Gao Kaose glanced at Jinma Lun awkwardly, then muttered a few words, and finally adjusted his mood and re-presented his conditions.
"Then my condition now is that the Qing army should leave the vicinity of Macau immediately, and Macau must be recognized as the territory of the Kingdom of Portugal. As for compensation? For the sake of General Jinmalun, I won't mention it."
Cameron was listening. He felt that the conditions proposed by Gaokao Se were quite reliable this time, so he turned his head and looked at Liu Hai. What does that mean? Are you satisfied now?
Liu Hai looked a little angry at the performance of the two governors. Then he stood up, turned around and walked out the door. There was no need to continue such negotiations.
When Cameron saw Liu Hai getting up and leaving, he knew that the other person was really angry this time, so he quickly stood up and pulled Liu Hai back.
"General Liu, what are you doing? The negotiation has just begun. Can you hear any different opinions?"
Liu Hai turned his head and looked at Macau Governor Gao Kauser, and then smiled contemptuously, "I have never heard of a weak country asking a strong country to cede land. I remember a French general said: The truth lies within the range of a cannon.
Within. I think now we should use cannons to solve the problem."
Cameron frowned, then lowered his voice and said: "Mr. Liu, I hope you can take responsibility for what you said. I can tell you clearly that the British Empire does not want a war between the two sides."
Liu Hai stared at Cameron closely and said: "The Qing Empire does not want a war, but if it is bullied by a weak country and demands compensation for ceding territory, then the Qing Empire is not afraid of war."
"Do you know that the person standing in front of you is a naval general of the British Empire? I hope you take back what you said about the war."
Liu Hai looked at the general who favored the Governor of Macau, then waved his hand and walked out of the cabin.
The reason why Liu Hai is so determined is because he has made up his mind that if the backdoor issue cannot be resolved through negotiation, he will use force even if the UK intervenes.
If the British really sent troops to intervene, the worst he could do was start over again. With his connections in the Qing Dynasty and his ability to travel across dimensions, he would be able to start over again soon.
When Cameron saw Liu Hai decisively leaving, he knew something was wrong. The order given to him by London was to mediate the dispute between the two parties rather than letting him mess up the matter.
So Cameron hurried forward and caught up with Liu Hai, grabbed his arm tightly and said: "General Liu, walk slowly. The matter has not reached this point yet. Please continue to sit down and discuss."
Liu Hai looked at the British Governor and said, "It's okay to continue the negotiation, but I hope that Mr. Xi can uphold a fair attitude in the next meeting. If it continues like it was just now, I don't think it is necessary to continue the negotiation."
"Mr. Liu, rest assured that our British Empire has always been thinking about world peace and will definitely do its best to promote reconciliation between the two parties in a fair and just way."
If it could be resolved peacefully, Liu Hai actually didn't want to go to war, so after getting Kim Malong's statement, he pushed the situation and returned to the negotiation table.
But Gao Kaose was a little unhappy when he saw Liu Hai coming back. If Liu Hai left like this and finally offended the British Empire, then he would be more confident if the British Empire sent troops to the Far East for reinforcements.
After Jin Ma Lun pulled her bangs back to the negotiating table, she glared fiercely at Gaokao Se next to her.
This time, Cameron did not let Gao Kaose speak again, but said directly to Liu Hai: "Mr. Liu, I hope your conditions can be more relaxed, at least to maintain the basic interests of the Kingdom of Portugal."
Liu Hai thought for a while, no matter how much conditions he offered, the gentlemen in the court would not appreciate it.
So Liu Hai pondered for a moment, and then said: "In this case, I hope that the Kingdom of Portugal can take back the 1847 decree issued by Queen Maria II of Portugal to combine Macau with Timor and Solor in the South Pacific to become an overseas province of Portugal.
The law. Because Macao has been Chinese territory since ancient times and will never be allowed to be separated."
After hearing this, Cameron nodded, then turned to Gao Kauser and said, "I think General Liu's request is very reasonable and does not violate the previously signed contract. I think Mr. Governor, you should consider it."
Gaokao Se's face turned a little dark. This was the order of the queen of the previous generation. How could it be so easy to abolish?
But when he saw that Britain was not entirely on his side, he could only nod in agreement.
"I agree in principle with this matter, but I have to report it to Portugal, and the Portuguese government will make the final decision."
Cameron nodded with satisfaction and said: "Today we are just negotiating a draft agreement. As long as both parties reach an agreement, it can then be handed over to the governments of various countries."
Gao Kaose said with a gloomy face: "Now that we have made concessions, I hope Portugal can fully obtain the territory of Macau."
Liu Hai saw that the other party brought up the topic again, "This is impossible. The Qing Empire was not defeated and must not cede territory. Don't talk about this matter anymore. If we continue to talk, the negotiations between the two parties may break down."
Cameron also saw that it was impossible for Liu Hai to compromise on the territory, so he said directly: "Macau is Chinese territory. This is a recognized fact. I hope you will stop dwelling on this issue and talk about something practical."
Seeing that Britain's attitude had become clear, Gao Kaosu knew that it was impossible for the Qing Dynasty to cede Macao, so he could only settle for the next best thing, "If this is the case, we, the Kingdom of Portugal, can recognize Macao as Chinese territory, but the Kingdom of Portugal should obtain permanent
lease rights to ensure that the interests of the Kingdom of Portugal in Macau are not harmed."
"Mr. Gao Kauser may still be sleeping. Can't you open your eyes and take a look at the world? Portugal is no longer the super empire it was hundreds of years ago. If there are any more unreasonable thoughts, then the two sides can only decide on the battlefield.
.”
Liu Hai spoke very rudely this time, directly pointing out the gap between the national power of Portugal and the Qing Empire. Unless some European powers forcefully go to war with the Qing Dynasty regardless of their own interests, it will be impossible for the Kingdom of Portugal to win on the battlefield.
of the Qing Empire.
Cameron also saw this, so he changed the topic to Liu Hai, "Mr. Liu, this clause can be changed, and you can express your revised opinions."
Liu Hai thought for a while, Macau has been controlled by Portugal for hundreds of years, and it would be unrealistic to take it back completely at once, so he said: "Portugal should continue to fulfill its obligations as a concession and pay concession fees to the Qing Empire every year, and at the same time make it clear
The term of the concession.”
After hearing this, Cameron nodded slowly. He knew that this was Liu Hai's bottom line, and in his opinion, Liu Hai's request was not excessive. Even Britain's lease of Hong Kong had a limited number of years, didn't it?
"Mr. Gao Kauser, what do you think?"
"If this is the case, I hope the lease loan should be 500 taels of silver per year and the lease term should be 99 years."
When Cameron heard this, he felt that the other party was going too far. The British Empire had defeated the Qing Dynasty several times and did not propose such harsh terms.
"Gao Kaose, I hope you can take this negotiation seriously. If you continue to make such unreasonable troubles, I can only announce that the negotiations have broken down and the British Empire warships will withdraw to Hong Kong."
When Gao Kaoser heard that Cameron was about to withdraw his troops, he immediately came to the rescue. Now they rely solely on the British to maintain Macau's interests. If the British leave, we will be doomed.
Gaokao Se could only ask Liu Hai helplessly: "So, what kind of commitment does Mr. Liu think Portugal should fulfill?"
Liu Hai finally showed a smile of victory, "I hope that Portugal will pay 10,000 taels of silver to the Qing Dynasty every year starting from this year, and make up for the original arrears of the concession, totaling 500,000 taels of silver. As for signing the contract,
I hope that Portugal will lease Macau for 30 years, and the two parties will sign a new treaty after 30 years."
Cameron nodded with satisfaction after hearing Liu Hai's opinion. Liu Hai did not harm Portugal's fundamental interests in Macau this time.
"I think Mr. Liu's proposal is very constructive and we should negotiate under Mr. Liu's proposal."
This is when Cameron agreed with Liu Hai's opinion and directly warned the governor of Macau.
Now that Gao Kaose saw that the British had agreed to Liu Hai's request, he had no choice but to agree.
Then the two sides argued for a long time on the details, and finally reached an understanding.
Finally, the two sides signed the "Qing-Portugal Treaty" on a British warship.
This new treaty stipulates that: 1. Portugal recognizes Macau as a territory of the Qing Empire. 2. Portugal will compensate the Qing government for the rent and loans it has paid to the Qing government over the past few decades, totaling 500,000 taels of silver. 3. From now on, the Portuguese government
Each year, 10,000 taels of silver were paid to the Qing Empire as a lease loan for Macau. 4. The Portuguese garrison in Macau could not exceed 1,500 men, and they were not allowed to equip cannons with a caliber above 150 mm.
The rest were trivial issues, such as Portugal's request that the Qing Dynasty open its treaty ports, but Liu Hai dismissed this matter.
After the two parties reached an agreement, Liu Hai and Gao Kauser signed the agreement in duplicate under the witness of British Governor-General Cameron, respectively, and handed it over to the governments of various countries for final signing.
If nothing else happens, this treaty will be the final agreement between the Qing Dynasty and Portugal on the Macau issue.
After Liu Hai returned to the armored cruiser Jiangsu with the agreement, he immediately lifted the blockade of Macau and headed north as agreed. He first came to Fuzhou from the warship.
Liu Hai used the cable telegraph in Fuzhou to send the final results of this negotiation to the Qing court in Fuzhou.
After Li Hongzhang of the Prime Minister's Office received the telegram, he couldn't help but sigh that the Nanyang Navy still had some capable people, like Liu Hai, who had some skills and was able to achieve such results in foreign negotiations.
In Li Hongzhang's view, Liu Hai's negotiation this time can be said to be a huge victory. It did not cede territory and pay compensation, and it did not harm the interests of the Qing Dynasty and its friendly relations with foreign countries.
Next, Li Hongzhang paid tribute and reported the results of the negotiation to the Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager Cixi was also very satisfied with the negotiation and approved it immediately. She only waited for Liu Hai to return to Shanghai, send someone to deliver the treaty to the capital, and finally seal it.