On the deck of the flagship 'Zhenjiang', Chen Hongming looked at the Miaodao Strait in front of him expressionlessly, by this time, he had naturally understood the other party's intentions, the other party was not ordinary cautious, and the purpose of hitting the opponent's fleet by surprise was obviously unsuccessful, he was a little disappointed in his heart, but also a little expected and excited.

On both sides of the Miaodao Strait, he did not deploy a fort, he did not expect that the other party would choose this route, among the four routes from the Bohai Sea to the Bohai Sea, this route is the most unlikely, and the other party chose to test through this route.

After looking around on all sides, he saw that there were already seven or eight squads surrounding him, Chen Hongming immediately put his mind at ease, as the so-called reality is virtual, fiction is real, the battle situation is changing rapidly, anything can happen, and mobilizing seven or eight squads to come forward to encircle is nothing more than worrying about accidents.

"Drive! Drive! A group of about 200 cavalry quickly whipped their horses, rushed into the capital of Dengzhou at a gallop, galloped through the deserted street, and went straight to the north gate.

The cavalry that came was indeed the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division, to be precise, the middle and senior officers headed by the Admiral Zaizhao of the Beiyang Naval Division, who were in a hurry to come to Dengzhou, originally planning to go to Miaodao to observe this rare large-scale naval battle, and at the same time wanted to see with their own eyes whether the Nanyang Naval Fleet had the ability to blockade the Bohai Sea.

They took the train from Tianjin to Jinan, and then rushed all the way from Jinan, but they were just in time, and when they heard the news that the coalition fleet had assembled in the Miaodao Strait, Zaizhao was so anxious that he couldn't care about anything else, so he rode through the city, went out of the city gate, and went straight to Laobeishan.

Rushed to Lao Beishan to take a condescending look, and saw that the fight had not yet started, Zaizhao and other officers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and it was not in vain that they galloped all the way, so they finally caught up.

At the eastern end of the Miaodao Strait, on the third-class ship 'Xiamen', the captain Song Zhiheng looked at the battleship in front of him with full sails across the strait and rushed towards them, and ordered in a deep voice, "The breech-loading guns of each ship are ready!" ”

The current speed of the Miaodao Strait is not much slower than that of the old Tieshan Waterway, and the tide is as high as more than three knots at low tide, and the opponent's twenty warships, divided into four formations, are advancing at full speed, reaching a speed of about ten knots, and in the blink of an eye, they have already entered the range of artillery.

"The report ——, report from the ships and is ready."

"Report——, enemy ships have come within range of artillery."

"Report——, enemy ship is twelve hundred yards away."

"Report ——, enemy ship at a distance of a thousand yards."

Song Zhiheng stared closely at the battleships that were getting closer and closer on the opposite side, he knew very well that the warships of the British and French fleets generally fired at a distance of about four hundred yards, especially the British Navy, they were not allowed to fire their guns outside of four hundred yards, and their breech guns were generally fired at a distance of one thousand yards, which could ensure a high hit rate.

He endured not giving the order to open fire, because he knew that once the other party found out that they were equipped with new artillery, they would inevitably escape, and he didn't want to leave only five warships of the other side, no matter what, he had to leave ten ships.

"Report——, enemy ship is nine hundred yards away!" The communications officer's voice was already a little trembling, after all, the speed of the enemy ships was very fast, and the closer the warships on both sides, the greater the pressure they were under.

"Report——, enemy ship is eight hundred yards away!"

Song Zhiheng raised his hand and waved decisively, and ordered loudly, "Open the cannon!" Free shelling! ”

"Boom, boom, boom!" A series of dull cannon sounds broke the calm on the sea, and the 20 breech guns on the 'Xiamen' and three other fourth-class ships opened fire almost simultaneously, and the five enemy ships in front of them were all hit without exception, only one was hit by the good ones, and the one with the worst luck was hit by three shells, and the sailors and crew gunners on the deck were killed and wounded, and the sails that ate full of wind also became rags, and the speed was slow, and the missed shells fell into the sea and raised the old high column of water, and the successive explosions of the round of shelling were astonishing.

On the deck of the coalition flagship "Ostrich", Shanei's hand holding the telescope trembled, and the cannon was fired at a distance of eight or nine hundred yards, the range of this artillery, the hit rate, this is definitely a rifled gun, only a rifled gun can have such a high hit rate at such a distance, his face was a little pale, the Qing warships really had to rely on, however, what made him a little relieved was that there were only four warships that fired the guns, and it seems that the Qing Navy has not been able to popularize this new type of artillery.

"Boom, boom." The second round of shelling soon sounded, and Sha Nei was shocked, the shelling speed was so fast? It's a breech-loading rifled gun! "Retreat! Retreat all! He hurriedly ordered in a loud voice, even though he knew that he could not retreat all at this time, but he still did not hesitate to order, if he could retreat, one by one, the opponent's artillery was fired quickly and accurately, and they would be sunk before they had a chance to fight back, and their artillery seemed to be much more powerful.

The rumbling cannon sound and the violent explosion sound were deafening, the explosion seemed to have been uninterrupted, and a whole small group of ten warships soon began to tilt and sink in the opponent's not too dense artillery bombardment, and the officers and men of the coalition warships at the mouth of the western strait looked at this scene in horror, and many officers and soldiers showed a frightened look on their faces, where is this naval battle, their warships are simply target ships.

The officers of the Beiyang Naval Division of Lao Beishan were also dumbfounded, and when the sound of artillery stopped, someone exclaimed: "No wonder the Nanyang Navy fleet dares to blockade the Bohai Sea, it turns out that it is equipped with new artillery ......!" ”

"Do you know what kind of artillery this is? It's fast and accurate, and it's amazing! The Xiyi fleet didn't even have a chance to fight back! ”

"Breech-loading rifled guns, as well as copper-shelled shells." Zaizhao said slowly: "The Xiyi fleet is over, and it will definitely be the end of the entire army!" ”

This tentative skirmish naval battle - the battle of the Miaodao Strait ended in less than a quarter of an hour, and the casualties were not large but not small - the allied fleet was sunk ten fourth- and fifth-class warships, and more than 1,000 officers and men were killed or wounded, but the impact of this battle was really not small, and after this battle, no one dared to question the ability of the Nanyang naval fleet to blockade the Bohai Sea!

Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

After a simple comparison of several telegrams sent from Dengzhou Mansion, Xianfeng couldn't help but sigh secretly, I don't know whether to be happy or worried, the Nanyang Navy fleet is equipped with a large number of new rear-loading rifled guns, which occupies an absolute advantage in naval battles and has the strength to blockade the Bohai Sea.

Now in this situation, the Xiyi naval fleet is already a turtle in the urn, and the more than 40,000 army forces in Xianghe are also in a worrying situation - a dilemma, as long as he is willing, the battle with the alliance forces of the four countries, the Qing Dynasty can completely win a big victory, in this case, is it necessary to negotiate privately with Britain and France?

"Come on, Xuan Peng Yunzhang will meet you." Xianfeng commanded, stood up and moved his body, so far, although the Xiyi coalition army said that the defeat was decided, but in fact, the loss of troops was not large, and it was really desperate, and it still had the strength to fight to the death, from this aspect, ending the war through peace talks should be the most correct choice.

For the imperial court, private peace talks with Britain and France, or even an alliance with Britain and France, even if they do not fight Yuanqi, can contain Yuanqi and develop and strengthen the strength ......of the imperial court.

"We're respectfully pleasing to St. Ann." Peng Yunzhang knocked on Sheng'an when he entered the door, Xianfeng glanced at him, raised his hand and said, "No courtesy, give me a seat." After his thanksgiving sat down, he said straightforwardly: "In the war with the Xiyi Four Kingdoms, the Qing Dynasty has won the battle, what attitude should be adopted towards Britain and France?" ”

"Britain and France were anxious for peace talks because they expected that the defeat was decided, and Wei Chen secretly thought that they should not refuse peace talks with Britain and France." Peng Yunzhang glanced at Xianfeng as he spoke, and said thoughtfully: "Britain and France and other Western countries are businessmen, and when they see that the situation is not good, they will mediate through negotiations, and if the imperial court refuses, they will inevitably consider peace talks with Yuanqi." ”

Xianfeng glanced at him quietly, this is to the point, seeing that the defeat is imminent, Britain and France must be anxious, if the court refuses, they will inevitably find ways to negotiate with Yuan Qi, and at that time, the court will be tantamount to being thrown aside.

After a slight hesitation, he asked softly, "In the current situation, what will Yuan Qi's attitude be?" Is it to insist on fighting? Or will it accept negotiations? ”

"Yuanqi itself is a merchant ......." Peng Yunzhang said softly: "Furthermore, Britain and France are originally Western powers, and their overall strength is far from being comparable to our Qing Dynasty. Yi Zhi's content has a broad vision and long-term consideration, and Wei Chen secretly thinks that he will inevitably accept it when he meets it, and he is willing to negotiate. ”

In other words, if the imperial court wanted to grab the benefits, it had to negotiate with Britain and France before Yuan Qi. Xianfeng pondered for a while, and then made up his mind, and asked instead: "What benefits can the imperial court get from Britain and France?" ”

"Wei Chen secretly thought that after the end of the war with the Xiyi Four Kingdoms, the next step would be for the imperial court to face a threat from Yuanqi." Peng Yunzhang said unhurriedly: "Therefore, the top priority is to need firearms and warships, secondly, let Britain and France help the imperial court prepare for the construction of military factories, make firearms and ammunition on their own, and then borrow a large amount of money."

However, ......, Britain and France were not easy to match, and the imperial court may have to make appropriate concessions, such as opening the northern coastal ports, allowing the envoys of the Western Yi countries to open embassies in Beijing, and allowing mission......ary missions. ”

After a slight groan, Xianfeng said, "Who is suitable to negotiate with Xiyi?" ”

"Wechen recommends Baojun." Peng Yunzhang said without thinking: "Bao Jun is not only a waiter of the Ministry of Rites, but also served as the prime minister of Nanyang, familiar with Western etiquette, and also has rich diplomatic experience. ”

Bao Jun? This person is suitable, Xianfeng nodded slightly, "Xuan Baojun will see you." ”

Dongcheng District, Dongjiang Rice Lane, Russian Pavilion.

After listening to Zakharov read the telegram sent from Dengzhou, Putiyatin leaned back slightly, leaned back on the back of the wide Taishi chair, and showed a comfortable smile, "The Yuanqi naval fleet has the strength and ability to blockade the Bohai Sea, and there is no suspense in this war...... the rise of the Qing State, perhaps it should be said that the rise of Yuanqi is unstoppable." ”

Putting down the telegram, Zakharov said slowly: "The Qing court has agreed to negotiate privately with Britain and France, and I am afraid that there may be variables in this war, otherwise, let's delay it for a few days?" ”

"There's no need." Puti Yating waved his hand, "We must maintain good relations with the Qing court, as for Yuan Qi's side, we just need to provide information in a timely manner." ”

After a pause, he continued: "The Yuanqi Navy can blockade the Bohai Sea, which is equivalent to choking the necks of Britain and France, and Britain and France dare not take risks!" As he spoke, he stood up and said in a relaxed tone: "Send the information that the Qing court has agreed to negotiate privately with Britain and France to Tianjin." ”

Tianjin, Haiphong Office, Headquarters.

Yi Zhizu read the telegram and handed it to Zhao Wenlie, walked slowly to the window with a cigarette holder in his mouth, looked at the scenery outside the window and muttered, glanced at the content of the telegram, Zhao Wenlie shirted for a while, and said, "The imperial court is trying to grab benefits?" Or do you want to collude with Britain and France to deal with Yuan Qi? ”

Yi Zhizu turned around and leaned against the window, and said, "What do you say?" ”

"Even if the Eight Banners New Army, the Beiyang Naval Division and the Xiyi Four Nations Alliance Alliance and join forces to deal with the Yuanqi New Army, there is no certainty of victory, not to mention, the Nanyang Navy has enough strength to blockade the Bohai Sea, what will happen to the British and French Four, they will not take risks and form an alliance with the imperial court." Zhao Wenlie pondered: "Unless...... Unless the big shopkeeper wants to kill them all. ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I really plan to kill them all." ”

Zhao Wenlie was stunned, and hurriedly said: "Think twice, Britain and France are powerful countries in the world, and if they really want to kill the coalition forces, Britain and France are afraid that they will not be able to swallow this breath, and they will inevitably expand the ...... of war." ”

"Expanding the war?" Yi Zhishu sneered: "Wait until next year, when Britain and France dare to expand the war, the navy will be able to destroy them directly!" ”

Zhao Wenlie nodded slowly, I really forgot about this stubble, and by next year, almost all of the Nanyang Navy fleet has been replaced with new breech-loading rifled guns, and the British and French combined fleets are afraid that they will not even be able to enter the Nanyang! He immediately changed his words, "The big shopkeeper wants to kill them all, but the drunkard doesn't mean to drink?" ”

"It's not just for the imperial court." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "For the battle for Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and the Strait of Malacca, we have no room for relaxation with Britain and France, we can only fight, if we let them go easily this time, I am afraid that we will have to fight again next year, if this time it hurts them, maybe they will not dare to fight easily in the future." ”

After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "Again, this is their second large-scale invasion, there is no reason to let them go easily!" When we are really bullied, we hit the door again and again! ”

After a slight hesitation, Zhao Wenlie said worriedly: "The navy and army of the Xiyi Four Nations Alliance can be said to be the main force still existing, and if they are really forced to a dead end, it will inevitably be ruined, even if Yuanqi's new firearms have a great advantage, it may also cause huge casualties ......." ”

This is also what Yi Zhifu is worried about, if he wants to kill more than 100,000 coalition troops, Yuan Qi will inevitably pay great casualties, although Ci is not in charge of the army, but this is an avoidable casualty after all, if the imperial court is forced to form an alliance with Britain and France, the situation will be more complicated.