Chapter Nineteen: A Pie Falls from the Sky

  The red candle flickers, today is Su Hongniang and Ye Zhao's "big happy day".

  On the second day after Luo Erjiu returned from Liu Lichuan, he boarded a ship with his fellow brothers of the Tiandihui to Hong Kong, lest they be discovered by the Manchu authorities after staying for too long.

  No matter whether it was Ye Zhao's identity or the relationship between Ye Zhao and Su Hongniang, they were all confused and didn't dare to guess further.

  Su Lao Da had also moved out early, even if Ye Zhao wanted to meet him, it was extremely secretive. Moreover, Rui Si Er and the old master did not know that Su Hong Niang and Su Lao Da were siblings, so on this happy day, Ye Zhao could only drink a few cups with Rui Si Er and the old master, who took on the title of matchmaker. As for Rui Si, he naturally felt that this was Xiao Shao Nai discussing the master's favor, although it couldn't be an official marriage, but also privately gave her a name.

  Rui Si'er was even thinking that if she could gain favor with the young mistress like this, it wouldn't be impossible for her to enter the imperial household after completing this task and returning to Beijing. She might even become the master's concubine, and who knows, maybe one day she would become the legitimate Zheng Wang Fu's secondary wife?

  He Rui and the old man drank a few cups of wine, and auspicious words were naturally heard in abundance. When Ye Zhao got drunk and went upstairs, it was estimated that it was almost three watches at night.

  "How did you end up drinking?" Ye Zhao knocked on the door, and Su Hongniang couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows when she saw Ye Zhao. It was rare to see this little scoundrel drink, seemingly only the first time they met when he had a bit of wine, but only slightly intoxicated.

  Ye Zhaowu's mind was clear, and he smiled: "Today is a happy day for both of us, we've had two cups, that's enough. You rest, I'll go back to my room and sleep alone!"

  As he spoke, he turned around and staggered towards his own room. Su Hongniang looked at him helplessly, biting her red lips, as if she had been hesitant for a long time. Just when Ye Zhao was about to push open the door of his room, Su Hongniang finally couldn't bear it and shouted: "Wait a minute, stop!"

  Ye Zhaos eyes widened in surprise as he turned around, somewhat perplexed.

  Su Hongniang walked over, supporting him and scolding: "You're already a big man, but you still act like a child. Moreover, there's no one to serve you by your side, aren't you the eldest brother of the Prince's family?"

  Su Hongniang's small white hands grasped Ye Zhao's arm, and he felt a numbness in half of his body, unaware of how he had stepped into the room.

  "Sit down first, lean back, I'll help you make a hangover soup." Su Hongniang helped him onto the couch and gently swayed her hips as she walked out of the room.

  Ye Zhaoyang shook his head and felt a bit better.

  Suddenly, a deafening explosion was heard outside, and the ground shook several times.

  Ye Zhaoyi was stunned for a moment, then immediately stood up, and Su Hongniang also walked in quickly, saying: "It seems to be a foreign cannon."

  Ye Zhaowu nodded slightly, walked to the window and pushed it open. Outside, the sound of gunfire and cannons boomed, and the cries of killing shook the sky. In the distance, flames seemed to have dyed half the sky red in an instant.

  "The foreigner can't help it!" Ye Zhaogazed into the distance and chuckled.

  Su Hongniang worriedly said: "I don't know how Liu Dage and the others are doing?"

  "It will be known tomorrow morning." Ye Zhao didn't have a personal stake in it and wasn't particularly concerned about the fate of the Xiaodao Will crowd.

  "Wishing for Wan Yunlong's protection!" Su Hongniang clasped her hands together in a devout manner.

  Ye Zhao just smiled: "That's no better than asking me for blessings, if your Wan Yunlong brother really had a spirit, the Tartars would have died without a place to bury them."

  Su Hongniang glared at him, but she was already familiar with this guy's disrespect for the gods and didn't bother to argue with him.

  "What a wonderful day, I've given you a great gift. Go back to your room and sleep, the good show has just begun." Ye Zhaohao said with a smile, stretching out her hand to close the window.

  ……

  The noise outside continued until the fish belly turned white and gradually subsided, while Ye Zhao slept soundly. The messenger who came from the Qing army's camp in the morning asked to see him, but it was Su Hongniang who called out to wake Ye Zhao up. Su Hongniang had been sleepless all night, and seeing Ye Zhao open the door with sleepy eyes, she couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.

  Ye Zhao met the messenger in the flower hall and listened to the messenger's account of the battle situation. Because the Qing army had been on high alert for internal strife, the first wave of attacks launched by the foreign merchant team did not cause chaos among the various units, but instead repelled the attack under a bloody battle. Later, the merchant team made several probing attacks, but ultimately failed to make any progress due to the lack of movement from the Small Swords Society rebels in the direction of Shanghai County.

  The letter brought by the special envoy was a personal letter from Xun Naiyuan, the Governor of Jiangsu, asking the imperial commissioner to mediate and negotiate peacefully with the foreigners.

  Ye Zhaowen immediately returned a letter, telling Xu Naiquan and Gill to come to his own headquarters with peace of mind. Although the Qing government had indeed taken unbelievable actions such as detaining people's families and consular officials, and decades later still had such inexplicable behavior, it was thought that foreigners like Alvey would not dare to do so. Not to mention whether this behavior is appropriate or not in the eyes of Westerners, just in this concession area, there are only a few people, and now they don't even want to provoke another dispute.

  Ye Zhao wrote another letter to the British Consul, A. G. Vans Agnew, asking him and other consuls involved in the war to come to his headquarters for talks, and repeatedly guaranteeing their personal safety. What can you do? Who made us appear untrustworthy and barbaric in their eyes?

  ……

  Ali Khan and the American Consul, Mr. Wooten, arrived first, but before they could exchange a few words of greeting, the noise outside grew to such a pitch that Ali Khan and Mr. Wooten were both startled and turned pale.

  No sooner had Xu Naiji and Ji Heng'an arrived than a high-ranking official from the Board of Revenue, a high-ranking official from the Provincial Administration, with three to five hundred soldiers and militiamen, surrounded the entrance of the Imperial Commissioner's Yamen, making it impossible for water to leak through. Outside the garden, several foreign soldiers looked anxiously at the sea of soldiers and militiamen opposite them, their faces also filled with fear.

  Ye Zhaowei went out, and Xu Naiyuan looked very good. As he walked hand in hand with Ye Zhaowei into the courtyard, he whispered to Ye Zhaowei's ear: "Sir, there is a happy message. After repelling the foreigner's provocation, our army took advantage of the victory to pursue and attack, and defeated the Small Sword Society bandits in one fell swoop, recovering Shanghai County."

  Ye Zhaos secretly smiled to himself, knowing that the small knife would lead the troops to abandon the city and break through, but ultimately be discovered. However, Qing officials would naturally not yield in terms of military merit, so with a turn of his head, the credit for recovering Shanghai City would fall onto the head of the Governor-General.

  Entering the main hall, the British and American consuls sat on the right side, Xu Naiqiang, Gil Hwang-ah and Ye Zhao sat on the left side, which was indeed a clear distinction.

  Ye Zhaowu no longer spoke in English at this time, and like Xu Naiquan and Ji'er Hang'a, he would say one sentence and then translate it into another language.

  Ari Country first complained angrily about the Qing army's looting of the concession, and Xu Naiyuan and Gil Hanga were both somewhat embarrassed and didn't know how to respond. Moreover, although they had prepared for battle last night when they clashed with the foreign gun team, they actually suffered a big loss. Among them, the team leader was injured, and only two green camp soldiers were among the dozens of officers and men who died in yesterday's conflict, and one battalion commander went missing.

  Ji'er Hang'a was still relatively calm, but Xu Naiquan was really a bit afraid when facing foreigners.

  "Your Excellency, we will certainly investigate the matter you have reported. If what you say is true, we will not tolerate any soldiers who have violated military discipline. However, Your Excellency's sudden and stealthy attack on our Qing army camp is something that requires explanation."

  When Yu Zhao spoke, Xu Naiquan and Ji'er Hang'a both stroked their beards and nodded. As an old official, Xu Naiquan was delighted to hear the young imperial envoy speak out, so he called on him to discuss it further. Whether they succeeded or not, there would still be room for maneuvering, and it would also be easier to talk to those above, with less risk of getting into trouble.

  Ariya calmly said, "The imperial envoy is wrong, isn't he? Last night it was clearly your country's soldiers who disturbed the concession, and we fought back, capturing several prisoners who rushed into the concession, one of whom was an officer."

  Ye Zhao felt a bit helpless, and indeed, one could deceive others at the negotiating table, but how did he end up being captured?

  Xu Nai-zhuang held his teacup and said without raising an eyebrow: "This is impossible, Consul, you must have mistaken the person!"

  Now that the translation is out, it's Ali Guan's turn to be surprised. Obviously, there are prisoners of war, how can they still not acknowledge them? Looking at Xu Naiyuan, he was speechless for a moment.

  Ye Zhao intervened in a timely manner: "Consul, I think no matter who is right or wrong in this dispute, things have come to this point, and I hope to stop the fighting and put down our arms." He then turned to Xu Naiyuan and said: "The Governor will also restrain his troops and not leave any remaining strength, won't he?"

  The county town of Shanghai has been recovered, and it is only natural that there will be no more garrisoning of large numbers of soldiers and braves. Conflicts with the concessions will not arise again either. Xu Naiquan smiled and said: "That's natural, please rest assured, Consul."

  Ye Zhaoyu said to Ali and Wajcott, "The two consuls, let's discuss the customs affairs tomorrow morning. Do you have time?"

  The two consuls looked at each other and nodded in unison.

  Just as Xu Naiji and Gill Hwang-ah thought they had reached a successful conclusion, Ariya said again: "Regarding the safety of the concession area, I hope to determine it in a regulatory manner."

  Xu Naiqiang and Ji Erhang were both secretly worried, now the easiest way to get into trouble was to sign some kind of treaty with foreigners.

  Ye Zhaoye smiled and said: "The Consul must also know that we don't have this right and responsibility."

  Ariya knew that among the three, only this imperial envoy had some responsibility and insight. He looked at Ye Zhao and said: "Don't worry, it's just a few trivial documents related to customs affairs. I'll send them over later, you can take a look."

  Ye Zhaoyang nodded slightly, and Xu Naiquan and Jierhan A saw that they didn't have their own relatives, so they breathed a sigh of relief and regained their composure.

  Xu Nai-chuan was thinking to himself how to write the victory report, and it turned out that last night's defeat was not a big loss thanks to this brother from Beijing. Although the victory report did not need to mention the conflict with foreigners, at most it would be vague, but yesterday's casualties were definitely recorded as part of the bloody battle with the Small Sword Society. Therefore, this achievement should have a large share for the imperial envoy, and he would be carried in a sedan chair by people, which is a kind of favor that comes naturally, so why not do it? In this way, when the imperial envoy returns to Beijing, he will speak well of himself and will not expose his own shortcomings.

  Ye Zhao was unaware of a great achievement descending from heaven, and was only thinking about how to respond when discussing border affairs with several countries the next day.