For Yi Zhi's contentment, Wu Changqing naturally didn't believe it, Yuan Qi took the road of monopoly, and opened a business of exchange in different places, for businessmen who have been running back and forth in different places all the year round, Yuan Qi is the best choice, where is the need for Yi Zhicontent, the big shopkeeper of Yuan Qi, to come forward in person, besides, he knows very well that this guy is not a person who likes to socialize.

He was really a little puzzled, the purpose of their trip was to go to Xu Wen on the other side of the river to inspect the sugar industry and sugar market, but Yi Zhizhi stayed in Haikou for six or seven days, socializing with businessmen from all over the world every day, what did he want to do?

Not only Wu Changqing was puzzled, but Bai Zhi was also quite puzzled, she was a little upset when she was bored in the Yuanqi Haikou branch these days, and she was a little upset when she saw the squeezing season approaching day by day, so she couldn't help but be in a hurry, after hearing the report that Yi Zhizhi came back, she hurried over, glanced at the two of them, and asked directly: "When are we going to the other side?" ”

"There's no hurry." Yi Zhizu shook the folding fan and said unhurriedly: "Wait a few more days." ”

How many days will we have to wait? Bai Zhi couldn't help but say, "What are you waiting for?" ”

After a slight sigh, Yi Zhizhi said: "If the white girl is in a hurry, you can go to Xu Wen first." ”

Hearing this, Bai Zhi turned around and left, Wu Changqing glanced at her back, and said with a smile: "I'm also confused, don't hide it." ”

"I'm not hiding, I'm chatting with them these days just to understand the situation."

"What's the situation? Sugar market? ”

Yi Zhifen shook his head and said, "Sugar, rice, coal, triangular trade." ”

Sugar and rice, Wu Changqing naturally knows that Hainan and Leizhou are rich in sugarcane. But there is basically a shortage of rice. These two categories of commodities are the largest volume of trade. But how did a coal pop up again? After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I haven't heard of coal in this place." ”

"There is coal in Annam, and it is high-quality anthracite." Yi Zhizhi said: "To open a steel plant, you need a lot of high-quality coal, and most of the high-quality coal in the Qing Dynasty is in the northern Shanxi area, and the transportation cost is too high, and the coal in Annam is the most suitable." ”

The high-quality coal in Annam is naturally the Hongji Coal Mine, the largest coal mine in Southeast Asia, and it is an open-pit coal mine, even if there is no machinery and equipment. It can also be mined in large quantities, which is fully able to meet the needs of his steel plant.

"Isn't it too expensive to transport coal from Annam?" Wu Changqing said suspiciously.

"It's better than transporting coal from the north." Yi Zhizhi sighed lightly, today's transportation conditions are too poor, land transportation is unimaginable, sea transportation is the lowest cost, and it is also suitable for large-scale transportation, at present, it is the most realistic to transport coal from Annan, but he is not familiar with the situation of this route in Annan. The trade with Annan is also unclear, but it is because of the frequent contact with the merchants in Haikou in the past few days.

Pondered slightly. Wu Changqing said: "Brother Contentment plans to exchange Xu Wen's sugar for coal?" ”

"Sugar alone won't do." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Sugar is a luxury, Annan's demand is limited, these **** understand, the trade of Annan, bulk commodities are mainly silk, tea, cloth, paper porcelain, of course, it is best not to buy it." ”

What does it mean not to buy? Wu Changqing glanced at him suspiciously, but Yi Zhizhi smiled, without explanation, if you don't buy it, you will naturally rob it, and when you have the strength, you will go to grab the territory, the merchant group can't be raised in vain and not make contributions, he doesn't have so many scruples, there are nothing good in these surrounding vassal countries, and they are all white-eyed wolves who can't be fed.

Macau, former cottage, Macao Coastal Defence Tongzhi Bureau

Yu Baochun, the alternate prefect, carefully read the edict that Lin Zexu transferred from Humen, and handed it to Jiang Liang, the same governor, and after he finished reading it, he said: "Will Yilu agree?" ”

In the message, Lin Zexu mentioned four points, first, to hand over the newly arrived opium, second, to hand over the murderer who beat Lin Weixi, and third, to return to China as soon as possible; Fourth, after the first three articles are complied with one by one, the proper trading methods of goods shall be determined at the discretion.

"It's hard to say." Jiang Liken said: "I heard about the Battle of Kowloon, the casualties of Yingyi were not large, only four or five people were injured, and no one was killed. ”

Yu Baochun said disapprerovingly: "After losing the battle, how can there be anything that is not hidden, the artillery of both sides has been bombarded for a long time, and four of them have been injured?" Who believes that? If only four were to be injured, Yingyi wouldn't need to plead for negotiations. After a pause, he continued: "Deliver it to Yilu, and he will reply within three days." ”

In the British Chamber of Commerce, Yilu read the edict translated by Ma Ruhan, threw it on the table casually, got up and walked to the balcony, looking at the sea, stunned.

The Battle of Kowloon, although the casualties were small, but put him in a rather embarrassing situation, with the strength he now has in his hands, there is no way to compete with the Qing State Naval Division, not to mention, the Humen Fort is now not what it used to be, fighting, it is impossible to fight now, it can only be delayed.

As early as April, he had already made a detailed report to London on Lin Zexu's surrender of cigarettes and the withdrawal of British nationals and the cessation of the import of British ships, and asked for assistance.

At present, all he had to do was to delay as much as possible this semi-rupture caused by him, and wait for London's decision, at present, the most difficult or the most pressing pressure on him was not the Qing Qincha, but the British merchant ships anchored in Tsim Sha Tsui.

In order to maintain the current semi-rupture situation, he must insist on the two points of not agreeing according to the formula and not entering the Whampoa trade, and for this reason, he must stabilize all the merchant ship owners who come to Guangzhou, there are more than 40 merchant ships anchored in the sea of Tsim Sha Tsui, the weather is hot and humid, the goods on the merchant ships cannot be unloaded, and after a long time, those cloth, cotton, and the like will inevitably rot, and the merchants can hardly bear it, and complaints are spreading, and internal disagreements are gradually emerging, and he must now find a way to sell the goods for them, otherwise, it will be difficult to control the merchant ship owners.

Humen Zhai Chinese Army General's Mansion, Lin Zexu read the letter of righteousness, turned his hand to Deng Tingzhen, did not say anything for a long time, Deng Tingzhen said with a wry smile after reading it: "This guy is a hob meat." ”

The tone of Yilu's reply was very respectful, and in response to the four points raised by Lin Zexu, he replied one by one, first, the ship anchored in the ocean of Tsim Sha Tsui did not have opium, if you don't believe it. Officials can be sent to conduct joint searches. If opium is found. The goods are about to be exhausted. Second, the culprit who killed Lin Weixi has not yet been discovered, and if it is found that he is a British, he will be conscientiously tried in accordance with British laws and regulations, and he respectfully requests the presence of the Chinese official constitution to observe it, and earnestly requests that legislation be enacted to establish a special court, and then the case will be examined by each other. In the future, whenever a case like this is encountered, it can be handled in accordance with the regulations.

Third, the barge and the British merchant should indeed sail back, and return as soon as the north wind rises; As for the 16 people who were repatriated, they asked for permission to stay in the country without selling opium.

4. Before he was sent to his home country in December for approval, as the director of commerce of England in China, he did not dare and had no right to approve the import trade of British ships. In addition to this, Yi Lu also pleaded for permission for British merchant ships to unload their cargo in Macao.

After being silent for a while, Lin Zexu gritted his teeth and smiled: "Don't say it's a hob meat." He just can't be steamed, not boiled. The copper peas that are not flat and cannot be fried are not fried, and the official has his own way to melt him. ”

He immediately put pen to paper and wrote; First, the English merchant ships were never allowed to unload and purchase goods in Macao, that is, they sent officers to search ship-by-ship for entrainment of opium as requested, and if there was no entrainment in the slightest, the goods that were properly traded were allowed to be accommodated, and the owners of the goods were not affected. Second, all merchant ships entering the port must be issued with a charter, which must clearly state the words "In accordance with the new regulations promulgated by the Qin Dynasty, if there is opium entrainment, the person will be corrected, and the cargo will be entered into the official line."

3. The murderer of Lin Weixi's case is allowed to be found out within 10 days and sent to the official for trial.

4. Those who have been deported to their home countries shall be temporarily allowed to return to Macao for a period of up to six days; The English, who are not subject to expulsion, shall be moved back to permanent residence after the completion of the matter within a separate period.

It dragged on for seven days, and Yilu's reply arrived, the wording was still respectful, but the content was still prevaricating and delaying, after reading the post, Lin Zexu secretly sneered, and at this time, Menzi came to report, "Wu Shaorong, the chief merchant of the Thirteenth Lines, is asking to see him outside." ”

Wu Shaorong is too late to hide from him on weekdays, why did he take the initiative to ask to see him today? Lin Zexu glanced at Deng Tingzhen before saying, "Let him in." When he came in to greet him, he did not cry out, but asked, "What is the matter?" ”

"Lord Yuqincha, Lord Ministry." Wu Shaorong said calmly: "The owner of the British ship Shilin Gachar privately contacted the 13 merchants, saying that his ship was loaded with cotton from Mumbai and arrived in Macao on April 11, and could not import cigarettes because it was paying for cigarettes.

Originally, he wanted to import cigarettes after paying them, but he went to Whampoa, but he was blocked by righteousness, so that he always stayed in the Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean and suffered unbearable losses. In the past, Feng Qin sent an edict to allow the import and trade of serious cargo ships, so now he pleads to enter Whampoa to unload cargo in accordance with the Citi ship import method. ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu and Deng Tingzhen looked at each other and smiled, and the British businessmen finally began to hold back! After a slight groan, Lin Zexu said: "Allowed, let it tell the British merchants, but all the merchant ships that are serious about trading can enter Huangpu by making a statement." ”

Deng Tingzhen said: "The law of righteousness is obstructing and deceiving British businessmen in every way, can the edict be posted widely on both sides of Tsim Sha Tsui, so as to achieve the effect of breaking down." ”

"This is a good idea, not only in Tsim Sha Tsui, but also in Macau." Lin Zexu glanced at Wu Shaorong as he spoke, and said, "This matter has to be three-pronged, send merchants to Tsim Sha Tsui to read Ben Qincha's edict to all foreign merchants. In addition, the "Xiguan Daily" published propaganda to increase the momentum. ”

Immediately, he put pen to paper and wrote: The two matters of the knot and the search are combined into one, and they can be handled accommodatingly, and if the ships that have been stranded in China for a long time are willing to make the knot, they are allowed to trade as usual, and there is no need to search again;

Those who are unwilling to make an agreement must take the ship to Shajiao for search, and the method of search is to load all the goods of the original ship to the barge, together with the empty hold of the original ship and the cargo of the barge to be searched one by one.

British ships that do not follow the form of an agreement or do not listen to the search shall be deported to China within three days. After that, when the cargo ships come again, they must be settled one by one.

This edict was published in the "Xiguan Daily" and was widely publicized by merchants in Tsim Sha Tsui and Macao, and it was effective immediately, and only a few days later, Chiang Liang, a fellow governor of Macao, replied: "The Bombay Harbour Foot Boat, the 'Tan Ma Shi Ge,' the owner of the ship, was loaded with cotton, yarn, rattan, pepper, and other goods, and that there were 100 sailors and eight cannons on board, and it sailed from Bombay and arrived in Tai O on 11 October. Today, we want to enter Huangpu to unload the goods and buy the goods back. Apart from this cargo, there was no opium or prohibited cargo on board. ”

The next day, the Ganjie with the Bending Complying style was delivered to Humen, "Gu Ganjie Yi people are Bending, is the owner of the 'Dan Ma Shige', and now he is in front of the **** Daxian Terrace to make a knot: the ship of the Far Merchants, with cotton, yarn, rattan, pepper goods to Guangdong trade, the Far Merchants, the same ship, the chief sailors, all in accordance with the **** new regulations, the Far Merchants and so on do not dare to carry opium.

If a small amount of opium is found on the ship of the distant merchant, the merchant will be willing to hand over the prisoner, and he will be sentenced to death according to the law, and even the goods of the merchant ship will be confiscated.

However, if there is no opium in the inspection, he asks Daxian to allow the ships of the merchants to enter Whampoa and trade as usual. is so good and evil, Yuanshang is willing to obey the city. This knot is solid.

With two merchant ships entering Guangzhou in accordance with the knot, the merchant shipowners in the Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean could not sit still when they boarded, one was stranded in the Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean for a long time, worried about the damage to the goods, and the other was that the time dragged on too long, and it was necessary to see that the peak season of maritime trade was about to pass, how could they not be anxious?

Early in the morning of 28 September, the two merchant ships, the 'Saxon' and the 'Rozel Sassoon,' secretly left Tsim Sha Tsui and headed for Humen, preparing to enter the Whampoa trade in accordance with the agreement.

Hearing the report, Yilu was greatly alarmed, if these two merchant ships were allowed to enter into an agreement, in less than two days, all the merchant ships in Tsim Sha Tsui would obediently obey, and the trade between Qing and Britain would return to normal, 20,000 boxes of crows. The loss of the film will have to be compensated by London! He immediately made a decision and ordered the two warships "Wola" and "Warren" to pursue them, and they must intercept the next two merchant ships at all costs!

At the Shajiao Fort, Guan Tianpei, who had been stationed at Shajiao by the Admiralty Office, heard that two military ships were chasing two merchant ships, and immediately reacted to what was going on, and without hesitation, he led twenty warships to meet them.

The two British warships caught up with the 'Rozoer Sassoon' not far from the Shajiao Fort, and immediately opened fire to force it to anchor and stop, but the 'Saxon' had been received by the warships of the Guangdong Naval Division, and the negotiations between the two sides were unsuccessful.

The artillery of both sides exchanged fire for half an hour, and the two battleships, the "Vora" and the "Warren", were defeated and retreated.

In this battle, the two battleships "Wola" and "Warren" did not please well, and more than 10 people were killed and wounded, and the battleship was also scarred, and the angry Yilu launched an attack on the Kwun Chung Fort in Tsim Sha Tsui the next day.

From September 29 to October 8, ten days before and after, near the Guanyong Fort, the Qing and British sides engaged in six battles, and the Guangdong naval division won six battles, forcing all British ships to leave the water surface of Tsim Sha Tsui.

This series of successive armed conflicts announced a complete break between Qing and Ying! (To be continued.) )