French? Two infantry battalions? This news shocked everyone a little again, and someone asked: "The emperor has just finished the Crimean War, and he is ready to use troops in the East?" Just like his uncle! ”

He said that it was Napoleon III, who had just ascended the throne in 1852 and had participated in the Crimean War as soon as he ascended the throne, and that he was preparing to ascend the throne in the East as soon as the Crimean War ended, which obviously made everyone think of his uncle, His Majesty the Emperor, who had been at war with all of Europe all his life.

De Mons was also the first time to get the news, and he asked the source of the message with concern: "Your Excellency Carmelido, what is your opinion?" ”

Camerlido was a standard Frenchman, and although his company was only a small company among the Westerners in Shanghai, his words carried a lot of weight, and he immediately said: "My suggestion is that you can reduce the political risks, and I don't know if His Majesty the Emperor has any intention of using troops, but I hope to reduce the political risks, such as introducing French interests." ”

But Demons was still concerned about the news: "Two battalions of infantry, is the news true?" ”

"Indeed, soon this will not be a military secret!"

Apparently confident in his news, Camerido told the Westerners present: "A perfect undertaking should be for the benefit of all civilized countries of the Western world, and if this railway were to be in the interests of France, it would obviously be too much less visible, and I can inform you that although the Russians advocate the use of troops against China, His Majesty the Emperor has not yet made a final decision." ”

"Russians, that's our enemy!"

It was His Excellency An Rui who spoke, and he told everyone: "In the Crimea, too many British and French people died, and now they have no roots in Shanghai, and they want to intervene in China. ”

"Soon there will be a foundation, and the portion is not light!" Carmellido was clearly the kind of person who liked to talk about military secrets in front of people, telling you everything I knew that you didn't know, and he told everyone: "His Majesty the Tsar has strongly recommended the use of troops against China. And he was already ready to send a force to work with the great powers to maintain the security of Shanghai. ”

"What?" De Mons was clearly stunned by the news: "Your Majesty the Tsar? He's crazy. ”

In the Crimean War, the French and the British can be said to have hurt their vitality, but compared to the Russians, it was not as simple as hurting their vitality, but it gave a fatal blow to this great empire.

But the Russian Empire did not learn the lessons learned in the Holy Land, and he was actually ready to intervene in the Chinese civil war, and he did not know that if they intervened in the Chinese civil war? It was a decisive battle against Chinese across a continent, but Anrui clearly understood what was going on: "I think the Russians have taken a fancy to North and Central Asia, but I declare on behalf of British interests that the Russians' conspiracy will not succeed......"

"Why?" Carmelido immediately asked, "Just by virtue of your arms?" ”

Mr. An Rui confidently announced further news: "That's right, in order to maintain peace and stability in the Far East, I will announce it now. From now on, provide General Ryu with all the military assistance you can! ”

Everyone was already scolding An Rui, an old fox, in their stomachs, and actually said such a thing as selling arms so sanctimoniously: "Mr. An Rui, I also contribute to peace and stability in the Far East. ”

"I have the same will!"

And De Mons, who was also a large arms dealer, told Camerlido: "Yes, this railway needs French interests, and now it is only a few missionaries and opium merchants who provoke the war, and the mainstream of the port of Shanghai is opposed to the ...... of the war."

In fact, it was more about the French missionaries. They had already clashed too much with the Hongjun in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, so much so that they kept asking the country to crusade against the infidels Liu Chang. This is a very peculiar thing, in France, secularization is deepening, including Emperor Napoleon III who agreed to reduce the influence of the Church in France, but abroad, the missionaries have become the vanguard of the French conquest, and now there is a full-scale conflict between the Rainbow Army and the French missionaries, and even affects some other churches.

This was clearly a problem for the French missionaries. Their missionary zeal and attempts to transcend the limits of tolerance in this era. Moreover, missionaries still held too much weight in French society as a whole, so it was a group of opium dealers and French missionaries who tried to draw Napoleon III to war.

And Carmellido as a successful businessman who benefited from the Rainbow Army. Apparently disagreeing with the war: "I think that we may strengthen the Rainbow Army as much as possible, and I also agree that we can sell all strategic materials to the Rainbow Army without restrictions, and if the Rainbow Army is so strong that His Majesty the Emperor should make a wise choice when he seriously considers it." ”

In fact, the Westerners in Shanghai now clearly believed that the Rainbow Army would win the Chinese Civil War, and although it had only gained a territory of one and a half provinces, the Rainbow Army's fighting forces had surpassed their opponents.

And the internal strife of the Taiping Army made everyone understand that neither the Qing Army nor the Taiping Army was the opponent of the Rainbow Army, and De Mons said: "Yes, although the Rainbow Army is not a lot of troops, but I think that if the French Emperor and His Majesty the Russian Tsar want to use troops in China, it will be the next Crimean War." ”

In the past year, he has seen the earth-shattering changes of the Rainbow Army, which had only a few hundred soldiers and controlled a small rock village when he first started his dealings with the Rainbow Army last year, and now the Rainbow Army has tens of thousands of soldiers who have been tested by the long war, and they are growing in strength every month.

And Camerlido agrees with everyone's judgment: "I also think that if the war against China does not begin in 1856, then the Russian tsar will lose the victory in this war forever......"

Unlike Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, every day, every month, the strength of the Rainbow Army grows by leaps and bounds, and if this war does not begin this year, then the Rainbow Army will grow into an enemy that the Russian Empire cannot challenge on its distant borders.

……

Beijing.

Since the end of the Soviet-Chang war, the city has been in a state of extreme panic, and as the Taiping army approached Beijing in 1854, many people have left the city, and although they have returned to Beijing soon after, the whole city has been filled with the chill of winter.

Whether it is the salary of the six departments or the hardcore crops of the Eight Banners, they have become slow this summer, although the footsteps of the Rainbow Army have not yet entered the core area of this empire, but the entire empire is already on the verge of bankruptcy economically.

The Taiping War has cost the entire Qing Empire nearly 100 million taels of silver, but whether it is the Twist Army, the Banner Army, or the Tiandihui Uprising in Liangguang, the entire empire has become turbulent, and in the past, the economic system of the entire empire barely functioned normally, completely dependent on the two provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

And now Zhejiang has fallen into the hands of red thieves in the whole province, and southern Jiangsu has also fallen most of it, as for the remaining two Huai and northern Jiangsu, although they are still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty, but in the long run, only the benefits of Huai salt, but it is not a long-term solution.

Since last month, not only has Zhejiang's Cao rice been cut off, but even Jiangsu's Cao rice has come to an end, and the Lianghuai salt tax has not been relieved of Beijing, but has been directly supplied to the newly hit Seng Lingqin and Shengbao Ministries.

Therefore, Xianfeng's face looked so haggard, and he looked at the old six Yixun on the side: "Sixth brother, you have an idea, this red Kou is like wildfire, and it is about to sweep the southeast, and if it goes on for a long time, the country will not be a country, is it possible that the two hundred years of my Qing Dynasty will be defeated in my hands........."..., Yixun didn't dare to speak loudly, he knew his own imperial brother's temperament, he just said: "Your Majesty, there is still a Hunan army in the southeast now......"

Xianfeng didn't dare to make up his mind when he saw Yixun, so he could only turn to the other sixth: "Su sixth, what do you think?" ”

As soon as Su Shun, the head of the household, heard Xianfeng ask about him, he was the one who dared to make an idea: "Your Majesty, what Prince Gong said is right, if the southeast is in crisis, you can only rely on Zeng Disheng and Hu Runzhi......"

"Hey...... Two hundred years after I entered the customs of the Qing Dynasty, has the national fortune come to an end? Emperor Xianfeng said to himself: "At this time, I can't find a responsible countryman, the sixth ...... Your capital, I will return it to you! ”

Prince Gong Yixun knelt on the ground all of a sudden: "Your Majesty, I don't want this Minister of Military Aircraft and Dutong, I just ask you to give Eniang a fair ......."

The brothers are talking about an old incident last year, when Yixun's biological mother, that is, Empress Xiaojing, who raised Xianfeng as an adult, passed away, and the brothers had a dispute over the name of Empress Xiaojing, and finally Yixun suffered the first major setback in his life in addition to the prince, and dismissed the Minister of Military Aircraft, Zongling, and Dutong.

Today, Prince Gong brings up the old matter again, just to seek justice for his mother, you must know that although Xianfeng gave Empress Xiaojing a title of "Xiaojing Kang Cibi Tianfu Holy Empress", but "not Xuanzong, not the temple", in history, to Tongzhi enthroned before "the temple, add the temple".

And Xianfeng also said hatefully: "This is our brother's country, you fight for Eniang, I will answer, but the sixth child, you have to get an idea." ”

Prince Gong Yixun is shrewd and insightful, and it is indeed above Xianfeng, but unfortunately the pattern is limited, he immediately said: "Your Majesty, now that the southeast is erosive, no one is available in the Eight Banners, so you can only temporarily use Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Luo Bingzhang and other horses, and then make plans when the thieves are pacified, but Zeng Hu Luo and his ilk are embarrassed to use it, and now the strategy can only be used by foreign soldiers!" ”

He summed it up: "You can borrow English soldiers, French soldiers, and Citi soldiers to quell the chaos, but you must not borrow Russian soldiers......"

Xianfeng asked: "Why can't you borrow Russian soldiers?" ”