Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

"Why haven't Shi Lang and Long Keduo returned from Ryukyu yet? They have been gone for almost two months!" Kangxi asked.

"Your Majesty, the journey to Ryukyu is long, and he will probably be back soon," replied Gao Shiqi, the Minister of Rites.

"When they come back, let them come to see me directly. I have something to ask them." Kangxi said.

"Yes!" Gao Shiqi replied.

Kangxi looked at everyone and said, "Regarding the matter of Songjiang Prefecture, your opinion is to negotiate peace first, and then go to war if the negotiation fails! So who among you is willing to lead the team to negotiate peace?"

After hearing this, all the ministers looked at Nalan Mingzhu. Mingzhu himself felt that since he had proposed the peace proposal, it was natural that he should complete it. So Mingzhu said, "I am willing to share the emperor's worries. Today I will summon the envoys of Western countries in Beijing to negotiate with them and see what they want."

Kangxi nodded in agreement and said to Mingzhu: "Okay, I'll leave the peace talks to you. I hope you can solve this problem as soon as possible."

Then, he turned to look at Suo Etu and He Yu, and continued, "Lord Suo, if the peace talks fail, Songjiang Prefecture will definitely go to war. You will be responsible for the war. I order you to be the commander-in-chief and He Yu to be the deputy commander-in-chief. The two of you will set off for Nanjing today and organize all the Eight Banners troops, Han camps, navy, governors and other forces in the Liangjiang Governor's Office (including Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, etc.) to surround Shanghai County. Once the peace talks fail, use force at all costs to retake the lost territory. I give you the power to make arbitrary decisions on the spot, and you must ensure victory in one battle and a quick victory."

Although Kangxi was an iron-fisted emperor, he had to make compromises when facing powerful enemies.

He advocated the use of force, but the navy was currently insufficient, so he could only choose to negotiate peace temporarily. However, deep down in his heart, he preferred to regain lost territory through force, so he was not satisfied with the peace talks. In this situation, he listened to Suo Etu's advice and decided to adopt a strategy of negotiating while preparing for war.

After the meeting, Nalan Mingzhu quickly summoned envoys from various countries.

The envoys who came this time included representatives from Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Belgium and other countries. They were all invited by the Dutch Minister de Vrijth.

However, since De Vrion was leading the navies of various countries to pursue the Chongming Navy and was unable to participate in the negotiations in person, he sent his deputy instead.

The deputy walked up to Nalan Mingzhu arrogantly and handed him a letter.

The envelope of this letter had "To the Great Qing Empire" written in Chinese.

Nalan Mingzhu opened the envelope, and inside was a letter written in Chinese characters, signed by the Dutch Minister de Vrijth.

The content of the letter shocked Nalan Mingzhu. It turned out to be an ultimatum from the multinational coalition.

The letter proposed three conditions for a truce, if these conditions were not met they would continue to wage war.

The first condition was to lease Shanghai County for one hundred years and build it into a multinational public concession.

The second condition was even more stringent, requiring the dismantling of the Wusongkou Fort and allowing foreign ships to freely enter the inland area of ​​the Yangtze River.

The third condition was to demand that the Qing government pay 100 million taels of silver as compensation for war losses. This indemnity had to be paid in installments over five years, with 20 million taels paid each year.

After reading the letter, Nalan Mingzhu's face turned gloomy. He knew how heavy a burden these conditions were for the Qing Dynasty.

His hands trembled slightly, and an indescribable anger and helplessness surged in his heart.

The first one is to turn Shanghai County into a public leased area, which is equivalent to strangling the head of the Yangtze River. In this way, all goods in the Yangtze River Basin must pass through this public leased area, and once they enter someone else's territory, they can only be at the mercy of others.

Second, removing the artillery batteries at Wusongkou would mean that the Yangtze River would be defenseless. The Western devils even demanded that their ships enter the inland area of ​​the Yangtze River. Then the entire hinterland of the Yangtze River would be under the threat of Western naval guns.

The third point is even more infuriating. In the 3000th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the Qing Dynasty's annual treasury revenue was only more than 2000 million taels of silver, and these robbers wanted to take away million taels of silver. This was naked robbery!

The assistant said arrogantly: "This is the common opinion of our multinational coalition. There is no room for negotiation. If you do not follow this condition, we will use force to gain more benefits. Please do not take it seriously, Prime Minister!"

Mingzhu was furious after hearing this, but he knew that he couldn't show it easily, so he suppressed his anger and tried to stay calm. He looked at the arrogant assistant in front of him, and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"Humph, you foreigners, do you really think that my Qing Dynasty can be manipulated by you at will?" Mingzhu said coldly, "These unreasonable demands you put forward are simply an insult to my Qing Dynasty!"

The assistant didn't take it seriously. He smiled smugly, seemingly not caring about Mingzhu's reaction. "Mr. Ming, you should think about it carefully. Our fleet is waiting for you at sea. If you don't agree to our terms, the consequences may be disastrous."

Mingzhu gritted his teeth and cursed these greedy foreigners in his heart. But he also understood that now was not the time to act on impulse and he had to find a way to deal with this crisis.

He took a deep breath, calmed down, and began to think about countermeasures. First, he needed to understand the attitudes of the ministers of various countries to see if there was room for maneuver. So he asked the ministers of various countries one by one, hoping to find a breakthrough from them.

However, to his disappointment, the attitudes of the ministers of various countries were surprisingly consistent. They all expressed their support for the assistant's proposal and emphasized that this was the common opinion of the multinational coalition and could not be questioned.

Mingzhu was extremely angry in the face of such a situation. He stared at the ministers with wide eyes and puffed his beard, his heart full of helplessness and anger. He knew that the negotiations had reached a deadlock and it would not be easy to break this situation. Unless he hurt the Westerners on the battlefield, he could take the initiative in the negotiations.

Now, as an important official in the court, he cannot close the door to peace talks so easily.

He decided to temporarily calm these foreigners, and then report the matter to the emperor as soon as possible to seek a solution. At the same time, he also had to prepare for the worst and prepare for a possible war. After all, since these foreigners dared to ask for such a high price, they would definitely not give up.

Mingzhu clenched his fists tightly and vowed to protect the interests of the country. No matter what, he would not let these foreigners succeed.

In the afternoon, Kangxi learned about the humiliating conditions proposed by the other party and was so angry that he overturned the dragon case on the spot. Now he could only hope that Soetu would come back to work and create a miracle.