Under Yan Yangtian's questioning, Guan Haitao roughly said the situation, the wife Zaitong from Baylor Mansion is very strict in governing the family on weekdays, June 6, Zaitong returned to the door with his son early in the morning, and the subordinates of the Hou Mansion also rarely relaxed for a day, no one expected that the main courtyard would catch fire in the middle of the night, and when it was discovered, the fire was out of control, and several servants went in to save people were in and out. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

For these words, Yi Zhizhi how can he be gullible, with intuition, he dared to conclude that this fire was man-made, the Hou Mansion has a night patrol, even if it is a fire in the middle of the night, it will not be so late to find out, and besides, the two are old, sleep less and sleep lightly, how can they sleep so deeply?

Daoguang is trying to trick him into entering Beijing? Or do you intend to take the opportunity to disarm him? His parents died, as a son of man, he had no reason not to go back to Beijing to handle the funeral, according to the imperial court Ding Wei system, he must resign and return to his hometown, and keep the system for his parents for 27 months, which is filial piety.

Originally, there was a difference between civil and military Ding Wei, the military general did not have a three-year funeral system, Ding Wei did not need to resign, but gave a leave of 100 days to go home to take care of the aftermath, but Kangxi Ping set the rules after the three feudatories, the civil and military cases Ding Wei, the local governor and the general soldier, only in the case of staying in office by special order, can be in the system.

"Take him down first." Yi Zhizu commanded softly.

Lin Meilian, who was waiting, led Guan Haitao out of the room, and Yan Yang said genius: "Principal, this matter is very strange, according to the rules of the imperial court, those who leave the school are not allowed to report their funeral in the military camp." The..... How can I come to Manila for a funeral? ”

And this rule? Yi Zhishu really didn't know, and after a slight groan, he said, "How much is it today?" Twenty-one, why did Guan Haitao come so fast? ”

"Students go and ask." Yan Yangtian immediately chased him out, and soon he turned back and said, "It was a training ship arranged for him by the Tianjin Navy, who went directly to sea and came to Manila via Yulin." ”

The Tianjin Navy was his brother-in-law Zaizhao who was in charge of training the new army, how could it be so arranged? Is it by order? Or do you notice that there is something strange about the death of the two elders? Or is it someone else's arrangement? Yi Zhicontent was a little confused for a while, but since he had received the mourning report, he couldn't ignore it.

Seeing that he was silent, Yan Yangtian spoke: "Before the situation is clear, the principal must not return to Beijing. ”

Even if he does not return to Beijing, he must return to his hometown to guard the system, otherwise he will inevitably be pointed out by thousands of people, and his reputation will be ruined, this is the era of filial piety in the world, filial piety is put in the first place, silently smoked a cigarette, Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Flying pigeon to pass the book, notify Guangzhou, immediately notify my brother Yi Zhishu, and take him to Beijing by fast boat to take care of his parents' funeral, and help the soul to return home as soon as possible." ”

"Yes." Yan Yangtian answered, turned around and was about to leave, Yi Zhizhi said again: "Wait, Ren An sent someone to Jingshi and told Zaitong to help Ling return home with his brother." ”

Yan Yangtian left, Yi Zhishu got up and walked to the balcony, looked at the north and sighed, he really didn't expect that Yi Yunchang and his wife were detained in Beijing as hostages, but they would be used like this, recalling the scenes with the two elders, his nose was slightly sour, and his heart was full of guilt.

Originally, I thought that as long as he didn't rebel, the old couple would not be in any danger in Beijing, but he didn't expect to die so tragically, thinking of this, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, he was leading the troops outside, Daoguang had no reason to do so, besides, Daoguang wanted the lives of the two old people, and there were many means without traces, how could it be so rough, making people suspicious when they heard it.

It's not Daoguang, it shouldn't be Daoguang, but it's not Daoguang, who did it? Heaven and Earth Meeting? Qinglian Sect? Or is it a political enemy - Muzhang'a? The first two did this, which could force him to rebel and help them fish in troubled waters, if Mu Zhang'a did it, then after he resigned, I am afraid that there would be a follow-up against Yuan Qi.

Yan Yangtian quickly turned back and said in a deep voice: "The imperial court's move is clearly to deprive the principal of his military power, and it is possible to attack Yuan Qi in the future, so it is better to simply return to the ......" ”

"Nope." Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Now is the best opportunity to annex the Nanyang Islands, and we can't miss it!" Don't worry about Yuanqi, today's Yuanqi is not something that the imperial court can move if it wants to! ”

Seeing that he still insisted on conquering the South Seas, Yan Yangtian was silent for a while before he said: "Now there is only one regiment in Guangzhou, and the principal has returned to his hometown to guard the system, which is always reassuring, and the students will bring two more regiments back to Guangzhou ......." ”

Yi Zhizhi was silent, he returned to his hometown to guard the system, and the imperial court would definitely not miss this rare opportunity, and would inevitably appoint another Qincha, Nanyang minister, and Nanyang admiral to conquer Nanyang, and inevitably take this opportunity to squeeze out and suppress, and win over and divide the middle and senior officers with Yuanqi's background in the navy, so as to achieve the goal of completely controlling the Nanyang navy.

Yan Yangtian obviously expected this, so he proposed to lead two regiments back to Guangzhou, but if a brigade was stationed in Guangzhou, the imperial court would easily let it go? Daoguang ordered the mobilization of troops and horses, did he comply with the order or not? If he does not obey the order, he will inevitably be attacked as a rebel and thief who supports the army and respects himself, and becomes the finger of a thousand people.

After a slight groan, he said: "You are the safest to lead your troops in Nanyang." After a pause, he continued: "I will ask Ding Wei to open the vacancy, and the posthumous position will be succeeded by Yizeng, and you will coordinate the scheduling." ”

"Headmaster—." Yan Yangtian hurriedly said: "Yi Zeng is afraid that he will not dare to disobey ......" ”

"I know." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "With him leading 10,000 people to sit in Luzon, you led the fleet south to conquer Java, cut off contact with the imperial court, the navy is free, and the imperial court cannot control ......it, so you don't dare to act rashly." ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian can be said to have suddenly enlightened, in this way, the imperial court can't even touch the edge of the navy, and there is nothing to say, but this time is a little longer, but this is better than the navy being controlled by the imperial court.

"Java is no more complicated than Luzon." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Fight Groba first, and after the capture, then gradually attack the king of the land on the main islands, the Sultan, in addition, Nanfang of Boluozhou is mainly to persuade to surrender, if you don't surrender and then use troops,

In two or three years, it will be very good to be able to take the South Seas, and there is also a task on this trip, which is to survey and map the entire sea area of the South China Sea in detail. ”

"The principal does not live up to the high expectations of the principal." Yan Yangtian said loudly.

"One thing to be aware of." Yi Zhizu advised: "Don't provoke the British, try to avoid fighting with them, our current strength is not the opponent of the British Navy at all, don't give them an excuse to get involved in this war, now if we declare war on Spain and the Netherlands at the same time, it is really not appropriate to erect a strong enemy."

In addition, the colonies of the Netherlands and England in the South Seas are open to each other and enjoy the greatest preferential rights, and if they capture Groba, they may as well give England equal rights. Of course, there is no need to endure it, England has invested a lot in our Qing Dynasty now, and we are not afraid of trouble! ”

"Students understand." Yan Yangtian hurriedly nodded in response.

"And—." Yi Zhishu continued: "The Spanish fleet evacuated from Luzon may not return to the European mainland, if you find their traces, you don't have to be polite, and you can directly recruit them. ”

Three days later, Yi Zhizu left Manila by boat and returned to Guangzhou, where he sent the excerpt of Ding Wei's vacancy to Beijing in an expedited manner of 800 li.

Jingshi, Yuanmingyuan, Qinzheng Palace, Fangbi Cong.

Mu Zhang'a walked lightly to the door, and after asking An to see the salute, he walked to Daoguang and knelt down, and reported softly: "Your Majesty, Yi Yunchang's eldest son Yi Zhishu has entered Beijing, saying that he wants to help Ling return home. ”

Hearing this, Daoguang was surprised and said, "How could Yi Zhishu arrive in Jingshi so quickly?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Mu Zhang'a said in a low voice: "The slave heard that he came by sea on the Yuanqi Clipper?" ”

"So, Yi Zhizhi should also know?"

"I can't hide ......."

After a slight sigh, Daoguang said: "Is there any progress in investigating the fire in the Zhenhai Hou Mansion?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Mu Zhang'a hurriedly bowed down and said, "No." ”

Daoguang sighed lightly and said, "With Zaiquan, he came forward, comforted him, and rewarded 10,000 taels of silver for the manager's funeral, which was transferred from the Internal Affairs Office." ”

10,000 silver? Mu Zhang'a couldn't help but be stunned, this stroke is also too big, he has always rewarded his courtiers with only three or five hundred taels, thousands of taels are all graces at first sight, this time he actually rewarded 10,000 silver, slightly groaned, he said: "Your Majesty, the Yi family is not short of silver, I heard that Yi Zhishu himself and his knees are not famous......" ”

Hearing this, Daoguang was even more emotional, Yi Zhishu has promoted many people over the years, but his own brothers and nephews are still white, and he groaned slightly, before he said: "Yi Zhishu is rewarded with four products, and his eldest son Enfengen is a cavalry captain." ”

Seeing that Daoguang didn't mention anything about the silver, Mu Zhang'a didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly said, "The slave obeys the order." ”

Daoguang was about to call to kneel An, but the eunuch reported outside: "Your Majesty, Saishan'a is handing over a sign to ask for a meeting, saying that there is urgent military affairs. ”

"Let him in." Daoguang said and glanced at Mu Zhang'a in confusion.

Saishana walked in quickly, and after seeing the salute, he said: "Guangzhou, Manila 800 miles urgent." ”

Daoguang's face sank, and he quickly opened the excerpt, Guangzhou came to Yi Zhi's content to invite Ding Wei to open the vacancy, Manila is the excerpt of Yizeng and Chang Bao's report, after reading it quickly, Daoguang threw the excerpt in front of Mu Zhang'a and Saishan'a, and scolded: "The imperial court has a system, and those who leave the school are not allowed to report their funerals in the military camp, and the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion is on fire, and I have ordered to block the news, how can anyone rush to the Manila camp to report the funeral so quickly?" What's going on here? ”

Mu Zhang'a flipped through the fold and glanced at it a few times, and quickly kowtowed: "The emperor is angry, and the slave immediately ordered someone to investigate strictly!" After a pause, he continued: "Yi Zhixiang pleads with Ding Wei to open the vacancy, which is also a good thing for the imperial court. ”

The so-called good thing is naturally to take this opportunity to take back the military power and completely control the Nanyang Navy, Daoguang glanced at him, and said in a cold tone: "Yi Zhizhi pleads with Ding Wei to open the vacancy, this is to be angry, to express dissatisfaction!" Meddlesome? ”

"Hmph" he said dissatisfied, "the conquest of Nanyang, Nanyang immigrants, northwest immigrants, border reform, northwest defense, Beijing-Hangzhou railway, Cao Gang change careers, Eight Banners livelihood, navy expansion, military system innovation..... Which of these is inseparable from the support of Kaiyuanqi? ”

"Your Majesty." Mu Zhang'a said boldly: "Yuanqi monopolizes the money-saving industry, issues paper money, sets up factories, and mines mines, and has hundreds of thousands of staff and craftsmen under his name. ”

Hearing this, Sai Shang Ah only felt that his back was cold, if the imperial court opened a knife on Yuan Qi, the southeast would inevitably be a big chaos! Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of staff and craftsmen under Yuan Qi's name, and the tens of thousands of shareholders under Yuan Qi's name, they are all gentry and businessmen from the southeastern provinces, this matter is too big, he didn't dare to mix it at all, so he had to pestle it like a gourd.

Daoguang obviously didn't expect Mu Zhang'a to be so direct, Yuan Qi is so huge, it is really not a good thing for the imperial court, but it is precisely because of the existence of Yuan Qi that the Qing Dynasty was able to raise its eyebrows and expand externally, and it is also because of Yuan Qi that the finances of the imperial court can be barely maintained, and it can make him see the hope of a complete reversal.

Once the Nanyang Navy is controlled, without the strong military force to rely on Yuan Qi, how much of a threat can it pose to the imperial court? After a long silence, he said, "Kneel down." ”

Half a month later, Yi Zhishu received an edict in Guangzhou, "agreeing to Yizeng to lead the expedition to the Nanyang fleet, exempt one section from discussion, give a leave of 100 days for funeral, and go to Nanyang to supervise military affairs after the leave is completed." ”

Bao Shichen, who had just rushed to Guangzhou from Shanghai, shook his head slightly, and said: "I'm afraid this is just a temptation, the Nanyang Navy has now begun to take shape, and Yuan Qi's strength is huge enough to make it difficult for the imperial court to feel at ease, such a great opportunity to deprive the Hou Ye of military power, will the imperial court let it go?" ”

Yi Zhixiang glanced at him and said, "The emperor is not worried about me pushing the boat down the river?" ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen couldn't help but smile, "If the Hou Ye pushes the boat down the river, it will immediately be a situation where the group will attack him, at least, the Mu Party faction will not tolerate it." ”

"In this case, I still have a fold, and I beg for a vacancy again."

"Insist on opening the vacancy system!" Bao Shichen said: "You might as well complain about your grievances and grievances, these years of hard work for the imperial court to plan for the war, failed to fulfill filial piety, and now you have lost your parents, how can you not open the system of vacancies?" Let's be sincere. ”

Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "As soon as this fold is on, the emperor has to allow it." ”

Bao Shichen nodded slightly: "Hou Ye Ke has carefully considered, once Hou Ye Ding is worried, the Mu Party will definitely not let go of this rare opportunity to attack Hou Ye." ”

"I'm afraid they don't have a chance." Yi Zhizhi said and lit a cigarette leisurely, "Sir, although the writing is sincere and resolute, I am planning to use the time of the Shou system to organize people to develop some practical things, and I don't want to be distracted by official business." ”

Bao Shichen smiled: "Master Hou seems to be confident? ”

As long as the imperial court can't control the navy, even if he is worried about the vacancy, the imperial court will not dare to move Yuan Qi, let alone move him, Yi Zhishu is naturally fearless, he didn't answer this, but said: "The climate in Guangzhou is warm, Mr. might as well stay for a long time and sit with me to watch the situation." ”