Seeing Yilu's fierce and introverted appearance, Yi Zhixin secretly laughed, and said in a relaxed tone: "Four thousand prisoners of war were killed because of your hard work, if this news is transmitted back to Europe through the Portuguese or the Americans, it should be able to cause a sensation in London and even the whole of Britain, if Your Excellency the Governor General doesn't mind, you can try." ”

"Mr. Yi." Yilu said in a deep voice: "We are not threatening. ”

Yilu changed his sincere tone and said: "To tell Mr. Yi the truth, we must ask for these prisoners of war back, and we can do whatever it takes to do so, as for reputation, Mr. Yi doesn't think we have any reputation now, right?" Why don't we take a gamble? ”

Yi Zhifen naturally didn't want to gamble with him, even if he dragged these prisoners of war and didn't give them to the British army, Qi Shan, the minister of the Qin Mission, would give them to the British army, Qi Shan definitely couldn't bear the British army to continue to burn and loot along the coast for this batch of prisoners of war, listening to the tone of the other party, they seemed to have anticipated the situation of being dismissed, so they did not hesitate to take risks.

Seeing that Yi Zhizhi was silent, Wu Changqing spoke: "You can redeem this batch of prisoners of war, didn't you loot several port cities?" ”

Yilu shrugged his shoulders and said, "I looted several cities, but the goods went into the pockets of the soldiers. ”

Having said that, Yi Zhishu also knew that he couldn't get the slightest benefit from the other party, so he ordered a cigar slowly, and then he took out a notice, handed it to Yilu, and said: "This is the notice posted by Lord Lin, the governor of Liangguang, for the reward of five hundred taels of silver for capturing Bai Yi and three hundred taels of silver for capturing Heiyi.

I had thought you would be able to pay a higher price, but it seems that my judgment was wrong, and I have now decided to hand over all the British prisoners of war to the Governor of Liangguang in exchange for a silver reward. ”

"Mr. Yi, don't laugh." Yilu sneered, "Your Excellency the Governor will give you so much silver? ”

"If the Governor doesn't give it, Lord Qincha will definitely give it." Yi Zhishu said with a slight smile and said: "Now that this batch of prisoners of war has become a hot potato, I will hand it over to the government, and the two of you will go and ask the governor or the lord of the Qincha for it." ”

Asking the Governor of the Qing State and the Qin Cha for negotiation, everything is on the table, and the other party will definitely use prisoners of war as bargaining chips, of course Yilu is unwilling, otherwise he would not have to risk coming to Macau to meet Yi Zhicontent in private.

Seeing Yilu and the two of them were silent, Wu Changqing secretly praised it, this time the other party can be stopped and the prisoners of war handed over to the government, but it has nothing to do with Yuan Qi, even if there is no silver reward, it doesn't matter, it is better than the current dilemma.

After being quiet for a while, Yilu spoke: "If Mr. Yi has any requirements, you can mention them." ”

The host and guest are transposed, and it is easy to be content and relaxed, but what benefits can the other party give them? Silver is impossible, what else does the other party have but silver? Battleships, weapons, ammunition, these are impossible, he groaned slightly, and then he spoke: "Your Excellency forgot, what was the original intention of Yuan Qi to form a group training?" ”

Hearing this, Yilu couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Yi, don't worry, I swear in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, the army of the British Empire will never attack all the bank factories under Yuan Qi's name." ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "Not only Yuanqi, but also the thirteen lines, the business names and mansions of all merchants. ”

"No problem." Yilu said cheerfully.

Yilu asked, "When will Mr. Yi return the prisoners of war?" ”

"This can't be rushed." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The prisoners of war are not centrally detained, it takes time, and they will be returned in Kowloon within ten days, how about it?" ”

Ten days is a long time, Yilu naturally waited, it was a big deal to postpone the negotiations for a few days, he knew that these businessmen were all good at their word, and he was not worried that Yi Zhizhi would not be able to speak, so he immediately stood up with a smile on his face and stretched out his hand and said, "Thank you very much for Mr. Yi's generosity." ”

Shaking hands with him, Yi Zhizhi said: "A large number of warships of your country are assembling in Guangzhou, and this group of prisoners of war will return safe and sound. ”

"Mr. Yi's proposal is very good, very good." Yilu said with a bright face: "If you can reach an agreement with your imperial court, there is no need for the successor fleet to come to Guangzhou at all." ”

Wu Changqing sighed secretly when he saw it, looking at this level, it was clear with one sentence whether the British army had any reinforcements coming to Guangzhou to explore, and these British officers were still a little tender.

Yilu said: "The two countries are negotiating, Mr. Yi will participate, right?" Guangzhou, no, the entire Qing Dynasty, can not find a second person like Mr. Yi who is proficient in English and familiar with the situation in Europe. ”

Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I very much hope to be able to participate in the negotiations between the two countries, but I can't make the decision on this matter." ”

Yi Lu said: "We can ask your country to let Mr. Yi participate in the negotiations. ”

"Don't, don't." Yi Zhishu hurriedly waved his hand and said, "If it is requested by the two of you, Lord Qincha will doubt my position in the negotiations. ”

Yilu nodded and said, "Then we will wait for Mr. Yi's good news." ”

Returning to the former cottage camp from the Bingtou Garden, and dividing all the officers, Wu Changqing said: "Brother Contentment is not sure about defending Guangzhou? ”

Yi Zhizhi drank a cup of herbal tea, and then said, "Why do you ask so?" ”

Wu Changqing glanced at him and said, "In the Bingtou Garden, didn't Brother Contentment let the British army guarantee not to attack the property of Yuan Qi and the Thirteen Elements?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "That's just an excuse to return the British prisoners of war to them with dignity, that's all." ”

"Return the prisoners of war for nothing?" Wu Changqing was puzzled and said, "Isn't that too cheap for them?" ”

"There's no way around it." Yi Zhizhi said: "Who let us not be able to defeat the British army?" Could it be that the British army could not really attack a few coastal towns? ”

"Before the war ended, the British prisoners of war were returned, and Lord Qin Chashan was there, how did the contentment brother deal with him? There is also the forest department. Wu Changqing said worriedly: "What if they don't agree?" ”

"Disagree?" Yi Zhizu sneered: "If they don't agree, we will exchange the prisoners of war for silver, and let the British have a fight with them, and we will be happy." ”

"Isn't that a word of the word?"

Yi Zhizhi said disapprerovingly: "Words and untrustworthy things, righteousness and law are not less, let's do it occasionally, why not?" Besides, we are also out of helplessness. ”

Wu Changqing was speechless for a while, this cheek was thick enough, and he groaned slightly, before he said: "We are dishonest, not afraid of malicious retaliation from the British army?" ”

"That's not something we should be thinking about." Yi Zhizhi said indifferently: "Whoever opposes it will give him a headache." ”

This is also true, why worry about it, Wu Changqing put his mind at ease, and asked instead: "Lord Qincha should go to Guangzhou, I don't know how the emperor will reward the contented brother." ”

"I'll go back to Guangzhou early tomorrow morning." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "When I see Lord Qincha, I don't know everything, so why bother thinking about it." ”

Yuehua Academy, Guangzhou.

Because the geographical location of Yuehua Academy is superior, and the environment is clean and elegant, Qi Shan will also set up the camp in Yuehua Academy, after the banquet is over, a group of civil and military officials in Guangzhou respectfully sent Qi Shan to the gate of Yuehua Academy, Qi Shan is not only Qincha, but also the governor of Zhili, is a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, a hereditary first-class marquis, and is deeply relied on by Daoguang, which can be described as a high authority, where dare the officials have the slightest neglect.

When he got off the sedan chair, Qi Shan glanced at everyone and said, "It's all gone." As he spoke, he looked at Lin Zexu and said, "Lord Lin accompanies Ben Qincha to familiarize himself with the environment. ”

A group of officials bowed and retired, Lin Zexu accompanied Qi Shan into the gate of the academy, and the idle people had already been cleared by the government service soldiers, all the way, there was no figure in sight, the two walked silently for a while, Qi Shan said: "When will Yi Zhishu return to Guangzhou?" ”

"It's hard to say." Lin Zexu said: "However, it should be in the past two days." ”

"He will go back to Guangzhou, and he will come to see him at any time." Qi Shan turned his head as he spoke, "A few days ago, Shao Mu also made an excerpt, and suggested that he should focus on Fu, and now the Guangdong Sailor sharpens the knife and Yang, and Dinghai has won both battles, and they can be called great victories, Shao Mu is now the main Fu or the main battle?" ”

"Fu." Lin Zexu said without hesitation: "For Yingyi, we must focus on caressing. ”

Qi Shan glanced at him with some surprise and said, "The Guangdong Navy Division has won successive battles, and many members of the Beijing Division are trying their best to fight. ”

Lin Zexu naturally understood that he was referring to the Han members of the Jingshi, he didn't want to talk about this topic, and he didn't want to change his opinion on Yingyi because of the party struggle, and he sighed slightly, and then he said: "Yi Zhishu is proficient in English, good at Western studies, familiar with the situation of England and European powers, although he is young, but he is good at thinking about the big picture, with extraordinary vision and accurate judgment, when he comes to visit, Brother Jing'an may wish to talk to him in detail, he will definitely benefit." ”

"Shao Mu is not an ordinary appreciation for this." Qi Shan said with a smile: "In this way, this son is also in favor of caressing?" ”

Lin Zexu shook his head slightly and said, "He is trying his best to fight. ”

"The main battle?" Qi Shan was a little surprised, Lin Zexu was in charge, and Yi Zhizhi was content with the main battle, the two had different opinions, but Lin Zexu still appreciated him, which was really weird.

Lin Zexu nodded slightly: "Yi Zhishu is not a simple main battle, in general, he is the main fu, but he advocates fighting first and then soothing, that kid has extraordinary opinions." ”

Hearing him say this, Qi Shanden became interested and said, "How to fight first and then care, Shao Mu will talk about it in detail." ”

Lin Zexu smiled, "This matter is a long story, and it involves a wide range of aspects, Brother Jing'an is patient, and I will listen to Yi Zhi's content to carefully analyze it for you." As he spoke, he smiled and said, "When the Yingyi fleet stayed in Tianjin, did Brother Jing'an ever see their steamer?" Yi Zhifen bought one, is preparing to imitate, the railway from Guangzhou to Foshan, is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Henan Island Yuanqi also has a machine manufacturing factory, Brother Jing'an is better to see and inspect first. ”

Qi Shan came to Guangzhou this time, in addition to negotiating with the British army, another important task was to inspect Yuan Qi, and when he heard this, he immediately said: "Then early tomorrow morning, let's take a look around." ”

Lin Zexu actually wanted to ask most about the imperial court's reward for Guangdong Sailor and Yuan Qi, and Qi Shan, who saw it, never mentioned it, and he didn't want to ask too much, but secretly wondered, what does Daoguang mean? Now that the war is not over, and there is no reward for meritorious service, are you not afraid of chilling the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the green battalion?

The next morning, at more than ten o'clock, Yi Zhizhi rushed back to Guangzhou, first went to the governor's palace, but was told that Lin Zexu went to the Yuehua Academy's Qincha Xingyuan, rushed to the Yuehua Academy, but was told that the Qincha and Lin Butang went out to inspect, twice in the air, he was very depressed, and he didn't know where to go for a while.

Let's go back to Xiguan, when these two bigwigs come back, they will definitely summon him, and he will also report the matter of meeting and discussing with Yilu in a timely manner, running back and forth, it is really tiring, not going back to Xiguan, but I don't know when the two bigwigs will come back? Just when he hesitated, a servant hurriedly stepped up to meet him, bowed slightly and said, "The shopkeeper of Yi Da wants to meet Lord Qincha, and the east wing is clean." ”

Clean? I'm afraid that it will not be clean for a while, Yi Zhizhi doesn't want to sit in the side room and wait like those officials, not because he doesn't have that patience, but he doesn't want to socialize with those officials, in the eyes of many officials, he is Tang monk meat, everyone wants to eat a bite, he doesn't want to fall into the net.

He immediately took out a 20 yuan silver ticket, and quietly stuffed it over: "I'm going to sell the Yuanqi branch of Majie to do something, and Lord Qin sent him back, and he was tired of notifying." ”

The official is a handful, and the shopkeeper of Yi Da doesn't understand the rules of officialdom at all? He hurriedly whispered: "Meet the chief, how can there be any reason to let the chief wait." As he spoke, he pointed to a long room in the courtyard and said: "Our Lord Qincha is not trivial, which of the officials who came to meet him did not have heads and faces, and they were not all obediently waiting, and some came early in the morning. ”

This guy is really broken-mouthed, Yi Zhisuff listened to him patiently before saying, "Don't worry, I have my own measure." After speaking, he walked away, and the official was silent for a long time before muttering, "Arrogance." Looking down at the silver ticket, I couldn't help but be happy again, this Yi Da shopkeeper is much more generous than those officials.

waited until dusk, Yi Zhizhi heard that Qi Shan had returned to Xingyuan, he was not in a hurry, he went to the governor's palace first, and learned that Lin Zexu had not come back yet, so he rushed to Yuehua Academy.

As soon as the post was handed in, someone soon came out and led him in, and the officials who had been sitting in the wing room for a day couldn't help but be envious and jealous when they saw this situation.

An official wearing a four-grade official robe shook his head and said: "This Yi Da shopkeeper is really not ordinarily powerful, the governor's palace and the governor's ministry are just passing it on with him, and the Qin mission is actually passing on at any time." ”

"Don't say a word, look at this situation, I'm afraid that the time is not far off." An official said in a low voice: "I haven't heard that people's four-grade top is given by the Holy Emperor himself, and it is rumored that Dinghai has a great victory, and people's merits are not small, they can not only make money, but also fight, who is not happy?" (To be continued.) )