Yi Zhi's face was excited and happy, but Wei Yuan was shocked, Yingyi would take the initiative to attack Jiangning, and he had planned to attack Jiangning a long time ago, which was really unbelievable to him, after all, the Yingyi fleet had always been a coastal attack and had never entered the inland river, not to mention that Jiangning was more than three hundred miles away from Haikou, how could Yingyi plan to attack Jiangning early in the morning?

After a slight sigh, he spoke: "If the strength of Wusong Fort is strengthened, and the defense of Wolf Mountain and Zhenjiang is strengthened, Jiangning is also actively preparing for war, even if Yingyi has a plan, he will be forced to change his plan." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi seemed to be pouring a basin of cold water on his head, cold from head to foot, if this is really the case, borrowing a courage from Pu Ding to check, he did not dare to attack Jiangning, he sat down slowly, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Mintang is determined to give up the battle of Jiangning?" ”

"With no soldiers and no money, how can this battle be fought?" Wei Yuan took a sip of the teacup as he spoke, but his eyes glanced to the side.

"Xuzhou was not only transferred 10,000, but also 20,000 soldiers and horses, Jiujiang and Huguang's green camp ......."

"Don't look at Xuzhou and Jiujiang are not far from Jiangning, but to mobilize the green camps in the two places, the necessary silver will open the way." Wei Yuan said slowly: "Tens of thousands of troops need at least a million taels of silver to pull out, the imperial court can't get the silver, and the Liangjiang Domain Treasury is also crying ....... poor." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and came with Wei Yuan, asking for silver is a serious errand, but he was not scared lightly, but he asked for a million when he opened his mouth, and this mouth was too big, and Yuan Qi's silver was not blown by the wind, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "Liangjiang is rich in the world, as everyone knows, to raise a million taels, it should not be difficult to think about it." ”

Wei Yuan glanced at him and said with a smile: "It's true that Liangjiang is rich, but if you want to raise a large amount of donations, you must be famous, and now you can't raise donations in the name of guarding Jiangning, you can only raise donations in the name of recovering the lost land in eastern Zhejiang, don't care about your strength, who will donate a large amount?" ”

"What about the two salt merchants?"

"The two Huai salt merchants are yesterday's yellow flowers, don't you know if you are content?"

The two Huai salt merchants have become yesterday's yellow flowers? Yi Zhishu was surprised, took over Shanghai Dao and came to Shanghai, his focus was on the war, and he really didn't care about Yangzhou, where salt merchants gathered, and hurriedly said: "It's really not clear in the next place, what's going on?" ”

Slightly muttering, Wei Yuancai said: "In the twelfth year of Daoguang, the salt policy was reformed, and the system of 'Gang Merchants Leading the Shore' was changed to the 'Ticket Salt Law' to break the monopoly of salt transportation and marketing, and the two Huai salt merchants were in trouble, and a large number of salt merchants overnight, from rich to poor, collapsed, and now where can we expect salt merchants to donate." ”

As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, and said with a wry smile: "In the past, the 'Gangshang Guide' enriched the two Huai salt merchants, but whenever the imperial court encountered a major event, wars, celebrations, disaster relief, projects, etc., when a lot of money was needed, the salt merchants were enthusiastic to donate, more millions, less hundreds of thousands, during the Qianjia period, the salt merchants reported the service to donate military supplies, as much as 30 million taels of silver. Changed to the 'ticket salt law', the salt merchants were poor, and the imperial court did not see the rich. ”

"The court is not rich, but the officials are rich." Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "The imperial court's account has not been calculated clearly, the silver in the pocket of the salt merchant can still be forced to spit out through donation, but the silver in the pocket of the official cannot force them to spit it out." ”

Wei Yuan didn't want to take the topic away, Lin Zexu was still waiting, and immediately pulled back the conversation and said: "The soldiers are not as good as the people, the weapons are not as good as the people, and there is no silver, even if the British fleet arrives outside Jiangning City, it will only increase the casualties, and it is the wisest move to give up the battle of Jiangning." ”

Yi Zhizu shook his head slowly, and said: "There is no hurry to raise donations, when the Yingyi fleet enters the mouth of the Yangtze River, attacks the Wusongkou Fort, and goes up the river, it is not too late to raise funds, and the soldiers are coming to the city, I am not afraid that they will not actively donate and lose." Besides, there are still 3,000 nails in the rotten ship, and the two Huai salt merchants are rich in the world, how can they not have a little family background? ”

Wei Yuan raised his eyebrows, "The soldiers are in danger, how can they be child's play?" ”

"How dare you play with military affairs?" Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "The imperial court has no silver, the local government has no silver, Yuan Qi has silver, not to mention one million, it is three million, five million, Yuan Qi can afford it!" ”

Wei Yuan was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked, "Is this true?" ”

Yi Zhizhi said: "Lord Ministry is worried that Yuan Qi will not be able to raise enough silver, right?" Rest assured, smash the pot and sell iron, Yuan Qi will also support the ministry to finish the battle in Jiangnan! ”

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "It seems that Contentment is very confident in this battle?" ”

"If you don't have confidence in closing the door and beating the dog, you won't be able to wade into this troubled water."

"Have you ever thought about it, what will be the consequences if this battle is lost?"

"Since taking the helm of Yuanqi, I dare not say that I have not done a loss-making business, but I have never done a loss-making big business." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "This time, Yuan Qi invested five thousand regiments in Jiangning, millions of silver, which can be said to be the biggest business since Yuan Qi was founded, how can it be allowed to lose money?" ”

Hearing this, Wei Yuan got up and arched his hand and said, "Then the old man will reply to the minister." ”

Wei Yuan said goodbye and left, Yi Zhizu slowly paced twice and sat back on the recliner, although Wei Yuan used the method of retreating to advance to test the details of Yuan Qi, but Lin Zexu was afraid that he really had the idea of giving up the battle of Jiangning, and the previous comparison of the combat strength of the green battalion and the British army may have scared him, but, to be honest, it is really difficult to say how much of a role the soldiers and horses of the green battalion who came to the aid of those provinces can play.

Jiangning's battle can't be given up! This is the only opportunity to hit the arrogance of the British army, it is a pity to give up, as for the silver, he is not bragging, three or five million, Yuan Qi really took it, and this silver cannot be given in vain, no matter what, it has to be doubled to earn back, now it is necessary to strengthen Lin Zexu's confidence first, if Lin Zexu has the heart to give up, and let out the wind casually, he can make Yingyi stop.

In just two quarters of an hour, Li Wang hurried over to report: "Young Master, Lin Butang has brought someone here. ”

Brought someone? Monk Grinqin with him? These two have been together all this time? Could it be that the monk Greenqin also intends to give up the battle of Jiangning? Yi Zhishu thought in his heart, but his feet were not slow, he walked out quickly, passed through the courtyard, and around the corner, he saw Monk Greenqin and Lin Zexu coming quickly, he hurriedly arched his hand and said: "I have seen the prince and the lord of the ministry below." ”

"When you meet in private, you don't need to be polite to be content." Monk Greenqin waved his hand with a smile on his face.

"Please, both." Yi Zhizu politely stretched out his hand and gave way, and the three of them entered the hall, and sat down, Lin Zexu said straightforwardly: "Just let Mr. Wei come to explore the tone of contentment, can Yuan Qi really raise three or five million taels of silver?" ”

Are these two really colluding? Yi Zhishu faintly felt that something was wrong, and couldn't help but say: "There are other changes?" ”

Lin Zexu nodded and said: "The Yellow River burst, the top of the 31st Fort of Xiangfu in Henan collapsed, the water was opened and the flood rushed into Hongze Lake, and it is preliminarily estimated that some prefectures and counties in Anhui and even Jiangsu have been affected, and this flood may be rare for decades." ”

Such a big flood! Yi Zhizhi was dumbfounded, this is really worse! The Hubu Treasury Deficit Case has just come out, and the Yellow River has burst its embankment again, no wonder Lin Zexu, who has always been resolutely in the main battle, will retreat and have the idea of giving up the Battle of Jiangning, no wonder he will send Wei Yuan to test his tone, such a large area of disaster, how much silver does it cost for disaster relief alone?

"The auspicious charm broke the embankment, and Wen Chong, the governor of the river, has rushed eight hundred miles to report to the imperial court." Monk Lingqin said slowly: "The idea of the Hubu Treasury must be clear to the contentment, plus the Yingyi fleet appeared at the mouth of the Bohai Sea, it is estimated that the emperor may give up the battle of Jiangning." ”

"River work has always been the most costly for silver." Lin Zexu added: "The annual expenditure of the Nanhe East River is as high as seven or eight million taels of river silver, and it is common to encounter a catastrophe, tens of millions of dollars, this time the flood is serious, and the disaster area is wide, in addition to disaster relief, it is necessary to block the breach, and the imperial court may not be able to support the Jiangnan War." ”

Yi Zhizu looked at the two of them and said slowly: "The prince and the lord of the ministry should be unwilling to give up this rare opportunity to attack Yingyi, right?" ”

"If Yuanqi can have enough strength to support it." Monk Lingqin arched his hand to the north and said, "This king will immediately fold his son and pray that the emperor will continue to implement the plan for the battle of Jiangning." ”

Lin Zexu said: "Contentment can be thought clearly, this matter is not trivial, once the war starts, the situation is not something we can control if we want to." ”

"The war with England is related to the national fortune of the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years, and Yuan Qi will not hesitate to do everything he can." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "The prince and the ministers can rest assured, the war in Jiangning will not stop every day, and Yuan Qi will ensure that the food and salary of the green camp in Jiangning will continue every day." ”

"Good!" Monk Greenqin said loudly: "In the future, Yuanqi's affairs will be the king's affairs, but everything that is within his power will never be shirked." ”

Lin Zexu said: "Jiangning won a great victory in the first battle, contentment should be the first merit!" ”

Yi Zhishu hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Thank you and Lord Ministry." ”

After a slight groan, Lin Zexu said: "Now that the Yingyi detachment is still in Dengzhou, I am content to estimate, when will Yingyi attack Jiangning?" ”

After pondering for a moment, Yi Zhizhi said: "Since Yingyi has made the illusion of attacking Tianjin, it means that it will act in the near future, and in October, the Yangtze River will enter a dry period, which will not be conducive to the large British warships going up the river. ”

"Then does Zhejiang still need to transfer troops?"

"Of course, you can't make Yingyi suspicious." Yi Zhizhi said: "It is best for the Lord of the Ministry to go to Hangzhou to sit in the town and put on a posture to recover Ningbo. ”

Jingshi, the western suburbs, the Old Summer Palace, the Qinzheng Palace, the Bamboo Forest Qingxiang Pavilion.

Daoguang leaned down on the bookcase and concentrated on painting the bamboo forest in the courtyard, the weather was hot and he was bored, he wanted to adjust his mood through painting, outside the Qinzheng Palace, Zaiquan and Mu Zhang'a each found a cool place to wait, the two had a lot of contradictions, although they would not tear their faces publicly, but they did not have a good face with each other, especially in private, Daoguang was painting, and the eunuchs did not dare to go in to report for fear of disturbing Daoguang's interest, and the two could only wait.

Daoguang is extremely concerned about the case of the deficit of the household treasury, as the organizer of this case, Zaiquan and Mu Zhang'a, who assisted, have to come to the audience every day to report the progress, Daoguang moved to the Old Summer Palace, and the two spent half of the day in the sedan chair.

Zaiquan was bored with a folding fan, raised his eyes and saw Pan Shien and Wang Ding coming in a hurry, and wanted to greet the two, but when he saw the solemn expressions on the faces of the two, he stopped, and hurriedly tidied up his court clothes to prepare for the audience, and the eunuch Cao Jin was happy to see that Wang Ding was coming, and he couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart, this Wang Zhongtang is not a good talker, he accompanied the smile and stepped forward and said: "The emperor is resting ......" ”

Wang Ding glanced at him coldly and said, "Eight hundred miles are urgent, hurry up and report it." ”

Cao Jinxi was really afraid of him, and he heard that it was an eight-hundred-mile rush, and it was estimated that it was a military situation, so he hurriedly said: "The two of you will wait for ......." ”

Daoguang, who was concentrating on painting, heard the report, put down his pen with some disappointment, and said, "Take them to Xinuan Pavilion." After cleaning his hands and face, he walked slowly, entered the warm pavilion, and waited for the four people to salute, he looked at Pan Shien, and said, "Where is the urgent report?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Pan Shien hurriedly said: "Kaifeng, the governor of the East River, Wen Chong, rushed to report for 800 miles, the Yellow River burst its embankment in Xiangfu, Henan, the water surrounded Kaifeng, and the flood rushed into the ....... Hongze Lake." ”

Mu Zhang'a has been revolving around the deficit case for the past few days, and the Military Aircraft Department is presided over by Pan Shien, listening to this, he chuckled in his heart, and secretly said that it was not good, this is really a disaster, this is not a one-way street, this is the Yellow River bursting the embankment, Daoguang is only afraid that it will be thunderous and angry, and he quickly lowered his body a little.

After reading the excerpt, Daoguang was quiet for a long time, and then seemed to come back to his senses, slowly glanced at the four of them, and said with emotion: "When the Holy Ancestor was a year, the river fee was only 600,000 taels a year, and when he arrived at Gaozong, it rose to 5 million taels, and in my hands, the river fee was as high as 7 or 8 million taels a year...... Speaking of this, his voice became hoarse in vain, "How can the Xiangfu Levee break?" Covet! Layers of greed! ”

After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "Passing the decree, Wen Chong, the governor of the East River, has been dismissed, and he has been relieved of his post by Gao Buyue, who is the same as Gao Buyue, who is guarding Xu Qiao, and who has taken off his top clothes. ”

"Your Majesty." Pan Shien hurriedly kowtowed: "This disaster is not small, Kaifeng is surrounded, the flood water is injected into Hongze Lake, it is necessary to repair the Yellow River breach as soon as possible, otherwise not only Kaifeng is not guaranteed, Anhui and even Jiangsu will suffer a large area." ”

After a slight sigh, Daoguang said: "Dingjiu is familiar with river affairs, and he was once the governor of Henan, and he is familiar with the people of Henan. ”

"Wechen obeys." Wang Ding bowed and said, he also expected that Daoguang would assign him to Henan, and when he stood up, he said: "The river yamen has a confused account, and Weichen has no time to seal the accounts and check the accounts. ”

Hearing him mention the silver, the muscles on Daoguang's face twitched unconsciously, there were only more than four million left in the Hubu Silver Treasury, how much silver would it cost to build a disaster relief break alone? Although his heart hurt, he also knew that this money could not be saved, and after hesitating, he said, "Yes." (To be continued.) )