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Text Chapter 460 Disraeli¡¯s Problem

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    "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been waiting for the report of Minister Witoma in China. The details of the incident are still unclear." Disraeli answered vaguely.  "What I just said to Her Majesty the Queen is true every word. In the name of tourism, Ma Jiali went to explore the road. In fact, the Bailang Army sent from India had as many as fifteen exploration soldiers, and the guards  There are a hundred and fifty people among Ma Jiali's relics, and there are many maps. The maps are all dangerous places on the border of our country. The guides he hired also confessed that they were doing spying in the name of tourism. "Guo Songtao seized the opportunity.  , immediately asked, "The Prime Minister said that he did not know the details, so why did Witoma claim that he was ordered by your government to impose terms on our country? He is arrogant and arrogant, saying that if our country does not agree to the proposal, he will go to war, which is contrary to the law.  There are so many things! I want to know why he dared to do this? "Did Wetoma get your order to do this?" Queen Victoria's face turned red when she heard Guo Songtao's question.  Lee's questioning voice also became louder.  "I assure you, Your Majesty the Queen, I have never given such an order." Disraeli quickly stood up and said.  "Who made this happen?" Queen Victoria's eyes were full of anger. "Who made Britain and I have the unjust reputation of breaking our promises?" Hearing these extremely harsh words from Queen Victoria,  Cold sweat suddenly broke out on Disraeli's forehead.  "If Her Majesty the Queen says that the previous commitments are not counted and that the words and deeds of Vetoma shall prevail, then Songtao has nothing else to say, and China will just admit defeat." Guo Songtao added at the right time, "It's just that this matter cannot be resolved.  It will be settled easily! China should tell the world that it is not because China is unwilling to reconcile, but it is because your country has not kept its word!" Guo Songtao said solemnly.  "Did you hear that, Mr. Prime Minister?" Queen Victoria was furious and asked loudly, "Can you give me a reasonable explanation?" "Your Majesty, I think it was Witoma who misunderstood the Foreign Secretary's instructions.  , He made such a mistake!" Disraeli instinctively used Foreign Secretary Derby as a shield.  "Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, just said that Wade was following the order of your country's Foreign Minister. I'm afraid it's inappropriate." Guo Songtao heard what Disraeli said and immediately interjected.  "Witoma has repeatedly said that if our country does not agree to the money he negotiated, he will raise troops to embarrass our country. A few days ago, more than 20 warships from your country gathered in Dagu. Wei said that he would start a war if he did not agree. Please note that the envoy will attack the general of the army.  "How can you use your country's warships for its own use?" "So, Wetoma is also supported by the Admiralty, and I don't know anything about it?" Queen Victoria said?  As he stood, his face was instantly covered with frost.  "I will definitely investigate this matter! Her Majesty the Queen!" Disraeli said hoarsely.  "You'd better check all this out right away! Give Mr. Guo a satisfactory answer! I don't want to see this matter affecting the friendly relations between Britain and China!" Queen Victoria said solemnly.  While Disraeli agreed repeatedly, he secretly glanced at Guo Songtao.  He didn¡¯t understand this old man who was always kind and kind.  Today's words.  Why did it become so sharp all of a sudden?  What¡¯s more puzzling to him is that he is not in China and has little contact with the country. Where did he know so many details about the Magali incident?  When Disraeli was confused, another word from Guo Songtao suddenly raised his heart to his throat.  "It's not because I want to bother Her Majesty the Queen with these troubles. It's really because your government has been delaying a decision for so long, and the domestic criticism of me is unbearable." Guo Songtao bowed to Queen Victoria again, "Our Deputy Ambassador  It has been many days since Liu Xihong was killed, but your government has still not given an explanation. However, Witoma has used the death of a translator to unscrupulously persecute China. How can the life of our envoy be cheap, but the life of your translator is precious?  "I express my deep condolences for the death of Mr. Liu Xihong." Queen Victoria bowed slightly to Guo Songtao, and then turned to Disraeli. Disraeli did not dare to look into the Queen's stern eyes and lowered his head instinctively.  "Has the murderer of Mr. Liu Xihong not been found yet?"  The Yamen sent copies of both "Gong Liu Tiao" and "Ding Liu Tiao" to Zuo Zongtang for his opinions. Naturally, Zuo Zongtang had to submit a copy. At the beginning of 1875, he published "Replying Chen Haifeng, Block Defense and Offshore Suppression".  "The situation of grain transportation", after making a false shot in coastal defense, he immediately got to the point and advertised his northwest fortress defense. Zuo Zongtang believed that since the Taiwan incident had been resolved peacefully, there was no real danger to coastal defense at present.  "They stole the alliance between the Western countries and used it to plot against me. Their ambition is to gain profits from trade, and there must be no other treacherous intermediaries"Merchants work hard to win, knowing that failure to make a deal will hinder their livelihood. Unless they have no choice but to do so, why would they dare to cause trouble?  Since the launch of the ship, I can do it even if he is proud of me. But I am ambitious and suppress my ambition, so I seek good things and sharp tools to prepare them. It seems unreasonable to say that he is still cunning and thinking about others.  .  "Since the Western countries have no intention of invading, and they have made sufficient preparations, coastal defense is not a concern. The implication is that they should go all out for the Western Expedition. "Then there is a lot of bitterness, saying that the northwest already owes millions of taels of military pay.  , if no money is given at this time, the barrier in the northwest will not be maintained. If the barrier in the northwest is not maintained, Shaanxi and Outer Mongolia will be in danger. These two places are in danger, Chahar, Zhili, and even Gyeonggi are in danger.  Therefore, if you want to extract money from our northwest body to strengthen coastal defense, I, Zuo Zongtang, will never accept it! "If we plan to stop the army at this time, cut off pay, and withdraw the barriers, then I will retreat even if the invaders advance, and I will not only be in danger of Longyou!"  , even North Road Kobdo, Ulia Sutai and other places may not be able to survive.  This is a cessation of troops to save pay, which may not be beneficial to coastal defense, but will greatly hinder the frontier fortress. The stakes are so high that it is urgent to think carefully and deal with it.  ¡± The meaning is very clear: I have no objection to the imperial court engaging in coastal defense, but the money that should be given to me here cannot be less. If you want to get money from me to engage in coastal defense, don¡¯t even think about it, and you have to continue to add more money to me.  Money, otherwise: If the bandits attack the Forbidden City, the responsibility will not be mine. This is the patriotic motive of "patriot" Zuo Zongtang - to steal money from Haiphong!  In Tan Zhonglin¡¯s private message, Zuo Zongtang bluntly expressed his desire for money: ¡°The salary situation is extremely poor. In fact, due to the current situation, the foreign defense is urgent, and all the year-round cooperative funds from various provinces have been taken up.  "Probably we only have this amount of financial resources. Foreign defense will not be reduced, and fortress defense will not be increased. There will be no growth in the future unless we think about it from now on."  "The so-called "foreign defense" here refers to coastal defense. If this is just the opinion of Zuo Zongtang, the Central Committee may not care so much. After all, he is not the protagonist of this big discussion. It is enough to send him a copy of the "Six Articles of Gong".  It's just asking for advice. But Zuo Zongtang is not alone. He has his allies, although they are not many, but their positions are very important - Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong and Li Zongxi, the governor of Liangjiang. Ding Baozhen's attitude towards coastal defense is clearly negative.  Although Shandong Province is located along the coast and has an important coastal defense position, Ding Baozhen opposed all use of Shandong Province's resources for national-level coastal defense construction, and his attitude towards ironclad ships was also clear and negative, saying that Shandong Province would not pay a penny.  He believes that the most effective coastal defense is anti-landing operations, abandoning the ocean, luring the enemy to the coast and annihilating it. In essence, it is no different from Lin Zexu's idea during the Opium War. The essence is to strictly guard the coastal fortress and not compete with the enemy at sea.  The core appeal of opposing the "extravagant" naval fleet in their eyes was to save money, and why should they save money? Because a considerable part of Zuo Zongtang's Western Expedition came from the provinces they supervised.  . At the same time, those governors who were ambiguous in the coastal defense discussions were more or less responsible for the "heavy burden" of paying for the Western Expedition, and they were afraid of spending more money on Zuo Zongtang's military deployment in the northwest. Every small move would involve the big picture.  There was a lot of money coming in and out, but the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi he supervised were notoriously barren at that time. Even if they scraped the ground three feet away, they could not generate military pay. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang had to ask Qianlong to open the army.  The old rule of the dynasty was that all provinces should coordinate their salaries. Even if the Ministry of Household Affairs coordinated the allocation of funds to maintain military and political expenditures, it was named because most of the expenditures were used for military salaries. Unfortunately, the imperial court was no longer as big as the Qianlong Dynasty.  There is a unified financial system, and the Ministry of Revenue is not as consistent as the Qianlong Dynasty. To coordinate the payment, Zuo Zongtang can only ask his old face to discuss with the governors of the provinces, which is precisely unacceptable to Zuo Zongtang.  It is possible to complete the task. Normally, if you are more popular, it will be easier for everyone to discuss it. If someone who is an official in the same dynasty has no difficulty, he will naturally help you. For example, when Zeng Guofan was suppressing hair, he would pay it to the provinces.  The intention was high (because of the persecution and contempt of Confucian scholars and Confucius by the Taiping Army, Zeng Guofan's banner was to protect the saints, which occupied the moral high ground and was irresistible).  It took no effort to raise money, but Zuo Zongtang's popularity was extremely low. The governors of the coastal provinces did not regard Zuo Zongtang as a guest at all. They all asked to suspend or postpone the payment of funds on the pretext of preparing for coastal defense.  Zuo Zongtang repeatedly asked the court to urge various localities to pay their salaries in a timely manner. However, "he kept asking for the money but refused to respond." Zuo Zongtang was so anxious that he came up with a loan.  High-interest foreign money, a clever trick to use the high interest on foreign money to force provinces to hand over their share of the rates.
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