Xianfeng, who listened to these words, was heartbroken, and his mind was also alive, this war of large-scale invasion by the British, French, Spanish and Dutch coalition forces can almost be said to have nothing to do with the imperial court, if it were not for the Beijing division would be the target of the coalition army, and Yi Zhizhi would have placed the main battlefield in the area of Tianjin and Beijing, the imperial court could completely stay out of the matter and watch from the wall.

For him, in the case of ensuring that the Jingshi would not fall, the best outcome of this war would be a defeat between Yuanqi and the Four-Nation Alliance, and a big victory or a big defeat for Yuanqi would not be a good thing.

Isn't it the situation that he is most happy to see when he provokes the Four-Nation Coalition to attack Guangzhou, let Yuan Qi and the coalition army fight to the death in Guangzhou, let Guangzhou, which is one of Yuan Qi's foundations, be destroyed in the war, and let Yuan Qi's vitality be greatly damaged?

What really moved him was that Yuan Qi's troops in Guangzhou were really not much, judging from the reports of local officials in Guangzhou, Yuan Qi only had 50,000 troops in Guangzhou, including more than 60,000 including the Guangdong Naval Division.

After being silent for a long time, Xianfeng spoke: "If Guangzhou is defeated, will it affect the overall situation?" ”

Hearing this, Su Shun's heart sank, and he groaned slightly, and then said: "Your Majesty, Yi Zhixiang once published an article in the newspaper, and he is determined to resist to the end and never compromise. The minions secretly believed that even if Guangzhou was defeated, it would not shake its determination, and that the arms supply for the Jinjing battlefield was mainly supplied by Shanghai, and even if the city of Guangzhou was broken, it would not affect the war between Shanghai and Tianjin. ”

As he spoke, he bowed down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands are attacking in a big way, if the war is stalemate, it will inevitably continue to increase troops, Guangzhou and Shanghai are the only two major arms production bases in the Qing Dynasty, if the city of Guangzhou is broken, I am afraid that it will be extremely unfavorable for the follow-up war."

If the war lasts for three years and five years, Yuan Qi will recruit troops on a large scale, and it may not be the blessing of the imperial court. ”

Xianfeng was stunned when he heard this, he really didn't take this into account, he really wanted to fight for three years and five years, Yuan Qi recruited a large number of soldiers, the southeast tax was cut off, and the situation of the imperial court was only afraid that it would be precarious, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "This is the words of Lao Cheng to seek the country....... ”

Guangzhou, with the closure of the port of Macao, the news that all the merchant ships in the Kowloon area opposite Hong Kong were forcibly driven away spread, rumors spread inside and outside the city of Guangzhou, and people were panicked, although there was no exact news, but those with a little bit of vision knew that the British fleet was about to arrive, and many wealthy businessmen and wealthy families began to plan to temporarily leave Guangzhou to escape the war.

The stock market, which had rebounded to a certain height, began to fall sharply again, the prices of grain, oil, salt, and cloth began to rise sharply on the market, many businesses and shops began to close their doors, the workers in factories of all sizes were also panicked, and the surrounding counties and towns also began to spontaneously form regimental exercises, and the whole of Guangzhou was in a panic scene of the coming war.

Yi Zhizu took a boat from Humen to the river, and the river surface he saw along the way was crowded with all kinds of boats, large and small, almost all of them went upstream, and only a very small number of boats drove downstream.

“........ Sad, the Qin and Han dynasties, the palace and thousands of rooms have been made of soil. Zhao Wenlie patted the side of the boat and sighed: "Xing, the people are suffering, dying, the people are suffering!" ”

After lighting a cigarette, Yi Zhishu asked very abruptly: "Do you know how much a worker in England is paid a month?" ”

It was Zhao Wenlie, who was full of emotion, who listened to it and subconsciously said: "How much?" ”

"Twenty-five shillings." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "This is a weekly wage, a hundred shillings a month, a pound is twenty shillings, and five pounds a month, which is the average salary level of an ordinary worker." ”

Five pounds a month! Zhao Wenlie had an expression of disbelief, one pound is four silver dollars, and five pounds is twenty silver dollars! Is this the income of an average worker? Yuanqi senior mechanic doesn't have such a high income a month!

"What would it be like if the workers of Yuanqi could also reach this level of income?" Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Death, the people are suffering!" Xing, the people will follow suit! After this battle, we will usher in a decades-long peace, factories will spring up like mushrooms after a rain, and more and more people will be able to share the dividends brought by the industrial revolution and get rid of poverty. ”

Zhao Wenlie still couldn't believe it, "The wages of workers are so high, how can the factory make money?" ”

"When we have a vast overseas colony ...... like England." "With cheap raw materials, abundant mineral resources, and a steady stream of new machines and technologies, there is no need to rely on the extreme exploitation and exploitation of the surplus value of workers to make profits." ”

Arriving in Guangzhou, Yi Zhizhi did not return to Leiyuan, but went straight to the Huadi camp, the two armies set up in order to deal with this war, the military headquarters of the first army was located in the Huadi camp.

Yuanqi has two major military camps in Guangzhou, one is the Henan camp, the other is the Huadi camp, because the factories near Henan Island are increasing and expanding year by year, Yi Zhizhi will gradually shift the focus to the Huadi camp, after continuous expansion and construction over the years, the Huadi camp is no longer the appearance of the year, not only covers a vast area, the environment is quiet, the construction of the military camp is also second to none in Guangzhou, only a spacious asphalt road from the wharf to the barracks, it is unique in Guangzhou.

As soon as the ship docked, Yan Yangtian, the commander of the First Army, led a group of officers to greet him, and after saluting, he boarded the carriage, and Yi Zhizhi asked, "Where is the United Fleet now?" ”

Yan Yangtian said: "Yulin Port has just reported that it has arrived at the Xisha Islands and is heading for Guangzhou. ”

"Didn't hit Yulin Port?"

"Nope. A small fleet went to Yulin Port to inspect it, and it was estimated that it was an airport, so it didn't stop and left directly. ”

Sure enough, he went straight to Guangzhou, did not go to Manila, Yi Zhixiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Luzon Java is in the construction stage, it is naturally best not to fight, seeing that he did not say anything, Yan Yangtian said tentatively: "There is no war in Manila, can you transfer some troops from Luzon again?" ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said, "What?" Not confident? ”

"Not really." Yan Yangtian hurriedly said: "My subordinates feel that such a big battle is a rare opportunity, and those in Luzon are basically new recruits, so let's come and experience it." ”

The four-wheeled carriage galloped on the smooth asphalt road, steady and fast, Yi Zhizhi no longer spoke, looking at the newly transplanted trees on both sides of the road, he felt a little strange, such a huge fleet of the United Fleet of the Four Nations actually did not stop along the way, did not hit Manila, nor Yulin, and came straight to Guangzhou, it is really a little strange, you must know that the Nanyang Fleet has eliminated the three British ports in Malacca in one fell swoop, when did the British become so easy to talk?

The carriage stopped in front of a red two-story brick house, and as soon as the carriage got a glimpse of the plaque hanging at the entrance of the building, he went up to the second floor under the guidance of Yan Yangtian, and at the door of the innermost room, he introduced: "This is an office ...... specially prepared for the principal." ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't say anything, he did plan to live in the military department during this time, and he looked at the room a little, and he was quite satisfied, so he slowly paced over and pushed open the window, lit a cigarette casually, and waited for Yan Yangtian to make tea, he beckoned him to sit down, and said: "Don't hide it, if you have any ideas, just say it." ”

Yan Yangtian hesitated for a moment before he spoke: "The student secretly thinks that this time the Four-Nation Alliance is coming, not only will the navy have more troops, but the army strength should not be less, and it is estimated that it will be on par with the navy.

This is not the first time that the British army has fought with us, we know our combat strength, and we also know that we have been expanding our army over the years, constantly fighting in the east and west, if we plan to attack the city and seize the land, the scale of the coalition army will definitely not be small.

In the Crimean War, the British and French armies were armed with Mini guns, and the students feared that the disparity in strength would be too large and cause large casualties. ”

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him and said, "We are afraid of large casualties, but the Four-Nation Alliance is not afraid of large casualties?" Now that a large-scale economic crisis is breaking out in European countries, and the Indian uprising has not yet been completely quelled, they are even more afraid of excessive casualties! ”

After a pause, he continued: "Luzon's forces cannot be transferred, and they must be prevented from going to Manila." If they were worried about the shortage of troops in Guangzhou, they would draw elites from the factory protection team, the caravan protection team, and the local regimental training, and set up two reserve brigades for surprise training. ”

Yan Yangtian hesitated, he was a little skeptical, is there any time? The combined fleet of the four countries has already passed through the Paracel Islands, and it will be able to reach the city in a few days.

Yi Zhishu ignored him and said, "Tell me about your arming plan." ”

Hong Kong, Victoria Harbour.

On the deck of the British flagship "Proway", looking at Victoria Harbour, which was empty and did not even have a single sampan, Hong Kong Governor Bao Ling couldn't believe his eyes and looked stunned.

Rear Admiral He Bu said in a solemn tone: "Don't look at it, just like Macau, the Qing army wants to cut off our supplies." ”

"It's a beautiful harbor." Ergin praised softly.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be worried, He Bu reminded softly: "Although we can capture the coastal areas where the Qing forces are weak, don't forget that the Qing still has a naval fleet that can completely annihilate the East India Fleet, and they can control the whereabouts of our fleet at any time. ”

Ergin said: "First of all, I sent a note to the Governor of Liangguang of the Qing Dynasty, strongly protesting against the Qing Navy's capture of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and Calcutta, and asking them to immediately open Hong Kong cable telegraph communications, asking for a meeting and talks with the Prime Minister of Nanyang of the Qing Dynasty, and asking for fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, ........ ”

After a pause, he then instructed: "Let all countries restrain their officers and soldiers, do not leave Hong Kong without permission, and do not break out any conflict with the Qing State." ”

Ye Mingchen, the governor of Liangguang, did not dare to stop at all when he received the note, and hurriedly rushed to the Huadi camp, all the way he was wondering, will this war have a turnaround? Although Yi Zhixiang personally sat in Guangzhou, and Yuan Qi also stationed heavy troops in Guangzhou, sharpening his knives, but as the governor of Liangguang, he still didn't want to see a war break out in Guangzhou.

Seeing Ergin's note, Yi Zhixiang was also quite surprised, both countries declared war on each other, what else to protest? What does that mean? After Yan Yangtian saw it, he hesitated: "Could the other party be trying to delay time?" ”

After hesitating, Ye Mingchen said: "Yingyi should want to resolve this war through negotiations. ”

This possibility is really not big, Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "More than 100,000 troops are on an expedition, even if it is a negotiation, the conditions proposed by the other party are definitely unacceptable to us." ”

Ye Mingchen nodded slightly, and said respectfully: "Then how will the lower official reply?" ”

Yan Yangtian said: "The two countries have declared war, and they have already come to the door, what else is there to talk about, if you want to fight, you will fight, nonsense!" ”

Ye Mingchen glanced at him and said with a wry smile: "In this way, the southeast coastal prefectures and counties will suffer." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled, "Agree to their request, restore the cable telegraph to them, and provide them with a batch of meat, fruits and vegetables, but ask them to buy them with silver, double the price, tell them, I am in Humen, let them send representatives to negotiate, if they want to meet the Prime Minister of Nanyang, let them go to Shanghai." ”

Hearing this, Ye Mingchen hesitated for a moment before saying, "The lower official will reply immediately." As he spoke, he quickly got up and said goodbye.

After he left, Yan Yang said genius: "Principal, is this trying to delay time?" ”

After a slight groan, Yi Zhizhi said: "It doesn't hurt us to delay time, and besides, it doesn't hurt to meet them, let's see what kind of charter they are." ”

After a pause, he continued: "The war is extremely destructive, if they can avoid disturbing the southeast coast or directly attacking Guangzhou, it is naturally the best, I prefer to decide the outcome of the first battle, and let them go directly to Tianjin, so that the damage of the war can be minimized." ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian felt a chill in his heart, if the Four-Nation Alliance really wanted to go straight to Jinjing, then there would be nothing to do with him, missing such a big battle, he was afraid that he would feel regretful for the rest of his life, however, from the overall point of view, this situation is undoubtedly the best, he was depressed, and he said in a sullen voice: "Headmaster, if you say that the coalition forces are to delay time, what is the purpose?" Is it for the sake of sound? Still is...... Reinforcements? ”

Reinforcements? Yi Zhi's heart sank, the British army cut off the cable telegraph to the outside world in Nanyang, and even the situation in Colombo, he couldn't know about it, because of the existence of the Nanyang naval fleet, if there were really reinforcements, the scale would definitely not be small, and it would be really a big trouble!

However, after thinking about it, he felt that this possibility should not be large, the British army should not be able to draw half of its troops to conquer the Qing Dynasty, if it is so, it is an endless battle of the country, in the case of a deep economic crisis, Britain cannot be so desperate! The reason is simple, it's not worth it!

Then, it should be to attack the east and the west, put pressure on Guangzhou, and force him to transfer troops from Shanghai to reinforce Guangzhou, so as to achieve the goal of reducing the number of troops in Tianjin and Beijing.

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