The British army ravaged the southeast coast, but the imperial court did not give a reward to the Guangdong sailors and Yuanqi regimental training who had won two great victories, which was not normal in itself, during the war, the reward and reward have always been very timely, which is a means for the imperial court to boost morale, but Daoguang dragged on, which had to make Yi Zhizhi doubt Daoguang's attitude towards the war.

However, he didn't think that in the two great victories won by the Guangdong Navy Division one after another, and the Zhejiang Green Battalion repelled the British attack and successfully held Dinghai, the Qing Emperor and the ministers, who have always regarded themselves as the **** Shangguo, will still try their best to advocate the battle.

If you want to talk about the battle of Fu, he is still in favor of Fu, after all, the strength is not as good as others, and the continuation or expansion of the war is a disaster for the Qing Dynasty, however, the ministers of the Han Dynasty are all in the main battle, he doesn't want to find uncomfortable, he is now humble and light, Yuanqi Tuanlian is still on the cusp, and what can be borrowed is a group of Han members, so naturally it can't go against them.

In the original history, Lin Zexu was dismissed and exiled, and Qi Shan took over as the governor of Liangguang.

Now, the situation has completely changed, will Qishan recover and take over the task of the governor of Liangguang? It's really hard to say, although Lin Zexu said that he would not be dismissed and exiled, but the possibility of being transferred out of Guangzhou is still very high, as the governor of Zhili, Qi Shan came to Guangzhou as a messenger, just to negotiate with the British army?

So, how to deal with the relationship with Qi Shan? Thinking of this, Yi Zhixin didn't feel a little headache, deliberately alienated, not conducive to Yuan Qi, getting closer, a group of Han ministers were afraid that they would have an opinion on him, what people thought of him, he didn't care, what was clear and unclear, he didn't take it seriously, what he was worried about was that it was not good for Yuan Qi.

He was thinking about it from east to west, and Li Wang reported outside the door: "Young master, someone from the Governor's Mansion came to say that the lord of the ministry was invited. ”

Is it rare that Qi Shan has arrived? Yi Zhizhi squeezed his cigar and said, "Reply to them, I'll go over immediately." ”

Hurried to the Governor's Mansion and entered the detention room, Yi Zhizhi saw that Guan Tianpei was also there, and he realized that the British fleet had arrived in Guangzhou, and sure enough, when he greeted him, Lin Zexu stretched out his hand to give up his seat and said in a deep voice: "The British fleet has arrived outside Guangzhou." ”

Yi Zhixiang looked at the two of them, and said calmly: "The British army is now under-strengthened, don't look at the fierceness of the southeast coast, but they are all picking up soft persimmons and pinching, picking on the coastal ports and cities that are negligent in prevention, Guangzhou, Yingyi categorically dare not fight, at least for now, the British army does not have the courage." ”

Lin Zexu said: "I just discussed with Guan Junmen, and I also think the same way, the Yingyi fleet came to Guangzhou this time, mainly to negotiate with the imperial court, and the minister Qi Shan will be able to arrive in Guangzhou the day after tomorrow." After a pause, he continued: "However, Yingyi has always been capricious, and cunning and cunning, so it is necessary to take strict precautions to prevent Yingyi from sneaking attack, and the key points of prevention are Humen and Macao, so Yingyi will not be given a chance." ”

Macao's defense is now completely in charge of Yuanqi Tuanlian, and hearing this, Yi Zhixiang hurriedly bowed and said: "Obey the order of the minister, and rush to Macao tomorrow to make detailed arrangements." ”

Lin Zexu bowed slightly: "Yingyi has secretly attacked Macao, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not sneak attack again, contentment should not be taken lightly, Macao is now only stationed in one battalion of troops, a little thin, and then appropriately add some troops, to ensure that they encounter Yingyi, can hold out until reinforcements arrive." ”

"Yes." Yi Zhicontent said without hesitation, now that Macao is being garrisoned by the Yuanqi regiment, and thousands of prisoners of war of the British army are in the hands of the Yuanqi regiment, it is really difficult to say whether the British army will sneak attack Macao.

Guan Tianpei said with a smile: "The sailor has a warship anchored in Huangpu, and he is content to transfer troops, so he orders them." ”

That's a good feeling, there is no need to arrange the boat, Yi Zhixiang hurriedly said: "Xie Junmen." ”

With a slight groan, Lin Zexu continued: "The day after tomorrow, it should be noon, Lord Qincha will arrive in Guangzhou, and the two of you will participate in greeting you together." ”

For these red tapes, Yi Zhixiang is most afraid, one is a large scene of many people, and the other is kowtowing at every turn, he should even say: "Yingyi is eyeing the foreign oceans, and the defense of Macao, in the next careful review of the deployment, but also to send an additional regiment to settle in to meet Lord Qincha, I am afraid that it is too late." ”

Lin Zexu smiled and said: "When Lord Qincha comes to Guangzhou, he will inevitably read out the holy decree and reward the great victories achieved by the sailor master and the Yuanqi group in Modaoyang and Dinghai. ”

It turned out that Qi Shan was arranged to reward him, Yi Zhihe thought about it for a while, and then said: "Try to get back as much as possible, after all, Macao's defense is more important." ”

Hearing this, Guan Tianpei smiled and said: "This is also contented to say it, what is more important than receiving the holy decree?" ”

Lin Zexu said with a smile: "It's very rare to be content and do things solidly, so try to come as soon as possible." ”

Coming out of the Governor's Palace, Yi Zhizhi did not return to Xiguan, and went straight to the Henan camp, the defense of Macao has always been in charge of the group of scholars in the Huadi camp, and there is nothing on weekdays, if you really want to fight, it is not a small trouble, and he has to transfer an elite regiment to be stationed in Macao.

After arranging military affairs and rushing back to Xiguan, it was already dusk, and he went straight back to Lei Garden, before entering the gate, and the porter steward greeted him and reported: "Young master, there is a son who claims to be the old man of the young master, and he has no name sticker. ”

Yi Zhishu was not surprised by this kind of thing, and even said: "Invite him to the Summer Garden Flower Hall, and I will go over later." ”

After a day of running around, although it was a sedan chair and a boat, it was also full of dust, and after a little washing, Yi Zhizhi came to the summer garden, and when he entered the flower hall, he saw Huang Dianyuan looking at him with a smile on his face, and immediately smiled and said: "I didn't expect it to be Brother Rong." ”

Huang Dianyuan got up and returned the salute, and said with a smile: "It's really not easy to see the contented side now, I waited in Rongyuan for an afternoon, and I didn't see you, so I had to come to the door as an uninvited guest." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled, turned around casually and ordered: "Someone tidy up a good table, serve a jar of the strongest wine, and ice a bottle of French wine." ”

Huang Dianyuan smiled when he heard this, "What's the matter, you changed to drinking wine?" ”

"Something will happen tomorrow morning." Yi Zhizu stretched out his hand to give up his seat as he spoke, "Don't you dare to accompany Brother Yourong to drink, in a few days, please Brother Yourong, let's get drunk and rest." ”

As soon as he sat down, Huang Dianyuan said: "Contented tomorrow morning, but you want to rush to Macau?" ”

Yi Zhizhi was content, and then asked rhetorically: "Brother Rong has been in the British fleet during this time?" ”

Huang Dianyuan did not deny it, and said: "The two cousins Yilu and Yilu want to see the contented side. ”

"Where?"

"The place is determined by contentment."

The place is determined by him, it seems that the two brothers Yilu are very sincere, Yi Zhizhi was not in a hurry to reply, got up and took a box of cigars from the cabinet, handed one to Huang Dianyuan, and ordered one by himself, why did Yilu see him? Obviously, it was at the more than 4,000 British prisoners of war, and he groaned slightly, and then he asked: "Is the other party planning to exchange prisoners of war?" ”

Huang Dianyuan shook his head slightly and said, "It seems that the British fleet has no officers and soldiers and prisoners of war. ”

Instead of exchanging prisoners of war, is it possible to redeem prisoners of war? As soon as this thought turned, Yi Zhizhi denied it, the British army obviously had an advantage, how could they pay to redeem the prisoners of war? I don't know what kind of medicine they sell in the gourd, if you don't see it, it must be inappropriate, and it is generally clear whether the British army's idea is not, and after a little thought, he said: "Macao is now trained by the Yuanqi regiment to take over the defense, but the Portuguese still have troops stationed in Macao, how about meeting in the Bingtou Garden?" ”

After all, Portugal was strictly neutral in this war, and the governor of Macao could not afford to provoke anyone, neither dared to offend Yingyilu, nor dared to offend Yi Yi, and it could be said that it was the most suitable place for the two sides to meet.

Huang Dianyuan was obviously also familiar with the position of Macao and Portugal, and after a slight sigh, he said: "After all, Macao is Yuanqi's territory, can you take a warship to Macao?" ”

"Brother Rong said that he was laughing, didn't he?" Yi Zhizu chuckled and said: "At present, the Qing Dynasty and England are at war, if the British warships are allowed to enter Macao, the spittle stars in Guangzhou can drown me." Saying that, "The day after tomorrow, let the Portuguese ship take care of the pick-up." ”

"It's still thoughtful." Huang Dianyuan said with a smile: "Yilu and they shouldn't have an opinion. ”

With this arrangement, if Yilu and they still have opinions, there is no need for you to meet, Yi Zhixiang didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, so he immediately changed his head, "What does Brother Yourong think of the British army now?" “

Huang Dianyuan glanced at him and said, "I know it's wrong, but I still can't help but want to ask, how did Yuan Qi's group practice defeat Dinghai City, which was defended by four thousand British troops?" ”

"Don't understand?" Yi Zhifen smiled: "Forgive me Brother Rong, this is a military secret, and I can't tell you." ”

Huang Dianyuan pursed his lips and said: "Nearly 10,000 people attacked Dinghai, what other secrets can there be, I heard that the artillery trained by Yuanqi's regiment is very dense and violent, not inferior to the British warships, is it content to transport all the artillery on the Humen Fort to Dinghai?" ”

Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "Since Brother Yourong can find out that Yuan Qi relied on the benefits of artillery to capture Dinghai, how can he not know whether the artillery of Humen Fort has been dismantled?" ”

Huang Dianyuan smiled, he just knew that the artillery of the Humen Fort had not been disassembled, so he wondered, where did Yuan Qi's group practice come from so many artillery? Seeing Yi Zhi, he was tight-lipped and embarrassed to continue to inquire, but in fact, he was not asking for intelligence for the British, but wanted to touch the bottom of Yuan Qi's group training.

When the news spread, the gangs in Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang attached great importance to the Yuanqi regimental training to recover Dinghai, and they inquired into the details of the first battle of Dinghai, but the Yuanqi regimental training was strictly managed in both Dinghai and Guangzhou, and the officers and men were not allowed to leave the camp without permission at all, while the Guangdong naval divisions who participated in the battle stayed in the port and watched the battle from afar, only seeing the intensive and fierce artillery bombardment, and the trenches dug under the city walls, and they could not see at all the decisive role played by the Mini guns.

Skillfully spewing out a cloud of smoke, Huang Dianyuan said: "The British army is strong, far from being the enemy of the Eight Banners Green Battalion, there is no doubt about this, what is the situation of the imperial court's coastal defense, contentment should be better than me, needless to say, this time the British army is not for the purpose of attacking the city and plundering land, but for trade, otherwise the Qing court would have been defeated." ”

After a slight pause, he pondered and said: "The strength shown by the Yuanqi regimental training is surprising, but, with all due respect, the Manchurian people are suspicious, and the Han armed forces have always been extremely tightly controlled, and the Yuanqi regimental training has no possibility of expanding the scale at all, how to compete with the British army with this point of strength?" I won't hide it from you, England is sending more troops to Guangzhou. ”

Speaking of this, he said in an accentuated tone: "In this battle, the Qing court has no hope of winning. ”

England will increase troops, easy to be content is not unexpected, the Qing Dynasty has no hope of winning, he understands better than anyone else, his requirements are not high, he only hopes that the loss will look good, or that the loss is a little tougher, even if he loses, he must bite off a piece of meat of the British army, so that the European powers realize that the Qing Dynasty is not easy to bully, and if you want to hit the door, you must be prepared to pay a heavy price, and he does not want to repeat the scene of the Great Qing Dynasty carved up by the great powers.

After being silent for a long time, he got up and closed the doors and windows, and turned back before saying, "The British fleet is raging on the southeast coast, and heaven and earth will make a lot of efforts, right?" ”

"Don't splash all the dirty water on our Heaven and Earth Society." Huang Dianyuan said dissatisfiedly: "The British army ravaged the southeast coast in order to demonstrate to the Qing court, to put pressure on the Qing court, and to increase bargaining chips in negotiations with the Qing court, what does it have to do with our heaven and earth?" ”

"Did the Heaven and Earth Society provide intelligence to the British army?" Yi Zhishu stared at him and said, "Didn't lead the way for the British fleet? ”

Huang Dianyuan glanced at him and said, "We have to win the trust of the British army, right?" Otherwise, how can we make the British army believe in us? Contentment wants us to provide you with information, and hopes that when things can't be done, we will join forces with us to trap the British army, so that the British army will not believe us, how can we succeed? Contentment should not be like those rotten Confucians, full of benevolence and morality, and the kindness of a woman. ”

"Stop, stop." Yi Zhishu hurriedly interrupted him and said: "Don't push everything on me, I didn't let you do that, you want to use the power of the British army to disturb the Qing Dynasty, it has nothing to do with me." After a pause, he continued: "Brother Rong also said that the purpose of the British army is not to attack the city and plunder the land, not to change the day, the heaven and the earth will want to use the British army as a gunman, and the British army may not be as you wish." ”

"At present, it is too early to say, it depends on how many British troops increase." Huang Dianyuan said: "The British army is disturbing the southeast, and the Qing court will inevitably be greatly injured, we are happy to see it happen, and we don't mind fanning the flames. Saying that, he smiled, "In the battle of Dinghai, the seizure was expensive, can you give us a batch of firearms first, and don't ask for more, five hundred branches, how about it?" (To be continued.) )