Outside Zhengyang Gate, Da'er Hutong, Wharf Inn.

In the backyard, Yi Zhishu and Su Shun sat and drank opposite each other, and talked frankly, both of them were sincere to each other, and then there was wine as a matchmaker, the relationship was naturally quickly acquainted, Su Shun was good at wine, and he was happy to drink wine, but Yi Zhizhi was not afraid to let go of the drink, he was worried that Wang Ding or the officials of the household department would call him to discuss matters, and besides, he had to take the opportunity to instill some Western knowledge to the other party, including basic knowledge of financial economy, economic crisis, industrial science and technology.

Yi Zhisuff is eloquent, well-informed, and deliberately guided, talking in simple terms, Su Shun listened to the eyebrows flying color dance, he was physically and mentally high, and he was rarely convinced.

The two were chatting happily, but the little servant Li Wang hurried to the door and said urgently: "Young master, a father-in-law came, saying that he was from the palace." ”

As soon as he heard that someone was coming from the palace, Su Shun hurriedly got up and said, "I'm here to deliver the decree, I'll avoid it first." As he spoke, he pointed to the banquet and said, "Hurry up and clean up." ”

Will come down so soon? Yi Zhixiang was a little puzzled, the efficiency of the Qing Dynasty was so high? Before Li Wang could clean up, a eunuch had already walked up the steps quickly, glanced at the situation in the house, but strode in regardless of it, smelling the smell of wine in the room, he frowned, and said, "Idlers retreat." ”

After Li Wang retreated, he stood facing north, sharpened his voice, stretched his tone, and said: "The third-class light car captain, the general is easy to be content - take the order." ”

Seeing this situation, Yi Zhizhi hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down, and the eunuch who listened to him said: "The emperor has decreed that Yi Zhizhi will enter the palace immediately to meet him." ”

Pilgrimage to the palace? Yi Zhizhi was content, he expected Daoguang to summon him, but he didn't expect it to be so fast, he was slightly stunned, and he hurriedly said: "Weichen obeys the order." ”

The eunuch glanced at him with a smile and said, "The emperor is urgently summoned, Master Yi will enter the palace with our family." ”

Just enter the palace like this? Yi Zhifu understood as soon as he thought about it, and hurriedly got up and stepped forward, quietly stuffed a silver ticket over, and said with a smile: "Father-in-law, later, let me change into an official uniform." ”

The silver ticket was changed by Yi Zhishu who entered the city yesterday and deliberately changed it in the 'Four Heng', he knew the rules, but he didn't know how much to send, so he simply sent a five hundred taels of dragon head silver ticket, the eunuch glanced at it, and smiled happily, and said: "Lord Yi had better wash up again, but, hurry up, the emperor is urgent, but it can't be delayed, along the way, our family also explained the rules of the palace to Lord Yi." ”

This is the benefit of making silver, Yi Zhishu hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Father-in-law Xie." ”

In the suite, Su Shun can be said to be full of joy, Yi Zhizhi entered Beijing yesterday, today Daoguang was urgently summoned to the palace, and the idle feudal officials did not have this treatment, which shows that Daoguang is not generally attached importance to Yi Zhizhi and Yuan Qi, with the strong support of this person, can a good life be far away? I don't know how Jin Ling helped him say good things in Guangzhou, and when he returned to Beijing, he had to thank him.

Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

Daoguang threw the contract drafted by Yuan Qi on the table, and there was a "snap", the sound was not loud, but Wang Ding and Zhuo Bingtian's hearts sank, although they lowered their heads, but from this voice, it could be judged that Daoguang was not satisfied with this contract, but Daoguang did not speak, and the two did not dare to speak rashly.

After being silent for a long time, Daoguang spoke: "The monthly interest rate is eight percent, the interest is one million a year, the total principal and interest, three million a year to be repaid, and now it is beyond its means, and then three million expenses will be added, and the household turnover will come over?" ”

What do you mean? This is like the household department is going to issue treasury bonds, Zhuo Bingtian reacted as soon as he thought about it, this is to ask the household department to come up with a feasible repayment plan, fortunately, on the way to the palace, he was pondering this matter, and immediately bowed down and said: "Back to the emperor, the southeast uses soldiers, and Weichen earnestly prays that the emperor will temporarily open a donation for the benefit of the country." ”

It's another donation, Daoguang frowned imperceptibly, except for donations, these officials can't think of any other way, but since Jiaqing, the decline of national strength has been repeated, and he has been repeatedly donated, since he was in the extreme, he has not opened less, this donation has been opened more, but it is not a good thing, not to mention other drawbacks, the most fundamental point, the donation case is indiscriminate, not worth it!

Seeing that Daoguang was silent, Wang Ding said: "Your Majesty, although Guangdong has not been very peaceful in the past two years, the tax has been steadily increasing year by year, and the magnitude is not small. ”

Hearing this, Zhuo Bingtian's heart lit up, how could he forget Yuanqi, and immediately echoed: "Guangdong's tax has grown steadily, mainly thanks to Yuanqi, first, Yuanqi Bank unified the province's money industry, and the tax payment is far greater than the previous money bank, and furthermore, the promotion of the machine silk reeling factory has added a large amount of additional tax silver, if it can be vigorously promoted in Jiangnan and Fujian raw silk production areas, it can increase millions of taels of tax silver a year." In addition, there is also the mining of Changhua iron ore, which can also bring tens of thousands of taels of tax silver a year. ”

Implementing a machine silk reeling factory in Gangnam? Daoguang's heart moved, if you want to say that the factories opened by Yuan Qi, the silk reeling factory is the most worry-free, after all, all the machine silk reeling factories recruit female workers, no matter how large the number is, there is no need to worry about making any trouble, slightly groaning, he looked at Wang Ding, and said: "Yuan Qi intends to implement the machine silk reeling factory in Jiangnan?" ”

"Back to the emperor, Yi Zhishu does have this plan." Wang Ding said and presented the negotiation conditions listed by the British side.

After a few glances, Daoguang's face immediately became gloomy, and after reading it carefully, he asked in a deep voice, "Is this brought by Yi Zhicontent?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Wang Ding said: "In order to return the prisoners of war, Yi Zhizu negotiated with the Yingyi leader twice in private, and this is the Yingyi negotiation conditions that he inquired and sorted out. ”

In other words, this is not the condition officially proposed by Yingyi, Daoguang's face softened slightly, and said: "Jianghaiguan innovation, this should be the request of Yuanqi to undertake the national debt, right?" ”

"Your Majesty." Wang Ding bowed slightly and said, "It's Wei Chen's sense that something is inappropriate." ”

After looking up and meditating for a while, Daoguang looked at the two of them and said, "Tell me what you think." ”

"Yingyi has increased its troops on a large scale, and the conditions put forward are so harsh, it is difficult to avoid a war in the southeast." Wang Ding said calmly: "The issuance of treasury bonds can solve the urgent need. ”

Daoguang glanced at him and said in a light tone, "That's not what I asked. ”

"Jianghaiguan innovation, Weichen stealing thought it could be piloted." Wang Ding said calmly: "One is that Yi merchants have complained about Guangdong Customs for a long time, and second, the loss of Guangdong Customs tariffs is too much, which is well known, and secondly, the implementation of machine silk reeling factories in Jiangnan is beneficial to the country and the people. ”

Zhuo Bingtian also followed: "The contract drafted by Yuan Qi, Wei Chen thought it was generally available, such a large amount, at present, Yuan Qi has the strength to undertake, the monthly interest rate of eight percent is slightly higher, but the interest rate of the pawnshop of the Qian Zhuang Silver Number Printing Bureau is higher than this, only the ticket number lends money to the Qian Zhuang Silver Number, or it is the same as this, or slightly lower, but it is out of the need to maintain business dealings, and it cannot be compared." ”

Daoguang listened to the expressionless face, in fact, for the innovation of Jiang Customs, he is not interested, but let Yi Zhicontent as the supervisor of Jiang Customs, he is quite tempted, Yuan Qi in Jiangnan to implement the machine reeling factory, this is indeed good for the country, the people and business, in one fell swoop, and then there is, Yi Zhizu took over as the supervisor of Jiang Customs, which is equivalent to transferring Yi Zhizu out of Guangzhou.

In addition, Shanghai is a coastal port, which has been captured by the British fleet, and Yi Zhizu took over as the superintendent of the Jiang Customs, and he can justifiably lead the Yuanqi regiment to garrison Shanghai.

Yi Zhi, who was wearing a new three-grade military attache robe, followed the eunuch Wang Gonggong all the way into the noon gate, and couldn't help but look around, but Wang Gonggong walked with his head down, chattering all the way to explain some etiquette that should be paid attention to when visiting, in fact, he also knew that for Yi Zhi, who didn't even know the rules of officialdom, he hoped that in a few words, he would let the other party figure out those cumbersome rules and etiquette, it was impossible, and he saw that he was about to reach the Qianqing Palace, so he advised: "In a word, kowtow more, talk less, There is no big mistake, and when kowtowing, it is best to kowtow sound. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixiang smiled and ignored it, Daoguang summoned him to ask in detail about the situation in Guangzhou, how could he talk less? As for kowtowing more, he is really not used to it, normal kowtowing is reluctant, and he wants to kowtow his head "bang", this kind of technical work, he has no ability.

Outside the palace gate, the prince went in to make a difference, but Yi Zhizhi was waiting outside the door, and all the guards at the door did not squint like a wooden stake, all of them were tall and straight, and they all looked very good, just when he secretly wondered if these guards would be embroidered pillows, a young military general dressed in a first-class military officer robe brought two guards over, and said, "Offended." The two guards began to search their bodies carefully.

Yi Zhizhi opened his hands contentedly, but he was very speechless in his heart, when he entered the noon gate, he was searched once, and he didn't want to search again when he entered the Qianqing Palace, is it the same for all officials? This may not be too big, maybe because of his identity, he glanced at the first-rank military general who was only in his twenties, and secretly wondered what the identity of the other party was.

The young military general seemed to know his thoughts, and after the two guards finished searching, he chuckled and said, "I am Renshou, the minister of the Yellow Banner Guard, and my duty lies, Lord Yi Haihan." ”

Yi Zhixiang nodded, but he didn't say anything, seeing him pestle like a wood, a guard reminded: "This is Prince Rui, and he is not polite." ”

Prince? Yi Zhizhi was content, no wonder he was so young and a product, he didn't know that the ministers of the guards were all relatives of the clan, and he hurriedly wanted to make a big salute, but the prince came over quickly and said: "The emperor has an edict, Xuan Yi is content to meet." ”

Renshou smiled and said, "No need to be polite, I'll lead Lord Yi in." ”

Yi Zhishu knew that the audience was still led in by the minister of the guard, and hurriedly followed him into the gate of the Qianqing Palace, and when he entered the gate, he suddenly remembered that the name Renshou was somewhat familiar, and it seemed that he was also one of the eight auxiliary ministers appointed by Xianfeng when he was dying.

Renshou said as he walked: "Lord Yi is the first time to face the saint, don't be too nervous, the emperor is benevolent, the main thing is not too out of line, and he will not blame." ”

"Lord Xie Rui instructs." Yi Zhixiang said with a smile, "I wasn't too nervous, but when I entered this palace gate, I was a little nervous." ”

Hearing this, Renshou smiled and said: "Tianwei is not against Yan at hand, when you think of it, the end of the world is at hand, and when you think about it, you can reach the end of the world." Life and death, honor and disgrace are all in the thought of the Son of Heaven, how many people are not nervous? ”

Tianwei is close at hand, how many people are not afraid, Yi Zhizhi nodded, without saying a word, he was indeed quite nervous in his heart, Daoguang was already wary of Yuanqi, this time the face of the saint, one is not good, it is very likely to bring destruction to Yuanqi, to him and Yuanqi and the other major shareholders to bring death, how can he calm down?

However, the more nervous it is, the easier it is to leak, Yi Zhishu secretly admonished himself, and at the same time took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, entered the main hall, and followed Renshou to the west warm pavilion, Renshou stood still at the door and motioned for him to enter.

Vaguely hearing the sound of talking inside, Yi Zhishu walked in calmly, and glanced quickly inside, Daoguang sitting cross-legged on the kang in a dragon robe was the most conspicuous, at a glance, he quickly withdrew his gaze, although he only glanced at it, but Daoguang's appearance he could see clearly, a word, thin, skinny, just like a long-term drug addict, Daoguang is smoking crows. Slice?

This thought flashed through him, and he quickly retracted his thoughts, knelt down on the felt, and said loudly: "The minister is content, and I respectfully invite St. Ann." After a slight pause, he got up and walked to Daoguang's kang and knelt down on a white felt blanket.

After a moment of silence, he heard Daoguang's somewhat deep voice, "The nine articles proposed by Yingyi, have you ever reported to Qi Shan?" ”

Yi Zhishu didn't expect that the first question Daoguang asked was actually this, and immediately replied: "Back to the emperor, when Weichen returned to Humen, he had already reported truthfully to Qi Zhongtang. ”

Hearing this, Daoguang immediately understood that Qi Shan Yi Zhizhi was content to present Yingyi's negotiation conditions, which was to test his reaction, and he groaned slightly, before he asked: "What do you think of these articles proposed by Yingyi?" ”

Between the questions and answers, Yi Zhishu had calmed down, and immediately said: "Back to the emperor, the first three, Weichen thought it was absolutely impossible, and the last six could be considered." ”

The last six articles proposed by the British side are in the treaty port, outsiders have freedom of residence and movement, freedom to bring their families, freedom of religious belief, permission to build churches, equality of officials of the two countries, freedom to open banks, factories, schools, etc., none of which Daoguang can endure, listening to this, he glanced at Wang Ding and the others, and then said: "The last six articles, how should I consider them?" ”

Listening to his words, the tone was a little unkind, Yi Zhizhi couldn't help but hesitate, it was really unnecessary to provoke Daoguang for the matter of Yingyi's negotiation, but since it was asked to him, if he didn't explain it truthfully, he was afraid that he would be blamed in the future, and he groaned slightly, so he said: "Back to the emperor, these six articles should be combined with international practice, and they should be detailed one by one, which is a long story." (To be continued.) )