Section 188: The Sound of Cannons at White Swan Pond
Chapter 188 The sound of cannons in Baietan
The sun rose, and Wen Desi stood on the stern of the spy boat, with his hands clasped behind his back. A layer of golden sun shrouded his body, emitting a dazzling light. All the indigenous naval officers and soldiers stood beside him, one
Everyone was respectful and did not dare to say a word. I saw Mr. Wen looking at Guangzhou with the pride of "looking at Wu Gou, photographing all the corridors, no one will understand, and coming here."
"We're back to the place where we fought again." Wen Desi whispered. Thinking of the time when he, Wang and Xiao went back and forth to the wormhole to raise funds, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion - on the White Goose Pond a few years ago
After being rescued by Ran Yao and others with several small-caliber rifles and shotguns, the past of the group escaping in embarrassment is still fresh in my mind.
At this moment, he led the fleet to come here. The lives and property of the officials and people in the city depended on his one thought, and he was filled with satisfaction beyond words.
"I think back then, my team had just opened. There were only a dozen people in total and seven or eight guns..." Wen Desi suddenly hummed this Peking Opera song that he was not familiar with - nothing was more interesting than this sentence at the moment.
He can express his feelings.
Chen Haiyang was originally downstairs at the rear stern. In order not to disturb Mr. Wen's elegance, he never stepped forward. It was completely different from Wen Desi's emotion. He was thinking about how to proceed next.
At this point, the war has gone beyond the military scope and become a political war - the task force attacked Guangzhou all the way not to capture this big city in East Asia, but to force the other side to balance supply and demand. How can we exert a certain amount of pressure to achieve this?
In order to prevent the other party from simply defeating your own purpose, you must be very precise in your decision-making.
"Mr. Wen," Chen Haiyang greeted when he saw that Wen Desi's energy in reminiscing about the past was gradually fading, "What do you think we should do next?"
The Senate has no intention of occupying Guangzhou. They must reopen trade and continue to obtain manpower, material resources and markets from Guangdong. For this reason, they cannot scare away the wealthy businessmen in Guangzhou - according to the report of the Intelligence Bureau, there are already many wealthy businessmen.
Escape from Guangzhou. If Guangzhou is really captured, the entire Pearl River Delta will become a "war zone". Businessmen will not dare to come again, and there will be no point in occupying this city.
Wen Desi and Chen Haiyang racked their brains along the way, thinking of how to make it a big deal without causing the Guangdong government to completely close the door to negotiations.
Now that the warships have arrived at Baietan, peace talks must begin as soon as possible. Although the Pearl River Estuary Expedition has achieved great results, if it fails to achieve the effect of peace talks, it will be a complete strategic failure.
Chen Haiyang proposed: Should he immediately send people into Guangzhou to submit a note and ask the officials in the city to go out for negotiations?
"No, we can't have a note on this matter - this is not the 'two countries theory' anymore? Li Fengjie wouldn't dare to accept this note even if he was beaten to death." Wen Desi shook his head repeatedly, "The only way to pass on the news is through private contacts! What's wrong with being an official?
They have their own ways to deal with it, we have to find a way to contact them as soon as possible."
The Foreign Intelligence Bureau has Lin Baiguang and others lurking in Guangzhou City, so the Task Force on the situation in Guangzhou City can receive telegrams forwarded from the Lingao Main Station every day.
"Li Fengjie tried to contact Gao Ju several times, but Gao Ju always refused. I think now we can ask someone from the Intelligence Bureau to contact Gao Ju and let him act as a middleman." Wen Desi said, "Gao Ju has always been an agent for Australian goods. This
He can't take off the layers of skin, so it's reasonable for him to come forward."
"Let's fire a few empty cannons first to scare them," Chen Haiyang said. "I don't believe that the officials in the city can pretend to be deaf and dumb."
He held the door closed to thank guests, and everyone in the city who came to meet him said "not in the house". This was not to show off - it was actually because of his awkward position and difficulty in communicating with everyone.
After Guo Yi and others escaped, and the Zi family's properties were sealed off one after another, Gao Ji felt that he had greatly lost his face. For this reason, he was very unhappy and wrote a letter to tell Eunuch Yang what had happened. Of course, Eunuch Yang is now here
The palace couldn't say much, but he was still a centipede with a wide path. As long as he caught any opportunity, he might be able to give the Tian family a hard eyedrop.
After Chengmai's defeat, some gentry officials secretly worked in the hope that he would come forward to negotiate peace. On the one hand, they were angry that the government had caused him to lose face and credibility in the Zi family's industry. On the other hand, they did not know the depth of the situation behind the matter and did not dare to
You can come forward and agree casually, or simply "not be at home" and hide in the house to watch the changes.
He didn't leave home, but he was very well-informed about the news outside. He knew all the "deeds" along the way after the task force entered the Pearl River, which surprised and delighted him. He was surprised that the Australians were so powerful. Not only were they defeated
They suppressed the officers and soldiers, and even pursued them all the way to the Pearl River. The troops were directed towards Guangzhou - if the two sides fought under the city walls of Guangzhou, Guangzhou, the "paradise land" for businessmen, would be destroyed. I was happy that I finally managed to
They were on the wrong team in this "wrenching" test, and both the government and the Australians handled it reasonably well - when the Australians made a comeback, the Gao family could continue to make a fortune from Australian goods.
The Australians were getting closer and closer to Guangzhou, and their momentum was getting louder and louder. He now fully understood what the Australians were thinking - they wanted to "force peace with war."
Since we want "peace", we must have channels of contact. Gao Ji believes that there is no one in Guangdong who is more suitable to serve as this channel. Whether it is the government or the Australians, they must find him as the center if they want to negotiate peace.
So in the past month, he has returned to his normal "at home" situation. Although he rarely sees visitors, he doesn't talk much when he meets them. It is precisely in "waiting for price" that he is preparing to severely punish the government and the local government.
Kill the gentry and, if possible, kill the Australians.
Gao Zhi paid close attention to every move outside. As the Australian fleet pressed closer, the city became increasingly noisy, and the wealthy households began to flee for their lives, he remained unmoved - he had a hunch that the Australians would not attack Guangzhou.
At most, they were just showing off outside the city.
He has already made up his mind. He will not come forward until someone from the government comes to ask him to negotiate again. Of course, he must agree to a series of conditions first. He not only has to earn back face for himself, but also for Australia.
To earn back face - of course, he also had to breathe out a bad breath. When he thought of Tian Da's rude and arrogant appearance in front of him, Mr. Gao couldn't bear to breathe.
He just got up that day and had breakfast alone. When he went to the yard where he was working, he first entertained the birds - Gao Ji liked raising birds very much. He was different from the northern style bird raising which emphasized "sound". First of all, he wanted the birds to be beautiful.
, the feathers are colorful. Therefore, many rare birds that are not seen in China were collected from all over the West. Each one is colorful, and it is really beautiful to hang under the eaves of the corridor.
While humans and birds were enjoying each other in a harmonious scene, suddenly the sound of rumbling cannons was heard outside. Several birds were immediately frightened and bumped into each other in the cage. They raised their brows and frowned, and followed the sound in the direction of the White Goose Pond.
In Baietan, apart from flower boats and restaurants, where can the cannons come from? Could it be that the Australians have arrived at Baietan? While Gao Li was doubting, a domestic slave hurried in and told him, "The Australian fleet has arrived at Baietan."
Etan, the cannons are being fired."
"Just let them go." Gao Zhan looked indifferent - this was just knocking the mountain to shake the tiger.
"Master." The family member said hesitantly, "Master Tian is here to pay his respects..."
"Which Mr. Tian?"
"It's Tian Da——"
Gao Zhang snorted: "Not at home." He didn't bother to see this despicable and shameless thing.
"He refused to go and insisted on seeing you." The family immediately accepted the order and left as usual, but continued, "He said that he has a great wealth to give to the master."
"No," Gao Ju said lightly. Then he glanced at his family mockingly, "How much money did you get from him?"
"No, little one..." The family member was shocked and quickly defended herself.
"Go to the accountant and tell me what I said, and I will reward you with eight taels of silver. Throw Tian Da's four taels of silver back to me!" Gao Zhang said expressionlessly.
"The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare." The family members were so frightened that they quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "The villain realizes his mistake..."
"Go ahead."
He didn't know the reason why Tian Da was so shameless that he insisted on seeing him, but he could probably guess it. This time Tian Da's attempt to annex the Zi family name in Guangzhou failed completely - first, Guo Dongzhu and others disappeared mysteriously, which was not a big deal.
Good, because Tian Da could at least get the property left behind by the Purple Title, but the government kept delaying the move. When the news of Chengmai's fiasco came, even outsiders knew that Tian Da had no hope.
It has been almost a year since Tian arrived in Guangzhou. Originally, he boasted about Haikou and could get the Guangzhou Purple Brand for his employer, but now he got nothing - if he just went back to resume his life like this, he, a servant of the Tian family, would probably not be able to do it. Recently.
These days, he has been collecting all kinds of Australian goods and treasures, probably to have room for prevarication when he returns.
Tian Da was rejected in front of Gaoji's house. The family member at the door who had accepted the money from him with a smile on his face and kept saying "keep it with me" came back with a cold face and threw the money back to him and said
He said: "Not at home" and said nothing again.
Tian Da cursed: "Grandma, everyone has eaten the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's courage!" I really can't stay in Guangzhou anymore. This group of officials and gentry really fell out with each other faster than reading a book. Originally, he only needed to come to the door.
No one dares not to see him when he comes to visit him. Even if he doesn't want to, he will come out to say hello and give him dozens of taels of silver to socialize with him. Nowadays, no one with a little background is willing to see him. Even if he is willing to see him, his words are extremely rude, and even more so
Needless to say, I gave him something as a gift.
There was absolutely no hope for the Zizihao - when the government officials seized the Zizihao after the Australians escaped, Tian Da didn't spend much effort to ask the gatekeeper to let him in for a "visit". In the end, he let him in
Disappointed, there were quite a lot of goods left behind to make money, but all the government officials confiscated them. In addition to many common craftsmen's tools, the Australians' property also had a few Australian machines that they didn't know how to use, and the ones above
The exquisite copper parts and glass parts were either stolen by the government officials or damaged by the rude government officials during the storage. Without Australian craftsmen, it would be absolutely impossible to repair and use them. Before, he also found out that those people left very calmly, leaving nothing behind.
Just a few words of evidence.
Not to mention that these brands did not fall into his hands at all, even if they did fall into his hands, they would be of no use! Unless there is a buyer willing to take over. But who has the ability to revive these brands? They sell
Everything I bought was all Australian, or at least it was made according to secret Australian recipes. Not to mention, no one in Guangzhou knew how to make sweet water with bubbles and numbness in your mouth just when you drink it. Also, no one in Guangzhou knew.
Ice cubes that can be taken out anytime and anywhere in the summer...
"Gao Ji, this damn old fox." Tian Da came out while scolding him. He asked to see Gao Ji because he wanted to blackmail him for a few rare Australian goods so that he could go back and deliver some business. After all, the capture of Ziming Tower this time was already dirty. And Kun Thieves Bu
As he pressed closer, Tian Da felt vaguely that something was not good - he had already had the idea of returning to the north.
However, he did not accept soft or hard, and did not take him seriously at all. He originally wanted to get the Australian oil lamp that can shine brightly and present it to the palace, but he did not expect that the other party would not even see him now, and it was a mess.
Da felt very shameless.
"Go to Liu's house." After getting into the sedan, Tian Da decided to go to Liu's house. This businessman has no power and does business to the north. It is said that there are some rare Australian treasures in the house. This family has a close relationship with the Australians.
He was not afraid that they would not give in. After he succeeded, he immediately left Guangzhou. He also heard the sound of the cannons at Baietan. Taking advantage of the fact that the city gates of Guangzhou were still open, he quickly escaped. If it fell into the hands of the Australians, he would definitely not be there.
Eat the good fruit.
The sedan was being carried on the street. Tian Da was in the sedan thinking about how to blackmail the Liu family. Suddenly someone yelled: "The cow is crazy, run away!"
Tian Da was about to stick his head out to take a look, but the sedan fell to the ground with a "ping" sound, causing him to almost fling himself out of the sedan. Tian Da cursed: "You guys! You don't even know how to carry a sedan."
lift……"
The bearer of the sedan chair had already escaped. As soon as Tian Da poked his head out of the window, he saw an extremely strong buffalo, panting heavily and charging straight towards the sedan chair with two extremely huge horns.
Tian Da screamed and collapsed in the sedan chair.
The sound of cracking bones was the last sound Tian Da heard in the world.
Tian Da's death did not cause any ripples in the city of Guangzhou - except for those who knew about Tian Da's grudges with the Australians. Those who had praised Tian Da's stinky feet could not help but feel extremely guilty, while those who had suffered from him secretly applauded and held it high.
After hearing that, I just smiled slightly.
Drama was going on in the city, and the task force outside the city was not idle either. The Fubo Army landed at Baietan and requisitioned several restaurants as headquarters and dormitories for senior officers. On the trestle where the flower boats were originally parked,
A temporary naval dock was built. Many rocket launchers and Hale rockets were unloaded from the ship and set up outside the city. If the officials in the city still lacked a sense of urgency about negotiating peace, Wen Desi was prepared to use rockets to remind them
one time.
In order to facilitate the bombardment of Guangzhou from all directions, all the artillery boats of the artillery boat squadron were temporarily modified. The 280mm mortars were removed and modified with rocket launchers. In this way, the artillery boats could maneuver along Baietan and inland waterways, and attack from any direction.
Bombarded the city of Guangzhou.
The Hale rocket fleet transferred from Hong Kong brought more than 300 rockets. Wen Desi decided to give Li Fengjie three days. If there was no response, he would immediately set off a large fireworks for them.
Some elders suggested using the city's intelligence system to send "guanxi" to Gao Ji to propose peace to Li Fengjie.
"When negotiating a peace, it is better to let the other party propose it first. Besides, if we go to ask for help, he will inevitably become proud. In the future, he will inevitably use this to show his merit and ask for greater benefits from us." Wen Desi said,
"We'll wait a few days and see how they react."
In order to avoid being attacked from both front and rear, Chen Haiyang ordered a mixed battalion of marines and sailors to carry artillery and launched an expulsion of the defenders at Fenghuang Gang, the key point in the west, and Dongsheng Temple, the key point in the east, outside Guangzhou City. It took less than a day to eliminate the enemy.
The two defenders fled without fierce fighting, leaving behind 90 corpses and more than 200 old and miscellaneous artillery pieces. The Fubo army suffered 10 casualties, including 3 killed in action.
The fall of Phoenix Ridge and Dongsheng Temple made Guangzhou's defense situation even more passive. Li Fengjie had no choice but to make up his mind to seek peace payment.
Li Fengjie thought that the biggest obstacle to the peace talks was Gao Shunqin. If he knew about it, he would definitely face strong opposition - and maybe he would immediately file a memorial to impeach the matter. He was the censor, so he could "hear" and take whatever he heard.
As soon as the memorial was released, the public opinion in Beijing started to rise, and I was left with nothing to eat.
After careful consideration, he decided not to come forward as usual and divided the process into two ways: the Guangzhou magistrate Yu Baocun would directly come forward for matters on the Guangzhou side - anyway, Yu Baocun was the first to take responsibility for defending the land, so he was not afraid of his refusal.
The other journey was conducted by Li Luoyou in Macau. Macau is a place of the Portuguese, and the two parties can talk openly and honestly. Some things that cannot be said and can only be hinted at in front of Yu Baocun can be clearly stated by Li Luoyu.
.
Right now, the task is for Yu Baocun and Gao Ju to come forward and persuade the Australians to withdraw as soon as possible, and then negotiate other conditions in Macau. The longer the Australian warships stay here, the harder it will be for him to explain to the court.
Yu Baocun arrived at the governor's Yamen and held a secret discussion at midnight. Early the next morning, he personally drove a sedan to see Gao Ji.
"Is this what Fu Jun means?" Gao Ju asked after hearing Yu Baocun's request for him to go out and defeat the "Kun thieves" to discuss peace and retreat.
"You are a wise man, Mr. Gao. Do you still want me to explain things clearly to you?" Yu Baocun said with a wry smile, "It is the duty to protect the land, and we all have no control over it. We have to rely on Mr. Gao for this matter."
"What are you talking about, Mr. Gao Ju?" Gao Ju said indifferently, "Gao is just a businessman. I'm afraid I am beyond my ability to do this."
Yu Baocun secretly scolded the old guy for being pretentious again, and must be asking for a high price. Now that he had something to ask for, he had no choice but to indicate that as long as he was willing to show up, everything would be negotiable.