Jixian Courtyard is also considered a royal garden, but Han Xiufeng is not comfortable living here, and he doesn't know if he is asleep in a daze, anyway, he woke up in the morning, first went to the palace gate to hand over the sign, and then showed his waist card and went straight to the duty room of the Internal Affairs Office, drinking tea while waiting for the emperor to summon him.

As a result, the wait waited until noon, followed Datou all the way unimpeded, and came to Jiuzhou Qingyan between the front and back lakes, only to see a group of eunuchs from the Shengping Department wearing costumes, who were lining up to go to the Fengsan Selfless Palace.

The big head should have been on duty here, and said proudly as he walked: "Fourth brother, there is not only the emperor's throne and throne bed here, but also a stage, and the emperor listens to the play here for three days." ”

"Really?"

"What are you lying about, I heard that this is also the place where the emperor sets up a banquet to invite the clan, and the yamen of various ministries and the governors of various places present tributes to the emperor here." The more the big head spoke, the more energetic he became, and pointed to the east and said: "Over there is where the queen and the concubine live together, there are several courtyards, and each courtyard has a separate courtyard gate, what is called a family in heaven and earth!" ”

"It should be called 'Heaven and Earth One Spring', right?" Han Xiufeng said subconsciously.

"It's the same name, the emperor is the true dragon son of heaven, heaven and earth are a family, anyway, it's where the emperor's family lives."

As he was talking, the Jiuzhou Qingyan Hall arrived.

The big head didn't care about showing his knowledge anymore, so he hurriedly ran over to ask the guards on duty if the emperor was not inside, and saw that the imperial guards on duty looked at Xinuan Pavilion, and hurriedly ran to Xinuan Pavilion to report.

Han Xiufeng waited under the begonia tree in front of the hall for a short time, and the big head came out happily, looked sideways and said, "Fourth brother, the emperor let you in." ”

"Got it." Han Xiufeng dressed neatly, lifted the corner of his clothes and walked to the door of the hall, crossed the threshold and saw that the emperor was half-lying on the treasure bed looking at the folding, and hurriedly dusted off the horseshoe sleeves to greet St. Ann.

Xianfeng put down his fold, sat up and said, "Aiqing is here, get up and talk." ”

"Your Majesty."

"Have you seen Sushun?"

"Your Majesty, the minister saw Lord Sushun in Jixian Courtyard last night."

"Did he tell you anything?" Xianfeng asked in a low voice.

Han Xiufeng hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Lord Su Shun wants to ask the emperor to order your ministers to serve in Tianjin, but I am worried that the ministers are young and vigorous, and one of them will accidentally collide with the monk king." Thinking that the faux pas are small and the military affairs are delayed, I plan to ask the emperor to order his ministers to go to Tianjin to purchase materials for dredging the Nanyuan River Haizi, and by the way, take a look at how the fort is repaired, see how the military training is going, see if the arrangements for various anti-blockage are appropriate, and then report to the emperor. ”

Xianfeng actually thought about letting Han Xiufeng go to Tianjin to serve like Su Shun, but he was worried that Monk Lingqin would be stubborn and couldn't listen to Han Xiufeng's words, and Han Xiufeng's original errand didn't know how to do, so letting him go to Tianjin like this would make people think that he, the emperor, would change his order every day.

Hearing Han Xiufeng say this, Xianfeng felt that Su Shun had thought quite thoroughly, and subconsciously asked, "I want to know what you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that this arrangement is the most appropriate, if the emperor is gracious, then the minister will go once a month, half a month in Tianjin, half a month in Nanyuan, both sides can be taken care of, and the errands on both sides will not be delayed."

"Did Nanyuan's errand go well?"

"It's quite smooth, the minister has just received the news from Shanghai, and the 360 new foreign guns that were purchased from Shanghai a few years ago are already on their way to the capital, and they will arrive by the middle of next month at the latest. When those new foreign guns arrive, they will be distributed to the soldiers, and they will be able to form an army after two or three months of careful training. ”

"It's the same as the one used by the Yi soldiers?"

"It's not quite the same, the minister is incompetent, so he can only buy the kind of tap fire, the bird gun that the Yi soldiers are using now is not only the tap fire, but also the rifling is engraved in the barrel, and the lead is also special, which is more accurate and farther than our guns. However, the minister felt that as long as he practiced carefully, if he really went into battle, he would still be able to compete with the Yi soldiers. ”

Looking at the emperor's thoughtful appearance, Han Xiufeng continued: "The minister thinks that the matter of the river camp, especially the matter of foreign guns, is not suitable to be publicized now. If you don't even know about yourself, Xiyi won't even know about it, and then you can come to 'use the way of others to govern their bodies', as a surprise army, kill them by surprise! ”

Thinking that Xiyi suddenly started a war this time, which caught Gui Liang, Hua Shana, Tan Tingxiang and others off guard, which led to the fall of the forts on both sides of Tianjin Haikou and the collapse of the armies behind the forts, Xianfeng felt that Han Si had a good idea, but after thinking about it, he still asked: "Aiqing said that he didn't even tell Monk Greenqin?" ”

"The minister dared to ask the emperor not to let the monk know, and only by not letting him know can he have the determination to break the kettle."

"Well, then don't let him know."

"Your Majesty, when it comes to the monk king, the minister has something he wants to start."

"What?" Xianfeng asked curiously.

"Before the abolition of Houyitang, Fugui, a member of the Fujian Customs Commission stationed in Fuzhou, had summoned Fujian maritime merchants to persuade them to donate money to purchase foreign cannons, and the maritime merchants were dedicated to serving the DPRK and drifting across the sea to the South Seas, and after a lot of hardships, they finally bought 12 large and small foreign cannons, more than 80 barrels of gunpowder and more than 2,000 large and small iron bullets cast in wax molds in a place called Malacca. Fugui was worried that there would be a mistake on the way to the capital, and he didn't dare to follow the official report easily, so he could only take his family with him, gather the young and strong, and transport him back to Beijing on the grounds of returning to Beijing due to illness. ”

Xianfeng really couldn't remember who Fugui was, but when he heard the name, he knew that it was Manchu, and he couldn't help laughing: "This slave is also cautious, for fear that those cannons will make mistakes along the way and even the officials will not do it, this thing should really be said to Su Shun, we Manchu people also have people who can do things, not all bastards." ”

"This is natural," Han Xiufeng thought about it and bowed down again: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the reason why Lord Su Shun said that is actually because he hates iron and steel. ”

"Why don't I be," Xianfeng nodded slightly, and then muttered: "There is a shortage of cannons over there of Monk Greenqin, so let Fugui send those foreign cannons to Monk Greenqin." ”

"Obey."

"Then let Fugui return to Beijing after handing over the cannon to Monk Greenqin, and after so many years of errands outside, it is time for him to go home and take a look. As for the maritime merchants, let him report them to me and give them his grace. ”

"The Emperor Shengming!"

"Everyone says that I am a saint, but in terms of knowing people and being good at their duties, I am sometimes really not as good as Aiqing." Xianfeng sighed and muttered: "If it weren't for the big head telling me, I wouldn't have known that the guerrilla Sha Chunyuan and others who were martyred were all recommended by Aiqing to Tan Tingxiang, and Chen Hu, the deputy general of the Guizhou Zunyi Association, was the same, and the wealth I just said was also one." ”

When the emperor mentioned Chen Hu, Han Xiufeng chuckled in his heart, and couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, Chen Hu...... How did Chen Hu become a lieutenant general, is he ......?"

Thinking that the big head had said that Han Si had the habit of keeping "account books", Xianfeng realized what he was worried about, picked up the teacup and said: "Don't worry, Chen Hu is fine, he can be promoted to vice general Jiang Feiyuan, the governor of Guizhou." If it weren't for the big head, I wouldn't know that he was also from Heying. ”

"The ministers are disagreeing in front of the king, and I ask the emperor for forgiveness."

"Aiqing, this is a soldier like a son, and only a soldier like Aiqing will use his life, how can I cure your crimes."

After confirming that Chen Hu was okay and was promoted, Han Xiufeng finally breathed a sigh of relief, thought about it and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, when it comes to knowing people and being good at their duties, the minister really doesn't count, the minister just does things according to his conscience, and just treats people with sincerity." Besides, the emperor, you are the Son of Heaven, all you think about every day is the major events of the military aircraft, and the people you summon are all civil and military ministers, how can you have time to summon those thousands of generals, it is normal to not know and not be familiar with them. ”

"Also, I haven't even seen it, how can I know that the people I use are not honest, and I can't talk about knowing people well."

"Isn't this Prince Hui, Prince Yi, Prince Zheng, Peng Zhongtang, Bai Zhongtang, and Lord Su Shun? The emperor, you still have ministers, and the ministers should share the emperor's worries. ”

"You can't afford to wait, I won't live up to you, I'll be here today, Aiqing kneel down."

"The minister retired."

"Wait," Xianfeng thought for a while, and then said: "Monk Lingqin reported yesterday, saying that in Tongzhou and other places, food is expensive, and it is difficult to send defense officers and soldiers to buy food. I have ordered him to visit the situation and increase his rations as a sign of mercy. And the Shuntianfu passed on the members who managed the grain platform. Compliance as a whole. But the sea is blocked, tens of thousands of Shicao grain can't be transported, they try their best to not be able to raise grain, Aiqing isn't going to Tianjin, by the way to visit Tianjin and other places to see if there is any surplus grain, if there is a local meeting with Changlu salt transport envoy Chonghou to organize, reimbursement directly to Sushun. ”

"Obey the order!"