Chapter 1179 Peace Negotiation
After leaving Hangzhou, the official document from the Chief Envoy of Zhejiang traveled across Shaoxing from Hangzhou to Ningbo at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. It only took one day to reach the prefect's Yamen in Ningbo 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, Haihan's special envoy.
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 can 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. After Haihan sent troops from Zhoushan, Xu Ke stationed in the prefect's Yamen as a new staff member and was responsible for delivering news between the two sides.
When the Haihan Army first arrived in Zhejiang, Xu Ke acted as the leader and 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 had long decided to cling to Haihan's thigh. In addition, his identity was easier for Haihan to trust than the locals, so he spent more than a year after Haihan settled in Zhejiang. After becoming prosperous, he appeared as Haihan's spokesperson on many occasions, and came forward to contact all parties in the Ming Dynasty on Haihan's behalf. Being assigned to Qu Yutong as a temporary staff member this time also fully reflects the trust that the Dinghai Port Management Committee and local government officials have in him.
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, Qu Yutong may not even have the opportunity to appear. All have to be lost. And he went through all the trouble to find Haihan to plan this big drama. His purpose was to stand up and play the role of a "loyal minister who saves the country" in times of crisis, and in this way, he could keep his lucrative position as the prefect of Ningbo.
Of course, Qu Yutong actually knew that the Haihan people were willing to help him, but it was just a move along the way. Since the mysterious disappearance of three high-ranking 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 the joints that can be managed have been taken care of. , the final resistance basically concentrated on the senior officials in Zhejiang Sansi Yamen. These senior officials consider their political future more than short-term personal economic gains, so it is difficult to get them to change some existing rules with money. The only effective way is probably to use force to create a certain scale of chaos in Zhejiang and force these officials to submit based on their political future.
If he were not in the Ming Dynasty's camp, Qu Yutong would actually agree with Haihan's idea that attacking the enemy must be rescued. As long as the weak spots of high-ranking officials are targeted, it is not impossible to change the attitude of the Zhejiang officials. It's just that as a member of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, he also knew that his behavior was actually 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. Take a handful.
Xu Ke handed the official document back to 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 misunderstandings."
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 on the water by boat. He must say hello to Haihan first, otherwise he will definitely have to go to Hangzhou on the way. They were 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 to 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. After entering the city, he was immediately received by Wang Ji. In order to move his reinforcements from Ningbo, it took two days to come and go. The situation in Hangzhou made Wang Ji really unable to wait.
In the past two days, the Ming army did not try to launch any unnecessary offensive again. Instead, Haihan's camp on the Qiantang River increased its garrison by thousands at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, according to the reports from the horse exploration outside the city, Haihan transported a lot of artillery ashore from a dock somewhere downstream, and they 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 opponent wanted to break through the city and make a profit, the tall Hangzhou city wall might not be able to block Haihan's artillery fire.
Recently, the rumors in Hangzhou have become more and more abundant. I don’t know where they started to spread, but the various achievements of the Haihan Army in the South China Sea in the past few years have been spread. 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 defeat. Although there are definitely some exaggerations, it is easy for the people to 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 effective response. This is enough It proves 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 the city of Hangzhou, but a house outside the city whose owner had fled into the city for live-fire target training. The rumble of artillery sounded, turning the house into dust. The defenders at the top of the city knew that the target of the attack was not themselves, but they still couldn't help but feel anxious when they saw the solid brick walls turned into piles of rubble under the impact of the artillery shells. Terrified.
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. Moreover, with the number of artillery and combat skills currently displayed by the Haihan Army, even Liu Feng, the commander-in-chief of the capital, had to secretly rejoice that he did not send any more large garrison troops out of the city to fight Haihan. Otherwise, with so many artillery launched at the same time, it would be impossible The casualties that will result 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 intermittent attacks outside the city. The continuous sound of cannons seemed to hit the officials 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 wealth after the city was defeated. 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 doorsteps of their homes have 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 trading rights in the local area, in fact many private businessmen have already established cooperative relationships with Haihan, and many of them have official 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 be safe after the city is broken. Naturally, many people want to seek safety through these ways—— Even if you can't hug Haihan's thigh, it would be nice to be able to borrow a roof to keep out 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 civilians here would choose to surrender without a fight. It seemed that it was not unreasonable 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 constantly spread various 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 outcome of the war. The various yamen in the city were obviously somewhat belatedly reacting to these public opinion offensives. After they became aware of it, it was too late to clarify it, and there was no way to trace its source. Putting aside pure military strength, Shanghai Han also has 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 personnel to come, so he met Qu Yutong alone. By the time Liu Feng and others received the news and rushed over, the two people were already in deep conversation.
"I have agreed with Mr. Qu that Mr. Qu will go out of the city on behalf of the Zhejiang Dusi to discuss the withdrawal of troops with the Haihan people. 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 so that he can have someone to take care of him."
Upon 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 with him to monitor his words and deeds. However, after arriving at the Haihan camp, there were naturally people to take care of him. 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 appointment was arranged according to your orders.”
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 leave it to the commanding officer Qi Jieqi to 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 own 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. Not because Liu Feng had Qi Jie following him for many years, he even considered dismissing him. This time Qu Yutong took the initiative to invite Ying to negotiate with the Haihan people, so Liu Feng thought about sending a confidant to go with him. Firstly, he would monitor Qu Yutong's words and deeds. Secondly, if the negotiation was really successful, this would be a great success in retreating the troops. , the military also has to account for half, Qi Jie can also make up for it and save some face in the officialdom. Of course, if the negotiations break down, let Qi Jie put the blame entirely on Qu Yutong.
Wang Ji and others did not express any objection to the candidates proposed by Liu Feng. In this current situation, it is indeed better to have one more person. After all, the conditions previously proposed by the Haihan people are extremely harsh. It is foreseeable that the process of this negotiation will 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 is Liu Feng's confidant after all, and he is loyal in terms of loyalty. There is nothing to criticize, and his political quality 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 an armistice. Wang Tom had been a little impatient with waiting for the past few days. Finally, the main event came and he immediately agreed to the envoy's request.
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 to clear a two-meter-wide passage from the defensive belt outside the camp, allowing the Ming Dynasty envoy to enter the military camp smoothly.
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 The way you look when you meet 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 began formal negotiations.
(End of chapter)