Han Xiufeng has been in Baoding for nine days, and he has only seen Tan Tingxiang, the acting governor of Zhili, twice, once at the reception banquet set up by the grain road in Zhili, because there are many people, many things are not easy to say; The second time was the afternoon before yesterday, and Qian Xinhe, the elderly and frail political envoy of Zhili, was also present.

mentioned that Xiyi was very likely to commit Zhili in the north, Tan Tingxiang, who was proud of the spring breeze, disagreed, and said with disdain that Xiyi was nothing to be afraid of, and most of all the potential flames were caused by the incompetence of the generals. What else to say, just look at the Di Bao, especially the edict in the Di Bao. said that although Xiyi was menacing, as soon as Ye Mingchen met the head-on attack, the consul of Xiyi and the big leader of the leading soldiers were given the head, which shows that the number of troops is not large, but all in commanding people.

I don't know if I want to make a gesture so that Han Xiufeng can return to Beijing to deal with the emperor, and in the end, it was decided to order the Tianjin Mansion to cast a few more barrages to block the river, and ordered local officials to be vigilant, strictly prohibiting the people from going to sea to do business with Xiyi. felt that there was an iron barrage to stop Xiyi's gunboats, and thought that those poor people who didn't even have food would really listen to the words of the imperial court, and Qian Xinhe, the political envoy of Zhili, fell asleep listening to it.

Encountering them like this, Han Xiufeng really had nothing to say, last night he asked Yongxiang, Xiao Shandong, Xu Jiu and others to pack their luggage, and was about to leave for Beijing after breakfast today, Tan Tingxiang actually sent his family to the post house to invite him to go to the Yamen of Taiwan again.

"Fourth master, what does Tan Tingxiang mean, you kindly reminded him that he ignored it. You are going to go back to Beijing, and he sent someone to ask, what kind of medicine is he selling in this gourd? Yongxiang asked in a low voice as he ran with the carriage like a guard.

Han Xiufeng lifted the curtain and said casually: "No matter what medicine he sells in his gourd, I have said everything that should be said anyway, if something really happens in the future, this board will not hit me Han Xiufeng." ”

"That's right!" Yongxiang thought for a while, and muttered again: "Don't look at other people's five or six, after all, it's not that you have married a good wife, and you have a high-ranking and powerful father-in-law." Although the old man is gone, he still has a brother-in-law who is also high and powerful to take care of him, otherwise how could he be promoted several levels in a row and be able to act as the governor of Shangzhili? ”

As Yongxiang said, Tan Tingxiang's ability to have today really has something to do with marrying a good daughter-in-law. His father-in-law is the emperor Du Shoutian, and his brother-in-law is the current Minister of Military Aircraft Du Han!

Thinking that Du Han was just a "military plane with a curtain", in order not to kick out the military plane, Han Xiufeng muttered: "The front foot sent someone to send Cheng Yi, and the back foot sent someone to invite me back, and said that there was something important to discuss, and nine times out of ten I received news from Beijing." ”

"Fourth Master, do you mean that Du Han wrote a letter to him?"

"In his opinion, I, Han Xiufeng, are nothing remarkable, and I am not qualified to point fingers in front of him, a feudal official, if it weren't for the emperor's decree, he probably wouldn't have seen me. But Du Han is different, Du Han has been in the center for several years, not only does he know very well how I, the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple, do it, but also know about the 'Houyi Hall'. ”

"So he didn't listen to your words before, and now he doesn't dare to take it seriously?"

"Even if Du Han reminds him, there is a good chance that he will not listen to my words."

Thinking that the Governor's Ministry was full of people, and there were not one thousand but seven or eight hundred civil and military officials who went to the palace, Yongxiang nodded: "What you said is that he is a new official and is proud." I'm busy socializing every day, and I can't even eat the banquet, how can I have the heart to care about Xiyi, which is thousands of miles away! ”

"So let's run in vain this trip, but it's better to come out to breathe than to stay in Beijing, and it won't be easy to stay in the capital."

"Fourth master, what do you mean?"

"If I stay in Beijing, I can't help but report it when I encounter 100,000 urgent feelings, but if I report it, it will add to the emperor's blockage and make the emperor unhappy, so I think it's better to float outside."

Speaking of these, Yongxiang couldn't help asking: "Fourth master, according to what you say, Cao Yuying's life may not be easy?" ”

Han Xiufeng said lightly: "You can't blame me, who made him the same as the big shopkeeper of Houyitang." ”

……

As Han Xiufeng said, the reason why Tan Tingxiang hurriedly sent someone to invite Han Xiufeng back was because he had just received a letter from the family of Du Han, the Minister of Military Aircraft.

After reading the letter, the curtain friend reminded worriedly: "Dong Weng, don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case!" In case Ying, Mi, Buddha, Russia and other Yizhen Bei commit Zhili, but we are not prepared at all, let Xiyi drive straight into the capital, how can you explain to the emperor at that time. ”

Tan Tingxiang has been an official outside all these years, he has only heard of Xiyi but has never seen Xiyi, and he feels that Xiyi has nothing to be afraid of, after all, it is said that his land is 108,000 miles away from the Qing Dynasty, even if he sends troops to attack, how many soldiers can he send? What's more, there are five ministers of trade and the governor of Liangguang Ye Mingchen who negotiated with Xiyi, and Ye Mingchen couldn't stop the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, the governor of Liangjiang and the governor of Shandong, and felt that Xiyi was not just bluffing but also too far away from Zhili.

Seeing that the curtain friend was so worried, he couldn't help but smile and said: "The princes and ministers in the court were afraid of the well rope after being bitten by snakes for ten years, so they were worried that the incident of Daoguang in the 212th year would be repeated as soon as there was a little trouble. And this Han Xiufeng grasped the weakness of those princes and ministers, so that he was able to rise to the top. ”

"Since Xiyi is not worried, why did Dong Weng send someone to invite him back?"

Didn't Hongju make it very clear in the letter, this Han Xiufeng is not only a saint, but also has some friendship with Su Shun, and it is better not to offend people like him. Discuss with him again and give him enough face, so that he will not be in front of the emperor after returning to Beijing. ”

"What Dong Weng said is extremely true, a close minister like him cannot be offended."

As he was talking, the family came to report that Han Xiufeng, the young secretary of Taifu Temple, had arrived.

Tan Tingxiang put on his official hat, got up and said with a smile: "I'll meet him again, and I'll talk about other things later." ”

"Congratulations to the students."

……

Tan Tingxiang walked into the second hall surrounded by his family, and Han Xiufeng, who had just sat down, hurriedly got up to pay respects.

Tan Tingxiang waved his hand, and while beckoning him to sit down and eat tea, he sighed: "Brother Han, this official has thought about it sooner or later, and feels that my brother's worries are not unreasonable. It's just that the official has just arrived, and the official affairs are not only piled up, but also have a thousand clues, and there is really a feeling of lack of skills, and many things are really too late to take care of. ”

"Adults have a lot of opportunities, but Xiufeng came to cause chaos for adults, it's really ashamed to think about it."

"What are you talking about, brother, you are now a Qincha!" Tan Tingxiang didn't want to go around in circles with Han Xiufeng, so he immediately changed his words: "The emperor is worried about coastal defense, and those of us who are courtiers should share the emperor's worries." Brother Han, you are not only a Qincha patrolling coastal defense, but you have also led soldiers to kill Changmao. The official has something to ask for, and I don't know if my brother can help. ”

Han Xiufeng hurriedly arched his hand and said, "Lord Tai is really good at laughing." ”

"This official didn't say anything funny," Tan Tingxiang's face was straight, and he stared at him very seriously and said seriously: "This official is busy with government affairs, and military affairs will inevitably be omitted, and military affairs are directly related to coastal defense. Can the elder brother not return to Beijing for the time being, first help the official to see if the battalions of the superintendent are available. When Zhang Dianyuan arrives, we will discuss the matter of Tianjin together. ”

Zhang Dianyuan is the governor of Zhili, and the admiral's office is in Gubeikou, far away from here!

Han Xiufeng didn't expect him to make such a play, and at the same time felt that even if the Admiral of Zhili rushed over from Gubeikou, it would be child's play to discuss coastal defense in Baoding, a few hundred miles away from Tianjin, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Xiufeng is willing to work for the Lord of Taiwan, but Xiufeng is ordered by the emperor, and he doesn't dare to stay outside for a long time, so he has to hurry back to Beijing to return to the emperor to return to his life." ”

"This brother doesn't have to worry, this official can then prepare an excerpt and ask the emperor to let my brother stay with me for two months to help with military affairs."

"It's not appropriate, Xiufeng ......"

It's a matter of whether or not the emperor can feel that Zhili doesn't take coastal defense seriously, how can Tan Tingxiang just let Han Xiufeng return to Beijing, and without waiting for Han Xiufeng to finish speaking, he said meaningfully: "Don't hide it, this is not only the meaning of Lord Du, but also the meaning of Lord Sushun!" ”

After staying in Baoding for nine days, Han Xiufeng had already seen that he was a mediocre official, and he neither wanted nor dared to get on his fast-sinking broken ship. But thinking that the life after returning to Beijing would not be easy, he pretended to weigh it for a moment, and arched his hand: "Since this is the intention of Lord Sushun and Lord Du, then Xiufeng will not return to Beijing for the time being, and leave it for the adults to serve for two months, but he can only stay in Baoding for two months." ”

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