Ten Dragons Take the Inheritance

Chapter 428 Diplomacy ([-])

Lin Xuanyi was hit by two arrows during the suppression of the rebellion more than half a year ago. Although the imperial doctor took good care of him, he was almost healed, but he never recovered completely. Every time the weather changes, he always suffers from back pain. Today One is that he was on duty, and he was fine at first, but around noon, the sky turned cloudy, and he suffered from back pain again. Sweating, seeing Yin Zuo was very distressed, but the problem is: Lin Xuanyi is the main maker of the Lei Ting plan, this meeting really cannot leave him, and Yin Zuo has no choice but to let him persist in the discussion. Li Yinzuo would not let Lin Xuanyi stand.

"Gao Nianying, go and move a soft chair for Lin Zhongtang to sit on." Yinzuo glanced at Lin Xuanyi, and hurriedly ordered a sentence. Gao Nianying hurriedly directed a little eunuch to move in from outside the hall to add a cushion. He carefully stepped forward to help Lin Xuanyi to sit down on the wicker chair with the mattress.

"I thank the Lord for your kindness, I am ashamed..." Lin Xuanyi choked up and wanted to salute and kowtow, Yinzuo gently raised his hand and said: "You don't have to do this, Aiqing, I'm about to sit down, I still have a lot to use Aiqing, today It's just a matter of discussing, Aiqing is good to rest for a while, and the future will be long, and I will come back to help me when Aiqing is complete." As the main planner of the Thunder plan, Lin Xuanyi naturally understands the importance of this meeting, and does not No more words, and sat weakly on the soft chair, thinking deeply.

"My dear friends, I will not hide this from you. This battle must be fought, but it is not now. I need time, not much, just two years. By then, even if Britain and the Netherlands do not come, I will Those who sent troops, now what I want you to think about is how to win the most critical two years for me, and not lose the face of my Qing Dynasty." Yinzuo saw that everyone was patronizing and thinking hard, but no one spoke. I had no choice but to set the tone of the meeting by myself. It was out of helplessness. All the ministers present were good at handling government affairs, but when it came to diplomacy, they were all blind. The only one who had some ability in it was actually It's just Shi Shilun and Lin Xuanyi, who used to be the director of the General Administration of Customs.

Once the tone is set, things will be much easier to handle. Although these military ministers don't understand diplomacy, they are all top-notch and experienced in government affairs. They are all very flexible in mind. The chief military minister took the lead and said: "Mr. To play the emperor, I have one word and two strategies, one word is 'delay': the envoys of the two countries are still in Guangzhou, the Holy Majesty can let them slow down, and then let them go to Beijing after a delay of half a year, the second strategy is to retreat: Dongying Hanging alone overseas, it is not easy for the Qing Dynasty to defend, so why not just agree to open the Japanese market, this is for the benefit of the two countries, and there is nothing to say, but the port of the Qing Dynasty cannot accommodate foreign barbarians. If there is any exchange between the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, we can consider it as appropriate, and the negotiation will take time, and this time will be squeezed out."

"Not right, not right!" Liang Cheng, the newly promoted minister of military aircraft, is a militant. It wasn't his turn to fight the old man last time. Now he doesn't want to miss this big battle, so he immediately came out and said: " Your Majesty, I do not agree with Lord Ma's opinion. I think that there is no reason for the emperor of the Qing Dynasty to tolerate the small foreign countries. I think that those small countries have no faith at all. I think that since Britain and the Netherlands want to Provoking the Japanese army to raise troops will inevitably make a fuss around this point. The minister thought that I, the Qing Dynasty, might as well use tactics to suppress the riots in the Japanese country with heavy troops. The enemy is superior, and I volunteer to lead the army to fight against Dongying.”

Hey, after all, this kid is still a general on horseback. He has no ability to fight at sea. He actually thinks that ambush at sea is a simple matter. Well, what a fool!The reason why Yinzuo let Liangcheng enter the Military Aircraft Office was not only because of Liangcheng's loyalty and contribution, but also because of the intention of balancing the Eight Banners, even though Yinzuo knew that Liangcheng was not a qualified military minister.At this moment, seeing Liangcheng's main battle, completely deviated from Yinzuo's own tone, but it's hard to say anything about him, just smiled and said: "It's a good thing that Aiqing wants to defeat the enemy, but my capital is more important , Aiqing has to help me manage the nine admirals, and put more thought into it. Hengchen, what do you think about this?"

Zhang Tingyu hesitated for a while, but he stood up, knelt on the ground respectfully and said: "If you go back to the emperor, I think what Ma and Liang are saying are reasonable. I am not familiar with foreign affairs, so I dare not speak nonsense."

"I don't want to offend anyone with my words. Hengchen has something to say, but it's okay to say it." Yinzuo smiled and raised his hand, motioning for Zhang Tingyu to flatten himself.

"Your Majesty, I think it is reasonable for Liang Junmen to say that the barbarians do not keep their promises, but soldiers should not be careless when it comes to the country's important affairs. Now that we have just passed the Great Qing War, although the treasury is still in surplus, it is really not worth it. The war should be lightened again, so I dare not agree with Liangjunmen's suggestion, but I think that it is not an option to back down blindly, and we must be reasonable and restrained in order to show the majesty of the Qing Dynasty." Zhang Tingyu's words were watertight, But there was no specific content, and Yin Zuo frowned, but Zhang Tingyu was not easy to offend. After all, Comrade Zhang knew neither military nor foreign affairs, so it was already difficult for him to say these things.

"Your Majesty, I think what Mr. Zhang said is reasonable. Now there are only 3000 million taels of silver in the treasury. If the war breaks out, overseas trade will inevitably be damaged. Under the economic depression, there may be serious troubles. I think that if we can surrender without fighting A man's soldier is a good man." Shi Shilun, Minister of Military Affairs and Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, also came out to agree with Zhang Tingyu's words.

"What? 3000 million taels? What's going on?" During the half month since Yinzuo came back, he was busy with military affairs and Lao Ba's case, and had no time to ask about the amount of silver in the treasury.According to Yinzuo's thinking, although the war in Western Xinjiang lasted for a long time and cost a lot of money, there were still about 8000 million silver deposits in the treasury before the expedition, plus the continuous tax revenue from overseas trade. It won't be less than 5000 million taels of silver. When he heard that there was only so little silver left in the treasury, Yinzuo's face sank immediately.

Shi Shilun has followed Yinzuo for a long time and knows Yinzuo's nature. Seeing Yinzuo lowered his face at this time, he didn't panic, and said calmly: "If you return to the emperor, the military expenses for the Western Expedition will total 420 to 210. Two taels of silver: the total cost of grain, grass and luggage was 300 million taels, and the total amount of compensation and rewards was more than 300 million taels of silver; according to the imperial edict, the cost of investing in Tianjin Gun Bureau and Shanghai Shipyard was four Three million taels of silver. Over the past year, the customs revenue has been 300 million taels, the provincial fiscal and taxation has been 100 million taels, and the cumulative government expenditure has been 500 million taels. 600 million taels of silver, and 500 million taels of silver for repairing the Jehol Palace..."

Depend on!This money is really fucking useless, the battle with the old man is a big loss, mother, when the old man's envoy arrives, no matter what, he will have to pull the skin off that kid Peter!Um, no, why is the customs revenue so much less?Yin Zuo frowned and thought for a while, then looked at Shi Shilun and said, "Shi Aiqing, I remember that the annual revenue of the customs was more than [-] million taels last year, why was there only more than [-] million taels left last year?"

"Returning to the emperor, because at this time, I have questioned the head of the General Administration of Customs, He, and sent an official from the household department to check the accounts. The customs revenue is not fake, probably because the overseas trade volume has gradually declined since last year. As a result, it is estimated that there will be a decrease this year. I dare not hide it, please learn from the emperor." Shi Shilun replied respectfully.

Well, it's no wonder that I only spend less money. Those European countries seem to be squeezed enough, and their purchasing power has dropped.Grandma, if there is a war in the future, the overseas trade will be greatly affected in a short period of time. At least until the whole of Asia is not occupied, the overseas trade will be unreliable. Well, if you want to fight without money, it seems to be a waste The payment of family members to the mother and the payment of food by the government and the gentry have to be brought up on the agenda. Damn it, all other things are mixed together, that's all, we will talk about these things later.Yinzuo's thoughts moved quickly, he frowned and asked Shi Shilun to step back first, coughed lightly and said, "I already know what Shi Aiqing said, let's not talk about the treasury today, let's talk about foreign affairs first."

"Reporting to Emperor Ama, I believe that the reason why Britain and the Netherlands dared to propose such harsh terms to the Qing Dynasty is nothing more than relying on their strong ships and powerful guns and rich experience in warfare. Although our Qingshui division is not inferior However, it is not an opportunity to start a war at this time, but blindly retreating will lose the prestige of our Qing Dynasty. The ancients said: What is imaginary is real, and what is real is false. Our warships and cannons of the Qing Dynasty are far above these two countries We might as well do a drill to boost our country's prestige, and then agree to some insignificant conditions between the two countries in exchange for temporary peaceful coexistence." Hongyang is the only one among Yinzuo's sons who has understood the Lei Ting plan. As for the gap between Britain and the Netherlands, seeing that the ministers couldn't come up with any good ideas at this time, they stood up and said calmly.

Uh huh, it's a good way to show the enemy to be strong, and then make a little concession to show sincerity!Yinzuo's heart moved, but he didn't say anything because of it. He glanced at Hongyang who was kneeling on the ground, then turned his head to look at Lin Xuanyi who was sitting on the soft chair, smiled and said, "Lihe, I want to hear your opinion." Opinion."

"If you go back to the emperor, I think the words of the second elder brother should be feasible, but it's hard to decide who to negotiate with." Lin Xuanyi thought carefully.

Well, this is always a problem, Lin Xuanyi is not in good health, the other officials don't understand the true meaning of Lei Ting's plan, and Hongyang is too young, this is really troublesome.Yinzuo nodded, but didn't say anything, just looked at the military ministers present, thinking secretly who should be sent to preside over the negotiations.

"Huang Ama, my son thinks that this matter should be handed over to Uncle San. Considering Uncle San's prudence, I will not lose my prestige in the Qing Dynasty." Hongli, who had been silent all this time, stood up. Said loudly.

third child?Hey, how come I forgot about this, haha, the third child has always been unwilling to lose money, and he has a large share of overseas trade, so it makes sense to entrust this matter to him.Yinzuo had known for a long time that while the third child was keeping silent during the chaos in the capital, he also silently helped Hongli do things. In charge of the Ministry of Etiquette, it would be a good choice for him to preside over the foreign affairs.

"Well, I think it's okay. I'll leave this matter to Prince Cheng. You, Hongyang, will follow along and help your third uncle. If you have any questions, you can ask me. What do you love? "Yin Zuo said with a smile.

"Your majesty is wise, and the ministers have no objection." Seeing that Yin Zuo had made up his mind, the Minister of Military Aircraft, of course, would not speak out any more objections. They all praised Hongli respectfully. The same is true, and did not show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Yinzuo glanced at the two brothers Hongli and Hongyang, smiled and said: "From now on, Hongli and Hongyang will follow the court to listen to the government. I am tired. Mr. Fang stays here, and you will kneel down. Gao Nianying Arrange a soft sedan chair to take Lin Zhongtang back to his residence." After Yinzuo spoke, all the courtiers immediately kowtowed to greet each other and dispersed.

"Mr. Fang, is there anything wrong with my arrangement?" After everyone left the hall, Yinzuo looked at Fang Linggao and asked.

Although Fang Linggao was not the creator of the Thunder plan, he had read the plan in detail. Although he didn't know much about the war part, he still knew it in general. Hearing Yin Zuo's question at this time, Fang Linggao smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know anything about military affairs or foreign affairs. Your Majesty is asking blindness."

Damn, this old Fang is really serious, knowing that what we are asking is not about Lei Ting's plan at all, but what is the purpose of Hongli's move, but this old man deliberately changed the concept.Yinzuo frowned and said: "Mr. Linggao knows what I'm asking, so let's just say it straight, I don't want to guess riddles."

"I still can't see through it for the time being, but I think it has something to do with the national treasury revenue." Fang Bao spread his hands and said.

"Huh?" Yinzuo immediately frowned—it was related to the national treasury revenue, which naturally refers to government affairs, but how did Hongli know that we would send Hongyang to assist the third child, so as to leave him a chance to participate in government affairs? , Also, how can Hongli know that we are about to start cleaning up government affairs?
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It was said that Xiao Liu had just had a daughter, and was bragging to his subordinates proudly, when he suddenly heard Cao Chunyan's lion roar: "Go wash the diapers!" Xiao Liu said with a mournful face, "I am the emperor, why do I talk about washing diapers?" Cao Chunyan yelled: "I've been busy for a long time, only those few monthly tickets, how long will I wait if I don't wash diapers?"

Xiao Liu shouted loudly: "Brothers, can you give the monthly pass soon? I don't want to wash the diaper!"

(End of this chapter)