Sending Qiao Songnian away, Han Xiufeng sat alone in the study for a long time, and after thinking about it, he still felt that he couldn't act rashly, and he felt that it was better not to offend Yang Nengge.

It's very simple not to offend Yang Nengge, that is, to be Yang Nengge's subordinate honestly, to help run errands and spread the word, and then to hand over all the taxes paid by Citi merchants to the Provincial Affairs Department.

It's just that the previous taxes have been given to the new grain station according to Xu Naizhao's instructions, and Citi merchants are not as many as English and French merchants, and the trade of foreign merchants in this chaotic world is not easy to do.

Thinking that he could do a superficial article first, Han Xiufeng simply drafted two official letters, one for Xu Naizhao and the other for Yang Nengge. He said that the supervision of the Jiang Customs has always been concurrently held by the Daotai, and the tax of the Jiang Customs has always been handed over by the Provincial Department to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Jiangning Domain, and implored Xu Naizhao to let the Jiangxi Customs hand over the Provincial Treasury first according to the old practice.

Just knocked on a big bamboo pole of "selling chickens", Xu Naizhao was not as short of silver as when he first arrived, thinking that if he didn't agree, Han Xiufeng, the superintendent of Jiang Customs, would be caught between him and Yang Nengge, so he readily agreed.

Yang Nengge saw Han Xiufeng's submission and the official letter sent by Xu Naizhao's messenger, and smiled proudly: "Mr. Chen, it seems that this Han Xiufeng is a little self-aware, at least he knows who is his superior." ”

Master Chen took the official document and looked at it, and said in a deep voice: "Dong Weng, in the opinion of his later life, let him pay the tax directly to the grain station." ”

"I think so too, if according to the old practice as he said, the tax will only pass through our hands, maybe the tax will have already arrived before it reaches the grain table. The imperial court wants not only the tariffs of Citi's commercial goods, but also the tariffs of the commercial goods of England and France, and once we handle it, if the imperial court asks about the tariffs of the commercial goods of England and France, then there will be no room for maneuver at all. ”

What Dong Weng said was that as long as he, Han Xiufeng, was the superintendent of Jiang Customs for a day, then he should negotiate with the foreigners about the recovery of tariffs. Even if the negotiations fail and the customs duties cannot be recovered, the imperial court will not blame Dong Weng harshly. ”

"Give him a letter back, and let him follow the foreigners closely, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless and ineffective in handling his affairs!"

"Obey the order, and I will draft it later."

……

At the same time, He Heng, the secretary of the cabinet, hurriedly returned to the hall and reported the news he had just heard with Huang Zhongyin, the imperial historian of Huguang Province, and Ji Yunfei, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, who were chatting about the war situation.

"I've been promoted again, and the acting is still the superintendent of Jiang Customs!"

"It is the same governor of Songjiang Prefecture and the governor of the Jiangjiang Customs, but I heard from my colleagues in the cabinet that Zhixing's supervision is estimated to not be long, even if the emperor does not order the new Su Song Taidao Yang Nengge to serve as a concurrently according to the old practice, he will also order the household department or the internal affairs office to find a suitable person to take over."

Huang Zhongyin not only recognized Yang Nengge, but also knew Yang Nengge's personality very well, and said with a frown: "Zhixing is not good to be a deputy of two Huaiyun in Taizhou, go to Shanghai to make a lot of fun!" Yang Nengge thinks very highly of himself, and looks down on officials who are born in donations, and he hates the cases of donations from the imperial court, and has written more than once to explain the pros and cons. When encountering an official like Yang Nengge, it is not easy to supervise the Jiang Customs. ”

Ji Yunfei also realized that Han Si was in big trouble, and said solemnly: "Yang Nengge can't tolerate a little sand in his eyes, even if Zhixing is careful not to offend him, he will not give Zhixing a good face." ”

He Heng thought that Han Si's promotion was a good thing, so he rushed back to report the good news, but he didn't expect Han Si's promotion this time to be in trouble, and couldn't help asking: "What should I do?" ”

"Zhixing is far away in Shanghai, and the whip is beyond the reach of the whip, and we can't help if we want to."

"Master Ji, can you send a letter to Yang Daotai and ask him to take more care of Zhixing?"

"I wanted to write, but it didn't work. If I really write to him, not only will he not give me face, but he will hurt Zhixing. ”

"Will it hurt Zhixing?"

"If you think about it, he already looks down on donors, if we still help Zhixing speak, he will definitely feel that Zhixing not only spends money to buy officials, but also goes around camping. Let's put it this way, as long as it is an official who is born as a donor, there is no good person in Yang Nengge's eyes. ”

He Heng thought about it and said: "Isn't there still Xiang Shuai in Jiangnan, even if he wants to embarrass him, he can't help but give Xiang Shuai face." ”

Huang Zhongyin sighed lightly and said helplessly: "Others may give Xiang Shuai face, but Yang Nengge will not give it, because in Yang Nengge's eyes, Xiang Shuai is not only the minister in charge of Jiangnan military affairs, but also a military attache from the army." Among the excerpts of the impeachment of Xiang Shuai a few days ago was his Yang Nengge. ”

He Heng reacted and asked worriedly: "Will he regard Zhixing as a handsome person?" ”

"This won't be, after all, Zhixing's career has nothing to do with Xiang Shuai, and everyone knows that the reason why Zhixing can be the deputy of the two Huaiyun is Guo Peilin's guarantee, and the acting Songjiang Prefecture Haiphong Tongzhi and Jiang Customs Supervision is recommended by Xu Naizhao." Huang Zhongyin thought for a while, and then said: "Although he will not regard Zhixing as a handsome person, he will not let Zhixing have a good life, and he will definitely change his way to toss Zhixing." ”

"Are you saying that he will dismiss the official of Zhixing and take the position of Zhixing?"

"If it's just a dismissal, there's nothing to worry about, stay in Qingshan without worrying about running out of firewood, and in the future, as long as there is a chance, you can make a comeback. I'm worried that he will let Zhixing take the blame, after all, negotiating with foreigners is not a trivial matter, if something goes wrong, he will definitely push Zhixing out without hesitation and let Zhixing carry it alone. ”

Thinking of Lin Wenzhenggong, who advocated the ban on smoking, to Qi Shan, who is now in charge of Jiangbei's military affairs, as long as he is ordered to deal with foreigners, one of them will not be able to fall well, Ji Yunfei smiled bitterly: "Doesn't Zhixing want to resign, now it's okay, I bet that he can't be an official for a few days, at most three or five months." ”

"If it's just a loss of office, it's just a matter of being locked up, and being taken to Beijing for questioning. Thinking that Qi Shan did not negotiate with the foreigners and came up with a good result, Daoguang Ye was furious, and when he saw that it was a land cut and a reparation, he immediately issued an order to dismiss him and lock him up, and confiscate the family property. ”

As long as you meet foreigners, whether it is the main battle or the main peace, you will not end well.

He Heng finally realized what kind of official Han Si was, and finally realized how difficult Han Si's current situation was, so he could only coax himself and say: "Since you are an official, how can everything be smooth sailing." Before Zhixing, the official luck was too good, and it went too smoothly. It's not a bad thing to encounter a little setback, but to experience a little bit of ups and downs. ”

"This is not as simple as a setback, if you don't do it, you will be ruined, and it's too late to write to him to remind him now, you can only rely on him alone."

"Huang Yushi, you mean ......"

"As the superintendent of Jiang Customs, it is impossible for him not to deal with foreigners, but he must not give people a handle, even if he can't collect the tariffs of foreign merchants, he can't agree to any conditions for foreigners, otherwise it will be a loss of power and humiliation of the country.

"So no one can help him now?"

"No one can help, it's all up to him." Huang Zhongyin nodded solemnly, thought about it and said: "So now the last person who wants Zhixing to lose his official position is Yang Nengge, but if he has to compromise with foreigners in order to recover the tariffs, I bet that he will definitely lose his power and humiliate the country, and let Zhixing help him carry this pot." ”

Ji Yunfei took over the conversation and muttered: "As long as Zhixing is cautious and doesn't leave a truth, we will help think of a way when the time comes, and he may have a chance to turn over in the future." If we allow foreigners to do anything and leave a false pretext, we won't be able to help even if we want to. ”

"Master Ji, you can rest assured, how shrewd Zhixing is, he won't give people a handle!"

"If you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what if, in case Yang Nengge asks him to promise what conditions to foreigners, what if he has to agree?"

"No," He Heng thought for a while, and said in an affirmative tone: "Zhixing is now an official who has also done it, and he has made some money more or less, and he has even planned to return to his hometown for a long time. Even if he is dismissed, he will not fall into Yang Nengge's shoes and do those things that lose power and humiliate the country. ”

vertex