After learning that Liang Huafeng not only refused to send troops to help, but also appealed to the imperial court to recruit an army of peace and tranquility, Zhao Guozuo cut off his last hope and sent someone to invite Consul Zhang Tao and Zhang to come to the governor's yamen to discuss matters, and asked people to bring a message, saying that he was willing to agree to all the demands made by the Ming army.

After Zhang Tao learned about it, he brought several bank bosses in Sichuan to meet Zhao Guozuo. After meeting the Governor of Zhejiang, Yu Youming said that he was also from Zhejiang, and would not pit his hometown, as long as Governor Zhao signed the prepared agreement, then the bird gun would be shipped immediately, and when these equipment were in the hands of the green camp, Governor Zhao would also have the confidence to recruit Zhuang Yuncheng.

These days, the Sichuan people are still spreading rumors in Hangzhou that the Zhoushan army has the intention of returning to the mainland - Zhang Huangyan does want to return to eastern Zhejiang, but Zhang Huangyan does not intend to resort to force, because he already knows that the Sichuan army is about to reach an agreement with Zhao Guozuo. After Zhao Guozuo ceded the forbidden sea area to the bankers in Sichuan, Zhang Huangyan could return to the Zhejiang mainland with the people who had fled to Zhoushan.

With the land under his control, operating for a few years, and buying some rifles from Sichuan, Zhang Huangyan was sure that he would not be driven into the sea again by Zhao Guozuo, so there was no need to use force now. Zhang Huangyan even asked his subordinates to restrain themselves and not to disturb Zhao Guozuo, who was already a frightened bird, in the short term, so as to urge the governor of Zhejiang to make up his mind to sign the agreement as soon as possible.

The agreement in front of Zhao Guozuo lasted for two years, and from the date of signing, the officers and soldiers of Zhejiang were not allowed to enter within 15 miles of the coast, and they were not allowed to enter the forbidden sea zone to collect taxes. In return, the Sichuan people provided Zhao Guozuo with 10,000 bird guns worth 300,000 taels of silver in the first year, and military supplies of the same value next year -- no longer limited to bird guns, but armor, broadswords, spears, bows, and crossbows.

If Zhao Guozuo remained in the position of governor of Zhejiang two years later, and was not in a state of war with Sichuan, the people of Sichuan had the right to demand a renewal of the agreement for two years, and the fees charged by the governor of Zhejiang, Yamen, should not increase by more than five percent, and still pay for them with military equipment or other materials agreed upon by both parties.

In addition, there were some provisions, such as the fact that in the future, Zhejiang consuls appointed by Sichuan could live in the city of Hangzhou, and in exchange, Hangzhou could also send consuls to Chengdu.

Zhao Guozuo stared at this agreement for a long time and didn't say a word. Song Kui, who came to observe the Hangzhou Treaty Ceremony, asked worriedly: "If Zhuang Yuncheng still refuses to accept Zhao'an after the bird gun arrives, and continues to Qingjun's side, then what should we do?" ”

"This is the order of the Duke of Baoguo," Zhang Tao took out a document with a smile on his face and read it aloud: "With the approval of the Academy, the order of Deng Ming, the Governor of Sichuan and the Yangtze River and the Governor of the Ming Army......"

"What is the courtyard, is it the court of the Eternal Prince?" Zhao Guozuo asked a little strangely.

"Some are similar to the cabinet, which was set up when the Son of Heaven was hunting in the south, and was signed for the order of the Duke of Baoguo." Zhang Tao did not point out at all that the Yuan Council could cancel all the orders issued by Deng Ming at any time, and Zhao Guozuo did not think much about it, he guessed that this was probably a tool used by Deng Ming to usurp the throne. He nodded and motioned for Zhang Tao to continue reading.

In this order, Deng Ming promised that it would be the responsibility of the imperial government to prevent arms from flowing into the hands of those attacking Governor Zhao while the Treaty of Hangzhou was in force, including the first two years and all future renewals.

"In other words, as long as Governor Zhao signs his name on this agreement, I will immediately send an injunction from the imperial government to Boss An, not allowing him to sell guns to Zhuang Yuncheng again." If Ann Lesi opposed the ban, he could theoretically appeal to the Sentencing Yamen and ask that the ban not be enforced; It is not certain whether the criminal yamen will finally recognize the ban and how long it will take to deal with this dispute. However, Zhang Tao did not explain this on the spot, he planned to send a set of Sichuan provisional codes to the governor of Zhejiang in a few days, so that Zhao Guozuo could read it himself.

"Whether it's Zhuang Yuncheng or others, as long as they are fighting against the Governor, they will be within the scope of the ban until they accept the recruitment." Zhang Tao pondered the words for a moment and continued: "The order of the Duke of Bao is not to fall into the hands of those who 'attack' the governor of Zhao, so if Zhuang Yuncheng accepts the recruitment, or goes on the defensive, and does not continue to attack the army of the governor of Zhao for more than three months, then we will assume that he is buying arms for peaceful purposes, and it will no longer be within the scope of the ban." ”

Zhao Guozuo and Song Kui glanced at each other, and they both knew that Deng Ming still left a back door. If Hangzhou has the upper hand, then he may still continue to sell arms to Zhuang Yuncheng so that he can continue to fight. Song Kui's eyes widened, and he was about to argue with reason, but Zhao Guozuo smiled bitterly and shook his head to signal him not to argue.

Now it is Hangzhou and not Huzhou that are anxious for a truce, and if Zhao Guozuo can regain the upper hand in three months and threaten the survival of the Jingnan army, it will mean that the situation is a hundred times better than it is now.

"If this official wants to recruit an army of appeasement." Zhao Guozuo made a final confirmation.

"We will speak on our behalf, and during the Zhao'an negotiations, we will stop selling arms to Zhuang Yuncheng to strengthen his belief in accepting Zhao'an." Zhang Tao assured loudly, seeing that Zhao Guozuo still looked suspicious, he further explained: "Baoguo Gong ordered me to be friends with the people of Zhejiang, Governor Zhao can rest assured, I wholeheartedly hope that Zhejiang will be calm, and I will do my best to promote peace in Zhejiang." After all, only a peaceful Zhejiang can make the forbidden sea zone prosperous. ”

Zhao Guozuo smiled bitterly again, but he no longer hesitated, picked up the pen and signed his name on the Hangzhou Treaty. The treaty was to be made in duplicate, with Chengdu and Hangzhou each retaining one copy.

After collecting the agreement, Zhang Tao smiled and said, "Governor Zhao, don't worry, I will send someone to Huzhou to persuade Zhuang Yuncheng and them to discuss the terms of Zhao'an with you." ”

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Zhao Guozuo hugged his fists to the imperial officials: "There is one more thing, which is very urgent, and that is this year's Cao Yun." ”

Although Zhejiang has become a pot of porridge, Beijing has not exempted Hangzhou from this year's transportation. If it is said that the rebellion of two owners will be exempted from the luck of a province, Beijing knows that it will definitely become the laughing stock of the world. As long as Zhuang Yuncheng is willing to accept Zhao'an, Zhang Huangyan will not come to attack Hangzhou, and Zhao Guozuo will still be able to squeeze out the Caoyun materials if he tightens his belt. However, Huzhou and Jiaxing are both Jingnan troops, and Zhao Guozuo can't transport the silver grain to Yangzhou at all: "Can you ask Your Excellency a favor and let my official's subordinates raise the banner of the Ming Army, so that the grain can pass through Huzhou smoothly?" ”

Zhang Tao immediately shook his head: "Governor Zhao, this can't be helped, now the two countries are enemy countries, and it can't be said to wear other countries' military uniforms, it can't be done, it can't be helped." ”

"My officer's subordinates will never harass the locality, will not rob women or steal people's property, and if there is a violation of military discipline, this officer promises to be killed without mercy, and will never do ......anything that damages the reputation of your army."

Although Zhao Guozuo's attitude was sincere, Zhang Tao said that he would not agree to anything.

"Isn't this too difficult, we have signed the contract, and your envoy won't even help with this little favor?" Song Kui also spoke for the governor on the side: "If your envoy is still not at ease, General Ben personally escorted Cao Yun with the Eight Banners of Hangzhou Garrison, with General Ben here, Cao Ding must be trembling, and he will definitely not dare to harm the people." ”

"The important cases explained by the court can't be handled, and the banners on the side of the Qing monarch have been played, and in the end, they have to recruit peace. Now I can't even complete the luck. This was when your army was not in the southeast. Zhao Guozuo and Zhang Tao laid out the facts and reasoned: "If other provinces can complete the Cao Yun, only Zhejiang has done everything, what is the use of the imperial court asking for the governor of this official?" This treaty was signed by the official, and if the official can't even keep his position, then who will guarantee that the treaty will be respected? ”

"Okay." Zhang Tao heard Zhao Guozuo say so pitiful, so he pushed Yu Youming out again: "You want to dress up as our army, this matter is really beyond my authority, I can't nod." However, Cao Yun is not a difficult matter, and Boss Yu must have a way. ”

Yu Youming strode forward and asked confidently: "Zhejiang's quota for this year's Cao Yun is one million taels of silver and 500,000 stones of grain. Dare to ask Governor Zhao, according to the usual practice, does the Zhejiang Domain Treasury want to take out two million taels of silver and one million stone of grain? ”

"Two million two hundred thousand." Zhao Guozuo shook his head slightly: "After entering the canal from Yangzhou, half of the drift and loss are lost, and it will cost 200,000 yuan from Hangzhou to Yangzhou." ”

"Can Governor Zhao get such a large sum of silver?"

"Of course I can't take it," Zhao Guozuo sighed: "It's not Zhuang Yuncheng who made trouble!" The two prefectures were lost, the four prefectures were under martial law, and the provincial capital was under martial law. But less luck is better than no luck. ”

"Then how much does Governor Zhao plan to take out for Cao Yun?"

Zhao Guozuo hesitated, and finally felt that there was nothing to hide, if the Ming army forced him to buy bonds at this time, then he would only have to fight to break the net: "1.4 million taels of silver, 800,000 stone grain." ”

"I have a proposal, and in fact my colleagues should have already made the same suggestion to Jiangxi and Huguang at this time." Yu Youming smiled slightly: "Governor Zhao gave me 20% of the drift, and I am responsible for transporting the full amount of silver and grain to Beijing, which will not be affected by the war." In the future, even if a major war broke out in Yangzhou and Huai'an, Governor Zhao's Cao Yun could be sent to Beijing in time. What do you think? Give me 1,200,000 taels of silver and 600,000 stone of grain this year, and Governor Zhao's task will be completed. If Governor Zhao is not at ease, our bank can pay in advance, and when the Beijing side is sure that he has received the silver and grain, Governor Zhao can pay us another amount of silver—but in this way, we will have to add another percent, which is 1,300,000 taels of silver and 650,000 stone of grain. ”

Zhao Guozuo was stunned for a while, and his voice was hoarse: "The Ming army wants to help this official transport grain?" ”

"It's not the Ming Army, it's the Sichuan Industrial Bank that undertakes Zhejiang Caoyun. We are very familiar with the Zheng family in Zhoushan, and we can charter their boat to ship to Tianjin. Yu Youming explained: "We don't even need to give us grain, as long as Governor Zhao pays us silver or Sichuan yuan, we can even buy Cao rice on our behalf, and ensure that the portion is full, and it is all new rice - at least half of the Cao Yun sent to Beijing every year is old grain, right?" We will never have this kind of thing, and we guarantee that Governor Zhao will have excellent performance in the Caoyun every year in the future. ”

Zhao Guozuo was stunned for a moment: "What do you want this official to do?" ”

"It's okay to pay 20% of the drifting, and in addition, the matter of Zhejiang Cao's boat entering the canal will also be handed over to our bank to take care of."

"Didn't you ship to Tianjin? What else do you want to do with the boat into the canal? Zhao Guozuo asked puzzledly, he saw Yu Youming smiling and silent, and suddenly realized: "You have to go to business with a full load of goods!" ”

"Governor Zhao will see you."

"After entering the canal, you will be charged money non-stop, from the yamen of the governor of Caoyun to the local government offices, you have to cut a knife! That's how the drifting of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver came about. Zhao Guozuo shouted: "There are also Cao Gong, every time the official's subordinates come back, they report that there are Diao people blocking the river and pulling iron chains, and they don't pay the money, and the fiber pulling is also a sky-high asking price." ”

"It's up to me." Yu Youming said that he was willing to sign a new contract with the Governor of Zhejiang: "If I lose money, if I make money, the Governor Yamen will divide it into 30% and enter the account for the new year; If he earns a lot, maybe Governor Zhao won't need to send money and grain next year. Governor Zhao, don't worry, I am also from Zhejiang, and I will not cheat you. ”

"You are the Zhedong Army! Who are you not pit me? Zhao Guozuo retorted, he lowered his head and thought for a while, and then raised his head suddenly: "I want forty percent!" Thirty percent is put into the account of the new year, and one percent is immediately paid to the official, and the official will send two account offices to accompany him. ”

"Yes." Yu Youming smiled and stretched out his hand to the governor of Zhejiang.

But Zhao Guozuo didn't hold it immediately, but added another one: "This year's first cooperation, don't blame the official for being careful, you can transport the grain first, and then the official will give you the silver and grain after Beijing receives the transport." And you can only harvest two percent, not three percent and drift. If it goes well this year, it will be good in the future. ”

"Deal!" Yu Youming shook hands with Zhao Guozuo, and then went back to prepare the official contract.