Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

Yuanqi is going to go out and conquer Goryeo? Xianfeng was both surprised and shocked and mixed with a trace of anger, staring at Seng Lingqin and Zaizhao for a long time speechless, in the great feudal system, the relationship with the Goryeo clan can be said to be the longest, strongest and most intimate, which can be called a model in the clan system!

Now Yuan Qi actually wants to send troops to conquer, and he also coerces the imperial court to follow and send troops, this is to sincerely abolish the entire clan system! What exactly does Yuanqi want to do?

Seeing that Xianfeng was silent for a long time, Zaizhao had the courage to take off his top and put it on the ground, kowtowed: "Your Majesty, now is the era of maritime hegemony, and Western countries are actively building a huge navy, manufacturing new steam ironclad giant ships, and developing powerful artillery.

Goryeo guards the Yellow Sea, the location is dangerous, and the port of Duoliang, can be called the gateway of Zhili, although the Japanese state has been called a vassal, but it is still a hidden danger, sooner or later to send troops to conquer it to completely annex, Goryeo into the territory of our Qing Dynasty, it is imperative, and sooner rather than later. ”

Monk Greenqin followed: "Your Majesty, the Yuanqi New Army has frequently used troops in the frontier over the years, and the original vassal states of Annan, Burma, Gurkha, Zhemengxiong, Brookpa, Luo Mintang, and Zuo Mulang have been incorporated into the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and the vassal system has existed in name only. ”

Listening to the two of them, Xianfeng has calmed down, Yuan Qi wants to send troops to conquer Goryeo, he, the son of the Qing Dynasty, can't stop it at all, Yuan Qi's new army is carrying the power of a great victory, conquering Goryeo, it can be said that it is as easy as a hand, since it cannot be stopped, then it must be sent to assist, and you can't watch Goryeo fall into the hands of Yuan Qi.

The question is that Yuan Qi will really hand over Goryeo to the imperial court? Could it be to take the opportunity of the conquest of Goryeo to eliminate the Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Naval Division? This thought was just a flash, and he denied it, Yuan Qi really wanted to deal with the Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Naval Division, so he didn't need to be so troublesome, just start fighting directly in Jinjing.

So what exactly does Yuan Qi think? Loyalty to the country? It was just a joke, and after a slight groan, he spoke: "Yi Zhicontent can be specified, how many troops do you need from the imperial court to conquer Goryeo?" ”

Hearing this, Seng Lingqin was overjoyed, this obviously agreed, he hurriedly said: "Back to the emperor, I didn't say it explicitly, the slave secretly thought that Yi Zhixin didn't care about how many troops the court sent, what he wanted was just a righteous name, and he would never break his word if he clearly said that he would hand over Goryeo to the court." ”

"Xuan Peng, Yunzhang and others met with military planes in Beijing." Xianfeng commanded slowly, no matter what the situation is, it is certain that the imperial court will send troops to assist, since he wants to send troops, he naturally needs a reason to conquer Goryeo, thinking of this, he feels aggrieved and helpless in his heart, Yuan Qi wants to send troops, and the court has to help find an excuse for the expedition, he, the son of the Qing Dynasty, is not a puppet, and he is not far from a puppet!

The only consolation is that Yuan Qi really has no intention of making trouble, at least not for now, otherwise, he would not have let go of such a great opportunity.

Tianjin, Haiphong Office.

After walking around the city, I was taking a nap and was woken up by Lin Meilian, "Big shopkeeper, Mr. Zhao is here." ”

Sitting up, Yi Zhizhi looked at his watch, and saw that it was past twelve o'clock, it was the noon break, thinking that Zhao Wenlie encountered something that he could not call the shots during the negotiation, and said: "Invite him to the study, fetch water, and I will wash my face." ”

After he walked slowly into the study, Zhao Wenlie got up to salute and reported directly: "Big treasurer, the British have no objection to the places occupied by the Yuanqi New Army and the Tibetan soldiers, such as Luomintang, Zuomulang, Gurkha, Zhemengxiong, and Brookba, but they have nothing to do with Ladakh, which is still under the actual control .......of the Sikh Kingdom. ”

It seems that the British still do not give up on Tibet and want to keep a tail. Yi Zhishu secretly sneered in his heart, Ladakh is the center and gateway of communication and trade between Tibet and Central Asia and India, and has always been a Tibetan vassal under the control of the minister in Tibet, and in the fourteenth year of Daoguang, the Sikh Kingdom brazenly invaded and annexed Ladakh with the support of the British. The British prevaricated on the Ladakh issue, clearly not wanting to give up this bridgehead into Tibet.

After a slight groan, Yi Zhizhi said, "What is the Sikh Kingdom?" Since the British said that it had nothing to do with them, they would just send troops to destroy them! The tens of thousands of yuan of Qixin army and Tibetan soldiers led by Gong Deshu in southern Tibet were panicking. ”

Hearing this, Zhao Wenlie smiled bitterly and said, "How to reply to the British?" ”

"Just reply as I said." Yi Zhizhi said without thinking, he deliberately deployed Gong Deshu's troops and the newly formed Tibetan troops to the southern foot of Tibet, not only to pose a military threat to British India, but also to recover all the vassal states around Tibet.

Zhao Wenlie went out with his front foot, and Lin Meilian came in with his back foot to report: "Big shopkeeper, Russian envoy Putiyatin asks to see him." ”

What did Putiyatin do in Tianjin? Yi Zhixiang was a little surprised, there was no good result in negotiating with Britain and France this time, "Please let him in." With that, he stood up.

In recent years, Yuan Qi tossed around the Qing Dynasty, but the opponents were almost all backward and small countries, even if they forcibly occupied Luzon and Java, it was also when the economic crisis broke out in Europe and the Great Revolution, and Spain and the Netherlands were already at sunset.

However, after expelling the Taiping army into Burma, sending troops to Gurkha, capturing the Strait of Malacca, annihilating the British East India Fleet, and attacking Calcutta, the Qing Empire has attracted the attention and hostility of Britain and France.

As the saying goes, either the east wind overpowers the west wind, or the west wind overpowers the east wind, once the British and French armies are equipped with guns and cannons, there may be wars, for the Qing Dynasty, at this time an ally is needed, or rather, a country is needed to contain Europe, there is no doubt that Russia is the only choice.

What makes him entangled is that he is now planning to support the Mobei Mongolian tribes, use the Mobei Mongolian tribes to expand northward, seize the east of the Altai Mountains, and use Mobei Mongolia to completely cut off the Qing court's retreat to the north.

The so-called unity of Manchu and Mongolia in the Qing court is indeed a fact, but it is not the whole Mongolia that is integrated with the Manchus, but only the first to submit to the Mongol and noble status - Monan Mongolia, where the Mongolian golden family is located! For Mobei and Moxi Mongolia, the Qing court adopted a variety of ruling methods such as division and disintegration, restraint and softness, high pressure and even brutality.

The independence of Mobei Mongolia in later generations can be said to have a lot to do with the Qing court, which is also the reason why Yi Zhizhi wants to use his brains in Mobei Mongolia, supporting Mobei Mongolia, which can play a great deterrent to both the Qing court and Monan Mongolia.

For Yuan Qi, this is a major policy, he can't wait, and he can't afford to delay. The seizure of the vast lands east of the Altai Mountains could not wait, and it had to be carried out while Russia was weak, but this would undoubtedly affect relations with Russia.

Puti Yating walked into the courtyard calmly, and looked up to see Yi Zhicontent standing on the steps outside the door to greet him, with a professional smile on his face, and he also quickened his pace slightly, and he stretched out his hand at the bottom of the steps, and now Yi Zhicontent deserves his respect and enthusiasm.

Yi Zhizhi took two steps to shake hands with him affectionately, and Putiyating said sincerely: "The battle of Tianjin and Beijing, whether it is a naval battle or a land battle, is breathtaking, congratulations to your country for winning this war." ”

Listening to Lin Meilian's translation, Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "It's because Britain and France despise it too much, it's just a fluke." ”

In all fairness, this battle was indeed a rash advance of Britain and France, otherwise it would not have been lost so badly, Putiyatin has been paying close attention to this battle from beginning to end, and naturally knows that this is the truth, but this battle can be won so easily, but it is not purely a fluke, he smiled and said: "Your Excellency is too modest, this battle is completely classic." ”

This little old man came to Tianjin, full of flattery, what is he holding back? Yi Zhicontent secretly thought in his heart, but said modestly: "If it weren't for the other party's rash attack and quick success, it would not be so easy, how could we talk about classics." With that, he withdrew his hand and said politely, "Your Excellency, please——。 ”

After entering the house and sitting down and offering fragrant tea, Putiatin spoke: "I heard that the new army of your country has been equipped with new breech-loading rifled guns, and the guns and shells used are also fully equipped with copper-shelled bullets, as well as powerful grenades........ ”

This little old man is here for a new weapon? There is nothing to hide about this, and you can't hide it if you want to, so Yi Zhishu said cheerfully: "In order to deal with this war, it is indeed a hurry to install some new weapons, and the effect of this actual combat test is quite good." ”

In the past few days, Putiatin has been trying to get a batch of new equipment for the Yuanqi New Army through various channels, but there is no way, the only gain is a few bullet casings and deformed warheads purchased at a high price, and he groaned slightly, he said cheekily: "Can Your Excellency sell a batch of new rear-loading rifled guns and ammunition to our country, the price is negotiable." ”

Yi Zhizhi laughed secretly in his heart, but he said with a straight color: "With all due respect, with the current industrial level of your country, it is impossible to imitate this new type of guns and bullets, and your country's top priority is to carry out reforms, abolish the backward serfdom system, promote industrial development, improve the level of machinery manufacturing, change the status quo of backward transportation, and accumulate strength. ”

"A big war will soon break out in Europe?" Putiyatin keenly grasped this sentence and asked.

Yi Zhi's content is naturally not nonsense, because the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, nodded slightly, and said in a firm tone: "Within fifteen years, there will be a big war between Prussia and France, and it is difficult to say whether other countries will be involved." ”

There are many rumors about Yi Zhi's contentment in Beijing, which accurately predicted the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war a few years before the outbreak of the Crimean War, and that Britain and France would be involved in the war, and made arrangements in the northwest to send troops to the northwest in time after the defeat of Russia.

The Russian mission in Beijing was dismissive of such rumors, but Putiyatin was convinced of them, from his first dealings with Yi Zhizu in Shanghai, to the arms trade with Yuanqi in Ili, to Yuanqi's purchase of Alaska and Kamchatka, all of which he had personally handled, and when he saw the rumored information collected, he was sure that it was absolutely true!

At this moment, when he heard the other party's prediction that there would be a great war between Prussia and France within fifteen years, although he did not dare to believe it, he did not dare to disbelieve it, and only after a little muttering did he ask: "Your Excellency has long expected the invasion of Britain and France?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "If I say that this war was provoked by Yuan Qi at all, do you believe it or not?" ”

Listening to the translation, Puti Yating couldn't help but be stunned, carefully combing what Yuan Qi had done in the past two or three years, and he was surprised to find that this war may have really been provoked by Yuan Qi, could it be that since the expulsion of the Taiping Army into Burma, Yuan Qi began to deliberately provoke this war!

Thinking of this, he had a creepy feeling, if this was the case, this Yuanqi shopkeeper would be too terrifying! He didn't know what to say for a while, and subconsciously asked, "Why?" ”

As if he hadn't heard it, Yi Zhishu said in a rambling voice: "Your Majesty the Emperor is wise and martial, and will certainly be able to create a new era for your country, and I very much hope that your two countries can maintain long-term friendly and close relations, which is in line with the fundamental interests of our two countries and is conducive to promoting the common development of our two countries." ”

This sounds like a cliché, but Putiyatin is overjoyed, this word reveals that Yi Zhishu has great confidence in Alexander II, and faintly hopes that the two countries will form an alliance, and today's Qing State is not the Qing State of twenty or thirty years ago, it is radiating strong vitality, if it can form an alliance, it must be a powerful help for Russia!

He hurriedly said: "His Majesty the Emperor of our country is very happy to conclude long-term friendly and intimate relations with your country, and I am very appreciative of the idea of the Eurasian Railway put forward by Your Excellency, and now the relevant personnel are being convened in China to discuss this idea. ”

As he spoke, he changed his words, "Even if the Eurasian Railway can be implemented after demonstration, it is still a very grand project, which cannot be completed in a short time, and your country's current situation is also very clear that it is urgent to expand trade with your country. ”

Want to expand trade? Yi Zhicontent said without thinking: "This is no problem, in view of the long distance of your country, we will appropriately adopt a series of preferential policies to ensure the profits of your businessmen." ”

Hearing this, Putiatin couldn't help but be overjoyed, and thanked him repeatedly, he was just trying to improve the relationship between the two countries, but he didn't expect Yi Zhishu to promise preferential policies to Russian businessmen, and it can be seen that the other party is sincere in improving the relationship between the two countries, which makes him feel very good.

In the past two years, Qing Russia has been fighting in the northeast and northwest, although the scale is not large, but after all, it is in a hostile relationship, and the trade between the two countries has also been interrupted because of the war, the combat power of the new army of Yuanqi is so strong, even if the country is unwilling, it must end the hostility between the two countries as soon as possible, otherwise it will be an absolute disaster for Russia!