Pu Ding Cha made a private appointment with Yi Zhicontent, in order to probe the details of the Qing court, he was also worried that the casualties of this battle were too large to explain, so he wanted to find out the bottom first, the Qing court's ministers and Jiangning officials He could not contact, Yi Zhixiang not only lived outside the city, but also had a precedent of private talks with Yilu and Yilu in Macau, so he was invited by Huang Dianyuan. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

But he never thought that Yi Zhizu would take care of everything, stating that Yuan Qi was the protagonist of this battle, and he blocked the conversation at the beginning, it was obvious that the other party wanted to maintain the "Macao Treaty" signed before, and after a little hesitation, he said in a tough tone: "I think Mr. Yi should also understand that we just don't want to lose both, and if we can't meet the conditions we proposed, we won't retreat." ”

After a pause, he continued: "I know that your country has deployed heavy troops in Jiangyin and Wusong, but I don't think your country has the ability to intercept it. ”

"You can give it a try and see if you can intercept it." Yi Zhizhi sneered: "I don't expect your fleet to enter the Yangtze River channel again, and I don't want the war to continue to stalemate, this war will let us decide the victory in the Yangtze River!" ”

Seeing that he was full of confidence, Pu Dingcha's pupils shrank slightly, Jiangyin iron cable blocked the river, and it was six iron chains, to be honest, he was indeed a little empty in his heart, he knew very well that the Jiangyin area was narrow, even if the fleet was huge, the warships could not be expanded, and if he wanted to break through Jiangyin, he had to pay a heavy price, and it was based on this that he was inclined to end the war through negotiations.

After not being silent for a moment, Pu Ding Cha spoke: "Even if your country has the ability to inflict heavy losses on our fleet in the Yangtze River, it will not be able to end this war, on the contrary, the war between the two countries will be further expanded and will continue indefinitely." ”

Yi Zhicontent said in a relaxed tone: "I would like to remind Your Excellency that the current economic crisis in your country is spreading to the whole of Europe and the Americas, and I do not believe that your country is still capable of launching a large-scale and protracted war in the Far East under such circumstances.

Moreover, he believes that the members of your parliament will not make up their minds through this war, because after these two years of war, all members of parliament will be soberly aware that this is a war of great expense, doomed to no return, and which has nothing to do with the fundamental interests of England.

In addition, the European powers, especially France, would be more than happy to see England bogged down in the war in the Far East, and of course, Yuan Qi would sell new musket technology to France and the United States in exchange for warships and shipbuilding technology and machinery for the manufacture of gunpowder and guns. ”

These words were also mentioned by Yilu in his letter to Pu Dingcha, and he said in a good manner: "I don't think Mr. Yi knows very well how important the East and the East-West trade are to Great Britain, and even if it costs a great price, those parliamentarians will support the continuation of this war until the final victory is achieved." ”

Yi Zhishu spat out a puff of smoke and said, "Then we might as well carry out the battle of the Yangtze River to the end first!" ”

Hearing this, Pu Dingcha was a little speechless, obviously, the other party has great confidence in Jiangyin's iron cable barricade, raised his right hand and waved, he smiled: "This is a topic that affects the mood, let's change the topic, war is not the only way to solve ......the dispute between the two countries, I asked Mr. Yi to come today, I want to see if we can end this war through peace talks." ”

"We have already made great concessions under the Macao Treaty." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Your Excellency's new conditions will only anger Your Majesty the Emperor of our country...... ”

"We are very dissatisfied with the Macao Treaty." Pu Dingcha said without thinking: "If new conditions cannot be added, the peace talks cannot proceed." ”

Yi Zhixiang smoked his cigar silently, he understood the situation of Pu Ding Cha, it was Pu Ding Cha who tore up the "Macao Treaty" and continued to expand the war, and now the British army has lost troops and suffered heavy losses, if he can't get more rights and interests on the basis of the "Macao Treaty" and obtain greater benefits, Pu Ding Cha is absolutely impossible to agree, and he can't agree, because he can't pay the difference!

Seeing that Yi Zhizhi was silent, Pu Dingcha frowned and said, "Is there no room for flexibility at all?" ”

The workaround is not nothing, although Yi Zhizhi is not quick to talk about wisdom, but the breadth of vision, the breadth of knowledge, but no one can match, he hesitates, whether to give up this battle, the British fleet finally arrived in Jiangning, Jiangyin iron cable barricade also spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, if it is a peace talks, this heavy punch is like hitting cotton, it is really a little unwilling, after all, this is the only opportunity to hit the British army hard!

However, it is more in the interests of the Qing Dynasty to end this war through peace talks, of course, the most important thing is in the interests of Yuanqi, after all, so far, the casualties of Yuanqi's regimental training are still very small, so small that they can be ignored, if they really want to fight, of course, they can inflict heavy losses on the British army, and the casualties of Yuanqi's regimental training will be quite large.

After pondering for a long time, Yi Zhishu gently knocked down the cigarette ash and said, "How about your country building a railway for the Qing Dynasty - the railway from Shanghai to Baoshan?" ”

Build a railway? Pu Ding was stunned, Leng couldn't react, what does this mean? Baoshan is not far from Shanghai, but it is more than ten miles, and the terrain is also flat, but how can it cost two or three million silver dollars to build a railway, and pay for the construction of the railway in the Qing Dynasty? What is this called a workaround?

As a translator, Ma Ruhan couldn't help but say: "How do you understand Mr. Yi's words?" ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "If Yilu was here, I wouldn't ask like this, it seems that my consideration will invite Yilu to Jiangning." ”

Pu Ding Cha was not stupid, and immediately hesitated: "Something to do with business? ”

Nodding slightly, Yi Zhizhi said, "What is the purpose of your country in provoking this war?" Benefit! To get more business benefits, right? ”

Pu Dingcha nodded, there is nothing to deny about this, starting a war is to gain benefits!

"We can sign an additional economic contract on the basis of the Macao Treaty." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Why did you let your country build the railway from Shanghai to Baoshan?" Because the Qing Dynasty was very urgent to build the railway from Hangzhou to Beijing and the railway from Shanghai to Jiangning, which was about 2,000 kilometers long. ”

Pu Dingcha said a little dazedly: "What does this have to do with our construction of the railway from Shanghai to Baoshan?" ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "Do you understand how profitable it is for your country's railway company to build a 2,000-kilometer-long railway?" Do you understand how much the construction of 2,000 kilometers of railways will affect your country's economy? To put it simply, if you can bring back the railway contract from Hangzhou to Beijing, the whole of England will be a sensation! ”

As for the profits of railway construction, Pu Ding Cha really did not know, but he heard Yilu say that the construction of railways in the Qing Dynasty could boost the production and price of steel in England, and help England get out of the economic crisis as soon as possible, and this proposal of Yi Zhi's contentment could indeed get him out of this dilemma.

After a little hesitation, he said, "Can Mr. Yi bring Yilu to Jiangning?" ”

"Absolutely." Yi Zhishu smiled and said, "However, Yilu's identity is the deputy envoy, and he is also the highest-ranking official that Yuan Qi has captured so far, how much ransom are you willing to pay?" ”

Hearing him mention the ransom, Puding Chaden was one head and two big, Yuan Qi had six thousand prisoners of war in his hands, and there was no shortage of high-ranking officers, if the ransom was paid for ransom, God knows how much silver it would cost, he forced a smile and said: "Yuan Qi also benefited a lot from ending this war through peace talks, Mr. Yi shouldn't be so stingy, right?" ”

"In this battle, Yuan Qi paid millions of taels of silver for military expenses, and the overall benefits were collected, right?"

"Mr. Yi makes a price."

"A fourth-class battleship with full artillery."

"Mr. Yi is worried about our fleet breaking through?"

Yi Zhishu shook his head and said, "Yuan Qi needs a warship to protect himself, not against your country. ”

"I'm sorry." Pu Ding Cha said: "I can't agree to this condition. ”

"Then exchange the ransom money from Yangzhou."

Pu Ding Cha was angry for a while, the ransom money in Yangzhou was 500,000 taels of silver, and this asking price was too scary! He smiled wryly and said, "I doubt Mr. Yi's sincerity in the peace talks. ”

"Okay, in order to show my sincerity, I will send Yilu to Jiangning first." Yi Zhizhi said: "Ransom, you go back and discuss it slowly, or, I will discuss it directly with Yilu." As he spoke, he glanced at Huang Dianyuan outside the pavilion, then at Ma Ruhan, and said, "I don't want the matter of our private appointment today, and I don't want the content of the conversation to be passed out." ”

Pu Dingcha nodded and said, "I promise Mr. Yi." As he spoke, he looked at Ma Ruhan and said, "Don't reveal it to anyone." ”

After going down the mountain, Yi Zhizu rode directly into Jiangning City, rushed to the governor's palace, after entering the city, he found that the city was a scene of chaos, a large number of people carrying large bags and small bags to help the old and young to move to the southeast of the city, it should be the government called on the people in the northwest of the city to transfer to avoid war.

The avenue was crowded with people, and his horse team could not pass at all, and he did not want to cause any more trouble to these people who were forcibly transferred, so he immediately turned his horse's head to the northeast, and wanted to detour along the northeast city wall, passing through a few streets, and seeing that he was almost at the city wall, he heard a woman's neighing and heart-splitting cry.

Follow the sound to rush over, his face sank, several Qing soldiers were dragging two women into the house, the women were struggling and crying, on the street, two men fell in a pool of blood, scattered clothes scattered on the ground, he waved his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Keep alive!" ”

Those Qing soldiers originally didn't care about the small group of horses that suddenly appeared, thinking that they were flag soldiers who came out to fight tooth sacrifices like them, but when they saw that the atmosphere was not right, they were a little panicked, and a few personal guards stepped forward, quickly disarmed the six Qing soldiers, and then escorted them to Yi Zhi.

"Which unit?" Yi Zhishu asked in a deep voice.

Several Qing soldiers looked at him with some horror, but no one said a word, Yi Zhizhi didn't say a word, took out a pistol and put it in front of him, and said: "Ask again, which unit?" ”

Listening to Yi Zhi's fluent Mandarin, the Qing soldier finally reacted, and hesitated: "Yuanqi group practice? ”

"Bang" A gunshot rang out, and the Qing soldiers fell down in response, with a blood hole on their foreheads, and several other Qing soldiers were startled, and hurriedly knelt down and replied loudly: "Hubei has raised the left battalion!" ”

"Who is the Admiral of Hubei?"

"The Admiral is Liu Yunxiao, Lord Liu."

Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Shoot on the spot!" ”

Liangjiang Governor's Mansion, signing room, Lin Zexu has been busy these days, not only to take time to inspect around the city, but also to see people and talk about things in a row, the military, government and civil affairs are like a mess, listening to Yi Zhicontent, he sent away the officials who were receiving him in a few words, and Yi Zhicontent, who saw it, strode in to salute, he stood up and said: "Is there any movement in the British army?" ”

Yi Zhizu shook his head slightly, and said, "I just met with the commander of the British army, Pu Ding, in Baitu Mountain. ”

"You from Puding Chayo?" Lin Zexu said as he stretched out his hand to give up his seat, "Sit down and say." ”

"The British army should have no intention of fighting again!" Yi Zhizhi said with a smile, sat down and drank a cup of herbal tea, and he told the situation without concealing it.

Lin Zexu was surprised and delighted when he heard this, and after pondering for a long time, he said: "Contentment is planning to kill two birds with one stone and use the British truce to promote the construction of the railway?" ”

"There's no way around it......." Yi Zhizu said with a wry smile: "This is better than the land reparation for losing power and humiliating the country, and it can be regarded as giving the British army a step down, otherwise, there is no possibility of a truce between the two sides at all." ”

Lin Zexu said worriedly: "There is a lot of controversy in the imperial court about the construction of the railway, and the emperor is afraid that the British will not allow the construction of the railway from Hangzhou to Beijing, after all, we now seem to have an advantage on the surface." ”

"We can't just look at the present." Yi Zhizhi said: "So far, we have occupied an absolute advantage, but our Qing Dynasty has no coastal defense at all, and the outer sea division is even more useless, unable to compete with Britain for a long time, we must accept it when we see it, otherwise, we will inevitably suffer retaliation from the British Navy, and Jiangnan can not withstand the toss." ”

Lin Zexu naturally understood this truth, and groaned slightly, before he said: "Let's talk first!" Talk about it and then submit it to Jingshi. After a pause, he admonished again: "Jiangning, Jiangyin, and Wusong must not relax their defense. ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "There is something I have to report to the ministry, on the way to the governor's palace, I saw that there were soldiers robbing and killing people. Rape and shot six people on the spot. ”

Lin Zexu raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Do you know which army it is?" ”

"Hubei Governor Liu Yunxiao's Bid Left Battalion."

Lin Zexu nodded and said: "Since it is unlikely that the British army will attack Jiangning, the military discipline in the city should also be cleaned up. ”

Yi Zhishu secretly slandered in his heart, the poor military discipline of the Eight Banners Green Battalion is so customary, why did you go earlier? After the liquidation, the unlucky ones were some small soldiers, and after thinking about it, he understood that Lin Zexu did not want to rectify military discipline at all, but to make the people angry, this is a typical unloading and killing donkeys! (To be continued.) )