Yi Zhi's contentment of this idea, Lin Zexu has long heard Chen Huacheng's detailed report, however, before he was only the governor of Liangjiang, and he didn't worry about the war in Zhejiang, at most, from the perspective of the battle of Jiangning, but now he is the minister in charge of Zhejiang's military affairs and also serves as the governor of Liangjiang, not only has to consider the overall situation, but also must re-examine the war situation in Zhejiang. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

He immediately asked: "With the view of contentment, how should the battle situation in Zhejiang be dealt with?" ”

"Maintain the status quo." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "We can afford to drag it, but Yingyi can't afford it." ”

"How long will it take to maintain the status quo?"

"It's hard to say." Yi Zhisuff pondered and said: "It's June now, and it doesn't seem that Yingyi's posture is in a hurry, and it is very likely to be delayed until next year's summer and autumn season." ”

"Then we can't afford to delay." Lin Zexu smiled bitterly and said: "As time goes by, the government and the opposition criticize, and the imperial court will inevitably exert pressure to urge the dispatch of troops. refers to relying on the imperial court to continue to allocate military salaries, and I am afraid that it is unreliable. ”

"Actually—." Yi Zhishu pondered for a while, and then said: "If the Zhejiang battlefield maintains the status quo, there is no need for soldiers and horses from other provinces to come to support, and the troops of Fujian, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu provinces are enough. ”

Lin Zexu shook his head slowly, and said: "Above the court, the battle between the main battle and the main fu is already fierce, if we stand still and let Yingyi occupy Ningbo, let alone a year, it will become the target of public criticism in half a year, and we will be transferred at least and dismissed from our posts and questioned at worst." ”

"As soon as the case of the deficit of the household treasury came out, Mu Zhongtang was afraid that he would not have time to take care of the situation in Jiangnan."

"Hanchen is the main battle, and the Manchen is the main one." Lin Zexu sighed lightly before he said: "It's not just Mu Zhongtang and his family who are in charge, the battle situation is stalemate or unfavorable, it will shake the emperor's determination." ”

Daoguang is indeed not a king with a firm position, a crow. The war, the attitude has changed many times, and it is easy to be content and clear, the Hubu Treasury deficit case can not bring down Mu Zhang'a, after a long time, Daoguang is likely to change the hexagram, he does not want Lin Zexu to be transferred from the Liangjiang Governor, whether it is the development of Shanghai, or the expansion of Yuanqi in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the short term is inseparable from the strong support of the Liangjiang Governor.

Daoguang asked Lin Zexu to preside over the overall situation of Jiangnan, and he was the counselor of military affairs, which really hit Yuan Qi's weakness, which was calculated that Yuan Qi would strongly support Lin Zexu, the problem is that Jiangnan is such a big situation, even if Yuan Qi does his best to support it, I am afraid that he is powerless, not to mention others, so many soldiers and horses are enough for them to drink a pot.

Smoking his cigar and meditating for a long time, he spoke: "If you talk about a slightly larger land battle, that is, the Yuanqi regiment has fought with the British army in Dinghai, with all due respect, even without the support and cooperation of the battleship artillery, the Eight Banners Green Battalion is far from being the opponent of the British army."

Although the proportion of the number of muskets assembled by the green battalion is not low, there is an irreparable gap between the muskets equipped with the British army, and the musketeers of the green battalion have not undergone systematic and strict shooting training, and the combat thinking of middle and senior military generals is still stuck in the era of cold weapons.

In addition, the Green Battalion, which came from afar from other provinces, could not have a tenacious sense of battle because it was fighting in a different place, and in addition lacked experience in large-scale firearms confrontation, it was absolutely crushed in the face of the British army. I dare to assert that the arrival of reinforcements from other provinces, in addition to wasting money and food in vain, is harming the people and will not benefit the war situation at all. ”

Hearing this, Lin Zexu didn't say anything for a long time, it is true that there is only Yuanqi regimental training and victory in the battle with the British army, what is going on with the great victory of sharpening the sword, he knows best in his heart, what can really be called a great victory, it is only the battle of Dinghai, and he also knows that the muskets practiced by Yuanqi regiment are all purchased from Citigroup, and they are indeed not comparable to self-made muskets.

After a long time, he asked: "Are you sure that you will be content to keep Hangzhou from losing?" ”

"I'm not sure." Easy to be content with the simple way.

Lin Zexu Yileng, if he can't even keep Hangzhou, how can this battle be fought? Yi Zhizu knocked the cigarette ash, and said in a firm tone: "Although the Lord of the Ministry can rest assured, the British army will at most make a show and put on a posture of attacking Hangzhou, and will not and dare not attack Hangzhou in a big way, although Cixi is less than three hundred miles away from Hangzhou, but the British army consumes a lot of ammunition, and in the case of not being able to guarantee the supply of ammunition, the British army does not dare to let the army alone go deep into the interior of two or three hundred miles." ”

Lin Zexu said worriedly: "I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm afraid of ......." ”

"No in case." Yi Zhi said in an unquestionable tone: "If the British army dared to go deep alone, it would have captured Hangzhou a long time ago, don't forget, there are many traitors in the British army who are familiar with the situation in Zhejiang, and the significance and impact of the capture of Hangzhou cannot be unknown to the British army." ”

This is not unreasonable, Lin Zexu stroked his long beard and muttered for a while before he said, "Is it because of the lack of troops?" ”

"There is no shortage of troops." Yi Zhisuff said without thinking: "The British army only left 8,000 people in Hong Kong, and the strength in Dinghai and Ningbo is more than 20,000, there is no shortage of troops, besides, the British army is also divided into two, and the troops are divided into ...... along the coast to the north." ”

Hearing him mention this stubble, Lin Zexu interrupted him and said, "Is there any news about the British fleet going north?" ”

"There's news in return." Yi Zhizhi said: "The sand boat sent was lost when it entered the sea of Shandong. ”

"Lost?" Lin Zexu looked at it suspiciously, the British fleet was so large, could it be lost?

"The British warships opened fire and drove away, and sent clippers in pursuit."

Lin Zexu's heart sank, "In this way, the British army is really divided into two routes, all the way to attack Tianjin?" ”

"It's been half a month, and if the British fleet attacks Tianjin, there should be news." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "There is no need to worry, Tianjin is heavily guarded, and the Dagukou Fort has also strengthened its defense, even if the British fleet is going to Tianjin, that little force will not help." ”

His words were purely Kuanlin Zexu's heart, the British army has more than 20 warships, including three third-class battleships, with a strength of at least seven or eight thousand, if it attacks Tianjin, it is definitely enough for the Tianjin defenders to drink a good pot, paused, he pulled back the conversation and said: "The British army divided its troops to the north, but did not concentrate its forces to attack Hangzhou, which in itself is enough to show that the British army has no plan to attack Hangzhou at all, and secretly thinks that stationing 120,000 troops near Hangzhou is enough to deal with it." ”

"It's no small feat." Lin Zexu said with a smile, "Contentment has worked hard all the way, take a rest for the time being, the guest house has been cleaned up, and the main hall will pick up the wind and wash the dust for you at night." ”

Yi Zhizhi was placed in a very quiet courtyard, took a bath, ate some snacks at random, he picked a shady place, moved a chaise longue, half lying on the chair smoking a cigar and thinking about his thoughts, the case of the deficit of the household treasury actually led to such a result, which was indeed beyond his expectations.

The treasury is empty, and there are only more than four million taels of silver left, but Daoguang's small treasury can always make up a few million taels, and last year's 10 million national bonds can always have four or five million left, and there are always 123 million to make up Baba, no matter how bad it is, you can also order the gentry and merchants in various provinces to donate money and quell Zhang Ge's rebellion, isn't that what you do, why is it so anxious to fight Yuanqi's idea? I don't think it's too ugly.

He didn't know if it was a shot in the foot? Maybe if the lid of the household treasury is not lifted, those officials can still tear down the east wall and make up the west wall, and squeeze out seven or eight million taels of silver to survive the battle of Jiangnan first, fortunately, it is not without gain, and finally gave him a counselor minister, so that he has the opportunity to influence or even influence this war.

Speaking of the truth, for this war, he is very entangled in his heart, both hoping for a big victory, but also worried that after the big victory, the scale of the war will expand again, no one knows better than him, with the current strength of the Qing Dynasty is not the opponent of England at all, the consequences of the expansion of the war are not what the Qing Dynasty can bear, especially the current economic situation of the Qing Dynasty, it is simply impossible to maintain a protracted war of the country.

"Young master, they sent a basin of chilled bayberry soup ......." Li Wang walked over quickly from behind and said diligently: "Give the young master a bowl?" When the ice melts, the taste is poor. ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't like bayberry, waved his hand and said: "Share it with the people below, buy a few watermelons and soak them in the well, and cool off at night." ”

"Yes, young master." Li Wang was about to turn around, but Yi Zhizhi shouted again: "Wait, did the little guy who gave bayberry soup give a reward?" ”

Hearing this, Li Wang smiled and said, "Don't dare to give the small one." ”

Don't dare to give? Yi Zhizhi was content, and then quickly sat up, he first heard the footsteps of more than one person behind him, but Li Wang, who listened to it, opened his mouth, he just thought it was also a small servant, turned around and looked, but saw Lin Zexu's chief staff - Wei Yuan standing behind him with a smile, and immediately glared at Li Wang, and before he could speak, Wei Yuan was already smiling: "Don't blame him, the old man won't let him report." Saying that, he smiled and said, "Contentment doesn't like sweet and sour things? ”

Yi Zhisuff returned the salute and ordered, "Quickly bring a bowl to Mr. Wei." ”

"No, no, no." Wei Yuan waved his hand again and again: "Herbal tea is good." ”

When Li Wang left, Yi Zhizhi smiled and said, "Mr. Wei has been looking for an opportunity to ...... in order to recommend several capable staff members below. ”

"The old man doesn't dare to be greedy." Wei Yuan said with a smile: "Finding staff for contentment is personally inquired by the Lord of the Ministry..... The old man came to the governor's palace in advance, and the lord of the ministry was very unhappy. As he spoke, he waved his hand and said, "Don't mention this." ”

As he spoke, Li Wang quickly moved the tables and chairs, and sent a pot of herbal tea, only then did he retreat far away, and the two sat down, Wei Yuan said slowly: "Some time ago, the lord of the ministry also explained to the old man that he would go to Shanghai to be a contented guest in the future. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhizhi smiled, "Lord Ministries have no confidence in the war in Jiangnan? ”

"Contentment and faith?"

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "Can Mr. Wei be confident?" ”

Slowly shaking his head, Wei Yuancai said: "The peace has been long, the Eight Banners Green Battalion has long been unusable, Yingyi has shown amazing combat power in both water and land battles, to be honest, the old man is deeply worried, if the food is sufficient, the soldiers use their lives, maybe there is still a chance, now this situation, difficult!" ”

"It's hard!" Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "However, no matter how difficult it is, this battle has to be fought, and we have no choice." ”

Wei Yuan stared at him and said, "What if there are steps down?" ”

Got stairs down? What do you mean? The British army could not give them a step down, the imperial court? Yi Zhifu reacted in a blink of an eye, and said in a deep voice: "The British fleet going north has attacked Tianjin?" ”

Seeing that he reacted so quickly, Wei Yuan was secretly surprised, shook his head, and said, "No." After a slight pause, he didn't sell it, and said slowly: "The British fleet appeared in Dengzhou, Shandong, and plundered several merchant fleets that came and went, Tianjin reported urgently, the Beijing division was shaken, and the emperor had ordered Xuzhou troops to gallop north to aid Tianjin, and the monk king galloped overnight to ........ ”

What is Dengzhou? Dengzhou is the easternmost point of the Shandong Peninsula, just at the mouth of the Bohai Sea, and the British fleet plundered several merchant fleets in Dengzhou? What does that mean? Dispatching troops from Xuzhou to aid Tianjin, such a major matter, Lin Zexu did not summon him to discuss, but let Wei Yuan come to test it, what does it mean? Lin Zexu retreated, and wanted to take this opportunity to give up the Battle of Jiangning and regain Ningbo single-mindedly?

With a slight groan, Yi Zhizhi said: "Xuzhou's troops are not much, right?" ”

Wei Yuan said: "Ten thousand elites were transferred. ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "Has Mr. Wei thought about it?" Why did the British fleet plunder the passing merchant fleet at Dengzhou instead of directly attacking Tianjin? Mr. Wei thought about it again, what was the British army for occupying Ningbo, but not attacking Hangzhou? ”

Wei Yuan was stunned when he listened, and without waiting for him to ponder carefully, Yi Zhixin said in a deep voice: "This is strategic deception!" Saying that, he stood up and said excitedly: "The target of the British army is not Tianjin, nor Hangzhou, but Jiangning!" ”

"Contentment means—." Wei Yuan hesitated and said: "The British fleet appeared in Dengzhou to create a false impression and to transfer Xuzhou's troops to Tianjin?" But Yingyi didn't know that Xuzhou had gathered heavy troops! ”

"Yingyi didn't know that Xuzhou had gathered heavy troops." Yi Zhishu said with a relaxed face: "Mr. Wei, think about it carefully, which one of the pressures caused by the British fleet in Dengzhou and Tianjin is greater?" Not surprisingly, the British fleet in Dinghai will also leave recently, creating the illusion of going north!

In this way, it will be possible for the imperial court to transfer all the troops from the north to Tianjin, Mr. Wei, don't forget, the speed of the British fleet is not comparable to that of the Eight Banners Green Battalion, once the British fleet turns south to attack Jiangning, Tianjin's troops will not have time to rescue at all. ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Pu Ding Cha has some means, blockade the Pearl River estuary, lock the Guangdong Navy Division in Humen, go north along the way, destroy the Fujian and Zhejiang Navy Division's warships, in order to eliminate worries, completely grasp the sea control, and then create the illusion of attacking Tianjin to threaten Beijing, and when he returns with a shot, attack Jiangning, the imperial court is beyond the reach of the whip." (To be continued.) )