For several days in a row, the British fleet stationed on the Xiaguan River did not make any movement except for still sending steamships to blockade the river, and the large battalion stationed in Yanziji was also quiet, and no British troops went out to move, and the Eight Banners Green Battalion and the Yuanqi regimental training stationed in Jiangning also did not move, and there was calm inside and outside Jiangning City. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although there was a calm, the armies of both Qing and Britain were actively preparing for war, and maintained a high degree of vigilance, and no one dared to relax.

Three days later, a group of light cavalry galloped into the camp of Baitu Mountain, and went straight to the big tent of the Chinese army, and the deputy envoy of the British army, Yilu, who was wearing a green battalion coat, jumped off his horse exhausted, and walked into the big tent with some numb legs, and galloped six hundred miles in three days.

When he saw Yi Zhicontent, his first words were, "I'm not late, am I?" ”

"Nope." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said, "Do you want to rest?" ”

"Not necessarily." Yilu shook his head and said, "I'm anxious to know what's going on now. ”

"Sit." Yi Zhishu poured him a large cup of herbal tea as he spoke, and then said slowly: "I am in a hurry to summon Your Excellency to Jiangning for the ......sake of peace talks between the two sides. A brief introduction to Zhenjiang and the current confrontation between the two sides, he focused on the conversation with Pu Dingcha in the immortal cave of Baitu Mountain.

Hearing that England should undertake the construction of the railway from Hangzhou to Beijing, Yilu's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he asked: "Your country has enough financial resources to build such a long railway?" ”

"Your Excellency ought to know how much this railway is worth?" Yi Zhizhi said disapprerovingly: "There is no need to worry about the matter of silver, there is no shortage of silver in the Qing Dynasty, besides, if you really don't want to make a move, you can also borrow from the bank in your country." ”

Although Yilu was born in the navy, he came to China for a long time, successively served as a secretary, the third and second commercial superintendent in Guangzhou, and served as the general superintendent of commerce in China for five or six years, and was very familiar with the business and trade between the East and the West, and also very clear about the situation of domestic banks, the economic crisis that broke out in England this time was quite large, not only affecting Europe, but also the United States of America was not spared, a large number of banks were facing bankruptcy, a large amount of money was looking for a way out, and the construction of railways in the Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly a rare opportunity!

Soon he suppressed the excitement in his heart, calmed down, and said, "Why did Mr. Yi build the railway from Shanghai to Baoshan?" The railway is not long, but it is of little value. ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "This is not what Your Excellency should be concerned about, Your Excellency should think about the ransom issue now." ”

"Ransom?" Yilu said, "The ransom for all prisoners of war?" ”

"Your Excellency's own ransom." Yi Zhizhi said: "I have to let Your Excellency return to the fleet and participate in the peace talks between the two sides, and you can't let Your Excellency participate in the peace talks as a prisoner of war?" ”

Yilu showed a wry smile and said, "Mr. Yi will make a price." ”

"I've already made a bid." Yi Zhizhi said: "A fourth-class battleship." ”

"I don't understand, since Mr. Yi wants to end the war through peace talks, why do you need warships?"

"Your Excellency should be well aware." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The private property of the people of the Great Qing Dynasty is not sacrosanct, and Yuan Qi must have enough strength to protect himself. ”

Yilu nodded and said, "I think I can convince Sir Pudingcha." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "Don't be in a hurry for this half a day, take a good rest first, and I'll arrange it." ”

The next morning, in the pavilion on the top of Baitu Mountain, Yi Zhishu and Pu Ding Cha met again, the difference was that there was one more righteous law, a little greeting, Yi Zhishu smiled and said: "The two of you will talk first, I will go to the vicinity to enjoy the scenery." ”

Yi Zhicontent, who was waiting, left slowly, Pu Dingcha sighed lightly and said, "I didn't expect this battle to end like this." ”

"That's because we didn't pay enough attention to Yuanqi." Yilu said and sat down casually, and said: "In the current situation, it is very unrealistic to ask the Qing court to accept the compensation for the cession of land, and the method proposed by Mr. Yi to compensate for the construction of the Hangzhou-Beijing railway is a feasible method, and it is also a win-win situation for the two countries, I think, Her Majesty the Queen and the vast majority of parliamentarians will be satisfied." ”

Pu Ding Cha has not been idle in the past few days, and Huang Dianyuan inquired about the construction of the railway from Hangzhou to Beijing, and immediately said: "I heard that the emperor and officials of the Qing Dynasty did not have a unified attitude towards the construction of the railway....... ”

"It's not something we should be thinking about." Yilu smiled: "If the contract is signed and the Qing State unilaterally breaks the contract, we can justifiably provoke a war." ”

Pu Ding Cha said in a deep voice: "Can you guarantee that Her Majesty the Queen and the majority of the members of Parliament agree to this clause?" ”

After a slight sigh, Yi Lucai said: "Even if it is a conservative estimate, the profit from the construction of a thousand-mile railway will be as high as tens of millions of silver dollars, and the construction of this railway can greatly drive many related industries in China, help stimulate economic recovery, and in the long run, it is also conducive to the trade between the East and the West, there is no reason not to agree and be dissatisfied!" ”

Yi Zhizu walked along the path on the top of the mountain for a while, and then turned back to the pavilion in about half an hour, and the three of them sat down politely, and Yilu said tentatively: "Mr. Yi wants to use this war to promote the construction of the railway in China?" ”

After glancing at him, Yi Zhizhi said: "If you don't want to carry the war to the end, this is undoubtedly an extremely appropriate idea to get the best of both worlds, what?" England has no interest in the railway? ”

"It's not that we're not interested." Pu Ding Cha took over and said, "But His Majesty the Emperor of your country, will you agree?" ”

"Jiangning is only more than 2,000 miles from Beijing, and it doesn't take four days to get there." Yi Zhixin said unhurriedly: "Let's first draft a draft contract and submit it to the Jingshi, and it will only take ten days to go back and forth, the two of you won't be able to afford to wait, right?" ”

There are still two months left before the dry season of the Yangtze River, Pu Ding Cha is not worried, and even said: "Yes, but these days, Jiang Ning has to ensure that our army should be replenished." ”

"Tomorrow, the Jinghai Temple talks will be put forward together." Yi Zhishu glanced at Yilu and said, "...... ransom?" ”

Hearing him mention the ransom, Pu Dingcha said in a deep voice: "We hope that Mr. Yi can return all the prisoners of war free of charge, which is also a condition for us to strike the war." ”

Yi Zhicontent's face sank, "Then don't talk about it, just fight." ”

Seeing that he was so tough, Pu Ding Cha and Yi Lu exchanged a look, and Pu Ding Cha muttered: "Mr. Yi thinks about the overall situation everywhere, why is he not worried about small losses when he is concerned about prisoners of war?" Besides, didn't Mr. Yi return the prisoners of war for free last time? ”

In the first battle of Wusong, Yuan Qi's two fleets and eight light cruisers had been exposed, and Yi Zhizhi was also lazy to go around in circles, and said straightforwardly: "I said, in order to protect himself, Yuan Qi wants to form a fleet, and Yuan Qi now has this ability, you either use silver or warships to redeem prisoners of war, and return them free of charge, impossible!" Moreover, I remind the two of you that the Qing Emperor has no right to decide the prisoners of war that Yuan Qi has at hand. ”

Pu Ding Cha said in a deep voice: "All the prisoners of war, how many warships does Mr. Yi want?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly and said, "More than 6,000 prisoners of war will be exchanged for the Dinghai Fleet." ”

There are twenty large and small warships in the Dinghai fleet, which is simply a lion's big mouth, Pu Ding didn't even think about it and refused: "This is impossible!" ”

"Don't be in a hurry to refuse." Yi Zhizhi said: "It's too embarrassing for you to take the initiative to exchange warships for prisoners of war, but if the warships of the Dinghai Fleet are captured by us, the two of you can explain the past inside and out, right?" ”

After being silent for a long time, Pu Ding Chacai said: "This matter will be discussed later, the ransom of the righteous law, whether it is war or peace, we will guarantee to deliver it after the war." ”

"Okay." Yi Zhizhi said happily, to be honest, he was not completely sure whether Daoguang would agree to build the railway, and he was not verbose, so he immediately got up and said, "Then see you in Jinghai Temple tomorrow." ”

After going down the mountain, Yi Zhishu immediately rushed into the city and rushed to the governor's palace to sign the detention room, and reported the meeting to Lin Zexu, and after listening carefully, Lin Zexu ordered in a deep voice: "Come here, immediately invite Yishan, Monk Greenqin, and Yang Fang to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion to discuss matters." After speaking, he said to Yi Zhicontent: "Contentment will go to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to rest first." ”

Yi Zhizhi knew that he had official business to deal with, so he immediately got up and retired, and went to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, the sun was poisoning in the afternoon, and he came to a shady water pavilion when he entered the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, and sent away the long entourage who led the way to lie down on the pavilion bench to prepare for a nap, and he was constantly busy when he got up in the morning, he was really a little tired, and it was estimated that the three of Yishan came to him, not to mention most of the hour.

I didn't want to close my eyes in a daze, so one of the people who heard it smiled and said, "Brother Contentment will look for a place, it's really shady here." ”

Someone came to take a bite of pure Beijing films, who is not Su Shun? Yi Zhizu opened his eyes and glanced at him, turned over and sat up, and said with a smile: "Why is Brother Yuting here?" ”

"No boredom......." Su Shun smiled: "What's going on with the British army? Why did you stay still? ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Brother Yuting, this is impatient, you want to go to the battlefield to make contributions?" ”

"It's boring these days." Su Shun said: "The martial law in the city, a hundred lines are withering, and they all want to go to the battlefield to see the combat strength of the British army..... can they be content, can they get some news, when will the war start?" ”

"It is estimated that there will be no fighting for half a month." Yi Zhizhi said: "Let's stay in Jiangning with peace of mind." ”

No war for half a month? Su Shun couldn't help frowning, and after thinking about it, he said, "Then can we go to the Baitu Mountain camp for a while?" Yuanqi Tuanlian is famous, and they have long been clamoring to go and see it. ”

Daoguang sent more than a dozen disciples of the clan to Jiangning this time, and Yi Zhizhi said disapprerovitously: "If there is anything you can't do, you can go at any time, but you have to say hello to the two Qincha adults." ”

"That's nature." Su Shun said excitedly: "Let's go tomorrow." ”

"I don't have time tomorrow, so I'll put it off for two days."

"Isn't there no war?"

"I'm going to talk to Yingyi tomorrow." Yi Zhizhi said: "Or..... You can ..... tomorrow at dusk. Before he finished speaking, a chief casually came quickly, bowed down and said, "Lord Yi, all of you are here......" ”

Coming so fast? Yi Zhishu hurriedly got up and said, "Come at dusk, I'll set up a banquet in the barracks." Saying that, he nodded, walked quickly, and entered the main hall, and the four people who had just seen Lin Zexu, Yishan, Seng Greenqin, and Yang Fang were already seated, and when he came in, Lin Zexu stretched out his hand to signal that he was seated, and then continued: "....... Contentment has just said the two meetings with the commander of the British army, Pu Dingcha, what do you think about the meeting tomorrow? ”

As soon as he heard that he wanted peace talks to end the war, he was full of opinions, and even said: "These British troops are not authentic, and when they see that the situation is not good, they want to negotiate, I don't agree, our efforts in the past half a year cannot be in vain, and we have annihilated the main fleet of the British army in one fell swoop, and it is not too late to negotiate." ”

"The monk king's words are inappropriate." Yi Zhishu hurriedly said: "If you really annihilate the main fleet of the British army, the war will definitely last until the next year, or even longer." ”

Monk Grinqin said: "What are you afraid of? The British army wants to fight, let's accompany us to the end! ”

"Wars are fought for money and food." Lin Zexu said: "If the war continues, Yuan Qi can't support it, and the imperial court can't support it!" ”

Hearing this, Seng Lingqin immediately stopped speaking, the Yellow River in Henan burst its banks, the Hubu treasury was empty, and the imperial court really could not support the war in Jiangnan for a long time, Yuan Qi had already invested millions of taels for the battle of Jiangning, and it was impossible to support it for a long time, this is a fact!

Yishan and Yang Fang are eager for a truce to make peace, as far as the current battle situation is concerned, the Qing Dynasty has a slight victory, and it also has the initiative, and if it continues, once Jiangning City is broken, it will be difficult to say, and if it continues, it may not be able to guarantee a steady victory, and both of them are happy to accept it when they see it.

After coughing lightly, Yishan spoke: "This battle has been fought so far, we can basically say that we have achieved the purpose of the Battle of Jiangning, which has not only severely damaged the British army, dealt a blow to the arrogance of the British army, but also demonstrated our determination to resist the British army. After a slight pause, he said tentatively: "However, let Yingyi undertake the construction of the railway, will the emperor agree?" ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, if this war continues, I'm afraid military spending alone will be enough to build this railway." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Besides, letting Yingyi undertake the construction of the Hangzhou-Jingshi railway is a double win for the Qing Dynasty, one is that the Shanghai-Baoshan Railway built by Yingyi for free can be used as Anglia's war compensation for the Qing Dynasty, and furthermore, with the help of Yingglia's technology and funds to build the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, it is a real benefit for the Qing Dynasty."

As for whether the emperor agrees, if we don't test it, how can we know? Having said that, this contract, we have face, all sides are clean, even if the emperor does not agree, we will not condemn the crime, after all, we are forcing Yingyi to bow his head and submit to softness this time. ”

This sentence can be regarded as talking about the hearts of a few people, don't take a little risk, why not give it a try? Yishan and Yang Fang immediately expressed their approval one after another, and Lin Zexu glanced at Seng Lingqin and said in a deep voice: "That is the case, tomorrow I will discuss it in detail with the British army in Jinghai Temple." (To be continued.) )