“No, absolutely not! Your Li family wants to carve up the land, doesn't it? The Qing Dynasty will never accept such terms! The Beiyang Army must be disarmed. You father and son, Li Jingyuan, will be brought to Beijing and placed under house arrest! Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty will exterminate your entire clan!” Prince Qing, Yi Kuang, his face contorted with rage, directly rejected the conditions Li Jingyuan had proposed.
“Hmph! I have hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in the Beiyang Army. Can you defeat us? If you can't defeat us, why do you want us to disband our army? It's simply delusional!"
Li Jingyuan looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Prince Qing, Yi Kuang, was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to respond.
If the Qing army could defeat the Beiyang Army on the battlefield, why would they need to negotiate?
They could simply crush the Beiyang Army, leaving no survivors.
And these Li family rebels would be dragged to the execution ground and beheaded.
But the problem was that the Qing army couldn't defeat the Beiyang Army!
As a last resort, the Qing Dynasty had turned to the British for help.
But, unexpectedly, the British were unwilling to get directly involved in the war, instead asking the Qing Dynasty to negotiate with the Beiyang Army.
The two sides had huge differences and naturally couldn't reach an agreement.
Sir Walmsley, the British Minister to the Qing Dynasty, who was acting as a mediator, could only try to smooth things over.
“Commander Li, Prince Qing, why don't you both take a step back? The Beiyang Army's sphere of influence will be confined to Shandong Province, and it will withdraw from other areas. And, the Beiyang Army will maintain a certain size. For example, fifty thousand men." Sir Walmsley suggested.
“No! We fought hard for these territories, how can we easily give them up? Moreover, the Beiyang Army now has a total force of nearly 500,000 men. If we reduce it to one-tenth, our own safety will be compromised!” Li Jingyuan flatly rejected this condition.
“My Qing Dynasty doesn't accept this condition either. Not an inch of land can be left to the rebels. The Beiyang Army must be disarmed. We can forgive the Li family's crimes. But the Beiyang government and the Beiyang Army cannot continue to exist!” Yi Kuang's attitude was equally resolute.
This outcome made Sir Walmsley very troubled.
He knew that this negotiation was unlikely to end peacefully.
“Commander Li, the Qing Dynasty is, after all, the legitimate ruler of this country. The Beiyang Army is, after all, a rebellious force. So, why doesn't the Beiyang Army side make further concessions?
For example, the Beiyang Army's sphere of influence could be reduced to half of Shandong Province. And, the size of the Beiyang Army could be further reduced to ten thousand men.
This way, the Qing Dynasty should feel more at ease!”
Sir Walmsley proposed another solution.
Of course, the British were siding with the Qing government.
Moreover, a decaying and declining Qing Dynasty would be more beneficial to the British Empire.
On the contrary, a powerful Beiyang Army-controlled country would pose a serious threat to the British Empire's interests in the Far East.
In this context, they naturally stood firmly with the Qing government.
Upon hearing Sir Walmsley's words, Li Jingyuan couldn't help but furrow his brow.
He knew that the British were determined to take sides against them.
“Sir Walmsley, the Beiyang Army will not accept these conditions.” Li Jingyuan's attitude was firm.
“Commander Li, you should be aware of the consequences of rejecting our proposal. The British Empire will never allow its interests to be harmed!” Sir Walmsley's words carried a clear threat.
“Sir Walmsley, the Beiyang Army does not want to be an enemy of the British Empire. But we are not sheep to be slaughtered. Anyone who wants to bully us will pay the price!”
Things had come to this point, and Li Jingyuan was no longer trying to avoid becoming an enemy of the British.
He couldn't possibly agree to the harsh conditions demanded by the Qing government.
Besides, Li Jingyuan was convinced that the British were all bark and no bite, and would not personally engage in combat with the Beiyang Army.
In that case, the Beiyang Army had nothing to fear.
With Li Jingyuan refusing to compromise, this round of negotiations yielded no results.
Prince Qing, Yi Kuang, was naturally very pleased.
Li Jingyuan had refused to give face to the British. So, besides increasing their support for the Qing Dynasty, the British would probably end up personally getting involved in the attack on the Beiyang Army.
This would allow the Qing Dynasty to defeat the Beiyang Army in one fell swoop and eliminate the Li father and son.
“Commander Li, then this round of negotiations is over. I hope you won't regret your choice today!” Sir Walmsley said coldly.
“Sir Walmsley, let me give you a word of advice. This is a war between us and the Qing government, and has nothing to do with the British Empire. If the British Empire insists on intervening in this war, it will inevitably pay a heavy price!” Li Jingyuan warned.
“Let’s wait and see.” Sir Walmsley clearly didn't take Li Jingyuan's warning seriously.
The British Empire was the world's dominant power. How could it be threatened by a mere rebel force?
It was simply a pipe dream.