will collapse!
The new Ming Dynasty was in danger of collapse at any time.

……

PS: I got stuck today, so I only have [-] left.

The author needs to think carefully about how to write about the next war situation in Nanyang and Northern Tartars.

(End of this chapter)