Yi Zhishu hurriedly entered the city and rushed to the governor's palace but he was in vain, Lin Zexu had already boarded the boat from the Tianzi Wharf to Humen, hearing the news, he was secretly happy in his heart, it was obvious that Lin Zexu had already known the situation of the battle of the gate, so he hurried to Humen, needless to say that he wanted to organize the sailors to counterattack the British ships.

Although he is not in the officialdom, he also knows that after this incident, Lin Zexu will not counterattack the British ship, and there is really no way to report to the imperial court, whether he wins or not, and whether he wins or not, it is a matter of attitude, besides, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the battle is on the sea, and Lin Zexu has the final say on winning or losing, so is it difficult for the British to still defend Daoguang?

However, his rush to Humen to burn a fire, can not let Lin Zexu perfunctory, the battle of the gate is very small, but the impact is not small, this matter can not be lightly carried over, the British dare to be so provocative, do not fight back, it must be the military morale is unstable, morale is low, and the Portuguese in Macao may also shake their position.

Yi Zhishu came out of the Governor's Palace, arrived at the mouth of the selling Majie, just saw Yu Baochun wearing a four-grade official robe, he has now officially taken over the prefect of Guangzhou Mansion, it is the spring breeze proud, the crowd at the street has long been avoided, Yi Zhishu came slowly and it was very conspicuous, Yu Baochun saw him at a glance, and hurriedly waved enthusiastically: "Contentment-." ”

Yi Zhizu stepped forward and said with a smile: "I have seen Lord Yu below." ”

"Don't be polite to the old man." Yu Baochun smiled and returned the salute without the slightest smile, and then said, "Have you seen Lord Ministry?" ”

"Lord Ministry's gone to Humen." Yi Zhizhi said: "Lord Yu is here for the Macau customs gate? ”

Yu Baochun sighed lightly and said: "Macao is only a stone's throw away from Guangzhou, and the battle of the gate has now spread all over Guangzhou. And recklessly, it is really worrying. ”

Word spread so quickly? Yi Zhizu groaned for a while before he said: "Yingyi's small group of men and horses will dare to attack Macao, and they will definitely dare to attack Guangzhou in the future. ”

Hearing that Yingyi was going to attack Guangzhou, Yu Baochun couldn't help but be surprised, and he was convinced of Yi Zhi's contentment. This big shopkeeper not only understands the situation in Europe and is familiar with Yingyi's temperament, but also has excellent eyesight and extremely accurate prediction, he really didn't dare not pay attention to it, and immediately asked: "Is this really what the big shopkeeper said?" ”

"Such a big thing, how dare you joke with Lord Yu in the future?" Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "The adults have to supervise the formation of group training below, strengthen the group training training, and strengthen the cooperation between the group training in various towns and towns, so as not to be in the middle of the war." In a hurry, the current heroic arrogance should be taken as a precaution. ”

Hearing him say this, Yu Baochun still dared to doubt it, and nodded again and again: "What contentment says is that there is no danger, and there is no danger." After a slight pause, he continued: "Be content and go to Humen." I also bothered to report to the ministers, and the people of Macao were disheartened. There are countless people who have fled Macao, and if the British are allowed to be arrogant, panic is bound to spread. ”

Humen Village, Admiralty of the Navy, lobby.

The large hall is full of people. A number of civil and military personnel who participated in guarding the border gate or supporting the gate -- Jiang Liang, the same governor of Macao's coastal defense, Cheng Tang Pingsan of Xiangshan County, Yi Zhongfu who was temporarily stationed in Macao from Gaolian Daotai in Guangdong, Bo Qishan, the general of the Supervisory Standard, Duo Longwu, the deputy general of the Zhaoqing Association, Cheng Buhan, the commander of the Fubiao Garrison, Hui Changyao, who was promoted to the chief soldier of Nanao Town, and the military attachés of all sizes stationed in the Qianshanzhai of Macao, the border gate, the new temple, and the inner harbor of Macao, all sat upright without squinting, waiting for Lin Zexu's arrival.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat dreary. Although there are a lot of people, most of them are not familiar with each other, and yesterday's battle at the gate gate, they were beaten by the British army and had no power to fight back, and everyone was aggrieved in their hearts, and they all felt like a mirror in their hearts, knowing that Lin Zexu did not come to Humen to comfort them.

"The Governor has arrived."

A group of people hurriedly stood up and bowed solemnly, Lin Zexu strode in with a black face accompanied by Guan Tianpei, sat down directly behind the desk, and took everyone forward to salute before he asked in a deep voice: "Yesterday's battle at the gate, have the casualties been counted?" ”

Seeing that he asked about the casualties as soon as he came, everyone beat the drum in their hearts, waited for a while, and saw that no one said anything, Jiang Liang, the governor of Macao Haiphong, spoke: "Lord Huibutang, yesterday the defense came to help the officers and soldiers, and 12 people were killed in the battle, more than 20 people were seriously injured, and countless minor injuries were inflicted. ”

"You guys really give the Green Battalion Commander a face." Lin Zexu gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Four thousand people participated in the war, and the gate was lost with such casualties, so greedy for life and afraid of death, what is the use of the imperial court raising you?" ”

Everyone knows that at this time, it is not happy to open their mouths to tell themselves, but Jiang Liang, who is a fellow of Macao's coastal defense, did not dare to be silent, and said stubbornly: "Lord Yubutang, it is not that the officers and soldiers of the green battalion are afraid of death, but the British artillery is too dense, and in just half an hour of fighting, the British ships fired more than 1,000 shells. ”

Lin Zexu laughed and said: "Are you saying that Yingyi's artillery accuracy is very poor, and more than a thousand shells killed and injured so many people?" ”

"Lord Yubudo." Vice Admiral Duo Longwu, who was hanging with a bandage on his right arm, said: "Yingyi's artillery still has an accurate head to enter the battle, once it is far away, there is indeed no accurate head at all, yesterday the Yingyi battleship opened fire 400 steps away from the gate, and the hit rate of the gate battery is very high. ”

Lin Zexu said angrily: "That being the case, more than 300 people from Yingyi District have landed at the gate, how can no one intercept them?" Let them move away, destroy artillery, set fire to barracks? Push to the boundary wall? Where is the majesty of the imperial court? Where is the face? ”

At this time, even Jiang Liang didn't dare to open his mouth to argue, after all, this is the truth, allowing more than 300 Yingyi to act arbitrarily at the gate, it is indeed a loss of face for the imperial court, seeing the depressing atmosphere, Guan Tianpei coughed lightly, and opened his mouth to relieve the siege: "The salvo of the British battleship's gunfire is indeed intensive, and in the battle of Dinghai, the defenders collapsed without even holding on to the two pillars of incense. ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu felt a little better, the battle of the gate, it took two hours to fight, and the British army began to land, tone, next, I have to count on a group of people to cooperate, naturally it can't be too much, and I was silent for a while. Only then did he say slowly: "It is gratifying that in the battle of the gate, the battalions did not wait and see, but actively supported it, talk about the specific situation, and summarize it." ”

Listen to this. All the civil and military officers secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere also relaxed, and they opened their mouths one after another, expressing their opinions.

When Yi Zhizu arrived at Humen Village, the meeting had ended, Lin Zexu and Guan Tianpei and several other commanders of the naval division, as well as Jiang Likeng, Hui Changyao, Duo Longwu, and Bo Qishan, were discussing the possibility of attacking the British ship with the Western warship of the naval division in the second hall. As soon as they met, he smiled and said: "The contented people came to Humen to close the gate?" ”

Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "The Lord of the Ministry is stuffy in his heart, he must come out, he will be comfortable, and he is here to have fun." ”

Hearing this, Guan Tianpei was overjoyed and said, "Is there a way to help the adults of the ministry to get angry?" ”

"How can you have that kind of ability?" Yi Zhizhi said with a smile. The two entered the second hall as they spoke, and Lin Zexu took his eyes off the coastal defense map. He looked at it and said, "Is there a hurry to be content? ”

After Yi Zhi was satisfied, he said: "The gate is defeated, what are the plans of the minister?" ”

"Contentment comes for the sake of closing the gates?" Lin Zexu said with interest: "If you have any ideas, let's listen to them." ”

Yi Zhizu glanced at everyone in the room, and saw that they were all military generals, and knew that they must be discussing the counterattack against the British ships. After a slight hesitation, he said slowly: "Yingyi chose the Macao Border Gate Fort as the target of attack, which is nothing more than wanting to return to Macao and stir up relations between the Qing Dynasty and Portugal, and in the next steal, he thinks that it is not only to combat the arrogance of the British army. It is also necessary to strengthen the management of Macao, which should be subject to military control under the special circumstances of the present situation. ”

Hearing this, Jiang Liang hurriedly said: "The implementation of military control over Macao, I am afraid that the Portuguese in Macao will have a resistance mood, the battle of the border gate, Macao and Portugal strictly abide by neutrality, the two do not help each other, it is quite a rule." ”

"What is strict neutrality, is cowardice in the power of the British army!" Yi Zhixiang said unceremoniously: "Macao is leased to Portugal by the Qing Dynasty, for Macau, Portugal is half the master, the British unscrupulous shelling of the gates, Macau is in a panic, the merchants and the people are rushing to flee, but Portugal is not moving, which is the neutrality of this guard?" ”

After a slight pause, he continued: "Directly send troops to garrison Macao and take over Macao, if Portugal dares to protest, we will not lend it to him in the Qing Dynasty, some countries in Europe covet Macao, and Citigroup, France, Spain, and Germany have been spying on Macao for a long time, so we can choose to lend it to an ally, why do we have to lease it to a country that is not beneficial to the Qing Dynasty?" ”

"There is a good reason for contentment." Lin Zexu said: "Portugal leases Macau and enjoys various trade preferences in the Qing Dynasty, but it is not very beneficial to the imperial court, it is far less than Citigroup, and the trade volume is not large. ”

Listening to Lin Zexu's statement, Jiang Liang really couldn't refute, and after a little hesitation, he said: "The lower officials are worried that in this way, it may force Macao and Portugal to join forces with Yingyi." ”

"It's just Portugal, what a way." Yi Zhizhi laughed and said: "Even if Portugal joins forces with Yingyi, it is nothing more than two or three more warships, which is not to be feared, and besides, Portugal may not have the courage to not know how to raise it." ”

Hui Changyao, the commander-in-chief of Nanao Town, interjected coldly: "The British fleet has dense and fierce artillery fire, and it is flexible and mobile, sending the green battalion to Macao, and the Yingyi will attack Macao again, it will be even more unscrupulous. ”

"The green camp can't hold it, but the Yuanqi regiment can hold it." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "Macao will be handed over to the Yuanqi Tuan to practice garrisoning, and Macao will be impregnable under the guarantee." ”

As soon as these words came out, the room was quiet, and all the military attachés who didn't know the details wondered in their hearts, Yuanqi regimental training is more powerful than the green camp? The 4,000 officers and men of the Green Battalion were beaten by the British army in just a few hours, but Yuan Qi's regimental training dared to ensure that Macao was impregnable, and this occasion was not a joke.

Lin Zexu was very surprised, although Yuanqi's regimental training was stronger than the Eight Banners Green Battalion, but it would not be the opponent of the British army, where did this kid come from? Dare to say that Yuanqi group practice can keep Macao as solid!

Guan Tianpei immediately thought of the trenches, if the Yuanqi regiment practiced building trenches in Macao, it could effectively avoid the attack of the British battleship artillery, he immediately smiled and said: "It's hard to know that it is enough to take the initiative to ask for help, just right, we will be able to train the Yuanqi regiment to enter Macao, build boundary walls and forts, and purchase artillery." ”

Yi Zhixiang said with a wry smile: "The military gate is not kind, Yuanqi doesn't count as a person, and you still expect Yuanqi to give silver, how can there be such a reason in the world?" ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu also smiled, indeed, let the Yuanqi regiment practice stationed in Macao, and Macao's defense does not need to be supported from the treasury, but it can save a sum of silver, and he groaned slightly, he looked at Guan Tianpei and said: "The Yuanqi regiment can really defend Macao?" ”

"Yes." Guan Tianpei said without hesitation: "Yuanqi regimental training will dig and repair trenches, which can effectively avoid the shelling of British warships, and the last general is also asking Yuanqi regimental training to design and plan trenches for Humen during this time, and construction will start soon." ”

Although Lin Zexu had never seen the trenches, he would not be wrong when he heard Guan Tianpei say this, and he said: "That is the case, with the Yuanqi regiment training stationed in Macao, Macao should be defended, and contentment will be fully responsible, and the negotiations with the Portuguese in Macao will also be decided by contentment, even if there is a war with Macau and Portugal, the headquarters will also fully support it." ”

You're stepping down in two months, support a fart, it's not just a blank promise! Yi Zhixiang secretly slandered in his heart, but bowed down and said with a solemn face: "Under the order of the Lord of the Ministry, I will enter Macao tomorrow with the Yuanqi group training!" ”

Lin Zexu nodded and said: "Macau is a matter of the face of the imperial court, and those who are content must remember that no matter what the situation, it must not damage the face of the imperial court. ”

"Yuanqi Tuan Lian will definitely not live up to the high expectations of the minister." Yi Zhizu said loudly, and after a pause, he said: "After all, Yuanqi Tuanlian is not a master of the imperial court, and the so-called name is not right, and I hope that the ministry will give me a name." ”

As soon as he heard this, Guan Tianpei couldn't wait to say: "This is easy to do, the Yuanqi Tuanlian stationed in Macao will be hung under the name of the water division, and for the time being, it will be named the volunteer and brave of the water division, and it will be under the direct jurisdiction of this governor." ”

Although it is not clear how well the Yuanqi regiment is training, it is a well-known fact that Yuanqi is rich, and Bo Qishan, the general of the supervising standard, is not far behind, and hurriedly argues with reason: "The stationing in Macao is a land camp, what does it have to do with the sailors?" Saying that, he bowed down and said: "I also ask the ministers to make a clear judgment and put the Yuanqi Tuanlian who is stationed in Macao under the name of the governor." ”

Jiang Liang, the governor of Macao's coastal defense, also said with dignity: "Guarding Macao is the responsibility of the Macao Coastal Defense Military and Civilian Liaison Office, and the Yuanqi regiment stationed in Macao is directly under the direct jurisdiction of this official. (To be continued.) )