In fact, as soon as Pan Er set off from Gu'an to Tianjin, Han Xiufeng entrusted the camp affairs to Yongxiang and Chen Chongtong, hired four carriages to take Qin'er, Mi Mei'er, Ren Yu'er and the little guy, called Fei Erye and Ji Yunfei's student Yun Qijun, who had just returned from the capital, and 23 alternate commanders, generals, foreign commissioners and other military attaches from the left, center, and right battalions, and began to travel around the capital.

Not only visited Wanping, Yongqing, Zhuozhou, Bazhou, Wuqing and Liangxiang along the Yongding River, but also went to Tongzhou, where the Yongding River does not flow, and then went straight to Yizhou under the jurisdiction of Baoding Prefecture, stopped and stopped, visited the gentry, this trip actually traveled for nearly two months.

Wu Tingdong really couldn't stand it, and in a fit of anger, he was impeached by the emperor's favor but did not want to serve the court, and even left his post without permission, and traveled with his wife and children, not only harassing the locality, but even driving the river hall members as domestic slaves, which is an unforgivable crime!

How could those officials in the capital miss this opportunity, and flocked to the top, begging the emperor to dismiss Han Xiufeng and arrest him. The crowd was excited, Huang Zhongyin and Ji Yunfei couldn't help if they wanted to, so they could only secretly scold Han Si for being confused. Just when they were in a hurry, the emperor couldn't resist it, and ordered a reprimand, and Han Xiufeng took everyone back to Gu'an.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he came back, he saw Wu Zhaoling, and Cui Hao smiled bitterly: "Fourth master, Master Wu has been here for six days, and he has been waiting for you here for six days!" ”

Han Xiufeng motioned for Cui Hao to step back, and asked with a smile: "Brother Songsheng, why are you doing this?" ”

"You can scare Yonghuan and Bowen to death this time, if I don't come to the capital, I can't stay in the capital, they will call me to go to the guild hall every day to find a way together." Wu Zhaoling has a very good personal relationship with Su Shun, and he knew that Han Xiufeng's trip this time was not a drunkard's intention to drink, but he didn't dare to divulge half a sentence because of the stakes, so he could only pretend to be confused with Huang Zhongyin, Ji Yunfei and other fellow villagers.

Han Xiufeng was very aware of his friendship with Su Shun, and knew that he was an informed, so he said helplessly: "Let Brother Yonghuan and Brother Bowen worry." ”

"Don't apologize, you can't help yourself," Wu Zhaoling smiled, and said: "What's more, isn't it okay now, the emperor just reprimanded you, and didn't dismiss you and ask you to be handed over to the ministry, so don't commit such a big thing, you should be in a different place, it can be seen how strong your holy family is, and the heart they are hanging should be able to fall." ”

"Brother Songsheng, if you have a choice, you won't be in the limelight if you kill me!"

"Who let the Son of Heaven have no selfish affairs, so I can only wronged you." Wu Zhaoling put down the teacup, thought about it and said with a smile: "Bowen is really worried about you, worried that he will rush to the doctor in a hurry, and even dare to ask to see Peng Zhongtang, but unfortunately Master Peng has a lot of opportunities and has no time to see him, but I estimate that Master Peng should know the inside story." ”

"Master Peng is the first batch of people to be ordered to survey the auspicious land of ten thousand years, I just went around the land boundary of Shuntianfu, and I also went to Yizhou on a special trip, how could his old man not guess what I was going to do."

"That's right." Wu Zhaoling nodded, and then pointed to the stack of letters on the case: "I have been out for so long, there are a lot of letters, there are more than blessings sent a few days ago, and there are also I helped bring this time, hurry up and take a look." If you want to reply to someone's letter, I will help you bring it back to the capital tomorrow morning, and let the shopkeeper Wen send it to Rishengchang. ”

"Let's leave tomorrow, you finally come here, why don't you stay for a few more days, why don't you let me do my landlord's friendship."

"You think I'm you? Although there is nothing to do in Hanlin Temple, you can't always go back. ”

"Okay, you use tea, I'll take it apart and take a look."

I don't know if I don't see it, I was shocked when I saw it, there were really a lot of letters during this time.

There are Zhang Guangsheng and his father Zhang Dejian who sent it to the provincial pavilion from Hunan, Xue Huan and Liu Cunhou who sent it to Rishengchang Shanghai Branch, Du San who sent it from Taizhou, and even Guo Peilin who sent it from Taizhou.

"Zhixing, what's wrong?" Seeing Han Xiufeng looking at it and suddenly frowning, Wu Zhaoling asked subconsciously.

"A friend when he was in Taizhou was martyred in Hubei, he didn't have to go to Hubei, the reason why he went to Hubei was all for me and another friend, I didn't expect Taizhou to be a farewell to Yongji, I didn't expect him to die because of me......"

"Who, do I recognize?"

"You don't recognize him, but you must have heard of his cousin," Han Xiufeng put down the letter and said solemnly: "His surname is Wu, his name is Wu Wenming, and his cousin is Wu Wenrong, the governor of Huguang, who has been martyred. He originally held a regimental training in Taizhou to help the officers and soldiers besiege Changmao, but a few years ago he heard that I was impeached by Yang Nengge, just in time for another friend of life and death, Zhang Yiguo, who was impeached by Qi Shan, and in a fit of anger helped us go to Hubei to find Lord Wu, and wanted to ask Lord Wu to rescue us both. ”

"As a result, I went to Huangzhou with Lord Wu?"

"Hmm." Han Xiufeng's heart was like a knife, and the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became.

Wu Zhaoling could understand his mood at this moment, and was silent for a while before asking in a low voice: "Then who is this Zhang Dejian who wrote you this letter?" ”

"Lord Wu's fellow countryman, who was originally a friend of Lord Wu's brother Wu Wenxi, later saw Lord Wu transferred to the governor of Huguang, so he went to Wuchang to serve under Lord Wu. Before Lord Wu led the troops to Huangzhou, he knew that there were not enough soldiers, so he ordered him to go to Hunan with a handwritten letter to ask Zeng Guofan for help, but unfortunately Zeng Daren's sailors had not yet been trained, and the food and salary were not enough, so he could not make the trip. ”

"Isn't it death and not help?"

"Lord Wu is Lord Zeng's mentor, how can Lord Zeng not save him from death, Zhang Dejian is now serving under Lord Zeng, and he said in the letter that Lord Zeng had asked him to send a letter to Lord Wu, persuading Lord Wu not to go to Huangzhou. But Lord Wu said that the king's order could not be violated, and insisted on going, so he could only go to Hunan again with the reply letter from Lord Wu to Lord Zeng. ”

Wu Zhaoling knew exactly how Wu Wenrong died, so he could only comfort: "Zhixing, the deceased has passed away, the living are like this, and the matter has come to this point, so we can only mourn." ”

"What can you do if you don't mourn," Han Xiufeng got up and walked to the bookshelf, took out a wooden box, took out a booklet from the wooden box, turned to a blank page, and said solemnly while grinding ink: "I have to write down his life, otherwise I will really forget if I am busy." ”

Wu Zhaoling came over and took a look, and couldn't help but be surprised, because there were already more than 20 pages recorded in this booklet, and each page recorded the lives of two people in neat small letters!

Thinking that this meant more than 40 lives, Wu Zhaoling said with mixed feelings: "Yes, we should write it down, some friends have no official position or low official position, and the court will not remember it, we can't forget it." ”

"That's what I think, at least write it down, and you can take it out and take it out every Qingming season, and you can burn some paper for them."

……

Han Xiufeng never pretended to be a person, and after writing it down, he returned to his position and opened the letter again. Wu Zhaoling is not an outsider, Han Xiufeng didn't want him to sit down, and talked about the things in the letter while watching.

Xue Huan said that Lord Xu was dismissed for his ineffective suppression of thieves, and those officers and soldiers who attacked and suppressed the Shanghai Rebellion Party fought with the foreigners in the concession, counting the more than 10,000 soldiers recruited later, they actually did not fight more than 400 foreigners, and those soldiers under Liu Cunhou and Hu Songlin were defeated by the foreigners in one fell swoop, and the farthest even fled to Suzhou!"

When it comes to foreigners, Wu Zhaoling was taken aback: "Why did you fight, which side moved first, and the casualties were not serious?" ”

"Judging from Xue Huan's letter, it was a few vicious Qiu Ba who provoked the incident first, they actually went to the concession to steal wood from foreigners to build houses, and even besieged British foreign merchants and missionaries.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Because the foreigners have always wanted to re-establish the contract and expand the concession, those Qiu Ba just gave the foreigners an excuse to fight," Han Xiufeng looked down at the letter, and continued: "The foreigners not only took advantage of the fire to rob, but also colluded with the chaotic parties entrenched in the county town of Shanghai. Just when the officials and troops fought back and fought with the foreigners, the rebellious party in the county town came out of the west gate in accordance with the agreement with the foreigners in advance, and the officers and soldiers were forced to divide their troops to meet the battle.

God didn't open his eyes again, and the northeast wind blew, and the foreigners took advantage of the northeast wind to fire guns and cannons at the officials and soldiers, and the official army camp tents were instantly ignited, and the flames soared. The officers and men were in great confusion, coupled with the guns and smoke against the wind, which was very unfavorable, and they fled from the camp one after another after fighting for less than half an hour. When the officers and soldiers who were fighting the rebellious party saw the fire in the camp, they hurriedly returned to the rescue, and when they saw that the camp was in flames, they also scattered and fled. ”

"Defeated!"

"It's expected, in fact, I warned them a long time ago, don't look at the lack of foreigners, but the foreigners have sharp muskets and are well-trained, but they don't believe it!"

Wu Zhaoling was worried that foreigners would not stop doing anything, and asked eagerly: "What about now, what is going on over there now?" ”

"Admitting defeat, Gilhanga didn't dare to go, Liu Cunhou could only ride into the concession alone and ask the foreigners for guilt, Xue Huan said that the foreigners promised to make peace, but to revise the concession land charter."

"Mowing the land?"

"It's a lease, but it's actually the same as cutting." Han Xiufeng let out a long sigh.

Wu Zhaoling suddenly realized that the imperial court had been overwhelmed by Changmao, so he didn't start a war with the foreigners anymore, and hurriedly said: "Anyway, Shanghai has already opened its port, so what's the harm in leasing another hundred and ten acres of land to foreign merchants." ”

"I can only think like this," Han Xiufeng nodded with a wry smile, and continued: "Lord Xu was dismissed, although Ji Hang'a and Yang Nengge were promoted, they didn't fall well, but Qiao Songnian picked up a big bargain, promoted to a Taoist, awarded Changzhen Tonghaidao, and rewarded Hua Ling." ”

"If you hadn't been transferred to the current Tongzhi on the south bank of the Yongding River, if you were still in Shanghai, I would have been able to pick up a bargain, and maybe you would be able to act as the prefect of Shangsongjiang."

"Brother Songsheng, don't be joking, as long as there is Gil Hang'a, Qiao Songnian will be promoted to the Songjiang prefect vacated by the Daotai, and it will not be my turn. What's more, the prefect of Songjiang has nothing to do, not only to quell the chaos, but also to deal with foreigners, and to help the Jiangnan battalion with military salaries, thinking about it is afraid of people. ”

"That's right, how can you be so comfortable as that prefect now." Wu Zhaoling smiled and asked curiously, "What did Guo Zhongji tell you?" ”

"Lord Guo has been affected by me, Yang Nengge knows his friendship with me, so naturally he will not give him a good look, and now there is only one errand left to supervise the regimental training of the states and counties in Lixiahe."

The governor of Jiangsu can't control the affairs of Jiangbei, and the governor of Liangjiang can manage but can't reach the whip, so the new Jiangning political envoy Yang Nengge has become the highest official in Jiangbei. And Guo Peilin is no longer in charge of the two Huai salt transport envoys, but only patrols the Huai Yang Army, and he will have to listen to Yang Nengge in the future......

Thinking of these, Wu Zhaoling realized that Guo Peilin's life was not good, and hurriedly changed the topic: "With so many letters, isn't there a good news?" ”

"Good news, there is one, but I really don't know if it's that good."

"It's good to be good, it's not good, what's the point of whether it's that good?"

Han Xiufeng put down the letter, raised his head and said: "I have investigated a group of private tyrants during my appointment as a maritime security inspector, and the leader of that batch of private tycoons is surnamed Li, called Li Zhaoshou. After running away, he gathered a group of smuggler salt dealers and defected to the bandits and rebelled. ”

"Exterminated?"

"I was almost wiped out," Han Xiufeng took a sip of tea and explained: "Huining Chi Taiguang Dao He Guizhen's governance was originally in Jiangnan, but Jiangnan was occupied by Changmao, so he could only stay in Huoshan in Jiangbei to raise food and salary to recruit young people to run group exercises, and recruited a total of four or five hundred people. Li Zhaoshou had more than 3,000 bandits, burning, killing and looting, unstoppable, he actually wanted to attack Huocheng, but he met He Guizhen, who was led by He Guizhen to kill four or five hundred townships, and fled to Mabu. ”

Wu Zhaoling muttered: "He Guizhen, He Guizhen seems to be also a Daoguang eighteen-year jinshi!" ”

"Well, it was the same year as Lord Duan, Lord Zeng and Master Shi, and Lord Guo said in the letter that he had also let go of a term of Guizhou Xuezheng, but he didn't expect that he was not only highly educated but also a soldier. It's just that... Just ......"

"Just what?"

"It's just that he is too kind-hearted, what kind of person is Li Zhaoshou, he is a private scoundrel who burns, kills, loots and does all kinds of evil, I don't know how many things I have done that hurt nature and reason, how can this kind of person be gullible. But Lord He not only did not punish Li Zhaoshou properly, but also wanted to help Li Zhaoshou seek an official, if the surname Li turned against the water in the future, he would be implicated. ”

Wu Zhaoling also thought that he couldn't be merciful to private tyrants, and subconsciously asked: "Since Guo Zhongji wrote to tell you about this, why didn't he remind He Guizhen?" ”

Han Xiufeng said helplessly: "How can I remind this kind of thing, after all, Anhui has become a mess, southern Anhui has long hair, almost all the states and counties along the river have been occupied by long hair, and northern Anhui is making trouble, He Guizhen, as Huining Chi Taiguangdao, must want to recover the lost land, and the reconquest of the lost land can not be without soldiers, maybe they still want to suppress and use it, how can they kill and surrender at this time, even if it is a vicious private lord who surrenders." ”

"He is in a hurry to go to the doctor, and he can't really raise tigers."

"I don't know him, so I can have left it alone, but no matter how I say that he and Master Duan are in the same year, I plan to remind Shi Zanqing that they are the same year, and there is something to say between them."

"That's fine, you can't really sit back and ignore it anyway."