After Yu Qinghuai sent Aunt Yu's mother and son to Shanghai to reunite with Ren Yu'er, she only stayed in Shanghai for more than 20 days, and with the help of Su Jueming and Zhou Xingyuan, she procured four boatloads of tea, cane sugar, medicinal herbs and cloth and other commercial goods, and then returned to Hai'an with the Tuan Yong.

In the past, Hai'an's merchants went to Taizhou to buy goods, and most of the merchants in Taizhou went to Yangzhou to buy goods.

But now the canal is blocked, and Yangzhou City has become a ruin because of the war, which can be called ten rooms and nine empty, but the fairy temple is becoming more and more prosperous.

And on the way from the Fairy Temple to Taizhou and then to Hai'an, several centicards were set up. The commercial goods of the Fairy Temple are already expensive, and they are exploited layer by layer, so they will be even more expensive when they are transported to Hai'an.

Buying goods from Shanghai, going ashore by sea from the corner slope field, shipping to Hai'an to sell is much cheaper, this trade has just been done, is planning to raise some silver and then go to Shanghai to buy more goods, Taizhou came to Jiangbei official army was defeated news, he had to call the group Yong to help Taizhou again.

followed Guo Peilin to the Fairy Temple, gathered the defeated troops to stabilize the position, and then "recovered" Yangzhou City, which was abandoned by Changmao, and was busy until the end of the year before returning to Hai'an with the regimental braves. As a result, before his buttocks were hot when he got home, Guo Peilin sent a letter from Yangzhou.

Yu Qinghuai was surprised and delighted by the insiders of the letter, but he couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he simply asked his family to invite Dean Gu to come over and discuss together.

After reading the letter, Dean Gu said in a deep voice: "The fourth master wants to arrange for someone to serve under Lord Zeng, but there is no suitable candidate for a while, so he wrote a letter to Lord Guo and asked Lord Guo to recommend one, and Lord Guo thought of you as soon as he saw the letter?" ”

Yu Qinghuai put down the teacup and said sourly: "If the fourth master asked me directly, I would immediately pack my luggage and go to Beijing to confess without saying a word, but the fourth master didn't ask me ......."

How could Dean Gu not know his concerns, and couldn't help laughing: "Don't think nonsense, how can the fourth master forget you." If you want to talk about alternate officials, Qianli said in the letter that there are so many streets in the capital that a brick can smash several. If the fourth master really forgot you, why didn't he bring others, why did he make a special trip to ask Lord Guo to recommend one. ”

"Looking at the meaning of Lord Guo's letter, the fourth master doesn't seem to mention me."

"Do you need to mention this kind of thing?"

"You always say that the fourth master wanted me to serve under Lord Zeng?"

"Do you still need to ask, the relationship between you and me and the fourth master, Master Guo knows best. What's more, how many things you have done for Master Guo over the years, even if you don't have credit, you have worked hard. There is no way, since there is this opportunity, how can Lord Guo not recommend you. Dean Gu thought for a while, and then said: "The reason why the fourth master is willing to seek the near and far, and the reason why he didn't mention you in the letter, is because of his respect for Lord Guo and for your future. ”

"For my future...... Dean Gu, where did you start talking about it? ”

"The fourth master is planning to send you to serve under Lord Zeng, what is the relationship between Lord Guo and Lord Zeng. The fourth master didn't mention you, but asked Lord Guo to recommend it, then you are Lord Guo's person! When you arrive in Jiangxi, Lord Zeng will naturally treat you as your own. ”

Yu Qinghuai understood as if he had been empowered: "The county officials are not as good as the current management, and the fourth master in the capital can speak and help, but when he arrives in Jiangxi, he has to rely on Lord Zeng!" ”

"That's why you're a fan of the authorities."

"Then I'll pack my luggage and go to Yangzhou, and ask Lord Guo if you want to give a letter to Lord Zeng?"

"That's right," Dean Gu stroked his beard, looked at him with a smile and said, "You can rest assured to be an official, with old decay and Zhiyong, there is no need to worry about family affairs." ”

……

The reason why Han Xiufeng was reluctant to seek the near and far was not only to take this opportunity to promote Yu Qinghuai, but also to consider that he had never dealt with Zeng Guofan, so it was not appropriate to send someone rashly. It would be different to ask Zeng Guofan's in-law Guo Peilin to recommend it, at least he can gain a firm foothold in Jiangxi.

What's more, there's really no one available now!

Wang Naizeng went to Guangdong, Liu Shanyang went to Shanghai, Wang Qianli wanted to stay in Gu'an and occupy the north bank of the Yongding River to know the shortage, otherwise the river soldiers who didn't have many soldiers would really disperse. And Qingxian was resentful because he saw the emperor's edict revisited the old things, not only was he unintentional and even talked nonsense, so he could only let the big head put Qingxian under house arrest in the "Rizhao Pavilion", and at the same time privately warned Qingxian's two sons to let them serve Qiying well and restrain the slaves at home, so as not to attract death.

Now not only does he have to write it by himself, but even the church affairs can only be presided over by Eunjun.

After a day of work at the Yamen of Taifu Temple, it was already dark when they returned to the bookstore, and as soon as they sat down in the exhibition hall, Eunjun and Jilu reported to their official duties.

"The South China Sea branch urgently reported that Yingyi had withdrawn to Hong Kong. According to Yun Qijun's family members stationed in Hong Kong, Yingyi's return to Hong Kong was not because he was worried that the battle would get bigger and bigger, but because he felt that his troops were insufficient. They are moving troops with their homeland, intending to wait for reinforcements to arrive and attack Guangzhou again or even sail north to attack Zhili; The Emperor had ordered the Imperial Court to dissuade him, and ordered the Heilongjiang General to stop it. ”

"Anything else?"

"Mr. Liu has arrived in Shanghai, and the official document from the Military Aircraft Department has not yet arrived, so Zhou Xingyuan has not yet been reinstated. Mr. Liu said in the letter that Zhou Xingyuan knew that we were short of money to turnover, and guaranteed that after the official was reinstated, he would pay 2,000 taels of gold every month. He will do a beautiful job, and he will never let people grab the handle. ”

Thinking that the "Houyi Hall" finally had a stable source of money, Han Xiufeng muttered: "There is no shortage of money turnover on our side for the time being, and after he is reinstated, all the two thousand taels handed over every month will be allocated to the Nanhai Branch." Wang Naizeng and Yun Qijun are short of money, and they can't do anything without money. ”

"Huh!"

"By the way, is there any news in the palace?"

How could Enjun not know what Han Xiufeng really wanted to ask, and hurriedly said: "I heard Gonggong Liu say that the emperor originally planned to let Bai Zhongtang be the foreman and minister of military aircraft, but Prince Zheng, Prince Yi and Su Shun successively said that it was not appropriate to let Bai Zhongtang be the first assistant. The emperor couldn't make up his mind for a while, so he simply ordered Peng Zhongtang to take charge of the military aircraft department first. ”

"So Peng Zhongtang is the first assistant." Han Xiufeng was surprised.

"Bai Zhongtang can't do it, the emperor can only let Peng Zhongtang do it." Eun Jun paused, and then said: "Now there are only four ministers of military aircraft left in the military aircraft department, as for who will be on duty in the center and go to the minister of military aircraft to learn and walk, there is no news at all, but Peng Zhongtang actually unusually promoted himself." ”

"Who's going to promote?"

"Yiliang, the governor of Liangjiang, complained of illness, and Peng Zhongtang recommended He Guiqing, saying that He Guiqing was qualified to be the governor of Jiang."

Peng Yunzhang has always been cautious, as long as it is the emperor's explanation, he will do it properly, but when it comes to major events, he is vague and has no opinion, sometimes he simply pretends to be deaf and dumb and does not speak, and rarely promotes officials, let alone a feudal official like the governor of Liangjiang.

Han Xiufeng didn't know whether Peng Yunzhang really thought that He Guiqing was qualified to be the governor of Liangjiang, or if he wanted to tell the civil and military officials that he was now the first assistant, so he couldn't help asking: "Does the emperor have any favor?" ”

"The emperor has granted permission, let the Military Aircraft Department draw up an order, and order He Guiqing to serve as the acting governor of Liangjiang with the second grade." Enjun thought for a while, and then said: "It's a coincidence, the governor of Liangjiang reported illness, and the governor of Zhili also reported illness, but the emperor did not approve it. ”

"Is it a real illness or a fake illness?" Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice.

"I don't know about this, but Gui Liang is over seventy years old." Eunjun took a copy of the edict copied by the internal affairs office from Ji Lu's hand, and continued: "Besides, the emperor doesn't seem to be deceived by Ye Mingchen's nonsense, and he is still not very relieved, so he sent down this edict again. ”

"Read."

"Huh." Eunjun cleared his throat and whispered, "...... If Yingyi turns around, there is no need to be sick, Fu is still stubborn, it is difficult to accommodate peace, and the demand for resumption is gradual. Ye Mingchen has been in Guangdong for a long time, and he is familiar with it, so he will be able to handle it at his discretion. Because of the thinking of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and coastal places, they should be familiar with the road of the steamer, and they should not be able to go undue to the ambition of eastern Guangdong, and return to the nuisance of various seaports, and they should also be prepared to prevent it.

Yiliang, Zhao Dezhe, Wang Yide, He Guiqing, etc., and the local officials under the secret command, if the Yi ship sails to it, they will remain silent and take proper precautions. Or come to sue the eastern part of Guangdong for constructing a provocation, and also be convinced by reason, so that you can know that there is no gap, and you will not think about returning, but you must not get involved in Emperor Zhang a little, so that the people will be confused, and this will be known by the secret edict of each of the four hundred miles. ”

As soon as Eunjun finished reading, Ji Lu muttered: "The emperor is not at ease, but these wills are no different from those that were sent before." Either it is properly guarded, or it is convinced by reason, and then it is not allowed to get involved in Emperor Zhang slightly, so that the people are panicked. ”

"It's really a change of soup and not a change of medicine, and I don't know who drafted it." Han Xiufeng sighed lightly, got up and said: "No matter how much, I'll go to dinner first, and after eating, I will present the excerpt that Yingyi has withdrawn from the army, and I will present it early in the morning, so that the emperor can have a good year first." ”

"That's all it can be." Eunjun smiled bitterly.

"After I prepare it, remember to copy a few copies and present them to the Military Aircraft Department and let Feng Xiaowhip give them to Cao Yuying......"

Without waiting for Han Xiufeng to finish speaking, Enjun said helplessly: "Fourth master, it's easy to talk about the military aircraft department, just give it to Cao Yuying." But Prince Zheng, Prince Yi and Lord Chen didn't see me, and they didn't bother to look at what we reported. ”

"Missing?"

"I've been there several times in the past two days, and I even showed my waist card, but I just didn't see it."

"What about Sushun?" Han Xiufeng stared at him and asked.

Eun Jun smiled bitterly: "It's the same with Lord Sushun, every time I hand over the post, Menzi says that he is not at home, let me go in a few days." ”

Han Xiufeng realized that the princes and ministers, including Su Shun, didn't want to set themselves on fire, so he could only say lightly: "If you don't see it, you won't see it, just give Cao Yuying the one from the Military Aircraft Department." ”

Eunjun was secretly thinking that it would save trouble not to visit them one by one, when there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside.

As soon as the three of them raised their heads, they saw Xiao Shandong standing at the door and reported: "Fourth Master, someone from Hubei has come, and he has come with a letter from Hu Linyi, the governor of Hubei, saying that Hubei has won a great victory, and Lord Hu has recovered Wuchang six days ago!" ”

"What about people?"

"Uncle Yu asked him to wait at the door, and asked the little one to come over and report quickly."

"Okay, I'll take a look."

……

Han Xiufeng came to the front hall from the backyard, asked Yu Youfu to invite the person from Hubei in, chatted a few words, and found that the person who came was really just a person who helped Hu Linyi send charcoal respect, so he left Hu Linyi's letter and silver ticket to send the person to leave first.

Eunjun couldn't help but ask: "Fourth Master, has Wuchang really recovered?" ”

Han Xiufeng put down the letter he had just read, raised his head and said with a smile: "It's recovered, Wuchang's long-haired guard Wei Jun, nine times out of ten, he received the news that his brother Wei Changhui was killed by Hong Xiuquan, how could he be so stubborn as before." What's more, the north of Wuchang City has been besieged for so long, and it has long been out of ammunition. ”

"Was Wuchang City abandoned by Changmao, or was it recovered by the officials and soldiers?"

"Naturally, it was reinstated by the official army," Han Xiufeng looked at the five hundred taels of silver tickets sent by Hu Linyi, and muttered: "Eight hundred miles of urgent success, I don't know how many horses have died." But then again, the imperial court is in need of such a great victory, and the emperor is also waiting for this good news! ”

Thinking of how difficult the past year was, Eun Jun suddenly reacted: "What the fourth master said is extremely true, if there is no good news, there is really no way to pass this year!" ”

"Long-haired infighting, the few puppet kings who committed rebellion with Hong Xiuquan died so that only one Shi Dakai remained, and Wuchang has now recovered. As long as the Jiangbei camp and the Jiangnan camp can withstand it, when Lord Hu clears out the bandits in Hubei, he will be able to send troops to Jiangxi and Anhui at that time, and together with Lord Zeng, he will attack the long hair of the two rivers, and the recovery of Jiangning is just around the corner! ”

Han Xiufeng stood up and said helplessly: "Long hair self-destruction of the Great Wall, there is no need to worry, but Xiyi is provoking at this juncture. If the imperial court can compromise and seek perfection, it will be able to deal with it calmly, and when the long hair is exterminated, and then cultivate and recuperate, lie on the salary and taste the courage for three or five years, I will still be afraid of the Xiyi of the labor expedition when I gather the strength of the whole country? ”

Enjun thought so, but when he thought about it, he said dejectedly: "Fourth master, everyone understands this truth, but the emperor is worried that he will have no shame to face the ancestors and ancestors in the future, Qingxian and his Ama are there, who dares to make peace with the princes and ministers in the court, who is willing to leave a reputation for eternity, how can it be so easy to compromise and seek all." ”

(End of chapter)