In the matter of investigating and dealing with the officials of the Internal Affairs Department who had been officials in Nanyuan, Han Xiufeng did not communicate with Su Shun in advance. In fact, even the superintendent of the imperial history Meng Chuanjin impeached the Qingfeng Shilang who shouted grievances, and he did not say hello to Su Shun in advance.

In Meng Chuanjin's opinion, there is no official with a clean ass in the various yamen of the Internal Affairs Office, he has long wanted to clean up one or two high-spirited officials of the Internal Affairs Office to make a name for himself, seeing that Han Xiufeng actually dared to poke the hornet's nest, he naturally would not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, anyway, even if the sky falls, Su Shun will help him carry it.

Because of Cheng Biting Jin, who was killed halfway, the officials of the Internal Affairs Department, including several ministers in charge, believed that Han Xiufeng's "killing spree" was instructed by Su Shun, and even if he was dissatisfied, he could only swallow his anger.

Han Xiufeng didn't want to explain, first, he couldn't explain clearly, and second, he couldn't explain at all.

Counting the days, the army of the British and Buddhist Eryi soon arrived at the mouth of Dagu, but the emperor and the princes and ministers of the court thought about things very simply, and felt that they could fool Xiyi away as before.

For example, let Tan Tingxiang send someone to meet with Chief Yi first, and then take the note handed by Chief Yi, under the pretext that he can't be the master, he has to report to the court first, and it will be delayed for ten days and a half months, after all, it takes time for the official document to come and go; If Xiyi was impatient to wait, he said that the imperial court had ordered Huang Zonghan to be the minister who handled the affairs of Yi, and persuaded Xiyi to return to Guangdong to negotiate with Huang Zonghan......

In short, I have been fooled like this for so many years, and I feel that this time I can fool the past as long as I deal with it carefully. In the words of Prince Zheng Duanhua, Xiyi is like a mad dog, the more you take care of it, the more it will be with you. "Respond to all changes with the same", don't bother with it, it will make a fuss for a while and find that it can't make a fuss, and it will naturally retreat in dismay.

Han Xiufeng didn't dare to agree, he felt that there was a chance that Xiyi would "jump off the wall in a hurry" again, and he didn't have even a trace of confidence in the coastal defense of Dagukou, and he didn't know how many days Tan Tingxiang and Guorui and others would be able to defend once Xiyi started fighting, so he felt that time was pressing, and he had to make as many preparations as he could before Xiyi captured Dagukou and Tianjin!

Facts have proved that investigating and prosecuting officials is the fastest way to get money.

In just 11 days, Wang Qianli, Wan Shixuan and Temulun raised more than 34,000 taels, and the silver was handed over to the Guangchu Division, and the Guangchu Division was ordered to allocate to him this Fengchen Yuanqing for the renovation and repair of the Nanyuan River Haizi.

As a result, as soon as it was shipped back, he spent most of it, buying shovels, sacks, hemp ropes, flat poles, baskets and other river control utensils everywhere, and purchasing rice, flour, grain and oil everywhere, but he did not buy armor and weapons, so that in the eyes of those who hated him to the core, he was squeezing silver to help the emperor repair the palace temple of Nanyuan, rather than repairing the river, let alone thinking about military training.

More than 300 horses, 12 camels, and more than 50 mules raised in Nanyuan, together with nearly 100 grooms and more than a dozen Mongolian doctors, along with a holy decree of the emperor, were also under the control of Fengchen Yuanqing, who had been a Shaoqing of the Taifu Temple and was "familiar with horse politics".

And the reason is very sufficient, because according to the rule, the horses in the courtyard enter the South Garden in April every year to release green, and return to the circle in October. Now that he is in charge of the ban of the Yuan, Fengchen Yuanqing is stationed in Nanyuan, it is only fitting that he is in charge of it.

Everyone was busy, and everything was going on in an orderly manner, but Han Xiufeng felt that it was still not fast enough, so he rode his horse to the school field that had been demarcated a few days ago early this morning, and stared at the soldiers of the river camp and the newly recruited garrison of the Eight Banners and the gate army drills.

These days are extremely nervous, Rong Lu has long seen that he is preparing for a war, and he can't help but raise his whip and drive his horse over and ask: "My lord, the horse team doesn't practice riding and shooting, and they don't even have armor and weapons, so they practice formation with the river camp, if they really go into battle in the future, can they fight?" ”

Han Xiufeng looked at the soldiers who were scolding Wang Hedong, Gu Kui, Zhang Xiaobao and others, and while stroking the horse's neck, he asked rhetorically: "Zhonghua, do you think they can practice a horse and archery martial art in a month?" ”

"A few months is naturally not enough, but it is better to practice than not to practice." Rong Lu circled around him, tightened the reins, and said with a bitter face: "Look, if you continue to practice like this, is this still a horse team, what is the difference between this and the infantry of the green battalion?" ”

A few days ago, he was too busy, Han Xiufeng didn't bother to explain to him, and seeing that he had an opinion on such a practice, he said helplessly: "Brother doesn't know, I have to let you practice like this." ”

"What's the last resort?"

"One is that time doesn't wait for me, we don't have so much time to practice step by step; Second, according to the training of the cavalry battalion and the forward battalion, even if everyone can practice the ability of riding and shooting, we will be defeated and invincible when we meet foreigners. ”

Rong Lu was taken aback: "Brother Zhixing, are you saying that these hundreds of soldiers in our company will rush to Tianjin sooner or later, and they will compete with foreigners?" ”

Han Xiufeng didn't want to answer this question, but said solemnly: "Raising soldiers for a thousand days and using soldiers for a while, the emperor trusts you and me so much, sooner or later he will be able to use you and me." Therefore, this soldier has to train hard, and from now on, you and I will not go anywhere, just stay here and train wholeheartedly. ”

"But if you continue to practice like this, what can you practice?"

"Do you think I'm using my horse armor as an infantryman?"

"Isn't it?"

"Yes, but there is something to say about it." Han Xiufeng took a deep breath and patiently explained: "We have a horse team, Xiyi has a horse team, and their horse team has a loud banner, called 'Dragoon'!" They can all ride horses, but they can only ride horses, and they are not proficient in riding and archery, and they will not fight on horses unless they have to. ”

"And how are they going to fight this battle?" Rong Lu asked puzzled.

"To put it bluntly, they are a bunch of shotgunners who can ride horses, each with a new type of firebird gun, and some even have an extra handcuff, in addition to a saber for melee defense. When going into battle, we pay attention to being fast, and we can rush to the designated place in the fastest time to arrange. ”

"When you get to the place, you dismount and release your gun?"

"Almost." Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "If the equestrian skills are good enough, they will take turns to attack and harass the enemy army, ride their horses and gallop to the front of the enemy formation to release their guns, and then run backwards after the fight, and then reload the gunpowder and lead when they reach a safe place, and then attack and harass, several groups of horse teams are so repeated that the enemy army is unable to defend against it." ”

"It's a bit interesting, a bit like the Mongol horses, except they use shotguns instead of firing bows and arrows."

"Insightful, worthy of being the queen of the gate."

"But we don't have that many shotguns!"

"If you don't have it at this time, it doesn't mean that you won't have it in a few days, so you have to let them practice the formation first, learn how to put the gun first, and how to load it after they finish." Han Xiufeng paused, and added: "You still have to learn how to dig trenches and build bases." ”

Rong Lu reacted and asked eagerly: "Brother Zhixing, do you have a gun, but we can't transport it?" ”

"I have already sent someone to Shanghai to get guns, and all I have bought are foreign guns."

"How many rods have been bought, and when will they arrive?"

"There should be 300 strokes, but I don't know when it will be delivered."

"But Wang Hedong and I have more than 600 people combined, and 300 strokes is not enough!"

"I want to buy more, but I can only do as much as I have silver," Han Xiufeng glanced back at Xu Jiu, and continued: "What's more, you can't rely on shotgunners to fight a war, you need people to dig trenches and build a village, you need spearmen and knife players to guard shotguns, and you need people to transfer grain and grass baggage, so you have a hundred poles on your side, and they will all be issued to vests." The remaining thirty-six men soldiers all served as sword and card players to guard the vests, and the horsemen and men were responsible for the transfer of baggage. ”

As soon as Han Xiufeng said this, Rong Lu finally understood why Wang Hedong and the others were practicing so much in the past few days, and said by inference: "There are two hundred bird gunners over there in the river camp, and the remaining two hundred are spearmen and sword players?" ”

"It's almost, but there's no need to distinguish it so clearly, after all, there are few horsemen in the river camp, and when it's time to dig a trench, you have to put down your weapons to dig a trench, and when it's time to march, you have to help transfer the baggage."

Thinking of the Eight Banners Horse Team and the Mongolian Horse Team stationed in the north, Shangguan would release Nanshan if he didn't come, only knowing how to play cards, eat wine, and even smoke a lot, and then think of the Beijing camp that couldn't fight at all, Rong Lu said excitedly: "Brother Zhixing, if the foreign guns can be transported in time, if the food and salary can be supported, given time, when our six hundred soldiers are trained, I am afraid that they can really top two or three thousand Beijing battalion soldiers!" ”

"It's natural, but we have to have time first!"

……

The two were chatting, and Xiao Shandong rode at a gallop.

"Fourth master, Tianjin urgent!"

"Got it." Han Xiufeng took the envelope from his hand and wrote a well-known letter in front of Rong Lu.

Seeing his solemn expression, Rong Lu couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhixing, is Xiyi's warship coming?" ”

"Here we are, but not all." Han Xiufeng glanced down at the letter again, looked at the east from afar, frowned tightly, and said: "The scouts stationed in Dagukou by Chonghou have found out that Yingfo Eryi has eight steamers and three ships, which are anchored five or six miles opposite the fort, watching day and night, and they can break in suddenly, which is unstoppable, and it is not easy to prevent. ”

"Didn't you say that there were fifty or sixty gunboats, but how could there be only eleven?"

"Xiyi's warships vary in size and speed, so they should still be behind."

"Tan Tingxiang just waited?"

"He was busy sending people to negotiate with the Yi chieftains who came ashore, and by the way, the Russian envoy and the Mi envoy also went ashore and were helping to make peace." Han Xiufeng put down the letter and said coldly: "This is obviously a delaying tactic, I bet that as soon as the gunboats of the brigade arrive, they will immediately turn their faces." ”

"Do you want to hurry up and report to the emperor."

"No, how to negotiate, how to prevent blockage, it has nothing to do with us, our top priority is to train the troops!" Han Xiufeng put away the letter, turned around and said: "Xiao Shandong, Master Qingxian, you don't care about it, hurry up and go to the duty room of the Rite Department of the Old Summer Palace to find Zhang Deyu and Li Weichang, and ask them to help find out how the imperial court responded, if there is an edict to help copy a copy." ”

"Understood, the little ones will go."