Slowly lit a cigarette, Yi Zhishu found that his train of thought had been deviated, and glanced at Yan Yangtian quietly, before he spoke: "Knowing each other and knowing oneself, invincible in a hundred battles, the four-nation alliance army of more than 100,000 troops Chen Bing Hong Kong, is not in a hurry to launch an attack, but submits a note, strongly protests, and asks for negotiations, does not rule out the idea of attacking the west, but the most important thing should be to spy on the military situation." ”

Hearing this, Yan Yangtian had already reacted, and hurriedly said: "Are you not in a hurry to restore Hong Kong's cable telegraph?" ”

"Not only to restore the cable telegraph in Hong Kong, but also to negotiate with them." A sneer tugged at the corner of Yi Zhi's mouth, "If you don't let them think they have a plan, how can you let them be fooled?" ”

As he spoke, he instructed: "Telegraph to Chen Hongming's department in Shanghai, and send about 20,000 troops to Hangzhou by railway, and then advance to Jinhua." ”

"The principal is trying to create the illusion of reinforcements in Guangzhou?" Yan Yangtian said: "I'm afraid that the British may not believe it." ”

"It's not an illusion, it's real, it's real." Yi Zhizhi said: "If the Four-Nation Alliance Army attacks Guangzhou, these 20,000 troops will be strong reinforcements. ”

Reinforcements? Hangzhou to Guangzhou three thousand miles, I'm afraid that the battle is over, and the 20,000 horses are still on the road, Yan Yangtian pondered a little, and couldn't help but say: "Principal, is this time in time?" ”

"More than enough." It is easy to know the way of contentment.

Ye Mingchen's reply was quickly sent to Hong Kong Island, and Erjin raised his eyebrows after reading it, and said, "Reply to them, the negotiation venue should be in Macau." ”

Negotiating in Macau? Bao Ling hesitated: "Your Excellency plans to go to negotiate in person?" ”

"I'm really interested in that Yuanqi shopkeeper." Erjin said: "However, I am more interested in the situation in Guangzhou, as soon as the telegram is opened, I will find out the deployment of troops in Guangzhou as soon as possible." ”

On the morning of the next day, Hong Kong's cable telegraph was restored, and a large amount of information from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Xiamen immediately poured into Hong Kong.

After a day of screening and screening, Erjin also basically figured out the deployment of the Qing army, the Qing court's Eight Banners New Army deployed to defend the Tianjin Beijing Division, with a strength of about 40,000, and the Yuanqi New Army deployed Shanghai and Guangzhou, with a strength of nearly 100,000, and recently, 20,000 troops were transferred from Shanghai to Hangzhou, which is estimated to be reinforcements in Guangzhou, but as for the Qing Nanyang naval fleet, there is no news at all.

On the third day of the lunar month, five British warships slowly sailed into the harbor of Macao, and the Portuguese Governor and Minister Plenipotentiary in Macao, Gemalãos, personally greeted him at the pier and welcomed the British negotiators into the Governor's Palace.

Yi Zhicontent, Ye Mingchen, and Zhao Wenlie arrived in Macao one day earlier, stayed in the barracks, and set off to rush over when they heard the news that the British negotiators had arrived.

The carriage stopped outside the gate of the Governor's Palace, and the Portuguese Governor of Macao, Gemalians, greeted him with a smile on his face, and after greeting him, he said apologetically: "I hope Your Excellency will be considerate ......." As soon as he said that, several guards came up to search his body to check whether he was carrying weapons.

The two sides of the negotiation are now in a state of declaration of war, and the two armies are facing each other, and they are both capable of destroying the existence of Macao in one sentence, and he cannot afford to provoke either side, in order to ensure the safety of both sides and ensure that there are no accidents, they can only be hard-headed to carry out inspections.

Entering the hall, Gemales introduced the two sides one by one, and this time it was not only the English side that came to participate in the negotiations, but the plenipotentiaries of Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands, and two old acquaintances, Bao Ling and Pashali.

When the two sides sat down, Ergin said straightforwardly: "Your country has not declared war, captured Hong Kong and China's three ports in the Strait of Malacca, and attacked Calcutta, which is far away in India, this is not only a provocation, but a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of our British Empire, and I hope that your country can give a reasonable explanation." ”

"What explanation is needed?" Yi Zhishu glanced at him, "It was your warship that provoked for no reason and shelled the Humen Fort." Speaking of this, he waved his hand, "War has been declared, and it is already a soldier in the city, there is no need to talk about those useless, be direct, what conditions are there, if you can talk about it, if you can't talk about it, you will fight, otherwise it will not be finished for ten days and a half months." ”

Hearing this, Ye Mingchen had a strange expression on his face, he had heard that Yi Zhixin negotiated with foreigners on weekdays, was gentle and elegant, had good manners, spoke tactfully, and was well-informed, but now it seems that it is not like that at all, it is completely an aggressive posture.

Listening to the translator, Erjin's faces were a little unpleasant, and Bao Ling hurriedly said: "Although war has been declared, we are not willing to resolve the conflict through war, after all, you and I have long-term friendly business and trade relations." ”

Yi Zhizhi lit a cigarette and said slowly: "I have always loved peace, and I have always opposed the use of war to resolve disputes. ”

Since the establishment of the Nanyang Navy, Yuan Qi has been continuously using troops abroad, Annam, Waguo, Nanyang, Gurkha, Northwest, Burma, Bangladesh, and he still has a serious saying that he loves peace.

Listening to the interpreter, Ergin was not polite, and said directly: "Send all prisoners of war, officials and merchants, return the seized merchant ships, dissolve the suzerain-vassal relationship with Burma, recognize our country's occupation of Burma, withdraw troops from Gorkha, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam and other places, and respect the treaties signed by our country with the above countries and the occupation of the fait accompli."

Increase the number of commercial ports, including Niuzhuang, Dengzhou, and Tianjin on the northern coast, and Jiangning, Anqing, Jiujiang, and Wuchang along the Yangtze River, and reduce tariff ........ ”

Ergin was obviously well prepared, speaking unhurriedly, methodically, contentedly holding a cigarette and listening expressionlessly, he had dealt with the British a lot over the years, and he didn't need a translator at all for London accent English, but he still waited for a translator before he spoke: "What does France want?" ”

The French envoy, Baron Gro, hesitated for a moment before he spoke: "Our country enjoys the right of protection of the Catholic Church overseas, and it is our bounden duty to protect the safety of the Catholic mission abroad.

Qiongzhou, Chaozhou, Jilong, and Tamsui were added as treaty ports, warships were allowed to enter and leave all treaty ports freely, and a part of the military expenditure was compensated as appropriate.

In addition, Vietnam has maintained friendly relations with our country for a long time, and when your country invaded by unprovoked force, I sent a mission to Paris to ask for help, hoping that your country would withdraw from Vietnamese ........ ”

Spanish Special Envoy Antonio, "Our country's request is simple, return the Luzon Islands, with appropriate compensation. As for the amount of compensation, it is estimated that he has not yet figured it out.

Gilbert, the Dutch envoy, followed: "Return the Java Islands and allocate a concession ..... in Shanghai." ”

After waiting for the translation, Zhao Wenlie, who served as the clerk of the negotiation record, stopped writing, and Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I have written down all your requests, but in view of the wide range of your requests and the sovereignty and dignity of our country, I must report them to His Majesty the Emperor of our country, and you will wait for the news for the time being." ”

Waiting for news? I am afraid that there will be no news until the Year of the Monkey and the month of the Monkey, Bao Ling is very aware of this excuse of the Qing officialdom, and hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, we are afraid that our army of more than 100,000 people cannot afford to wait." ”

"Let's fight, then." Yi Zhizu said in a relaxed tone: "Talk while fighting, talk after fighting, fight again after talking, talk after fighting, it's okay, we will accompany us at any time, and we will accompany you to the end!" With that, he stood up and said coldly: "See you on the battlefield!" ”

These words are a bit winding, waiting for the translator to stammer, Yi Zhizhi has already walked out of the hall, Ye Mingchen secretly complained in his heart, but he didn't dare to say anything, he quickly got up and followed, Zhao Wenlie also packed up the documents, gave Lin Meilian, who was acting as the translator, a look, and chased out quickly.

Erjin, Bao Ling, and Ge Luo couldn't help but look at each other, the other party seemed to be full of confidence, and they were not afraid of them attacking Guangzhou at all, and they would accompany them at any time, and they would definitely accompany them to the end! See you on the battlefield! The tone and demeanor of the other party when he said this revealed a strong self-confidence, not like a bluff.

Back at the barracks, Yi Zhishu directly ordered: "Cut off the Hong Kong cable telegraph." In addition, the telegraph orders all departments in Guangzhou, and the battle will break out at any time! Be vigilant! ”

After Lin Meilian recorded the telegram and left, Zhao Wenlie spoke, "The big shopkeeper is deliberately tempting?" Not worried about self-defeating? ”

Yi Zhicontent lit a cigarette and said, "If you don't fight a dozen, how can you find out the details of the other party?" ”

Zhao Wenlie said worriedly: "Don't worry about the other party's all-out attack on Guangzhou?" ”

"If Guangzhou can be easily captured at a fairly small cost, the other side will definitely attack with all its might." Yi Zhixiang said unhurriedly: "But if they find that Guangzhou is a hard bone, and they may not be able to capture it at a great price, and there are 20,000 reinforcements on the way, will they?" Or rather, do they dare to attack Guangzhou with all their might? ”

"Don't dare! Absolutely don't dare! Zhao Wenlie reacted in an instant, "Unless the other party is absolutely sure that they can capture Guangzhou at the cost of heavy casualties, the other party will definitely not dare to attack with all their might, which will undoubtedly put them in a dilemma." ”

Yi Zhizu waved his hand, "Even if they are sure to capture Guangzhou with great casualties, they will not attack Guangzhou with all their might, my attitude, Yuan Qi's attitude is very clear, never compromise, never surrender, and accompany to the end."

Even if they were able to capture Guangzhou, they would still face a dilemma, and with a little cleverness, they would know what to do. ”

Zhao Wenlie asked: "The British army has considered this, will it not fight?" ”

"No, it won't." Yi Zhi said confidently: "They will definitely fight, and the momentum will not be small, they not only want to find out our details, but also want to mobilize our troops in Shanghai." ”

Zhao Wenlie was faintly excited, and said tentatively: "The big shopkeeper is back to the flower land?" Or go to Humen? ”

"What are you doing back to Huadi?" Yi Zhizhi said: "Go to Humen." ”

On the morning of the third day, the combined fleet of the four countries appeared at the mouth of the Pearl River, and without the need for a message from the Shajiao Fort, Yi Zhicontent, who was standing on the top of Wushan Mountain, where the Humen Fort was located, saw a large black dot coming towards the Humen Fort from the telescope.

Putting down the binoculars, Mai Tingzhang's face showed a rare solemnity, judging from the scale of the black spots, at least four or five hundred ships, it is obvious that the fleet of the four countries is pouring out, this is definitely a rare big battle, he is really a little worried in his heart, most of the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division are recruits who have not experienced actual combat, such a large-scale war, even he, a veteran, feels worried, not to mention those recruits, he has no bottom in his heart, the loss of face is small, if he loses the Humen Fort, Guangzhou will be in danger!

Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said with relief: "Don't worry, no matter how many warships there are, this river can't spread." ”

Mai Tingzhang said in a deep voice: "The last general is worried that the enemy will land from the Shajiao Fort and the Dajiao Fort, advance by land and water, attack in two directions, and the Humen Waterway and the Jiaomen Waterway are enough to drive the steam gunboats ....... ”

"The two flanks of the batteries on both sides of the strait were guarded by four brigades." Yan Yangtian said coldly: "The sailor only needs to be responsible for the Humen Fort, and we will clean up the landing enemy army." ”

Yi Zhizu took out a box of cigarettes and scattered around, lit and took a puff of smoke, and then said: "Fortifications have been built on both flanks, although our troops are small, but we are waiting for work, besides, although the enemy is menacing, but it is intended to be tempting, don't worry too much." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Order, all new artillery, grenades, new rifles, are not allowed to be used without an order, don't scare them." ”

Hearing this, Mai Tingzhang was anxious, and hurriedly said: "Big shopkeeper, the new artillery is all in the closed battery, and it is not possible to control the speed of artillery ........" ”

"Okay, consistent with the rate of fire of the breech gun." Easy to know the head of the jaw.

Yan Yangtian said, "Headmaster, do you want to send reinforcements?" ”

"Not yet." Yi Zhizhi said: "No matter how many troops there are in this place, they can't spread out." ”

On the hillside position on the west side of Yaniang Shoe Island, a group of soldiers in the grove were silently scattered under the shade of the trees, one by one expressionless, their eyes were blank, everyone knew that a big battle was about to break out, under the huge pressure and fear, even the soldiers who talked a lot on weekdays did not have the heart to speak, "The three companies are here, hand in all the grenades, and then enter the position." ”

Listening to this strange order, a squad leader couldn't help but say: "Company commander, why do you want to hand in the grenade?" ”

"Centralized storage, when it's time to use, it will naturally be distributed." Company commander Lin Mazi explained, he didn't know the specific reason, after speaking, he added, "After entering the position, check the camouflage first, you are not allowed to clear it without an order, in addition, you are not allowed to smoke, and don't forget the battlefield discipline." ”

"Company commander, I heard that there are 100,000 ...... of the Four-Nation Alliance."

"The enemy is mainly the navy, and they are all on the battleship, and the guns on the battleship can't hit our position, so worry about a ball? It's a real combat exercise! Lin Mazi said and urged: "Be sharp, hand over the grenades." ”

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