At present, the situation in Southeast Asia is quite complicated, the Taiping army led by the king Hong Xiuquan occupies Bengal, Yuan Qi occupies Burma and Annam, and Siam is occupied by the troops of Yang Xiuqing, the king of the east.

Although Yang Xiuqing, the king of the east, led his troops to destroy Siam, he did not dare to establish a country, and he had been vacillating between the Taiping army and Yuan Qi.

Yi Zhishan slowly paced to the gate of the courtyard while pondering, for these two, it is still necessary for him to give enough courtesy, Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan, who came together, saw Yi Zhishan greet him, and also accelerated his pace, still more than a dozen steps away, Yang Xiuqing, who met for the first time, smiled heartily: "Famous for more than ten years, today I finally got to see Yi Da shopkeeper." ”

Yi Zhizu returned the salute with a smile on his face, and looked at the other party carefully, Yang Xiuqing is medium and not burly, his face is black but not powerful, he has led the army for many years, and he has a power in his gestures. ”

Feng Yunshan, who was dressed as a Confucian student, stepped forward and bowed his hand, "After a few years, the demeanor of the big shopkeeper is still the same." ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "The king of the south has reduced a little, it won't be that Bengal is not adaptable." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and said politely, "Two please." ”

"Big shopkeeper, please." Whether it was Yang Xiuqing or Feng Yunshan, they didn't dare to lose their manners in front of Yi Zhifen now, so they hurriedly gave in, Yi Zhixiang smiled, and took the lead.

Feng Yunshan was a little half a step behind, and said slowly: "Although there are large plains in Bangladesh, there is a lot of rain and floods every year, and we are indeed a little unaccustomed to the water and soil. ”

Seeing that he took the opportunity to complain, Yi Zhizhi was content not to accept this stubble, and said, "How could the two of you come together by such a coincidence?" ”

Feng Yunshan said truthfully: "It's not a coincidence, the East King is invited. ”

"I wanted to come to Shanghai for a long time, and I received an invitation from Nanwang, so I didn't think much about it, so I came together." Yang Xiuqing then explained, in Southeast Asia for several years of conquest, his troops have lost a lot, but the replenishment is limited, and now he is under the three-sided control of Yuanqi's new army, even if he is unruly, but he has to lower his posture, and join forces with Yuanqi's new army to conquer Siam Let him recognize a fact, Yuanqi wants to destroy him, it can be said that it is easy.

Regarding Yang Xiuqing's active explanation, Yi Zhixiang smiled disapprerovingly, it was obvious that the other party was a little weak-hearted, afraid that he would misunderstand.

Seeing that he was silent, Yang Xiuqing was really a little weak-hearted, if Hong Xiuquan in Bangladesh could still have some confidence, he had no confidence at all, he knew very well that Yuan Qi would not allow him to stand on his own feet in Siam, and would definitely incorporate Siam into the territory of the Qing Dynasty.

When the three of them entered the house and sat down, Yang Xiuqing said straightforwardly: "I don't know when the imperial court plans to establish a province in Siam?" He said this, naturally, to show his attitude.

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him and said: "Southeast Asia is not suitable for establishing a province at present, even if it is a province, it is difficult to return to the heart, after a long time of killing and war, when the local people are desperate for peace, it is the best time to establish a province." ”

Hearing this, Feng Yunshan suddenly realized, no wonder after joining forces to destroy Siam, Yuan Qi took the initiative to withdraw his army and surrender Siam to the East King, no wonder Yuan Qi has always taken an indulgent attitude towards the East King's troops, it turned out to be for this reason!

Yang Xiuqing was relieved, the confusion that had been incomprehensible to him for the past few years was easily solved because of this sentence, and he finally understood why he hinted at attachment several times, but the other party has been indifferent, neither recruiting nor suppressing, and constantly providing all kinds of support.

After relieving his heart, he immediately realized that the other party's praise for his good command of the army and rigorous management of the army was definitely not a compliment, but a dissatisfaction, and he immediately said: "Don't worry, give me three years to ensure that Siam will become a hell on earth." ”

"The focus is on the elimination of the nobles, gentry, and wealthy landlords of Siam." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The trend of eating big households in Siam is prevalent, and it can be carried forward a little. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Although the king of the east is relieved, Yuan Qi never does things like rabbits and dead dogs, and is willing to lead the army. ”

Hearing this, Yang Xiuqing seemed to have taken a reassuring pill, completely relieved, and secretly rejoiced that the decision to choose to cooperate with Yuan Qi back then was extremely correct, and this result was no worse than Hong Xiuquan's establishment in Bangladesh.

Hearing this, Feng Yunshan was also secretly happy, but in fact, because Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing had irreconcilable contradictions, Hong Xiuquan did not mean to re-accept Yang Xiuqing at all, and only took a fancy to the tens of thousands of elite soldiers under Yang Xiuqing, who were basically old brothers in Guangxi and Hunan, and were also loyal followers of the God Worship Society.

Since Yuan Qi has no intention of exterminating Yang Xiuqing's army, then they have a great possibility of receiving these tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and he is like a mirror in his heart, Yuan Qi cannot absorb the Taiping army, although Yang Xiuqing's troops are all elite soldiers in a hundred battles, but the gap with Yuanqi's new army is not a little bit, but the gap is too big, and Yuanqi's new army will not worship God's followers.

Seeing that it was a slit in the words, he spoke: "The Wing King is still in the United States?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded, after pacifying Siam, he sent Shi Dakai to the United States to observe the Civil War in the name of investigation, so as not to make Shi Dakai difficult to extricate himself from the Taiping army, "The end of the American Civil War is imminent, and the Wing King should return to China next year." As he spoke, he asked rhetorically, "Why are you suddenly worried about the Winged King, but you plan to expand to the west on a large scale?" ”

Hearing this, Feng Yunshan smiled bitterly and said: "The Heavenly King has plans to expand westward, but he is short of soldiers and silver, even if he has the heart, he has more than enough heart but not enough strength. ”

Lack of soldiers and less silver? Yi Zhishu was speechless for a while, this is not only for silver, but also for soldiers? As soon as he thought about it, he reacted, Hong Xiuquan had taken a fancy to Yang Xiuqing's subordinates, and he really didn't think about the placement of Yang Xiuqing's troops, but it was really not suitable for Yang's troops to be resettled in situ after they were burned, killed, and plundered in Phnom Penh, Siam, and it was impossible for the Yuanqi New Army to be absorbed.

Perhaps, Bangladesh is a good choice for Yangbu, but it is not good for him to overstep his responsibilities in this matter, which must not only respect Yang Xiuqing's opinion, but also respect the choice of the officers and soldiers of Yangbu themselves.

After a slight sigh, he said: "Expansion also needs to pay attention to timing, India is the forbidden territory of the United Kingdom, known as the 'jewel in the queen's crown' rash expansion, the gains outweigh the losses, and wait for two or three years, when the time comes, it will naturally allow you to expand." ”

Wait two or three years for the time to expand westward? Feng Yunshan said with a smile: "The big shopkeeper has also heard the news that England is preparing to move the capital to Delhi?" ”

Moving the capital to Delhi? New Delhi! Yi Zhizhi was content, he really hadn't heard the news, what he said about two or three years refers to the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War, allowing the Taiping army to expand to India to cooperate with Yuanqi's expansion in the northwest, but he didn't expect the British to plan to move the Governor's Palace to Delhi.

But it's normal to think about it, the Taiping army entrenched in Bengal, for the close Kolkata is a huge threat, for security reasons, it is reasonable to move to Delhi, historically, the British also abandoned Kolkata and moved to New Delhi, now it is only a few decades earlier.

It is no wonder that Hong Xiuquan, who has always preserved his strength, is ready to think of expanding westward, but this is too taken for granted, even if the British move the Governor's Palace to New Delhi, they will not easily give up Calcutta.

Seeing Yi Zhizhi's contented expression, Feng Yunshan knew that the other party didn't know this news, and he was quite puzzled in his heart, what was the expansion opportunity that the other party was referring to?

"The British will not give up Calcutta easily." Yi Zhishu said: "Even if the British move the Governor's Palace to Delhi, you had better not act rashly, the timing of expansion I am talking about refers to the time when war breaks out in Europe and the British army has no time to take care of India." ”

Because of the opening of the cable telegraph, Feng Yunshan basically knew about international affairs, and he had heard about the outbreak of the Pudan-Danish War, but he didn't pay attention to it, after all, it had nothing to do with them, and he was a little surprised when he heard this, "There will be a big war in Europe?" Will England get involved? ”

"War will definitely break out, and it is difficult to say whether England will be involved." Yi Zhizhi said: "However, as long as a big war breaks out in Europe, it is an opportunity, and in that case, England will not dare to use troops in the East." ”

For the Taiping army in Bangladesh, it is naturally a good thing to be able to recuperate and develop for two or three years or even longer, Feng Yunshan immediately nodded and said: "According to what the big treasurer said, it is not too late to expand when the time is favorable." ”

After hesitating, he continued: "At present, the Taiping army has initially gained a firm foothold in Bangladesh, but Bangladesh has a lot of rain and serious floods, and it is very poor. ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "It is a fact that there is a lot of rain and serious floods in Bangladesh, but the climate is suitable, the land is fertile, and it is not a problem to double crop a year. ”

Hearing this, Yang Xiuqing hurriedly echoed, "Siam is indeed seriously short of food now, and it is even closer to transport grain from Bangladesh. ”

"Okay." Feng Yunshan said without thinking, trading with Yuan Qi, they basically make money and do not lose money, and they must rely on Yuan Qi in terms of arms, so they can't allow him to bargain at all.

For Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan, Yi Zhicontent was quite courteous, and after the conversation, he set up a banquet to entertain him, and summoned Yan Shikuan and told him to receive him properly, of course, this is mainly in the face of Yang Xiuqing, the conquest of Southeast Asian countries, Yang Xiuqing has made great contributions, and he deserves this treatment.

Yi Zhizhi is content, Yan Shikuan naturally did not dare to slack off, and carefully arranged the reception, and learned that Yang Xiuqing was the first time to come to Shanghai, so he led people to visit everywhere.

For Shanghai, Yang Xiuqing has long heard of it, when he was entrenched in Changsha, he heard about the prosperity of Shanghai many times, and visited and played for a few days, he can be described as an eye-opener, and sighed, although he was born in a poor and remote country, but he has also seen the prosperity of Wuchang and Changsha, but compared with Shanghai, Wuchang and Changsha are mostly like the countryside, if he did not see it with his own eyes, he would never imagine that Shanghai is prosperous and rich to this point.

At dusk on this day, when he returned to the garden where he stayed, Feng Yunshan deliberately found an opportunity to take a walk with Yang Xiuqing on the bluestone path in the garden, and after strolling for a while, he said with emotion: "Thinking about the Jintian incident back then, how could I have thought that there would be a ....... today." ”

Yang Xiuqing laughed when he heard this: "I thought that when I was in Changsha back then, I won a lot of battles, but how could I have thought that it would end up in this field today?" ”

"It seems that the East King still has a grudge against the Heavenly King." Feng Yunshan said: "Even if we could work together and work with one heart and one mind, we would not be Yuanqi's opponents, and the outcome may be worse than now." ”

Although Yang Xiuqing thinks highly of himself, he has to admit that the Taiping Army is indeed not the opponent of the Yuanqi New Army, if it was twisted into a rope back then, it may have been wiped out by the Yuanqi New Army and the Qing Army, he was unwilling to talk about this topic, and said instead: "Shi Dangdang went to the United States?" ”

Feng Yunshan nodded, "I've been there for three or four years, and the shopkeeper of Yida intends to recruit him." After a pause, he continued: "For the East King, the shopkeeper of Yi Da is also sincerely recruited, can the East King plan to enter Yuanqi?" ”

"Tired!" Yang Xiuqing said without thinking: "After more than ten years of fighting, the old brothers around me are getting fewer and fewer year by year, what is the picture?" Isn't it just a picture of glory and wealth, since it is easy to get, why bother to fight for the lives of your brothers? They should be blessed too. ”

Seeing that he blocked the conversation when he opened his mouth, Feng Yunshan couldn't help but sigh secretly, secretly thinking that if he wanted to recruit the other party's subordinates, he could only count on Yi Zhi's contentment.

Yang Xiuqing obviously knew his thoughts, and pondered for a while before saying: "For the sake of the relationship that has been in love for more than 20 years, let me remind you, Hong Huoxiu is not worth following, he can't become the climate, and Bangladesh is also wishful thinking, it is a strategic place, will Yuan Qi let Hong Huoxiu establish a country there?"

What about the buffer zone between the Qing Dynasty and the British, you believe that the Yuanqi in that place will be collected sooner or later, and now it is just using you as a gunman to drive us from Guangxi and Yunnan into Southeast Asia, but it is not to use us as a gunman. ”

Feng Yunshan couldn't understand this, he smiled bitterly and said, "Even if we know that he is using us as a gunman, what can we do?" Our situation is no different from that of Dongwang, without enough strength to protect ourselves, it is impossible to meet the source left and right, not to mention, Yuan Qi will not give us the opportunity to meet the source left and right! ”

"This is a ruthless man, we are not unjustly defeated." Yang Xiuqing said in a sullen voice: "Don't report any extravagant hopes, it is impossible for Yuan Qi to let you have the strength to protect yourself." ”