Han Xiufeng returned to the "Houyi Hall", arranged the "hall affairs", and rushed to Wenxiang's house in the inner city overnight.

Wen Xiang learned that Rong Lu was targeted by Su Shun, and Su Shun probably had the evidence that Rong Lu was guarding and stealing, so he was so angry that he sent someone to call Rong Lu overnight and scolded him angrily.

Rong Lu was so frightened that he couldn't give up, and he didn't ease his mind until Wen Xiang finished scolding, and said uneasily: "Brother Bochuan, it's wronged, no matter how poor my Rong Lu is, I don't dare to swallow the treasury silver privately......"

"When are you still quibbling, if it weren't for Zhixing this time, you would have been imprisoned in the Criminal Department!"

"I didn't take it personally, I ...... I just let Siqian and Wuyu exchange tens of thousands of taels of silver. I know it's not in order, but if I don't let them redeem it, I'm neither stable nor long! ”

"Four Qian" refers to the four official silver coins of Qianyu, Qianfeng, Qianyi and Qianheng set up by the household department in the third year of Xianfeng, which are called "four silver official numbers"; "Wuyu" is the "Yu Datong" ticket number set up by the minister who managed Qian Tiewang in the fourth year of Xianfeng, because it is divided into five money shops, Yusheng, Yuheng, Yuqian, Yutai and Yufeng, so it is called "Wuyu official number".

The reason why these nine official ticket numbers were set up was because the imperial court had no money, and even the official salaries of civil and military officials could not be issued, let alone the military salaries needed to suppress bandits and quell the chaos in various places.

Iron money can't be used, and no one dares to accept it when buying things, let alone official tickets and treasure money that sometimes can't even be exchanged for iron money. In addition, it is government-run, and the real principals are all household officials, so the accounts of the nine major ticket numbers are not only bad accounts, but also as long as they are handled by the people, they are all public and private.

Han Xiufeng realized that it was difficult for him to "get out of the sludge without staining", and subconsciously asked: "Zhonghua, so what is in the warehouse should be silver, but you, the silver banker, have received a lot of money or even treasure money?" ”

"I wanted to take the cash, too, but they said no!"

"I don't want to take care of their affairs, and I can't take care of them, I just want to know if you have taken advantage of them."

"They...... They gave me three thousand taels. ”

Wen Xiang was even more angry, pointed at him and roared: "You actually dare to accept this silver, and if you accept the benefits of others, you are embarrassed to say that you are wronged!" I think you're tired of life, do you really think Su Shun doesn't dare to ask for your head? ”

At the mention of Su Shun, Rong Lu's scalp was numb, and he knelt down with a puff and said: "Zhixing, I was wrong, I was confused, I ...... I'm obsessed, I'm ......."

"What's the use of talking about this now, get up first, get up and talk about it."

"But ......"

"It's nothing, but, it's good to be able to get out of the way now," Han Xiufeng weighed it, and then said: "Ming'er will send the three thousand taels to the silver treasury in the morning, and then find an errand to quit the silver treasury from the beginning, and then stay at home honestly and don't go out again!" ”

"Did you hear that?" Wen Xiang asked with hatred of iron.

Rong Lu reacted and hurriedly said: "I heard it, I will go back to prepare the silver, and I will go to the yamen to quit the errand as soon as it is dawn." ”

……

Rong Lu lost his official position and couldn't complain about others, so he could only blame him for himself.

Wen Xiang sent Rong Lu away with a belly of fire, sat down and sighed: "It's really mud that can't support the wall, fortunately he was favored by the emperor first at that time, if his errand is guaranteed by you and me, even you and I have to be implicated!" ”

"In the end, I'm still too young, and this career is too smooth, it's easy to get carried away, and I don't know how sinister officialdom is." Han Xiufeng sighed lightly, picked up the teacup again and said with a wry smile: "I bet that the gang of Siqian and Wuyu will not have good fruits to eat in the future." Su Shun took Zhonghua out before he started, this face is bigger, and I Han Xiufeng also owes a lot of this favor. ”

Wen Xiang quickly calmed down, stared at Han Xiufeng and asked, "Zhixing, why is Su Shun suddenly so good to you?" ”

"What else can it be, one is because of the previous friendship, and the other is because of the current situation."

"The current situation?"

"He is now not only the secretary of the Ministry of Rites who manages the domain and the Honglu Temple, but also the emperor's most trusted minister, as long as it involves the affairs of Xiyi, he can't do without a charter. If the emperor asks, Peng Zhongtang can pretend to be deaf and dumb, he can't say one, two, three, four. ”

"So you suddenly found out that 'Houyitang' is useful?"

"It's pretty much the same, but what's the use of taking Houyitang seriously?" Han Xiufeng put down the teacup and said helplessly: "When I returned to the bookstore this afternoon, I saw an urgent report sent back by the Nanhai Branch, and I felt cold in my heart, I can't hide from this battle, and I can't win it!" ”

"What kind of emergency report, what did Wang Naizeng and Yun Qijun say?"

"They sent someone from Hong Kong to get a supply list for the brave soldiers, and the soldiers were given nine taels of biscuits or one pound of bread, two taels of tea, five taels of salt, six taels of rice, half a pound of meat, two taels of sugar, two taels of pepper, and half a pound of wine. In addition, he also ordered Bingyong to buy vegetables and fruits, saying that if he did not eat vegetables, melons and fruits, he would be prone to scurvy. ”

"The foreign soldiers eat so well, they have meat every day!" Wen Xiang was taken aback.

"There are also those who don't eat meat, Yunqing said in the urgent report that the Madras infantry regiment transferred by Yingyi from India, because most of them are indigenous Indians, and many of them return and don't eat meat. Therefore, two catties of rice or flour are rationed every day, and half a catty of beans called pigeon peas, in addition to ghee, spices, salt and sugar. Han Xiufeng stared at Wen Xiang closely, thought about it and sighed: "Five or six thousand soldiers, Brother Bochuan, you calculate how much food and salary they spend a day." And they are not the masters of losing money, in other words, they have to earn back twice the money they spent. ”

Who will pay for the silver spent by Yingyi, to put it bluntly, this account will eventually be calculated to the imperial court.

Wen Xiang realized that a big battle was inevitable, but the imperial court still didn't really take it seriously, and just didn't know what to say, Han Xiufeng said solemnly: "It's getting colder and colder here, but it's very hot in Guangdong, but Wang Naizeng and Yun Qijun actually found out that Yingyi had distributed warm clothes to the transferred soldiers, and the soldiers from India had sent them before they came." For those soldiers who were transferred from their home country, warm clothing was distributed in Hong Kong.

Regardless of whether the sailor or the land division is counted as one, they are all given a blanket, a fur coat, a fur hat, a thick coat, a cloth military uniform coat, a cloth military trousers, two flannel shirts, two undershirts, two pairs of wool socks, one pair of boots and one pair of ankle boots, in addition to the purchase of various types of stoves in Hong Kong! ”

Guangdong is not cold, even in the cold winter, the wax moon is as warm as spring.

Yingyi distributed warm clothes to so many soldiers, and what to do with the stove, the result can be imagined.

Wen Xiang realized that the situation was imminent, and was silent for a while before asking in a low voice, "Have you told Su Shun about these things?" ”

"It's not too late, but it's useless to report it to him."

"You can't do nothing."

"That's what I'm here for."

Han Xiufeng glanced up at the door, confirmed that Xu Jiu was guarding outside, and said bluntly: "Brother Bochuan, I can't hide it, I have asked Qingxian to send a letter to Wang Naizeng, asking him to quickly and properly settle the families of Nanhai, Xin'an and other semi-colon personnel. On Chonghou and Han Chen's side, I had already greeted each other privately when I was inspecting Haiphong in Tianjin. Now that the capital is left, some things are better prepared in advance. ”

"Zhixing, what do you mean by that?" Wen Xiang was stunned.

"Hurry up and find someone to send my sister-in-law back to her hometown in the Northeast!"

"You mean that foreigners will come to the capital?"

"If you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what happens, after all, only by coming to the capital can they get what they want." Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "I have already explained to Qingxian in the bookstore, and then he will quietly send the official file to Wanping, and Cuihua and other female relatives will also send them back to their hometown as soon as possible." In short, the big war is imminent, and we cannot afford to worry about the future. ”

"It's not appropriate, is it?" Wen Xiang asked with a bitter face.

"No one will say anything if they send their families away now, and it's really inappropriate to send them out of the city until then."

"Zhixing, I know you're thinking about me, but for such a big deal, you have to let me think about it carefully."

"Okay, but don't think about it too long."

"I know."

Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, thought about it and said: "Then Zhang Qingyu and more than 50 other soldiers of the river camp transferred from Gu'an, the guns were all given to Monk Greenqin's personal guards, and Monk Greenqin did not treat them badly, and arranged for them all to go to the patrol camp. Yongxiang estimated, counting the previous transfer from the river camp, there were at least two or three hundred of our people in the infantry yamen. ”

"What can two or three hundred soldiers do?" Wen Xiang asked in a low voice.

"In battle, two or three hundred soldiers are not of great use. But if the foreigners really come to the capital, and the city is in chaos, these two or three hundred soldiers can be of great use. You and I are deeply favored by the emperor, but we can't let the emperor get into danger, and when 100,000 are in a hurry, you can summon them to escort the emperor out of the city. If the guards are not chaotic and we don't need to escort them, they can still help send Chonghou and the others out of the city. ”

"You're preparing for the worst."

"What else can I do?"

Wen Xiang pondered for a moment, and shook his head: "If the foreigners really kill the city, the emperor can't go out of the city, and if the emperor goes out of the city, the hearts of the army and the people will be chaotic!" ”

"But you can't watch the emperor fall into the hands of an enemy!"

"Zhixing, I know you're worried about the emperor's safety, but I can't listen to you about this matter."

Han Xiufeng realized that although Wen Xiang had been the treasurer of the "Houyi Hall" for several years, he was still a literati in his bones, and if a foreigner really came to the city, not only would he not steal his life, but he would even dissuade the emperor from fleeing like those pedantic officials, so he could only say helplessly: "Brother Bochuan, I know that you are worried about the Jiangshan Sheji, but I, Han Xiufeng, am deeply favored by the emperor, and I must not watch the emperor get into danger." If I really get to that point, I will fight to the death to protect the emperor. If anyone dares to stop me, don't blame me for being ruthless! ”

"You ......"

"Brother Bochuan, you are a person who does great things, but I, Han Xiufeng, am not! I don't think about it so much, and I don't care what others say about me, I just want to repay the emperor's long. ”

Wen Xiang then remembered how difficult it was for Han Xiufeng to be the current Shaoqing of the Taifu Temple, and then remembered that he was the emperor's person, and was silent for a long time, then got up and said: "Zhixing, you didn't say what you said just now, I shouldn't have heard it." If we really go that far, you and I will have our own destiny. ”