Among the several dignitaries present, Yishan, as the minister of the Imperial Mission, was in the most complicated and contradictory mood, he was eager for Jiangning's victory, but also worried that Jiangning would be destroyed in the war, and he also shouldered another task delivered by Daoguang - to fight Guangyuan Qi group training through the battle of Jiangning. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi was content, he glanced at a few people, and said slowly: "To fight or not to fight, Yingyi has the final say, where to attack, when to attack?" It's also Yingyi who has the final say, I agree with the suggestion of contentment, can Jiang Ning keep it? We can only do our best and obey the destiny of God. ”

Monk Lingqin was bent on fighting, and immediately echoed: "This king also agrees, if you can talk, you can talk, if you can't talk about it, you will fight, there is nothing to hesitate!" ”

Dezhubu is silent, as a general of Jiangning, he is a hundred unwilling to start a war in Jiangning, if it is a sure victory, he naturally does not mind, but if the victory is unpredictable, and Jiangning City is still in danger of breaking the city, how can he be willing? Moreover, the flag soldiers went out of the city to cooperate with the Yuanqi regiment to practice and fight, he was also unhappy, and Hailing, the deputy commander of the Jingkou battalion, could be said to have died in the hands of Yuanqi, how could he be willing to make a wedding dress for the Yuanqi regiment training!

Lin Zexu looked at Dezhubu, then at Yang Fang, and sighed secretly in his heart, can he keep Jiangning, the key to the victory or defeat of Jiangning in the first battle lies in the five thousand soldiers and horses trained by the Yuanqi regiment, and the thirty-thousand-eight banner green battalion in the city, he really doesn't dare to count on it, and the defeat of Zhenjiang makes him clearly realize this.

After a slight sigh, he spoke: "Familiar with the national conditions of Yingyi, understand the combat power of Yingyi, and know the language of Yingyi, the only way to negotiate with Yingyi is contentment, and it is only contentment to negotiate with Yingyi, Jiangning's millions of living beings, hundreds of years of prosperity, all in the thought .......of contentment." ”

Yi Zhizu arched his hand and said: "I am not only an official of the imperial court, but also the treasurer of Yuanqi, whether it is for the sake of the court or for the sake of Yuanqi, I will do my best to avoid Jiangning being destroyed in the war!" ”

When he said this, Lin Zexu put his mind at ease, and immediately said, "Okay, then assign the defense ...... of each department." ”

After the meeting was dispersed, Yi Zhixin sped up his pace, but Seng Lingqin smiled and said: "Why should you be so anxious about contentment, it's already a meal, and it's not too late to go out of the city after dinner." ”

Yi Zhizu stopped and winked at him, and Monk Lingqin immediately chased after him quickly, and said softly as he walked: "Something?" ”

"Does the prince know why he wants to camp the Yuanqi regiment at the southern end of Baitu Mountain?" Yi Zhixiang didn't have the heart to think about him, so he paused slightly, and said straightforwardly: "Most of the British army is most likely to land at the north or south end of Baitu Mountain, and Yuan Qi Tuanlian occupies the south end, so the British army can only land from the north end, that is, Yanziji.

From Yanziji all the way to Jiangning City, nearly twenty miles, this is enough for cavalry, if it is a fight, the northern suburbs of Jiangning are very likely to be the main battlefield, and only the cavalry of the brigade can be controlled by the idea of the prince. ”

Monk Lingqin reacted after a while, Yi Zhishu told him this matter in private, because he didn't want to offend Jiangning General Dezhubu, and immediately smiled and said: "Contentment, rest assured, this is a trivial matter." ”

The two walked out of the courtyard while talking, and a young military general dressed in a second-grade military attache robe walked up quickly, and said with a smile: "I've seen the monk and the prince." As he spoke, Chong Yi smiled contentedly, "Brother contentment-." ”

"Brother Yuting!" Yi Zhizhi was satisfied, and hurriedly returned the salute: "When did Brother Yuting come to Jiangning?" ”

This young military general is none other than Su Shun, "I've been here for some time, and I don't want to be satisfied that Brother Xiang will come to Jiangning sooner or later." ”

Su Shun, who was familiar with Monk Green, saw that he had a warm relationship with Yi Zhi, and immediately smiled: "This is not a place to talk about the past, let's find a place to talk." ”

After nine o'clock in the evening, Yi Zhishu returned to the camp of Baitu Mountain, and outside the camp gate, several lanterns quickly greeted him, and the lanterns were faintly visible with the words Shangyuan County Ya, and an official quickly stepped forward and said: "Xiaguan Shangyuan Zhixian Wu Tingxian to meet your lord." ”

Yi Zhicontent didn't get off the horse, and asked directly, "What's the urgency of Lord Wu?" ”

Wu Tingxian didn't expect it to be so direct, and estimated that he was busy with military affairs, so he didn't talk nonsense at the moment, and bowed down and said: "The British warship is stationed at Xiaguan, and the Xiaguan only received a report at dusk, and the British army ordered all shops along the river pass to open for business, otherwise they will be set on fire to ......." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, these British soldiers are really interesting, are all the shops open waiting to be robbed? After a little hesitation, he said, "Lord Wu wants to implore the Yuanqi Tuan Lian to send troops to protect him early tomorrow morning?" ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Wu Tingxian hurriedly smiled with him, he only received the news at dusk, and he would enter the city early tomorrow morning to ask for instructions, and he was afraid that the daylily would be cold.

"Yes." Yi Zhizhi promised to come down and wait for him to come back outside his camp for this matter, this Shangyuan Zhixian is also a rare good official, paused, and continued: "However, the northern suburbs of Jiangning may be poisoned by the war, and Lord Wu had better post a notice to ensure that the people are safely transferred as soon as possible." ”

"Thank you, sir!" Wu Tingxian hurriedly bowed and said.

Early the next morning, the sky was light, and the soldiers of the Baitu Mountain battalion went out in all directions, and went to Pukou, Beihekou, Dashengguan, Saihongqiao, and Jiangning Town under the banner of Yuanqi..... and other important and prosperous port cities along the river.

Yi Zhixiang's move is not only to protect the ports and cities at various gates to win the hearts of the people and start the name of Yuanqi regimental training, but also to combat the arrogance of the British army, so that the British army knows that Jiangning has Yuanqi regimental training in charge, don't act recklessly, of course, the main thing is to let the British army see the power of the Mini gun, and strive for some bargaining chips for the negotiation with Pu Dingcha.

The British forward fleet stationed at Xiaguan was not idle, and early in the morning sent steamships and small boats to patrol the upper and lower rivers, and sent small units to move around outside Jiangning City, reconnoitering the terrain, arranging the defenders, and plundering property and food by the way.

Beginning in the morning, the Yuanqi regiment practiced small-scale battles with the British troops in the areas of Baitu Mountain, Maigao Bridge, Pukou, and Beihekou, and the British troops who were training the Minnie guns against the Yuanqi regiment for the first time all suffered heavy losses without exception, and suffered more than 230 casualties in most of the day.

In addition to still sending steamers and small boats to patrol ships on the upper and lower rivers, the British army no longer sent small units out, but honestly stayed in Shimonoseki and waited for the arrival of the successor main fleet.

The British army quieted down, but the city of Jiangning was not quiet at all, Yishan, Seng Lingqin, and Dezhubu joined forces to launch a large-scale action to eliminate internal traitors, and the whole city of Dasuo, all the foreign gentry, businessmen and ordinary people who had recently come to Jiangning were all strictly examined, especially those from Guangdong and Fujian, especially those from Guangdong and Fujian, and killed more than 60 people suspected of being a party at the entrance of the vegetable market in one day, and the people in the entire Jiangning city were panicked and panicked.

Two days later, on 7 August, Pudingcha's ship, the "Kang Huali," arrived at Xiaguan, and on 8 August, the Qing and British sides held their first high-level talks at Jinghai Temple; the British side attended the talks were Pudingcha, Bajia, Guo Fu, Morrison, Rob Dan, and Pa Xiali; the Qing side attended by Lin Zexu, the governor of Liangjiang, the minister of the Qin Mission; the prince of Horqin County, the prince of Horqin County; the counselor minister Yi Zhizhi, the Shanghai Taoist minister Yi Zhizhi, the political envoy of Jiangning Bu, Huang Entong, and Wu Tingxian of Shangyuan Zhixian County.

"There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, and how many buildings are in the smoke and rain." In Jiangning, where the temple is gathered, Jinghai Temple is not ranked in terms of scale, incense or reputation, this temple is built by Ming Chengzu in order to praise Zheng He's achievements in the West, Jinghai Temple - take the meaning of peace in the four seas.

The reason why Jinghai Temple was chosen for the Qingying talks was that Jinghai Temple was not far from the berth of the British fleet in Xiaguan, and the previous negotiations with the British on the ransom led by Huang Entong, the political envoy of Jiangning, were held at Jinghai Temple.

The conference room for the talks is not large, three square tables are put together into a long table, and the representatives of the two sides sit on one side, and it is easy to know that the official position is not high, but there is a title of counselor in military affairs, so it ranks third, in fact, it is in the middle.

At the beginning of the talks, after introducing the identities of the representatives of both sides, Pu Dingcha directly changed his seat, sat opposite Yi Zhiqi, and ignored etiquette, completely ignored Lin Zexu and Seng Lingqin, and said directly to Yi Zhiqi: "Yuanqi is a large-scale business group, foreign trade is the most important part of Yuanqi, as the largest trading country in your country's foreign trade, England is happy to be a business partner with Yuanqi, not an enemy." ”

Yi Zhishu raised his eyebrows and said, "I can understand, is Your Excellency threatening me?" ”

"Nope." Pu Ding Cha hurriedly said: "My predecessor George. Yilu and her current deputy, Charlie. I sincerely hope that Yuanqi can become China's most important business partner in the Far East, and I do not want Yuanqi to be involved in this war and affect the future business cooperation between the two sides. ”

Yi Zhi's content looked at him with eye level, and said in a calm tone: "Yuan Qi is very happy to form a business partner with England and cooperate closely in many fields such as military industry, machinery, ships, smelting, railways, etc., but there is one thing Your Excellency said wrong, it is not that Yuan Qi wants to be involved in this war, but that your country has involved Yuan Qi in this war.

Yuanqi is the Yuanqi of the Qing Empire, and there is a saying in my country, called 'The skin does not exist, and the hair will be attached?' 'The honor and disgrace of the Qing Empire is the honor and disgrace of Yuan Qi, and the foreign war of the Qing Empire, Yuan Qi cannot stay out of it. ”

Listening to the translation, Lin Zexu secretly praised it, and glanced at the other party's translator, he was worried about whether the other party's translator would be able to 'If the skin does not exist, Mao will be attached?' 'Is this an accurate translation of the past?'

After a little hesitation, Pu Ding Cha said: "I don't want Yuan Qi to be ruined in this war, this is an unbearable loss for both of you and me. ”

"Thank you for your concern." Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, then raised his head and smiled: "Yuan Qi never fights uncertain battles, whether it is a shopping mall or a battlefield!" ”

That's a lot of confidence! Monk Lingqin quietly gave a thumbs up under the table.

Pu Dingcha didn't know where he got his confidence, and he groaned slightly before saying, "Even if Yuan Qi has the latest musket, he can't stop my fleet from capturing Jiangning. ”

"Your Excellency is wrong." Yi Zhishu said in a firm tone: "Your Excellency's fleet can break through Jiangning, but it can't occupy Jiangning, outside the range of naval guns, it is Yuanqi's world!" Speaking of this, he paused, "I heard that the officers and men of your army are not accustomed to water and soil, and two infectious diseases of cholera and malaria have broken out in the army at the same time.

In addition, I would like to remind you that Jiangning is one of the four famous furnaces in China, and the climate is extremely hot. Moreover, the dry period of the Yangtze River is also approaching, I wonder how long your fleet can hold out in Jiangning? Two months or three months? ”

Cholera, malaria? Pu Ding Cha was shocked, how did the other party know about this? He said quietly: "There are indeed some sick patients in the army, but they have all been placed in Zhenjiang to recuperate. ”

Listening to the translation, Seng Lingqin couldn't help but smile and said: "Zhenjiang has been recovered by this king, and your sick number is now in Danyang." ”

Hearing this, the British translator Ma Ruhan was shocked, and hurriedly looked at Yi Zhicontent, seeing that he was calm, he translated the letter suspiciously, Pu Dingcha was also incredulous, looked at Yi Zhicontent and said: "Is this true?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "The fleet of your army staying in Zhenjiang should be able to reach Jiangning in three or two days at the fastest and five days at the slowest." Your army's nearly 3,000 troops in Zhenjiang were completely annihilated. ”

Pu Dingcha's face was a little pale, it was impossible for the other party to lie, after all, Zhenjiang's fleet could arrive in Jiangning in three or five days, and Yuanqi Tuanlian, who had a new type of musket, was indeed capable of annihilating Zhenjiang's 3,000 army, and after a short period of distraction, he quickly asked: "What about Wu Song?" ”

Yi Zhishu didn't answer, took out a letter, and said, "This is your country's deputy envoy for the invasion of China, Charlie. A handwritten letter from His Excellency Yilu. ”

Pu Ding Cha couldn't wait to take the letter, read it quickly, and his mind was blank, Wusong's five thousand defenders surrendered, four warships self-destructed, the Yangtze River back road was completely cut off, Jiangning was simply a trap! And he committed a crime with his predecessor George. The same mistake as Yilu - divide the troops! was broken by Yuan Qi!

Seeing that he was stunned, Guo Fu hurriedly took the letter from him, and before he could finish reading it, his face turned pale, and he couldn't help asking, "How about the casualties?" What about the casualties in Wusong and Zhenjiang? ”

"Wu Song is a little better, Charlie. Seeing that the situation was not good, His Excellency Yilu wisely chose to surrender. Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The casualties are less than 1,000, and Zhenjiang is slightly more serious, with about 1,300 casualties." ”

More than 2,000 casualties? Pu Ding Cha and Guo Fu are all the same, and the casualties are too great, and after a slight groan, he asked with some difficulty: "What about the casualties of the officers, I mean senior officers." ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "Your Excellency, rest assured, there are no casualties among the senior officers, officers of the Brigadier General level. ”

Hearing this, Pu Dingcha felt a little comforted in his heart, and was silent for a moment before he said, "Today's meeting, let's stop here for the time being." ”

"I hope Your Excellency will consider it carefully when you go back." Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "I believe that Her Majesty the Queen of your country will not want to see a lose-lose situation, which is not conducive to the future trade between the two countries. (To be continued.) )