Who wouldn't say pretty things? Yi Zhisuff slowly picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip of tea, then looked at Pu Dingcha and said: "Your Excellency, as the Minister Plenipotentiary of England, said that you are full of sincerity, I don't know if you can let us see your sincerity, for example, your fleet evacuates Jiangning, and then we have a fair talk." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Evacuate Jiangning? Is the other party bluffing? Pu Dingcha was a little uncertain for a while, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "There are indeed many soldiers and sailors in our fleet who are sick because of the unsuitable climate and water and soil, and we need to repair them in Jiangning for a period of time. As he spoke, he looked at Lin Zexu and said, "I think Lin Qincha should be able to feel our sincerity." ”

"Garrison the city." Yi Zhisuff sneered: "Your Excellency's sincerity is to force us to sign an alliance under the city? ”

Lin Zexu continued: "We do not accept the alliance under the city, if Your Excellency is really sincere, withdraw first." ”

Speaking of which, the two sides once again reached a stalemate and once again broke up unhappily.

In the city of Jiangning, the "Jiangning Daily" published two exciting good news: Yuqian, the governor of Jiangsu, Chen Huacheng, the governor of Jiangnan, Zhou Shirong, the chief soldier of Susong Town, and Yi Zhicontent, the counselor, defeated the British army in Wusong, recovered Wusong Fort and Baoshan County in one fell swoop, burned four British warships, annihilated more than 600 British troops, and captured 4,000 British officers and soldiers such as the British deputy envoy Yilu and the army major general Barrett.

The Counsellor Ministers Horqin County Wang Seng Greenqin and Yi Zhizu led the annihilation of more than 1,300 British troops in Zhenjiang, captured more than 1,600 British officers and soldiers such as Brigadier General Shu De, and recovered Zhenjiang in one fell swoop!

As soon as the newspaper came out, it was snatched up, and the whole Jiangning city was a sensation, all the time, it was the news that the British army attacked the city and plundered the land, except for the monk Lingqin fought a few small victories in Zhejiang, and recovered Shaoxing and Ningbo, there was no exciting news, and it was to recover the two provinces in eastern Zhejiang, and the number of enemies killed was also pitiful.

This time, the great victory of Wusong and Zhenjiang not only killed a huge number of enemies and captured an even larger number of British troops, but also captured high-ranking officers of the British army, and they all had names, surnames, positions and ranks, which obviously could not be a lie! The common people may not be aware of the trickiness of the officers and soldiers in lying about their exploits, but the officials and gentry are very clear that the number of enemies killed may be falsely reported, but the number of captured enemies and the capture of high-ranking leaders of the enemy army do not dare to mix the slightest bit of water!

In other words, these are two great victories that are really not mixed with a little water! For the Jiangning officials, gentry, businessmen and ordinary people who were facing the siege of the British army, this was really exciting news! Since the officers and soldiers of the imperial court were able to defeat the British army in Zhenjiang in Wusong, they were also able to defeat the British army in Jiangning!

The newspapers did not mention that it was the Yuanqi regimental exercise, but only hung a name that was easy to understand, and the officers and men of the Eight Banners Green Battalion who did not know what to do could be said to have greatly boosted their morale, and at the same time they were envious and at the same time, they were also gearing up, eager to be able to win a great victory in Jiangning!

When there was excitement inside and outside Jiangning City, the British fleet in Xiaguan was quiet, and in the British camp in Yanziji, Pu Dingcha sat in the shade of a tree and pondered, he was really a little undecided, should he attack Jiangning? Or should I just quit my troops?

Baga and Guo Fu came together, and when they saw that he was thinking out of mind, they didn't notice it at all, and they didn't dare to say anything, so they sat down in the shade of the tree, waiting quietly, secretly pondering the situation in front of them, weighing the pros and cons.

After a while, Pu Ding Chacai said abruptly: "I just received information from Huang Dianyuan of the Heaven and Earth Society, not only Wusong and Zhenjiang were recaptured by the Qing army, but the Qing army also intercepted the river in Jiangyin, set up artillery, and prepared to block the fleet. ”

"Intercept the river?" Baga was surprised and said, "How to intercept it?" ”

"Iron Rope Hengjiang." Pu Ding checked: "The Qing army pulled six thick iron chains across the narrow river surface of Jiangyin. ”

Bagha's eyes widened, "Six chains? How can it be! How wide is the river in Jiangyin? A mile wide, right? A mile-long chain, or six? ”

Pu Dingcha nodded and said, "That's right, the Qing army used wooden boats to carry iron chains, blocked the river with iron chains like building pontoon bridges, and also placed a large number of artillery on the river bank. ”

Baga and Guo Fu couldn't help but be dumbfounded, building a pontoon bridge in general? That's a lot of money! After a while, Baga asked, "Can you believe this information?" ”

"We have been working closely with the Heaven and Earth Society, and the information provided by the Heaven and Earth Society has always been very accurate, and it is impossible for the Heaven and Earth Society to lie about such important information." Pu Ding Cha said in a deep voice: "Heaven and Earth will have many congregations in Nanyang, and the opium trade is inseparable from us, so we can definitely believe it." After a pause, he continued: "Another point, according to the information of the Heaven and Earth Society, the buoys we left along the Yangtze River channel have also been cleared by the Qing army. ”

Hearing this, Baga's face was a little ugly, the buoys left behind were cleared, and the fleet had to carefully grope forward when returning home, and going down the river was no better than going against the current, the river was fast, the ship was fast, and the risk was correspondingly much greater, there were many rapids and shoals in the Yangtze River channel, and there were more reefs in the river, and there were twists and turns.

Guo Fu, who had been silent, said: "Then can you still fight Jiang Ning?" ”

Pu Ding checked: "What do you think? ”

Guo Fu glanced at the two of them, pondered for a moment, and then said: "It is undeniable that we have fallen into the trap carefully designed by the opponent, and whether we can beat Jiang Ning or not depends on how much it makes sense." If we can defeat and occupy Jiangning for a long time, and force the Qing State to sign and agree to our demands and end this war, then we don't need to hesitate to attack Jiangning directly!

If we attack Jiangning, we can't achieve this goal, we shouldn't waste time and ammunition in Jiangning, the fleet has to return to the sea, we have to cross the two passes of Jiangyin and Wusong, in Wusong and Zhenjiang, we have already lost 8,000 people, we can't afford to lose! ”

Baga said in a deep voice: "Negotiate with the ministers of the Qing State to end this war!" ”

Hearing this, Guo Fu was stunned and hurriedly said, "Are you crazy? In this case, it will not benefit us at all! Maybe you can't even keep the clauses in the "Macao Treaty"! As long as we return to the ocean, we can still win this war, and it will not be too late to negotiate at that time! ”

"It's not that easy to get back to the ocean." Baga sighed: "Let's think about this, can't the other party think of it?" Will the other side easily let us go back to the ocean and continue the war? ”

After a pause, he continued: "Even if we can finally return to the ocean, I'm afraid the fleet won't be able to keep even half of its strength. At this point, I don't think that the Qing Dynasty will give in to us, the trap of Jiangning, the attitude of the Qing State has been fully revealed, unless we can attack Tianjin and threaten the capital of the Qing State, otherwise, there is no need for this war to continue. ”

After a long silence, Pu Ding Cha spoke: "In this morning's negotiation, Lin Zexu and Yi Zhizhi's attitude was very tough, and they felt that they were deliberately provoking us to attack Jiangning ....... ”

"The other party's purpose is obvious." Bajia said: "I just want to delay time, consume our ammunition, and finally hit us hard in the Yangtze River waterway." ”

"Use Jiangning, an incomparably prosperous and wealthy city, to achieve this purpose?" Guo Fu questioned: "Will this price be too great?" ”

"Is the price of Baoshan and Zhenjiang big?" Baga said in a deep voice: "Our opponent is Yuanqi Group Training!" Let's fight Wusong, fight Zhenjiang, Yuanqi regimental training did not participate in the defense, and when we left, Yuanqi regimental training will come to fight the troops we have left. There is only one city that Yuanqi really defends - the small county town of Shanghai, and other cities, Yuanqi doesn't care at all! ”

"Yuan Qi is also defending Jiang Ning!"

"That's to buy time for Jiangyin!" Bajia said and looked at Pu Ding and said, "Does Huang Dianyuan's intelligence mention Yuan Qi's troops in Wusong and Jiangyin?" ”

Pu Ding checked: "Wusong is 5,000 people, and there are eight light cruisers and twenty or thirty armed merchant ships, but Jiangyin does not have the strength of the Yuanqi regiment. ”

"Hmph." Baga said coldly: "The speed of our fleet is not as fast as the speed of the Yuanqi regiment training!" Let's return, Yuan Qi's troops in Jiangning and Zhenjiang will inevitably be waiting for us in Jiangyin. ”

After being quiet for a long time, Pu Ding Chacai said: "Wait a few more days, wait for the arrival of Zhenjiang's fleet, Huang Dianyuan reported that Zhenjiang's fleet will arrive at Xiaguan in three days." ”

Early the next morning, Jin Ying, dressed as a pro-soldier, quickly entered the Baitushan camp, and in the big tent of the Chinese army, Yi Zhi, who was eating breakfast and reading the newspaper, saw her come in, put down the newspaper and waved the guards in the big tent back, and then said: "Is there a situation?" ”

Jin Ying walked up to him, bit his ear and said, "Huang Dianyuan personally came to pass the word, saying that Pu Ding had invited the young master to meet in private, and the location was determined by the young master." ”

A private meeting? Pu Ding Cha which play is this singing? Yi Zhishu groaned slightly, and said: "Our camp is in the southwest of Baitu Mountain, and the British army camp is in the northeast of Baitu Mountain, so let's see the immortal insight in the center of Baitu Mountain." ”

The Yuanqi battalion is at the foot of Baitu Mountain, and naturally has a position on the mountain, and there is also a company of troops, and Yi Zhizhi waited until after ten o'clock before he went up the mountain under the pretext of patrolling the mountain defense.

Baitu Mountain is not high, but from the west to say Yuanmen, east to Yanziji, stretching for ten miles, Yi Zhizhi did not hurry to inspect the camp on the mountain, only to stroll all the way to the fairy cave, just approached, Huang Dianyuan, Ma Ruhan greeted up, Yi Zhicontent and Ma Ruhan knew each other in Guangzhou, and several negotiations, Ma Ruhan acted as a British translator, the two are also old acquaintances, far away, Ma Ruhan stretched out his hand and smiled: "The scenery of this place chosen by Mr. Yi is really beautiful." ”

Yi Zhizu stretched out his hand and shook his hand, and said with a smile: "Spring Niushou, Autumn Qixia, Jiangning's Niushou Mountain and Qixia Mountain are more beautiful, but they are too far away. As he spoke, he looked at Huang Dianyuan and nodded slightly.

Huang Dianyuan pretended to know him for the first time, and arched his hand and said: "In Xia Huang Dianyuan, I have heard the name of Yida's shopkeeper for a long time, and I am fortunate to see ..... today." ”

Yi Zhizu waved his hand, interrupted him, and then ignored him directly, turned to look at Ma Ruhan, and said in English: "Sir Pudingcha has arrived?" ”

"It's been a while." Ma Ruhan said and stretched out his hand, "Mr. Yi, please." ”

After turning a corner, he saw a gazebo, and before he approached, Pu Dingcha greeted him with a smile on his face, "Mr. Yi has chosen a good place, with beautiful scenery and refreshing feelings." ”

Yi Zhicontent said unceremoniously: "I hope that the conversation with Your Excellency will not spoil this pleasant mood." ”

"Isn't it a pleasant topic to end this war, which has no need to continue?"

Yi Zhizu was surprised and said, "Your Excellency really plans to end this war?" ”

"Not bad." Pu Dingcha nodded and said, "However, there are conditions." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled, no conditions are strange, the two walked into the pavilion and sat down casually, Pu Dingcha handed over a box of cigars, and said with a smile: "I know that Mr. Yi likes Cuban cigars...... ”

Yi Zhishu was not polite, he opened it and took one and put it on the end of his nose and sniffed it, then skillfully cut the horn and lit it, and quietly waited for Pu Ding to open his mouth, in fact, the other party made a private appointment, and he expected that the other party might want to give up attacking Jiangning, but he didn't expect the other party to be so single, and directly proposed to end this war.

Seeing that he didn't ask, Pu Ding Cha only took the initiative to speak: "If the war continues, it can only be a defeat for both sides, this is not only a result that His Majesty the Emperor of your country does not want to see, but also a result that Mr. Yi does not want to see, the situation in your country is different from that of my country, Mr. Yi should not want big casualties in the Yuanqi group training, right?" ”

"There's one thing I don't think Your Excellency has figured out." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Your Excellency's opponent, or the protagonist of this war, is not the Qing court, but Yuan Qi, this battle, Yuan Qi will do whatever it takes." ”

Hearing this, Pu Dingcha looked puzzled, "Can Mr. Yi explain it clearly?" ”

"Your Excellency does not understand the situation in our country." Yi Zhizhi said: "To put it simply, this battle Yuanqi team training is to fight for survival, and this battle, Yuanqi is to fight to open up domestic and foreign markets, and there is no way out." Of course, I would be happy to end this war without major casualties, but it must be in the case of achieving Yuanqi's goal. ”

These words made Pu Dingcha a little confused, he really didn't understand too much, he couldn't help but turn his face and glance at Huang Dianyuan, Ma Ruhan hurriedly translated these words in their original form.

Listening to the translation, Huang Dianyuan couldn't help but be secretly frightened, this guy is not ordinary arrogance, he groaned slightly, and then he said: "After these two battles, Yuan Qi's group practice can be said to be famous all over the world, and the goal should be achieved, right?" What is the purpose of Yuanqi? ”

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him with some disgust, turned to Pu Dingcha and said in English: "I hope that the two countries can end this war with dignity and not impose unequal conditions, otherwise Yuan Qi's goal will not be achieved." ”

Pu Dingcha understood this sentence, if he insisted on putting forward the non-dividing conditions, Yuanqi Group Lian would continue the war even if he fought to defeat both sides! His face was a little ugly. (To be continued.) )