Jingshi, Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Put down the fold in his hand, Daoguang slowly leaned on the back of the chair, gently rubbed his temples, he is already sixty-seven years old, he is getting thinner and thinner, and his spirit is not as good as before, in the past two years, he often has dizziness, dizziness, tinnitus and other symptoms, and he can't sleep well at night.

In the excerpt, Yi Zhizu strongly opposed the opening of the three regions of Ili to Tsarist Russia, and talked about border political reform, stationed more troops in Xinjiang, and expressed the full support of the Nanyang Navy and the Yuanqi Society.

Although he realized that Tsarist Russia had ill intentions for Xinjiang, he and the ministers of the DPRK and China were basically inclined to temporarily pacify the northwest, and wait for the Nanyang Navy to grow up and take care of the northwest after the southeast was worry-free, after all, the imperial court did not have enough financial resources and troops to take care of the southeast and northwest at the same time!

After being silent for a long time, Daoguang spoke: "Xuan Muzhang will come to see you." ”

Mu Zhang'a came quickly, and after he saw him, Daoguang said straightly: "What do you think of Yi Zhi's contentment?" ”

Summoned by Daoguang, Mu Zhang'a knew that it was for this matter, and immediately kowtowed lightly: "Back to the emperor, Tsarist Russia has repeatedly asked for the opening of the three cities of Ili for trade, which can be said to be Sima Zhao's heart, everyone knows that many ministers were in favor of compromise, but it was nothing more than worrying about stirring up trouble, the northwest is changing, and the imperial court is unable to take into account the southeast and northwest lines at the same time.

Yi Zhishu was able to take into account the overall situation, transferred a large number of marines from the Nanyang Navy to increase troops in Xinjiang, and actively supported it financially, which can really be called an example of public loyalty to the country.

As for the reform of border administration, it is actually conducive to consolidating the border areas, and it is also planned to try it out from Xinjiang, and the slaves secretly believe that the increase of the navy in Xinjiang is conducive to promoting the reform of the border army, the withdrawal of the government and the establishment of provinces, the immigration to the border areas, the encouragement of intermarriage, the establishment of schools, and other measures are all conducive to the assimilation of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and this is really a good policy for the long-term and thorough stabilization of Xinjiang from both the military and political aspects. ”

Daoguang glanced at him expressionlessly, and said in a sullen voice: "Just take care of the overall situation, and be loyal to the country?" ”

Mu Zhang's Azi is the chief military aircraft, so he naturally pondered the reason behind Yi Zhi's dispatch of troops and money to actively support Xinjiang, but in his mind, Xinjiang and Jiangnan are thousands of miles apart, and even if Yi Zhishu has the ability to reach the sky, it is difficult for the whip to reach it, and there can be no other intentions behind this, most of the other party is taking this opportunity to win a clear name, and in this way, it can also make the imperial court eliminate its wariness of Yuan Qi.

But what does Daoguang mean by asking? In his eagerness, he couldn't think about it, so he could only kowtow and say, "The slave is stupid." ”

"After all these years, you still don't know him." Daoguang sighed lightly as he spoke, and then said slowly: "Although Yi Zhishu can't be said to be a great achievement, but what he has done over the years, one by one, which is a small thing, is to increase the number of troops in Xinjiang, the scale will not be small, at least thousands of people, as expected, at least the establishment of a brigade, the border political reform, the cost of silver taels will definitely not be a small amount, is it just to consolidate Xinjiang?" Obviously, he is preparing for the use of troops in the northwest! ”

Troops in the Northwest? Mu Zhang'a Yileng, the northwest uses soldiers to fight money and grain, and the gold and silver seas are not enough to toss, it is completely a bottomless pit, in the two hundred years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, I don't know how much silver has been spent in the northwest, Yi Zhicontent is such a shrewd person, will take the initiative to jump into this pit?

After a pause, Daoguang continued: "The reform of the Xinjiang border army and the reform of the border government can't all let Yuan Qi give out money, and Yuan Qi is not so easy to talk about, although the finances of the imperial court have been eased, they are not ..... rich." ”

Mu Zhang's mind turned sharply, in his opinion, Yi Zhi's contentment to send troops and money to actively support Xinjiang to resist Tsarist Russia is completely a stupid move, this matter cannot be messed up because the court has no money, such a rare opportunity should not be missed. , groaned slightly, he said: "Your Majesty, it is a matter of stability in the northwest, and it is rare for Yuan Qi to actively support it, even if the court is struggling for a few years, it is worth it, in fact, the court is not without money......." ”

Listening to the last sentence, Daoguang became interested, stared at him, and waited for the following, but he was wondering in his heart, where can the imperial court still squeeze out the silver?

After a slight pause, Mu Zhang'a seemed to be ruthless and said in a deep voice: "At the end of last year, according to the rough statistics of the Ministry of Households, the arrears in various provinces are being levied and delayed, as high as more than 20 million taels, if the arrears can be cleared, it is enough to carry out border political reform!" ”

More than 20 million taels! Daoguang couldn't help but be stunned, the problem of arrears of money and grain in various provinces, states and counties is quite serious, which can be described as a major stubborn disease, this he knows that according to the convention, when local officials hand over the old and the new, the later officials must take over the money and grain deficit left by the previous officials, year after year, day by day, the accumulated money and grain deficit is naturally not a small amount, but he never thought that it would be as high as 20 million taels!

He was also hot in his heart, and he didn't expect to be able to clean up all the arrears, even if it was thirty percent, it would be enough to try out the reform of the border army and the border administration in Xinjiang. ”

Shanghai, Nanyang Prime Minister's National Affairs and Foreign Affairs Yamen.

As the prime minister of Nanyang, Yi Zhizhi personally greeted him outside the gate in full robe, and ordered the cannon to be fired, and received the visiting British Minister to China and the morning director of the country, Bonham and Davis, with a high standard.

Welcoming the other party into the yamen lobby, the two sides set up a position to argue about the Qingpu teaching plan, and after the scene, Yi Zhizhi set up a banquet again, and the banquet was dispersed, and when the gifts were given to everyone, Davis found an opportunity and asked softly in English: "What is the matter with the combined fleet of Spain and the Netherlands?" ”

Yi Zhizu stopped, looked around for a moment, and then replied in English: "That's because I'm worried that I won't move you, so I made another preparation." ”

Sure enough, it was invited by the other party, I don't know what conditions the other party offered for this? Davis immediately asked, "Is your country ready to establish diplomatic and commercial relations on an equal footing with Spain and the Netherlands?" ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't answer, but asked rhetorically: "I heard that because of the struggle for control of the Strait of Gibraltar, the relationship between your country and Spain has been quite tense?" ”

Britain established and consolidated its position as the world's colonial hegemony through a series of foreign wars and successively defeated Spain, the Netherlands, France and other countries, and a large-scale naval war broke out between Spain, defeating Spain's invincible armada, robbing many Spanish colonies, and directly leading to the decline of the Spanish Empire, which was the main reason for the resentment between the two countries, and the struggle for the Strait of Gibraltar was just a small episode.

Davis didn't bother to explain, but smiled: "We don't mind Spain taking a slice of the East-West trade." ”

"What about the Netherlands?" Yi Zhizu asked: "It is reported that in order to contain France, your country has returned a large number of colonies in the South Seas from the Netherlands to the Dutch ...... ”

"It was just a deal." "In exchange," Davis said, "the Netherlands gave us its merchant houses in India and Malacca, and the two countries were entitled to enter each other's colonies at will, and to enjoy the greatest preferential rights. ”

What conditions did Yi Zhizu offer to let Spain and the Netherlands send warships to form a joint fleet to Shanghai to blockade Wusongkou, but Yi Zhizu did not reveal the slightest tone, which made Davis and Wen Xian very puzzled.

On the morning of the next day, when more than 10 warships of the Nanyang Fleet appeared at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the British fleet and the combined fleets of Spain and the Netherlands withdrew from Wusong according to the plan, withdrew from Haikou, and safely withdrew to the sea.

In the British Consulate, Davis and Wen Xian also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, it was really a very cost-effective thing to win Yuan Qi's friendship so easily, but the next day, the two began to faintly feel that something was wrong, because newspapers large and small in Shanghai published articles criticizing England, Spain, and the Netherlands for sending warships to blockade Wusongkou.

On the third day, the direction of the wind in the newspapers changed slightly, and they no longer mentioned England, but attacked Spain and the Netherlands one after another, and Chen Guzi turned over the rotten sesame seeds, and listed the incidents of the two countries invading the southeast coast and occupying Taiwan to the two countries in Manila and Gropa to exclude China in Manila and Gropa.

Hearing Davis read out the series of bloody numbers, Wen Xian felt a sense of panic, and couldn't help but ask, "These are all facts?" ”

Davis nodded with a heavy expression and said, "It is unknown whether these figures are true or not, but it is undeniable that Spain and the Netherlands have indeed massacred a large number ......of Chinese in Manila and Batavia. ”

After a little hesitation, Wen Xian said: "This matter is a bit strange...... ”

"If you guess correctly, the combined fleet of Spain and the Netherlands that participated in the blockade of Wusongkou should be the ..... that the Qing State found someone to pretend to be." Davis groaned, "Qing may be about to declare war on Spain and the Netherlands, but.... It's none of our business. ”

Wen Xian glanced at him and said, "What is the purpose of the Qing Kingdom's declaration of war on Spain and the Netherlands?" South Sea Islands! If the Qing State is allowed to occupy all the islands in the South Seas, will we also be expelled from the South Seas? ”

"Do you think the Qing Dynasty will not be able to declare war on the Empire?" Davis shook his head disappreciatively and said, "Don't say that the Qing Kingdom doesn't have this strength, even if it has enough strength, it will not be an enemy of our British Empire, at least not now." ”

"This is not a trivial matter, if a war breaks out in the Far East, it will directly affect the pattern of Europe." Wen Xian looked at Davis as he said and said, "Should we confirm or test it with Mr. Yi?" ”

"No temptation." Davis said in a firm tone: "I understand his style of acting, the Chinese foreign wars, like to pay attention to the division is famous, this is to win the support of public opinion, I am sure, it will not take long, war will definitely break out, when Yuan Qi sent troops to Vietnam, that's what he did." ”

After a long silence, Wen Xiancai said, "We should always do something, right?" ”

"Your Excellency wants to stop this war? Or do you want to ventilate the news and let Spain and the Netherlands take precautions early? Davis glanced at him and said: "It's useless, the Qing Dynasty's navy has expanded rapidly in recent years, and now there should be forty or fifty thousand navies, and more than 100 large and small warships, it's best for us not to interfere, if we have to do something, we will send the news back to China as soon as possible, and it is recommended to be neutral." ”

"Neutral?" Wen Xian asked with some confusion.

"Yes, neutral." Davis nodded and said: "We must be neutral, in terms of trade, the Qing State is now the largest foreign trading country in the empire, in order to safeguard the interests of the empire in the Far East, we should not be the enemy of the Qing State, as far as the European pattern is concerned, it is impossible for us to declare war on Spain and the Netherlands, neutrality is the wisest choice." ”

After a pause, he continued: "The Qing Kingdom used to be an ancient and backward huge empire, but now, this ancient empire is radiating great vitality, mini guns, spiral steamboats, Tianbao watches, bicycles, improved carriages, thermoses..... All of these things mean a lot of creativity, and they mean that this is a huge empire with endless potential.

Personally, I believe that in the interests of the empire, we should be allies of the Qing state, not enemies! In addition, I don't think the parliamentarians and businessmen in China will approve of and support the dispatch of troops, and the Qing State today is no longer the Qing State of the past, and if the main fleet is not dispatched, it will not be able to take advantage of it at all.

What we need in the Far East is trade, not war, and what good will it do us to send a large number of main fleets to help Spain and the Netherlands win this battle? There are only disadvantages, no good! ”

Wen Xian nodded slightly and said, "You shouldn't go back to China, but you should stay in Shanghai." ”

Prime Minister's Yamen, Signature Room.

Bao Shichen put down the newspaper in his hand, took off his reading glasses, glanced at Yi Zhicontentment, and said slowly: "Have you forgotten that Luzon was our vassal state in the Ming Dynasty, and it was forcibly occupied by Spain, and it is the most upright reason to conquer Spain entrenched in Luzon." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "It's not that I'm afraid that the court won't think about it, although we can send troops without authorization, but in the end, we still have to make an edict from the emperor, so that we can justifiably include Luzon in my Qing Dynasty territory, besides, what excuse is not important, the important thing is that the fist is big, just have an excuse, so as not to be attacked and reckless, it is enough, I don't care about any reputation, mainly for the sake of the court." ”

Bao Shichen said: "I'm afraid that the court may not appreciate it, now that the emperor is old, what he needs is stability, so as to facilitate the smooth transfer of imperial power, I am afraid that he may not be able to make an order." ”

"Chop first, play later." Yi Zhixiang said without hesitation: "Send troops to recruit first, and I am not afraid that the emperor will not give an order." ”

After a deep groan, Bao Shichen said: "First cut and then play, is the Hou Ye sure that he can mobilize the officers and men of the Nanyang Navy?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Just take this opportunity to try their reactions." ”