The sunset is setting, the sunset is full of sunset, and the Huangpu River is still busy, with ships of all kinds and sizes shuttled around. The wide and flat river avenue is full of traffic, people are coming and going, and prosperity is still the same. But all this becomes extremely strange in the eyes of Tony, John, and Davis. They feel a sense of despair that they have been abandoned.

It was indeed abandoned. Suddenly, the originally familiar big Shanghai became unfamiliar with them. Everyone was hostile to them, with unconcealed disgust in their eyes, and even more as if they were hiding from plague.

Although they had a lot of silver dollars and banknotes in their pockets, they could not enter any teahouse, diners, hotels, and even ordinary shops could not enter. Even small and inconspicuous grocery stores would expel them without hesitation. The streets and alleys would not sell them any food, and even the simple big bowl of tea stalls and the cold water sold along the street with buckets.

What made them even more desperate was that they could never get rid of the tails behind them. They were from the Xingqing Gang and Zhongxin Society. They said they were protecting their personal safety and property safety on the surface, but in fact they were monitoring them. After trying several times, they were completely disappointed after finding that even if there was no gang member, they could not buy anything in front of them.

"I can't believe that there is still time to buy anything with money." John sighed, "I don't want to continue trying."

Davis stopped and said, "I bet that no one will believe it when we go back to China and talk about this."

"It's so scary." John said in a pessimistic tone: "If this continues, I'm worried that we will starve to death."

"Go to the consulate." Tony said in a deep voice: "We must protest, otherwise we may really starve to death in Shanghai."

Zhenhai Gong Mansion, Changle Bookstore.

Yi Zhizu held a cigarette in his mouth and said in a relaxed tone: "How many shops and snack stalls have Xingqing Gang and Zhongxin Society been smashed in the past two days?"

After hearing this, Yan Shikuan hesitated for a while before saying, "It's more than thirty companies, this is reported, and there should be many who haven't reported it."

"Send a few dollars and expel it from Shanghai." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "There is no need to be polite to those who don't listen to hello."

"I understand." Yan Shikuan said tentatively, "If they didn't bow their heads, the shopkeeper wouldn't really plan to starve all the foreigners to death, right?"

"The emperor is not in a hurry to the eunuch." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "The ministers from all countries are not in a hurry. Why are we in a hurry?"

Cao Yougen, the secretary in charge of sending and receiving telegrams from Zhenhai Gongfu, walked to the door and took a look. When he saw Yi Zhizuo, he nodded before coming in to report: "The big shopkeeper, Tianjin, Yangquan, and Shaoguan call, the railways built by various countries have been suspended at the same time. In addition, the train ferry that is being manufactured by Jiangning Shipyard has also been suspended." As he said that, he handed over several telegrams.

After scanning the telegram a few times, Yi Zhizu casually handed the telegram over and said, "Call back, it's rare to have a rest, just treat it as a holiday." As he said, he asked again, "There is no news on Lushun yet?"

Cao Gensheng hurriedly said, "The boss did not return, and no telegram was sent to Lushun."

"Time is not waiting for anyone, so they urge the Beiyang Navy." Yi Zhizu said: "The Beiyang Navy fleet did not meet within two days, and Xiao Mingliang set sail straight north."

"Yes." Cao Gensheng responded quickly.

Muravijov, the governor of East and West Siberia, led 75 ships, carrying thousands of Cossack soldiers, and broke into Heilongjiang. Originally, Yi Shizuo did not know that the British-French joint fleet suddenly appeared in the Far East and did not dare to move troops easily. Since he knew that the British-French joint fleet was aimed at the Russian Pacific Fleet in the Far East base, he had no scruples.

It happened to send a fleet north to take the opportunity to remove Russian strongholds in Heilongjiang and Sakhalin Island. However, in order to avoid arousing the disgust of the court, he invited the Beiyang Navy fleet to go north together. If the Beiyang Navy looked forward, he would not be patient to drag it, after all, time would not wait for anyone.

After Cao Gensheng left, Yan Shikuan said: "The railway is shut down, aren't the boss worried?"

"What are you going to worry about?" Yi Zhizu said in a relaxed tone: "How many years have the railway been built? Even if there are no foreigners, we can build it ourselves now, and we are still afraid of threats? They want to play bigger, so we will accompany us. Anyway, we owe a lot of foreign debts, so what are we afraid of!"

Yan Shikuan then asked, "Where is the train ferry?"

The Yangtze River in Jiangning cannot build a bridge, and the problem of crossing the train can only be solved through ferries. The British used train ferries in Fuen Bay, Scotland a few years ago. It was a large ship that could carry several or even more than a dozen train cars at a time. The supporting facilities were not simple, and they had to rely entirely on Britain and France.

After glanced at him, Yi Zhizu said: "The train ferry is suspended, but it is temporary. Do you really think that a mere minister to China can easily make a large company tear up the contract?"

"In other words, is this intimidation?" Yan Shikuan smiled and said, "We will intimidate them, and they will also intimidate us!"

"Not bad." Yi Zhizuji said first: "I'll compare who can calm down now."

"Then they will definitely not be able to compare to us." Yan Shikuan said with a smile: "Once autumn is over, they can't even cry."

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Why wait until autumn, and you will see the final answer within half a month."

British Consulate in Shanghai.

Bao Ling put down the Beihua Jiebao in his hand and was speechless for a while. Beihua Jiebao was an English newspaper founded by the British, but the articles were full of articles that fiercely criticized the terms of the amendment of the agreement. He knew very well that if this situation continued, it would inevitably arouse the anger of all the sailors of the Chinese businessmen and crew members. In the past two days, some people have come to the consulate to protest one after another. If the situation continues, more and more people will protest.

He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was already twelve o'clock. He sighed inwardly, got up and walked to the balcony to take out a cigar and light it, and stopped the railway and train ferry under construction. This was the last threat he could think of. If Yuan Qi was unmoved, what else could he do? He could not threaten with force, right?

Moreover, even if it is a threat of force, Yi Zhizu may not take it seriously. Britain and France are now going to war with Russia in Krim, and Yuanqi's newspapers are reporting publicly. Will Yi Zhizu believe that Britain and France will go to war with the Qing Dynasty in the Far East at this time?

"Tu tuk tuk" knocked on the door, Bao Ling was delighted, and hurried back to the office and said loudly: "Come in."

Aliguo pushed the door open and said, "Mr. Minister, more and more people are coming to the consulate to protest, and they hope that the government will bear all their losses..."

Bearing the loss? Bao Ling's face turned dark. This is not the ban on smoking in Guangzhou. The Qing Dynasty did not confiscate any goods at all. People just don't trade with you. How can I compensate for this loss? The Qing Dynasty cannot compensate, and Great Britain cannot compensate for this loss. Moreover, the amount of compensation for this loss is not more than ten years ago. There are nearly a hundred merchant ships in Shanghai alone!

Seeing that Bao Ling didn't say anything, A Liguo hesitated and said, "There are more and more people coming to the consulate to collect food in the past two days, and the food we store may only last for another two days."

Bao Ling said in a deep voice: "There is no food on those merchant ships?" After a pause, he continued: "I have sent a newspaper to Hong Kong to send them food and buy it from them first."

It takes seven or eight days for Hong Kong to come. To borrow the Chinese, it is said that distant water cannot quench near thirst. Ali Guo secretly complained that at this time, there is food on the ship, who would foolishly take out?

"Tu tuk tuk" knocked on the door again, and Bao Ling hurriedly said: "Come in."

A counselor pushed the door and said, "Your Excellency, France and the Ministers of the United States are here to visit."

Bao Ling felt anxious and said softly: "Please come up."

French Minister Boulbron and American Minister Mailian both looked very bad, and there was no greeting in the office. Buulbron said directly: "It is not a solution to continue this stalemate. We should hurry up and go to the capital of the Qing Dynasty to see their Emperor and start negotiations as soon as possible."

Bao Ling glanced at him and said, "Zongli Yamen will not let us go north!"

Mai Lian said: "What if the Qing emperor took the initiative to invite him?"

Naive! Bao Ling didn't want to waste his words. Yuanqi's newspapers of all sizes were criticizing the terms of the amendment. At this time, the Emperor of Qing Dynasty took the initiative to invite them to the capital to negotiate? This imagination is too rich! Can it be richer?

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Mai Lian said persistently: "I'm sure that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty is definitely very happy to go to Beijing now!"

Bao Ling said in a deep voice: "Even if he is very happy, he will not dare to invite him publicly."

"Threat of force!" Boulbron said in a deep voice.

"The Qing Dynasty believes in our threat of force?" Bao Ling said impatiently: "Who in the Qing Dynasty now knows the Krim War?"

Bulbron said calmly: "Excuses, we need to give the Qing emperor an excuse to invite us to Beijing!"

After hearing this, Bao Ling's eyes lit up and he smiled, "I have to say, this is a really good idea."

In the afternoon of the same day, the Zongli Yamen received a note jointly submitted by Britain, France and the United States with extremely tough words and directly threatened the war. The entire Zongli Yamen immediately discussed it. After all, the Qing-British war triggered by the ban on smoking in Guangzhou is not far away, and many people still remember it freshly. Moreover, this time I faced not only Britain, but Britain, France and the United States. Even if I clearly knew that Britain and France went to war with Russia in Crim, many people were worried.

Wu Changqing hurried to Zhenhai Gong Mansion and entered the study room. He handed over the note, then lit a cigarette and smoked.

After reading the note, Yi Zhizu also lit a cigarette. It is obvious that Britain and France are currently busy with the Crimean War and it is impossible to go to war with the Qing Dynasty in the East. What is the purpose of submitting this note by Britain, France and the United States?

Wu Changqing slowly spoke: "How big is the scale of the Crimean War?"

"According to the war report, 60,000 to 70,000 British and French forces have landed on the Crimean Peninsula." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, according to preliminary estimates, we will continue to invest in troops in the future... In short, this is definitely an unprecedented war."

He could not remember the total scale of the military inputs between the two sides of the war, but he remembered one thing that Russia suffered heavy losses in this war, with more than 500,000 casualties, which directly led to Tsar Nicholas I committing suicide by taking poison. The casualties of the British and French coalition forces were not small, with more than 100,000 casualties.

After a pause, he added: "Before the Crimean War ended, it is absolutely impossible for Britain and France to open up a second battlefield in the Far East!"

"In this way, this note has other intentions." Wu Changqing said, and he was thinking about this matter carefully along the way.

Yi Zhizu encouraged: "If you have any ideas, just say it straight."

"Our newspapers have been reporting on the Crimean War." Wu Changqing blew up the ashes and said slowly: "They should be very clear that the threat of war cannot scare us. Why do they still submit this strongly worded note?"

After pausing, he said in a deep voice: "It's very simple. This note is not for us, but for the court!"

"They knew there was no room for negotiation with us, so they changed their goals and wanted to negotiate with the court directly!" Yi Zhizu continued: "This is to create an opportunity for the court!"

Wu Changqing nodded and said, "The note has been forwarded to the Military Affairs Office. If the emperor ordered them to enter Beijing, we would not be able to stop it."

It's really a bit troublesome! Yi Zhizu pondered for a while before saying, "After darkness, please come here."

After dark, a four-wheeled carriage stopped in front of the Zhenhai Gong Mansion. Bao Ling got off the carriage and was immediately welcomed by the gatekeeper who had been waiting outside the door. A note made Yi Shizu's attitude change so much, but he didn't feel proud. It was obvious that the sudden change in the other party's attitude showed their intentions, which forced him to be more cautious.

Seeing the Lantern coming, Yi Zhizu got up and walked out of the study room, stood at the door, and smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'll disturb you so late."

"It's not easy to see the Duke." Bao Ling smiled and said, "Even at night, it's a great honor."

Yi Zhizu smiled and reached out to give in. He went into the house and sat down. He didn't go around in circles and said straight: "There is a clause for the amendment. Foreign envoys stayed in Beijing for a long time. Do you think that if you negotiate with the court, can you get greater benefits?"

Bao Ling pondered for a moment before saying, "Your Excellency will not give us a chance to negotiate at all."

Can you talk about the terms you mentioned? Yi Zhizu complained, saying: "You have been in China for six years, and you can also be considered a Chinese connection. You should also be very clear about the current situation in our country..." After a pause, he continued: "Now, the southeastern provinces, from Jiangsu to Guangzhou, to be precise, to Java, are all Yuanqi's sphere of influence. You should be clear."
Chapter completed!