The sky is dark, and the sea surface of Tsim Sha Tsui is bursting one bright spot after another, which is more than 30 English merchant ships that have arrived in Tsim Sha Tsui one after another lit torches or lanterns.

On the wall of the Kwun Chung Fort in Kowloon Port overlooking the sea of Tsim Sha Tsui, the 60-year-old veteran General Chen Liansheng silently watched the sea below the mountain.

Wu Haojun, who was holding a monoculars and carefully observing the movement of the ocean, said in a low voice: "My lord, they have started selling crows again. Slice it. ”

After being silent for a long time, Chen Liansheng spoke: "The cigarettes sold in Humen have not been sold yet, and some Yingyi have started to sell crows again. piece, Lord Lin is rather bent temperament, I am afraid that this matter is difficult to be good, pass the order, strengthen patrols at night, and strengthen drills on weekdays. ”

Is this going to war? Wu Haojun's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but say: "Can these heroes still dare to attack the fort?" ”

"They dare to fight the Humen Fort, not to mention our Guanyong Fort?" Chen Liansheng turned around and went down the city wall as he spoke, and instructed as he walked: "Send someone to report to Guan Junmen early tomorrow morning." ”

Tiger Gate Crow. The piece of destruction is not over yet, and the sea crow. After hearing the report, Lin Zexu was extremely angry, he knew very well that this was the revenge of Yilu, and this was his dissatisfaction with the more than 1,600 boxes of tea rewarded.

Guan Tianpei asked cautiously: "My lord, the Yingyi merchant ships are not imported, and they stay in the Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean for a long time without permission, and they lure traitors to steal and sell crows. Slice. I am afraid of noise for a long time. Why don't you send sailors and warships to expel them from Tsim Sha Tsui? ”

Silent for a long time. Lin Zexu sighed and said, "The sailor is expelled, I'm afraid that Yingyi will take the opportunity to make trouble, so it's better to take a salary from the bottom of the kettle." After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "Send additional sailors to patrol ships to patrol closely and block the ocean where the British ships are berthed, and arrest smugglers and tobacco dealers." ”

After all, there are not many cigarette dealers who don't want to die, and as soon as the sailors blockade them, the British businessmen in Tsim Sha Tsui naturally have no business to do. Seeing this situation, Yilu immediately submitted a letter of protest, and Lin Zexu posted a refutation, and the two sides came and went, and the relationship quickly fell into a low ebb.

On 27 May, a group of sailors on a British merchant ship anchored off the coast of Tsim Sha Tsui were bored and went to Tsim Sha Tsui Village to buy wine and clashed with the local people. He seriously injured villager Lin Weixi and died the next day.

After the Lin Weixi case. Lin Zexu decisively cut off the material supply of British merchant ships anchored in the Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean, and ordered the Portuguese Governor of Macau to expel all English in Macao, and the relationship between the two sides was completely broken.

On 27 July, in the face of the lack of water and food, the first skirmish broke out between the Qing Dynasty and England -- the Battle of Kowloon.

Yi Zhizhi received an urgent report on the Battle of Kowloon in Changhua County -- a report from Lai Enjue, a staff general of the Dapeng Battalion forwarded by Guan Tianpei: At noon on July 27, three sailor ships were forbidden to give aid to British merchants at the Jiulongshan port.

In the five hours of the battle, two of our soldiers were wounded and killed, two of them were seriously wounded, and four of them were light, all of which could be treated. Seventeen people were killed in the battle, and the owner of the warship had to avoid the assassin's wrist being broken by the cannon, and the Yi people were especially injured.

Yi Zhishu took a quick look at it, gave it to Wu Changqing, and then took out a cigar and slowly lit it, Wu Changqing was happy after reading it, and said: "Now that the fight has started, the situation is completely clear, can we go back to Guangzhou?" ”

"What's the hurry?" Yi Zhishu said casually: "The law of righteousness has always been capricious, so hurry back to be splinted? Not surprisingly, Yilu will inevitably repeat its old trick and demand negotiations. ”

Wu Changqing said puzzledly: "It's all torn, what else are you talking about?" ”

"Changqing still doesn't understand the West." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Westerners fight when they win, negotiate if they don't win, fight again when the talks collapse, and talk after the fight." ”

Before the words fell, Li Wang hurried to the door to report: "Young Master, Lord Ling is here to visit." ”

"Please." Yi Zhixiang got up and smiled as he spoke, "Let's go, welcome and go." ”

Ling Feiran, who was dressed in regular clothes, walked into the courtyard with square steps steadily, he was only in his early thirties, with a Chinese face, a long beard, and a little thin, he only took office at the end of last year, Changhua is a ghost place, there is no opportunity but risk, he came to take office, he was scared, he originally planned to stay up for a few years, make some political achievements, and the arrival of Yi Zhixin and his party made him see hope.

Although Changhua County is remote, but there is also a semicolon of Yuanqi, for Yi Zhifen, the legendary Yuanqi shopkeeper, he has also heard of it, since he heard that Yuanqi intends to open a mine in Changhua, he sent people to Guangzhou to inquire about Yuanqi and Yi Zhixiang, for Yuanqi and Yi Zhicontent, Wu Changqing, he can be said to know a lot.

Seeing Yi Zhicontent, the two of them came out, and Ling Feiran bowed his hand again and again from afar, and said with a smile on his face: "How dare you greet the two of you." ”

"Lord Ling is the official of Changhua's parents, how can he not welcome him at the lower level?" Yi Zhizu stepped forward with a smile and arched his hand: "When the adults come, they should be informed in the morning, and they will go out to greet them when they are inferior." ”

"Yi Gongzi's words are killing the lower officials." Ling Feiran said with a smile: "How dare you be in Xiaguan?" ”

The three of them greeted each other and sat down in the room, and after serving fragrant tea, Yi Zhishu picked up the urgent report on the table and handed it to him, saying, "This is an urgent report from the military gate of Humen Guan." ”

After a little browsing, Ling Feiran said with a smile: "The small country of Yuer also dares to provoke Tianwei. The tone and wording of this urgent report, he knew at a glance that it was the report of the defenders, and he was even more convinced of the return of the messenger, and when he saw that the two did not answer, he took the initiative to say: "The people of Changhua are fierce, and they have not been educated, and Yuanqi came to open a mine, can there be a perfect plan?" ”

Changhua was first inhabited by the Li nationality, and most of the territory was Li nationality, including many gentry in the county seat. Listen to the unmistakable kindness in his words. Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Please also ask Lord Ling for advice." ”

"Don't dare to advise." Ling Feiran said with a smile: "The local Li people in the Yayushan (Shiluling) copper mine have repeatedly stolen mining. If Yuan Qi wants to be stable for a long time, he needs to properly appease the Li people. ”

Yi Zhishu smiled, opened his palm, and said: "One, recruit local people to build railways, mine iron ore, and pay four oceans a month, two." The construction of the railway from Changhua to Basuo is convenient for the transportation of iron ore and the import of materials, third, Yuanqi can build and cultivate Yixue in various towns and towns or expand the scale of township Yixue and social science, fourth, help Changhua to prevent plague and save Changhua from the slightest harm of the plague, and fifth, help Xinghua to be lower than piracy or riots. ”

These five articles for officials. It is of great benefit to the gentry and to the local Li people. Ling Feiran secretly exclaimed in his heart, Yuanqi Bank really lived up to its reputation, but it can be seen that the mining field in Changhua is indeed profitable, otherwise Yuanqi would not have paid so much attention to it.

After a slight sigh, he said: "Yi Gongzi has been in Changhua for a few days, and the situation in Changhua City should also be understood, and this official wants to build another new city." ”

The cost of building a new city is not expensive, Wu Changqing hurriedly said: "Lord Ling, Yuanqi has traveled thousands of miles to Changhua to mine iron ore, which is of great benefit to Changhua's people's livelihood and economy, and it will not make Yuanqi lose money, right?" ”

"Wu Gongzi misunderstood." Ling Feiran said with a smile: "To build a new city, the labor is free, and the materials can also be taken locally, and it doesn't cost much silver, and it is estimated that it will not exceed 50,000 taels at most." ”

"Okay, Master Chengquan." Yi Zhisuff said cheerfully: "However, the construction of the new city needs to wait until the construction of the railway is completed, and Yuan Qi donated 50,000 taels. ”

"Mr. Xie Yi." Ling Feiran hurriedly bowed his hand.

"Lord Ling doesn't have to be polite." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Since the new city is built, the entire old city will be completely owned by Yuan Qi." ”

"It's nature." Ling Feiran said without hesitation.

Yi Zhishu nodded, glanced at him, and said, "Lord Ling should be familiar with the history of Changhua, right?" ”

Ling Feiran was naturally familiar with the situation in Changhua, but he didn't know what Yi Zhizhi was referring to, so he immediately muttered: "What does Yi Gongzi mean?" ”

Yi Zhizu smiled and said: "In the fifth year of Shunzhi, Haikou Chen Wu disguised himself as a general soldier and occupied Ya, Chang, and Gan prefectures and counties, resulting in chaos in Changhua, and the people were in dire straits.

In the eleventh year of Shunzhi, Chen Wu led pirates to land from Changhua Port and attacked Changhua City at night. The wings guarded the city of Changhua as an internal response, killed the city guard Li Yuezu, captured Ouyang Si of the county, seized the county seal, and destroyed the city.

In the fourteenth year of Shunzhi, Luosa Zhuli robbed the coastal villages, and the county ordered Lu Guanlu to lead the troops to chase to Litong, and hundreds of Li people surrendered. The county order rewarded the surrenderer with items, and made an appointment with Li Shou to engrave arrows, and Li Han made peace.

In the twenty-third year of Kangxi, Changhua County suffered a military disaster, and the thieves burned the household registration and the acres of land. In addition, the government levied a heavy amount of grain and the people fled the famine.

In the first year of Jiaqing, the Shilu copper mine was opened, but due to the disturbance of the soldiers and the epidemic of plague, the official order banned mining.

In the eighth year of Daoguang, the plague was rampant in the county, and countless people died.

In the tenth year of Daoguang, Zhang Hongfa and Wei Serong rebelled against Li people in Yazhou, and Li people in Chang, Gan, Dan, Ding, and Linzhu counties responded. ”

Listening to Yi Zhi's contentment to recite one by one, Ling Feiran naturally understood the other party's intentions, and said tentatively at the moment: "What does Gongzi Yi mean." ”

"Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, Changhua soldiers and bandits have continued, and the Li people have been capricious." Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Yuanqi can't be unguarded, I want to set up a mine protection team and a Shanghai-Hong Kong team to maintain the normal operation of the mine, and of course, I will also fully assist the safety of Changhua New Town." ”

"How large?"

"One battalion each."

There are thousands of people in the mining area, and the mine protection team of the first battalion is not many at all, Ling Feiran said happily: "This is no problem, in the name of group training, this official pleads with the superior." ”

"Then there's Lord Lao." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile: "Lord Governor, Lord Governor, Yuan Qi has already been taken care of, and it is naturally more logical for adults to write books." After a pause, he continued: "Changhua is rich in cane sugar and cotton, Lord Ling can plant more with the people, Yuanqi is business-oriented, and will definitely not treat the people of Changhua badly." ”

Ling Feiran hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Young Master Xie Yi." ”

Guangzhou, although the scale of the Kowloon naval battle is not large, but the significance is not small, for Yilu, this is a temptation, which makes him clear that the current situation in Guangzhou is not open by two or three warships, unless it is a large-scale invasion of China, otherwise, trade with China will either be terminated or completely suppressed!

After this battle, the sailors reduced their fear of foreign ship fire, and the officials were full of confidence and their attitudes became unprecedentedly tough.

"Xiguan Daily" also spared no effort to publicize the Battle of Kowloon, and called on the Guangzhou business community to donate money and materials to vigorously support the heroic behavior of the Guangdong Navy Division to resist the British Jili, Yuan Qi took the lead in donating 5,000 silver dollars, and in just two days, the Guangzhou business community donated tens of thousands of silver dollars and a large amount of rice oil and pork, etc., and sent them to Humen and Shajiao with gongs and drums.

On the 5th day of August, a week after the small contact in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Spanish Mibayino ship anchored in the ocean of Tsim Tsai, and the sailors guarded Huang Cong, mistaking it for a habitual crow. The British ship Danshina took the initiative to attack, released a fireboat to besiege it, and burned the entire Mibayinu ship.

All foreign merchant ships were in an uproar, and they protested to Humen through Portuguese and Qing officials in Macao, which made Lin Zexu anxious.

Seeing that the morale of the officers and men of the Qing Navy Division was strong, and the righteous law without soldiers at hand naturally did not dare to make another attempt, he sneaked back to Macao, and asked the Portuguese soldiers to turn to the Qing State and Macao Tongzhi to hand over a post, asking to talk about "important events".

The peace talks between the Qing and the British were first stalled due to the refusal of Yilu to disgot, and after more than 20 days of rupture, there is now light again.

At this time, Yi Zhizhi and his entourage, who had repeatedly negotiated with the magistrate of Changhua County and a group of gentry, and properly discussed the construction of the Changhua-Basho railway and the mining of Shilu iron ore, had already set off to Haikou, the capital of Qiongzhou, the seat of the government.

When they arrived in Haikou, Yi Zhicontent and Wu Changqing naturally couldn't avoid paying homage to the wharf, and the prefect of Qiongzhou, the general army of Qiongzhou, Haikou Shantou, Hainan Hall, Guangzhou Hall, Gaozhou Hall, and Fujian Hall all put down their bodies and visited them one by one.

Wu Changqing didn't understand this, on this day, after coming out of the Fujian Guild Hall, he finally couldn't help it, looked for an opportunity, and asked: "It's just a matter of visiting the government, why is it necessary to visit these guild halls one by one?" Now they are begging for Yuanqi. ”

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him and said with a smile: "Changqing has forgotten that Yuanqi is not limited to a corner of Guangdong, when the strength is strong, we will advance to other provinces, these businessmen are all Yuanqi's customers in the future." (To be continued.) )