It takes at least half a day from Humen to Macao, Yi Zhizhi said that he was not in a hurry, but in fact he did not delay, washed hastily, ate some indiscriminately and rushed to the dock to take the three large rice boats arranged by Mai Tingzhang to Macao, the rice boat is also called the big war ship in the navy, it is the main warship of the navy, because it is an imitation of the Guangdong rice boat (a kind of seafaring merchant ship, known for its sturdiness and speed. The style is built, and it is commonly known as a rice boat.

The rice boat is not small, more than 30 meters long, about 10 meters wide, but less than 3 meters deep, it looks large, but the displacement is only about 300 tons, loaded with 14 guns, both the gun position and the tonnage are far inferior to the armed merchant ships.

In the cabin, Yi Zhicontent, Wu Changqing and the two accompanying military attachés had a ride without a ride, the boat went out of the sea, Yi Zhixiang yawned when he saw it, and the two military attachés retired with interest, Yi Zhizhi got up and walked to the door, looking at the wide sea and was stunned.

Wu Changqing knew that he was thinking about something, so he didn't bother him, he ordered a cigar by himself, and smoked nearly half a cigar, and he couldn't help but speak: "How was the conversation with Qi Zhongtang yesterday?" ”

Yi Zhizu turned back to the cabin and sat down, and also lit a cigar, and then spoke: "Qi Zhongtang asked me to go to Jingshi." ”

"To Jingshi?" Wu Changqing was stunned for a moment, and only after a while did he say: "Brother Contentment has thought it clearly, if you go to Jingshi, it will be fiddled by the imperial court." ”

"How else can you fiddle with it? You won't detain me in Jingshi. ”

"That maybe, the water in Jingshi is not ordinarily deep."

"Evergreen shouldn't be weak-hearted, right?" Yi Zhizu leaned back as he spoke, and said in a relaxed tone: "A trip to Beijing for the issuance of treasury bonds can also eliminate some people's vigilance, and the risks are there, but in general, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages." ”

After a slight pause, he continued: "I have thought about it carefully, it is unlikely that I will be detained, one is that the English army is increasing, the imperial court is anxious to raise money to prepare for war, and secondly, the negotiations in Guangzhou, Qi Zhongtang also has a place to borrow me, in addition, the imperial court has no reason to detain me, let's not scare ourselves." ”

To be honest, Wu Changqing was indeed a little weak-hearted, and he groaned slightly, before he said: "This is not a trivial matter, it is best to discuss it with the old man and then make a decision." ”

Yi Zhizu nodded slowly, such a big matter, it is impossible not to discuss it with Wu Bingjian, he is blind to the situation of Jingshi, he doesn't know anything, Wu Bingjian has been the general merchant of the thirteen banks for decades, and he will always have some connections.

Macau, Bingtou Garden, 2nd floor balcony.

After dinner, Yilu, Yilu, and the Portuguese Governor of Macau, Bian Du, sat on the balcony drinking coffee, enjoying the sunset over the sea, while talking relaxedly, the three of them were very tacit, try to talk about some light-hearted topics, never involving commerce and war, although the three of them were all with a relaxed expression, but they were a little anxious in their hearts, it stands to reason that Yi Zhizhi rushed from Humen, even if the ship was slow, this time should have come.

Seeing that the sky was gradually darkening, Yilu finally couldn't help but take out his pocket watch and look at it, wondering if he would go back to the ship and spend the night in Macau, he was really a little uneasy, after all, the Portuguese troops stationed in Macao were not much, and Yuan Qi Tuanlian recently sent an additional regiment to Macao.

Seeing Yilu looking at his watch, the Portuguese governor of Macau, Bian Du, also subconsciously took out his pocket watch and took a look, seeing that it was already seven o'clock, he secretly wondered if Yi Zhizhi would have anything to delay, he didn't want Yilu and his party to spend the night in his official residence, if Yilu and others had an accident in Macau, it would not only be him, but Portugal would be affected.

Just as he was pondering how to persuade Yilu to come again tomorrow with a dignified tact, a subordinate walked over quickly with a happy face and reported: "Dear gentlemen, Mr. Yi is here. ”

Finally came, Yilu nodded reservedly, looked at Yilu and Biandu, and said in a relaxed tone: "Go and welcome your old friend." ”

It was dark when he arrived, and Yi Zhizhi also felt that it was a little too late, and when he saw Yilu and Bian Du, he said apologetically: "Sorry, the boat is too slow, and it is too late." ”

"It's not too late." Yilu smiled and stretched out his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to see Mr. Yi again in Macau." ”

Bian Du smiled and said, "We have prepared a sumptuous dinner for the two distinguished guests. ”

"Thank you." Yi Zhixiang replied politely, and then continued: "You have been waiting for a long time, let's get down to business first." ”

After greeting and going up to the second floor, entering the living room, and after greeting Yilu, Yi Zhishu did not go around in circles, and said directly: "After discussion, we agree to return all the prisoners of war to you, but not unconditionally. ”

Hearing this, Yilu took over and said, "What are Mr. Yi's conditions?" ”

"There are no principled conditions involved." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Yuanqi is going to build a waterworks in Guangzhou to provide clean drinking water in Guangzhou, and your country's personnel stationed in Guangzhou can also benefit, but we lack experience and hope to get great assistance from your country's water company." The completion of the waterworks will benefit the entire city of Guangzhou, and if the merchants of your country cooperate with Yuanqi, it will undoubtedly greatly improve the relations between the two countries. ”

Hearing him make this request, Yilu secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, this request is not excessive, Yilu is happy in his heart, Yuanqi and the United States are hot, he has long been very red-eyed, with the help of this opportunity can greatly improve the relationship with Yuanqi, Yuanqi is the pioneer of the Qing Dynasty to advocate and implement the industrial revolution, not only has this will, but also has this ability and strength.

This point, not only the Americans understand, but he also sees clearly, in order to obtain the greatest benefits in the industrial revolution of the Qing Dynasty, it is necessary to have a good relationship with Yuanqi.

"We are very honored to cooperate with Yuanqi to benefit the people of Guangzhou." Yilu said slowly: "However, your imperial court has always restricted the freedom of our subjects in Guangzhou. ”

"About that." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "I suggest that when Your Excellency negotiates with Lord Qincha, you should put it forward separately, not to mention the freedom of movement within the territory of the Great Qing Kingdom, at least in the treaty port, you should be able to move freely, in addition, you should also be allowed to bring your family members, of course, in this way, it will also involve the trial of foreign-related cases." ”

Yilu nodded again and again: "If the Qing officials were as enlightened as Mr. Yi, this war could have been completely avoided. ”

"I feel that the few demands made by your country are completely abandoned." Yi Zhishu changed his mind and said unceremoniously: "Especially the compensation for cigarette prices and military spending, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is quick success, and it is not an exaggeration." I think that the politics of your country. What the government and merchants need is to develop trade with our country in a stable, equal, and friendly manner for a long time, and if our officials, gentry and businessmen hate your country because of these millions of silver dollars, it will be completely worth the loss. ”

These words were extremely polite, but Yi Zhizhi was confident, after all, thousands of prisoners of war were still in his hands, he was not worried that the other party would turn his face with him, but Wu Changqing was pinching a cold sweat for him, so mercilessly reprimanding the other party's request, I am afraid that Qi Shan does not have the courage, and I don't know if the other party can stand it?

Yilu didn't get angry, just looked at him expressionlessly, the trade between England and the Qing Kingdom has always been in deficit, of course, the crow. Except for the film trade, what are you kidding about the long-term stable, equal, and friendly development trade with the Qing State? Besides, the price of cigarettes and military compensation are not things that can be solved by a few hundred silver dollars, and he has no intention of arguing with the other party, after all, the other party is not an official of the Qing court, and he is currently saving thousands of prisoners of war.

Yilu didn't know how to refute the other party's words for a while, and he didn't dare to express his position easily, the living room was quiet, seeing this situation, Yi Zhizu coughed lightly, and said: "After returning the prisoners of war to you, I will leave for Beijing to meet His Majesty the Emperor, and I will definitely talk about negotiations with your country, can you put forward a few negotiation requirements to promote long-term equal trade between the two countries, which is in line with the long-term interests of your country and is also beneficial to our country?" ”

Yi Zhizhi wants to go to the capital to meet His Majesty the Emperor? Yilu glanced at his cousin, this was a rare opportunity, Yi Zhishu was not only familiar with the situation in Europe, but also very open-minded, entrusting him to directly convey their requests to the Qing Emperor, no more than negotiating with that Qin Cha who didn't know anything in Guangzhou?

Yilu thought for a moment and said, "How many days can Mr. Yi stay in Macau?" ”

"Three days at most."

"Okay, we need to discuss this." Yilu said: "I'll reply to Mr. Yi the day after tomorrow." ”

Yi Zhixiang did not stay in the Bingtou Garden to eat Western food, went straight to leave, took a group of people to the dock, and directly chartered a small restaurant, this hour has not eaten dinner, he is really hungry, it is estimated that the following group of Tuan Yong is also hungry chest against the back, ordered wine and food, prepaid a silver ticket, he went up to the second floor under the courteous leadership of the guy.

As soon as the guy turned around and went downstairs, Wu Changqing couldn't wait to ask, "Brother Contentment doesn't really want to help Yingyi deliver the message, right?" ”

"Qi Zhongtang wants to probe the details of Yingyi, so that he can take the initiative in negotiations." Yi Zhishu poured tea and said, "If you don't say that, how can you show Yingyi's true intentions?" ”

"I see." Wu Changqing nodded and smiled: "I said, there is no benefit at all, how can Brother Contentment be so enthusiastic." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled, he didn't say anything, how could there be no benefit, he did this in order to guide the direction of the British negotiations, Americans are now coming to Guangzhou more and more, freedom of movement, bringing family members, religious beliefs and other problems, all of which he can't solve, and has to be solved by the hands of the English, otherwise, it will be difficult for him to keep those Americans for a long time.

Moreover, he wants to control the Jiang Customs, as a mortgage of national debts, the face of the imperial court is not good-looking, he uses the excuse of trying out customs innovation, why should he carry out customs innovation? In general, the reason given to the imperial court is not that the English demand that the Qing Dynasty have a fair, just, open, transparent, clean and efficient customs, which is the best reason.

There is also the opening of commercial ports, and it doesn't matter what else, Shanghai must open a port, otherwise what does he want Jiang Customs to do? England has long coveted Shanghai, and he doesn't need to remind him of this, but he stopped this matter first, and before he took the Jiang Customs, the opening of the commercial port could not appear in advance.

In doing so, he didn't have the slightest sense of guilt, the Qing Dynasty had been closed for too long, and he needed to open a few windows to let the fresh wind blow in from outside, and if Yuanqi wanted to develop and grow, he had to pull the banner and make a tiger skin - to hold the foreign to respect himself.

After staying in Macao for three days, Yi Zhizhi returned satisfied, as soon as he entered Humen Village, Qi Shan sent someone to summon him, and after a little greeting when he met, he couldn't wait to ask: "Yingyi's bottom line, contentment can be found out?" ”

Yi Zhishu nodded, took out two detailed rules and submitted them, and said, "One is the original English and the other is the translation." ”

Qi Shan couldn't understand English at all, so he directly picked up the translation and read it carefully, and saw that there were as many as nine dense ones, and he couldn't help frowning, why didn't it decrease, but increased so much? After suffering two defeats, he is still so confident and fearless, and it seems that the large-scale increase in troops is not a false threat.

Yilu did not cancel the claim for the price of cigarettes and the compensation for military expenses, but only greatly reduced the amount, the first article is still compensation for the price of cigarettes, which was originally demanded 12 million yuan, but now it is discounted in half, only 6 million yuan, and the second article is 3 million yuan for military expenses.

Third, it is still a demand for the cession of one or more islands as a place of residence for British merchants.

Fourth, at treaty ports, outsiders should have freedom of residence and movement, freedom to bring their families, safety and safety should be properly protected, and private property should be sacred and inviolable.

Fifth, foreigners have freedom of religious belief at treaty ports, and churches are allowed to be built at ports.

Sixth, the Qing State must publicly announce clear customs tariff rules.

Seventh, the officials of the two countries are equal, and Britain can send consuls to China to stay in treaty ports for a long time.

Eighth, outsiders can open banks, factories, schools, and newspapers at ports.

9. Set up foreign-related courts at treaty ports to hear foreign-related cases.

After reading them one by one, Qi Shan only felt that his back was cold, and he couldn't say a word for a long time, this time he came to Guangzhou to negotiate with Yingyi, which was more than several times more difficult than he imagined.

Seeing that he was silent for a long time, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "Lord Zhongtang doesn't need to be anxious, the diplomacy between the two countries is nothing more than two words. As he spoke, he stretched out two fingers and said, "One is reason, and the other is potential." In the first three articles, Yingyi demanded compensation for the price of cigarettes and military expenses, and demanded that the land be ceded, which was unreasonable, and it was a powerful battle, and it could be fought on the basis of reason. The last six are both rational and powerful, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to refute. ”

Hearing this, Qi Shan seemed to have a little spirit, and asked in a deep voice, "Reason? Is it useful to reason with Yingyi? ”

"Yes." Yi Zhi said confidently: "This world is not only England and our two countries, there are dozens of countries, large and small, there are some international treaties and unwritten international customs that European countries abide by. ”

Qi Shan seemed to have caught a life-saving straw, and his spirits were greatly lifted, and he hurriedly said: "There are also international treaties that all countries abide by?" Contentment, talk about it in detail. (To be continued.) )