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Text Chapter 461 Confrontation in the House of Commons

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    Today's Britain has become unable to ride a tiger.  The situation in the Near East and the Far East has become very serious. Is the UK going to abandon its traditional "checks and balances" policy and enter two wars?     No!  No!  Disraeli cried out in his heart.  But now, the United Kingdom has shown its intention to use force against China (Waitoma has specifically emphasized this in several negotiations). If it changes its attitude towards China now, will it make Russia and Austria think of contempt for Britain?  However, today the Chinese Minister Guo Songtao has already said in front of Queen Victoria that if Britain is determined to use war to force China, China will announce Britain's breach of trust to the world, which will greatly reduce Britain's prestige in the world.  The terrible consequences are also unimaginable!  If this happens, not only will Queen Victoria be the first to be unable to spare him, but the spit of Congress will drown him!  Thinking of the way the Queen looked at him today and the possible impeachment he might face in Parliament, Disraeli couldn't help but shudder.  Disraeli sat there tiredly, thinking about what Queen Victoria had said to him today.  After realizing that Queen Victoria had to maintain her reputation for keeping her promises even if she gave up all claims to China, Disraeli made up his mind.  It was Vetomar who broke things, and he has now become the object of hatred among the Chinese people, so let him bear the responsibility!  Thinking of this, Disraeli suddenly felt indescribably relaxed.  Tonight, he can finally sleep peacefully!  "And Disraeli wouldn't have thought of that.  When he woke up the next day, he was faced with the situation.  What drastic changes will occur.  The next day, the Chinese Embassy.  Guo Songtao, who had gotten up early, had eaten the breakfast prepared by Mrs. Liang personally. He was about to go to the British Foreign Office to continue negotiations on the Yunnan case and the murder of Liu Xihong. However, he saw Counselor Zhang Deyi holding a volume of foreign newspapers and walking quickly.  Walking towards Guo Songtao.  "What happened? Junfeng?" Guo Songtao noticed a hint of unspeakable excitement on Zhang Deyi's face and asked immediately.  "Sir, the details of the conspiracy between Witoma and Bai Lang are all on the headlines in London's news today. Witoma's cunning plot has been exposed and everyone knows it!" Zhang Deyi said excitedly, pointing to the newspaper.  "France, Germany, Russia and the United States all protested and showed their goodwill towards our country!" "Oh? Come on, come on! Translate it to me!" Guo Songtao was very happy after hearing this.  Zhang Deyi immediately began to translate for Guo Songtao: " This newspaper reprinted reliable information disclosed to the French "Paris Times" by an insider. In order to achieve the purpose of forcing China to open its treaty ports through the Margaree incident, Mr. Witoma secretly and  Colonel Bai Lang and his men met in Shanghai, colluded in advance about the death of Margaree, and used this as a basis to propose various harsh conditions to the Chinese government Although Mr. Witoma's starting point was the British.  interests, but this kind of blatant perjury is by no means what an upright and selfless British official should do" "The French government issued a public statement condemning Wytoma's behavior, saying it was unthinkable: a minister.  In order to achieve the goal of amending the treaty, they resorted to such unscrupulous measures In addition, the French government expressed concern about the concentration of the British fleet in Dagukou. The French minister has notified the British that if the British go to war with China, France will not harm France's interests in China.  We will not sit back and watchThe German government also issued a similar statement" After Zhang Deyi finished his explanation.  Guo Songtao immediately understood that the development of the situation had turned to a side that was extremely beneficial to China!  "This Lin Kunyu is absolutely right! How did he know that France and Germany would be like this?" Guo Songtao thought of the predictions about the development of the Yunnan case written by Lin Yizhe in the wooden box "When trouble comes"  , couldn¡¯t help but sigh.  Guo Songtao did not know that after Li Hongzhang informed Wade that he would not treat him as a negotiating opponent, Wade was still unwilling to accept it.  He continued to go to Li Hongzhang as the chief negotiator on the grounds that he had not received an appointment or dismissal order from the government. In order to strengthen the weight of his words, Wytoma also brought two British naval squadron commanders, Rydell and Lambert, with him.  came to show that he still had influence over the British fleet, thereby showing China that it would still be backed by force if necessary.  But what he didn't expect was that Li Hongzhang didn't buy it at all. He only received them in the form of a private meeting. Li Hongzhang didn't mention a word about the negotiations.  Due to Wade's insistence, Britain is in an unprecedentedly isolated position diplomatically.  At the beginning, when news of the Tianjin peace talks came out, it attracted widespread attention from other countries.  During the meeting, Russia, the United States, France, Germany,?The ministers from the Hungarian Empire and Spain to China gathered in Tianjin in the name of "escape from the summer" to closely watch the progress of the Sino-British negotiations.  Over the past few months, Wade has created estrangements and discord with other countries on the issue of coercion against China. The more he emphasizes that he does not allow other countries to interfere, the more he shows that he has concerns about other countries' overt or covert interference.  .  In fact, at this time, the American Minister Silver had repeatedly expressed his willingness to mediate to China, and the ministers of Germany, Russia, Austria and other countries also expressed similar expressions.  Although they did not propose any active mediation methods, this expression itself provided Li Hongzhang with an opportunity to "liaise with various envoys to prevent their (British envoys') party support and make public comments." Wytoma knew that if he did not quickly  Reaching an agreement will have no benefit at all to ourselves and the UK.  In addition, another incident in Sino-foreign relations at that time also had an unexpected stimulating effect on the negotiations, and that was the revision of the treaty between China and Germany.  As early as 1873, the newly established German Empire made a request to amend the 1861 Treaty, but Germany took no further action at that time.  In May 1875, when Vetomar's coercion against China was at its peak, the German Minister to China von Brandt put forward sixteen specific requirements for amending the treaty, focusing on increasing port and other trade rights.  expansion.  During the Sino-British negotiations in Tianjin, Barland took the opportunity to move around again and told Li Hongzhang: "Every matter related to trade and exportif it can be negotiated (with Britain) in the future, Germany's amendment of the treaty will be followed, and there is no need to start anew."  It is tantamount to supporting the UK in exerting joint pressure on China on the issue of additional ports.  While Li Hongzhang was tough on the British, he also considered that in the future, Germany's "revision of the treaty and the addition of additional words must be done in accordance with the British agreement." He believed that if the British blackmail could be rejected, it would be a "kill two birds with one stone."  The British attitude became increasingly tough.  Seeing that the situation was not good, the Germans also found out that the British did not intend to share the rights and interests obtained from China with other countries in the Margaree incident. In fact, the previous Sino-British negotiation process was led by Wade.  It has clearly exposed Britain's alienation from other powers on the issue of aggression against China. Therefore, this time's Tianjin negotiations have become a symbol of the end of the so-called "cooperation policy" of the powers in China.  Russia, the United States, France, Germany and other countries take it for granted that the new rights and interests that China may grant to the United Kingdom should be "shared equally", and are very disgusted with Wytoma's arbitrary approach of ignoring them and acting alone in its negotiations with China.  The ministers of these countries treated the Qing government's note to Wytoma not to treat him as a negotiating opponent with a cold and wait-and-see attitude. When Wytoma issued a war threat to China, the French government was the first to express "concern."  .  Russia, the United States, and Germany were naturally unwilling to be left alone and issued similar statements.  In fact, they have begun to consider uniting to deal with Britain, and using this as a condition in exchange for China's favor and the expansion of business rights in China.  It is precisely this that led to the statements that Guo Songtao and Zhang Deyi saw in the newspapers today.  Of course, Guo Songtao and Zhang Deyi would not have thought of it either.  Who revealed to many foreign newspapers the news that Wade and Bai Lang were conspiring in Shanghai.  "My lord, the carriage is ready." At this time Guo Bin came over and said.  He had already received Guo Songtao's instructions and prepared a carriage to go to the British Foreign Office.  "Okay, let's not go to the British Foreign Office today!" Guo Songtao said excitedly.  "Where are you going, sir?" Guo Bin was stunned.  asked.  "Go to the House of Representatives! I guess there will be a good show today!" Guo Songtao said with confidence.  Reichstag Building, House of Commons.  The Houses of Parliament built on the Thames River is the political center of the United Kingdom.  It is not only majestic on the outside, but also gorgeous on the inside.  And its architectural structure and interior design can also fully reflect the world's oldest constitutional monarchy.  When the British Parliament is in session, the king sits on the throne of the House of Lords, but the Prime Minister and members need to enter their seats from the House of Commons, and ordinary citizens can also watch parliamentary proceedings from the gallery.  Located on the banks of the Thames in central London, it is the most important Gothic building in Britain in the mid-19th century.  The building is built on a nearly trapezoidal site beside the Thames, facing the Thames.  Each part is connected in sections to form many inner courtyards. The main halls in the building are in the middle of the building.  The Victoria Tower in the southwest corner of the entire building is the tallest, with a height of 103 meters. In addition, the 97-meter-high clock tower is also eye-catching, with the famous "Big Ben" on it.  The site of this building was originally a royal palace, which was built in 1060 and has been continuously added to since then.  It was the royal palace until Henry VIII moved away in 1512.  The Houses of Parliament is one of the largest Gothic buildings in the world and a representative work of British Romantic architecture.  Covering an area of ??30,000 square meters, it stands on the banks of the Thames River with majestic momentum and elegant appearance.  There are 1,000 rooms in the Houses of Parliament, which has been the meeting place of the British Parliament since the 13th century and also serves as the king's palace.  Westminster Hall here was built in 1097 and is the only remaining part of the old building. It is divided into the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  After the mid-16th century, it became the seat of Parliament.  In 1834, a fire destroyed the palace building, which was later rebuilt.  The central hall in the building is the transportation hub of the entire building.New, the central hall has an octagonal plane, and the upper part is a vault, 23 meters high, from which you can go to the upper and lower courtyards.  In addition, there are many famous rooms and corridors in the building, which are the offices of various parliamentary committees, including the libraries of the upper and lower houses.  The Houses of Parliament can be said to be troubled by disasters. On November 5, 1605, some Catholic extremists tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels (about 2.5 tons) of gunpowder, but failed. From then on, November 5th was celebrated as "Gunpowder" every year.  "Conspiracy Day" (I would like to recommend an excellent movie "V-Force", interested friends can watch it).  In 1834, someone burned a large number of government documents in the furnace of the Capitol, causing a fire. The Capitol was razed to the ground and later rebuilt.  The rebuilt Lower House of Parliament is still decorated in Gothic style, but it is relatively simple.  The lower courtyard is slightly smaller than the upper courtyard.  23 meters long and 14 meters wide.  It is 12.5 meters high, with 346 seats in the middle of the hall and 91 seats in the side corridors. Early this morning, Lionel Nathan Rothschild, accompanied by his daughter Sarah, sat in the gallery of the House of Commons.  .  The British House of Commons is located in the Parliament Buildings, and the public is allowed to observe it during normal working hours. Having the opportunity to visit this place is a blessing for tourists from all over the world.  Nathan and Sarah often sat in on debates held in the Chamber of the House of Commons.  Today is a working day.  When people passed by the Parliament Building, they knew there must be something important inside, because there were not many police officers standing guard outside the door, and many police officers were holding rifles, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.  It¡¯s no wonder that since the murder of Chinese deputy envoy Liu Xihong, the British national security department has recently warned that the next target of the thugs is likely to be Parliament.  Those who want to visit need to obtain permission from the staff outside the door.  If they want to enter the parliament, they have to go through four checkpoints in total.  The first step is the security inspection. The inspection here can be said to be very strict, even more stringent than that of government departments. In addition to checking the items you carry with you, you also have to touch people from head to toe.  Then a mark was placed on each person's chest; in order to check female visitors, female security inspectors were specially arranged.  The second step is to enter the hall. The staff requires everyone to line up and wait for the previous batch of visitors to come out before entering.  The third channel is the corridor into the parliament hall. The staff here requires everyone to fill in the registration form before letting you in.  The fourth way is to enter the front hall of the parliament hall. The staff collects the registration form and requires visitors to hand over their belongings to them for storage before entry is allowed.  Nathan looked at the people entering the hall one after another.  He knew there was going to be a heated debate here today.  The topic of the debate is: the government's China policy.  Today, members of the Conservative and Liberal parties will debate face to face, so it can be said that the auditorium today is full.  The seats in the House of Commons are carefully designed.  More than 600 seats are distributed on the left and right sides, forming a two-army layout. On one side are the members of the ruling party, and on the opposite side are the seats of the opposition members. This design seems to be to encourage political confrontation between the political parties in the House of Commons.  Arrange into a long and narrow rectangle.  There is an open space in the middle, with rows of benches on both sides, and the back rows gradually rise.  Like a shrunk and squashed indoor basketball court.  The high-backed chair at the end is the speaker's seat.  The benches for the legislators on both sides have no armrests. The legislators sit very tightly and cannot even cross their legs comfortably.  There is not even a small table for placing documents in front of the bench. There are still two red lines drawn on the carpet in the middle of the council chamber. The distance between the two red lines is about as long as two swords connected. It is said that this is because in the  In the beginning, members of the House of Commons all wore swords when they came to the parliament chamber. They kept a distance of two swords in the middle of the chamber to prevent overheated parliamentary debates and the possibility of hostile members meeting each other with swords.  British Prime Minister Disraeli did not participate in today's debate. It is said that he is preparing to accept questions from Congress.  "Dad, look, Mr. Guo is here too." Sara whispered to her father.  Nathan looked up, and sure enough he saw a small group of Chinese people wearing splendid official uniforms and Chinese-style warm hats walking in under the guidance of the staff and taking their seats in the auditorium on the other side. One of the leaders among them  He is a fat and amiable old man - he is Guo Songtao.  Seeing that Guo Songtao also came to listen, some members of the British House of Commons who were friendly to China stood up and greeted Guo Songtao. Guo Songtao smiled and waved greetings one by one, while some members of the House of Commons who were hostile to China sat there and talked quietly from time to time.  He cast a wary look at Guo Songtao and others.  The little commotion caused by Guo Songtao's arrival took a while to calm down. When Guo Songtao finally sat down, he immediately saw Nathan and Sarah, the father and daughter sitting in the gallery on the opposite side, and smiled and waved.  Nathan smiled and raised his hat, and he and Sarah bowed in their seats to express their greeting.  After everyone was seated, it was time for the meeting to start.I saw a tall, broad-faced, square-eared, gray-haired man in his sixties standing on the seat of the Liberal Party.  "Dad, look, it was Uncle Gladstone who spoke first." Sarah whispered to her father, "It looks like he is ready." "Of course he is ready." Nathan smiled slightly and clicked  He nodded and said, "For him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to knock down his opponent. Of course he must seize it." "I like his speech very much. It is always full of passion and eloquent power." Sara laughed.  He nodded.  Gladstone was born on December 29, 1809, in a wealthy merchant family in Liverpool. He studied with a priest when he was young. He entered Eton College at the age of 13 and Oxford University at the age of 17. He completed his studies in October 1831 at the age of 21.  At Oxford University, Gladstone used his spare time to participate in various seminars of the Oxford Association, and served successively as president and secretary of the association. At that time, he was known as the "first orator".  PS: Please collect it!  Please recommend!  Please click!  Please subscribe!  Asking for a monthly ticket!
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