It was evening when Wood arrived at Songjiang, and although he entered the city, his progress was not smooth.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the city, he was stopped and interrogated by two officials and more than a dozen villagers, and found that he was not a local, and the officials and villagers locked him up with iron chains and planned to go directly to the county prison, no matter how they unlocked it, it was useless, and finally they could only lie that they had come from Shanxi to join the people of Futai, and the officials and villagers escorted him to the government with suspicion.

Qiao Songnian was so busy that he didn't have time to see him.

Master Xu rushed to the gatehouse, asked him who his surname was, why he came, and while taking him to the second hall, he said worriedly: "Mr. Wu, Fuzun not only knows the news that there is a rebellion in Shanghai, but also receives the news that Yuan Zude was martyred in the main hall of Shanghai County. ”

"Mr. Xu, why didn't Fuzun go to Shanghai to quell the chaos?"

"Do you think that Fuzun doesn't want to go, but now there are more than 200 servants and villagers in the city, and there are no soldiers under him, so how can Fuzun go to quell the chaos?" Master Xu walked into a public room on the right side of the second hall, and explained while motioning for him to sit: "The top priority is to hold the city and the counties that have not been captured by the chaotic party. ”

Seeing that Wood was all about to speak and stopped, Master Xu continued: "Fuzun not only sent several groups of people to Suzhou to report, but also sent people to Changzhou to report to Lord Zhangtai. Shanghai is not only a place of wealth, the grain of Su Song and other prefectures will also be shipped from Shanghai in the coming year, and the production of Taiwan and Futai will not sit idly by, as long as the capital city and the surrounding counties are guarded, it will not take a few days for the imperial court to send a large army to quell the chaos! ”

"Then have you seen our shopkeeper Wu?"

"Yes, but only yesterday."

"He's back in Shanghai?"

"Seems to be." Compared with the shopkeeper of the Shanghai branch of "Rishengchang", Master Xu was more concerned about the silver of "Rishengchang", and asked quietly: "Mr. Wu, how did you get out of Shanghai City, and what about the other people in your ticket number?" ”

"Mr. Xu, as soon as I noticed that something was wrong yesterday afternoon, I sent the gentleman and his companions on the cabinet to take refuge in the mansion where Master Han temporarily lived, and all the money and account books on the cabinet were transported out of the city."

"It's all at Master Han's?"

"It's not a secret, Shanghai is in chaos like that, no one can believe it except for Master Han's late life."

"How far is the place where Master Han temporarily lives from the county seat?" Master Xu stared at him and asked.

"It's not far, it's not too close, it's just on the edge of the English Concession, and there is a French Concession between it and the county seat," Wood thought about it and said, "Don't worry, Master Han didn't even know about the county government and the provincial government office when he came to Shanghai to run grain, let alone those chaotic parties." Even if it was known by those chaotic parties, Master Han was not unprepared. ”

"Master Han has soldiers under him?" Master Xu asked.

"Master Han doesn't have a few soldiers under him, but the house where he temporarily lives is only a river away from the English Concession, if his identity is exposed, if the rebels find there, Master Han can go to the east bank of the river for temporary refuge. Although those chaotic parties were bold, they did not dare to do anything wrong in the foreigners' concessions. ”

"Master Han is fine, if there are really three long and two short, Fuzun will return to Kyoto in the future and face Huang Yushi and other friends in the capital."

The cronies of Lord Futai could say such things, and Wood Quan realized that Master Han and Qiao Futai not only had a friendship, but also a good friendship. Just as he didn't know how to say it, a long entourage walked in and whispered a few words to Master Xu, and Master Xu immediately got up and said, "Mr. Wu, I'll go back when I go, and I'm bothering you to wait here." ”

"Although you are busy, you are not in a hurry, it is dark, the city gate is closed, and even if you want to, you can't leave here."

Master Xu nodded slightly, followed Chang Sui out of the public room, walked quickly to the empty lobby, arched his hand and was about to ask Qiao Songnian who was sitting in the hall what was going on with him, Qiao Songnian put down his pen and said: "I heard Xiaoliu say that someone pretended to be a family member to defect. ”

"It's not a pretence......," Master Xu hurriedly reported the ins and outs of the matter.

Wu Quanquan didn't say that he came to find Shopkeeper Wu just now, so he claimed that Master Han sent him to report the news. What did he say about Master Xu's natural report, Qiao Songnian believed it, and actually sighed: "Han Si has a heart, what he thinks of when he encounters chaos in the party is not to run for his life, but to send someone to report to me quickly." If all the main halls of those prefectures and counties were like him, those party members would not sit under the noses of the yamen, let alone commit chaos. ”

"Young master, it's too late to say anything now, the top priority is to defend Fucheng and Qingpu, Baoshan and other counties."

"How can I collect it without soldiers, and now I can only do my best to obey the destiny of heaven." Qiao Songnian sighed helplessly, thought about it and asked, "Did the person surnamed Wu say that Han Si is still in Shanghai now, and did he say what Han Si plans to do next?" ”

Master Xu hurriedly said: "He said that Master Han intends to respond to all changes with the same, after all, the party in the city doesn't know that he went to Shanghai, and he doesn't know that he is in the north of the city." ”

Thinking that now he only knows that there is a party rebellion in Shanghai, but he doesn't know the details, so that he doesn't know how to write the official document asking for help, Qiao Songnian got up and said: "We can't be ignorant of the situation in Shanghai, and we can't just sit and wait in Songjiang, or you can take a few people to go to Shanghai to find Han Si and ask him to find out the news of the party chaos nearby." ”

Shanghai was occupied by the chaotic party, and since the chaotic party dared to pull the flag and rebel, it was impossible to occupy only one Shanghai, thinking that the chaotic party was very likely to come to attack Songjiang, Master Xu asked worriedly: "Young master, what should you do if I leave?" ”

Qiao Songnian had just convened the gentry to discuss how to recruit local young men to defend the city, and had sent people to Suzhou and even Changzhou overnight to move rescue troops, thinking that it should not be difficult to hold for five or six days, and as long as the reinforcements could be held for five or six days, he said confidently: "I am not Yuan Zude, let alone Wu Jianzhang, with me in charge, it is not so easy for those chaotic parties to occupy Songjiang!" ”

"But ......"

"Uncle Xu, not so much, but, you must know that Shanghai is also under the rule of my Songjiang Mansion anyway, and there are rebellious parties in Shanghai, and I, the prefect of Songjiang, can't be ignorant of the situation in Shanghai, otherwise when the reinforcements arrive, how can I report to Shangguan who led the troops to help?"

Thinking that only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can one not be defeated, Master Xu gritted his teeth: "Okay, I'll go to Shanghai with that Wood, but you must take care, if you have a mistake, how can I explain to the master?" ”

"I'm going to be fine, you hurry up and take someone to Shanghai, go to Shanghai overnight, no matter what news you find, send someone back to report it quickly."

……

Shanghai is very chaotic, but it is chaos in the city, chaos in the concession outside the city, and the surrounding of the house where Han Xiufeng temporarily lives is calm, and there is nothing to do this night.

I got up at dawn to wash, I didn't expect to be about to have breakfast after washing, the two devils who had been missing for a day Lin Qingyuan came with a disgraced face, and complained when he saw Zhang Guangsheng and Xiao Wuzi, saying that he hid in the house for a day yesterday and didn't dare to go out, and this morning he saw that no one on the street shouted and shouted to kill, and the people in the city could even go out of the city, so they packed up the gold and silver and followed along, and as a result, when they went out of the city, the little silver they had worked hard for in the past two years was all searched by the party guarding the city gate.

"Mr. Lin, you are a fellow villager with them, and you have worked in a foreign bank, and they don't even give you this face?" Zhang Guangsheng couldn't help asking.

"I'm a fellow villager with the surname Liu, but I'm not a fellow with them, and I used to have a bit of a holiday in order to grab a deal, you say they can give me face?" The more Lin Qingyuan thought about it, the more angry he became, and said hatefully: "These gang of people who kill a thousand knives have a good life, but they have to rebel, and if they rebel, they will rebel, and they will loot the money of the township, and they also write on the notice that they have not committed any crimes, and you are not angry." ”

Zhang Guangsheng and Xiao Wuzi were just curious, Han Xiufeng and Pan Er were not only curious but didn't dare to believe him, after all, buying a gun was not a trivial matter, it was difficult to say whether he had colluded with those chaotic parties in the city, and it was difficult to say whether he was sent by the chaotic parties to investigate.

Han Xiufeng motioned for him to sit down and eat together, and asked quietly, "Mr. Lin, what are your plans next?" ”

"Fourth Master Han, I've become like this, what else do you think I can do. Didn't you get your business done, please reward me with food. ”

Mr. Lin said with a smile, it's not easy to eat.

"Fourth Master Han, where did you start with this?"

"Anyway, you and Liu Lichuan are also fellow villagers, Li Xianchi, Chen Alin, Lin Afu, Li Shaoxi and Li Xianyun, you should also recognize them. They are now either governors or generalissimos, and they are just employing people when they first got into trouble, as long as you are willing to work with them, what do you want for glory and wealth! ”

"Yes, Mr. Lin, are you still worried about having no food to eat?" Pan Er couldn't help but echo.

Lin Qingyuan was ridiculed, and hurriedly said: "Fourth Master Han, Mr. Pan, this joke can't be made, I recognize them, but they don't do anything else, they are killing officials and rebelling, and they don't dare to eat their food and be their officials if they dare to borrow a few of my guts." ”

It was a matter of his life, Han Xiufeng didn't dare to believe his words easily, got up and went to the case to get one, held it in front of him and poked it gently, pointed to the pierced hole and said with a smile: "Mr. Lin, in fact, some things are not as scary as you think, such as the government, just like this piece of paper, it will be broken with a light stab, and you will find out when it is pierced." ”

"Fourth Master Han, don't make such jokes again, if you make such a joke, you will lose your head!"

"It's like breaking the law to buy a foreign gun from a foreigner, why aren't you afraid?"

"This is different from looking for a foreigner to buy a foreign gun, and besides, it is Han Siye who is looking for a foreigner to buy a foreigner, and it is not me Lin Qingyuan, I Lin Qingyuan is a translator who helps pass the word, which is similar to running errands. What's more, if you don't say it, Mr. Pan, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Wu don't say it, who will know. ”

"You don't want to ask me what I do?" Han Xiufeng stared at his eyes and said with a smile: "Mr. Lin, if I am also a chaotic party, aren't you just helping the chaotic party, aren't you in the same group as the chaotic party?" ”

"This is different, it's really different, besides, Han Siye, how can you be a chaotic party!" Thinking of the mysterious identity in front of him, Lin Qingyuan suddenly regretted coming here, and hurriedly bowed his hands with a bitter face: "Fourth Master Han, the little one didn't ask anything, he didn't know anything." If you can use the small one, the small one will saddle the horse and help you run errands, if you don't need the small one, the small one will leave. ”

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