In the past year, Han Xiufeng had an extremely "comfortable" life.

The group worship of the Yamen of Taifu Temple, the group worship of the provincial pavilion, and the group worship of the government hall all participated. In the first month, he was busy visiting relatives and friends, and on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, six tables were set up in the government pavilion to invite fellow villagers, colleagues and old people in Beijing.

The day before the banquet, Han Xiufeng asked Datou to invite Wen Xiang, but Wen Xiang, who had only been in charge of Zhan Shifu for less than two months, failed to come to the banquet. It wasn't until the ninth day of February that Wenxiang had time to come to the familiar and somewhat unfamiliar "Houyi Hall".

After the opening of the seal, Han Xiufeng did not go to the Yamen of Taifu Temple to order Mao, and he would not always stay in the bookstore, but went to Nanyuan twice in three days. Because of this, Wen Xiang finally came to the trip but was empty, but he thought that he would be busier in the future, and he had important things to discuss with Han Xiufeng, so he waited in the bookstore all afternoon, and waited until Han Xiufeng and Datou came back from Nanyuan on horseback.

"Brother Bochuan, how did you get free today, you are a rare guest!"

"Don't be hippie and smiley, my Wenxiang is so busy, it's not thanks to you Han Zhixing!"

"What are you talking about, I, Han Xiufeng, don't dare to call you, Lord Shilang."

"Okay, okay, can you sit down and have a few words."

"Okay, okay, but let me wash my face first. The wind and sand outside are too big, and you see, even the neck is full of dust. ”

"Go ahead, hurry up."

……

Han Xiufeng knew very well that Wen Xiang had come to Xingshi to ask for guilt, so he went inside to wash his face, changed into clean clothes, and returned to Tingyuxuan again.

Sure enough, just after crossing the threshold, before he could speak, Wen Xiang stared at him and asked angrily: "Zhixing, why did you let Wang Naizeng, Yun Qijun and them all belong to Huang Zonghan's control in the future, and why did you let the four semicolons of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai all listen to Xue Huan?" ”

"Lord Huang is the minister who handles the affairs of the emperor, he can't be ignorant of the situation, if he is like before, no matter what happens, report to us first, let's report to the emperor again, and wait for the emperor to make an order, the daylily will be cold!" Han Xiufeng smiled and continued: "As for the semicolons of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, etc., it is not so much for them to listen to Su Song Taidao Xue Huan, but for them to listen to He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang. ”

"You ......"

"Don't worry, just listen to me." Han Xiufeng paused, and said lightly: "Although the Tianjin branch is under the control of Chonghou and moderation, it is actually under the control of the governor of Zhili. In the future, if the branches find out more about the 100,000 urgent situation, they must hurry up and report to the Governors of Liangguang, Liangjiang, and Zhili, all of which are approved by the emperor, after all, the imperial court is in an eventful season, and the military aircraft can no longer be delayed. ”

"Push what should be pushed, push it all, Zhixing, Zhixing, your shopkeeper is really competent!" Wen Xiang stared at him and said through gritted teeth.

"Brother Bochuan, you can't say that, this is called this time and that time, although I, Han Xiufeng, have now become the shopkeeper, but I am by no means prevaricating, but focusing on the overall situation!"

"It's better to say than to sing, you're prevaricating!" The more Wen Xiang thought about it, the more angry he became, and pointed at Han Xiufeng and said hatefully: "You pushed it all away, this handshaker is doing a good job, but have you ever thought about who those things were pushed to in the end?" ”

Han Xiufeng asked knowingly, "Who did you push it to?" ”

"Don't pretend to be confused!"

"Brother Bochuan, could it be that the emperor ordered you to ponder these things?"

"What do you think?" Wen Xiang asked rhetorically, sighed and said: "The semicolons don't need to report to you now, but there are more excerpts about Yiwu in Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang and Liangjiang than before, and the emperor may think that I have been the big shopkeeper of the 'Houyi Hall' for a few years, as long as there is a situation for Yi, he will call me to meet me, and sometimes he orders me to draft a decree." ”

"So, you're busy with these things these days?"

"Alas...... It's like a year. ”

"Don't sigh, this is called the greater the official position, the greater the responsibility! What's more, not so everyone can share the emperor's worries, and others don't have a chance to worry about it. ”

"You're right."

"So what shall I say?" Han Xiufeng asked with a smile.

Wen Xiang knew very well that Han Xiufeng threw the pot out, so it was impossible for him to be stupid enough to carry it back, so he simply changed his words: "Zhixing, what you are most worried about may happen soon." Huang Zonghan, the governor of Liangguang, reported that the British and Foshans were preparing to go north, and nearly 100 gunboats and ships of all sizes would set sail by the end of the month at the latest. ”

Although he had been mentally prepared, Han Xiufeng couldn't laugh anymore and asked solemnly, "What did the emperor say?" ”

"The emperor has secretly instructed Liangguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, Liangjiang, Shandong and Zhili to be on guard."

"Well, you have to be on guard."

"You ......"

"Brother Bochuan, what's wrong with me?"

"Do you think Huang Zonghan and He Guiqing can be wary of them?"

"It's useless to tell me this," Han Xiufeng didn't want to play anymore, and said bluntly: "So far, I can only concentrate on the worst." ”

Wen Xiang didn't want to go around in circles anymore, and said bluntly: "Zhixing, I know that you are not prevaricating to push the affairs in the hall away, but to be disheartened. I also know that you are loyal to the court and the emperor. Now that it's come to this, can you think again and plan for the worse? ”

"Worse? Brother Bochuan, what do you mean by that? ”

"The main station is easy, the main station is difficult, if one day the soldiers come to the city, you can't go out of the city to talk to Xiyi."

"I want to go, but if I really go that far, don't talk about my little Taifu Temple Shaoqing, even if Brother Bochuan, you, the servant of the Criminal Department, go, the foreigners will not talk to you."

"I know, I mean there's got to be a middleman."

"Didn't that Russian envoy find He Guiqing, and wasn't he willing to help mediate?"

"The wolf ambition of Oyi is well known, so naturally it cannot be believed." Wen Xiang paused, and said coldly: "Miyi is not a good thing, they claim to help mediate, but in their hearts, they must hope that Yingfo Eryi will fight with us, and it will hurt us, and when the time comes, they will form an alliance under the city, and they will be able to benefit evenly." ”

"Does the emperor think so too?"

"If you are not of my race, their hearts will be different, how can the emperor believe their nonsense!"

"It's good that the emperor knows it." Han Xiufeng was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said: "There is one person who will help make peace, and he will come to the capital soon, but this person can only help spread the word, and whether it can be negotiated at that time depends on the emperor's intentions." ”

"Who?" Wen Xiang asked eagerly.

"The English missionary Bauer, he is not only proficient in the astronomy, geography and geometry of Xiyi, but also learned my Chinese language and writing from my sister, and my sister also learned from him to speak fluent English. He has always wanted to come to the capital to open his eyes, but he has never had the opportunity. I heard that my sister was going to Beijing, so I had to come with her. ”

"Miss Ren wants to enter Beijing?"

"Well, it's already gone, and it's estimated that it will be there in three or five days." Looking at Wen Xiang's thoughtful appearance, Han Xiufeng explained: "It is not a trivial matter to bring foreigners into Beijing, the sister didn't dare to agree at first, but then I thought that Wang Naizeng had said more than once that Lin Qingyuan and other halfway monks could only translate and translate foreigners' newspapers, but could not translate foreigners' books on astronomy, geography and geometric arithmetic, so he agreed to Bao Er, and agreed with Bao Er for three chapters. ”

"Can this Baoer talk to Chief Yi?"

"This is natural, he not only knows the English minister and consul, but it is said that he has a good personal relationship with the minister and consul of France and the United States."

"Since he can talk to Chief Yi, then let him come, don't worry, the emperor, I will help you report to the emperor." Wen Xiang thought for a while, and then said: "This is just the worst plan, it is impossible for the imperial court to negotiate peace with Xiyi unless it is absolutely necessary, so I also want to ask how sure Seng Lingqin is in the matter of blocking Xiyi." ”

Speaking of this, Han Xiufeng couldn't help but smile bitterly: "The monk king is confident, and the monk king thinks that 'foreign soldiers are not conducive to land warfare'." If the foreign soldiers really come to attack, they can 'chase after each other on foot' just like dealing with Long Hair. ”

Wen Xiang felt cold in his heart when he heard this, and couldn't help asking, "Why don't you remind him?" ”

"I have reminded me, and I have reminded it more than once, but not only did people not believe it, but they even asked a group of friends to read the classics and find out that their ancestors galloped on horseback, and once killed foreigners, and felt that foreigners relied on nothing more than strong ships and guns, and it was not easy to deal with at sea, but as long as foreign soldiers dared to go ashore, they were not ready to be captured."

"Their ancestors ...... When was that? Wen Xiang was made to cry and laugh.

"I want to refute a few words, but if I really refute, not only will I make people unhappy, but I can't open my mouth if I want to say anything in the future, so I can only remind the current foreigners that they are no longer the foreigners of the past."

"It's hard for you."

"I'm nothing, man, it's really hard for you to do this errand now. The Qing Dynasty is all up to you, and I, Han Xiufeng, will all rely on you to take care of me in the future. ”

"Here again, say these again, if it wasn't for your recommendation back then, brother, how could I Wenxiang be where I am today?"

"I just did a favor back then, not to mention that even if I didn't recommend you, brother, you would have been a blockbuster." Han Xiufeng arched his hand, and continued: "Actually, I am satisfied with being able to do this in the Taifu Temple Shaoqing now, and now I don't dare to think about him anymore, I just hope to help the emperor get through this hurdle." ”

When others say this, there is a good chance that Wen Xiang will not believe it.

But Han Xiufeng is no one else, Wen Xiang knew very well that he was disheartened, and he really didn't want to be an official anymore, so he was silent for a while before he looked up and said, "Zhixing, there is something I almost forgot to tell you." ”

"What's the matter?"

"You and I were both Shaoqing of Taifu Temple, but the emperor first promoted me to Zhan Shifu Zhan Shi, and then ordered me to serve as a waiter in the Criminal Department, in the eyes of others, I am Wenxiang Shengsheng Enlong, you Han Xiufeng Shengjia is no more, in fact, the emperor has not forgotten you, but ...... It's just that it doesn't suit you for a while. Looking at Han Xiufeng's suspicious look, Wen Xiang said again: "When you came back from inspecting coastal defense, the emperor ordered the military aircraft department to discuss the narrative. ”

As long as the officials who have accepted the grain can be promoted, Han Xiufeng is not surprised by this, and subconsciously asked: "Is there anything to be discussed?" ”

"Appreciate the top belt of the three products, let you go to Tianjin to replace Chonghou as the Changlu salt envoy, and let you take charge of coastal defense. Thinking about it carefully, Peng Zhongtang and Bai Zhongtang's plan is not a bad move for Lao Cheng to seek the country, after all, you are familiar with both Yiqing and Tianjin, and you have led troops, fought battles, and fought battles, but Su Shun felt that it was inappropriate and felt that you could not leave the capital. ”

Su Shun objected, Han Xiufeng was not surprised, otherwise he would have gone to Guangdong with Huang Zonghan a few years ago, and after thinking about it, he asked curiously: "What happened later?" ”

"Later, the emperor gave permission to Su Shun's performance, and asked the Military Aircraft Department to draw up an order, reward the three-grade top belt, and order you to sign Fengchen Yuanqing."

"That's a three-grade position!"

"What's wrong with the position of Sanpinqing, this is what you deserve," Wen Xiang put down the teacup and said meaningfully: "But listen to the emperor's meaning, don't expect to be the hall official of Fengchenyuan like others after you take office, but plan to let you be stationed in Nanyuan to help fellow monk Greenqin train his troops." ”

Fengchen Yuan is the yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to manage the royal courtyard and the river.

Feng Chen Yuanqing is in charge of the ban on the garden, and the emperor is fortunate to be repaired in time, and the officials below Lang Zhong are in charge of the garden and the river, and the palace is in charge of furnishings; The rice field factory is in charge of the rice millet in the inner courtyard, and the land tax is also levied; The officials of Nanyuan are in charge of the land endowment of Nanyuan and govern the affairs of the garden.

Thinking that it is now running to Nanyuan twice in three days, Han Xiufeng couldn't help but smile bitterly: "This errand is really suitable for me, it seems that the emperor is good or Su Shun, and he is not very relieved of the monk king." ”

"At the moment of the great enemy, who dares to gamble on the fortune of the country? Therefore, after you take office, you should still remind him that it is his business to be unhappy, and you must not pretend to be confused because you are worried that he will be unhappy. ”