Yi Jingzuo is considered polite to say that it is not just a hundred years! Qishan's arrival made him realize that Lin Zexu's life in Guangzhou was not much, so he naturally had to seize the opportunity to guide the other party and instill his own ideas.

After pondering for a moment, he said slowly: "We are in an era of great change. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a major change that has not been seen in three thousand years. No one in the Qing Dynasty realized that no one in the European and American powers such as England, France, America, etc. could realize this.

Fortunately, the war launched by Britain and Geely will prompt more and more knowledgeable people to realize this. Everything has its pros and cons. The biggest advantage of this war is to break the dream of our country and make the officials, gentlemen and businessmen of the Qing Dynasty realize that our country is just one of many countries in the world, not a country, but an old and weak empire that can be bullied by other countries at will.

Why is this war related to the destiny of the Qing Dynasty for a hundred years? The reason is very simple. In this war, the Qing Dynasty had no chance of winning. The difference in strength between the two countries was too great and it was not equal at all. The end of this war was nothing more than three.

First, the Qing Dynasty was defeated, and Britain and Geely easily won the war at a weak price without any effort. Second, the Qing Dynasty actively resisted, which made the British army pay a heavy price, and it was still honorable even if it was defeated. Third, the Qing Dynasty fought to the fullest and prepared for a protracted war, which may be able to drag the British army and maintain an unbeaten situation, and then make a little concession in the negotiations to end the war decently.

The three endings are naturally the best, but the court is afraid that it will not have this determination, and no one can realize that this battle will have far-reaching impact and disastrous consequences on the Qing Dynasty. In addition, the court will have no money and cannot support a battle that will cost the country, so the possibility of such an ending is very small.

The second ending is to actively resist the British invasion, and even if it is defeated, it will still be honored. To achieve this, the emperor must sit in Jiangnan to supervise the war. Otherwise, facing the powerful offensive of the British army, actively resisting can only be a luxury.

If it is the first ending - the British army easily won this war at a small price, it would be a disastrous consequence for the Qing Dynasty. Not only will Britain and Geely become more aggressive in the future, but it will invade more frequently, but other European powers will also come one after another, seizing various benefits from the Qing Dynasty through force and turning the Qing Dynasty into their overseas colony. At that time, the Qing Dynasty will be in a more insufficiency than India."

This was a bit alarmist. Lin Zexu reached out to interrupt his words and said, "What the British asked for is a rented port for trade, free trade, and equal exchanges, which did not seem to threaten the Qing Dynasty."

"Free trade also includes eclipse trade." Yi Zhizu snatched him out of his way without hesitation.

The trade of ravens is a real threat to the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, otherwise the court would not make a big decision to ban ravens. Lin Zexu was choked by his words, but he was not annoyed. He stroked his long beard and said, "The major changes that have not been seen in three thousand years, can you tell me in detail?"

"Since the industrial revolution in England began, replacing handicrafts with machine industry and replacing handicraft factories. Since the mechanization of machine manufacturing industry, human productivity has taken a qualitative leap in less than a hundred years, surpassing the total development of mankind in the past three thousand years." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The English people have created an era of mineral age."

"Mineral Age?" Lin Zexu said curiously: "What is the mineral Age? What era is our Qing Dynasty now?"

"Plant Age." Yi Zhizu said: "For thousands of years, we have been in the plant age. Eating, clothing, housing, transportation and other necessities come from plants, food, clothing, houses, cars, lighting, heating, etc. without exception. Everything we need must depend on plants growing on the land."

Lin Zexu wanted to refute that poultry and livestock are not plants, but when he said that, he realized that these poultry and livestock were also dependent on plants to survive. It seemed that what the other party said was reasonable. He asked curiously: "Don't the British need to rely on plants?"

"The British have largely gotten rid of their dependence on plants." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "When traveling, the transportation is trains and railways, the houses are built with steel and cement, the fuel is coal, and the machine power represented by steam engines replaces human, animal power and even hydraulic power.

With the development of Western science and technology, food, meat, clothing, lighting, transportation, etc. will be replaced by minerals, and essential goods such as food, clothing, housing and transportation will be completely dependent on minerals rather than plants. Therefore, the British pioneered the mineral era."

Lin Zexu said incrediblely as if he was a fantasy: "How can grain, meat, clothing, and lighting be replaced by minerals? Can minerals still produce grain?"

"Of course minerals cannot produce grain." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "But minerals can double the grain yield several times. How much grain yield per mu is now? Take rice as an example, on average, it is only two stones, but minerals can make rice yield per mu to five stones and six stones. The feeding of poultry and livestock, clothing and bedding, etc. can be replaced by minerals." "It's incredible." Lin Zexu said with a look of surprise: "Isn't it a dream?"

Naturally, it is not a dream. More than a hundred years later, humans have survived in the mineral era, with steel, cement, coal and electricity, chemical fibers, fertilizers and hormones, and glass plastics everywhere.

Yi Zhizu glanced at him and brought the topic back without any haste. "The mining era is based on industry, machine power and machine production. The major changes that have not been seen in three thousand years refer to this period when the plant era transitions to the mineral era, and refers to the industrial revolution.

Nowadays, all European powers are vigorously promoting the industrial revolution, and Yuanqi is also trying to promote the industrial revolution in Guangzhou. However, we started late, had a weak foundation, had a poor foundation, and lacked basic education and talents. All of this requires time to accumulate.

At this critical moment, if the Qing Dynasty was frequently invaded by the great powers, the Qing Dynasty's industrial revolution would be strangled at its infancy. If you miss this critical ten or twenty years, the Qing Dynasty would be beyond the reach, and would be divided and plundered by the European powers, and face a hundred years of humiliation. This is why I said that this battle is related to the Qing Dynasty's destiny for a hundred years."

After hearing him say it, Lin Zexu didn't say anything for a long time. He knew in his heart that Yi Zhizu would not joke with him. Although what he said was incredible, there were many things that were incredible to the British. He had not seen the train with his own eyes and the railway had not been completed, but he had seen the steamship with his own eyes.

After a long time, he said, "I am content to write down what I said today."

He wanted to write a memorial again, Yi Zhizu frowned and said, "Can you write it in vernacular? It is difficult to accurately express classical Chinese."

"It's up to you." Lin Zexu said: "I'll meet with the British and find out the matter of the British increasing their troops. If it's true, it's better to report to the court earlier."

It seems that the other party is still lucky and does not believe that the British will increase their troops. Yi is content and does not say much, and agrees with him.

In the Inner Port of Macau, Jiang Liang, the Macao Coast Defense Tongzhi, and Macau officials of all sizes and big and small, were waiting at the dock. Not far away, Feng Renxuan, the training battalion commander of the Yuanqi regiment stationed in Macau, also took a group of subordinates to wait quietly. The two groups of people were naturally content.

The British main fleet appeared outside Guangzhou, and the atmosphere in Macau became tense immediately. After all, the British army had precedents of attacking the gate, and the British Guangdong Sea Fleet was surrounded and annihilated. It was precisely because of the attack on the gate that God knew whether the British main fleet would spread fire to Macau. Especially now, those stationed in Macau were still participating in the Yuanqi regiment training of the two battles of Modaoyang and Dinghai. Some well-informed wealthy merchants began to evacuate Macau, which further intensified the tension in Macau.

Yi Zhizu came to Macau to inspect defense at this time, so how could the Macau officials not come to welcome him? After all, the safety of Macau now depends on Yuanqi Tuanzheng.

Jiang Liang glanced at Feng Renxuan who was standing not far away and wanted to come forward to chat with him, but he couldn't hide his face. Although the little guy was a scholar, he was full of bad habits. He did not say anything about his actions, and he didn't even socialize with the Macau officialdom. I don't know if the Yuanqi Group trained other battalions like this. This time, it was rare to see Yi contentment. He said it carefully, and it would be better to change battalions.

"Here's here." A minor official trotted over and said with excitement: "The navy's sailing warships are in total, and the headed one is the Guan Junmen's ship."

Guan Tianpei is here too? Jiang Liang is not happy and worried. Could it be that the British army is really likely to attack Macau again? Otherwise, why would Guan Tianpei attach so much importance to Macau's defense?

Just as he was worried about gains and losses, four sail warships slowly entered the inner harbor, and the ship was on the dock, Guan Tianpei and Yi Zhizu got off the boat side by side. Everyone hurriedly greeted each other, and the horse's hooves were hit by the sound of the mountain, and they knelt all over the ground. Feng Renxuan, who was trained by Yuanqi, led his subordinates to perform a new military salute, which was particularly conspicuous.

Yi Zhizu replied with a military salute before instructing: "There are people from the third regiment on the three ships behind, so you are responsible for the arrangement."

The Yuanqi regiment trained three battalions, with a total of 1,500 people. Jiang Liang was still clear about this. When he heard that he had added another regiment to Macau, this undoubtedly confirmed his previous suspicion and couldn't help but feel worried.

"Yes, follow the order." Feng Renxuan responded loudly, but he was secretly happy. Macau's increase in troops means that there is a battle to fight. Now he finally has the opportunity to fight a battle with real guns and ammunition. In the battle of Dinghai, the Henan camp was in full swing, but they were so hungry that they were greedy for their Huadi camp.

Because of the tight time, Guan Tianpei and Yi Zhizu declined Jiang Liang's welcome banquet. After a while of greeting, he followed Feng Renxuan to inspect the Inner Port, Qianshanzhai, Guanzha, Xinmiao, Lotus Stem and other camps.

Feng Renxuan did his best to build the turret according to Yi Zhizu's plan, but also conducted live-fire drills many times to make up for the shortcomings of the plan. After inspecting along the way, Yi Zhizu was quite satisfied, Guan Tianpei praised it, and Jiang Liang was worried.

After inspecting the defense, Guan Tianpei pulled Yi Zhizu aside and asked, "Come to go back to Guangzhou tomorrow to welcome the imperial envoy?"

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Tomorrow, I will see Yilu and his party. How can I withdraw from Guangzhou? The military gate mediates me in front of the imperial envoy."

"Military mediation is also the affairs of the ministers." Guan Tianpei said: "It doesn't matter how the British can receive the imperial envoy and receive the imperial edict for one or two days."

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Can the imperial court run away with rewards? It is urgent to understand the British idea at present."

"You boy." Guan Tianpei shook his head slightly and said, "However, he is really an alien. He welcomes the imperial envoy and accepts rewards. You have to do everything possible to avoid such a glorious thing." "Don't say this nonsense. If it is spread, it will cause criticism. The military sect thinks that the Yuanqi regiment training is not eye-catching enough."

"How can I not think about the importance of this idea?" Guan Tianpei said, "Then I will not stay in Macau, so don't send it to you, and handle the matter of changing defenses."

Yi Zhizu was not pretentious, so he immediately bowed and said goodbye, leading his subordinates back to the front mountain camp and entered the conference hall. After sitting down, he slowly glanced at the officer and said, "Macau's fortifications are well built and can be an example."

"The big shopkeeper is just the responsibility of the lower-level bidding." Feng Renxuan said, hesitating for a moment, and then said: "Report to the big shopkeeper, although Macau's defense is thorough, the lower bidding thinks that there are too few artillery and it is difficult to stop the British from landing."

Xiao Mingliang, the leader of the Third Regiment, said with a smile: "If the British dare to land, they will guarantee that they will never return."

Feng Renxuan didn't know that the Minni guns equipped by the three regiments of Henan Daying were long and accurate. After hearing this, Xiao Mingliang felt a little arrogant. He glanced at Yi Zhizu and said carefully: "If the British army landed, it would be a disaster for Macau."

Yi Zhizu coughed lightly and said, "Macau is a loan land for Portugal. We are on high alert. The British army is unlikely to attack. If they dare to attack, there is no need to worry about it. Macau is destroyed by the war, and it is the Portuguese who are anxious, not us.

As for artillery, our artillery is seriously insufficient, and the focus of defense is on Humen. Macau is really unable to take care of it. However, Xiao Mingliang said it right. If the British army really dares to land in Macau like last time, they will definitely go but not return."

After a pause, he continued: "From today, Macau Defense will be taken over by the Third Regiment, and Feng Renxuan's Flower First Battalion will be temporarily merged into the Third Regiment."

All he heard was that he had temporarily merged into the third regiment. Feng Renxuan breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "As for the order."

At dusk, Huang Dianyuan arrived in Macau. As soon as he got on the dock, he heard about the Yuanqi regiment training and increased troops in Macau. He didn't care much about this. If Yi Zhizu really planned to take advantage of the opportunity of meeting and talks in Macau, he would not have been able to increase troops in Macau so publicly. It seems that Yuanqi regiment training is worried that the British army will attack Macau again.
Chapter completed!