Military Grain City, Headquarters.

Erjin took a pen and drew a thick arrow along the map of Tianjin - Wuqing - Xianghe - Tongzhou, Montauban led his troops to Wuqing, but tens of thousands of troops in Tianjin did not move, although he could not figure out the reason for this, but he knew that the division of troops to attack Beijing was an extremely correct decision!

Looking at the marked arrows on the map, Gro said with some uncertainty: "This is the main passage into Beijing before the Qing Dynasty?" ”

"Not bad." Erjin said: "This is the information provided by the Russians, before there was no railway, this route was the main water and land transportation from Tianjin to Beijing, the road surface is good, there are many villages and towns along the way, and it is also convenient for supply." ”

Ge Luo's words changed, "The follow-up troops have already moved towards Wuqing, and there is still no movement in Tianjin City, could it be that the intelligence is wrong?" ”

Before the words fell, a liaison officer hurriedly came in and reported: "Report, General Grant reports that the New Army of the Eight Banners in Tianjin is returning to Beijing by railroad one after another. ”

Erjin breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It seems that our judgment is right, the Qing Emperor really did not dare to let Yuanqi's new army enter Beijing." ”

After a slight groan, Gro said: "I think Beijing is the key, and we should increase the number of troops attacking Beijing." ”

"That's what I thought, too." Erjin said: "With the cooperation of the navy, it is enough to leave 10,000 troops in Tianjin." ”

Tianjin, Haiphong Office.

Cao Gensheng hurriedly walked into the headquarters and reported: "Dalian is calling, the main fleet of Nanyang has arrived and blockaded the Bohai Sea, and the old Tieshan Fort is being restored. ”

"Good!" A big stone in Yi Zhi's heart finally fell, and he ordered: "Order Chen Hongming and Xiao Mingliang to deploy the first-line defense of the Bohai Sea as soon as possible, and be sure to block the enemy fleet in the Bohai Sea and not give them a chance to escape." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Send a telegram to Yin Youcai in Shanghai, and be alert to enemy fleet attacks." "Before the main fleet of the South China Sea did not show up, the coalition detachment remaining in the East China Sea did not dare to easily enter the Yangtze River to attack Shanghai, and once it was learned that the main fleet appeared in the Bohai Sea, the other side would definitely take action.

Cao Gensheng left, Yan Yangtian hurriedly said: "At present, Tianjin has a lot of troops, and since the Bohai Sea has been blocked, can you send troops to take the initiative to attack?" ”

"Don't worry, wait for news from the monk king." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "If the Jingshi doesn't nod, let's send troops to the outskirts of Beijing, it may backfire." After a pause, he continued: "Forward the news that the Nanyang Fleet has blocked the Bohai Sea to the Military Aircraft Department. ”

Jingshi, outside Yongding Gate, Majiapu Railway Station.

Yongding Gate is the main gate of the outer city wall of the Beijing Division, located on the central axis of the Beijing Division, it is the largest one in the outer city gate of the Beijing Division, and it is also the thoroughfare that enters and exits the capital from the south.

Majiapu Railway Station is six miles away from Yongding Gate, which was not lively at first, but it quickly became prosperous after the railway station was completed. There are many new shops around the station, such as tea sheds, tank shops, inns, bathhouses, rakokokans, large stackhouses, and so on.

However, with the attack on Tianjin by the Four-Nation Alliance, after the implementation of military management at Majiapu Railway Station, the originally prosperous and lively railway station was also deserted, and all kinds of shops were closed, but the large storage room of inventory and the business of big and small foot shops were surprisingly good.

"Woo——。" A train slowly drove into the platform, and as soon as it stopped, the monk Grinqin in a python robe stepped on the platform quickly, and then got into a four-wheeled carriage waiting on the platform, and ordered: "Enter the palace!" ”

From Majiapu Railway Station to Yongdingmen has built a wide and straight avenue, but it is a gravel road, the four-wheeled carriage gallops all the way, inevitably bumpy, Monk Greenqin has been in the army for a long time, but he doesn't feel it, but the dust raised by the horse team in front of him makes him frown, and he can't help but miss the asphalt road in Shanghai, secretly thinking about finding an opportunity for Yuanqi to pave this road into an asphalt road.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, Xinuan Pavilion.

Xianfeng paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, two days ago Su Shun also said conclusively that it was impossible for the Xiyi coalition army to cross Tianjin to attack the Beijing division, who would have thought that his worries would soon become a reality, the 50,000 troops of the Xiyi coalition army crossed Tianjin, and followed the previous post road to Xianghe Tongzhou to advance to the Beijing division.

An army of 50,000! Xianfeng frowned, the fully equipped Eight Banners New Army is only 50,000, plus more than 100,000 Eight Banners Forbidden Army stationed in Beijing, it should not be a big problem to defend the Beijing Division, but after such a big battle, the Beijing Division will inevitably be full of holes, and what worries him even more is the casualties, once the casualties are too large, how to resist the tens of thousands of Qi Xin Army that are close at hand?

If the Eight Banners New Army can't fight, then the only way to stop the Yuanqi New Army from attacking the Beijing Division is to prevent the Xiyi Coalition Army from attacking the Beijing Division, but tens of thousands of Yuan Qi New Army is also a great threat to the Beijing Division, and it can even be said that the threat of the Yuanqi New Army is greater than that of the Xiyi Coalition Army!

This is a dilemma, he really didn't expect this kind of situation, for a while he secretly regretted in his heart, he shouldn't agree to put the main battlefield in Jinjing, and another more urgent issue also requires him to make a decision, whether to leave Beijing and go to Rehe to escape the summer? The son of a daughter can't sit down, not to mention that he is the honor of the Ninety-Five, and the safety of the world is tied to one, how can he stand in danger?

Just when he was suffering from gains and losses, the eunuch on duty reported at the door: "Prince Hui Mianyu, Minister of Military Aircraft Peng Yunzhang and Su Shun handed over signs to ask to see him." ”

"Let them in, and Monk Grinqin will come with them." Xianfeng casually instructed that Monk Greenqin had entered Beijing, he specially called the three of them in, discussed the current situation, slowly paced back to the kang, took a sip of tea, sat cross-legged, and opened a book of folds casually.

After Mianyu and the three of them came in to greet An, Peng Yunzhang bowed down and presented a telegram: "Your Majesty, Jinzhou has called, nearly 200 warships of the main fleet of the Nanyang Navy have arrived in Lushun, recovered Jinzhou, Dalian, and Zhifu, and blockaded Bohai Bay. ”

After reading the telegram, Xianfeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, it seems that Yi Zhizhi is not a lie, once he once suspected that Yuan Qi and Britain and France joined forces to close the Beijing Division, and he did not blame him for being suspicious, in fact, Yuan Qi and the Xiyi Four Nations Coalition Army confronted each other in Guangzhou for several months but no large-scale war broke out.

As for the Nanyang Fleet's total annihilation of the Yingyi East India Fleet in the Strait of Malacca and the attack on Calcutta, he didn't know whether these things were true or not, but now that the Nanyang Naval Fleet had poured out of the nest to blockade the Bohai Sea, there was no need to suspect that Yuan Qi was colluding with the Xiyi.

Putting down the telegram, he glanced at the three of them, raised his hand and said, "No courtesy, sit down." ”

After the three of them sat down, he said slowly: "Xiyi's 50,000 army is approaching the Beijing Division, what should I do?" ”

Hearing this, Su Shun's face was a little unnatural, he only said two days ago that it was impossible for the Xiyi coalition army to attack the Beijing Division, but as a result, the people were in danger and directly crossed Tianjin to attack the Beijing Division, and there were 50,000 troops, which was simply a slap in the face!

"Your Majesty." Mianyu said: "Now that the weather is getting hotter, the minister earnestly prays that the emperor will go to Rehe to escape the heat." ”

Peng Yunzhang continued: "The current situation is complicated, and Weichen also earnestly prays for the emperor to leave Beijing temporarily. ”

Seeing that both of them agreed with Xianfeng leaving Beijing, Su Shun hesitated before saying: "The slave secretly thinks that the Xiyi army should send Yuanqi's new army to intercept ......." ”

Before he finished speaking, the listening monk Greenqin asked for peace at the door, "The slave monk Greenqin respectfully asks for Sheng'an." ”

Seeing him come so quickly, Xianfeng was a little surprised, and when he came to kneel, he said slowly: "No courtesy, sit down." ”

Xie En sat down, and Monk Lingqin said straightforwardly: "Yi Zhishu implores the emperor for permission to send 20,000 yuan Qi Xin army to Tongzhou to intercept the Xiyi coalition army. ”

An army of 20,000? Xianfeng was surprised, "20,000 yuan Qixin army can intercept 50,000 Xiyi coalition troops?" ”

The reason why Yi Zhixin only pleaded to send 20,000 troops to Tongzhou to intercept was that he was worried that Xianfeng would not allow the increase in troops, and he was not sure whether the 20,000 Qi New Army could intercept the 50,000 Xiyi Coalition Army, although he had seen the new artillery, new rear loading guns and copper-shelled bullets of the Yuanqi New Army, but he knew very well that the battle of tens of thousands of troops had too many factors affecting success or failure.

After a slight groan, he said, "The slave implores to allow the two brigades and the Eight Banners New Army to assist in interception." ”

Xianfeng glanced at him and said, "Yuan Qi is short of troops in Tianjin?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Monk Lingqin said: "Yi Zhishu said that if the emperor allows it, Yuan Qi can send 40,000 troops to Tongzhou to intercept it." ”

In other words, Yuanqi was not short of troops, Xianfengdeng was a little hesitant, and Monk Greenqin continued: "Your Majesty, the servants secretly think that they should send troops to assist Yuanqi's new army to go to Tongzhou to intercept it, otherwise, it will damage the emperor's reputation and the morale of the Eight Banners New Army."

Moreover, the interception of the Xiyi coalition army is based on the Yuanqi New Army, and the Eight Banners New Army is just assisting from the side, even if it is defeated, the loss will not be too large, and if it is a big victory, the Eight Banners New Army can also share a lot of spoils. ”

Su Shun hurriedly added: "Your Majesty, the key to a battle with the Xiyi coalition army is a naval battle, the Nanyang Navy can blockade the Bohai Sea, and in this battle, our Qing Dynasty is already invincible." ”

Hearing this, Xianfeng reacted when he waited, and said simply: "Allow Yuanqi's new army to go to Tongzhou to intercept it, and send two brigades to assist with Monk Greenqin." ”

"Your Majesty." Su Shun hurriedly said.

"The minions obey." Monk Lingqin was overjoyed, and when he raised his body, he said: "This battle is really rare to see, Yi Zhizu suggested that a group of officers from the Eight Banners New Army and the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing form an officer observation group to go to the front line to observe and study." ”

This is a good suggestion, Xianfeng said briskly: "Approve what he wants." After a pause, he looked at Monk Lingqin and said, "It's okay to assist in the battle, ammunition, Yuan Qi has to go?" ”

Monk Greenqin didn't know how to reply for a while, four brigades went to Tianjin for a trip, and people had already equipped you with two brigades, as well as a large amount of ammunition, and now he asked for it, he really had no face to speak.

Seeing the monk Greenqin's expression, Su Shun smiled secretly in his heart, it seemed that the equipment of the two recruit brigades was also hard-won, and he hurriedly took the initiative to ask, "Your Majesty, this matter is only going to be involved with Yi Zhi**." ”

Xianfeng's reaction was not slow, and he immediately bowed his head and said: "Okay, there is no need to be reluctant in this matter, after all, this battle is dominated by the Yuanqi New Army." Saying that, he said straightforwardly: "Kneel down, Peng Yunzhang stays." ”

The three of them saluted and retreated, and Xianfeng said slowly: "Now that hundreds of thousands of troops from the Xiyi Alliance, Yuanqi and the imperial court have gathered in Jinjing, the strength of the imperial court is the weakest, how can the imperial court protect itself?" ”

Peng Yunzhang originally thought that keeping him down was to discuss leaving Beijing for the summer, but unexpectedly it involved a topic of Nuoda, and he was immediately shocked, what does Xianfeng mean by this? Collusion with the Xiyi coalition to defeat Yuan Qi? Thinking of this, he felt a chill on his back.

Xiyi Coalition Army, Yuanqi and the Imperial Court, the Imperial Court is the weakest, Yuanqi is the strongest, the current situation, Yuanqi is already a stable winner, and completely grasp the initiative, of course, the premise is that the Nanyang Navy Fleet has the ability to blockade the Bohai Sea and annihilate the Xiyi Fleet, however, since Yi Zhishu dares to do so, he must have great certainty!

What is Xianfeng worried about? Worried that Yuan Qi would attack the Jingshi after defeating the Xiyi coalition army? In fact, this kind of worry is not only Xianfeng, Peng Yunzhang also has, many princes and ministers in Beijing and many Han ministers have this worry, easy to be content and ambitious, as we all know, tens of thousands of troops with the power of great victory, soldiers under the city, anything can happen, this is also the reason why he strongly implored Xianfeng to leave Beijing and go to Rehe to escape the summer.

If Xianfeng is not satisfied with the current situation of the imperial court, then as far as the current situation is concerned, the only choice for the imperial court is to join forces with the Xiyi coalition army and defeat Yuan Qi! After a big defeat in this battle, Yuan Qi's vitality was greatly damaged, and it was even possible to collapse, but the question is, can he defeat Yuan Qi by joining forces with the Xiyi coalition army?

Seeing that Peng Yunzhang was silent for a long time, Xianfeng said slowly: "Even if the new army of Yuanqi does not attack the Beijing division after defeating the Xiyi coalition army, the imperial court will not be able to reverse the current unfavorable situation of confrontation with Yuanqi, the Mini guns of the Eight Banners New Army cannot be fully loaded, and the ammunition is not self-sufficient, Yuanqi has begun to replace with new rear-loading guns, even if Yuanqi has no dissenting intentions, in the long run, it will inevitably be a country!" ”

Peng Yunzhang is like a mirror in his heart, although Yuan Qi has not made a mess, but he has faintly fought against the imperial court, Nanyang, southeast, and northwest, the imperial court is now uncontrollable, completely under the control of Yuan Qi, and it is still under development, and the Qing Dynasty is indeed in danger.

After a slight groan, he said bluntly: "Your Majesty, even if you join forces with the Xiyi coalition army, you may not be able to defeat Yuan Qi, the key to this battle is the naval battle." ”

"Not necessarily. In this battle of Jinjing, how much silver did Yuan Qi have to cost? Xianfeng said in a deep voice: "If the Nanyang Navy fleet has the ability to completely annihilate the Xiyi fleet, I am afraid that a war will start in the Nanyang." ”

After a pause, he continued: "A naval battle will break out at Bohai Sea soon, and wait and see, however, the imperial court cannot blindly wait, and should contact the Xiyi coalition army, so that there will be a chance." ”

Peng Yunzhang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the imperial court is in contact with the Xiyi coalition army, I'm afraid it won't be able to hide from Yuan Qi." ”

The corners of Xianfeng's mouth hooked, "Yong forgot about the Orthodox mission of the Russians in Beijing. ”