1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 194 First Meeting

The news of the Qing envoy's visit was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

Before Fillmore arrived in New York, his article was published in the New York Evening Post, praising the friendship between the Qing Dynasty and the United States and denounced the British Empire's shameless aggression against the Qing Dynasty ten years ago.

The friendship between China and the United States is not much appreciated by ordinary people in the United States. After all, more than sixty years have passed since the maiden voyage of the Empress of China, and the China craze in American society at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China has subsided.

However, when talking about the oppression and aggression of the British Empire, it easily resonated with the American people.

Firstly, Britain is indeed very unbecoming of a good person. The United States has long endured suppression from the British Empire in the international community.

Secondly, when American politicians face difficult internal conflicts, they like to shift people's attention to the outside world.

The British Empire was naturally the best target to divert conflicts, especially after the British Empire raised tariffs on the United States. Britain's enthusiasm for purchasing raw materials from the United States diminished, which dealt a fatal blow to the American economy.

Although it is normal business logic at this time, ordinary people in the United States do not care about this. They only care about whether they have more or fewer dollars in their pockets.

In particular, those exporters who relied heavily on the British Empire, encouraged by external public opinion, had long been accustomed to blaming Britain for their misfortunes.

American politicians are also happy to see this. It would be even more troublesome if unfortunate people blame their misfortunes on those in power.

Liang Yao did not refuse interviews from various newspapers in New York. Regardless of the newspaper's influence, he accepted interviews from all of them.

A favorable public opinion environment is more conducive to the promotion of negotiations. In order to strive for a more favorable public opinion environment for negotiations, it is still necessary to accept interviews from these media.

Liang Yao personally wrote the article and published it in the New York Evening Post. His purpose was simply to win the favor of the American people towards the Qing Dynasty.

President Fillmore attached great importance to the visit of the Qing delegation.

He arrived in New York as quickly as possible and formally met with the Qing envoys at the New York City Municipal Building at the north end of Broadway Street in New York.

Municipal buildings are a reflection of a city's financial resources, and New York is undoubtedly one of the cities with the strongest financial resources in the United States.

Compared with the small and shabby municipal building in Houston, Texas, the municipal building in New York is magnificent. Even the back of the municipal building is decorated with marble.

"The President of the United States sends his most sincere blessings to the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, wishes the emperor of the Qing Dynasty good health forever, and wishes that the friendship between the two countries will last forever."

President Fillmore was dressed very formally, and his attitude toward the members of the Qing envoy was particularly serious.

Liang Yao had communicated with President Fillmore several times before, and he had a good impression of President Fillmore.

In terms of image, President Fillmore has a poor image and looks a bit rough.

But beneath the rough appearance, there is a cautious and thoughtful heart.

The two sides exchanged gifts, and Pan Zhengwei handed Fillmore a fake letter of credence filled with nonsense.

Just as no one doubts their identity, no one doubts the authenticity of this credentials.

"President Liang, you are proficient in both English and Chinese. I hope you can serve as my translator."

Fillmore said to Liang Yao before the formal meeting.

The Qing Dynasty and the United States have not had formal contact before, and the United States does not have a reserve of Chinese translation talents.

Mo Li from Qichang Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. is proficient in Cantonese and can speak some simple Chinese sentences, but such a level of Chinese language skills makes him unable to be competent as a translator in official situations.

"I'm happy to oblige, Mr. President." Liang Yao promised.

"In recent years, more and more people of the Qing Dynasty have immigrated to the United States. Our Emperor is very interested in the increasingly prosperous United States."

Pan Zhengwei spoke, and then Liang Yao translated and relayed Pan Zhengwei's words to President Fillmore in proficient English.

"We in the United States also have a strong interest in the Qing Dynasty, which has a vast territory and a large population. We hope that the two countries can formally establish diplomatic relations and deepen cooperation and exchanges, especially in trade. There is a broad space for cooperation between the two countries." Phil.

President Moore said.

"One of the purposes of our mission's trip is to examine the possibility of formally establishing diplomacy between the two countries. The Qing Dynasty has always been very cautious in its attitude towards diplomacy.

Our mission will conduct an inspection in the United States and write an inspection report, and the emperor of the Qing Dynasty will use our inspection report to determine whether to establish formal diplomatic relations with the United States," Pan Zhengwei said.

"Well, thank you. I think the friendship between Qingdao and the United States will go further with our joint efforts. We will jointly promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two great countries, and future generations will also remember the contributions we have made today."

Fillmore straightened up, sat upright and said.

"If you need any help during the inspection, just ask."

“More and more immigrants from the Qing Dynasty came to work and settle in the United States. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty loved his people like his own children and was very concerned about the living conditions of his people overseas.

Since the history of civilization in the United States is very short and His Majesty the Emperor does not understand the situation in the United States, the British told His Majesty the Emperor that the United States is an uncivilized and barbaric country.

His Majesty the Emperor is worried that the people of the Qing Dynasty will not receive fair and just treatment in America."

Pan Zhengwei said leisurely, preparing to pave the way for a treaty on free immigration between the two countries.

Liang Yao taught him these words. In fact, the Qing rulers in the capital city hated contact with foreigners. After the Macartney mission, the Qing Dynasty has not officially received a British mission.

The highest-level officials of the Qing Dynasty that the British could see were limited to the governors and imperial envoys stationed in local areas by the Qing Dynasty.

It is not easy for the British to meet officials at this level.

The local officials of the Qing Dynasty also hated the British and Westerners who undermined the existing order of the Qing Dynasty. Their attitude towards foreigners was to avoid them, and they tried their best not to have contact with foreigners if they could.

As for caring about the names of overseas Chinese, it is even more nonsense. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty did not even care about the overseas Chinese in Nanyang, so how could they care about the overseas Chinese in the United States?

"The British are full of lies, and what they are best at is sowing dissension." Fillmore said sternly, "America is a civilized and democratic country, not an uncivilized barbaric country."

"This is also the reason why the emperor of the Qing Dynasty sent us thousands of miles away to visit the United States." Pan Zhengwei said, "We hope that the two countries can formally sign a treaty to protect the interests of the business people of the two countries. This will be a step forward for the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The first step.”

With that said, Pan Zhengwei motioned to Wu Yuanhua to hand over the "Qingming-U.S. Free Immigration Treaty".

The treaty was made in two quadruplicates, two of which were in Chinese and two in English. At least on the surface, the treaty was very formal.

Fillmore carefully read the contents of the treaty word for word, and asked Liang Yao to help check the contents of the Chinese treaty to confirm whether there were any errors in the translation.

This treaty was dictated by Liang Yao and copied by Pan Zhengwei. Of course, there can be no translation flaws.

The content and provisions of the treaty are also very simple, and are similar to the content of the later "Sino-US Tianjin Treaty Continuation Treaty".

The main content is: All citizens of the Qing Dynasty and the United States who want to go to other countries, whether they wish to live permanently and become naturalized, or who want to travel back and forth at any time, are free to do so as they wish and cannot be hindered.

The United States protected the legitimate rights and interests of the people of the Qing Dynasty in the United States, and the Qing Dynasty also guaranteed the legitimate rights and interests of American merchants and people in China.

However, the clause in the original treaty regarding the establishment of foreign affairs agencies in each other's country was cancelled, and was replaced by an agreement to encourage trade between the business people of the two countries and to reduce or reduce tariffs between the two countries.

Mutual protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the business people of the two countries is a very beneficial clause for both parties, and Fillmore has no reason to reject such a clause.

Just reducing or reducing tariffs between the two countries is beyond the scope of his power. The president has no right to decide the tariffs of the United States without authorization.

"There is nothing wrong with this article. It's just that I have no right to decide on tariff reduction. I need to convene a parliament to discuss and vote on it," Fillmore said.

"We respect your country's political system. If tariff reductions cannot be achieved nationwide, it is not a bad idea to reduce tariffs in California." Pan Zhengwei stated his bottom line.

"Since we need to protect the rights and interests of business people in both countries, I think it is necessary for the two countries to establish consulates in each other's country," Fillmore said.

"We hope to obtain a good port in the coastal area of ​​the Qing Dynasty to facilitate the supply of American merchant ships. The Qing Dynasty has a vast territory and hundreds of millions of people. I think this will not be a difficult task for your country."

As Liang Yao expected, Fillmore still made a very excessive request.

Before the meeting, Liang Yao had vaccinated Pan Zhengwei and others.

Pan Zhengwei was furious when he heard this and stood up angrily: "The establishment of consulates in each other's country is beyond my scope of authority, but I can petition the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the ministers and officials will make a decision after deliberation.

In an attitude of friendship and equality, we put down our pretense of being a heavenly kingdom and condescended to come to the United States for a visit. I don’t want your country to be so disrespectful and ask for the territory of the Qing Dynasty. It seems that the British are right, the United States is indeed

A country of barbaric and uncivilized gangs.

Although our Qing Dynasty is rich all over the world and has a vast territory, not an inch of land is redundant!

If you want the land of our Qing Kingdom, all you have to do is send troops to take it. The millions of soldiers of our Qing Kingdom are not vegetarians! Let’s not talk about this treaty!"

Speaking of the words he had prepared in advance, Pan Zhengwei led everyone and left angrily, regardless of Fillmore's attempts to stay.

"President Liang, please retain the envoys of the Qing Dynasty."

Fillmore said to Liang Yao with great regret.

"How to keep it? If the Qing Dynasty came up and asked for American territory, would you accept it?"

Liang Yao shook his head and said with great disappointment.

"I tried my best and used my family's connections in the Qing court to convince His Majesty the Emperor to reluctantly send an envoy to visit the United States. I never thought you would make such a low-level mistake."

Fillmore paced back and forth, occasionally overlooking the Triangle Park not far from the New York Municipal Building, and said in a regretful tone: "It's true that I didn't think well. I was too impatient and wanted a stronghold in the Far East.

.”

As the end of his term drew closer, Fillmore's mentality became impatient and he lost the composure that a mature and experienced politician should have.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he has never dealt with officials of the Qing Dynasty before and has a stereotype of Qing officials.

Perhaps this minister, who has a neither humble nor arrogant attitude, is a relatively upright and idealistic official in the Qing Dynasty, just like the imperial envoy who banned smoking mentioned by Mori.

"It is not difficult to have a stronghold in the Far East. There is more than just the Qing Dynasty in the Far East." Liang Yao found a comfortable seat and sat down.

"You mean Japan?" Fillmore suddenly became energetic.

"I did have the idea of ​​coercing Japan into founding a country by force, opening up the Japanese market, and establishing diplomatic relations with Japan.

The information you provided gave me a deeper understanding of Japan. You said that Japan is also a unified country with a population of 30 million, and its population is no less than that of the United States.

For such a huge country, it may not be that simple to force it to found its own country."

"This is just an appearance. Japan's unity is a very fragile unity. Unlike the Qing Dynasty, where the emperor had supreme power, the Japanese emperor's power has declined and he is just a puppet who serves as a mascot to maintain people's hearts."

Liang Yao said.

"The actual person in power in Japan is the hereditary shogun. Under this nominal unity, the shogun actually does not control enough places and troops.

To force Japan to found a country, all it takes is to use force to force the shogun to bow his head.

I believe the United States has such strength."

After listening to Liang Yao's words carefully, Fillmore returned to his seat and fell into deep thought.

The temptation for him to force Japan to found a country was very strong.

If he can successfully force the Japanese shogunate to found a country, it will not only boost the morale of the American people, but also open up the Japanese market, which will go a long way in improving his personal prestige.

Fillmore, who succeeded the President of the United States as Vice President, did not have high prestige. Being able to become the President of the United States had a lot of luck.

Fillmore's influence among America's upper echelons of power is minimal. He must do something major during his term of office to change this situation and break the stereotypes against him at all levels of society.

If the founding of Japan can be accomplished, both the common people and the middle class as well as the upper class elites will definitely look upon him with admiration and win more votes for him to be re-elected in the next term.

"How long will it take, how many troops, and how much military expenditure will it take to force Japan to found a country?" Fillmore was moved.

"As long as we have the support of the naval fleet, not including the trip to Japan, it will be enough within half a year."

Liang Yao said with great confidence.

"If your Excellency the President is not willing to just be a mediocre president, I am willing to provide you with help and solve the problem quickly without consuming too much financial resources of the federal government."

Fillmore was deeply stimulated by these words: a president who did nothing.

He has finally climbed from the bottom of society to the pinnacle of power in the United States. He is indeed unwilling to be just a mediocre president.

(End of chapter)