"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! On the Pearl River, the shallow-water gunboats of the Amur class fired indiscriminately, hitting a small wooden boat with a number of 4-pound and 8-pound shells, and then successfully forced it to stop. By the time the sailors on the east coast boarded the ship with rifles in hand and detained the ship and its cargo as trophies, the shipowner's face was already in despair, and the whole process was as lively as the situation in Canton for the past few months.

Yes, the war that broke out on the ground in Canton, which was caused by the struggle for the position of the two Li -- well, it may be a bit inaccurate to say that the war of annexation might be more accurate, and after going on for some time, there is now a tendency to disappear because of the violent intervention of the people on the east coast.

In the early part of this month (March), Li Yuanhao, the Duke of Huiguo of the Southern Ming Dynasty, officially sent Hao Shangjiu, a well-known veteran minister and the new Taihou, to a Tianzun Taoist temple on Haizhu Island to negotiate with Major Tang Moyu on the east coast. The main content of the negotiations was actually very simple, that is, to demand that the people on the east coast withdraw their troops from the outskirts of Guangzhou, and then return the occupied Foshan Town, Shunde County, Xiangshan County and other places, and beyond that - nothing!

Yes! Nothing! Neither asked the easterners to compensate for their losses, nor did they ask the easterners to guarantee anything, but simply asked them to withdraw from the army, which was simply weak!

Of course, this is also related to the situation that both sides are facing today. More than 4,500 soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei have arrived in the suburbs of Guangzhou, and they are well-equipped, well-trained, and well-logistically adequate, and they are simply invincible in a small field battle: muskets and cannons that far exceed the range of Li Yuanhao's army, ultra-high firepower projection density, plus more than 1,000 cavalry playing the black water horse, and in the case of a scale of several thousand people, no one can really help them, basically they can win the battle, and the casualties are controlled within a very small range, which shows the difference in strength between the two sides.

In other words, unless Li Yuanhao mobilizes tens of thousands of troops and advances the encirclement and suppression layer by layer, I am afraid that it will be difficult to win this east coast army. But the problem is also here, where did the current Li Yuanhao mobilize tens of thousands of horses to encircle and suppress this east coast army that is on the waist of Guangzhou City? Thinking about it, there is no other way to withdraw the troops from the Chaozhou area.

And Li Yuanhao did the same. Although the army on the east bank outside the city was still across the river from the city of Guangzhou, it was difficult to guarantee when they would cross the river in a big way and harass the core area of Guangzhou. Maybe this group of people can't break into the city of Guangzhou, but it is also a headache to plunder in the wild, and it will affect his prestige Li Yuanhao, so it must be stopped as soon as possible.

But it is not so simple to get the East Coasters to retreat. Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei is also an old oilman who has fought in his homeland, South Africa, and Europe, and he has his own set of views on the judgment of the situation, coupled with the advantages in equipment and troops, he doesn't think that Li Yuanhao will be able to do anything to him at all. Maybe the Lianzhou New Army, which is fully equipped with firearms, is a trouble, but haven't they had time to withdraw it yet? Therefore, this guy is now sitting in Foshan, while moving all the machines and personnel of the iron-smelting and cannon casting industries here (of course, it is a coercive measure), and constantly sending cavalry to inquire about the news, threatening the big families in the countryside to send money and grain, and life is not happy.

Li Yuanhao didn't send someone to the Blue Fei Army to ask for a retreat, but it had no effect at all, so he had no choice but to turn to Haizhu Island, intending to let Tang Moyu restrain Lan Fei and let him retreat as soon as possible. Let's not talk about how Tang Moyu, a major, restrained the lieutenant colonel, as far as his own wishes are concerned, he will not withdraw his troops until the goal is achieved, that is, Li Yuanhao must at least ensure peace with Li Yuanyin, the general soldier of Chaozhou (Li Chengdong went to the Kunming court and obtained approval before his death), and there are some other commercial conditions. If he is not satisfied with these things, he will not agree to withdraw his troops now, which is a very clear thing.

Therefore, as soon as Hao Shangjiu came over, he clearly stated several conditions: "First, immediately withdraw from Chaozhou Mansion, reconcile with Li Yuanyin, and the two sides will not attack each other again; 2. Disband the Portuguese and English advisory groups in the Lianzhou New Army, and send experienced officers from the east coast to comprehensively reform and manage them; 3. The Guangzhou City Shipping Division will be handed over to the East Coast side for management, and the East Coast people will deposit the remaining part in a special account with the Bank of Taiwan after collecting a certain amount of management fees, so that they can purchase ordnance, war horses, and other materials and equipment for the new army at any time; 4. Lease Xiangshan County to the East Coast for a period of 50 years. ”

These conditions, even if Hao Shangjiu is old, he has long been cultivated to the point of joy and anger, and he was a little surprised to hear it: How can this Dongguo person come to mediate, it is clearly forced to the palace! In this way, this stationmaster Tang has a big appetite, much darker than the blue army.

"It's easy to talk about the retreat, Huiguo Gong has already planned to stop the war with the Chaozhou General Army, I believe that the Chaozhou General Li will also agree to this matter, and the Fujian Zheng family has been eyeing Chaozhou." Hao Shangjiu pondered for a long time before he said: "The matter of disbanding the Lianzhou New Army Advisory Group, the old man is afraid that he will not be able to be the master, and he will have to make a decision on Hui Guogong, but judging from the importance that Hui Guogong attaches to the Lianzhou New Army, I am afraid it is unlikely, and Stationmaster Tang should not be too embarrassed by Hui Guogong." ”

"As for the matter of the Guangzhou City Shipping Division...... Speaking of this, Hao Shangjiu also smiled bitterly, and then said: "Your Haizhu Island merchant is standing here, and whether this city is handed over to you or not, is there a big difference?" ”

Hao Shangjiu's words are actually quite true. In fact, everyone knows very well that if the people on the east coast did not intervene in this civil war in Guangdong, maybe this war still has to be fought, not only Erli's army is fighting endlessly, but the people and horses of Zheng Jing in Fujian should also fight in the name of aiding the tide, and it is difficult to say whether the Shunguo side will send troops to Shaozhou, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. Therefore, to a certain extent, it was the timely intervention of the people on the east coast that narrowly and dangerously eliminated a war that could stretch for several provinces and involve millions of people - of course, at present, it is necessary to "persuade" the Zheng clan in Fujian, which is eager to try, and the navy and the Bank of Taiwan are already taking action.

Hao Shangjiu later mentioned the matter of the Lianzhou New Army Advisory Group, pointing out that this army is Li Yuanhao's lifeblood, and it is also the foundation of his ability to sit firmly in the position of Huiguo Gong, so it is absolutely impossible to hand over this army to others to toss. The Portuguese and English advisers, most of whom he had hired over the years through foreign merchants, were experienced veterans or officers, and played a great role in the establishment of this new army. Moreover, the existence of these people is also a link with foreign merchants, which can help Guangzhou to maintain a foreign trade relationship, which is also important to Hui Guogong. After all, neither Li Chengdong nor Li Yuanhao wanted Guangdong's foreign trade lifeline to be in the hands of the East Coast family, especially the introduction of vital foreign military technology and equipment.

Therefore, Hao Shangjiu made it clear euphemistically just now, Li Yuanhao is afraid that it is impossible to agree to this article, no matter what, this is simply Tai'a's upside down: those English, Portuguese Li Yuanhao can control and subdue, because they can be said to be rootless, but try it with the East Coast Officer Advisory Group?

Compared with this matter involving principles, the matter of Guangzhou Bosi is not so important. To put it mildly, after the people on the east coast set up the Haizhu Island commercial station and renovated the Yaniang shoe fort, the area around the mouth of the Pearl River was basically the one on the east coast. Any foreign ships that want to go to Guangzhou for trade must basically obtain permission from the east coast people before they can make the trip - from the implementation of the situation over the years, it is basically the same, except for a few ships of the English, Portuguese or Dutch East India Company that are allowed to enter Guangzhou by the east coasters to trade, the vast majority of the foreign trade in Guangzhou port is controlled by the Bank of Taiwan, and a large number of tea, raw silk, brocade, porcelain and other special commodities transported through the inland provinces are forced to be delivered at the Haizhu Island trading station. A large number of interests were taken away by the people on the east coast, and it may be too much to describe it as a crowd of people in Guangzhou, but it must have been greatly affected.

Therefore, this time the people on the east coast proposed to take over the matter of the Guangzhou City Shipping Division in an all-round way, Hao Shangjiu only thought about it slightly, and the absolute problem should not be very big, and the impact on the Guangdong side is there, but it is absolutely not to an unacceptable level. It's a big deal, and then we can find a way to negotiate with foreign merchants and set the place of trade in some other port. With such a long coastline in Guangdong, how many ships can block all the coasts on the east coast? Bragging rights!

In the end, there was another thing that Hao Shangjiu didn't mention, that is, about the lease of Xiangshan County, he felt that it was not very easy to do, not because he was reluctant, but because of face.

Speaking of this Xiangshan County, it has long been under the control of the people of the east coast. This county not only has a large training base leased by the Taiwan Marine Battalion of the people on the east coast, but also has set up a material transfer warehouse, a military hospital, and a small ship repair organization. The local magistrate has always been very interested, and he understands that he is just a rubber stamp, and he is very cooperative, and he has never refused various requests from the people on the east coast, and he is quite helpful.

This time, the people on the east coast proposed to lease Xiangshan County as a whole for 50 years, and it is expected that there will be no major opposition in the local area. The only obstacle should be on the side of Li Yuanhao, the Duke of Huiguo, who has recently ascended to the throne and has not been in power for long, and he is about to "cut the land", which is not a good thing for his prestige, so Hao Shangjiu did not mention this matter just now.

However, he didn't mention this matter, but Tang Moyu didn't intend to let it go, and directly reminded him again, wanting to give a clear explanation for the lease of Xiangshan County. Hao Shangjiu couldn't resist for a long time, and finally could only reluctantly say that the matter of leasing still needs to be considered in the long run, maybe not on the surface, but Xiangshan County secretly should deal with large and small affairs, "all abide by the law of the Eastern Dynasty".

Tang Moyu was still a little dissatisfied with this, but he also knew that this was probably their limit. The four conditions he prescribed were originally sky-high asking prices, and they did not have the absolute advantage that would definitely make the other party succumb. Li Yuanhao is not a fool, and he naturally has capable people under his command to advise him, knowing that what the people on the east coast want is just peace in Guangdong, and the strength of each other is balanced with each other. If it really wants to make a stalemate, won't Li Yuanhao join forces with Fujian Zheng Jing to make things bigger?

Zheng Jing's hungry wolf, as long as he promised the generous profits of Chaozhou Mansion, would definitely directly betray the alliance and fight with Li Yuanyin, and is this what the people on the east coast want to see? You know, Fujian is not as easy to interfere as Guangdong, the Zheng group has been self-contained since the pre-Ming era, after Zheng Chenggong's painstaking operation, the current scale of the navy and army is considerable, and the original criticized army combat effectiveness has also improved (this matter is still doubtful, because no one has confirmed), the East Coast people have no local foundation, let alone someone to lead the way, so Zheng is not really afraid of the East Coast people. And once they decide to march into the Chaozhou capital and expand their territory, what will the people on the east coast use to contain them?

Therefore, calming down the situation as soon as possible is what the people on the east coast should do, instead of putting forward some very harsh conditions to make Hui Guogong terminate the peace talks in a fit of anger and cooperate directly with Zheng Jing, which will complicate things.

Hao Shangjiu returned to Guangzhou in the afternoon of the same day and discussed with Li Yuanhao. After he left, Major Tang Moyu did not stop at Haizhu Island, but took a boat to the south bank of the Pearl River, and found Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei in the barracks in Foshan Town, and had an urgent consultation with him, which was also about the situation in Guangdong.

Lieutenant Colonel Lan Fei had also learned about the situation in Chaozhou at this time, and knew that the Zheng family in Fujian coveted it. And because of his weak strength before, Li Yuanyin, the general soldier of Chaozhou, hooked up with Zheng Jing again, and even secretly formed an alliance. But this Zheng family's wolf ambition, how can he want to be with it, Li Yuanyin's alliance with him is tantamount to seeking skin with the tiger! Now Tang Moyu is worried that Zheng Jing will not be able to hold on in the face of the temptation of huge interests, so he directly sends troops to the Chaozhou Mansion - which is still justified, in the name of helping allies - to completely muddy the waters.

Lan Fei also felt that Zheng's reasons for doing this were very sufficient, so he quickly agreed to Tang Moyu's proposal to calm down the situation in Guangdong as soon as possible, so that Zheng had no excuse to enter the army. Of course, this alone is not enough insurance, so you still have to send someone to negotiate, otherwise how can people like Zheng Jing give up the fat in their mouths and not eat it? That's obviously impossible. And this matter, of course, depends on whether the fleet of the navy and the Bank of Taiwan is able to give it or not! These are still the most effective against forces like the Zheng family, although the naval power of the people on the east coast in the Far East still seems to be a little weak......