Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 733
The peacemakers in the city finally reached an agreement after some haggling.After the calculation was over, Gao Ju ordered someone to call Guanshi Yan.

This Manager Yan, nicknamed Yan Xiaomao, not only because he always wears a six-in-one uniform hat, but also contains other people's views on his behavior-of course it is not positive.

Yan Xiaomao is one of Gao Ju's confidantes. He was in charge of monitoring Wen Desi and others at the beginning, and often used various excuses to go in and out of their side to spy on news, so he was old with the Australians, and he was familiar with the situation of the Australians. cleverness.If Shopkeeper Wen and others were also in the fleet, Yan Xiaomao himself is the best proof.

In addition, Yan Xiaomao had been exiled by him long ago, theoretically he was no longer a servant of his Gao family.In case something goes wrong during the period, it is relatively simple to clean up.

He rewarded Yan Xiaomao ten taels of silver, and asked him to leave the city and go to the Australian camp after dark.

Yan Xiaomao was a little apprehensive. This kind of thing that went through the war zone to the enemy camp was only seen in books. If he went there so rashly, he might be beheaded directly.

"You don't have to worry. The Kun thief is an Australian, and they are under the shopkeeper Wen. They all know you. How could they harm you?"

"Master Wen?" Yan Xiaomao asked in surprise, "Do they have such powerful firearms?" In the past few months, the news that the Kun bandits were invincible along the Pearl River has spread throughout Guangzhou.

"Could it be that the person who can make Australian exotic goods can't make a few cannons?" Put it this way..."

At the moment, the next contact and meeting between the two parties will be explained one by one.

"If they don't want to do this, you can bring back the Australian's message. Just tell me exactly. No paper is allowed, do you understand?"

"Yes, master!" Yan Xiaomao said, "but master, in case shopkeeper Wen and the others are not in the army—I heard that he is actually the prime minister of Australia—how can the villain prove himself?"

"Don't worry, the Australians will wait for you to go." He said with confidence, "they will naturally ask you a lot of things, and you should answer truthfully—don't lie, don't make up. , Say as much as you know, and say you don’t know if you don’t know. They will naturally believe you.”

"Yes, I understand." Yan Xiaomao felt that it was unreliable for Master Gao to be so confident, but he still agreed--he was also a half-desperate man, and he knew that it would not be good for dozens of taels of silver to settle this matter. , It is of great benefit to your own future.

Nearly three o'clock, Fubiao Guerrilla, who was in charge of guarding the southern city, personally took care of it, and several soldiers sent Yan Xiaomao down to the city.It was pitch black outside the city, but the shore of the Henan land opposite the Pearl River was brightly lit. This was where the Australian barracks were located.Yan Xiaomao was led by a guide who was waiting at the base of the city, and stumbled all the way to the bank of the river, where a fishing boat had already been prepared.

Not long after the fishing boat was rowed out, it was stopped by a small patrol boat as soon as it crossed the middle of the river.Two Australian sailors with machetes and short-barreled rifles on their backs leaped past. They were all short and lean, wearing the same blue and white jackets and straw hats with round tops. But neat and tidy.Several fishermen quickly knelt down on the ground and remained motionless.Yan Xiaomao boldly explained his intention.

"You get on our ship. We will take you there." The leading Australian sailor said, and then asked him to change, "What did you bring?"

Yan Xiaomao quickly took out a tael of silver: "Buy a bowl of wine for the deputy masters."

"You keep the silver for yourself, we don't need it." The head sailor waved his hand expressionlessly, "You, sit here! Don't move around." He pointed to the row of seats at the back of the boat.

"Yes, yes." Yan Xiaomao hurriedly sat down on the fixed wooden bench.It's really rare that they don't accept money.I think the Australians are very rich, and they fed the soldiers with money.A glass lamp hung at the stern of the boat, shining brightly.The boat looked quite small, and it could seat a dozen people at most. Under the tentacles, it seemed to be made of wood. There was a black thing in the middle, with an iron chimney standing on top of it.It was like a stove - a gust of heat let him know that his guess was correct.

"Leave the boat!" the sailor greeted, and sat down opposite Yan Xiaomao.A thick puff of smoke mixed with sparks suddenly spewed out from the chimney, Yan Xiaomao felt his whole body rush forward and back again, and the boat made a "chug" sound and moved forward.

It has long been known in Guangzhou that the Kun bandits have fire-powered ships without sails or oars.Yan Xiaomao didn't expect that he would be the first to enjoy the treatment of taking the "steamer boat", and he was a little curious, ignoring the night, looking around.The sailors on the ship seemed to be accustomed to his curiosity and did not stop him from watching.

Yan Xiaomao was sent to the barracks of the restaurant where the headquarters was located, where he underwent a body check first, and all his belongings were removed before he was sent to Wen Desi.

Yan Xiaomao already recognized Wen Desi, he knelt down and kowtowed to Wen Desi and others, very respectful, afraid of being doubted, not only the mission would be difficult, but his life might not be guaranteed.

Wen Desi really remembered him, but he didn't remember his name.Yan Xiaomao hurriedly confessed.He asked about Gao Ju's age, business, his wife and his staff, and Yan Xiaomao reported them all without any mistakes.He also ordered people to send the general file of Gaoju collected and compiled by the Intelligence Bureau, from which they found Yan Xiaomao's materials and photos, and after comparison, it was confirmed that he was the manager of Gaoju.He was then taken into another tent and guarded by several soldiers.Specialized personnel will negotiate with him——Yan Xiaomao's rank is very low, and his purpose of coming here is only to discuss the preparations for the negotiation, so there is no need for Wen Desi and others to come in person.

Yan Xiaomao put forward the proposal of holding high, and the place of negotiation is set in a nunnery in Henan

It was agreed immediately that the two sides would meet at a nunnery called Lotus Jingshe on Henan Island the next night.It is not far from the city, so it is quite convenient to come and go.

"What? Gao Juxuan is negotiating in the nunnery. Does Gao Ju have any bad intentions?" Chen Haiyang was a little worried.

"You don't know the tune here. This is not a real nunnery." Wen Desi is a native of Guangzhou, and he knows a lot about all kinds of romantic and sensual things in Guangzhou history. "This is a service industry with a Buddhist brand. .The nuns inside are all women with long hair."

"You mean?" Chen Haiyang didn't know there was such a tune in Guangzhou's history.

"That's right," Wen Desi nodded, "this business used to be very prosperous in Guangzhou. To hold such a rich and wealthy man high, he probably made such a tune, maybe he was a benefactor of the nunnery. That's why it happened. Let's go there and meet him."

"It's wonderful to negotiate in a brothel."

"But it's safe. The enjoyment inside should be first-class." Wen Desi said, "It's just not necessarily to our liking."

At the moment, Chen Haiyang called the political security commissioner who was operating with the fleet, and asked him to send someone to the Lotus Abode to arrange security work early the next morning.

On the second night, Gao Ju came as expected.The two sides started secret negotiations in this abode.

Gao Ju had already communicated with Li Fengjie and others beforehand, and the government's first condition was that the Australian fleet withdraw from the provincial river, preferably from the Pearl River estuary.Other details are negotiable, but this should be done as soon as possible.The longer the Australian fleet stayed in the White Swan Pool, the more difficult it would be for him to justify himself later on.

Generally speaking, the thinking of Li Fengjie and others still thinks that the Australians will attack Guangzhou angrily because of Wang Zunde's "provocation" and Tian Da's closure of the purple shop in Guangzhou, so he listed the conditions for the promise But it is: the purple shop can resume business on the same day, and all the seized real estate and money-making guys will be returned; after the seizure, the goods that can be sold in time will be returned together, and the goods that have been sold cannot be recovered. The government will compensate 1 taels of silver; As long as the ship is in the name of a local agent, it can freely enter and exit Guangzhou for trade, and the government will never arrest or prohibit it.

These three items were jointly formulated by Li Fengjie with the participation of his staff.The aides believed that the overseas businessmen were only seeking the power to trade with Ming Dynasty, and as long as they were given this power, the Australians would be satisfied-you must know that this kind of power has only been enjoyed by the Portuguese so far.

As for the return of the house, compensation for a small amount of money, etc., it is just to show the "sincerity" of the Guangdong side.

Of course, Wen Desi was not satisfied with such conditions.Not only is he dissatisfied, but the Senate will never be satisfied.According to the concept of quite a few people in the Senate, it is necessary to sign a Ming version of the "Treaty of Nanjing" treaty.

However, at the working meeting of the executive committee, everyone thought that this was unlikely, especially under the special historical environment of the Ming Dynasty, neither Li Fengjie nor Wang Zunde had the guts to do such a thing.If you really want to force an unequal treaty, the final result is that the two parties will break up, creating an embarrassing situation where there is no war and no peace.

After repeated consultations, the Senate set the minimum requirements for negotiations: first, the two sides immediately end the state of war, and trade exchanges return to normal—after all, Lingao is still a regime that is highly dependent on foreign trade.This is the primary goal of launching the Pearl River Campaign.Second, confirm that Hong Kong Island and its surrounding outlying islands belong to the Transit Group, and officers and soldiers are not allowed to make any threats of force to the area and ships sailing in the area.

As for the latter article, it can be signed without explicit text, as long as the two parties reach a tacit agreement.You must know that even Chongzhen himself may not dare to agree to such a land cession treaty.

Now Wen Desi put forward these articles one by one.Obviously, both parties have no objection on the first clause.But for the ceding of Hong Kong Island and its surrounding outlying islands, this has greatly exceeded Gao Ju's ability to bear - you must know that the Portuguese had spent a lot of effort in order to obtain Haojingao, and they are still always worried that they will be attacked by Ming Dynasty. The expulsion of the Australians is good, and they want the whole island of Hong Kong and dozens of surrounding islands.Lantau Island alone is bigger than Hong Kong Island!

Daming doesn't care much about the coastal islands on weekdays, and his attitude is almost to fend for himself during his term of office.Including Li Fengjie, most officials in Guangdong don't care about how many islands there are in the province and how the people's conditions and products on the islands are.But to cede the land is a huge taboo of the Ming court.

Gao Ju did not dare to agree at all, he pondered for a long time, and then said: "Master Wen! Actually, it is easy for you to ask for anything, money, slaves and maidservants. It's just that Master Futai absolutely dare not agree to this land cession."

"This, you can discuss it slowly, we are not in a hurry." Wen Desi smiled, and looked at the meditation room hosted by the host - the decoration is very neat and elegant, and the snacks on the table are also exquisite and delicious, "It's so comfortable here, We squatted up and down in that small place in Lingao for two or three years, how many months can we not relax here?"

"Yes, yes, it's natural." Gao raised his heart and thought, it seems that this condition is not so easy to talk about.He had no choice but to ask Li Fengjie for instructions on this matter. However, before asking for instructions, he hoped that the Australians could withdraw from the provincial river as soon as possible, so that the martial law in Guangzhou would not last too long and it would be difficult for Li Fujun to explain.

"It's okay to withdraw from the provincial river. It's just that we have come so far. If we retreat based on your Duke Gao's words, we will have no way to explain it in front of the Senate."

Gao Ju knew that this was to set another condition. No matter what the condition was, Li Fengjie made the withdrawal of the Australians his top priority.

The conditions put forward by Wen Desi are: Guangzhou immediately pays 30 taels of redemption fee; all the remaining water warriors are dismissed; the forts that have been destroyed along the way cannot be rebuilt.

As long as the payment is paid, the task force will immediately withdraw from the provincial river. As for the detailed negotiations, they can continue in Macau.

"30 taels?!" Li Fengjie almost yelled out—this was simply a lion's mouth.He originally thought that everything would be smoothed over by allowing free trade in and out of Guangzhou, but he didn't expect that the other party would ask for 30 taels of redemption fee. You must know that the total cash in the Guangdong treasury is only 37 taels.Don't say that you can't give it at all, even if you give it, you can't find a name to reimburse such a huge amount of expenses.

Li Fengjie patted the table and said angrily: "I don't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth! It is a great grace to allow them to come to Guangzhou for trade! They are not satisfied! Just ignore them and see what they can do! I don't believe their dozens With a few boats, a thousand people can enter Guangzhou with just a few cannons!"

Gao Ju remained silent, and he also felt that this condition was a bit harsh.However, if it weren't for the fact that the army insisted on "clearing up the thieves" at the beginning, the Australians' business was doing well, and they would never have come to Guangzhou; Instead of just procrastinating, send people to Lingao for peace talks at that time, I'm afraid it won't be so troublesome that people come to the city and want to form an alliance under the city.

30 taels of silver, the government will definitely not be able to get it out. Thinking about it, even if it is really forced to take it out, it will not end up on the hands of a wealthy businessman in the city. From the beginning of "assisting the army's salary" to the "assisting Jiang Fang" not long ago, no less than 30 taels were extorted from the government.Once the opening of the [-] taels is opened, I am afraid that I will have to take out another few thousand taels.

Li Fengjie closed his eyes for a long time without saying a word, and then he opened them and said, "Does the thief really say that he will retreat after taking the money?"

"Exactly." Gao Ju explained Wen Desi's conditions in detail, "After they withdraw from the provincial river, other conditions can be discussed slowly in Haojingao."

Li Fengjie thought about it for a while with a stiff face: "Do Australians keep their word?"

"Australians build their country on business, and honesty is the foundation."

"But there is an old saying, there is no business without treachery." Li Fengjie murmured, seeming to have forgotten that the high-ranking official opposite him was a "businessman".

Hold high and sneer secretly.Li Fengjie is already at the end of his skills, and he still has to put on a calm and confident look.Those who are officials really have a very good and thick skin.

There is no way, but with a high status, it is not good to give Li Fengjie any advice, or it will endanger his own interests.After much consideration, he decided not to say anything for the time being, and simply took his leave and went home.

Of course, Li Fengjie couldn't think of any clever plan. The number of 30 taels weighed heavily on his heart.If you give money, he can't take it out; if you don't give money, this group of greedy Australians will never retreat-they have extorted countless food and property in the four townships, and they can stay here as long as they want.

He summoned several of his cronies and staff to discuss how to deal with it.Some people said that the thieves were just false threats, and they would never really attack Guangzhou; .See if you can get a discount; there are also proposals to follow the old rules and let the big players take out the money.

He Chengzong kept silent: 30 taels was nothing in the city of Guangzhou, as long as the big businessmen in the city were gathered together and told about the crisis they were facing, it would not be difficult to raise money.But it’s different now. In this year, the big households have been squeezed several times back and forth, and it’s very difficult to force them to take money out—these big households are not small businessmen with meager capital, most of them are at the provincial level. And the backers with big thresholds in the northern and southern capitals, it would be impossible to annoy them if they were really anxious.

After a long while, he said: "With the current plan, it will be very difficult to open the mouth to the big households. The only way is to borrow!"

"borrow?"

"Yes." He Chengzong nodded and said, "Let's not talk about 30 taels in the city, 300 million taels are also available. Now, the big households are called together, and the benefits and disadvantages are first known, and then each family is asked to borrow money from the government. The government will guarantee it. Give some interest as appropriate—this is a matter that is beneficial to both public and private, and the big households will definitely be happy."

The governor's yamen came forward to borrow money, and the guarantee was always full.And there is also an implicit warning not to "toast and not eat fine wine", which big players will not understand.

(End of this chapter)