Tianjin won the battle, the defense of Gyeonggi was not as tight as before, and although Prince Hui was still the nominal minister of the patrol king, he almost no longer bothered about the affairs of the battalions. After all, a prince can't always control military affairs. Han Xiufeng, who had just been demoted to one level and retained, did not need to go to Prince Hui to listen to it, and returned to Nanyuan to continue to "dredge the river Haizi".

At the same time, Wang Qianli, Yongxiang, and Wang Hedong also quietly brought back more than 300 brothers who had gone to Tianjin.

They traveled hundreds of miles back and forth, did not fire a single shot, and did not even show their heads in Tianjin, even if they had no merit, they had hard work. Han Xiufeng was worried about low morale, so he specially asked Temulun to send people to a nearby village to buy six big fat pigs and some chickens, ducks and fish, and even prepared more than 100 jars of wine to catch the wind for the brothers and wish them "triumph".

The barracks were full of men, and it was inconvenient for Ren Yu'er to join in the excitement, so she cooked and ate in her own small courtyard with Ren He's wife Liu and Ji Lu's wife Fucha as a few days ago.

said that they were doing it, but in fact, they only used to pick vegetables, burn the fire and fry tea, and those smoky work, such as Lian'er and other maids and mothers.

After picking the vegetables, Fucha cleaned his hands, took out the melon seeds he brought in the morning, and said indignantly: "Yu'er, why does that Xu Yushi always have trouble with the fourth master, I heard my master say that because his fourth master was demoted by one level!" ”

"Yes, Yu'er, did that person take the wrong medicine, I heard the fourth master in my family say that he didn't offend him." Liu couldn't help but ask.

Ren Yu'er didn't like to eat melon seeds, to be precise, she felt that it was unsightly to eat melon seeds, so she picked up the needle and thread, and while helping Han Xiufeng sew open the clothes, she said helplessly: "My fourth brother has not offended him, but someone has offended him." ”

"Who?" Fucha asked curiously.

"Those bastards guarding the big red gate, this matter was only found out by Master Temulun a few days ago."

"Those bastards guarding the door?"

"I heard Master Temulun say that the surname Xu was so poor that he couldn't open the pot, so he thought of my fourth brother and wanted to come to us to fight the autumn breeze. He was so poor that he only had an official uniform, and it was full of patches, and he was reluctant to wear it on weekdays, and the tattered outfit he wore when he came looked similar to that of Hanako. ”

"Those bastards guarding the door didn't let him in?"

Not only did he not let him in, but he didn't help to report it, but when he saw that he was lying at the gate of the palace and didn't leave, he also said crazy words, so he beat him, and beat him with a blue nose and swollen face. He held a grudge and became angry with the fourth brother, so as soon as he made up the imperial history, he went against my fourth brother. ”

"But it's none of the fourth master's business!"

"You and I know, but the surname Xu doesn't know." Ren Yu'er thought for a while, and said with a little disdain: "Those errand bastards guarding the door, surnamed Xu, don't know the general situation and don't know the reason. He didn't want to think about what kind of place this was, if he had trespassed on the royal garden a few decades ago, he would have been beaten, or even lose his head! ”

Liu Shi groaned: "Think about it carefully, this Xu is not very reasonable, this is Nanyuan, and it is not the fourth master's private residence, the guards are all officials who eat the emperor's grain, and they are not the fourth master's family, how can they be angry with the fourth master because he was beaten by the official?" ”

"So his sage books are in vain, and he has done them in vain all these years." Ren Yu'er paused, and then said: "But listen to my fourth brother, the reason why he is ungrateful is not just because he was beaten at the palace gate. ”

"Or because of what?" Fucha asked.

"Don't look at him as a Hanlin official, but the past few years have not been satisfactory, and this life is not as good as the people nearby, so naturally he will not have any friends, and Shangguan will not treat him very much. In other words, although he was an official of the imperial court, he had little knowledge. finally made up for the imperial history, and he naturally wanted to toss some movement in order to become famous. But he didn't know how to talk about it, so he could only take revenge and talk about the people he knew best. ”

Liu is different from the illiterate Fucha clan, she was born in a scholarly family, she can be called knowledgeable, and she can't help but murmur: "Yu'er, according to what you say, as long as it is the imperial history, you will impeach others?" ”

"Almost, the timid impeach the petty officials, the bold impeach the big officials, and the bold dare to advise the emperor."

"There are still people who dare to say that the emperor is not!"

"Yes, there are many, Lord Zeng Guofan, the soldier who led the troops in Liangjiang, I don't know if you have heard of it, Lord Zeng made a mistake when he was an official in Beijing, but Lord Zeng is not the imperial history."

Talking about this, Fucha couldn't interject, couldn't help but change the topic, and said with a fluttering eyebrow: "Yu'er, do you remember the Fujian maritime merchant who came to meet the fourth master at noon ago?" ”

How could Ren Yu'er forget that not only did he send thirteen foreign cannons to Monk Greenqin, but also followed Fugui to Nanyuan the day before yesterday and sent a thousand taels of silver to the fourth brother, Huang Delu, a Fujian businessman, subconsciously asked: "Remember, what's wrong with him?" ”

"The emperor doesn't know if he's too busy to be available, anyway, my second uncle has already led him to the gate of the palace, and the emperor has issued an order saying that he will not be summoned."

"He didn't make it?"

Although he didn't meet the saint, he didn't lose either. I heard from my family that the emperor not only rewarded him with a four-grade top belt and a Taoist title, but also rewarded him with a pair of big purses. The emperor's grace was vast, and he happily kowtowed a lot at the gate of the palace, breaking his forehead. ”

Ren Yu'er thought to himself that he had offered twenty-three foreign cannons before and after, and rewarded him with a nominal four-grade official body and a pair of big purses, and the emperor did not lose anything in this transaction, and he didn't know what to say, Fucha said with some loss: "Isn't it okay over there in Tianjin, he plans to go back to Fujian in the next few days, the old man will send someone to pass the word early this morning, let my family take a leave with the fourth master, and go back to see him off tomorrow." ”

Ren Yuer knew very well that Fugui and that Fujian maritime merchant were not just friends, Fugui was in Fujian a few years ago, and he didn't know how much benefit he received from those maritime merchants, and he felt that it was also appropriate to send wine to others, so he couldn't help laughing and said: "This fake, my fourth brother will definitely approve it." ”

"If the fourth master doesn't allow it, I'll come to you then."

"What's the use of looking for me."

"Please help my family Jilu talk to the fourth master!"

Looking at the appearance of the Fucha clan squeezing her eyebrows, and then looking at Ren Yu'er, she seemed to be a little unhappy, Liu realized that Ren Yu'er felt that the Fucha clan had misunderstood her relationship with the fourth master, and hurriedly said: "Yu'er, I almost forgot to ask, my aunt was dismissed, did the fourth master help him find a new errand?" ”

Speaking of the pillar, Ren Yu'er said helplessly: "He doesn't plan to be an official anymore, he wants to go back to his hometown, even his luggage is packed, just wait for my fourth brother to nod." ”

"It's not difficult for the fourth master to help him find another errand, why are you in a hurry to go back to your hometown?"

"He doesn't want to cause trouble for my fourth brother, and he doesn't want to drag my fourth brother down."

"Where does this start?"

Ren Yu'er sighed and patiently explained: "Last year, the Shuntian Kechang case not only investigated those corrupt officials and scholars, but also investigated many people who helped their families seek officials. was troubled by that Xu Haoran, and now everyone knows that he is my fourth brother's brother-in-law, and as long as he is an official in Beijing, someone will gossip. ”

"It's a pity to just go back to my hometown like this."

"yes."

"Did the fourth master nod?"

"I didn't nod for a while, but ...... But I think my fourth brother will nod his head nine times out of ten. ”

……

Just as they were talking about the pillar, the pillar had just finished toasting the soldiers who had returned from Tianjin with Han Xiufeng, Rong Lu, Wang Qianli, Yongxiang and others, and returned to the "handsome tent" in the center of the camp.

As soon as Han Xiufeng sat down, Wang Qianli asked eagerly: "Fourth master, does the emperor have any new will for Tianjin?" ”

"In the past few days, two edicts have been issued."

Han Xiufeng took the tea from the pillar and said with a wry smile: "When the warships of England and France passed through Shanghai, didn't Xue Huan report through He Guiqing's 600-mile expedited performance, the emperor thought about calming things down at that time, and felt that Huang Zonghan's stay in Guangdong would 'hinder the pacification bureau', so he ordered Huang Zonghan to be the governor of Sichuan, Lao Chongguang, the governor of Guangxi, to be the governor of Guangdong, and Wang Qingyun, the governor of Sichuan, to be the governor of Liangguang, and to Lao Chongguang to act as the governor of Liangguang before Wang Qingyun arrived.

Now that the war has been won, and England and France have been offended to death, the emperor felt that Britain and Buddhism should be dissipated, so he changed his mind and ordered Huang Zonghan, who was hated by foreigners, to return to Beijing to listen to it, and no longer let Huang Zonghan go to Sichuan to continue to be the governor. ”

"Foreigners now hate not only Huang Zonghan, but also the monk Grinqin." Rong Lu raised his head coldly and said.

"Monk Greenqin just won a big battle, not to mention the civil and military officials, even the peddlers and pawns think that Monk Greenqin is a great hero and a pillar of the Qing Dynasty. No matter how much foreigners hate Monk Greenqin, the emperor cannot remove Monk Greenqin from his position, let alone cure Monk Greenqin's crimes. ”

Han Xiufeng took a sip of tea, and then said: "The day before yesterday, the squire Guorui, who served under Monk Lingqin, returned to Beijing, and was summoned to see him as soon as he entered the city. Listening to Brother Bochuan say that the emperor asked about the battle of Dagukou in every detail, he not only granted the promotion, promotion, and promotion requested by the monk Greenqin, but also rewarded a pair of royal cigarette bottles and a pair of hour watches in advance, and ordered the country to be handed over to the monk Greenqin. ”

"A pair of cigarette bottles and a pair of Western watches?" Wang Qianli couldn't believe it was true.

"It's good to start a war with foreigners without a will, and to be rewarded." Looking at Wang Qianli's appearance of wanting to speak and stopping, Han Xiufeng said again: "Tianjin is a great victory, the emperor originally didn't want to publicize it. As a result, overnight, the whole capital knew. If it weren't for the uproar, Monk Greenqin might not even be able to catch the Western watch of the smoking pot. ”

"But ......"

"Don't do it, let's get down to business. Qianli, Yongxiang, Hedong, the three of you have seen with your own eyes how Monk Greenqin repelled the foreigners, and we will have to compete with the foreigners sooner or later, talk about how Monk Greenqin won this battle, and whether there is anything we can learn from. ”

Speaking of business, Wang Qianli hurriedly put down the teacup and said: "Fourth master, I thought that the reason why I was able to win this battle had a lot to do with the fact that the foreigners underestimated the enemy. They did not expect that so many officers and soldiers were ambushed and so many artillery pieces were placed above and below the fort, and they did not expect that the officers and soldiers defending the platform were different from the officers and soldiers they had encountered before. ”

Han Xiufeng muttered: "It can be seen that Monk Lingqin led the troops well, otherwise the soldiers would not have used their lives so much." ”

Wang Hedong was not convinced, and couldn't help but say: "Fourth master, we treat our brothers well, even better than him to his brothers!" I think the reason why he was able to win this battle was by surprise and by firearms! ”

"By firearms?"

"If there were no twenty-three foreign cannons sent by the rich man and the Fujian merchant, relying on the copper and iron cannons he cast in Tongzhou and those small cannons collected from other places, he could hurt the foreigners' gunboats?" Wang Hedong paused, and then said: "Later, when I repelled the foreign soldiers who came ashore, I relied on all shotguns and guns. ”

As soon as Wang Hedong's words fell, Yongxiang couldn't help but say: "Fourth master, I can see it clearly with clairvoyance, and the fifty tap guns he got from Hedong before came in handy. His own soldiers, armed with guns of rifles, not only loaded quickly, but also fought accurately. And those shotguns didn't hit a few foreign soldiers at all, so they made some movement to scare and scare foreigners. ”

"Where's the gun?"

"Not to mention the guns, I saw with my own eyes a few people who carried guns, not only did they not aim carefully, but they couldn't even hold it steadily, they lit a fire, and instead of hitting foreigners, they overturned themselves."

"It's not that they didn't aim carefully, it's that those Qiu Ba were afraid of exploding and didn't dare to think about it." Wang Hedong added: "Those shotgunners are the same, fortunately, there are many people, fortunately, they dug trenches and built walls in advance, and the foreign soldiers are all trapped in the mudflats and become their live targets, otherwise this battle will never be so easy to fight?" ”

Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice: "So there was no hand-to-hand combat from beginning to end, and there were no white knives in and red knives out?" ”

Wang Qianli confirmed: "No, so it all depends on firearms." ”