The corners of Yi Zhi's mouth grinned slightly, revealing a hint of sarcasm, Lin Zexu deliberately kept the news of the recovery of Zhenjiang secret? This possibility is really not big, Lin Zexu is bent on protecting Jiangning, the reason why he has not spread this news at the moment may be for another purpose, he is too lazy to think about it, and he will know when he goes to the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion early tomorrow morning. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

After a slight hesitation, he said: "Tell me, what do you think of the battle in Jiangning?" ”

This is obviously with the meaning of comparison, the three of them did not dare to be rash, and were silent for a while, before Feng Renxuan spoke: "Looking at the terrain of Jiangning, combined with the situation of Zheng Chenggong's invasion of Jiangning back then, the most ideal anchorage place for the British fleet is the area of Xiaguan and Straw Shoes Gorge, and the camping place is the area of Panlong Mountain and Baitu Mountain.

Our Yuanqi regiment practiced straining the camp in Baitu Mountain, which is like a thorn, a thorn in the throat, and the British army must pull it out quickly, otherwise it will not be able to let go and attack Jiangning. ”

Speaking of this, he paused slightly, looked at Yi Zhicontent, and said slowly: "The total strength of our Yuanqi regiment in Jiangning is only 5,000, and there is a serious lack of artillery, the British army should have about 15,000 naval and land troops, and there are many naval guns, even if the Baitushan battalion has perfect fortifications, it cannot withstand the full attack of the British army."

But the big shopkeeper just ordered to camp in Baitu Mountain - this first place, thinking about it, the battle in Jiangning will not be so fierce, or rather, the big shopkeeper has a strategy to retreat from the enemy. ”

Yi Zhizhi glanced at him noncommittally, and turned to look at Yin Youcai, deputy of the Third Regiment, Xiao Mingliang, the head of the Third Regiment, went to Shanghai to train volunteers, and the military practice of the Yuanqi Regiment in Jiangning was presided over by Yin Youcai, after all, Feng Renxuan led 3,000 reinforcements to Jiangning a few days ago.

"Jiangning is the ultimate goal of the British army's venture into the Yangtze River waterway." Yin Youcai said in a deep voice: "The students secretly thought that if the British army knew that Zhenjiang and Wusong had been recovered, it was very likely that they would make a desperate bet and fight to the death in Jiangning.

The British fleet set off from Wusong and arrived in Jiangning, which took a month, and in the case of hearing that the back road was cut off, the possibility of choosing to return was not great, because returning to the voyage meant failure, even if he knew that Jiangning was heavily armed, the British commander would also take the risk of attacking Jiangning, and once Jiangning was occupied, he could coerce the imperial court to sign an armistice agreement, and the danger of the back road being cut off was also solved. ”

"No!" Feng Renxuan said in a deep voice: "Attacking Jiangning, the ammunition consumption is extremely high, once it cannot be successfully captured, the British fleet will face the end of total annihilation." ”

"The British army has as many as fifty transport ships, and there should be enough ammunition reserves, even if the attack on Jiangning fails, there is a certainty that they will retreat."

"Walk away? Don't forget, Jiangyin and Wusong still have two lines of defense waiting for them. ”

"Just because it is dangerous to return home, the more you have to make a desperate attempt to attack Jiangning!"

The two of them were silent, and Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "For the British army, this is a difficult choice, but let's be prepared for both." Glancing at the three of them, he said in a deep voice: "It's not that I'm conceited, Jiangning's 230,000 and 80,000 Banner Green Battalion is not enough to stuff the gaps between the British army, Jiangning's first battle, Yuanqi's regimental training is not only the first to bear the brunt, but also the absolute main force."

As he spoke, he looked at Feng Renxuan and said, "The Huadi Battalion has never experienced actual combat, and I also know that you are gearing up to compete with the Henan Battalion, and the Jiangning Battalion, I hope the Huadi Battalion will not let me down." ”

Hearing this, Feng Renxuan and Chang Kunning's faces turned red, and they all saluted and said, "The Huadi camp will never let the big shopkeeper down!" ”

"Good, good!" Yi Zhizhi glanced outside the big tent as he spoke, and said, "Tell them all to come in, let's allocate our troops and deploy them well." ”

Early the next morning, Yi Zhishu did not enter the city from the nearest Yifeng Gate, but took a boat along the river to go up the water Xiguan into the city, although it was early in the morning, but there were many boats of all kinds of large and small on the river, and all the ships were going upstream, and asked the boatman, only to learn that the news that the British fleet was not far from Jiangning had spread, and these ships were going upstream to flee.

Not only was the river full of fleeing boats, but there was also an endless stream of people on the riverbank, and the news that the British army had captured Zhenjiang in one day and razed Zhenjiang to the ground caused panic inside and outside the city of Jiangning, and everyone was busy fleeing their homes with the old and the young.

Looking at this scene, Yi Zhishu couldn't tell what it was like, the boat arrived at Shuixi Pass, and saw a large number of people gathered outside the city gate, he was very surprised, and asked the boatman: "Why do so many people want to enter the city?" ”

The boatman smiled bitterly and said: "The soldiers are in chaos, and they don't feel safe anywhere, the city inside the city is not safe, the outside of the city is not safe, and now the wilderness has become a place where there is no king's law, and there are still 20,000 soldiers in the city." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixiang was speechless for a while, and entered the city by waterway, he did not rush to the governor's mansion, but first went to the Qinhuai River to find Jin Ying, knocked on the door, and when he saw that it was him, Jin Ying was pleasantly surprised, and said happily: "Count the ...... that the young master will come in these two days." ”

After entering the door, Yi Zhizu glanced at the courtyard, and when he saw that no one was there, he stopped and said, "These days, can Jiangning City be the whole city?" ”

"Nope." Jin Ying hurriedly shook his head and said.

Lin Zexu didn't know that there would be a party in the city, and it might not be possible for Monk Greenqin to come, Yi Zhizhi thought about it for a while, and then said: "Two things, one is to inform the Heaven and Earth Society and the Qinglian Church to think of leaving the city as soon as possible, and if you can't get out of the city, try to hide, when the British army attacks the city, the wind will be very tight." In addition, find someone from the Heaven and Earth Society, send a message to Huang Dianyuan as soon as possible, and say that Dieniang wants to see him and ask him to arrange a place to meet. Besides, there is danger in the city, so you can go out of the city with me in the afternoon, and wait outside the governor's palace when you are done. ”

Jin Ying is not only not stupid, but very smart and clever, and has long vaguely guessed that heaven and earth will take advantage of the opportunity of the British army to attack, and when she heard this, she was greatly shocked, "The young master has a connection with them?" ”

"I'll talk about it when I go back to the camp." Yi Zhizu said and hurried out to the Governor's Palace, when he arrived at the Governor's Palace, the sun rose high, handed the sign in, and then a porter trotted out, and took him straight to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, and when he entered the hall, he saw Lin Zexu, Yishan, Seng Greenqin, Yang Fang, and a thin old man wearing a first-class military attache robe, old and thin as if a gust of wind could blow away, although he didn't know it, he knew that this was Jiangning General Dezhubu.

Several people were discussing around a map on the table, and when they saw him come in, Monk Lingqin beckoned with a smile on his face: "Contentment can be regarded as coming, come and see, where is our camp?" ”

The room was full of first-class super-quality adults, and Yi Zhishu really didn't dare to be presumptuous, so he bowed his hands and said, "I've seen all of you." ”

Dezhubu turned around, squinted at him, and said: "I heard the monk king say, the Yuanqi regiment practiced to recover Wusong and Zhenjiang, and the Yingyi who fought had no power to fight back, just like chopping melons and vegetables, and the one who relied on it was the new musket purchased from Citigroup, and now that the Yingyi army is coming to the city, does Yuanqi also sponsor a batch of new muskets to the Jiangning Banner Battalion?" ”

It's really shameless the older you get, Yi Zhifen scolded secretly, glanced at a few people, and finally looked at Monk Greenqin, and said: "The big war is about to break out, can you tell the truth below?" ”

Monk Grinqin said without hesitation: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly." ”

"Ahem." Lin Zexu coughed lightly and winked at him, Yi Zhishu secretly wondered, and then reacted, Hailing! Monk Greenqin killed the deputy capital Hailing in Zhenjiang, and Dezhubu couldn't afford to provoke Monk Greenqin, but he wanted to ask for some benefits from him as compensation!

Of course, this benefit can't be given, not to mention that the Minny gun can't be given, even if it can be given to him, he won't give it, arched his hand at Dezhubu, and then he said aloud: "The British forward fleet is here in a blink of an eye, and there will be no going around in circles, not to mention the new musket, even the musket captured from the British army that Yuan Qi does not use cannot be given to the Jiangning Banner Battalion." ”

Hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned, even if you don't give it, there is no need to slap your face like this, no matter what the other party says, it is General Jiang Ning, and Dezhubu can't get off the stage, he pointed at him tremblingly, and said with trembling lips: "Bold!" ”

"The general is angry, but he doesn't have much courage." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Jiangning has four thousand banner soldiers, this is an indispensable force for the defense of Jiangning, muskets can be given to the green battalion, but not to the banner soldiers." ”

Yishan also had a change of heart, and hurriedly followed the conversation: "What is the truth of contentment, let's talk about it in detail." ”

"The truth of this, the monk prince and the marquis Yang should be clear."

Monk Greenqin glanced at Yang Fang and said with a smile: "Don't sell Guan Zi if you are content, just say it." ”

"The Eight Banners Green Battalion uses muskets and inflicts limited damage on the enemy." Yi Zhizhi said: "Jiangning's 4,000 banner soldiers are 4,000 cavalry, if you use muskets, you will abandon the long and short, if you can cooperate with the musketeers, you can attack and disturb in a roundabout way, in order to give full play to your due advantages." ”

"Well said!" Monk Greenqin said loudly: "That's true, the musketeers of the Eight Banners Green Battalion can't exert the power of muskets at all, and they are not as good as big swords, spears, bows and arrows, whether it is in Zhejiang or Zhenjiang, this king has a deep understanding." ”

Hearing this, Dezhubu's face softened slightly, but he said unrelentingly: "Why can Yuanqi group practice exert the power of the musket?" ”

Yi Zhishu smiled and said: "This question is very complicated, and there are many aspects involved, such as training, treatment, status, military discipline, officers, tactics, command, literacy, faith, cohesion, and execution...... And so on and so forth. As he spoke, he took out a cigar and said, "If General De is interested, how about talking about it in detail next?" ”

"Don't ——。" Yishan smiled: "We don't have time now, when this battle is over, let's listen to the details of contentment." ”

Monk Lingqin followed: "Come on, come on, think about it first, and see where our big camp is suitable?" ”

Slowly pacing to the desk, looking at the large Jiangning defense map spread out on the table, Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The British army learned that the back road was cut off, and it is very likely that they will attack Jiangning desperately, although there are 5,000 people in the Yuanqi regiment training in Baitu Mountain, but there is a lack of artillery, and there are still 3,500 people who have not experienced actual combat, to be honest, whether they can keep Jiangning, I am not sure at all."

If you want to contain the British army, the north of the city is the most ideal, if there are nearly 10,000 green battalions and thousands of cavalry in the area of Yifeng Gate, Guanyin Gate, and Maigao Bridge, and the Baitu Mountain camp are horns for each other, it is enough to contain most of the British army. ”

Listening to these words, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn, Yuanqi regimental training easily recovered Wusong, Zhenjiang, killed and captured thousands of British troops, everyone was full of confidence in the combat power of Yuanqi regimental training, and they all had a relatively relaxed attitude towards the first battle of Jiangning.

After a while, Lin Zexu spoke: "What if the British fleet goes up the river and attacks from the west of the city?" ”

Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The British fleet is highly mobile, and it can attack from three directions: the north of the city, the west of the city, and the east of the city. ”

Breaking the city, fighting in the streets? Everyone's hearts are sinking, if Jiangning is captured by the British army, the consequences are simply unimaginable, Jiangning is not Zhenjiang, Baoshan can be compared, Jiangning is the second largest city in the Qing Dynasty, is the center of Jiangnan's political economy, military culture and transportation, once lost, all the adults here can be said to be tied their heads to the waistband of their trousers, and they may lose their officials and die if they are not careful.

"Alarmist." Dezhubu said slowly: "The British fleet is going up the river, and the speed is extremely slow. ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said lightly: "The British fleet has reached the upper reaches and is going down the river, it's always fast, right?" ”

Lin Zexu shook his head slightly, and said, "Jiangning can't afford to lose, can you negotiate with the British army and let the British army take the initiative to evacuate?" ”

"Absolutely." Yi Zhicontent said without thinking: "Agree to the conditions put forward by the British army." ”

Yishan said: "Void and wrong? And then intercept in Jiangyin and Wusong, and annihilate the British fleet? ”

This is really whimsical, and Yi Zhishu said without hesitation: "The possibility of completely annihilating the British fleet is very small. ”

A few people stayed in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and discussed until the afternoon, focusing on how to protect Jiangning, Yi Zhizhi was so content that he didn't bother to open his mouth later, just sat by the window and smoked cigars and drank tea cup after cup, he knew very well in his heart that with the strength of the British fleet, it was easy to break through Jiangning, but it was difficult to occupy Jiangning, the problem was that once the city was broken, the entire Jiangning City could be destroyed in the war, and none of the officials here dared to take this risk! After all, Jiangning was destroyed, and the impact and loss were too great, so big that they didn't dare to bear it!

Just when everyone was at a loss, a military attache walked quickly to the door and reported loudly: "Two Qincha, my lords, twelve British warships have arrived at Xiaguan and sent a letter. ”

The note sent by the British army was written entirely in Chinese, and there was nothing new, that is, it reaffirmed the conditions of compensation for the price of cigarettes and compensation for land cession, but at the end it added an article asking Jiangning to prepare a ransom of 3 million yuan.

Seeing the last one, everyone was a little dumbfounded, three million silver dollars of ransom money! Yi Zhisuff flicked the note, and said with a smile: "The British army seems to be addicted to extorting ransom money, Yangzhou is 500,000, and Jiangning is directly driving to 3 million, this is an opportunity, send someone to talk to them, add it little by little, delay time, and wait for the arrival of their main fleet, what do you think?" ”

Yishan said: "What does contentment mean to wait for Pu Ding to come and negotiate directly with the British army?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "Try to talk, try not to go to war, it's really not appropriate to talk, fight again!" (To be continued.) )