The capture of Dinghai by the British fleet not only meant that the crows. The official outbreak of the war also means that Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen, the two governors, are about to be unlucky, Yi Zhixiang sits alone under the big banyan tree in Rongyuan and smokes a cigar, he knows very well in his heart that the fall of Dinghai will inevitably shock the government and the opposition, Daoguang will definitely anger Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen, the two capable generals who ban smoking, this year, the emperor will not make mistakes, even if he makes mistakes, then he has to use his courtiers as scapegoats.

Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen are naturally the best candidates for scapegoats, one is high enough, and the other is crow. The fuse of the film war is the ban on smoking in Guangzhou, if you don't look for the two of them, who else can you find?

For Yuan Qi, Yi Zhizhi naturally hopes that Lin Zexu, the governor of Liangguang, will continue to do it steadily, among these first- and second-class officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it is rare to find a person like Lin Zexu who has a clear understanding of Western countries and advocates emulating the West and developing the military industry.

With Yuanqi's existing strength and potential, a year later, Yi Zhizhi has enough courage and confidence to argue with the government, and whoever comes to be the governor of Liangguang can openly ignore it, but this will cause the jealousy of the imperial court, which is not only not conducive to the development of Yuanqi, but also may attract the court's suppression, which he does not want to see, which will disrupt the pace of Yuanqi's development.

To be honest, he had no intention of rebelling and making a mess, which could only be a cheap Western country, and if he wanted to shorten the gap with Europe as soon as possible, he needed a peaceful environment, and this era was an era of European powers competing for hegemony, and it was not impossible for China to develop peacefully and steadily, catching up with and surpassing Europe. Moreover. He asked himself if he was not a qualified politician either. To make wedding dresses for others, he is naturally unwilling and unwilling.

However, it is obviously not an easy thing to save the fate of Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen, and it is necessary to win a big victory in Guangzhou, or to recover Dinghai, with the strength of Yuan Qi. It is not a difficult matter, waiting for the British fleet to go north to Tianjin, whether it is to fight the British warships that stopped in Guangzhou to blockade Haikou, or send troops to Dinghai to attack the British troops stationed in Dinghai, Yuan Qi has this strength.

The problem is that in this way, it will directly affect the course of the Opium War and even change the outcome of the Opium War, and he cannot determine whether the British will be angry or die down after suffering a big loss, after all, there are too many uncertain factors in this. In addition, he also wanted to use the hands of the British to make the imperial court open up significantly. In addition, with the help of foreigners, vigorously develop newspapers and periodicals, set up factories, and promote new-style education, it is really difficult to choose between the two.

Early the next morning, Yi Zhishu took a sedan chair into the city and went to the governor's palace.

Since the British fleet left the sea of Humen Haikou, the city of Guangzhou quickly returned to normal, officials, gentlemen, merchants, small people, all thought that they had escaped, and the days soon returned to the former state, still prosperous and lively.

Get off the sedan chair at the mouth of selling Majie, Yi Zhishu walked slowly all the way to the governor's palace, handed over the post, came to the signing room with familiarity, and only entered the courtyard after the report, he came today, it was to inform Lin Zexu of the situation in Dinghai, the official mansion don't look at the post station transmission speed is not slow, but in the face of this kind of thing, Deng Tingzhen, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, must be busy reporting to the imperial court, busy deploying defense, busy mobilizing troops and horses to recover Dinghai, and he didn't care about giving Lin Zexu a voice for a while.

Lin Zexu was writing at the desk, listening to the footsteps, looked up at him, and said, "Contentment does not need to be formal, sit." ”

Yi Zhishu naturally did not restrain himself, and after bowing down to salute, he sat down generously, and Lin Zexu, who was waiting, put down his pen and got up, and then he said slowly: "The British army of the Yingyi fleet captured Dinghai, can the lord of the ministry hear?" ”

Although he had long expected that Dinghai would be lost, it was so fast that Lin Zexu was still a little surprised, and he immediately walked over quickly and said, "Where did the news of contentment come from?" ”

"This time is tight, and there is a shopkeeper in Yuanqi branch who went to Dinghai to collect loans, and he happened to experience Yingyi's attack on Dinghai." Yi Zhishu said and briefly described the situation of the Battle of Dinghai.

Hearing that the British fleet only dispatched five warships and two steam ships, it defeated more than 20 warships and 1,500 defenders led by Zhang Chaofa, the general soldier of Dinghai, in two pillars of incense, easily landed and captured Dinghai County, Lin Zexu was speechless for a long time, even if he was defeated, he would not be defeated so quickly and so unbearable!

After a while, he spoke: "Yingyi's combat power is so strong? ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixiang said mercilessly: "The British army is strong, there is no doubt about it, Yingyi is known as the 'sea hegemon', the 'European hegemon', is it a false name of the waves, but Dinghai is so vulnerable, it also shows that the combat power of the green battalion has reached an outrageous level." ”

This is not polite at all, but Lin Zexu can't refute it, the low combat power of the green battalion is already a recognized fact, and he himself does not dare to expect the Guangdong green battalion, he sighed lightly, and then said with a wry smile: "Originally, I was expecting Dinghai to hold back the Yingyi fleet for some time, thinking that Tianjin would buy time to strengthen its defense, but I didn't want to." ”

"With all due respect." Yi Zhicontent said unceremoniously: "The disparity in combat strength between the two sides is too great, it doesn't matter whether the defense is strengthened or not, the result is the same, the only difference is the number of casualties." ”

Lin Zexu said in a deep voice: "Tianjin is the gateway of Beijing, and there is no room for error. ”

"War is won or lost, and it is not subject to human will." Yi Zhizhi said: "Even if Tianjin is heavily guarded, it can't stop the attack of Yingyi." Speaking of this, he paused slightly, and then continued: "I think that the Lord of the Ministry does not need to worry about the safety of the Beijing Division, Tianjin cannot be defended, but the Beijing Division is not dangerous, even if Yingyi occupies Tianjin, he will not dare to drive straight to the Beijing Division."

Although Yingyi's firearms are sharp, the cavalry of the brigade is still a great threat to Yingyi, especially the threat to Yingyi's logistical supply, and the Yingyi commander may not dare to attack the Beijing Division. ”

The reason why Yi Zhishu said this is because he knew very well that the first crow. In the war, the British did not attack the Beijing division, and after arriving in Tianjin, they were fooled back to Guangzhou, but Lin Zexu greatly agreed with his judgment, indeed, the north is not better than the south, the north has more cavalry, and Yingyi is infantry, even if the firearms are sharp. It is also difficult to defeat the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry.

Kyoshi will not be attacked. Lin Zexu couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Instead, he asked: "Listening to Guan Tianpei, content thinks that Yingyi will return to Guangzhou and may attack Guangzhou?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "It may be big, Yingyi's requirements are too harsh, open the port, set up a consul, and cede the island." How can the imperial court agree to compensation for the price of cigarettes, the abolition of foreign banks, compensation for military spending, freedom of residence, and the negotiation of tariffs, even if they negotiate, they may not be able to negotiate properly for a while, and if the goal cannot be achieved, Yingyi will inevitably provoke war.

Tianjin is too close to Beijing, and the imperial court will not be willing to negotiate with Yingyi in Tianjin, and it is the autumn and winter season. Tianjin is too cold, and Yingyi may not be willing to stay in Tianjin for a long time. Coupled with the monsoon factor, it is thought that there is a great possibility of negotiations in Guangzhou, and once the negotiations break down, Yingyi is likely to attack Guangzhou as a threat. ”

Lin Zexu glanced at him appreciatively, and secretly admired in his heart, this kid can think about everything, and his mind is not ordinarily meticulous, the Yingyi war has just started, but he has already thought about it so long-term, but it is a pity that he is currently difficult to protect himself, otherwise, he will have to be heavily protected to let him enter Beijing and go out, the imperial court needs such talents too much now.

Seeing that Lin Zexu didn't say anything, Yi Zhizu reminded euphemistically: "The Yingyi fleet captures Dinghai and then comes to Tianjin, will the emperor change his attitude towards the ban on smoking because of this?" ”

Where does Lin Zexu still need him to remind, from the arrival of the British fleet outside the Humen Sea, knowing that the war is inevitable, he knows very well what will be the outcome waiting for him, now that he thinks about it, when he entered Beijing, Daoguang's exceptional courtesy to him has already laid the foreshadowing, the smoking ban is successful, that is Daoguang's wisdom to know people, the smoking ban failed, that is, he Lin Zexu lived up to the emperor's grace, and the crime deserved death!

Now that the ban on smoking has not succeeded, but it has provoked a war, how can Daoguang not ask him about his guilt? As for whether Daoguang will change his attitude towards smoking, there is no doubt about it! The lesser of two evils, although the crow. The harm of the film is worse than the war, but it is much milder and slower, and this defeat will inevitably take advantage of the topic of the minister's original opposition to the smoking ban, and it is strange that Daoguang does not change his attitude.

He didn't want to talk about these things with Yi Zhifen, so he immediately smiled reluctantly: "Crow. The piece of poison in the world, the harm is fierce, even more than the invasion of the British, the emperor candle shines thousands of miles, how can he not be unnoticed? Contentment is not to be worried. ”

Seeing that he had an official tone, but what he said was vague, Yi Zhizhi estimated that he should know what he wanted, and immediately wanted to leave, he came to inform him of the war in Dinghai, and reminded him that when the goal was achieved, he naturally wanted to leave, but he didn't want Lin Zexu to stand up and say: "The headquarters has written an excerpt in the past few days, and you might as well take a look at it if you are content." As he spoke, he pulled out a fold from his desk, turned around and handed it over.

Yi Zhishu secretly wondered in his heart, what kind of fold do you want him to see? Immediately read it carefully, and when you see, "...... If the Yingyi fleet went to Tianjin to seek trade, it would be forgiven that the country had been favored by the emperor for a long time and would not be reprimanded.

If Yingyi's Chen is still a deferential word, can he plead to the grace of heaven, still preferably with the courtesy of tenderness, and send the governor of Zhili, according to the 21 years of Jiaqing, the British official Luo Er Amsterde and others were repatriated from the north to Cheng Cheng, and the messenger of the word was escorted from the inland river to Guangdong station by station, so as to disperse his minions and make it easier to be within our range.

If the words handed over by Yingyi involve ministers and other places, I only ask Qin to send ministers to Guangdong to investigate, so as to know the **** law, uphold the law, and benefit his awe-inspiring sincerity, and dare not have any more excuses. It is related to the control of foreign affairs, and the ministers and other ministers are within their reach, and the words are attached to the dense presentation. ”

Is this a secret fold? Yi Zhizu slowly put down the fold, Lin Zexu understood the meaning in the secret fold, and reminded Daoguang to 'change the fight to caressing',

Avoid armed contact between the two sides, settle the matter through negotiations, and move the negotiations to Guangdong to remove the threat to Gyeonggi Haikou.

On the other hand, he knew that Yingyi would attack him and thought it was an excuse to threaten him, so he frankly said that he had voluntarily suffered it, and as long as he did not fight and did not damage the power of the country, he could put all the responsibility on him, and he was allowed to send someone to Guangdong to investigate and deal with it, so as to open the door to negotiations.

Seeing Yi Zhicontent, he put down his fold, Lin Zexu twisted his long beard and said: "This is drafted, I want to add one more, when negotiating with Yingyi, we should deploy troops and generals to strengthen the defense of various sea ports, so as to prevent Yingyi from using force after the negotiation breaks down, and there will be a defenseless situation like Dinghai and Tianjin again." ”

"The Lord of the Ministry has good intentions, and he is really a model of public loyalty and seeking the country." Yi Zhishu flattered him, and there was no more follow-up, Lin Zexu's secret fold can indeed be called a public loyalty to the country, regardless of personal gains and losses, but from another point of view, this is also the best way to save yourself.

Humen sells cigarettes and destroys crows. With more than 20,000 boxes, the British demanded compensation for the price of cigarettes, and they would inevitably attack Lin Zexu, and the Qing Dynasty was defeated, lost its teachers and land, lost its power and humiliated the country, how could Daoguang not be angry with Lin Zexu? The two are intertwined, and Lin Zexu's fate can be imagined.

But Lin Zexu took the initiative to ask the imperial court to change the strategy against Yingyi, change the war to talk, and took the initiative to put the blame on him alone, so as not to damage the national prestige, how could Daoguang not think of him? Even if Lin Zexu is dismissed for the sake of perfunctory heroism, he will be reactivated in the future, which is simply a death and a later life! Moreover, it is meritorious to the country, beneficial to oneself, and is clever.

After a slight sigh, he smiled and said, "It turns out that the Lord of the Ministry has already planned to get an axe at the end of the work door, which makes the Lord of the Ministry laugh." ”

Lin Zexu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Contentment and intelligence come from nature, if you are a leader, the future is unlimited, you will be able to be above the old man, now the country is difficult, it is an eventful autumn, contentment should be good for yourself, take advantage of the situation, do not go astray and destroy your future." ”

Hearing his words, his tone was very strong, and Yi Zhishu hurriedly said cautiously: "Whether you are in the temple or in the rivers and lakes, you will definitely express your difficulties for the country, solve the difficulties of the people, and live up to the high expectations of the adults." ”

Lin Zexu nodded, sighed, and then said slowly: "I'm afraid the old man's time in Guangzhou is not long, there are only two things that can't be let go, one is the ban on smoking, as soon as the war starts, the hardships of the year will be in vain, and the ban will be reopened, it will inevitably flood again, and it will be difficult to ban smoking in the future." Then there is Yuanqi. ”

After a pause, he said: "The scale of Yuanqi is larger, beyond the imagination of the old man, and also beyond the old man's expectations, Yuanqi Bank, Donghuang Silk Industry, Changle Machinery Manufacturing Factory, Luoxi Ammunition Bureau, Changzhou Shipyard, Foguang Railway Company, Changhua Iron Mine, I recently heard that there is also a Donghuang Sugar Co., Ltd., with tens of thousands of employees, in addition to Yuanqi Yixue, Western-style Xinxue, more than a dozen resettlement villages.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan Qi is rich, and now the treasury is empty, and the silver deposits are far less than Yuan Qi, and now Yuan Qi has newly formed tens of thousands of regiments to train -- not only is it comparable to the Eight Banners Green Battalion, but even surpasses it, and it has close trade with Citigroup, and firearms, ammunition, and even warships can be purchased in large quantities.

Have you ever thought that the Yuan Qi of Deng Mintang Rong, the Yuan Qi of the Headquarters Hall, and the successor Governor of Liangguang may not be able to tolerate Yuan Qi, and in the old man's opinion, the next Governor of Liangguang must be Manchurian, how should Yuan Qi deal with himself? (To be continued.) )