If you want to talk about new things, there are really a lot of new things that the princes and ministers in Beijing don't know or don't believe. For example, the "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom" compiled by Wei Yuan, the former Gaoyou Zhizhou, the princes and ministers in Beijing have never seen it, and even if they do, they will turn more than ten pages, and they will not be able to read it again.

Because that set of books originated from Lin Wenzhonggong's "Chronicles of the Four Continents", Wenzhonggong wrote it relatively simply, maybe he didn't know much about Xiyi at that time, anyway, it is said that the "Chronicles of the Four Continents" written by him was originally prepared to answer Daoguangye's inquiries when facing the saint, for example, England is a country presided over by a twenty-year-old woman, and her uncle always wants to usurp the throne, so she has no intention of fighting with the Qing Dynasty and so on; The United States is a country governed by thirteen heads and so on.

Moreover, Wei Yuan's "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom" is a bit similar to the collection of copies like the Siku Quanshu, many of the contents in the hundred volumes are copied without proofreading, and the curious nonsense in other people's books is retained intact, so in the eyes of readers, it is nonsense, in fact, when Han Xiufeng was in Hai'an, he also read "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom" as a monster book like "Journey to the West".

What's more, the "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom" is too complete and too detailed, from the Nanyang countries to the small states of India, one by one, I don't know where England is after reading it.

As for the composition of the English army, he only said a rough idea of Xiyi's artillery and Xiyi's warships, and he couldn't make people understand, and Han Xiufeng could even imagine that Wei Yuan, who hadn't really dealt with foreigners, probably didn't understand it very well.

Han Xiufeng was sure that the emperor and the princes and ministers were not interested in what was recorded in the Atlas of the Sea Kingdom, and only eagerly wanted to know how big the territory of England, Flemish (France) and Michijian was, how large the population was, and how strong was the strength? I wonder how the Three Kingdoms of Yingfomi can defeat the Qing Dynasty if they really start a war with the Qing Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Han Xiufeng finally had a bottom in his heart about how to answer the inquiries of the princes and ministers and even the emperor, put away the folded pieces and other official documents, and let Gu Jinyan, who was also sleepy and hungry, come in and wait for him with pen and ink, and he mustered up his spirit to draw a map and draft articles.

……

Just when he was concentrating on writing the book, there was the sound of bangs and cloud boards outside, and the two Manchu and Han generals had arrived at the Yaya, and the two deputy envoys of the Manchu and Han dynasties, as well as the senators, experience, governors, and pen posts, went to the lobby to meet the two general political adults, and then went back to their respective public houses to start a day's official business.

The busiest are the scribes of the Initiation Section, the Manuscript Room, the Officials' Room, the Rite Room, the Upper Room, and the Fire Room, who have just received boxes of inscriptions and attachments from various provinces today, to register and make a book, to check the items on the list, to confirm that there are no omissions in the process of postal transmission, and then to review the format of each item by category, to confirm that it is no longer possible to report the governors and experiences in charge of each item, and the Manchu and Han Dynasty experiences or governors in charge of each item, one is responsible for reviewing, and the other is responsible for using the seal on it...... Wait for a set of procedures to go down, and only after the approval of the two general politicians can it be sent to the cabinet.

When Gonggong Liu left at night, he said that there would soon be an adult summoned for inquiry, Han Xiufeng was in a hurry to prepare and didn't care about what was going on outside, and Li Daosheng, the general political envoy who was sitting in the lobby drinking tea, and Shuangfu, the new general political envoy, not only knew that Han Xiufeng was coming, but also knew what Han Xiufeng was busy with.

Before being promoted to the general political envoy, Shuangfu and Li Daosheng were colleagues, both were cabinet attendants, and the relationship was not very good, but there was no contradiction, and now they get along well with each other as general political envoys.

Thinking of the minions in the teahouse gathered in the corner and whispered when they came in just now, as if they were saying that the new senators didn't understand the rules, not only rewarded them, but also didn't even come to the lobby to meet Master Tongzheng, Shuangfu couldn't help but smile and said: "Brother Guangpu, I heard that this Han Xiufeng donation from the Ministry of Officials just distributed is really strange, and it is the first time I have heard of a senator from a donation background." ”

Li Daosheng also felt that Han Xiufeng's coming to the General Administration Department to be a senator was simply insulting, and he sighed helplessly: "If you want to talk about the background of donation, the cabinet has the same, and Wen Zhongtang is really it, and he is actually guaranteed to come to our General Administration Department!" ”

"I thought he was Master Peng's person, but I really didn't expect Wen Zhongtang to protect him. It's really a guy who can drill camp and walk the way. ”

"Brother Yuzhi, Gonggong Liu said it clearly when he came yesterday, you and I should turn a blind eye." Li Daosheng thought for a while, and said meaningfully: "As far as I know, he has some relationship with Master Peng, and Master Peng has also made sure to recommend him, but that is all in the past, and it is purely an expedient measure." Now that he is here to be a senator in my political department, Master Peng probably thinks it is as ridiculous as you and me. ”

Thinking that Peng Yunzhang was an orthodox scholar and would never do such a ridiculous and generous thing, Shuangfu asked curiously: "What happened in the past, what is expedient...... Brother Guangpu, how do you say this? ”

"The newcomer, Han Xiufeng, once acted as the governor of Songjiang Prefecture and the governor of Jiangjiang Customs for a few days. And this Songjiang Prefecture Haiphong Tongzhi and Jiang Customs Supervisor was brought by Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu, who had already reformed Jiangsu. ”

"It turns out that he is the person brought by Xu Naizhao!"

"As for the expedient measure, wasn't Changmao still entrenched in Jinghai at that time, when Wu Tingdong of Yongding River asked for the rectification of the river camp and the defense of Gyeonggi. And this Han Xiufeng happened to have led the soldiers to fight, and it seemed that he had won a battle, and he had cut off more than 400 long hairs, and Lord Peng saw Xu Naizhao's face, so he recommended him to act on the south bank of the Yongding River. ”

"I see," Shuangfu reacted, and couldn't help blurting out: "Brother Guangpu, so he has some connections in the same year as yours who quelled the chaos in Shanghai!" ”

Speaking of this, Li Daosheng smiled bitterly: "Yang Jianhou impeached him, but he didn't get a good result. However, although Han Xiufeng failed to be the political envoy of Jiangsu because of this, thinking about Xu Naizhao's fate, thinking about Ji Hang'a's failure to stop Xiyi from making the emperor angry, he can be regarded as a blessing in disguise. ”

"It's really a blessing in disguise," Shuangfu thought about it and sighed: "Xiyi is extremely cunning and capricious, and his dealings with Xiyi are not so easy to fight!" ”

"I don't know if Wen Qian can let Chief Yi return south this time."

"Brother Guangpu, we can't take care of the apology, and we can't take care of it, let's think about the things in front of us."

"Brother Yuzhi, what do you mean by this, what can you and I do in front of us?"

"The one who just came," Shuangfu put down his cup and pointed to the direction of Han Xiufeng's public house, and said worriedly: "The errand he did had nothing to do with my political secretary, but Han Zhan Kedao didn't know, and the emperor issued an edict ordering you and me not only to vent, so if something really happens in the future, you and I can't get out of it!" ”

Thinking that the civil and military officials who negotiated with Xiyi would not end well, Li Daosheng suddenly felt that Shuangfu's words had some truth, but after thinking about it, he frowned and asked: "Everyone is here, the matter has come to this point, what else can you and I do?" ”

"Yes, people are coming, it's impossible to let him roll up and leave, it seems that he can only keep him away from you and me."

"Stay away?"

"Let him go to the Dengwen Drum Hall, you and I can't see it, and there are few people over there and nothing to do, just right for him to do his errands, if the emperor and Wen Zhongtang ask about you, I will be fine."

"That's a good idea, so it's decided."

As soon as Li Daosheng's words fell, a pen post came to report: "The two general political adults, the new senator Han Xiufeng Han asks to see him." ”

Shuangfu and Li Daosheng glanced at each other, turned around and said, "Please." ”

"Huh."

Han Xiufeng, who had just finished his work, straightened his official uniform, dusted off his sleeves, walked into the lobby under the guidance of the pen, bowed and said, "Xiaguan Han Xiufeng meets the two general political masters. ”

"Brother Han doesn't need to be polite," Shuangfu looked at it curiously, and asked with a smile on his face: "Brother Han, I heard those minions outside say that you arrived at night, and as soon as you arrived, you were busy running errands, and you must be very tired after a day of travel and staying up all night, right?" ”

Before I came, I thought that the political envoys were Li Daosheng and Meng Bao, but after chatting with the experience on duty for a while at night, I realized that Meng Bao was only a general political envoy, not a real political envoy. And the Shuangfu in front of him, who was born as a translator and once served as a cabinet scholar, is the political envoy.

The first time he saw his boss, although he was very tired, sleepy and even hungry, Han Xiufeng still smiled and said: "Lord Tongzheng, the lower officials are deeply favored by the emperor, and they should serve the imperial court and share their worries for the emperor!" ”

"A good one should serve the court, and a good one should share the emperor's worries! Brother Yuzhi, I'm not wrong, Brother Han is really loyal and brave! Li Daosheng laughed.

On other occasions, it is a real boast to praise you for your loyalty and bravery. But this is a noble general administration department yamen similar to Zhan Shifu, what is important is that he is a high eight buckets, and the one he looks down on the most is Qiu Ba, praising you for being loyal and brave is equivalent to scolding you for being a martial artist!

Han Xiufeng didn't expect Li Daosheng to be so faceless, thinking that his background was indeed low, his cheeks suddenly became hot, and he was embarrassed to find a crack in the ground to get into.

Shuangfu knew that Li Daosheng wanted to help Yang Nengge vent his evil anger, but he didn't want to offend Han Xiufeng, who was a saint and would even enter the palace to face the saint later, hurriedly snorted, got up and said: "Brother Han, Wen Zhongtang may send someone to summon him later, you can't go like this, why don't you quickly find a place to wash and change into a clean official uniform." ”

"Lord Xie Tongzheng is sympathetic, and the lower official is preparing to take leave to clean up."

"Let's just go to the Dengwen Drum Hall, it's quiet over there, and it's easy to freshen up," Shuangfu smiled, and then said: "The errand you do is different from the errand of others, and Master Li and I can't ask, but there are many people here, and it is difficult to ensure that there are no mistakes, so it is better to move over there, and by the way, take care of a mess over there." ”

The people were dissatisfied with the judgment of the local yamen, and felt that they were wronged, and often released cruel words about "Beijing control", that is, they came to the capital to sue the emperor.

The royal complaint is divided into three kinds: "royal court", "general form" and "drum form", the royal complaint is to intercept the royal driver and shout injustice, this kind of thing is only in the drama, one is that the emperor rarely goes out of the palace, and second, the son of heaven travels so many guards, there is no chance to stop, even if there is a chance, he can't stop it; The "Tongzhi" is to come to the Tongzheng Department to deliver the letter, and the "drum" is to go to the Dengwen Drum Courtyard located in the east of the Yamen of the Tongzheng Division, behind the Luan Yiwei, to beat the drum and voice the grievances.

Shun and Kang dynasties were set up full, and one member of Hanke Dao was on duty in the Dengwen Drum Academy, and after Yongzheng Ye ascended the throne, he found that there was no one to beat the drum and voice grievances all year round, so he reformed the system and ordered the general administration department to accept complaints, and the Dengwen Drum Courtyard also became the Dengwen Drum Hall of the General Administration Division. Later, the Beijing controller went directly to the Shuntian Mansion, the Metropolitan Procuratorate or the Yamen of the infantry army commander to deliver the letter, and the outer feudal clan went to the Imperial Court, and over time, the "drum-shaped" and "through-shaped" words gradually disappeared.

Although no one will beat the drum to complain all year round, it is a place to sue the emperor after all, Han Xiufeng never thought that Shuangfu would plan to let him move to the Dengwen Drum Hall, and he felt a little funny. Thinking of it again, there are indeed many people here, and it is not appropriate to handle the affairs here, so he hurriedly bowed down and said: "Thank you for the care of the two general politicians, it is better to be respectful than to obey the order, and the lower officials will move to the Wengu Hall." ”

Although Shuangfu didn't like Han Xiufeng, a subordinate who was born in donation, he didn't want to offend Han Xiufeng, so he thought about it and said: "Brother Han, you move first, and I will let you send the official money, food and silver and monthly public funds." Originally, the experience of being on duty in the drum hall can be left if you want to stay, and if you don't want to stay, let him come back, and the same is true for the soap who was originally on duty there. In short, you can't be delayed on an errand. ”