Chapter 1179 Peace Negotiation

After leaving Hangzhou, the official document from the Zhejiang Chief Envoy traveled from Hangzhou across Shaoxing to Ningbo at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. It only took one day to reach the prefect's Yamen in Ningbo City and presented it to

In front of Qu Yutong. After Qu Yutong sent the messenger to rest, he returned to the study with the official document and discussed the next steps of action with Xu Ke, the special envoy of Haihan.

Strictly speaking, Xu Ke can only be regarded as a non-staff overseas special employee, because after all, he is from the Xu family in Fujian. He stays in Zhejiang to work because he has been lurking in Ningbo all year round. He is familiar with the situation here and is working for Haihan.

At the same time, he could also handle affairs in Zhejiang on behalf of the Xu family. Haihan also took a fancy to Xu Ke's various local connections and gave him the task of contacting the prefect Qu Yutong. Haihan sent troops from Zhoushan

After that, Xu Ke entered the prefect's Yamen in the name of the new staff and was responsible for delivering news between the two sides.

When the Haihan Army first arrived in Zhejiang, Xu Ke acted as the leader. He personally experienced the entire process of Haihan taking root in the East China Sea, so he was very aware of Haihan's strength. Like his family in Fujian,

Xu Ke also decided early on to hold on to Haihan's thigh. In addition, his identity was easier to gain Haihan's trust than the locals. Therefore, in the more than a year after Haihan settled in Zhejiang, he became prosperous and worked in many places.

He appeared as the spokesperson of Haihan on all occasions, and came forward to contact all parties in the Ming Dynasty on behalf of Haihan. This time being assigned to Qu Yutong as a temporary staff also fully reflects the relationship between the Dinghai Port Management Committee and the top officials of the local government.

His trust.

Qu Yutong also didn't hide anything from Xu Ke, and directly handed the official document from Hangzhou to Xu Ke for review: "Mr. Xu, take a look, is there anything that needs attention?"

Xu Ke took it and looked at it carefully, nodded slightly and said: "It seems that the time has come, Master Qu can pack up and set off."

Qu Yutong responded eagerly: "The luggage has been packed a long time ago. Once I explain the matters at hand, we can set off today."

If the confrontation between Haihan and the Ming army at the gates of Hangzhou continues for one more day, the situation will develop in an uncontrollable direction. Once the people above feel that the peace talks can no longer resolve the current deadlock, then Qu Yutong may not even have the opportunity to appear.

They all have to lose. And he went through all the trouble to find Haihan to plan this drama. His purpose is to stand up and play the role of "loyal minister who saves the country" in times of crisis, and in this way, he can keep his lucrative position as the prefect of Ningbo.

Of course, Qu Yutong actually knew that the people from Haihan were willing to help him, but they were just trying to push things along. Since the mysterious disappearance of three senior officials in Hangzhou last year, although the opposition to Haihan in Zhejiang official circles has become smaller,

Haihan still has not obtained official recognition for doing business in Zhejiang. In the past six months, all possible joints have been taken care of. The final resistance is basically concentrated on the senior officials in the Zhejiang Sansi Yamen. These senior officials are thinking more about

Political future rather than short-term personal economic gains, so it is difficult to use money to get them to change some existing rules. The only effective way is probably to use force to create a certain scale of chaos in Zhejiang, and to use money to achieve political future

To force these officials to submit.

If he were not in the Ming Dynasty's camp, Qu Yutong would actually agree with Haihan's idea of ​​attacking the enemy only to save it. As long as the weak spots of senior officials are targeted, it is not impossible to change the attitude of the Zhejiang government. It's just that.

As a member of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, he also knew that his behavior was tantamount to treason and surrender to the enemy, but he was already in too deep. He couldn't get out if he didn't help Haihan complete this matter. He might as well fight for his own interests.

A handful.

Xu Ke handed the official document back to Comrade Qu Yu and said: "Master Naqu, please set off as soon as possible. I will arrange for someone to notify the Haihan army along the way to avoid misunderstanding."

Qu Yutong said politely: "Thank you sir."

Now that Haihan has blocked the waterway of the Qiantang River, it is impossible for Qu Yutong to ride a fast horse for a day to Hangzhou. He can only walk by boat on the water. He must say hello to Haihan first, otherwise he will definitely have to go to Hangzhou on the way.

He was constantly intercepted by patrol boats on the river. And in order to avoid suspicion, it was inconvenient for him to go directly to the Haihan camp. He had to go to Hangzhou City first and meet with the big shots to get some air.

Xu Ke sent someone to release the news, and Qu Yutong's journey to Hangzhou was very smooth. Haihan even sent an "exploration-class" warship to escort him all the way to ensure that Qu Yutong would not go out of business on the way.

What's wrong.

Qu Yutong arrived in Hangzhou City smoothly, and was received by Wang Ji immediately after entering the city. In order to move his reinforcements from Ningbo, it took another two days to come and go. The situation in Hangzhou had already made Wang Ji really nervous.

Can't wait.

In the past two days, the Ming army did not try to launch another unnecessary offensive. Instead, Haihan's camp on the Qiantang River increased by thousands of garrison troops at a speed visible to the naked eye. And according to reports from horse scouts outside the city, Haihan shipped goods from a dock somewhere downstream.

Many artillery pieces were brought ashore and were being transported to the front line one after another. This was obviously a precursor to a big fight in Hangzhou City. Although Wang Ji and others were sure that it would be difficult to occupy too many places with Haihan's troops, if the other side wanted to

Even if you break into the city, make a fortune and run away, the tall Hangzhou city wall may not really be able to block Haihan artillery fire.

Recently, the rumors in Hangzhou have become more and more abundant. I don’t know where they started to spread, but they started to spread the various achievements of the Haihan Army in the South China Sea in the past few years. They defeated the Annan small court, the Folangji people, the red-haired people, and fought all the way from the South China Sea to the South China Sea.

Zhejiang seems to have never heard of a defeat. Although there are definitely some exaggerations, the people easily believe these unconfirmed rumors. After all, the Haihan army has been stationed outside the city for many days, but the Ming army obviously cannot come up with any information.

Any effective response method is enough to prove the strength of the Haihan Army.

The Haihan Army was not idle outside the city, so they set up an artillery position outside the camp and started practicing. Fortunately, their target was not Hangzhou City, but a house outside the city where the owner had already fled into the city.

, came to conduct live-fire target training. The rumble of artillery rang out, turning the house into dust. The defenders on the city knew that the target of the opponent's attack was not themselves, but they saw the solid brick wall turned into a pile under the impact of the artillery shells.

The piles of rubble still made me feel frightened.

Officials in the city believed that this was a demonstration by the Haihan Army, but no one dared to make a conclusion as to whether the Haihan Army would suddenly lose patience and turn the demonstration into an attack on Hangzhou City. And based on the Haihan Army's

With the number of artillery and combat capabilities currently displayed by the army, even Liu Feng, the commander of the capital, had to secretly rejoice that he did not send a large force of defenders out of the city to fight Haihan. Otherwise, if so many artillery were launched together, the number of casualties would be

The casualties must be a terrible number.

The sound of artillery coming from outside the city undoubtedly brought the already tense atmosphere in the city to the brink of collapse. Although the government had been telling the people that the city of Hangzhou was impregnable and that it was absolutely impossible for the Haihan army to break through this fortified city, there were frequent interruptions outside the city.

The continuous sound of cannons seemed to hit the government hard in the face. Although the Haihan army did not actually attack the city, many people in the city were already thinking about how to save their lives and property after the city was broken.

Those merchants who had trade dealings with Haihan in the past were originally a thorn in the side of the government a few days ago, but in recent days they have suddenly become a thorn in the side, and the threshold of their homes has been stepped down by visitors.

As we all know, the most influential thing about Haihan in Zhejiang is their trading system. Although the government has never recognized Haihan’s local trade rights, in fact many private businessmen have already established cooperative relationships with Haihan. Among them

There are also merchants who have officials providing support behind them. And everyone knows that these people have ways to contact Haihan, and even have some common interests. They are probably the ones who can protect the city after the city is broken. Naturally, there are many of them.

People want to seek safety through these ways - even if they can't hold Haihan's lap, they can borrow an eaves to protect them from the wind and rain.

Before the war started, most of the people in Hangzhou city had already collapsed. Historically, when the Qing army arrived in Hangzhou ten years later, the soldiers and people here would choose to surrender without a fight. It seemed that it was not in vain to open the city to welcome the Qing army.

There are no signs. You can tell from the current attitude towards the Haihan Army.

Of course, the social atmosphere will change to the current situation in just a few days, and it is not just the demonstration of Haihan troops outside the city. There are actually many Haihan informants who sneaked into the city in various capacities in the early stage, and it is precisely because of these

People in the city keep spreading all kinds of opinions and lead the government's negative rhythm, which will cause public opinion to quickly slide in a direction that is not optimistic about the results of the war. And the various yamen in the city clearly reacted to these public opinion offensives with some hindsight.

By the time it was noticed, it was too late to clarify, and there was no way to trace its source. Putting aside pure military strength, Shanghai Han also had a clear upper hand on the propaganda battlefield.

Under such circumstances, Qu Yutong, who volunteered to serve as the peace envoy on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, finally arrived in Hangzhou City, which was a life-saving straw for Wang Ji who was in a state of hot pot. Wang Ji didn't even have time to notify the military people to come, so he went ahead

He met with Qu Yutong alone. By the time Liu Feng and others came over after receiving the news, the two people were already in deep conversation.

"I have agreed with Mr. Qu that Mr. Qu will represent the Zhejiang Dusi and go out of the city to discuss with the Haihan people about withdrawing the troops. Do you have any opinions, sir?" Wang Ji waited for the people to gather and eagerly announced his decision.

Liu Feng responded: "It would be a bit dangerous for Mr. Qu to go to the enemy camp alone. In my opinion, at least a military attaché should go there to take care of him."

After hearing this, Qu Yutong knew what Liu Feng meant. Of course, he was not really worried about his own safety, but he couldn't trust himself and wanted to send someone to accompany him to monitor his words and deeds. But after arriving at Haihan Camp, it would be natural

Someone was taking care of him, but Qu Yutong was not worried about what Liu Feng's people might do. He bowed and said: "Thank you Mr. Liu for your concern. I came in a hurry. In addition, Ningbo's defense is very important, so I didn't bring any military attache with me.

The selection and arrangement are subject to the orders of the adults."

Liu Feng entered Qu Yutong without refuting, and agreed immediately. At that moment, it was inconvenient to object for the sake of objection, so he could only respond: "Then I will let the commander Qi Jieqi go with you. You will encounter many things."

Discuss and discuss, don’t act arbitrarily and fall into the trap of the Haihan people!”

Qu Yutong responded: "I just heard from Master Wang that Master Qi led his army out of the city to attack the Haihan Army a few days ago. I admire Master Qi's courage very much!"

Qi Jie was sitting next to him. Hearing this, his expression was a bit amused. He just cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qu!"

The last time Qi Jie led his army out of the city, he almost disrupted his position before the war started. After returning to the city, he was scolded by Liu Feng, and his subsequent actions did not allow him to participate in the front line again. Liu Feng did not care about Qi Jie

After following him for many years, he even wanted to remove him from his post. This time Qu Yutong took the initiative to ask Ying to talk to the Haihan people, so Liu Feng thought about sending a confidant to go with him, firstly to monitor Qu Yutong.

secondly, if the negotiation is really successful, then the military will also take half of the credit for the retreat. Qi Jie can also make up for it and save some face in the officialdom. Of course, if the negotiation breaks down, then let Qi Jie

Jie dumped the pot on Qu Yutong's head.

Wang Ji and others did not express any objection to the candidate proposed by Liu Feng. In the current situation, it is indeed better to have one more person. After all, the conditions previously proposed by the Haihan people were extremely harsh, and it was foreseeable that the negotiation process would not be particularly smooth.

, it is also good to have more brains to think of solutions. As for Qi Jie's military qualities, Wang Ji can no longer trust him after what happened last time, but now it seems that there are not many qualified candidates in Hangzhou. Qi Jie

After all, Jie is Liu Feng's confidant, and there is nothing to criticize in terms of loyalty. His political qualities may be more reliable than Qu Yutong, who has secretly interacted with the Haihan people for a long time.

While discussing negotiation strategies, the officials sent people out of the city to inform Haihan of the decision to negotiate the truce. Wang Tom had been impatient with waiting for the past few days, and finally agreed to the envoy's request when the real drama finally came.

.

So two hours later, the Jiangmen Gate in the east of Hangzhou City slowly opened, and the envoy team headed by Qu Yutong and Qi Jie left the city and headed towards the Haihan Camp. Wang Tom also sent his men out of the camp early and guarded the area outside the camp.

The defensive belt cleared a two-meter-wide passage, allowing the Ming envoys to smoothly enter the military camp.

Wang Tom also arrived at the gate of the military camp to greet him. Before he went north to Shandong, he had met Qu Yutong once in Ningbo, so the two people knew each other. However, in front of Qi Jie, an "outsider", they naturally had to pretend

They looked like they were meeting for the first time, so as not to reveal any flaws. After the two parties greeted each other, Wang Tom welcomed the two into the big tent, ordered his men to serve tea, and then started formal negotiations.
Chapter completed!