The moonlight is dim, and the vegetation is bleak.

More than a dozen horses galloped on the loess road, the hooves of the horses were wrapped with soft cloths, and the sound of hooves was not obvious, suddenly a war horse neighed, the front legs were weak, and the servant fell to the ground, and the rider rolled to the ground and fell to the ground, and the war horse foamed at the mouth, and saw that it was not alive.

"Phew, hoo......" The riders pulled the reins, they were all dressed as soldiers and brave officials of the Northern Dynasty, but their clothes were ragged and stained with blood, and they looked extremely embarrassed.

"Commander, please go first!" The Huai army pro-soldier who fell off the horse got up with a bone, kowtowed hard, when he looked up, his forehead was full of blood, his eyes were resolute, he pulled out the dagger and was ready to kill himself, behind him the gray head army reconnaissance horse team and iron horse convoy were searching everywhere, he would rather die than be captured by the enemy.

The red-topped middle-aged official with thick eyebrows and big eyes and extremely resolute shouted: "Stop! Ben Shuai goes first, where are you going? As he spoke, he sighed gloomily and was depressed.

He is Luo Zenan, and the gray head, patrol, militia and other thieves fought fiercely for a night, was surrounded by layers of layers, Kunzi camp sacrificed his life to protect each other, and fought a bloody road, but there were only a dozen pro-soldiers left around him, more than 20,000 Huai troops and all kinds of Qinwang people, now it is said that all the mourning is here, Luo Zenan is really a little discouraged for a while.

"Well, let's wipe our necks together today!" Luo Zenan spoke, and with a pop, he also showed his saber.

"Don't be handsome!" "Ming Gong can't!" All the pro-soldiers were so frightened that they rolled off their horses one after another, some kowtowed, and some struggled to step forward to hug the handsome.

Holding Luo Zenan is Zhang Jinheng, the deputy commander of the Kunzi battalion, the commander is the brother of his clan, in order to help Luo Zenan get out of danger, he led his troops to attract thieves, life and death are unknown, Zhang Jinheng's heart is like a drop of blood, at this moment, he is even more sad and angry: "Handsome! The army is impermanent, the marshal please think in the long run, retreat to Ningbo to collect the remnants, and will definitely make a comeback and exterminate the thieves! ”

Luo Zenan smiled miserably: "Ningbo? Is it really there? ”

The pro-army was silent, it was, in fact, after the Pingyuan army conquered Dinghai, the realm of Zhejiang became a lone army, the west, south, and north borders were not bandits, and the southern dynasties were occupied, and the ammunition supply was all dependent on the eastern coastal sea route, and the supply ships from Shanghai were often sunk by the gunboats of the Pingyuan army, and the supply was very difficult, and the coastal state capitals became the battlefield It was a desperate plan for the Pingyuan army, as long as the waterway supply was completely cut off, the Qing army in Zhejiang became a fish without water, and it was defeated without a fight.

Now that the Huai army has been defeated, although there may be many people who break through the siege, but the people's hearts have long been dispersed, who is willing to go to Ningbo again to fight the trapped beasts?

Zhang Jinheng knelt down suddenly: "Dashuai, let's go back to Jiangbei!" Lie down and taste the guts, and then take revenge! The strategy of the handsome, Zhao Sanbao, the wild village man, the rooster and the dog thief, what is the way? Relying on firearms, the marshal returned to Jiangbei to regroup, recruit new troops, and purchase full firearms, and he will definitely be able to snow his hatred! ”

Luo Zenan smiled bitterly, and said in his heart Zhao Sanbao and Pingyuanjun, why don't they stop here? But now there is no need to say any more frustrating words, staring at him quietly, nodding slightly: "You're right, you all get up!" ”

As he spoke, he tore off the red-topped official hat on his head, threw it on the ground, and said, "Looking for a village in front, changing into robes, let's go back to Jiangbei." Today's shame, today's hatred, I, Luo Zenan, swear to the sky! Tell the thief to return it tenfold! ”

"Wow!" The pro-army agreed in unison, one by one suddenly in high spirits, the commander has always acted resolutely, and now he is willing to suffer the shame of losing his crown and hat, and he said that he can kill back to the southeast and take revenge!

Luo Zenan silently glanced at the south for a few moments, then beat his horse and ran towards a small dark village not far away............ In the White Tiger Hall of the Martial Arts Academy, on the stage, more than a dozen soldiers of the Pingyuan Army, including Zheng Huzi and Liu Fugui, stood straight like nails, and everyone could not hide the excitement and excitement on their faces.

Although the war is tight, the major generals cannot return to Guangdong, but the military horses and sailors of the six towns all have outstanding generals to watch the ceremony, all of them are handsome for a while, and the generals in the White Tiger Hall are shining and full of talents.

This is the Pingyuan Army award ceremony, the general personally awarded the second battalion of the fourth town of the Pingyuan Army the title of "loyal and brave battalion", and awarded Zheng Huzi, Liu Fugui and others the Patriotic Medal in recognition of their loyalty and courage in the bloody battle of Taizhou.

The Pingyuan Army Patriotic Medal is divided into three levels, of which the first-class Patriotic Medal is the highest honor of the Pingyuan Army, cast in pure gold, the front pattern is the unicorn of the dragon and the tiger, and there is a proverb on the back "to show courage and perseverance", from the style to the proverb are all set by the general Wang.

When Ye Zhao, who was wearing a splendid cloud robe, walked on the stage, all the generals in the audience immediately stood up in unison, these generals who were famous outside the country, let him be bold, but at this moment, they didn't dare to breathe, and their faces were full of fanaticism and reverence.

Zheng Huzi and Liu Fugui saw the beautiful regent walking in front of them with a smile, but they felt that it was extremely difficult to breathe, and their hearts jumped to their throats, their brains were dizzy, and they almost fainted.

In the Great Hall, only the clear and passionate voice of the Lord Regent could be heard.

"The second battalion of the fourth town of the Pingyuan Army, with a mere number of 100 people, resisted more than 10,000 fierce bandits, sprinkled blue blood on Balipo, bloody battles, thieves and bandits could not take a step forward, loyal and brave in the heaven and earth, righteous sprinkled in the mountains and rivers, loyal to the liver and courage, can be an example for our army! The glory of Jingxiang! ”

Zheng Huzi and Liu Fugui stood up straight, and when they heard that the regent was proud of their performance, their hearts suddenly became sour, and their eyes were red, brothers under the spring, have you all heard it?! Did you hear what the prince and his old man said?!

"May the sacrificed soldiers be loyal and righteous! Gentlemen, you should work hard with me to clear the world! The glory of the Pingyuan Army lives forever! ”

"Wow!" On and off the stage, all the military attachés were agitated and knelt down in unison.

In March 1859, the fourth town of the Pingyuan Army and the southern part of the Qing puppet army fought in Taizhou, and the second battalion of the fourth town fought a bloody battle in Balipo, containing more than 10,000 thieves, and finally the southern part of Luoze fell into the encirclement of the fourth town, patrol and various militia groups.

After a fierce battle and a night, the Qing puppet army was dispersed, Luo Zenan's generals Li Maosan and Zhang Dingbang died in the chaos, Chen Jiuru surrendered, and Luo Zenan was nowhere to be found.

At this point, the Southern Dynasty controlled most of Zhejiang, and the Taiping Army in Hangzhou also took the opportunity to invade south, and the areas of Shaoxing, Yanzhou, and Ningbo fell into the hands of thieves.

Since then, in Fujian and Zhejiang, there is no place for the Qing army to stand up, and the green battalions are brave and have attached themselves to the Southern Dynasties.

…… In the flower hall of the palace, Ye Zhao looked at the telegram in his hand, and the mission to Shanghai for peace talks sent it was the latest condition issued by the Northern Dynasties: with the territory currently controlled by the two sides as the boundary, the Yangtze River basin was entrusted by Britain, France and the United States to supervise the implementation of the peace treaty by both sides, and the Northern Dynasties compensated 10 million taels of silver for military expenses.

From the Battle of Changsha to the Battle of Fujian and Zhejiang, coupled with the fierce battle between the Jinchun of Northern Korea and the New Army of the Northern Kingdom, the attack of Harich on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Sichuan Province on the strongholds of the Qing army, the Qing army of all walks of life suffered many defeats and few victories, and suffered heavy losses.

A few days ago, Shi Dakai, the winged king of the Taiping Army, led the Northern Expeditionary Army to break Kaifeng Mansion, and the sword blade pointed directly at the Beijing Division, shaking the world.

Now that the North is in dire need of a respite through peace talks, the envoys of both sides spent several months in Shanghai, and now the negotiations have really begun.

As for Ye Zhao, needless to say, the temporary truce with the Northern Dynasties to exterminate the Taiping Army and pacify the southeastern half of the country is the primary task, and the financial revenue of the Southern Dynasties is naturally increasing geometrically, and this year it will inevitably break through the 50 million taels of silver mark, reaching the national income level before the First Sino-British War, but at the same time, the expenditure is also extremely huge, which really makes Ye Zhao feel that he cannot make ends meet.

Infrastructure construction and investment in education are like a bottomless pit, and it really makes people feel that no matter how much money is invested, no sound can be heard in it.

In terms of education, although it is more with the help of civil forces, after all, the squires running schools is one of the Chinese traditions since ancient times, to Ye Zhaochao but through various means to strengthen propaganda, so that the squires are more active in running schools, but the county level to set up public primary schools is necessary, and the normal school a period of short-term training courses are also very fast training teachers, in fact, although most of the teachers are teaching, in fact, they are also students, relying on correspondence and various textbooks to learn the latest mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural sciences and other knowledge.

And although the army has not become the biggest black hole in financial expenditure, the war has also made the silver flow. The area controlled by the Southern Dynasties became more and more extensive, and Ye Zhao was ready to expand the soldiers and horses of the six towns, completely eliminate the cold weapon battalion, and establish a truly modern army, with about 5,000 people in each town, rifle battalions, artillery battalions, reconnaissance battalions, garrison battalions, logistics such as cooking classes, health teams, etc., each performing their duties, and this required a large sum of silver.

Infrastructure, everywhere are building roads and bridges, and the railway, not to mention, has always been the top priority, has not stopped for a moment, now there are four sections of the railway being built at the same time, Hengzhou - Changsha section, Hengzhou - Guilin section, Ganzhou north section, Yanping - Jinhua section.

Ganzhou North is actually the railway from Ganzhou to Nanchang in the end, and Yanping to Jinhua, its goal is naturally the trunk line from Yanping to Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, although now Nanchang, Hangzhou and other places are in the hands of bandits, the construction of the railway network does not have to wait for its recovery.

Nowadays, railway bonds are not only in China, but even have been issued to London, for the help of external funds, Ye Zhaozi will not learn from the Qing Dynasty in the previous life, borrow silver to implement the official office, and as a result, he fell into a cycle of evil surnames, owed countless foreign debts, and often fell into the trap of others, as shrewd as Zuo Zongtang, and also fell into the trick of borrowing silver to repay gold, borrowing silver from foreigners, but wanting to return the gold, not only paying high interest, but also being knocked hard by foreigners by taking advantage of the fall in the price of silver in the financial market.

Borrowing foreign funds, a ready-made example is the United States, to make foreigners really participate in your infrastructure, just say the railway, in fact, now there is really no need to be afraid of this and that because the ownership of the railway is temporarily in the hands of private individuals, you must know that after the completion of the railway trunk line, the promotion of the whole society is immeasurable, for China, the significance is even more significant, not only reflected in the economic development, including the ideology, social structure will be followed by a huge change in the surname, Holding back the energy, you have to wait for yourself to have the money to be self-reliant, how can what you miss is just as simple as time?

Of course, Ye Zhaozi also has various treaty restrictions on the railways in which foreigners are shareholder, such as the imposition of special taxes, free requisition and transportation of military supplies for the army, legitimate political use, free help the State Post Office transport mail, and other nineteenth-century American-style railroad clauses, followed by some binding clauses with the characteristics of the Southern Dynasties, although cumbersome, but generally protect the interests of both the state and investors, the Chinese are so serious, the treaty is so cumbersome and detailed, foreign investors are more assured.

Speaking of which, if there is a stable environment, it is more attractive to invest in the Oriental Kingdom, which is rich in wealth and vigorous at the beginning of the industrial revolution, than in the barren land of the Americas.

And Ye Zhao also needs peace talks to calm the southeastern half of the wall to give confidence to domestic and foreign investors.

In fact, Ye Zhao first talked to Zou Kaizhi, the envoy of the peace talks, about the bottom line, such as the compensation of 50 million taels of military expenses, which was mostly false intimidation, which made the starting point of the Southern Dynasty higher, for example, it is immediate now, and the Northern Kingdom really agreed to pay the silver.

If you really want to make it lose 50 million taels, I'm afraid that the six kings would rather fight to the death than take it out, and it is really a bit impossible to take it out.

Ye Zhao of the Yanjing household department is still relatively clear, after Kangqian, he has accumulated a reserve of twenty or thirty million taels of silver over the years, but after the bandits, the expenditure surged, and in the third year of Xianfeng, Emperor Xianfeng once lamented that "the ministry treasury only has more than 227,000 taels of silver to be paid", and now it is common for the provinces to default on the payment of the ministry, and the provinces are crying poor, greedy for ink, and pay silver to the central political axe? Just wait slowly. Zeng Guofan's military expenses were all robbed, and it can be imagined that the financial management of the northern country was chaotic.

In fact, in the late Qing Dynasty, the fiscal revenue was extremely dependent on Shanghai's tariffs, and the customs tariff revenue of Shanghai reached 20 or 30 million taels a year, accounting for one-third of its fiscal revenue.

Nowadays, the compensation for the military expenses of 10 million taels is naturally passed on to the merchants and people of the northern country, and the name of the indemnity is added to the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes levied, which is a good drama of the political axe of the late Qing Dynasty, and every time the war is defeated, the people suffer, but the officials and officials take advantage of the numerous tax items to intercept the flow and make a big profit, which makes the people complain and suffer. It is no wonder that every time the late Qing Dynasty went to war with a foreign country, the emperor's authority and trust were weakened by a few points. If you lose the war, you have to pay for it, and you have to pay for it with great fanfare, and it's strange that the people have to pee all the time.

Ye Zhao lit a cigarette and pondered about the military compensation, 10 million taels is just the beginning, so naturally it can be picked out as much as it can, and it is also a blow to the legal surname of the puppet regime of the Northern Dynasty, and himself, this amount of silver is not enough.

A ceasefire along the boundaries of the areas currently controlled by the two sides is also barely acceptable.

But the Yangtze River is entrusted by the three mediation countries of Britain, France and the United States, what kind of thing, bastard clause.

However, this is also not to blame the six kings, the limitations of this era, the sea power is not very important, and no one thinks there is any shame in the rivers and rivers, just say that Russia, a few years ago, the fleet was driving in the Heilongjiang River, and the Qing officers and soldiers along the coast were just curious to watch the excitement, and no one felt that they were provocative.

Now that the six kings have entrusted the Yangtze River to foreigners, they can prevent themselves from breaking the contract suddenly, but from his point of view, it is also a very clever move.

But from my own point of view, I'm really angry and want to scold my mother, devil six, something!

…… In the small banquet living room of the palace, the lights are flickering, and the embroidered red carpet is half an inch thick, and it is soft like a cloud when stepping on it.

Through the ornate candlesticks and the long table full of flowers, Ye Zhao was explaining his point to MacChason.

"The trusteeship of the Yangtze River to the mediator is absolutely a great humiliation to China's sovereignty, and I will never allow such a situation to happen. My idea is that after the extermination of the bandits, the north and the south will be free trade, and several free trade zones will be set up along the north and south of the Yangtze River, of course, the location of the specific trade zones will be determined after the end of the war against the bandits, and now we should consider Shanghai, and I think that Shanghai should be jointly managed by the north and the south and become the first free trade zone between the north and the south. ”

Dumping industrial products in the north is inevitable, and once you make money, isn't it okay to have a good market ready for it? Second, it has gradually influenced the thinking of the people in Jiangbei. Turning Shanghai into a free trade zone can curb Britain, France, the United States and other countries from fishing in troubled waters to the greatest extent and control the throat of north-south trade.

In fact, there is no bottom line for military compensation, but this is an insurmountable condition for Shanghai to be jointly administered by the north and the south.

The current situation in Jiangsu on the south bank of the Yangtze River is somewhat bounded by the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, which is controlled by the Northern Dynasties to the east of the canal, such as Suzhou and Shanghai, and to the west of Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Taihu Lake basins.

I don't know how the Suzhou battalion of the Northern Dynasties will react to the siege of Nanjing, but in any case, if we can use this peace talks to stretch our hands into Shanghai, a place where all parties are contending, it will be tantamount to winning a lot of money.

Ye Zhao naturally talked to Zou Kaizhi about these conditions in the message, but after all, Zou Kaizhi's weight was not enough, so Ye Zhao personally came forward to entertain Mai Chaxun, who had just returned from North Korea, and he was not a drunkard.

McChason listened attentively, and then smiled: "Your Excellency, I thought that after you conquered the peasant rebellion, you would launch a large-scale attack on the north. "I have worked with Ye Zhao a few times, and I know Ye Zhao's surname a little bit, and I will never be subservient, let alone let the situation of the separation between the north and the south continue.

Ye Zhao smiled, raised his long goblet and tasted red wine, thought for a while, and said: "I hope that the reunification of the north and the south is sincere, and now I am also sincere in peace talks with the north, I think that the ruler of the north will be the main culprit who provoked the war." "I don't hide it from him, how difficult is the battle with the bandits? When the war is over, it is certain that there will be a period of rest.

Speaking of which, if the north and the south can maintain a peaceful situation, it is not bad to influence the thinking of all strata in the north a little, and it is also a blessing for the people in the world to evolve peacefully and fill in the Berlin Wall of the Yangtze River, but it is also a blessing for the people in the world, but as the great man said, if he has unrealistic illusions about peace, it will definitely be a tragedy.

Moreover, only when the troops are in the field can they break the old social structure of the northern country as quickly and effectively as possible, and re-establish a new and vibrant regime.

McChason smiled: "Thank you, Your Excellency, for your honesty. "The longer I spent with this Chinese prince, the more I liked this man, a powerful ruler, who could oppress people, but also who could make people feel like a spring breeze, who had a unique view of the social structure and the development of civilization, and even faintly felt that the great founder of the federal separation of powers did not have such a high level of thought as him.

Ye Zhao smiled and raised his glass, and said: "John, I hope that you can convey my sincerity and goodwill to your country to the leader of your country, and also hope that you can convey it to your country's representatives in the mediation mission, and your country can play a more important role in this mediation." ”

Macchason smiled and clinked glasses with him, and said, "Certainly, the United States is willing to be a close friend of His Excellency the Prince." ”

After taking a sip of wine, Ye Zhao smiled again: "I heard that the abolitionist movement in your country is booming, I am very happy to see the light of freedom shining on the land of America, and I also appreciate your party's position in the cause of abolition. ”

MacCharson was a Republican, one of the representatives of the radical abolitionist faction, in fact, the Republican Party was born a few years ago, but it was the representative of the northern capitalist class, but its public advocacy of abolition has always been extremely vague, so as not to lose the support of the Whigs who advocated slavery, but the core figures almost all believed that abolition was inevitable.

McChason was stunned when he heard Ye Zhao's words, and then he was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Thank you, Your Excellency, I will tell my friends, Your Excellency, Your Excellency, we are deeply honored for your support and understanding of us." ”

The laws and supervision systems of southern China's political axes and the system of declaring the assets of members of the judicial department have attracted the attention of Western society, and even a company law just formulated by the American Federation has largely borrowed from the expression of shares and legal persons in the laws of southern China.

The public support of the political axe in southern China is news worth celebrating for the Republicans, and it can also take the opportunity to build momentum and gain the support of the big capitalists who have vital interests in China.

Ye Zhao smiled again and clinked glasses with McChason, and said in his heart that there is no such thing as non-interference in internal affairs now, isn't it? However, in the future, the people of the whole world who have made a lot of noise in every general election in the United States are not at peace, and they all hope that a president who is kind to his country will come to power, and there are not a few heads of state who have publicly made statements in support of a certain presidential candidate, but in this world, except for the United Kingdom, the former suzerain, which has always had close ties with it, he is the first foreign leader to care so much about his presidential election and express his position, right?

Its realization of the present history can be said to be full of countless variables, in the previous life of the American Civil War Northern political axe victory, and from the law of historical development seems to be the victory of the North is also inevitable, but in this life may not be, their own butterfly wings still affect the other side of the ocean, not to mention others, as far as their partner Wilson, didn't they build an arsenal in the United States as early as possible, this is also their own idea, ready to take advantage of the American Civil War to make a war fortune, if the sale of advanced weapons in the South is wantonly, this is not a variable?

In any case, I still hope that the north will win, and the liberation of the miserable black slaves will be the progress of human civilization in any case.

(To be continued)