Chapter 26: The Minister of Peace Negotiations

  That night they arrived in Daxing and everyone found a carriage shop to rest. The next morning, they set off again, and when the sun was high at noon, the team arrived outside Beijing City.

  The city wall of Beijing is both high and thick, majestic beyond compare. If it weren't for the arrival of the firearms era, relying solely on traditional siege methods, it would be almost impossible to capture Beijing. The tall city gate was not closed, and the flames of war burning across the country had not reached here. The defense was not strict, Zhang Shiping revealed the name 'Taiyu', and the gate-keeping officials let them pass without checking their goods.

  The city streets are crowded with countless small vendors walking through the alleys. Unlike what is shown in movies and TV shows, the people on the street are not dressed in luxurious attire, but rather in tattered and worn-out clothes. Many people's clothing appears to have not been washed for at least ten years, looking old and dirty, which, combined with the grayish-black color of the stone pavement and buildings, gives the entire city a dull grayish-black hue.

  Zhang Shiping led the crowd to Yutai's branch in Beijing, unloaded all kinds of goods, and the shopkeeper had already received the notice and cleaned out several small courtyards for everyone to rest.

  Li Mingfeng still enjoyed high-end treatment, living alone in a room. This time he walked for more than a month and didn't even have the chance to take a bath. Finally having a place to settle down, Li Mingfeng immediately took a bath first.

  After changing into clean clothes, in the courtyard where Li Mingfeng was resting, Zhang Shipei ordered a banquet to be set up. Only the owner of Beijing Yutai and Qin Cheng accompanied him, while the other soldiers who followed them to Beijing were driven away by Qin Cheng to take a bath and have fun.

  After observing from many sides, Li Mingfeng had long known that Qin Cheng was a talented and bold figure, but because he came from a peasant background, with no ancestral influence and no family wealth, and the imperial examination did not pass the eight-legged essay, so he could only be suppressed at the bottom. From his willingness to go undercover in the enemy camp, it is clear that Qin Cheng would risk even his own life to get ahead, this kind of person absolutely has ambition.

  Li Mingfeng wants to stand firm in this era and not have his life controlled by others, he must have his own power. Currently, the only power that can be borrowed is from foreigners, but the relationship between Li Mingfeng and foreigners is also just a mutually utilitarian one. The foreigners want to use Li Mingfeng to get more benefits from the Qing government, while Li Mingfeng is using the foreigners' power to gain his own influence.

  One day, foreigners will appear, and there will be others who can replace Li Mingfeng. If he cannot meet the requirements of the foreigners, then Li Mingfeng's situation will become embarrassing. At that time, whoever wants to manipulate him will succeed. To prevent this from happening, Li Mingfeng must have his own power.

  Currently, there are only two people available, one is Zhang Shiping. This person understands the domestic and international situation, has a clear view of the overall trend of the world. Originally, Li Mingfeng wanted this person to be his military advisor, but later found out that this person's family was wealthy and influential, and would not be willing to work with him wholeheartedly. They could only cooperate, wanting to bring him under his wing was impossible.

  Only Qin Cheng is left, this man has ambition but also has courage. More importantly, he currently lacks wealth and power, just a small official, to fly high and bring glory to his ancestors, it's definitely not possible to walk his own path steadily. This time in the capital, seeing Qin Cheng actively requesting to follow him, Li Mingfeng knew that this guy had also figured out this point, so he put his treasure on himself.

  Li Mingfeng was just the right person to use at this time, and in order to win over Qin Cheng, he was also invited to this dinner party. Chinese people like to discuss things while eating, so this dinner, which was supposed to be a casual gathering, was actually a meeting.

  Li Mingfeng, Zhang Shiping and Qin Cheng were seated at the table listening to Liu Zhuanggui recounting the recent movements of the imperial court over the past few months.

  After the Anglo-French army marched north, they bombarded the Taku Forts in early April. The Qing army's weapons were too simple and could not resist, and within a few days, the Anglo-French army had already reached the outskirts of Tianjin City.

  "The foreign ships are strong and their cannons are powerful, the various officials of the imperial court all say that it is not possible to fight against them and agree to negotiate a peace treaty. The Emperor also has no intention of going to war with the foreigners, so he summoned back Qiying, who is familiar with foreign affairs, and awarded him the title of Shilang, and appointed him as the Imperial Envoy to negotiate the peace treaty. Two days ago, Qiying had already left Beijing for Tianjin to negotiate the peace treaty."

  Li Zhuanggui not only does business but also takes charge of gathering information for the Zhang family, after all, this is the imperial capital, where news arrives quickly and in abundance.

  Li Mingfeng turned his head and asked Zhang Shiping: "Wasn't the procession we saw on our way here Qiying's funeral?"

  "It's all right then." Zhang Shipei replied, and after finishing his words, he turned to ask: "Isn't the Emperor very disgusted with Qiying? Why did he use him again this time to negotiate a peace treaty?"

  "Guiliang, the university scholar, and Shana, the minister of the Board of War, had already gone to Tianjin. However, due to their unfamiliarity with foreign affairs, they were unable to negotiate with foreigners, so the Emperor sent Qiying there." Liu continued to say.

  "Mr. Li, I think we must arrive in Tianjin early, otherwise the contract will be finalized and...". Zhang Shiping was most concerned about the negotiations, if they were late, his wealth dream would also be shattered.

  "It's settled then, let's take a rest today and set out early tomorrow morning. We must arrive in Tianjin before the contract is finalized." Li Mingfeng slapped his hand on the table, confirming their itinerary.

  A few people were neat and tidy, doing things without dragging their feet. After finishing dinner, they immediately rested. On the second day at dawn, before it was light, Zhang Shiping, who was anxious, had already called everyone up.

  This time it was from Beijing to Tianjin. This road is still relatively peaceful, so Qin Cheng brought a dozen or so agile soldiers with him to cover up.

  'Taiyu' is also considered a big shot in Beijing, with plenty of silver to spare. He bought over ten fine horses and everyone mounted up, racing straight for Tianjin.

  All the way without a word, the distance between Beijing and Tianjin is about 300 miles. With fast horses, they arrived at the foot of Tianjin City before dark. Nowadays, foreign troops are heavily besieging the city, and Tianjin has closed its gates.

  After studying under the city wall for half a day, they still couldn't find a way to enter the city. Zhang Shipei suggested that they should directly go to the foreigners' camp and surrender to them.

  Several people under Qin Cheng's command went to inquire nearby, and soon the person who went caught a farmer from a nearby village and asked him. They learned that the British and French coalition forces' warships were moored on the shore of the White River. Taking advantage of the fact that it was not yet dark, they forced the farmer to lead the way, and more than a dozen people rushed to the shore of the White River on horseback.

  In the distance, dozens of giant warships were lined up on the river, their massive black cannons pointing at the nearby Tianjin City. Zhang Shipei and Qin Cheng both thought they had seen the world, but seeing these gigantic warships that were ten times larger than usual still left them in awe and fear. The foreigners' ability to win every battle was indeed impressive.

  Qin Cheng was a Qing soldier after all. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Mingfeng had these people rest in place here, and he boarded the ship alone.

  Recognizing the flagship, riding a horse nearby, someone shouted in English: "Halt"