At night, the city of Songjiang Mansion was shrouded in a strange dark fire, the wood crackled and burned, the masonry continued to collapse, and the tragic cry mat became the background, and it was a scene of purgatory on earth.

The dark fire was a flame wrapped in heavy black smoke, and this black smoke was like a black cloud, pressing on the hearts of the British and Chinese officers and soldiers outside the city.

They were not only grieving for their fallen comrades, but also shocked by the scene in front of them and indignant for what happened to them.

Any outsider, if he does not know the cause and effect, and sees what happened to Songjiang Fucheng, his first reaction is: Yinghua slaughtered the city, used the rumored giant cannon to flatten Manila, and destroyed Songjiang Fucheng.

Han Zaixing and Wang Tang stood shoulder to shoulder, their faces expressionless, and they were particularly hideous by the flickering dark fire. But at this moment, the two of them were full of anger in their chests, both against Marseille and at the people of Songjiang. There is a grievance on top of the anger, and they are pitted ......,

At dusk, the city of Songjiang was broken, Marseille fled early, and the prefect of Songjiang still led people to resist stubbornly in the city. Han Zaixing organized grenadiers and broke into Songjiang Mansion when he suddenly underwent a drastic change.

The sky fell, the ground cracked, and at that moment, almost no one could stand firm on the ground. A trace of sunset was also taken away, and there was only a scorching orange light in front of him, followed by the wind that was about to lift people into the air.

This is how the British and Chinese officers and soldiers who are clearing the obstacles at the gate of the city feel, and no one knows what the assault team that advanced to the vicinity of the government office feels, and out of the two hundred and eight people, only more than 30 people have been robbed, all bleeding and unconscious.

The gunpowder bureau near the Songjiang Prefecture exploded......

Marseille designated Songjiang Prefecture as the hub of Songjiang's camp and hoarded a large amount of gunpowder here. The gunpowder bureau is located in the center of the city, and I don't know that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of catties of gunpowder detonated, almost leveling the center of Songjiang Fucheng, and the three fires affected the whole city.

Maybe it was the order that Marseille left behind when he fled, or maybe it was done by the prefect of Matsue personally, but it didn't matter. Han Zaixing, Wang Tanghe, and all the Yinghua officers and soldiers all believed that this was deliberately done by the Tatars, that is, they did not want the materials hoarded by Songjiang Mansion to be left to Yinghua.

Contrary to what they thought, the people of Songjiang thought that this was done by the giant cannon of the Nanban, and that the Nanban had died in Fengxian, Nanqiao, and under Songjiang City, and that they were taking revenge on the slaughter of the city, and they would not leave a single survivor.

Based on this mentality, as well as the fact that at least tens of thousands of people died in the city, the surviving Songjiang people fell into a crazy situation. Seeing the people in red, they waved knives at each other, and those who didn't have knives held people and bit them with their mouths, Han Zaixing didn't want his subordinates to fall into such a chaotic situation, so he ordered to withdraw from Songjiang Mansion City.

This is also the reason for the resentment in the hearts of the British and Chinese officers and soldiers, who have been regarded by the people as a blood-fire demon that devours people.

Xu Shidao gritted his teeth and said, "Since they all think so, let's just do it to the end!" ”

Zhuang Yiyi shook his head and sighed: "Is this worthy of Huang Gongshou in the sky?" ”

The two looked up at the night sky where the stars had been obscured by Heimu, and suddenly felt that Huang Shen, who died in battle, was really easy, and he didn't have to endure such suffering.

Under the banners of the Eagle Yang Army and the Dragoon Army, Wang Tanghe suddenly said: "This is not bad, at least the Tartar soldiers in Jiangnan dare not fight, and they dare not defend it, so they should have to seek peace." ”

Han Zaixing frowned: "Let's just retreat?" How can the morale of the army be calm? ”

Wang Tang said: "How can you be flat? And the natives of the South Seas, the white-skinned baboons of Europa, go and flatten with their heads! ”

Just as he was saying this, his subordinates sent Fan Jin's military order, asking Han Zaixing and Wang Tanghe to return to help quickly. It is said that the banner of Nian Qianyao appeared in the direction of Jiaxing Mansion in Zhejiang, and about 10,000 Qing soldiers are moving in the direction of Jinshanwei, and Jinshanwei Bai Daolong has been controlled by Nian Qianyao's personal soldiers, and the defense has also been handed over to Nian Qianyao's subordinates.

Glancing at the purgatory-like Songjiang Mansion again, Han Zaixing smiled bitterly and said, Nian Qianyao came at a really good time to help him calm down the army and his heart.

The left division of the Eagle Yang Army and the first part of the Dragoon Army advanced northward to this point, and withdrew to Longmen in order to resist the movement of Nian Qianyao in the west. Nian Qianyao's soldiers were in Jinshanwei, and they did not dare to attack Longmen directly, and the situation in Jiangnan seemed to have calmed down.

But the catastrophe of Songjiang Mansion has set off even greater waves. Even through Zhongliu and Longmen's newly published Jiangnan Daily, Jiangnan Xingying emphasized that this was a crime committed by Marseille and the Songjiang government, but most Jiangnan people believed that it was done by Nanman. …,

Marseille, who fled to Sugang's mansion, swore an oath in front of Li Wei, believing that it was Nanban's doing, which was his true words. He had never given such an order, and at the same time, he knew that the prefect of Songjiang did not have the courage to drag tens of thousands of people on the road together, and that pedantic scholar could not do it.

When the report of the "Songjiang Massacre" was sent to Li Shi's desk, the public opinion dispute between the north and the south also reached Li Shi's ears.

"If Nian Qianyao was in Songjiang, I think he could do this, but Marseille, and the prefect who was still well-known in Songjiang, couldn't think of a reason for them to do this. I think it's a pepper... God did it, to be precise, God borrowed the hands of the Qing soldiers. ”

Li Xi quickly made a judgment that this was an accident. The Manchu government had problems with the storage of gunpowder not once or twice. Earlier, the Manchu army had not yet completely weaponized and did not attach much importance to the storage of gunpowder, so they set up a gunpowder bureau in the city to store it. Now that the war between the North and the South has basically entered modernization, although the Manchu Qing Dynasty is too far behind the Yinghua in terms of technology and system, the amount of gunpowder used has suddenly doubled, and it has also begun to subdivide gunpowder and gunpowder, but it can still be kept according to the old system.

Songjiang Mansion is the core of the Marseille Songjiang camp, and naturally a large amount of gunpowder is stored, even if it is black powder, the amount is so large, it is not trivial to blow up. In Li Shi's previous life, in the late Manchu Qing Dynasty, accidents caused by the establishment of gunpowder bureaus in the city abounded. From Xianfeng to Guangxu, the gunpowder explosion accidents that occurred in Changsha in Hunan, Wuchang in Hubei, and Foshan in Guangdong Province killed thousands of people each, and even in an accident in Taiping Mansion in Anhui, the government was flattened and the prefect was crushed to death.

Shoufu Li Zhushou said: "With this matter, it should be much easier to negotiate peace between the north and the south." ”

Is this God's help, or is it dragging his feet, Li Xian smiled bitterly. On the surface, the "Songjiang tragedy" has brought a lot of benefits, first of all, as Li Zhushou said, the time is ripe for peace talks. After this case, not only did the Qing court no longer have the courage to fight Yinghua in Jiangnan, but the people of Jiangnan were also "afraid of hearing Yingying". Fan Jin mentioned in the report that if there were 40,000 or 50,000 troops in Longmen at this time, it would be easy to collect Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The field battle could not be defeated, and the defending city was bombarded by the "giant cannon to destroy the city", and the officials and people in Jiangnan no longer had much to resist.

Secondly, after this case, it can reassure the hearts of the radicals in the country. When Fengxian County was attacked, it encountered fierce resistance, and now Songjiang Mansion has also made tens of thousands of people die, if you really want to capture Jiangnan, how many people will die? How far will the prosperous Jiangnan wither? These concerns, no matter how enthusiastic people are, have to think more.

However, the bad impact of this case could not be more obvious, although this matter was not done by himself, but the prejudice is difficult to clarify, and the feelings of the people of Jiangnan towards Yinghua are sharply tilting in the direction of hatred. In the future, to integrate Jiangnan into the Anglo-Chinese Middle School, I don't know how much effort it will take to dissolve the hearts of these people.

"The times are mighty, and those who go against it turn into powder, although Your Majesty has benevolence, it is impossible to save everyone. Your Majesty stretched out his hand, Yinghua stretched out his hand, whether it was Jiangnan or people from other places, he didn't stretch out his hand, and he was still taking care of his cage in such a situation, should His Majesty bear such a responsibility, should I Yinghua bear it? ”

Seeing that Li Xian's expression was in a trance, Xue Xue, the new head of the Hanlin Academy, explained so.

Li Xian smiled with relief, indeed, now he has to think about the 30 million people under his rule first. Yinghua and Jiangnan, even if they can't say that they are different from inside and outside, they can be regarded as different from each other, and there is no way to treat Jiangnan equally at this time.

Nodding to Chen Wance, the new general envoy who was serving beside him, Li Xian said: "Then, let's negotiate the north-south contract." ”

Outside the government hall, a slender figure stood at the door, as if he was eavesdropping, and the six cars looked left and right in panic for fear of being discovered.

"Six

Liuche's little heart liver jumped out of his throat and called in a low voice. The emperor is afraid that the emperor will not be embarrassed by the concubine Niangniang, but she is just a small clerk, and this accomplice cannot escape.

It was the noble concubine Yan Sanniang who was eavesdropping, and she made a silent gesture when she heard the words "North-South Contract", and her beautiful face was suddenly covered with a layer of haze.

"Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces have been established by trade since [Sakaki] ... know

"Longmen is the land of Yinghua, Fengxian in the east, Huangpu River in the north, Jinshanwei in the west, Dinghai in the west..., not to mention, it is already the land of Yinghua." …,

"On the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Yinghua is responsible for maritime affairs, and Yinghua can accommodate merchant ships and official ships to come and go, and Qing court sailors are not allowed to enter the sea. The rivers of the four provinces, the Anglo-Chinese sailors will also pass from [Sakaki], and any obstruction will be regarded as a breach of the contract. ”

"Yinghua does not interfere with the Qing court's governance in Jiangnan, but all business and civil disputes involving Yinghua are handled by Yinghua, and the Qing court is not allowed to intervene."

Listening to this article, Yan Sanniang's eyebrows were raised, and the six cars on the other side also heard the crescent eyebrows flying, which ...... Is this a contract? Why does it sound more and more like their own family is preparing to devour Jiangnan step by step, and the Manchu Qing want to stabilize Jiangnan during this time and not make trouble?

Such a contract, the alliance under the city is not enough to describe, and it is even more excessive than the surrender of the book, will the Tartar court accept it?

Yan Sanniang suddenly muttered in a low voice: "Going around, this is the original intention of letting the navy go to Jiangnan, but why does it have to be called peace?" Isn't this just misleading? ”

In the government hall, Liu Xingchun also said righteously: "These conditions are ......, Yongzheng is afraid that it is impossible to accept it..."

Xue Xue said with a smile: "The price is all over the sky, and the money will be paid back when you land." ”

Chen Wance also said: "We are negotiating peace with Yongzheng" As long as this big name is there, he can use it to appease the people below, and the details don't matter to him. So, in order to devour the lining of Jiangnan, it is also necessary for us to give him some face. ”

Li Shi's tone was particularly firm: "No details can be allowed, except for the region, the scope of the four provinces is the room for counteroffer, and our bottom line is Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces." ”

Li Zhushou said: "According to the understanding of the minister, what we want is the two provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and we Yinghua and the Qing court share the same rules." The Qing court was in charge of public security, arrested thieves, and continued to collect their acres of land and grain, so we managed industry and commerce, integrated Jiangnan with industry and commerce, and dug up the roots of the Qing court in Jiangnan step by step. ”

Li Xi said again: "This is our old routine of causing trouble in Guangdong, but unlike Guangdong, we used to be the underworld behind the scenes, but now we are starting from the bright side." ”

Discussing the details, Liuche said in a low voice: "Niangniang, Tartar is not a fool, will he accept such a contract?" ”

The corners of Yan Sanniang's mouth curled slightly, and she shook her head and said, "It's because I'm not a fool that I have to accept it." Think about it, your neighbors want to take your house. He is a strong martial artist and can slap you to death with one palm. But what he loves is the furnishings of your house, and he doesn't want to make a big fuss in the house and ruin the house, so he talks to you and says that he wants your kitchen to be shared by the two families. You know that he will occupy the kitchen first, and then he will occupy other places, but are you really willing to fight with him? ”

Liuche's big eyes blinked for a while, and said weakly: "As long as I can still use the kitchen, I don't want to fight with him......"

Then she shook her head again and again: "We're not robbers!" We're taking back our house! ”

said this, but Liuche understood in his heart.

But she still felt that the contract proposed by the emperor and the ministers was really ridiculous, "But..." I think these conditions are simply smoking Yongzheng's ear scraper, and he will not agree to kill him. ”

Yan Sanniang said again: "Strictly speaking, this is not a condition, but to ask Emperor Yongzheng to admit these things." Through industry and commerce, sealing the sea, and occupying an area, haven't we already done all these things? ”

Straightening up, Yan Sanniang let out a long breath and said with a relieved expression: "Now I should be relieved, I know that he can't be a faint king." ”

Liuche said unevenly: "How can the official family be a faint monarch......

Thinking of Li Xian's reprimand for her before, she added: "When you take care of other people's family affairs, you are really a faint gentleman." ”。 ）