Listening to this, Lin Zexu didn't say anything for a long time, these days, he has not been idle for a moment, and has inquired and collected the situation in England in many ways, indeed as Yi Zhishu said, England is strong and strong, it is an out-and-out maritime hegemon, overseas colonies are all over the place, and the British naval fleet is across the ocean, and it is rare to meet opponents.

If the British army goes north along the coast and attacks Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Dinghai, Nanjing, and Tianjin, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Seeing that he was silent, Guan Tianpei said in a deep voice: "My lord, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the world's most tax-paying places, and Tianjin is the gateway to Beijing. ”

Lin Zexu didn't know this, but he always thought that England was far away from the Qing Dynasty, and he moved thousands of miles to expedition for trade, which seemed to him to be incredible, but he didn't dare not believe it, nor did he dare to believe it all, and Yi Zhicontent was not only familiar with the situation of Western countries, but also very accurate in judging the situation.

After a slight groan, he asked, "Judging by contentment, when will the British army attack?" Next year? Or the year after? ”

Yi Zhishu said without hesitation: "Next year's sea trade season." ”

Next year? Lin Zexu glanced at him suspiciously, and said: "Guangzhou is tens of thousands of miles away from England, and it will take a year to return information, and tens of thousands of miles of expeditions, large armies are assembled, and food and salaries are prepared. How is that possible next year? ”

War breaks out next year. It's a sure thing. But Yi Zhishu didn't expect Lin Zexu to ask like this, and after a slight sigh, he bowed slightly and said: "My lord, the English Navy is concentrated in a few ports on weekdays, and there is no large army gathering, as for food, England has convenient transportation and railways on land. There is a merchant fleet at sea, and it is very convenient and fast to transport all kinds of military supplies of grain and grass. ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu frowned, if the British army really came to attack next year, the time left for them would be half a year, and he groaned slightly, before he tentatively said: "Contentment predicts that the British army will go north along the coast, how do you think you should deal with it?" ”

Yi Zhixiang raised his eyes and looked directly at him and said, "How dare you speak presumptuously about military affairs?" ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say it."

"That's a fight." Yi Zhishu said for a moment, and then said calmly: "Guangzhou to Beijing." 5,000 miles away, back and forth. It will take a month, Guangzhou and Yingyi have won several battles, the emperor may not take England in his eyes, and the local officials in the coastal provinces have no knowledge of England, even if they receive an order from the imperial court, how many people will seriously prepare for war?

Once the British army appeared in Guangzhou, it could be reported to the Beijing division by 800 miles, or to go straight to Tianjin by speedboat to report the emergency, and the Beijing division had heavy troops, so it should be able to protect Tianjin in time.

The most worrisome thing is Nanjing, which is not only the political, economic and cultural center of the two rivers, but also the transportation hub of the north and south. Your Excellency is now the governor of Liangjiang, and the most appropriate strategy is for your Excellency to go to Nanjing immediately to take up his post, reorganize his army, raise food and wages, and actively prepare for war. ”

Let him leave Guangzhou? Going to Gangnam? Lin Zexu couldn't figure out his true thoughts for a while, did the other party want to take this opportunity to support him, or did he really think about the overall situation? It is indeed the most appropriate way to let him go to Nanjing to preside over the defense of Jiangnan, but now that he is leaving Guangzhou, will the smoking ban be wasted?

After pondering for a long time, he spoke: "Yingyi is still entrenched in the Tonggu Ocean, and the crows on the ocean face. The piece trade is still endless, and the war is going on again, how can Ben Qincha leave Guangzhou at this time? Moreover, the Jingshi may not let Ben Qincha leave Guangzhou, but the defense of Jiangnan, contentment, can rest assured, Ben Qincha is now the governor of Liangjiang, can write Jiangnan, and the Jiangnan officials are ready to fight. ”

After a slight pause, he continued: "Can Yuan Qi purchase another batch of artillery muskets for Jiangnan?" ”

"It's too late." Yi Zhizu said with a wry smile: "The war is together, trade is cut off, Citi merchants dare not come, even if they dare to come, they will be intercepted or robbed by the British army, and it is really too late, before the firearms are delivered, the war has started." After hesitating, he continued: "Yuanqi has no semicolon in Jiangnan, donating silver to strengthen Guangzhou's defense, and he can still explain to Yuanqi shareholders and support Jiangnan, but he can't explain to Yuanqi shareholders in the future." ”

Lin Zexu glanced at him, this kid has a lot of ambitions, and he still wants to drive the Yuanqi semicolon to Jiangnan? For Yuanqi's monopoly on the money industry in Guangdong Province, he has no objection, Yuanqi absorbs small deposits and lends at low interest rates, which is beneficial to the people and local commerce, and is also conducive to the control of the local money industry by the imperial court and local officials, but at present, he has not had the heart to consider these trivial matters, since it is too late to purchase artillery and muskets, he will not say more, Liangjiang is rich in the world, and he does not disdain to force Yuanqi to pay silver.

Seeing that Lin Zexu was silent, Yi Zhizhi was also speechless, he originally planned to encourage Lin Zexu to go to Nanjing, and with Lin Zexu presiding over Nanjing, the situation in Nanjing may take a slight turn. The film war will not be too ugly to lose, what he didn't expect was that not only Lin Zexu himself was unwilling to leave Guangzhou, but Jingshi might not let Lin Zexu leave Guangzhou, this refers to Daoguang? Or do you mean the ministers of military aircraft?

Coming out of Humen Village, seeing Yi Zhi's contented appearance, Guan Tianpei smiled and said with relief: "Contentment doesn't have to worry, my lord is the governor of Liangjiang, he writes Jiangnan, and urges the local government to organize the army for war, how dare the local officials not obey the order?" ”

Yi Zhisuff sneered: "Those officials don't have serious skills, but their ability to pass the buck is more powerful than the other, and in just half a year, it's not enough for them to pass the buck." ”

"Contentment, even the old man scolded it." Guan Tianpei quipped, and then changed the topic: "It will be the winter moon in a few days, and the matter of the Ammunition Bureau, you can be content and urgent." ”

"Rest assured that the military gate is closed." Yi Zhizhi said: "Although I am not in Guangzhou during this time, I have already arranged things, and I have been writing letters to urge. Just wait for the Citi dealer to ship the machine in. Production will be up and running soon. He said. He asked casually: "During this time, Citigroup's merchant ships have not been affected in Guangzhou, right?" ”

"Nope." Guan Tianpei said with a smile: "All the merchant ships that have signed a knot have not been affected, but all the merchant ships entering and leaving the customs are uniformly numbered and registered, mainly to prevent them from transshipping the goods of Yingyi merchant ships. ”

The three of them broke up at the dock and boarded the ship to return, Wu Changqing said tentatively: "Go to Henan or Xiguan first?" ”

"Let's go meet your old man first." Yi Zhisuff said in a sullen voice: "The imperial court has cut off trade with England, and the thirteen merchants are afraid that they have panicked. ”

Listen to this. Wu Changqing smiled, Yi's Fu Tai Xing basically does not trade with England, this time cut off trade with England, Fu Tai Xing can be said to be not affected at all, but will also benefit greatly because Citi merchants dominate the market, although Wu Jia's Jardine has trade with England, but the share is not large, and other merchants, but mainly with England trade, this year's loss is not small.

It's dusk. The boat docked at the dock in the backyard of Wujia Garden, and the two of them took a bath. After eating something indiscriminately, he went to Yanhui Building, and when the two people arrived, Wu Bingjian was very happy, and after the two of them saw each other, he said: "Count the time, you should also return in these days, can this trip go smoothly?" ”

"It's fine." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "The reserves of iron ore in Changhua have been roughly explored, at least millions of tons, the railway from Changhua to Basuo has started construction, and the construction of roadbeds has begun, in addition, a battalion has been recruited in Changhua and Basuo - five hundred people, and they are being trained, however, Xu Wen's situation is a little complicated, and the machine sugar mill is planned to be implemented in several inland prefectures and counties first. ”

For the machine sugar mill, Wu Bingjian is not concerned, at the moment he cares about the war, not to make money, the merchant group in the eight new 1,000 people, he is quite satisfied, plus the people on the three warships, the size of the merchant group has reached more than 2,000, a little groaning, he said: "Yixue in the past six months, more than 1,000 students have been added one after another, most of them are fifteen, sixteen or seven years old, and then form a battalion, there is no problem, however, Guangzhou prefect Zhuerhang'a took Panyu Zhixian to Yixue for a turn, I heard that I was a little dissatisfied, this matter is content to be careful." ”

It's Zhuerhanga again, this guy is really endless, Yi Zhishu frowned slightly, and secretly thought in his heart, I have to get this Zhuerhanga away, otherwise I am afraid that there will be trouble in the future, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "The matter of Yixue, the Governor is quite clear, now that the imperial court has cut off trade with England, Guangzhou's foreign trade mainly depends on Citigroup, and the construction of the Foshan-Guangzhou railway has also been agreed by the imperial court, and this matter should be fine." ”

"Be content and not be careless." Wu Bingjian said: "Zhuerhanga is taking the path of Mu Zhang'a, the chief minister of military aircraft, Mu Zhang'a is not only against the construction of the railway, but also has differences with Deng and Lin on the matter of banning smoking. ”

Yi Zhizu nodded and said, "The juniors understand, I will visit Lord Deng early tomorrow morning." ”

"Even if I went to see Lord Deng, I should also mention the matter of forming a group practice." Wu Bingjian said slowly: "Now that there are repeated conflicts with the British, it is logical to propose the formation of a group training at this time, but the expansion of the merchant group is not mentioned for the time being. ”

"Juniors understand." Yi Zhishu said with a smile and said: "To form a group practice, it is only a suggestion from the juniors, I am afraid it will be difficult to work." ”

"It's nature." Wu Bingjian said confidently: "A few days ago, there were frequent conflicts with England, and the old man had already released rumors, saying that England would come in a big way to retaliate, Humen was not enough, and the Guangdong sailors were useless.

Contentment and Deng Daren's suggestion is just to test the attitude of the Guangzhou officials, if it is allowed, it is naturally the best, if it is not allowed, and then organize the gentry to jointly fold it. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Since Pinghu Gong has already paved the way, there should be no suspense in this matter." ”

"Contentment is not optimistic." Wu Bingjian said: "The Guangdong Navy Division and the Yingyi battled, although they fought more and less, but they were all small victories, and the officials may not be worried about the Yingyi attacking. ”

"It's easy." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "One is to spread the details of the Battle of Kowloon, the Battle of Piercing the Nose and the Battle of Guanyong, such as the comparison of forces between the two sides, and the casualties, and secondly, the "Xiguan Daily" has introduced the real national conditions of England, especially the strength of the British Navy, and I am not afraid that the officials will not worry." ”

Wu Bingjian nodded slightly: "That's it." As he spoke, he smiled and said, "Leave home for half a year, don't delay here if you are content, go back to the house first to report safety." ”

Yi Zhisuff got up with a smile, thought about it, and asked, "How is the situation of the merchants?" ”

"Don't worry." Wu Bingjian said: "Since the ban on smoking, they have started to trade with Citi merchants, and the losses are natural, but they will not break their muscles and bones. ”

"That's good." Yi Zhizhi said goodbye.

Back to Yifu, it was already the second watch, Yi Zhishu went to the main room to ask his parents for peace, and accompanied the conversation, I didn't want the eldest brother Yi Zhishu also rushed over, a long talk, until the third watch, Yi Zhishu returned to his own East Cross Courtyard.

The next day, the sun has risen high, easy to get up content, day after day on the sea bumpy, last night was a night of madness, he slept very fragrantly, Chunmei and Xia He two maids also deliberately did not allow people to disturb, so that he rarely slept lazy, got up and glanced at the pocket watch, saw that it was already nine o'clock, he couldn't help complaining: "It's all this hour, why don't you call me?" ”

Xia He, who came in with water, pursed his lips and smiled: "It's rare for the young master to sleep peacefully, where is the slave so ignorant." ”

Chunmei took off her shoes and went to bed, knelt to comb his braids, and laughed softly: "The young master was fierce yesterday, tossing for most of the night, and the slave couldn't bear it." ”

"I haven't been at home for half a year, and I seem to have grown a little, and I can even use the word dragon and tiger." Yi Zhixiang smiled and quipped, and then ordered: "Malidian, I have to go to the Governor's Mansion today." ”

After tidying up, after going to the main room to ask for peace, he deliberately accompanied the two elders in the main room to eat breakfast, and Yi Zhizhi left the house, anyway, it was too late, he simply went to Yuanqi first, and the front foot entered the Rong Garden, Kong Jian'an and Xie Xiuyuan followed in, and after seeing the ceremony, Kong Jian'an smiled and said: "The big shopkeeper is back." ”

"Got into trouble?"

Kong Jian'an nodded and said, "The silver can't be turned." ”

Can't get enough money? Yi Zhishu couldn't help but be stunned, seeing his expression, Xie Xiuyuan hurriedly said: "The number of imported machinery and equipment and English iron is too large, and there are too many inventories of machine-minted silver dollars. ”

"Take your time, one by one." Yi Zhizhi said: "How much English iron has been imported?" ”

"More than 30,000 tons, almost all of the Citi merchant ships that come to Guangzhou carry English iron." Xie Xiuyuan said: "After inquiring with the Yili Railway Company, the Foguang Railway only needs about three or four thousand tons of iron, and the monthly iron consumption of Changle Machinery Factory is only fourteen or five thousand tons, is it possible to stop the import of English iron?" (To be continued.) )