When he was the head of the guild hall before, Han Xiufeng rarely even came to the inner city, let alone Xiyuan. I thought that Xiyuan was just a royal garden, but I didn't expect Xiyuan to be so big (Zhongnanhai), and I followed the little eunuch to turn left and right, and my legs were about to break, so I came to the legendary Ziguang Pavilion.

The emperor, who had been separated for nearly a year, was sitting in front of the palace to watch the Eight Banners soldiers practice martial arts such as foot shooting, Su Shun and the military department Shangshu Bai Ye, the Ministry of Industry Shangshu Peng Yunzhang and the other two princes and ministers who had never seen before were lined up on both sides of the imperial case, and the imperial guards in yellow coats were far away in a circle, and even the eunuchs could not get close.

Under the leadership of a guard, Han Xiufeng stepped forward and bowed.

Xianfeng knew that Han Xiufeng rushed to the capital in a hurry, and he didn't sleep for eight or nine out of ten nights, and he didn't blame Han Xiufeng for his disgrace in front of the king because of his disheveled clothes. ”

Seeing that Su Shun and the others were all standing, Han Xiufeng hurriedly said, "Emperor Xie." ”

Xianfeng picked up the teacup and said lightly: "Prince Zheng, don't you have something to ask, hurry up and ask." ”

"Huh!" The prince closest to the imperial case bowed down to receive the order, and then looked at Han Xiufeng, who had just retreated to the side under Su Shun's signal, and asked, "Han Xiufeng, I heard that you have dealt with Xiyi and know how to deal with Yiyi?" ”

Han Xiufeng realized that he was Su Shun's half-brother Prince Zheng Duanhua, and hurriedly bowed down and said, "Lord Wang, if you want to say that you know how to understand Yiqing, you don't dare to be an official." However, when Xia Guan was acting as the governor of Songjiang Prefecture and the governor of Haiphong and Jiang Customs, he had dealt with Xiyi for several months. ”

Duanhua, the person recommended by his younger brother, was actually not very relieved, looked up and down at Han Si, who was a little embarrassed, and asked expressionlessly: "Have you watched all the foldings that the emperor ordered you to watch?" ”

"Lord Wang, the lower officials have seen it all."

"Then you say that Xiyi wants to trade and it is not that there is no treaty port, why do you have to revise the treaty?"

"Lord Yu, as far as the officials know, Yingfo Mi Sanyi is mercenary, and nine times out of ten they think that there are too few treaty ports, and they feel that they don't earn enough money from my Qing Dynasty."

"The human heart is not enough to swallow the elephant?"

"It should be."

"But as far as I know, they don't make less money from my Qing Dynasty."

Han Xiufeng peeked at Su Shun, Bai Ye, Peng Yunzhang and others, and realized why the emperor summoned him in this way, because it was inconvenient for the emperor to speak a lot, so he could only ask Prince Zheng to help ask. At the same time, Bai Ye and Peng Yunzhang and other military aircraft ministers can't know anything about Xiyi, and not everyone can go to the military aircraft department, so it is most appropriate to call him here for the military aircraft ministers to question.

Thinking that the emperor was also listening, Han Xiufeng pondered his thoughts and said with a heartache: "As the prince said, Yingfo Mi Sanyi has not earned less money from my Qing Dynasty. On more than one occasion, he disguised himself as a common man and went to the Yingyi Wharf on the Huangpu River to investigate, and watched the Yishang let the porters carry boatloads of tobacco and soil ashore, and watched the Yishang carry boxes of silver earned from our Daqing Dynasty or bags of raw silk tea purchased from our Daqing Dynasty onto the ship.

At that time, the lower officials wondered, thinking that they had earned all the money, why did they not sell it when they got cheap. Later, the acting governor of Songjiang Prefecture, Haiphong Tongzhi and the superintendent of the Jiangxi Customs, was ordered to negotiate with the consuls of the three countries of Britain and Foshan, and contacted several merchants who did serious business, only to find out that the three countries of Britain and Buddha were heavy on commerce rather than agriculture, and their people did not want to farm, or set up workshops with hundreds or even thousands of people to weave cloth, or build ships and trade abroad. ”

It was the first time Prince Zheng had heard of these things, and he was stunned for a while, while Bai Ye, Peng Yunzhang and others were thoughtful.

Han Xiufeng took a deep breath and continued: "Compared with the Yi merchants who do serious business, the Yi merchants who do tobacco and soil trading are in the minority after all. And as far as the lower officials knew, Xiyi knew that tobacco was a harmful thing, and it was not allowed to be bought and sold in the country. The Yi merchants who did tobacco and soil trading made a lot of money, but the Yi merchants who bought and sold seriously did not make much money, so they naturally would not be happy, so they wanted to repair the contract, wanted to open more treaty ports, and wanted to sell cloth and other commercial goods to the people of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Bai Ye reacted, frowned slightly, and said, "Han Xiufeng, you are quite considerate of those Yi merchants!" ”

"Lord Zhongtang misunderstood, Xia Guan is deeply favored by the emperor, how can he help Xiyi speak? The lower officials are just talking about the matter, and they just report what they know to the adults. ”

"The ancients were loyal to their ears, so what's the harm in listening to the truth." An old man took over the conversation, stared at Han Xiufeng and asked, "So the Yi chieftains such as Roaring and Ci Deling are called repairing the contract, but they are really here for trade?" ”

"Han Xiufeng, this is Wen Qingwen Zhongtang." Su Shun reminded coldly.

Han Xiufeng hurriedly bowed down and said, "Lord Yuzhongtang, Xia Guan has been transferred to Zhili for nearly a year, and I don't know the situation in Shanghai. However, the following officials' understanding of Xiyi shows that the chieftains of Yi such as Roaring and Ci Deling should have come for trade this time. However, Xiyi is extremely cunning and capricious, and as far as the officials know, in the first half of this year, his people in Shanghai had exchanged fire with the officials and soldiers, and Lord Gilhang'a could only take care of the overall situation in order to quell the chaos, and it is difficult to say whether they have encouraged their arrogance, and it is difficult to say whether they will take risks this time and start a war lightly. ”

Bai Ye realized that the emperor summoned Han Xiufeng to listen to the truth, and couldn't help asking: "Han Xiufeng, you have dealt with Xiyi, and you have also led troops to fight, if you want to provoke, can we win this battle, can we repel it?" ”

"Lord Yuzhongtang, the fold says that Roar brought five gunboats this time. Xiyi ships are strong and sharp, if they fight a naval battle, the lower officials say a frustrating word, and there is a chance that they will not win. However, no matter how strong the ship is and how good the cannon is, it will not be able to go ashore, and the lower officials estimate that there will not be more than 300 soldiers who can go ashore, as long as the soldiers of Shanhaiguan and Tianjin Town use their lives, it will not be difficult to repel it. Han Xiufeng had made up his mind before he came, and he couldn't say anything to death, so he paused and continued: "But the ancients and the soldiers are also major events in the country, and the lower officials think that before the Yue bandits are pacified, it is better not to start a war with Xiyi." ”

Wen Qing felt that Han Xiufeng's words made some sense, thought about it and asked: "You have seen all those folded films, and you also know the unreasonable conditions proposed by Chief Yi, and the imperial court naturally cannot agree, what if they are angry and have to provoke?" ”

"Lord Yuzhongtang, the lower officials really don't know what to do for such a big matter, but the lower officials think that the Yi chieftain has brought five gunboats, and the total number of soldiers under his command is three or four hundred, even if they are annoyed and angry, they will weigh whether they will bring humiliation on themselves." Han Xiufeng peeked at the emperor, who was still silent, and continued: "The lower officials estimate that they will be intimidating nine times out of ten, such as if the imperial court does not agree to their conditions, they will help Changmao, etc., but they have been colluding with Changmao a lot in recent years, and they have sold guns and cannons to Changmao!" ”

"In this way, it is enough to be strict and correct and know the benefits and disadvantages, so that they know that I am not cowardly in provoking?" Wen Qing asked.

"Lord Yuzhongtang, since it is a negotiation, Chief Yi can naturally go ashore, but the Yi soldiers cannot, and the Yi soldiers can only stay on the ship. As far as the lower officials know, the water and food prepared on the ship can at most be used by the shipwrights, sailors and soldiers. Consume for two months. As long as the coastal defense is strengthened and it is strictly forbidden to do business with our people, they will return to the south honestly in a month and a half at most, otherwise they will die of thirst and starvation. ”

Looking at everyone's thoughtful looks, Han Xiufeng struck while the iron was hot and said: "However, Xia Guan thinks that this is just an expedient measure, with Xiyi's jackal nature, they will definitely not give up after they return, so Xia Guan implores you to prepare early." ”

Thinking far ahead, knowing that he had to take precautions, Wen Qing felt that the talent recommended by Su Shun was good, and he felt that he had not promoted the wrong person, so he couldn't help asking: "Han Xiufeng, what preparations do you think the imperial court should make?" ”

"Lord Yuzhongtang, although the lower officials have not read a few military books, but they also know the truth that they know that they can survive a hundred battles, and the reason why the frontier of my Great Qing Dynasty can be stable is because of the Li Domain, it is said that there is even a Russian Pavilion in the Li Domain, not only there are people who are fluent in the Russian language, but also have a special person to inquire about the news of the Russian Yi. On the other hand, we know very little about Yingfomi and others. ”

"Isn't there you now?" Wen Qing asked with a smile.

"Lord Zhongtang has promoted the lower official, and the lower official has only dealt with Xiyi for a few months, and he has neither understood the language and writing of Xiyi, nor has he been to the land of Xiyi. Therefore, the lower officials thought that they should make preparations as soon as possible, or sent shrewd and capable meticulous personnel to Shanghai, Macao, Guangzhou, and even Hong Kong to investigate the movements of Xiyi, or ordered local officials in Jiangsu, Fujian, and Guangdong to inquire about the situation of Xiyi. ”

Seeing Wen Qing looking at the emperor, Han Xiufeng continued: "The march and battle pay attention to the soldiers and horses before moving the grain and grass first, if Ying Fomi Sanyi returns and thinks of provocation, relying on this little soldier is far from enough, can only transfer troops from Europa and America, where their land is located, and those soldiers will not only have to rest but also replenish grain and grass after they cross the sea to Hong Kong and other places. If the imperial court can grasp these military information in advance, it will be able to deal with it in time, at least it will not be caught off guard like this time. ”

To everyone's surprise, without waiting for Wen Qing to speak, Xianfeng, who had not spoken, turned around coldly and said, "Zhun Song, you will handle the matter of finding out about Yiqing." ”

"Obey the order!" Han Xiufeng hurriedly knelt down and said.

"Kneel down, go back and draw up a note, and hand over the sign tomorrow."

……

The emperor obviously wanted to discuss with the princes and ministers how to deal with Xiyi, who had already arrived at the mouth of Dagu, and Han Xiufeng's goal was also achieved, and he respectfully accepted the order to retire.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked not far away, Su Shun actually caught up, and as soon as he caught up, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Zhixing, Zhixing, you really impress me, and you can find a good job of investigating Yiqing, otherwise I don't know how long I can do this general political secretary who finally helped you find it." Don't worry about it now, it's not an overnight thing, you have to do it now, hahaha! ”

"Thank you, Lord for your support."

"Self-friend, what is there to be thankful for, don't be so outside." Su Shun looked back, and then changed his words: "Military aircraft discussion, don't talk about you, even I have to avoid it." But I also followed an errand, and the emperor asked me to ask you how to find out about this situation, how many people to send to Shanghai, Macao, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, and how you plan to select these people. ”

Han Xiufeng subconsciously asked, "Is the emperor serious?" ”

"This can still be fake," Su Shun sighed lightly, and said helplessly: "The emperor knows that those local officials are pedantic and unwilling to deal with Xiyi, so he doesn't plan to order them to investigate Yiyi's feelings." In short, the idea of finding out the situation was put forward by you, so you should quickly think about the selection and selection of children. ”

"Lord Su, I want to send a school, but I have neither power nor money for a small senator, so why should you let me send it?"

"Isn't this me, the emperor just asked me to help you solve your worries."

"I'm not afraid of you with your support," Han Xiufeng thought for a while, looked at Su Shun with a smile and asked, "Lord Su, if you want to talk about the detailed candidates for the news, I have a few here, but it's not appropriate to let them go like this." Do you want to reward them with a half-official position, such as the deputy member of the Jiangxi Customs, the deputy member of the Guangdong Customs, and the Shanghai Patrol Inspector, so that we not only don't have to worry about the silver, but they are deeply favored by the emperor and can serve the court wholeheartedly. ”

Su Shun nodded slightly: "Give them an official body, place them in the yamen in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, and send them a few military surveys in advance, this is a way." ”

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