Wu Jianzhang not only wanted revenge, but also wanted to do something to atone for his sins before the army arrived in the imperial court to quell the rebellion, and after sending his family to Baoshun and settling down, he accompanied Han Xiufeng to meet the consuls of the United States, Britain, and France, but he went in Han Xiufeng but was turned away.

When the interpreter of the message returned the name post, he said that the consular officer and the acting consular officer were of the same quality as the Taoist platform of the Qing Dynasty; The vice-consul officer, the deputy consular officer and the interpreter are of the same quality as the prefect, and the official affairs are as needed. In other words, you are the acting superintendent of the Jiangxi Customs from the fifth grade, not only is your grade insufficient, but you also don't even have the qualifications to meet the yamen, let alone meet the consul, and you don't even have the qualifications to meet the interpreter!

Han Xiufeng ate three bowls of closed-door soup in a row, and could only go home.

It was midnight when Wu Jianzhang returned to the mansion behind Qichang Foreign Bank after negotiating with the consuls of the three countries, and when he saw that the light in the study was still on, he hurriedly asked Zhang Guangsheng, who was guarding outside the study, to report.

"Brother Han, I didn't expect them to be so unkind, it's none of my business, I really didn't think about coercing foreign people to respect themselves......" Wu Jianzhang eagerly defended as soon as he entered the door.

Han Xiufeng was unhappy, but he never thought of being angry with Wu Jianzhang, and smiled casually: "Brother Wu is too worried, how can Xiufeng not know that it is not easy to deal with foreigners, if they are reasonable, they are not foreigners." ”

"Brother Han, you are reasonable, you know that foreigners are not easy to deal with, and others don't know!"

"Brother Wu, don't worry, I will help explain to Lord Xu and Lord Gilhang'a, with me here, they won't misunderstand you. The top priority is the customs, it is the tax! ”

"I know, I know, but it's tricky, it's not easy." Wu Jianzhang sat down helplessly, and even his voice was weak.

"What do the consuls of the United States, Britain, and France say?" Han Xiufeng sat down and asked.

"The Consul of Citi gave me a few thin noodles and promised to let the Citi merchants clear customs according to the old practice, and the more than 10,000 taels of taxes owed before would be paid in a few days. The British and French consuls were not very easy to talk to, and they said that they should strictly observe neutrality, and that if the merchants of the two countries were allowed to pay taxes to us according to the old practice, it would be a reversal of their word, and it would not be neutrality. ”

"They collect it on their behalf, but they don't give us the tax?"

"I didn't say that I wouldn't give it to us, I just said that I would collect it on behalf of them first, and store it with them first."

"The imperial court is pointing to the tax payment, and the foreigners can delay it, but we can't afford to wait." Han Xiufeng reminded.

How could Wu Jianzhang not know that the imperial court was waiting for the rice to be put into the pot, and said with a bitter face: "Brother Han, I can't help it if the British and French consuls don't let go, no matter how they say it, they just bite and want to be neutral." ”

"What then?" Han Xiufeng stared at him and asked, almost writing on his face that if this errand is not done well, you will not have a good time at that level in the imperial court.

Han Xiufeng was anxious, Wu Jianzhang was even more anxious, thought about it and gritted his teeth and said: "The British and French merchants don't pay taxes to us, then we will go to their ships to collect them!" ”

"How?"

"Brother Han, I not only negotiated with them about how to collect taxes, but also negotiated with them about the restoration of the Supervision Office. The Supervisory Office now has dozens of British soldiers, saying that they are preventing the rebels from smashing and looting again, but in fact they do not want to return them to us. If you don't come back for a while, fortunately, we still have foreign ships. I'll go back tomorrow morning, and if they don't return the Supervisory Office to us, we'll go to the ship to handle customs and go to the river to collect taxes according to the old practice!" ”

"We have a foreign ship?" Han Xiufeng was a little surprised.

"My brother doesn't know that in order to investigate smuggling, the Supervision Office spent money to purchase two foreign ships the year before last, one is called 'Antelope' and the other is called 'Sheep God'." Wu Jianzhang took the tea from Zhang Guangsheng's hand, and continued: "In the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang, in order to attack and suppress river bandits and pirates and salvage and rescue the victims, the Merchant Marine Association and the merchant shipping associations of Shandong, Ningbo and other countries requested the establishment of a ship donation and theft bureau, and raised money to purchase two steamships, 'Taiping' and 'Tiebo'. These four foreign ships are still there, and they have not been snatched by the rebels. ”

Han Xiufeng didn't expect that there were four foreign ships on the side of the imperial court, and subconsciously asked: "What about the shipwright and sailor, is the shipwright and sailor there?" ”

"It's all here, not only there are boatmen and sailors, but also boatmen who can handle guns and guns." Referring to the rest of the family background, Wu Jianzhang said excitedly: "When Liu Lichuan's gang of murderers who killed a thousand knives were in trouble, the 'Antelope' happened to be moored by the river in the north of the county seat. There were not only cannons and gunpowder on board, but also a batch of foreign guns purchased for the training of Xiang Yong and Citigroup. The rebels didn't know at first, but when they knew about it and wanted to rob it, Citi Vice Consul Kim Neng-hyung had ordered the Marines to tow the ship to the concession. Jin Nengheng said in the evening, early tomorrow morning, return the guns and gunpowder on the 'Antelope' and the 'Antelope' to me intact, there are boats, guns, and cannons, and see how we clean up the gang that killed a thousand knives! ”

Han Xiufeng secretly thought that people would die if they fought, and if they couldn't fight, they wouldn't fight. What's more, I am here to act as the supervisor of Jiang Customs, not to act as Su Songtai's military preparation, collecting tariffs to raise salaries for the army is an internal matter, and quelling the chaos is another matter, after weighing it, I said quietly: "Brother Wu, your top priority for me is to levy customs duties and raise salaries for the imperial court, let's first think about how to control the customs and taxes." ”

"Brother Han, I will send someone to call back the shipwrights and sailors and boatmen on the four ships early tomorrow morning, and when everyone is ready, I will lead people to the river to collect taxes!"

"What if the merchants of England and France don't pay?"

"If you don't pay taxes, don't let them dock, don't let them unload!"

"Can you stop it?"

"If you can't stop it, you have to stop it!" Looking at Han Xiufeng's thoughtful appearance, Wu Jianzhang explained: "Brother, don't worry, I not only know those foreign merchants, but also have some friendships, and the captains and officers on those ships are the same, even if they don't plan to pay taxes, they won't be too embarrassed for me." ”

"Brother Wu is really a talent of Tongyi, Xiufeng admires it!" Han Xiufeng put down the teacup and arched his hand: "Since Brother Wu is in his chest, then everything depends on Brother Wu." ”

"I can't talk about relying on it, I am also atoning for my sins."

……

Seeing Wu Jianzhang away, Zhang Guangsheng couldn't help but sigh: "Fourth master, everyone looked down on this one just now, and even the people in the market dared to criticize it in front of the public. Now that I think about it, I really underestimated him before, he does have some ability, and he really can't deal with foreigners, without him. ”

"Yes, Tongyi's talent is not in vain." Han Xiufeng walked into the bedroom, looked at the big and soft bungalow, and muttered: "I estimate that in the eyes of foreigners, he should be the most reasonable and best court official to deal with, otherwise he would not have such a deep friendship with him." Thinking about it carefully, Liu Lichuan is an insightful person, and he can actually think of wooing him, and even want him to be the governor of Shanghai. ”

"Fourth master, are you saying that the rebel party in the city wants to woo the foreigners by wooing him?"

"The foreigners' ships are strong, the foreigners are powerful, and even the imperial court does not dare to offend the foreigners, not to mention the rabble in the city. Although Wu Jianzhang said that he did not and did not dare to coerce foreigners to respect himself, in fact, he was really important in the eyes of foreigners, and foreigners, especially Citigroup, really regarded him as a friend. ”

Han Xiufeng turned his head, looked at Zhang Guangsheng's appearance of wanting to speak and stopped, and then said: "Even if we don't protect him, foreigners will protect him." In short, a person like him cannot be killed, let alone pushed him to the side of the chaotic party. ”

…………

PS: I have a cold again, dizziness and brain swelling, there is only one chapter today, please forgive me brothers and sisters.

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