Yi Zhisuff understood that Qi Shan, the so-called minister who came to Guangzhou to negotiate with the British army, was actually a mouthpiece -- passing the news between Yingyi and Daoguang, he couldn't help but sigh secretly, Guangzhou and Jingshi are thousands of miles away, even if it is 500 miles to expedit, it will take a month to come and go, and the two sides are talking about chickens and ducks, which is not talking about the Year of the Monkey.

Seeing that Yi Zhizhi was silent for a long time, Qi Shan pondered and said: "Actually, the emperor's meaning is very clear, try to avoid war, as long as it does not damage the national body, you can consider trade matters." After a slight pause, he slowed down and said, "Yingyi provoked this war, isn't it just for business?" We can make some concessions in terms of trade in exchange for Yingyi giving up those rude demands. ”

Making concessions in terms of commerce? Yi Zhizhi didn't know how to say it for a while, the Qing Dynasty emphasized agriculture and suppressed business, in fact, it was not just the Qing Dynasty, China has been based on agriculture for thousands of years, heavy agriculture and light business, the Qing Dynasty just didn't know how to be flexible, but the problem is that the times are different now, continue to emphasize agriculture and light business, will only become a colony of other countries.

After a slight hesitation, he looked at Qi Shan and said, "My lord, I have some opinions below, I don't know whether to say it or not." ”

Hearing this, Qi Shan stretched out his hand and smiled: "Even if you are content, there are no outsiders here, and there is no need to be restrained." ”

"This is related to the national policy, in the next aunt to say, adults only think of it as a small talk after dinner, after drinking grandiose, and listen to it." Yi Zhizhi first left room for himself, and then said slowly: "Time has changed, today is no longer an era based on agriculture, since England opened and completed the industrial revolution, in Europe, industry has become the foundation of the country, agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, metallurgy and other industries are industry-centric.

The biggest feature of the industry is to greatly improve the production efficiency, which greatly promotes the development of commerce, if you have time, you can take the time to go to the South China Sea or Shunde County to see the huge impact and impact of the large number of machine silk reeling factories on the production and trade of raw silk.

The machine industry promoted commerce, and in turn, the prosperity of commerce stimulated the development of industry, industry and commerce were inseparable, in Europe, industry and commerce have completely surpassed the position of agriculture in the country, and the boom and bust of commerce are directly related to the rise and fall of the state.

This is why England did not hesitate to start a war for the sake of commerce. In fact, the most fundamental reason for the suspension of the trade was that a large-scale economic crisis broke out in England, and it spread to Citigroup, France and other countries, and the industry and commerce of the whole of Europe came to a standstill. Piece, cut off the crow. The film trade, for England, is nothing less than a problem. ”

Speaking of this, he paused and said in a deep voice: "In the long run, making concessions to England in terms of commerce and trade will be very harmful, even far greater than the land reparations. ”

Qi Shan couldn't listen for a long time, although he has been in the officialdom for a long time and is in the center, his understanding of England and European countries is extremely lacking, that is, this time the English fleet sailed to Tianjin, he only came into contact with some of the situation in England, but it was only a little scratch of the surface.

He had never heard of the industrial revolution, the industry-oriented, or the economic crisis, but he was both a Qincha and a scholar and a governor of Zhili, and he really couldn't wipe his face to ask Yi Zhixin for advice, and after a long time, he said: "If you don't make concessions in terms of commerce and trade, how can you negotiate with Yingyi?" ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled, and said in a relaxed tone: "Our Qing Dynasty claims to be the **** country, but in fact, it has already been overtaken by England, we should treat England with an equal mentality, equal trade, equal exchanges, and equal treatment for British officials, businessmen, and ordinary people." ”

Qi Shan said suspiciously: "That's all, I'm afraid Yingyi won't be satisfied." ”

"Reparations, it's absolutely impossible." Yi Zhicontentment said: "The ban on smoking is an internal affair of the Qing Dynasty, and the ban on smoking was announced early in the morning. The piece is destroyed, this matter is justified, and there is no reason to compensate for the price of cigarettes. Compensate for military spending, it is even more impossible, Yingyi took the initiative to provoke the war, but asked us to pay for military expenses, what kind of reason is this?

The only thing that can be considered is to lease the site, if we can lease Macau to Portugal, why can't we lease a small piece of land to England? In the foreign trade of the Qing Dynasty, England had the largest share. ”

"No, I can't. The lease of Macau was the same as that of the previous dynasty. Qi Shan flatly refused, thinking that it was too blunt, and he explained: "Guangzhou's trade is the ancestral system set by Emperor Gaozong, Yingyi is unruly, no better than the Portuguese, if you lease a land to Yingyi, Yingyi will inevitably open a port, so, isn't it a bad trade rule?" ”

In Yi Zhi's contentment impression, it was Qi Shan who signed a treaty with the British army to cede Hong Kong, and he intended to be tempted, not wanting Qi Shan to refuse so simply, it seems that Qi Shan was forced to sign a treaty with the British army to cede Hong Kong in the end.

Seeing that the other party's attitude was so straightforward, he naturally would not be ignorant of advancing and retreating, and when he muttered, he said: "If you want to return the Yingyi prisoners of war in the next two days, you will inevitably have to deal with Yingyi, and you will want to probe Yingyi's tone in the next time, how about it?" ”

"Okay." Qi Shan's jaw said: "If we can find out the details of Yingyi, we can take the initiative." ”

"That's what my lord said." Yi Zhishu turned his head as he spoke, and said: "Yilu has a capricious temperament, fickle and untrustworthy, negotiating with Yingyi, the first few rounds, it is not appropriate to show up in the next, and the translators who are needed will make other arrangements in the next, and I hope that the adults will allow it." ”

The law of righteousness is capricious, and Qi Shan has also heard the officials in Guangzhou mention it, so he immediately bowed his head and said: "Just according to what you say." ”

"Master Xie." Yi Zhishu said and took out a contract from his sleeve, presented it with both hands, and said: "This is the relevant details of the issuance of treasury bonds that are being drafted below, please take a look at it." ”

The contract is written in the vernacular, easy to understand, the terms are clear, detailed and clear, the amount, term, interest rate, repayment method, pledge, etc. of the treasury bond issuance are listed clearly and clearly, a whole two large sheets, densely written, Qi Shan read it carefully, he didn't expect that there are so many details in the issuance of treasury bonds, and he has no intention of carefully scrutinizing it, after all, he doesn't understand many things, and he can't be the master.

Although Daoguang asked him to discuss the issuance of treasury bonds with Yuan Qi, he only said the amount of treasury bonds issued, and the specific details were not explained at all.

The contract was sent to Beijing, back and forth, quite time-consuming, and, he was sure, it would not be smooth sailing, and he would definitely bargain for several negotiations, and it would definitely not be possible to finalize the implementation in half a year, and now England has been increasing troops to Guangzhou, how can it be so delayed?

The best way is to let Yi Zhizhi enter Beijing, so that the matter can be finalized in more than a month, as for the negotiations in Guangzhou, Yi Zhizhi will not participate in the early stage anyway, and it will not be a problem at all to delay for two months, in addition, Yi Zhizu knows the situation in England and Europe well, and going to Beijing will inevitably enhance Daoguang's understanding of the situation in Europe, at least it can reduce the pressure on him to negotiate with Yingyi in Guangzhou, which is really a few birds in one fell swoop!

After careful consideration, he spoke: "As the saying goes, the soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first, the imperial court issued treasury bonds, intended to fight against the Yingyi, and the contentment also knows that the army is slowly assembled, and the collection and transportation of grain and grass is even more time-consuming.

Satisfied with this contract, Ben Qin Cha can't be the master, and the members of the household department can't be the master, so they will inevitably discuss it many times, Guangzhou Jingshi is 5,000 miles away, and the paperwork is inconvenient. ”

Performers? Yi Zhizu was surprised, he really didn't expect Qi Shan to offer to let him go to Beijing to sign this contract, to go or not to go? What Qi Shan said is not unreasonable, this contract must be ripped off, and in the current situation, it is indeed impossible to delay, only if he goes to Jingshi, can he finalize this matter as soon as possible.

Go to Beijing to sign this contract, he is not too worried, after all, the conditions offered by Yuan Qi are already favorable enough, Guangzhou, the reinforcements have not arrived, and the British army does not dare to act rashly, besides, he takes the sea route to Beijing, it will not take long to go back and forth, the clipper ship is not affected by the monsoon, and the speed is fast enough, and it will take more than a month to run a trip to Beijing, the only thing that worries him is that Daoguang will leave him in Beijing? After all, Daoguang was already wary of Yuan Qi's group training.

However, then again, wouldn't it be even more suspicious if he refused to go to Jingshi? Not to mention Daoguang, who is far away in Beijing, at least Qi Shan will be suspicious of him, this guy is very likely to succeed Lin Zexu as the governor of Liangguang.

After pondering for a long time, he said: "What my lord is worried about is that the issuance of treasury bonds cannot be delayed, and it is the safest to go to Jingshi." As he spoke, he smiled, "I have grown so big, I haven't been far away, and the farthest is to go to Dinghai." ”

Seeing that he agreed to go to Jingshi, Qi Shan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "There is no need to worry about contentment, you are now a member of the three grades rewarded by the imperial court, and you have a knighthood, and the post stations along the way will definitely be attentive to pick you up, and Ben Qin can also send you a few more long followers." ”

Yi Zhixiang was willing to take the land route, and hurriedly said: "Don't bother, adults, take the sea route to Tianjin." ”

"By sea?" Qi was surprised and said, "The wind is not in the right direction now. ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Citigroup has a clipper, and it is famous for flying scissors, and it is feasible to go with the wind and against the wind." ”

"It's so much better." Qi Shan's jaw said, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "I heard Lin Butang mention that in the war with England, contentment advocates fighting first and then soothing, can you elaborate on your thoughts." ”

After a long talk with Qi Shan, it wasn't until it was nearly dusk that Yi Zhifen walked out of the gate of the Admiralty's Office, and when he came out, Mai Tingzhang, who had newly promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief, strode up to meet him, and said with a smile on his face: "Contentment can be regarded as coming out." ”

Seeing him waiting outside the door, Yi Zhixiang was a little surprised, and said with a smile: "Congratulations to General Mai on his promotion to the general army." ”

"Our general soldier is all blessed by contentment." Mai Tingzhang smiled and said, "I must have a few glasses of satisfaction today to express my gratitude." As he spoke, he affectionately took Yi Zhi's hand and said, "Let's go, I'm afraid they are all in a hurry at the military gate." ”

Yi Zhixiang was most afraid of drinking with the generals of the water division, but he also knew that he could not escape today's banquet, so he simply went to the banquet generously, and the banquet was set up in the guerrilla mansion of the right camp.

Seeing him come in, Guan Tianpei left the table to greet him, and the generals who were originally drinking and noisy also left the table and surrounded him.

After waiting for Yi Zhizhi to enter the table, he was promoted to deputy general, and Chen Liansheng, a veteran who was promoted to the general army because of his sword sharpening foreign combat exploits, was the first to step forward with a wine glass, and said heartily: "Brother Yi is a rare young man in the life of the old man, and he will inevitably be ranked as a prince in the future. As he spoke, he tilted his head and dried the wine.

Chen Liansheng took the lead in the battle of Modaoyang, fearless of death, blocked the British ship from escaping with a ship, and almost died in Modaoyang, Yi Zhishu admired him very much, and hurriedly said: "Old General Xie Jiyan." As he spoke, he also took a sip of the wine in his glass, and when he entered it, he found that the wine tasted very light, glanced at Guan Tianpei, and saw that he was smiling and silent, and knew that he had done it.

Next, a group of generals took turns to come forward to toast, easy to know that they were full of pride, all the cups were dry, and in a blink of an eye, more than a dozen cups were down, even if Guan Tianpei deliberately took care of him and poured him light wine, but he couldn't stand such a way of drinking, but fortunately, Guan Tianpei saw that the situation was wrong and stopped drinking in time, which stopped the generals from toasting frequently.

A wine banquet was drunk for more than an hour before it was dissolved, although Yi Zhizhi was cheating, but he was also drowsy, and he rested directly in the guerrilla mansion, slept well, and only got up the next day near noon.

Listening to the movement, Wu Changqing pushed the door in and said with concern: "How?" Still uncomfortable? ”

"It's fine." Yi Zhishu looked at him as he said and said, "You were okay yesterday?" ”

"It's not the one who stays sober in general." Wu Changqing rolled his eyes as he spoke, and said, "It's okay, hurry up and wash up, eat something, there's news from Macau, and the two Yilu brothers are already waiting in the Bingtou Garden." ”

Yi Zhixiang thought about the situation of drinking last night, fortunately, he didn't drink a fragment, he could remember it, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "They came quickly, it doesn't matter, let them wait more, it won't get in the way." ”

Wu Changqing said: "Let's go to Macao, let's not take the 'enterprise' number, so as not to cause extraneous branches." ”

"Yes." Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "We have to put forward additional conditions, but don't irritate them." After a pause, he said, "Tell Guan Junmen and ask him to send a rice boat." ”

"Guan Junmen accompanied Qi Zhongtang to the Shatoujiao Fort." Wu Changqing said: "Mr. Mai is in the house, I'll try it." (To be continued.) )