Without weapons and ammunition, no matter how many people there are, it is useless, Qi Shan, who has seen the power of the British fleet in Tianjin, is deeply aware of this, he can't help but sigh secretly, it seems that the road of expanding the scale of regimental training is not going through at all, there is a way not to be in his position, not to seek his government, he was only a minister before, and it is not his turn to worry about the defense of Guangzhou, and now he has taken over as the governor of Liangguang, the host and guest have been replaced, and the defense of Guangzhou has become his first priority.

Knowing Daoguang's temperament, he knows very well in his heart that Guangzhou must not be lost, otherwise he, the governor of Guangzhou, is afraid that the stool will be locked and taken into Beijing to ask for guilt, and in Guangzhou for a few months, he has a general understanding of the situation in Guangzhou, and the only force that Guangzhou can really rely on is the Yuanqi group practice, and the two great victories of the sailors are completely dependent on the Yuanqi group practice.

It's easy to know that he has been taught the Shanghai Dao at this juncture, and if he wants to take away half of the Yuanqi regiment to train half of the troops, how can he not be in a hurry? The British army has increased its troops on a large scale, and if it attacks Guangzhou, how can it hold it?

Seeing that he was silent, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "My lord, in addition to Yuanqi group training in Guangzhou, there are more than 10,000 volunteers, and now there is too much time, and then there is no supply of weapons and ammunition. ”

For the Governor's Mansion and the Sailor formed by the volunteers, Qi Shan really didn't care, in his impression, the volunteers were just a group of rabble temporarily assembled, heard that the volunteers had muskets in their hands, he was very surprised, and said: "Where is the musket in the hands of the volunteers?" ”

"The Governor's Mansion and the Sailor formed Yiyong, and it was also the silver that Yuan Qi produced, including the musket in Yiyong's hand, which Yuan Qi bought from Citi merchants." Yi Zhizhi said without hurry: "The officers and soldiers of the Navy Division connived at the crows before. He proposed the formation of volunteers, and donated more than 1,000 Citi muskets, and captured nearly 5,000 British muskets, and distributed more than 1,000 to volunteers. ”

Qi Shan's eyes lit up and said, "How is the volunteer training?" ”

The training of the volunteers is naturally not comparable to the Yuanqi group training, at best, it is the grade of the militia, the Yuanqi group training with the opportunity to train the volunteers to infiltrate the volunteers is not small, Yi Zhizhi is content with the situation of the volunteers can be said to be well aware, but he didn't dare to say the truth, a little deep before saying: "The training of the volunteers is modeled on the Yuanqi group training, using Western-style training, it should be no worse than the Yuanqi group training, but it has not gone through the battle formation, assisting in the defense of Guangzhou, it should be no problem." ”

Hearing that he should be on the left and the right on the right, Qi Shan laughed and said: "Contentment has no confidence in his heart, more than 10,000 volunteers and 2,000 muskets, what can be helped, it is better to leave the elite and dissolve the others, so as not to waste food." ”

"Never." Yi Zhifu hurriedly said, no one knows better than him, the British army is also mixed with the Heaven and Earth Society, once these volunteers are disbanded, they may be snare by the Heaven and Earth Society, if this is the case, it will be a big trouble.

Qi Shan looked at him with a puzzled expression, and didn't understand why he reacted so much, righteous and brave is just a group of rabble, worthy of being so concerned?

The matter of the Heaven and Earth Society, Yi Zhishu didn't dare to talk nonsense, and after a little muttering, he explained: "The volunteers are all recruited from Guangzhou City and its nearby counties and towns, and many of them are Tan people who live on the water all year round.

The British fleet went on a large-scale expedition, and the logistical supply was a hard wound, and if it could mobilize the people and clear the wilderness, the British army would certainly not be able to fight for a long time. ”

Hearing him say this, Qi Shan bowed his head slightly and said: "Mobilizing the people and clearing the wilderness is the strategy proposed by Lord Lin to resist the Yingyi." As he spoke, he paused for a moment, and then asked, "Half of the Yuanqi Tuanlian is transferred to Shanghai, so Lord Lin is not worried about the safety of Guangzhou?" ”

"It's carefully weighed." Yi Zhizu said calmly: "Sharpening the knife and Dinghai two battles and two victories, the officers and soldiers of the naval division have regained their confidence, the Humen Fort has been replaced with all Western artillery, and the purchased and captured Western muskets are also heavily equipped, as well as more than 20 Western-style sail warships, and now the naval division can be said to be a new look, not comparable to the past, and all the officers and soldiers are looking forward to fighting with Yingyi and making war exploits again, so as to obtain the imperial court reward."

In addition, the fortifications of the Humen Fort have been basically perfected after half a year of construction, and the attack and defense are integrated, which can be called a fortress, plus the assistance of the 5,000 yuan Qi regimental training, even if the British army attacks with all its might, it is impossible to capture Humen in a short time. In addition, Humen is not a big place, and no matter how many troops there are, it cannot be expanded, and the defense of more than 10,000 people is already the limit. ”

Qi Shan stayed in Humen for a long time, and all the forts were inspected one by one, listening to what he said, it was true, Humen did not show too many troops, although he was still not at ease in his heart, but there was no good way at the moment, the five thousand regiments who went to Shanghai, he did not dare to have any objections, in case of a Guangnan tour of Jiangning, he would inevitably inquire about this matter.

Seeing that he was silent, Yi Zhizhi continued: "Guangzhou and Shanghai, the sea voyage is not far, with the speed of the flying clippers, it can be reached within five days, the speed of the sail merchant fleet is slower, and it can be reached within seven days. ”

"Reinforcements?" Qi Shan was surprised and said: "Reinforcements from the sea are not afraid of interception by the British fleet?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said disapprehantly: "It is not necessary to enter the Haikou of Guangzhou and Shanghai, and if you land nearby, the British fleet will not be able to intercept it at all." ”

Seeing that he planned so carefully, although Qi Shan was still a little worried, he couldn't say anything, turned around and walked forward, and said: "Contentment teaches Shanghai Dao, and you want to stay in Shanghai for a long time, who will take care of Yuanqi's mess?" ”

"Wu Changqing of the Wu family."

Doge's Palace, Backyard, Garden.

Lin Zexu walked slowly along the small pebble paved path with his hands behind his back, and the imperial court transferred him to take over Liangjiang again, which really surprised him, as early as when he was successful in banning smoking in Guangzhou, he appointed him as the governor of Liangjiang, and then changed to the governor of Liangguang, he naturally understood that there was something strange in this, not only to implement the smoking ban, but also to return to Liangjiang after only a year, it seems that this time Daoguang is a dictatorial and determined to start a war with England.

Needless to say, the change in Daoguang's attitude should be influenced by Yi Zhixiang, but today's Liangjiang is not a good place, judging from what Yi Zhixiang said, Daoguang is very likely to have adopted the suggestion of ambushing the British army in Jiangning, if this is the case, Jiangning is on the cusp, more dangerous than Guangzhou.

Particularly tricky is the time, from the peak season of the sea trade that is, the arrival of British reinforcements, it has been less than half a year, if the British army is directed at Jiangning, this time is very urgent, to the next year is approaching, the imperial court and local yamen are sealed, and when the seal is opened, it is already the end of the first month, and the remaining time is only three or four months.

"Sir." A little maid hurried up, squatted down and said, "The minister outside the door reported that there was a Master Yi who asked to see him." ”

Just in time, Lin Zexu ordered: "Someone take him to the study." ”

Coming out of Yuehua Academy, Yi Zhizhi rushed straight over, he is now Shanghai Road, Lin Zexu was transferred to the governor of Liangjiang, and became his top boss, he naturally rushed to meet him as soon as possible, this is the rules of officialdom, aside from the rules of officialdom, Lin Zexu was transferred to Liangjiang, and he will definitely summon him, he doesn't want Ming'er to go to the city again, the New Year is approaching, he is about to rush to Shanghai, there are many things, he doesn't want to waste time to run to the city one by one.

Entered the study and sat down, waiting for the next person to serve tea, he didn't care about those rules, picked up the teacup and drank, drank some wine, he had a dry mouth, only took a few sips, and saw Lin Zexu slowly walked in, he hurriedly put down the teacup, got up and said with a smile: "Congratulations to the master of the ministry for taking over Liangjiang." ”

"Contentment is well informed." Lin Zexu stretched out his hand as he spoke: "Sit, no need to be formal." With that, he sat down straight in his seat, and continued: "How many days does it take for the clipper ship to go to Jiangning?" Today is the sixteenth, maybe arrive in Jiangning before the Yamen seal? ”

"Five days to Shanghai." Yi Zhishu said tentatively: "My lord, do you want to make the Liangjiang Yamen open for the New Year as usual?" ”

Lin Zexu said slowly: "This seal will be delayed for a month, and now I really can't afford to delay." ”

"Your Excellency doesn't need to worry." Yi Zhizhi said: "Since the emperor has the intention to fight with Yingyi, the deployment of troops should have already begun, as for Jiangning, there is no need to make any preparations, and there can be no changes, just arrive in Jiangning on the day of the opening of the seal." ”

"Contentment is worried about leaking the news?"

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "If you want to lure the British army to attack Jiangning, you can't let Yingyi notice the slightest abnormality, only if Jiangning is guarded against emptiness, Yingyi will boldly advance." ”

Lin Zexu said: "If Jiang Ning doesn't take precautions, isn't there a danger of breaking the city?" ”

"If you can exchange the price of Jiangning's destruction of the city for the total annihilation of Yingyi, I think it is worth thousands of dollars."

"What if Jiangning falls and Yingyi wins another big victory?"

Yi Zhishu raised his head and looked at him levelly, and said in a deep voice: "If this is the result, the only way is to sign an alliance under the city." ”

Lin Zexu said in a deep voice: "Such a military event, how can it be child's play? ”

"How dare you regard the century-old national fortunes of the Qing Dynasty as child's play?" Yi Zhixiang said without giving in: "The only cities that are suitable and worthy of the British fleet to attack in the inland rivers are Guangzhou, Jiangning, and Tianjin.

Take another 10,000 steps back and say, Jiangning and Tianjin, all of which are heavily armed and heavily guarded, and the British army has no gaps to take advantage of, what will be the reaction? A huge fleet will inevitably attack all the port cities along the coast, and even divide the troops into two routes, going north and south, attacking and plundering along the way, what will this lead to? The imperial court still has to sign an alliance with Yingyi under the city!

Instead of this, lure the British fleet deep into the river to attack Jiangning, take the initiative to find fighters, and give it a go, we still have a chance to win, even if we lose, we can win some respect from Yingyi, which is conducive to negotiating with Yingyi in the future. ”

Lin Zexu waved his hand and said: "The headquarters is not against luring the British army to attack Jiangning, but against Jiangning not taking any precautions, Jiangning is the largest city in the southeast, with more than one million residents inside and outside the city, how can it be so rash?" ”

Yi Zhishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he was also worried that Lin Zexu would strongly oppose luring the British army to attack Jiangning for the sake of his own career and future, and he groaned slightly, before he said: "I don't know how long the waterway from the mouth of the river to Jiangning is, to say the least, it must be six or seven hundred miles, right?" The British fleet arrived at Jiangning from the mouth of the sea, and two days were always required, enough to evacuate the people near the river, and if there was not enough time, it could also send troops to delay the British fleet halfway. ”

Hearing him say this, Lin Zexu didn't say anything anymore, and instead asked, "When does Contentment plan to go to Shanghai?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "In a blink of an eye, it is the end of the year, the Yamen seal is imminent, and on the fifth day of the first month, the Foshan-Guangzhou Railway will rush to Shanghai after the opening ceremony. ”

"Seasickness has to be taken by boat." Lin Zexu said: "Then let's leave on the sixth day of the first month." ”

"Do as your lord commands." Yi Zhixiang hurriedly bowed to his body.

"What about Yuanqi group practice?" Lin Zexu said: "Also go by boat together?" ”

"That's not right." Yi Zhizhi said: "The five thousand regiments bravely went to sea before taking a boat, the goal was too big, and besides, the Yuanqi regiment went to Guangzhou to practice, and he still wanted to hide his tracks. ”

Lin Zexu said with some surprise: "Hidden tracks? ”

Yi Zhizu nodded and said: "In the first battle of Dinghai, the British army suffered a loss in the hands of Yuanqi Tuanlian, and it will inevitably attach importance to Yuanqi's tuanlian, if you learn that Yuanqituanlian is going to Shanghai, you must be vigilant." Moreover, the Yuanqi regimental training sent 5,000 people to Shanghai, which was tantamount to weakening the defensive strength of Guangzhou, and the news spread, which was not conducive to stability, of course, the most important thing, Yuanqi regimental training suddenly appeared in Jiangning, which could catch the British army by surprise. ”

"Good idea." Lin Zexu said: "How does Contentment plan to hide from the world?" ”

"In the next plan, the 5,000 regiments will be divided into pieces, set off in batches with companies as units, disguise themselves as caravans and leave Guangzhou, and go to Jiangning by land." Yi Zhizu groaned: "As for the big camp, two or three thousand volunteers will be recruited to come in, and the **** drill is enough to confuse the public." ”

With a slight groan, Lin Zexu said: "It's a good way, but I'm afraid that the guns and ammunition carried by Tuan Yong won't be able to pass through the customs, and there will be no mistakes within the two Guangzhous, but it will pass through Fujian and Zhejiang along the way." ”

Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "The governor of Fujian and Zhejiang is Deng Butang, and the lord will explain it in a letter, and Deng Butang will definitely support it." ”

Lin Zexu said with a smile: "It seems that contentment has been planned a long time ago, and it will be completed, and the headquarters will repair a book, and send it to Fuzhou in an expedited manner for three hundred miles." ”

"Lord Xie Butang." Yi Zhizu hesitated slightly before he said: "Qi Zhongtang is quite worried about the defense of Guangzhou, if Jiangning needs the great assistance of the Guangdong Navy. ”

"Be content and rest assured." Lin Zexu said: "Mobilize the Guangdong Water Division, and the headquarters will ask the emperor for instructions." (To be continued.) )