Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

Zai Chun faintly felt that this time, his master was using a battle method to teach him some unspeakable truths.

Xiao Letian and Duke of Newcastle's confrontation was on the verge of breaking down several times. The Duke of England was so angry by Xiao Letian's attitude that he almost went berserk.

The Duke of Newcastle was a high-class noble family in Britain. During the king's exaltation ceremony, one could stand by the king's side and help him hold the scepter in his gloves. With such a status and power, it could be seen just how powerful he was.

If they had to carry out a horizontal comparison, the status of the Duke of Newcastle was not inferior to the or the Prince of Alcohol of Great Qing. If they were to place themselves in the rankings of the major figures in the entire world, then the Duke of Newcastle would definitely be able to rely on their immense national power to suppress the Evil God six.

If we were to consider things according to the habitual thinking of an official in China, since Xiao Letian didn't give face to the Duke, he would have barged in and haggled. Then the Duke would have long ago become furious and use his authority to suppress Xiao Letian.

How can there be equal negotiation if power is not equal? Even if they negotiated, they wouldn't tolerate their opponent rejecting them again and again.

However, what happened next caused everyone to be shocked. Not only did the Duke not become furious, he was pulled back to the edge of his fury time and time again. Even after several rounds of negotiations had ended, he was still able to find a new reason to continue arguing.

In a trance, Zai Chun recalled his previous erroneous views on the two Opium Wars. At that time, his little thoughts were basically instilled by his master and the court officials.

In the Great Qing Dynasty Hall at that time, the explanation for the two Opium Wars was that the British were strong and effective, the British were greedy and shameless and unreasonable.

At that time, Zai Chun thought so too, everyone had a very simple value, and that was, I have the power not to play with you!

This thought was very simple and honest. It was the attitude shared by the officials and intellectuals at that time. How could there be something so unreasonable in their eyes?

Is it our right to refuse to open the customs to do business with you Englishmen? Why should I be beaten because I don't want to play with you? A war is about to break out.

Besides, isn't Guangzhou line 13 open? You want tea, silk, porcelain, pig's mane, rhubarb... It's not like we're not selling these goods to you. Why do we have to open up all the cities along the coast?

Our own Great Qing, our own home, wants someone to come in, doesn't want someone to come in, isn't that just as right as the heavens?

This logic was truly unassailable, but could this seemingly reasonable principle really work? Today, Zai Chun finally had serious doubts about his previous point of view.

As he recalled the historical stories that his master had told him, and the sudden business negotiations, Zai Chun felt as if a shell in his heart had suddenly shattered. With a "pa" sound, something that he couldn't explain rushed out.

"So …" So this was how business worked. It was a natural thing! "We were wrong before, we really were wrong …"

Zai Chun had a sudden epiphany. He finally understood the biggest mistake that the various empires have made since ancient times. So many emperors and generals thought that they could control their business, surrendering to power was not something that could escape the grasp of these big figures.

The policy of suppressing business, as well as the lowest ranking of the four people, had given the emperors and ministers the false impression that business was completely controllable.

Wrong! It was only today that Zai Chun realised that business was a natural thing to do. It was not something that this iron cage of power could manage.

The more power was suppressed, the more perverted it would be for the business to behave and not disappear.

The Great Qing had closed its own customs, leaving behind a small gap of 13 lines. This meant that the authority of the Great Qing was able to control the Ocean trade s of Europe and China?

This was the funniest joke in the world! The commerce between Europe and the Great Qing never stopped. Even in wartime, European ships could also obtain Chinese goods.

One ship after another of porcelain, silk, tea, pig's mane, medicinal herbs... Huge quantities of Chinese goods were pulled back by European merchants, while China, while exporting countless items, only purchased a small amount of European goods.

Only a few Western luxury goods such as glass, watches and a few others could earn Great Qing's silver. However, compared to the huge volume of Chinese goods that were exported, this was a huge deficit.

Europe as a whole was obsessed with the goods of the East, but the East had no interest in European industrial goods, which led to a serious outflow of precious metals.

A large portion of the gold and silver that were plundered from Africa and North America flowed into the people of China, causing Europe to suddenly become a silly daughter-in-law.

In this natural business act, the two sides are unequal, with huge deficits weighing heavily on the countries of Europe. But Chinese goods cannot be cut off because there is no alternative production base.

Great Qing could not see this situation and they could not understand either. They were complacent while immersed in the halo of the Overlord.

The contradictions grew deeper and deeper, while the Great Qing closed the negotiating window to resolve them. When the deficit reached the point where it affected British national security, when the door to any peaceful solution was locked, what could they do other than fight?

Zai Chun finally had a sudden epiphany today. Only now did he understand that there were still two wars left to be fought when opium was being dumped. The core reason lay in the fact that the East and West did not have to negotiate with the Duke like they did today.

This was the nature of the problem and contradiction. Facing him head on, not avoiding him or suppressing him, speaking frankly and arguing with him would create a balance point between conflict and confrontation that everyone could accept.

"Didn't Xiao Letian always say that the most perfect way to negotiate a treaty is for both sides to curse at each other? They both felt that it was a loss and were unhappy, but when they turned back, they were both willing to carry it out … Only such a partnership will last forever! "

The Europeans understood this logic, and Xiao Letian also understood it, but unfortunately, the Great Qing did not.

"OK, dear Führer, you really are an expert at negotiation. I really admire you. Just follow the previous conditions, I hope our cooperation can continue for a hundred years, cheers!"

After an hour of war of words, the Duke and Xiao Letian finally reached a final agreement. Both sides raised their wine cups and clashed with each other.

At the same time, Zai Chun also had an epiphany. He repeatedly thought about the phrase "those who have a reason may not be able to accomplish it, but those that do have a reason … "However, that logic might not be what you want!"

"It's just like going against the current. People always improve from the bad karma. Compromise and dispute are the river that goes against the current …" If you want to clear up this ship and continue forward, you must understand this principle! "