Zhangjiatun is already the boundary of Cangzhou, and the defenders of Cangzhou decisively surrendered Kaicheng after hearing that the Jingwu Army had completely annihilated those vicious Russian intervention troops and the Han Eight Banners in Tianjin under their noses, and had no intention of resisting at all.

Cangzhou, the door to attack Tianjin was opened, and for now, because Emperor Xianfeng brought the main troops of Beijing to Chengde in advance, the only troops in the Beijing and Tianjin area that still had some combat power were the Tianjin defenders, so theoretically, as long as Tianjin was conquered again, Beijing City was actually a ripe peach, not picked from below.

Li Yongji also knows the importance of Tianjin, and he also knows that Tianjin City can't stop his army at all, but the Jingwu Army has been fighting continuously recently, and it is already a little tired both mentally and physically, and the Russian intervention army has been killed in advance, so this time, Li Yongji is not in a hurry to march quickly, but rests in Cangzhou with peace of mind, and will attack Tianjin again after recuperating and recuperating and the supply troops in the rear will keep up!

Of course, during the period of recuperation in Cangzhou, Li Yongji did not forget to launch a propaganda offensive, in addition to publicizing the brutality and inhumanity of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the disaster to the country and the people, he also began to publicize everywhere the defeat of the Russian devils by the Jingwu army in Zhangjiatun.

Although the Battle of Zhangjiatun was only a small battle for Li Yongji, so small that he could play a special operation willfully and verify the effect of special operations in this era, the significance of this battle shocked the world even more, because the Jingwu Army was facing the Russian intervention army this time, and it was a foreigner's army!

In the past, due to the propaganda of the Qing court, everyone said that Li Yongji and the Jingwu Army were the lackeys of the foreigners, and they came to this day by taking advantage of the momentum of the foreigners, so except for the Jiangnan region where the Jingwu military control zhì was relatively deep, the attitude towards the Jingwu Army and Li Yongji was lukewarm, and most of them sat on the mountain to watch the tiger fight, watching Li Yongji fight against the Qing court. Wait for a result, and then fish in troubled waters.

But now, when everyone heard that Li Yongji was officially working against the Russians, public opinion immediately changed and began to look towards the Jingwu Army and Li Yongji.

But isn't it, how did you say that the Jingwu Army was a foreigner's lackey before, it was just hearsay, and there was no substantive evidence, after all, the Jingwu Army had never signed any treaty with the foreigners to lose power and humiliate the country, but the Qing court was beaten by the foreigners before and couldn't find the north. was forced to sign a lot of treaties that brought disaster to the country and the people.

Well, now the hateful foreign soldiers were invited by the Qing court, but the elite military army is working against the foreigners, not a small fight, but a big fight, and they will win the battle in one fell swoop!

This not only made the rumor that Jingwujun was a lackey of the foreigners self-defeating, but also because Li Yongji was a Han identity, and it was the first time that he won a victory over the foreigners, and the Han people also began to be honored. And regard the elite military as Chinese orthodoxy.

For most Chinese at this time, they could not distinguish between British, French or Russian, they only knew that those foreign whites were foreigners, and their minds were mostly very simple. As long as you fight with foreigners, you are a good person, so you have to support it!

Although in reality it is not the case, for example, in the Gangnam area. The concession still existed, and although the foreigners did not sign a treaty with the Jingwu army on the surface to lose their power and humiliate the country, in fact, the foreigners gained greater benefits. It's even much bigger than all the benefits everywhere else combined. Of course, this profit is also mutual, although the foreigners make more money, but the Jiangnan government and Li Yongji make more.

The defeat of the Russians is naturally a particularly refreshing thing for ordinary Chinese, but it is a worrying thing for some people who know more about foreign countries, or are more savvy.

For example, Li Yongji's elder brother Li Yongchang, after hearing about this great victory, his first thought was not joy, but worry, he was worried that the Russians would not give up and would continue to send troops to expand their interference in China, seize more interests in China, and affect the process of his family's seizure of the world.

Naturally, although Li Yongchang is relatively enlightened, after a period of surprise study, he is not ignorant of the outside world, but to say that he can see so far and think so clearly, it is not enough. Therefore, his worries are not so much that he came up with them himself, but that others sued him.

So who sued him for this? Naturally, the envoys of the great powers who have always been very concerned about the Jiangnan government and the elite military army mainly refer to the British, French and Americans, among whom the Americans are the most concerned.

So, why did these foreigners talk to Li Yongchang about this? Of course, I also heard about the victory of the elite army over the Russians.

If the defeat of the Russians touched the Chinese a lot, for the British, French, American and other powers, this matter also touched them a lot.

Because this era is not yet an era of unimpeded information, the number of foreigners in China is also small, and the main force of the Jingwu Army has always paid attention to secrecy, so in fact, the foreigners have a very limited understanding of the Jingwu Army, only know that they have obtained a large number of American-style equipment, such as Sharps rifles, such as Colt revolvers, etc., and suspect that the Jingwu Army is a force funded by the Americans.

Although the US special envoy to China has always vigorously denied it, in fact, after many limited contacts, even the US envoy himself began to wonder whether it was the big US conglomerates secretly funding Li Yongji, and even the US special envoy even sent a letter to send a letter back to China to report the matter to the US president.

You must know that the current United States is not quite the same as Britain and France, the authority of the government is not large, there are not many regular national defense forces, the strength of big business groups and big enterprises is above the government, many private armed forces are even stronger than the regular army of the United States, and these big business groups never need the approval of the US government to do things.

The most typical example is that the United States still does not have a central bank, and the country's financial problems are actually decided by some big bankers, and the main contradiction within the United States, in addition to the ideology of whether to keep slaves or not, is actually essentially because of the conflict between the interests of the big business groups in the North and the South.

For example, the industrial capitalists in the North of the United States are stronger, they want to raise protective tariffs, they want to free the slaves, untie the labor force bound to the land, and let these people enter more of their factories to make profits for themselves; The big farmers in the south, on the other hand, hoped for free trade, and even carried out export tax rebates for agricultural products, and then continued to keep slaves, so that the labor force would continue to be tied to the land.

For now. It is still the large ranchers' conglomerates in the South that occupy the upper echelons of government, such as the Democratic Party as the representative, while the industrial bourgeoisie in the North is the new faction, and the emerging Republican Party is the representative of the industrial bourgeoisie.

Generally speaking, the industrial bourgeoisie in the North tended to be more radical and unscrupulous, and they were perfectly capable of mass-producing arms and then supporting them to the distant Qing state, which even the current president of the United States could not prevent.

These circumstances have really changed, and the authority of the U.S. government has been strengthened. That had to happen after the Civil War, when the old consortia of both the North and the South were weakened.

But in any case, the foreigners in China believe that even if the elite army is secretly funded by the Americans, its strength is at most to dominate in China, and it is still not enough to really face the armies of the great powers, at least, the United States at this time is not considered to be a very powerful power.

You know, since American-style equipment is funded, it is natural to use American training methods. And the American army is not looked at in the world at all at this time, so those foreigners deduce from this that the level of the elite army is just like that.

However, it is this kind of elite army that is financed by the Americans of the second-rate powers. In fact, the Tsarist Russian army, which was recognized as the hegemon of Europe, was defeated by dividing it by two, even though it is said that the number of elite troops was many times greater than that of the Russian army, but this still amazed the foreigners.

Foreigners are like this, they only admire the strong. No matter how successful Li Yongji was before, as long as he had never fought against foreigners, he didn't think he was very powerful. But now Li Yongji actually dared to really fight against the Russians, and even won the battle against the Russians, which made the foreigners, especially the foreigners in Britain, France, and the United States, look at each other with admiration.

In addition, Li Yongji was more open than the Qing court and the Taiping army, although he did not sign a real treaty with the foreign powers, but it should be more that Britain and France were not sincere, after all, the five demands were first put forward by Li Yongji, but at that time, Britain and France were afraid that the Americans would have more advantages, so they did not officially reply to Li Yongji.

However, even if no unequal treaties were signed, the trade volume between Britain, France, and the United States in the Jiangnan region continued to rise.

Although this rising trade volume is a surplus for the great powers, and the Jiangnan government is purely out of the super, which is a bit discordant, this situation is not impossible to talk about, after all, Li Yongji has always been easier to talk about in the past, otherwise, he would not continue to buy opium.

Because of this, after hearing that the Jingwu army had won another great victory, defeated the Russian intervention army, and planned to continue the attack on Tianjin, and finally seize power in China, the consuls in China of Britain, France, the United States and other powers could not help it.

Headed by the new British envoy Mai Huatuo, the envoys of the three countries approached Li Yongchang at the same time, explained these reasons to Li Yongchang little by little, and strongly expressed their willingness to recognize the new Chinese regime and to mediate the unpleasantness between the elite army and Russia.

That's right, although the elite army defeated the Russian intervention army, which looks very powerful, but this action is bound to anger Russia.

After all, the Russian Tsar Alexander II has always been a proud lord, if he knew that his soldiers and horses were actually defeated by the Chinese in the east, he would definitely not give up, and would definitely continue to send troops to retaliate, and at this time, the only thing that could stop them was Britain and France.

In fact, they were right, that is, limited by the means of communication, this news had not yet reached the ears of the Tsar, but sooner or later they would know that at that time, once Tsarist Russia used this excuse to raise troops, it would be a disaster for China.

Of course, the mediation of the countries was not without conditions, and the price was the formal signing of a new contract with Li Yongji, but they promised that the new treaty would be beneficial to both sides, and the basis of the treaty was the five demands that Li Yongji himself had put forward before.

Although Li Yongchang seems to be reliable, he is actually a person with soft ears and a weak will, he is easily frightened by these foreign envoys, and feels that the Russians are terrible, after all, he has more or less understood the situation of the Crimean War before, and he also has some understanding of Russia's strength, and this information is still provided by Li Yongji.

Because of this, Li Yongchang called Li Yongji as soon as he heard Mai Huatuo's Jianyi, first told him about the situation on his side, and then began to ask Li Yongji what his opinion was.

"My opinion? My opinion is not to worry, there is no need to be afraid of the old hairy man at all. Li Yongji said into the phone, "Don't worry, you don't have to worry about the Russians, they are not a threat to us at all." ”

"Jishi, you can't be careless." Li Yongchang said worriedly. "Russia is a big country, with a million armor, and once single-handedly singled out the European powers, in case they continue to send troops in anger, then what should we do?"

"Russia is very strong, but their power is mainly in Europe." Li Yongji said with a smile, "The situation in Europe is complicated, and Russia does not dare to send a large army over at all.

In fact, because of the long distance, most of them are wastelands. And there was no railway, and their large army could not pass at all, because the supplies could not keep up. If you really come by land, at most 10,000 people will die, and when you come, you will bring me food!

Not to mention that he has just finished the Crimean War, his finances are depleted, and now he has a lot of debts, and the military expenses for maintaining the troops are not enough, where is the strength to launch such an expedition?

So, ah. Don't look at Russia's land border with us, it looks very strong, but in fact it is not as capable of interfering in our country as Britain and France.

Let's put it this way, Lao Maozi is now a strong outsider. Weak and tight, they don't have the strength to fight us at all, and if they really get dizzy in their annoyed and angry minds, they will forcibly continue to fight with us. They will definitely suffer in the end! ”

"What you said is true?"

"Of course it's true." Li Yongji heard the other party's suspicion, and simply said, "Big brother." Have you forgotten where I came from? I have a strong intelligence system around me, and I know more about the situation in Russia than you do. Russia is called fierce and scares us, but in fact there are only two places where it can launch an armed intervention against us.

The first is Xinjiang, where they have about 20,000 troops, which is relatively strong, but those troops still have to look at the Kokand Khanate, and it is impossible for them to be used to fight us, and even if they do, there is no substantial obstacle for us at present.

Because that place in Xinjiang is vast and sparsely populated, there are relatively few Han people, and it is relatively far away from our side, so it is nothing to let them take it for the time being, anyway, they can't get much substantial benefit, and the Hui people over there are not easy to mess with, just let them make trouble first, and then fight back when we are strong.

The second is north of the Northeast, which is what they call Eastern Siberia. I have already inquired, in such a large area, they even count the militia, there are only about 10,000 people in total, most of them are Cossacks, and the intervention army I defeated this time is this part of the army, and it is their main force.

In other words, after I defeated this intervention army, their strength in the northeast was weakened to the extreme, and it was difficult to defend, and they simply did not have the ability to attack us again. ”

"Are you sure you can defeat the Russians?" Li Yongchang was a little unconvinced, "Jishi, this is not child's play!" You've got to be honest with me. ”

"Don't worry, brother, I'm more careful than you. Well, let's put it this way, this information of mine is provided by the old Maozi insiders, and don't forget that the organization behind me is an international organization, and the Russians also have it, so I know more than their tsars know, let alone Britain and France. ”

"I see." In fact, Li Yongchang still didn't understand much, but after he confirmed that Li Yongji was not worried about further interference from Russia, he temporarily put his mind at ease, "Then how can I reply to the envoys of Britain, France and the United States?" They've been pestering me now, trying to get me to send someone to take them to you to sign a contract. ”

"It's not right now." Li Yongji thought for a while, "In this way, let's not offend them, you drag them first, just say that I am busy with military affairs here, and it is not suitable to discuss the matter of the Entente, if they are willing to help, they can give some sincerity first, such as stabilizing Russia for a period of time, and then talking about it when I take Beijing."

Oh, by the way, you can talk to them first, probe their tone, see what they want to talk about, but when you negotiate, you have to treat them separately, a little bit better for the Americans, a little bit better for the British, the second for the French, and the Russians continue to ignore them, you know what I mean? ”

"Understood." Li Yongchang said, "It's to talk to them first, feel the tone, and then treat these foreigners differently, not treat them equally, it's best to talk alone, don't let them huddle together, right?" ”

"yes, that's what it means." Li Yongji smiled with relief, "So during this time, eldest brother, you should work hard, and sharpen your mouth with those foreigners." ”

"Okay, I got it." It seemed to be infected by Li Yongji's laughter, Li Yongchang was obviously in a much lighter mood, "By the way, when will you be able to conquer Tianjin and Beijing?" Dad also said that he wanted to find a chance for us to get together again. ”

"It's hard to say, who can say the war, it depends on the situation." Li Yongji said, "There are about 30,000 soldiers and horses in Tianjin, and there are a lot of heavy artillery, if I defend it with all my might, I am afraid that I am not afraid, I am afraid that I must use heavy artillery bombardment, which will damage Tianjin City, which is a little unbeautiful." ”

"Afraid of damaging Tianjin? It's really strange, the first time I've heard of it, it's just broken and rebuilt, are you still afraid of this? Isn't it what you said, building bridges with gold, roads with silver, building houses with copper money, and rebuilding cities is actually the most lucrative business, isn't it? ”

"That's right, but in ancient cities like Tianjin and Beijing, there are many ancient buildings with humanistic value, and it's better to preserve them a little more." Li Yongji said, "As for building bridges, paving roads, and building houses, you can find wasteland to develop a development zone." ”

"Hehe, you always have a point." Li Yongchang said, "Well, speaking of which, my father's fiftieth birthday is also approaching, do you know?" ”

"Father's fiftieth birthday?" Li Yongji was stunned, "When?" ”

"Nineteen next month." Li Yongchang said, "I guess you won't be able to come back in time, it's only been half a month."

Actually, Dad didn't want me to sue you, because he didn't want you to be distracted, and he didn't plan to make a big deal, so he just invited some relatives to come over and have a good time. However, I think this is our father's fiftieth birthday after all, and it is not appropriate not to inform you.

Even if you can't come, send a letter to the assembly, right? Moreover, even if you can't beat Beijing at this time, it's not bad if you can beat Tianjin, so it's a gift for our father, what do you say? ”

"I see." Li Yongji nodded, "Okay, I understand, you can rest assured, I will definitely give our father's birthday a big gift." (To be continued......)