After Cao Shuzhong saw Chen Hu and the others, he asked his family to go to the banquet in Zhangluo, to wash the dust for Han Xiufeng. Han Xiufeng politely rejected his kindness on the grounds that it was not suitable for filial piety and mourning, so he led Chen Hu and the others to retire.

Although Han Xiufeng said "stay", Cao Shuzhong still sent him to the door of the instrument, until the back news of Han Xiufeng and the others was around the corner, and then he hurriedly returned to the flower hall, and asked Mr. Chen, a friend who was hiding behind the screen just now, to help him see what Han Xiufeng's gourd was selling.

"It sounds like a heartfelt statement, but I always feel that it's not that simple, and I can't even figure out which of his words is true and which is false."

"Dong Weng, the student thinks that what he just said is true, but it's just ...... It's just that there is something to say, and it doesn't say it all! ”

"What do you mean by that?" Cao Shuzhong asked eagerly.

Mr. Chen was not only thoughtful, but also conscientious, and even took advantage of Cao Shuzhong and Han Xiufeng to go to the front office to meet Chen Hu and other military attachés, and wrote down what Han Xiufeng said before.

Seeing the eagerness of the owner Cao Shuzhong, he put down the notes he had just made, and analyzed them carefully: "He returned to his hometown before Ding Wei was in the center, and he was ...... to the Holy Will Especially how the emperor views the group training is the clearest. Through the mouths of Cui Huanzhang, Yang Yiqing and others, it is not unreasonable to release the rumor that 'group training can be as little as possible, and it must not involve Emperor Zhang and cause malpractice'. ”

"Why didn't he tell me in person, why did he borrow someone else's mouth?"

"Dong Weng, if he tells you in person, won't he meddle in local government and military affairs?" Mr. Chen replied and asked, "What's more, as soon as he saw you, he mentioned that you and Master Duan were the same year, and presented Shi Zanqing's letters, and even performed the gift of the juniors, which shows that he has the heart to make friends with you." Therefore, it is inconvenient for him to tell you in person about the chaos of the regimental training in Ba County and even the entire East Sichuan Province, because you will definitely not be happy if you say it. ”

"That's right." Cao Shuzhong felt that there was some truth, and after thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask: "Brother Guicheng, so he plans to give me a salute before the soldiers?" ”

"It should be, if the chaos of the group training is not rectified, he will definitely not stand idly by." Mr. Chen paused, got up and said: "He has accumulated merit to be a member of the General Political Department, if it were not for his military merits, the emperor would never have given him the Segu Batu Luyong number." And the reason why he was able to be a counselor of the General Political Department and the reason why he was able to walk extra on the military plane Zhang Jing with his name Zhang Jing had a lot to do with his experience in Shanghai. ”

"What's the matter?"

"I remember that Lord Duan once said that when the remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society committed a rebellion in Shanghai, the prefect of Shanghai was martyred, and Wu Jianzhang, who was the governor of Su Song Taidao and the supervisor of Jiang Customs, was captured by the rebellious party, and one of the civil and military officials around Shanghai who was not martyred and not captured ran away, leaving him as a court official who happened to go to Shanghai on an errand, so Yiliang, the governor of Liangjiang, and Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu at the time, were in a hurry to obey the power and ordered him to act as the governor of Songjiang Prefecture and the governor of Haiphong and the superintendent of Jiang Customs."

"In the face of danger, it can be seen that he can be in a high position at a young age, and it is not all supported by Duan Dazhang and Guo Peilin and others."

"Dong Weng, the students want to say that it's not these, but that most of the chaotic parties in Shanghai are recruited and trained by the Provincial Department and the county government! And the bandits who made trouble in Tongzi were either dismissed or traitors who mixed into the group training. Therefore, in Han Xiufeng's view, the regimental training in Ba County and even the entire eastern Sichuan Province must be rectified, otherwise once those bandits in Guizhou collude with those traitors who have mixed into the regimental training of the state capitals in eastern Sichuan Province, there will be chaos in eastern Sichuan, chaos in Sichuan, and the situation will be out of control! ”

Cao Shuzhong had a headache when it came to the chaos of the group exercise, and sighed and said: "But freezing three feet is not a day's cold, the eastern Sichuan group training can be traced back to the Jiaqing Dynasty at the earliest, and no one in the past officials wants to poke this hornet's nest, but let it get more and more, and make it bigger and bigger, and now it has become a big trend, if it is really rectified with great fanfare, it will only backfire!" ”

Mr. Chen smiled proudly: "Dong Weng, in fact, he has already thought of a way for you." ”

"Did he help me think about it?"

"Exactly."

"I don't know, he didn't tell me anything!"

"He's only halfway through it, and he's done it quietly."

"What half of that said, and what did he do?" The more Cao Shuzhong listened, the more confused he became.

Mr. Chen did it and said slowly: "Dong Weng, you are a fan of the authorities. He said that the people of this province should not be in charge of the affairs of this province, and he had already ordered Gao Yunfeng, an alternate of Zhili, to lead two additional foreign commissioners to Guizhou before he entered the province. The implication couldn't be clearer, that is, it is possible to send those Tuan Yong, who are increasingly disobedient to the call of the yamen, to Guizhou to help the officials and soldiers quell the chaos! ”

"Send those scourges to Guizhou?"

"If those scourges can help suppress those bandits in Guizhou, it will naturally be indispensable to you Dong Weng. If those scourges die in Guizhou, it will not do any harm to Ba County or even the entire eastern Sichuan. ”

Mr. Chen thought for a while, and said with a smile: "Xiangqing said when he came to meet Du Xingyuan yesterday afternoon that Han Xiufeng released the news that he was going to rectify the group practice, and at the same time, he actually connived at several prisoners of his family Ciyun to petition that they no longer pay the group fee to the horse group, and the young people in the village no longer went to the horse group training, and even planned to organize their own group training in the village. ”

"Yes, while claiming to be rectified, and at the same time trying to do it, isn't it a contradiction!"

"The student thinks this is not a contradiction, Dong Weng, think about it, if there is a village and a group, is it still called a group practice?"

Cao Shu Zhong understood as if he had been empowered, and couldn't help laughing: "Then it's back to Baojia." “

"First send those regiments that are uneasy and do not listen to the call of the yamen to Guizhou to help the officers and soldiers quell the chaos, and then split the remaining large regiments into small regiments. Divide and dissolve them to prevent future troubles. Mr. Chen thought about it and sighed: "The emperor sent him back to help with the group training, and he really had a party, if it weren't for a person like him who has insight into the people's conditions and knows the terrain, he really can't think of such a plan." ”

"It's really better to listen to your words than to read for ten years." Cao Shuzhong suddenly realized, and couldn't help but smile when he thought about it: "Doesn't he know how to train soldiers to fight, didn't he say that the people of this province should not take care of the affairs of this province, then the official will let him run this regimental training, and let him lead the regiments from various states and counties to Guizhou to quell the chaos!" ”

"Dong Weng, you think things are simple again, I don't believe we can make a bet, he will not happily agree to hold this group training, let alone happily agree to lead those regiments to Guizhou."

"He wants money?"

"It's not just money, it's actually a small thing."

"And why?"

Mr. Chen took a sip of tea and said meaningfully: "The lessons of Master Zeng Guofan are there, do you think he will repeat the mistakes of the past?" He will not do this kind of thing if he is killed, and there is no need for an upstart like him to be in the limelight, as long as he finishes his funeral in his hometown and ensures that eastern Sichuan will not be disturbed by those bandits in Guizhou, he will be able to return to Beijing and continue to be an official. ”

"What do you think of the regimental training that went out of the province to quell the chaos, how about asking him to help lead the troops when the time comes?"

"That's a good idea, anyway, the student thinks he won't make a bird."

"But if he doesn't come out of this, we will be out of the name, and we won't be able to quell the chaos in the province," Cao Shuzhong paused, and emphasized: "He is the minister of regimental training appointed by the emperor, and only he can justifiably lead the regiment to Guizhou." ”

"So this matter has to be considered in the long run, in short, you can't let him think that you think he is in the way in Ba County and want to drive him away."

"This is said in the point, I'm sure that even if he doesn't have the emperor's edict in his hand, he can still play it to the sky!"

The student also thought so, otherwise how could the emperor order him to lead ten civil and military officials back, not to mention that he also brought back one hundred and six guns and more than 3,000 catties of gunpowder and lead! There are so many foreign guns that no one can buy if they want to, even if they can be bought, if they don't have the customs defense of the big yamen, don't think about transporting them to Ba County, it can be seen that the emperor sent him back to fight, at least he ordered him to be ready to fight at any time while worrying! ”

"But he said he asked a friend to pay money to buy it."

"Dong Weng, if you want to talk about friends, your friends are not less than him, do you think those friends of yours can help buy so many foreign guns?"

"It's easy to talk about other things, but foreign guns are really not easy to buy."

"That's it."

Cao Shuzhong thought about it and frowned slightly: "Not only did he claim that he asked a friend to help him buy the silver, but he also said that please go and check it, what does this mean?" ”

"It's not easy, he's going to sell you those foreign guns!"

"Now the world is not peaceful, you can buy it, but after buying it, he will be gone, what will he take to fight if he has no gun in his hand?"

Mr. Chen thought to himself, why can't you turn this corner, so he could only smile bitterly: "My lord, if the student is not mistaken, he is planning to sell you those foreign guns and gunpowder leads, and then ask you to send those foreign guns and gunpowder and lead to him to hold a group exercise." ”

"The gun is still in his hand, let me give the money, what is the reason?"

"What does he want a gun for, he doesn't want a gun to protect the safety of Ba County and even the entire eastern Sichuan, the emperor ordered him to go back to his hometown to help organize the group training, hoping that he can help you sit in eastern Sichuan and keep the east of Sichuan safe!"

"But didn't you just say that you were going to go out of the province to attack?"

"Blindly preventing blockage will only be impossible to prevent, in other words, the best prevention is to prevent blocking." Mr. Chen thought for a while, and then said: "Besides, those foreign guns are left, do you plan to give them to those green battalion soldiers who are not of great use, or to those tea warriors who are issued to the Baojia Bureau." ”

"If it is given to the green camp, it is estimated that it will not take a few months to be sold by those Qiu Ba for wine money, and if it is sent to those tea Yong of the Baojia Bureau, it will only be too big to lose, to be honest, I really don't feel at ease. After all, it was more than 100 foreign guns, not more than 100 spears. ”

"So those more than 100 foreign guns are good things, but they are also hot potatoes, you won't be at ease if you hand them over to anyone, so it's better to give them to him." Mr. Chen pondered for a moment, and then said: "What's more, he still went back to his hometown to worry about it after all, and he stayed in Sichuan for a short time, and when he returned to Beijing after serving his funeral, would it be difficult for him to take those guns and the brave ones he had cultivated?" ”