Military Grain City, Headquarters.

Ergin looked gloomy and smoked his pipe silently, although he had long guessed that the Qing navy warships were equipped with new breech-loading rifled guns, but he received a telegram from the Russians, which confirmed this and confirmed that the Qing navy did have enough strength to blockade the Bohai Sea, and he was still a little difficult to accept.

After a long time, Gro said quietly: "Let's make peace with Yuanqi, right?" ”

"Do you think that in this case, Yuan Qi will make peace with us?" Erjin rolled his eyes and said disdainfully: "Even if Yuan Qi accepts the peace talks, the conditions offered are unacceptable to us!" ”

This time Britain launched a war against the Qing State, not only to grab more interests in the Qing State, but also to involve British interests in India, Bangladesh, Burma, and Malacca. This is also the reason why he did not consider peace talks with Yuan Qi.

"The Qing Navy can blockade the Bohai Sea and easily destroy our main fleet, and there is no need to fight this battle at all." Gro said in a deep voice: "Even if we negotiate peace with the Qing court, we can't change this result. ”

"I don't agree with Your Excellency." Erjin said slowly: "It is true that the Qing Navy has the strength to blockade the Bohai Sea, but it may not be sure that it will be able to defeat our fleet, or in other words, even if the Qing Navy has the strength to defeat us, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses."

If the Qing Navy had the strength to easily defeat the main force of our fleet, they would not have blocked the Bohai Sea, but would have directly entered the Bohai Sea and inflicted heavy damage or annihilation on the main force of our fleet in one fell swoop!

In addition, we have peace talks with the Qing court, or even an alliance, in terms of land warfare, we have an overwhelming advantage, enough to force Yuan Qi to withdraw from Tianjin, to this point, we can negotiate peace with Yuan Qi on an equal footing! ”

Listening to these words, Gro's spirit perked up, and swept away the previous decadence and malaise, indeed, if the Qing Navy really had the strength to easily defeat their main fleet, it would not just block the Bohai Sea, but rush in to severely damage or annihilate their fleet, why bother to blockade the Bohai Sea? It is clear that the Qing navy is not completely sure, or rather, cannot withstand too many losses.

With a slight sigh, he said, "In this case, how likely is it that we will form an alliance with the Qing court?" ”

"Huge!" Erjin said in a firm tone: "As long as we can help the Qing court to fight against Yuan Qi, the Qing court will definitely be very happy to form an alliance with us, they should know very well that Yuan Qi's next target is them!" ”

Before the words fell, a communications officer walked in quickly and said loudly: "Report——, General Grant urgently reported that the new army of Tianjin Yuanqi marched out of the city and assembled in the area of Zizhu Forest, suspected of attacking the position. ”

Grant led more than 10,000 Anglo-Dutch troops stationed in the western suburbs of Tianjin to contain Yuan Qi's forces, it has been some days, Yuan Qi will not fight sooner or later, but choose to fight at this time? What is the reason? Ergin pondered for a while before he said, "Order Grant and send someone to negotiate with Yuanqi!" ”

Gro was stunned when he listened, didn't he not negotiate peace with Yuan Qi? As soon as he thought about it, he reacted that this was a negotiation to delay time! After the communications officer stepped back, he said, "Yuan Qi is afraid that he will not be fooled." ”

"The fleet has not yet returned, and it is impossible to reinforce Tianjin, so it can only delay time through negotiations, and besides, it will also take time to negotiate with the Qing court." Ergin said in a deep voice: "I personally went to Tianjin to negotiate and express my sincerity and ....... ”

"I'd better go to Tianjin." Gro took the initiative to ask Ying, as his French envoy, to go to Tianjin, even if he could not negotiate, his life would not be in danger, at most he would be detained, but Ergin could not be detained.

South of Tianjin, Majiakou.

Wu Yundong stood on the temporary lookout platform and held a telescope to observe the British position opposite, for a long time, he put down the telescope and sighed secretly, this battle is not easy to fight, the British army obviously knows their situation, the fortifications built are not only perfect but also very open, there are also twenty warships moored on the Haihe River, this hard bone gnawed down, the casualties are not small.

"Military Gate." The brigade commander Sun Wang, who was standing behind him, said with a solemn expression: "The British army's trench fortifications are very perfect, and if you want to attack strongly, you need to mobilize some more mortars. ”

Wu Yundong heard the fear revealed in his words, glanced back at him, and said: "Raising troops for a thousand days and using soldiers for a while, this combat mission is what I finally won from the big treasurer, and it is also the first tough battle of our troops, even if it is filled with human lives, it must be taken down for me!" If you are not sure, I will change the 203rd Brigade to the ..... of this main task. ”

Hearing this, Sun Wangwang dared to talk more, hurriedly straightened his chest, and said loudly: "My subordinates promise to complete the task, and I dare not live up to the high expectations of the army!" ”

"This battle must give me a prestige, don't let people underestimate us!" Wu Yundong said slowly: "Land artillery and mortars, I will try my best to fight for you, but you can't blindly rely on the advantages of firearms, use your brains more, and come up with a battle plan as soon as possible!" ”

"Subordinates obey!" Sun Wang hurriedly said.

In the city of Tianjin, the Haiphong Office, the headquarters.

Lin Meilian walked quickly to the door and reported: "The big treasurer, the British and French forces have sent a liaison officer to deliver a note. ”

Taking the note and glancing at it, Yi Zhizu frowned slightly, he was just about to attack the British position outside the city, and the other party couldn't wait to ask for a truce to negotiate, and it was a heavyweight who was sent - the French envoy Baron Gro, this is to delay time? Or is it because it has confirmed that the Nanyang Navy has the ability to blockade the Bohai Sea, so that it can change its tactics and hope to end the war with dignity through negotiations?

"Big treasurer, you might as well meet this Baron Gro for a while." Zhao Wenlie said slowly: "Look at the other party's charter?" If the four-nation coalition can be forced to surrender, it will not lose a good talk. ”

Forcing the Four-Nation Coalition to surrender? This may not be nothing, the Bohai Sea is blocked, and Yuanqi does have the capital to force the Four-Nation Alliance to surrender! Yi Zhixiang groaned for a while, and then said: "Reply to the other party, agree to the truce negotiations, the time is set at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, and the place is in the Haiphong Office." The other side is warned that no military action will be allowed during the negotiations. ”

He is not worried about the other party's delay, the more than 10,000 British troops outside Tianjin are the meat of the mouth, and they can't run away at all, the reason why he is preparing to attack is to give the four-nation alliance a little color, and weaken the strength of the other party by the way, and at the same time, it is also to deter Britain and France and the imperial court, standing in the position of Yuan Qi, whether it is from the current situation or in the long run, he does not want the imperial court to collude with Britain and France.

At nine o'clock in the morning of the next day, Ge Luo and his entourage entered Tianjin and rushed to the Haiphong Office, and at ten o'clock, Yi Zhicontentment and Gui Liang took Zhao Wenlie and Lin Meilian into the temporarily arranged conference room.

The two sides introduced and sat down, and Yi Zhishu directly handed over a truce clause drafted last night, "This is a truce clause proposed by our country, your Excellency see, if you can agree, we will continue to talk, otherwise, don't waste time." ”

After taking the terms of the truce, I opened it and saw the first article - all the British, French, Spanish and Dutch allied forces in the territory of the Great Qing Dynasty disarmed and surrendered. Gloro's brows jumped, and he hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, we can't accept the conditions for disarming and surrendering. ”

"Let's fight, then." Yi Zhisuff had a nonchalant look and tone, "In the end, this is the same result." ”

Gro hesitated for a moment before he said, "There is a saying in your country, which is called 'Kill a thousand enemies, and lose eight hundred.'" 'If the war continues, it means huge casualties for both of us. ”

"Kill a thousand enemies, and lose eight hundred?" The corners of Yi Zhi's mouth hooked, "The battle of Zhangjiawan, the battle of the Miaodao Strait, the battle loss ratio of the two sides, Your Excellency should be clear, right?" Ten to one. ”

Gro glanced at him and said, "Your Excellency should know that this is not a normal battle loss ratio. ”

The battle of Zhangjiawan and the battle of Miaodao Strait are indeed not a normal battle loss ratio, and at this point, Yi Zhishu also knows that if you really want to fight a positional war or a large-scale war of annihilation, the battle loss ratio is definitely much higher, after all, the difference in weapons between the two sides is not very large, and the other side is also an elite division, and many of the participating troops have participated in the Crimean War.

"We can afford a one-to-five, one-to-three, or even one-to-one loss." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "I have a population of 400 million in the Qing Dynasty, and the last thing I am afraid of is to consume more than the population, Your Excellency should know that a qualified soldier can be trained in three months." ”

Listening to the translation, Ge Luo couldn't help but curse secretly, his brain is broken, and he will compare the population consumption with the Qing Kingdom! He stopped saying a word, looked down at the truce clause, and the second clause also scared him, compensating for the war military expenses of 10 million taels of gold! Third, the Strait of Malacca and Bangladesh are ceded.

The latter few articles were the formal signing of the terms of the occupation of Luzon and the Java Islands and trade with Spain and the Netherlands, and he did not have the heart to look at it carefully, looked up at Yi Zhicontent, and said: "I came to Tianjin this time with full sincerity, hoping that through negotiations, we can end this war with dignity." ”

"End this war with dignity?" Yi Zhixiang sneered: "If you can't win this war, you hope to end this war with dignity?" If you win, will you give us a decent chance to end this war?

More than ten years ago, the British invaded, that war, we lost, did the British give us dignity? Land cession, indemnity, and opening of treaty ports........ ”

Hearing this, Gui Liang's heart was indescribably comfortable, he came to participate in the negotiation today, it was specially invited by Yi Zhi, and it was also approved by Xianfeng, he only planned to listen to it with his ears, I have to say that the truce clause drafted by Yi Zhixiang is strong, and the momentum is even stronger, and these words are really relieving!

Gro was speechless by these words, after all, it was the British who did it in front, and now people are just learning from it, but this mouth is too big, the British are just occupying it, and it can't be said that it is occupied, but it is just a small lease of Hong Kong Island, and you are good, you want to occupy the Strait of Malacca and Bengal, and the military expenses for the war are as high as 10 million taels of gold.

It's not a sky-high asking price, but I don't want to negotiate at all! Fortunately, he still had the purpose of coming to Tianjin, and immediately said: "Ten million taels of gold, this is an unheard of war reparation........" ”

Yi Zhisuff patiently argued with him, and only found an excuse to slip away after noon, leaving Gui Liang and Zhao Wenlie to accompany him, this negotiation cannot be said to be useless, the war is over, and the treaty will definitely be signed, this negotiation can be regarded as setting a framework first, and it also makes the other party have a mental preparation.

Tongzhou, after the victory of Zhangjiawan, the Yuanqi New Army, the Eight Banners New Army tens of thousands of troops into the Xianghe, Tongzhou has become a large army of baggage transfer warfare, inside and outside the city at a glance, all wearing new military uniforms or Eight Banners Green Battalion coats of officers and soldiers.

A cavalry contingent of more than 100 people galloped from the direction of the Xianghe, and immediately the knights were all wearing red tasseled hats and thorn coats, and at a glance they knew that it was the Eight Banners Green Battalion in charge of patrolling, and no one would have thought that the British consul in Guangzhou, Ergin Chinese secretary Pashali and other Anglo-French negotiation delegations were mixed in.

Outside the south gate, Wang Shuyuan, the garden of the front hall, the minister of the Qincha and the prince of Shuoyi, Zaiyuan, and the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, Baojun, sat in a gazebo in civilian clothes to drink tea and watch the scenery, heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the garden, Zaiyuan took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and said: "It's not slow to come." ”

After a short time, a military attache came quickly, and when he arrived, he saluted: "My lord, the English mission has arrived, but they have asked to take a bath and change clothes first." ”

"Take them there and arrange another table." Zaiyuan said slowly, he and Baojun also arrived in the morning, two hours early, in order to show the importance of the imperial court to this negotiation, Xianfeng deliberately appointed Prince Yi Zaiyuan and Baojun as the principal and deputy envoys to Tongzhou to negotiate with the British and French missions.

Pa Xiali and his entourage came out of the bath and changed clothes, and after eating the banquet, they were anxious to ask for the start of negotiations, and it was no wonder that they were in a hurry, but they were really anxious to start negotiations as soon as possible.

was brought into a hall, and saw that Prince Heshuoyi Zaiyuan was wearing a pro-dynasty uniform, Pa Xiali couldn't help but feel excited, he came to China in the twenty-first year of Daoguang, a real China expert, and when he saw the five-clawed golden dragon pattern embroidered on the other party's official robe, he knew that the identity of the person who came was noble.

As soon as he heard the introduction of the identity of Prince Shuoyi, he knew that the Qing court attached great importance to this negotiation, and the two sides introduced the ceremony and sat down, and Zaiyuan said unhurriedly: "I heard that the French envoy Gro has gone to Tianjin to negotiate with Yuanqi?" ”

Pa Xia Li didn't know about this, but he knew Ergin's intentions very well, and immediately said: "Negotiating with Yuan Qi is just to delay time, and the prince doesn't have to mind." ”

Bao Jun continued: "You propose negotiations, I don't know how sincere you are? ”

Sincerity? Pa Xiali rolled his eyes, realizing that the other party was not satisfied with his identity, and felt that his identity was too low, so he immediately smiled and said: "This time I came to negotiate, our side is full of sincerity, and we are eager to conclude an alliance with His Majesty the Emperor of your country to fight against Yuan Qi!" ”