Han Xiufeng walked out of the Old Summer Palace and was about to get in the car to go back to Nanyuan, when he suddenly found that Prince Gong had also walked out of the gate of the palace, and hurriedly asked Xiao Shandong and the others to wait and turn around to meet him.

Abundant? I didn't expect to meet him here, and while signaling him to be polite, I asked curiously, "Lord Han is also here to meet him?" ”

"Lord Wang, the lower officials are indeed here to beg for an audience, but the emperor has every opportunity and has no time to summon the lower officials."

"Lord Han's Holy Grace, how could the imperial brother not summon him?"

"The prince is really good at laughing, the prince has been promoted to the lower rank."

Thinking that it is unlikely that the emperor will not summon the person in front of him, and then thinking of the things that happened in the court today, Yi? Subconsciously asked: "Lord Han, you shouldn't be helping Qingxian to intercede, right?" ”

Han Xiufeng didn't expect the young prince in front of him to react so quickly, hesitated for a moment, and arched his hand: "Yes and no." ”

Abundant? Subconsciously asked, "How do you say this?" ”

Han Xiufeng weighed it and said again: "Lord Wang, this is not the place to speak, can you take a step to speak?" ”

"Okay, this king happens to have a courtyard nearby."

"It's better to be respectful than to obey your orders."

……

Abundant? motioned to his family to lead the way, but his heart was full of suspicions, because Han Xiufeng had always been respectful of him before, not to mention dating, and he didn't even dare to say a word, but today he took the initiative to "borrow a step to speak", just while pondering what kind of medicine Han Xiufeng sold in his gourd, he followed his family to a quiet courtyard that was not used from the gate of the palace.

It wasn't until he beckoned Han Xiufeng to sit down, and waited for his family to serve tea and bowed out of the flower hall, that he asked with a smile: "Lord Han, can you talk about it now." ”

"Lord Yu, Xia Guan came to the summer palace today, he really wanted to help Qingxian and his Ama intercede, but he also wanted to help Lord Guiliang and Lord Huashana intercede."

Gui Liang is not only a minister of Qincha, nor is he just the former governor of Liangjiang, but also Yi? father-in-law.

Listening to Han Xiufeng, Yi? was taken aback: "Lord Han, why did you start talking about this?" ”

"The prince will not believe it, as early as four days ago, that is, on the afternoon of the second day when Qiying returned to Beijing without authorization, Lord Guiliang signed the peace treaty drawn up by the consulates of Britain and Buddhism for the sake of the court and the country, regardless of personal honor and disgrace, and at the cost of his life." Looking at Yi? With a frightened look, Han Xiufeng continued: "The morning before yesterday, I signed the peace treaty drawn up by the envoys of the two states. ”

Abundant? Stunned, he paused for a while before asking, "Lord Han, aren't you joking, how could Gui Liang not report such a big event as repairing the contract?" ”

"Lord Wang, even if you borrow a few guts from the lower officials, the lower officials will not dare to make such jokes."

"Then Lord Han doesn't know the terms of the peace treaty?"

"Know." Han Xiufeng took a deep breath and said helplessly: "Including the dispatch of envoys to Beijing, the same voyage on the Yangtze River, the opening of ports in Tianjin and other places, the ability of Yi people to preach and travel in various places, and the indemnity, Lord Guiliang has signed all of them with Xiyi. ”

Abundant? Shocked into a cold sweat, he muttered, "He...... How could he be so confused? ”

"Lord Guiliang is also forced to do this, the foreigners have already given an ultimatum, if they don't agree to these conditions of the foreigners, it will not only be Dagukou that will be captured."

"But...... But if you sign it without a will, it won't work...... Isn't this self-assertive, and is it a deception? ”

"As far as the lower officials know, Lord Guiliang has already thought about it, and plans to coax the foreigners away first, and the peace treaties signed with the foreigners without the emperor's royal approval naturally cannot be taken seriously. If the foreigner talks about this in the future, he can ask the emperor to investigate him, and for the sake of the country, even if he is escorted to the vegetable market to be punished, he will die well. ”

Han Xiufeng said it lightly, but this matter was not as simple as he said.

It can be said that everything Gui Liang did was no different from what Qiying did in Guangdong back then.

Thinking of the fate of Qiying, Yi? Realizing the seriousness of the problem, he nervously asked, "Lord Han, how did you know?" ”

"Lord Yu, although Houyitang has been abolished, Xiaguan and Chonghou still have correspondence, almost once a day." Han Xiufeng paused, and said solemnly: "Then the sister was entrusted by Lord Wenxiang to go deep into the enemy camp at the risk, deal with the foreigners, arrange the blockade for the monk king, and arrange the city defense for Prince Hui to delay time, and found out a lot of news during the period. ”

"Sister Ling...... Is it the strange woman surnamed Ren that Bochuan mentioned to me before? ”

"Exactly." Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, and continued: "If the peace treaty can be coaxed away, Lord Guiliang's good intentions are not in vain, but the foreigners have been coaxed for so many years, and they have become more and more shrewd, and they are not as easy to fool as before, and they even proposed that the emperor have to sign the peace treaty with a seal, if they can't see the emperor's imperial approval, not only will they not sail south, not only will they not return Guangzhou, but they will also provoke again." ”

"How is this good!"

"If nothing else, the imperial court will soon receive a report from Tianjin and a plea from Lord Guiliang." Speaking of this, Han Xiufeng's words changed: "If this news reaches the capital, those imperial historians outside who are going to the court to ask for the canonical punishment of Qi Yingming will definitely flock to the impeachment of Lord Guiliang." Those who endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens are pointed out by thousands of people, and even their lives are not guaranteed. Lord Wang, how did you say that this world has become like this? In the long run, who would dare to deal with foreigners. ”

"Empty talk misleads the country!"

"The lower officials also think so, for example, Yin Gengyun, who has just been in the limelight in the court today, not only asked the court to 'master the long skills of Yiyi to control the country', but also advocated the War of Resistance, saying that 'non-war is not enough to protect itself'. While you are fighting with foreigners, you also want foreigners to teach you the skills of pressing the bottom of the box, prince, tell me, does he think that the foreigner's head was kicked by a donkey? ”

Abundant? But he was not in the mood to think about this, but said worriedly: "Lord Han, let's talk about the peace treaty, you said that if the emperor knew that Gui Liang had signed a peace treaty with foreigners, would Long Yan be furious?" ”

"Xia Guan didn't dare to think about it."

"How can it be like this, how can this peace contract be easily signed with foreigners, how is it good to make it like this!"

"Alas, all this is similar to when Qiying signed a contract with a foreigner. Therefore, Xia Guan felt that Qiying could not die, if Qiying was punished by the Ming Dynasty, then Qiying's today is likely to be Lord Guiliang's tomorrow. ”

Abundant? It is very clear that Han Xiufeng wants to save Qiying, and it is also clear that Han Xiufeng is not alarmist, because he signed a peace treaty with foreigners without authorization to lose power and humiliate the country, and there is even a clause that the emperor will never agree to send an envoy to Beijing, and his sin is only heavier than that of Qiying, who is disrespectful to the will.

Thinking that the news that Gui Liang had signed a contract with a foreigner without permission had not yet reached the capital, Yi? Asked eagerly: "Lord Han, who else knows about this matter?" ”

"Lord Wang, only Bochuan and Xiaguan should know about it in Beijing, and it is not clear to Xiaguan in Tianjin."

"So there's room for maneuver?"

"Xiaguan can't even save Qiying, and he can't do anything about Lord Guiliang's situation."

"Lord Han Gaoyi, it has been a great help to be able to tell this king."

"Then the next official will retire first."

……

What Han Xiufeng said was not a mouthful, but he never thought of telling Prince Gong before he came, but wanted to take the opportunity to help Qiying intercede to report to the emperor, so that the emperor knew that the words of those imperial historians could not be believed, otherwise important ministers like Gui Liang and Hua Shana would not hesitate to lose their reputation and even sign a contract with foreigners.

I want to implore the emperor to endure the humiliation, wait for a few years after the elimination of the long hair, and wait for the court to have the strength to fight before avenging this arrow. If the emperor can adopt it, maybe he will open the net and save Qiying's life.

As a result, the sign was handed in but was sent out by the eunuch of the internal affairs office, and he met Prince Gong by mistake, and gave Prince Gong a wake-up call in line with the idea of "a dead horse as a live horse doctor", to see if Prince Gong could come up with a way, after all, for his father-in-law Gui Liang, this is really a sad thing for a rabbit and a fox.

In short, everything that should be done and what should not be done has been done, whether it is the life or death of Qiying, or the situation in Tianjin, now I can only resign myself to fate.

It was late at night when I returned to Nanyuan, and I jumped out of the carriage, and was about to ask Xiao Shandong to get some food, when I found Ren Yu'er standing by the door.

"Fourth brother, you can count it back!"

"When did you come back?"

"I just arrived home," Ren Yu'er glanced back at Xiao Shandong, and asked eagerly: "Fourth brother, I heard that Master Wang said that you helped Master Qingxian to intercede with the emperor, what did the emperor say, the emperor was not angry, right?" ”

"I haven't seen the emperor, what can I do, let's talk about you first, why did you come back so soon?"

"Staying in Tianjin doesn't help much, and where can I go if I don't come back."

"Have you seen Erjin?"

"See," Ren Yu'er said with a wry smile while helping to fetch water so that he could wash his face: "You know the virtues of foreigners, they always like to pretend to be gentlemen, and they are quite polite to me, but when it comes to wars and contract amendments, don't mention how ugly the words he said." ”

Han Xiufeng took the towel and asked, "What did he say?" ”

"He said that we Chinese are so stupid that if they give in on any one clause, then it's hard to say whether we will put obstacles in the way of the implementation of all the other clauses." Before I returned, he asked Mi Guoyu to give Gui Liang an ultimatum, saying that if Gui Liang tried to delay or renege, then they could only think that the negotiations were over, and they would lead their troops directly into the capital. ”

Ren Yu'er sighed lightly, and said with a wry smile: "He said that he wants to deal with the emperor and Lord Gui Liang and other officials, it is useless to be reasonable, as long as they are intimidated, the emperor and Lord Gui Liang and other officials will immediately obey." He also said that the emperor and Lord Guiliang did not know anything about the issues discussed and their own real interests. He said it ugly, but when you think about it, there is some truth to it. ”

"That's all?"

"More than that," Ren Yu'er hurriedly said: "Father Baoer mentioned you to him, and also mentioned Lord Wen, he said that you and Lord Wen are people with ideas, and they are also reasonable people who can deal with each other, but it is a pity that there are too few officials like you and Lord Wen, and what do you hope you and Lord Wen can persuade the emperor to make the right decision." ”

"What about Father Bauer, is Fr. Bauer staying in Tianjin?"

"Father Bauer had not planned to return, but when he heard what Erkin said, he felt that it was necessary for him to come back. He said...... He said......"

"What did he say?" Han Xiufeng asked.

Ren Yu'er hesitated for a moment, and said stubbornly: "Father Bauer said that no matter what happens in the future, they in England, especially their church, will have to deal with Chinese officials after all, and it is not easy to make friends with such an enlightened official as you and Lord Wen, he can't just leave, at least if the army enters the capital, he can still protect you from being injured by mistake." ”

The more Han Xiufeng thought about it, the more angry he became, and he couldn't help but turn around and ask, "So I have to thank him?" ”

"Fourth brother, one yard is one yard, and Father Bauer is also a good intention."

"We have never provoked them, they have come to provoke us again and again, don't have such kindness!"