"Report! The Anglo-French forces were defeated in the Battle of Songhu, the 200,000-strong army was annihilated, and the British and French fleets withdrew from Sanjia Port and anchored in the open sea. ”

"Report! The Battle of Wuchang of the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners was defeated, the 300,000-strong army was routed, with heavy casualties, the regent and Iktanga fled back to Beijing, and the governor of Sichuan surrendered. ”

"Report! Guo Dingxing of Jiangnan Province failed, Liu Zhengshan was ambushed in the Yanziji area, and more than half of the 80,000 troops were killed and wounded, and they are currently retreating to Yangzhou to recuperate. ”

A series of 800 miles of urgent news came back to the Yamen of Haimen Hall, Li Hongzhang squirted blood several times in a row and fell into a coma, and after waking up, the whole person instantly aged and was more than ten years old.

The 200,000 British and French troops were defeated, the 300,000 Manchurian and Mongolian coalition troops were defeated, and the last elite of the 80,000 Beiyang Army was also defeated.

Without 200,000 Anglo-French troops to contain in the east, and without 300,000 Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners Army to contain in the west, this means that Li Weiguo will free up his hands to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops from the eastern and western fronts and concentrate on the northern front to deal with Li Hongzhang's Beiyang army.

"How's that okay?"

Li Hongzhang was extremely panicked and asked blankly. In the past, he would never say such a thing, obviously lacking confidence and being frightened.

The staff members also frowned, and they didn't come up with a good way for a long time, shaking their heads and sighing, but no one went to pick up Li Hongzhang's words.

At this time, the problem can be seen best, and anyone with a discerning eye understands that with Li Hongzhang's strength, he can't stop Li Weiguo's counterattack at all. People with a heart have begun to think about the way back, the more they give Li Hongzhang advice at this time, the more they will give Li Hongzhang advice, and when they finally settle the account, it will never end well, but all smart people are looking for a way back for themselves at the moment.

Qian Dingming sighed and took the initiative to stand up and say, "Lord Wang, for the sake of today." immediately sued Li Weiguo for peace! ”

If someone dared to ask for peace in person, Li Hongzhang would have to cut off his head, but the current situation is compelled to help him.

"This king also wants to make peace, but is Li Weiguo willing to make peace?"

Indeed, it was Li Hongzhang who took the initiative to provoke the war, and now that he has lost the war and turned to seek peace, not to mention whether Lao Li can afford to lose this face, Li Weiguo may not necessarily agree.

Qian Dingming smiled bitterly: "Then it depends on whether the prince is reluctant to give up?" ”

Reluctant?

Lao Li was stunned. immediately understood what Qian Dingming meant, and asked rhetorically: "You mean that this king lost a lot of money to Li Weiguo?" Or do you want this king to give the county lord to Li Weiguo? Or do you lose money and people at the same time? ”

Qian Dingming was also stunned, and said in his heart that Li Hongzhang was not stupid, at least he knew what to accompany. It's just that this is not Qian Dingming's intention, obviously Lao Li will be wrong.

"This-the prince misunderstood, the minister meant to ask the prince if he still wanted to sit on the dragon chair now?"

"Do you still need to ask? This king has already controlled the entire Great Beiyang, and now that the main force of the imperial court has been defeated, he is no longer able to resist this king, and this king can take the capital at any time. Complete the hegemony of the emperor. Li Hongzhang blurted out without hesitation, since he became the king of Yan, his ambitions have become more and more inflated, and he has long wanted to be the emperor.

Qian Dingming shook his head helplessly. said: "If the prince wants to be the emperor, then there is no possibility of peace until he fights to the death with Li Weiguo." ”

"What do you mean by that? Didn't you say that if the king is willing, he can sue for peace? Lao Li was stunned again.

Qian Dingming rolled his eyes and explained, "Lord Wang." The minister does think so, but the premise is that the prince can no longer have illusions about the throne, and even the prince has to take the initiative to cut the feudal domain yourself. Descend from the throne, give up the Beiyang Army, and become a happy duke, only in this way will Li Weiguo rest assured and agree to peace talks. ”

"Bastard! Do you want this king to become a bare rod? Li Hongzhang finally understood, and was immediately furious, he was already very angry if he wanted him to give up the throne, and even asked him to give up the current throne, and he had to give up the Beiyang Army.

Qian Dingming did just let Li Hongzhang surrender, he saw it very clearly, if he didn't surrender, it would be a death, because with the current strength of Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Army, he was not Li Weiguo's opponent at all, and when Li Weiguo's Northern Expedition came, the Beiyang Army would be vulnerable and would collapse in an instant.

It can be said that Qian Dingming said this purely for Li Hongzhang. In fact, he can not say it at all, because Li Hongzhang is the lord, and he will definitely die if he is defeated, as a courtier, even if Li Hongzhang is defeated, he can surrender to Li Weiguo, because Li Weiguo's mind will not only not blame, but will be reused.

This is the difference between the master and the courtier.

It's just that Lao Li is reluctant, he can't help but become a prince, he has stepped into the Forbidden City with one foot, the throne is in front of him, how can he say that he will give up, not to mention that he has to give up the entire Beiyang and the throne, he can't do it, at least before he sees the coffin for the time being, he won't cry.

Of course, Lao Li was not completely without consideration, and in the spirit of trying, he decided to send someone across the river to talk.

As for the candidate, Lao Li asked Qian Dingming's opinion, because Qian Dingming was already the person he trusted the most at this time, and even old people like Xu Ting and Wang Kaitai, who had followed him for more than ten years, couldn't believe it. Although Lao Li has not yet obtained conclusive evidence that Xu Ting and Wang Kaitai played bitter meat tricks, he will definitely not trust it anymore.

Of course, Xu Ting and Wang Kaitai wanted to cross the river, but unfortunately Qian Dingming was too cunning and resolutely refused to let them cross the river to negotiate on behalf of Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang also thinks so, because he has just investigated the group of people who lurked around Zeng Guofan back then, and now they are all reused and rewarded by Li Weiguo, which shows that Li Weiguo is a nostalgic person, if it really comes to that day, with Xu Ting and Wang Kaitai in his hands as bargaining chips, maybe he can save his life.

In the end, Li Hongzhang ordered Qian Dingming to cross the river to negotiate.

At the same time, the old men who were far away in Beijing were also panicked, and everyone could see that King Wu had become a climate, and no one could suppress it.

With Yi Xin and Yi Ke Tang A returning to Beijing, the remnants of the Qing Army's Eight Banners quickly spread the news, causing panic in the entire capital.

Forbidden City, Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces summoned Yi Xin and Yi Ke Tang A to inquire about the war in the south.

Yi Xin and Yi Ke Tang Ah didn't hide it, and they couldn't hide it at this time, so they all said it truthfully. It's just that Iktanga won't say that he can't fight, and he will put the responsibility for the defeat on Li Hongzhang and lie about the military situation. It is also said that the Nanyang Army is advanced in equipment and has 500,000 troops, and his 300,000 Eighth Banner Army was defeated.

Only the devil would believe him!

Yixin snorted coldly, don't expose it, Ci'an and Cixi are also shrewd women, they can see through the falsehood at a glance, but now the Han people can't believe it, and the Manchu and Mongolian generals have no one available since the monk Greenqin, so they take a tolerant attitude towards Iktanga and don't expose it.

"Now you can only use relationship cards. Didn't my sister say that Sister Yilan married Li Weiguo? I heard that Sister Yilan is now quite favored in Wu Wangfu, is it for people to say good things in front of Li Weiguo, how about we strike the army and make peace? Cixi immediately proposed to Ci'an.

It's just that Ci'an smiled bitterly, glared at Yi Xin, and said: "This was the plan before, if Li Hongzhang and the foreigners can't beat Li Weiguo, then we can't use troops against him, we can only use Yilan to appease Li Weiguo." But how did you get to this point, the regent? Knowing that Li Hongzhang had suffered a great injury and was not Li Weiguo's opponent, why did he send troops? Your dispatch not only pitted 300,000 Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banner disciples, but also gave Li Weiguo an excuse to send troops to the Northern Expedition to the imperial court, relying on a single Yilan to blow the wind on the pillow. Hongu felt that it was impossible. ”

Yixin was scolded, although he was aggrieved in his heart, he couldn't refute it, who let him eat lard and blinded his heart. At that time, I did it on a whim.

Now that I have suffered a big loss, I can't blame others.

"Sister-in-law, the matter has come to this. Even if you kill the minister, it won't help! Let's figure it out! ”

Ci'an shook his head and said, "What can be done, this palace can't think of it!" ”

Everyone was silent for a moment, but after a while, Cixi suddenly said: "Now that the matter is now, we can only sacrifice the regent and the king of Yan!" ”

"What does the Queen Mother of the West mean? Why sacrifice this king? Yi Xin was furious when she heard this, and she didn't call her the imperial sister-in-law anymore.

Cixi smiled slightly and said: "The sixth prince doesn't have to be nervous, the sacrifice is only temporary, just to appease Li Weiguo, otherwise Li Weiguo's army will go on a northern expedition, who can stop him from entering Beijing?" At that time, your sixth prince will still have to be sacrificed, and even beheaded, and this Qing dynasty will also have to be lost. Instead of the entire Great Qing Kingdom perishing, it is better for the six princes to sacrifice it for the time being. ”

Yi Xin frowned and didn't speak.

Ci'an looked at Cixi and asked, "What did my sister say?" ”

Cixi said: "Our imperial army did not participate in the war at the beginning, so it was said that Li Hongzhang had a bad plot, and in order to usurp the throne, he had to destroy Li Weiguo, the only king of Wu who was loyal to the Qing Dynasty, so he sent troops to raid. The British and French powers were colluded with Li Hongzhang, and the imperial court was blinded by Li Hongzhang and did not know about it. The regent also sent troops impulsively because he was deceived, and the court dismissed the six princes from the position of regent, put Prince Gong's mansion under house arrest, and promoted Li Weiguo to the regent. ”

Yi Xin sneered: "Do you think that Li Weihui will stop like this? ”

Cixi also snorted coldly: "Stop, how can you know if you can't do it if you don't try?" ”

Seeing Yixin and Cixi glaring at each other, Ci'an hurriedly persuaded: "Now, you can only be a dead horse as a live horse doctor, do you have a better countermeasure, Sixth Prince?" ”

Yi Xin shook his head, obviously he didn't have a better response.

Ci'an then said: "Since there is no better countermeasure, then follow my sister's plan and implement it, and first wronged the six princes." ”

The Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces spoke, and Yi Xin had to carry out unless she rebelled, and finally left the Forbidden City bitterly.

Knowing that Li Weiguo's Northern Expedition was imminent, both the imperial court and Li Hongzhang sent a delegation south to Shanghai as soon as possible.

Li Hongzhang was close, Qian Dingming arrived in Shanghai half a day later, and the capital was far away, so the envoy rode on the royal BMW, rushed 800 miles overnight, and arrived in Shanghai two days later.

Although Qian Dingming arrived in Shanghai first, Li Weiguo did not immediately summon him.

At this time, it is obvious that he is here to seek peace, and Li Weiguo knows very well that since he has something to ask, he must hang him out and make him anxious, which is the basic skill of negotiation.

At the same time, Li Weiguo also learned about the situation in the capital, after all, the China S.H.I.E.L.D. was still secretly lurking in the capital, and had contact with Cixi, and learned the attitude of the imperial court at the first time, and sent the book back to Shanghai.

After learning that Yi Xin was deposed and Li Hongzhang was designated as a thief, Li Weiguo immediately laughed, laughing at the two enemies who were deflated, and were finally betrayed by the imperial court, and at the same time applauded the two women Ci'an and Cixi, obviously, these two are extremely shrewd women, no wonder they can rule China for decades, it is definitely not something that ordinary stupid women can do.

"Reveal the news from the imperial court to Li Hongzhang, what should I do if I see him Li Hongzhang?"

Li Weiguo was happy, and it seemed that he had seen Lao Li's bitter expression across the Yangtze River.

Sure enough, Li Hongzhang of the Yamen of the Haimen Hall on the other side of the Yangtze River, after getting the news, immediately scolded his mother angrily.

It was only at this time that Lao Li understood that he was betrayed by the imperial court, and was used as a gunman by the imperial court to beat Li Weiguo, but now that he can't beat Li Weiguo, the imperial court immediately sold his Lao Li in order to curry favor with Li Weiguo and make peace.

"Damn the court, it's really a ruthless cousin, and I'm angry with the old man."

Li Hongzhang was furious, and a mouthful of old blood suddenly reached his throat, but he couldn't bear it and didn't squirt it out.

"Big brother, since the court is unkind, we can't work for the court anymore, on the other hand!"

It was Li Hanzhang who spoke, Li Hongzhang's younger brother, who had just arrived with troops from his hometown in Anhui, and all the old Huai Army troops came to help in the war.

Li Hongzhang frowned and said: "We have already started a war with Li Weiguo, and if we rebel and start a war with the imperial court, are you still afraid that we will be unhappy with our defeat?" ”

Li Hanzhang said: "Big brother, it's all up to this, the left and right are dead, we have to be vigorous, and we can't let Li Weiguo and the court see our jokes." Anyway, the eldest brother is still the minister of Beiyang, and the army of the eight northern provinces is still two or three hundred thousand, even if he can't beat Li Weiguo, he has to go down with one of his front teeth. If you fight the imperial court, the capital can go down every day. ”

Li Hongzhang paced back and forth, at this time, he needed to make a decision, whether to live or die was all in one thought.

"Let Qian Dingming meet Li Weiguo as soon as possible, negotiate with him about the conditions, tell Qian Dingming that the king can surrender, and let him try his best to gain benefits for the king."

Li Hanzhang sighed, his brother was still afraid of death after all, if it was before, it would definitely be the end of preferring jade to be broken rather than destroyed.

Over there, Qian Dingming got Li Hongzhang's latest order and asked Li Weiguo to see him again, and this time Li Weiguo agreed to see him.

It's just that what Li Hongzhang never expected was that Li Weiguo was willing to accept Li Hongzhang's surrender, but the premise was that Li Hongzhang needed to immediately wave his army to attack Beijing and destroy the Manchu court.

"Nima, you still have to be used as a gunman!"

Poof......

Lao Li immediately understood the stakes, and immediately spurted blood with anger. (To be continued.) )