may realize that his words and deeds are directly related to the safety of the whole family, and Qingxian finally calmed down after being under house arrest for a period of time. Han Xiufeng was afraid that he would "talk nonsense" one day, so he still didn't dare to let him go back to the bookstore, so he kept him in the "Rizhao Pavilion" as a friend.

This is not only for his good, but also for the big guy not to be implicated, so if there is something on the bookstore, let Ji Lu come over to report. Wait for him to prepare some official documents, and then let Jilu take them back.

In short, Qingxian, who had recovered from the situation, helped to preside over the affairs of the hall again.

Han Xiufeng arranged Yu Qinghuai next door to the "Rizhao Pavilion", and asked Qingxian to introduce the situation of the "Houyi Hall" to Yu Qinghuai, explain the errands to be done in the future, and how to deliver the news after arriving in Jiangxi, so he took Yu Qinghuai's resume to meet Su Shun.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Su Shun saw him, he said worriedly: "Zhixing, even if you don't come today, I will send someone to invite you, things have changed, and Zeng Guofan's situation is not good." ”

"What has changed, why is Lord Zeng's situation not good?" Han Xiufeng asked subconsciously.

Su Shun sighed and said helplessly: "Zeng Guofan's father died of illness, and he just got an excerpt, so please go back to his hometown to worry." It stands to reason that at this juncture, he should be ordered to move his filial piety and be loyal to lead the troops, but Jiangxi officials are piled up several feet high with his folds, and some people impeach him for arson and endangering the place; Some people impeached him for standing still and not saving him when he saw death; Some people impeached him for being greedy for life and afraid of death, and wasting money and food in vain; Even Shen Baozhen said that those Xiangyong under his command 'made trouble every day, Shi Taishou went out of the city, the honor guard was destroyed, and the Chinese army generals were beaten up. Everywhere I went, many of the houses in the countryside were demolished, and it was really a wall that everyone pushed down! ”

Other people's words may not be fully believed by the emperor and the princes and ministers in the court, but Shen Baozhen's words will be believed by the emperor and the princes and ministers in the court, because Shen Baozhen is not only Lin Zexu's nephew, but also Lin Zexu's son-in-law, and he has a lot of prestige in Shilin. What's more, the things that people participate in are not chasing after the wind and shadows, and if you check them, you can almost verify them one by one!

Thinking of this, Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice, "What does the emperor mean?" ”

"En, don't allow him to go back to his hometown, the emperor hasn't thought about it yet."

"In this way, if the emperor can allow Lord Zeng to return to his hometown to guard the system, it will not be a bad thing for Lord Zeng."

"Now the Manchu Dynasty civil and military are asking for his crimes, and now, I can only think of protecting him and getting out."

"Then do you want Xiufeng to send someone to Jiangxi?"

"People are still the same, but the top priority is to find a way to keep him safe. Zhixing, you haven't handed over a sign to ask for a meeting for a while, so hurry up and find a reason to beg for an audience. If the emperor summons you, maybe he will ask about Huguang, as long as the emperor asks, you will have the opportunity to help with a few beautiful words. ”

"Understood, Xiufeng will go back and think about it, what excuse is appropriate."

……

Han Xiufeng left Yu Qinghuai's resume and hurriedly returned to Dazhiqiao Hutong, and was about to discuss with Qingxian to find an excuse to beg for an audience, when Enjun quickly walked up to him and whispered in his ear: "Fourth master, Prince Gong is here, and he is looking at the two months' Yiqing Huihui in the back, and the shopkeeper Yang accompanied the few minions who came with him to drink tea outside, and Jilu was serving inside. ”

Han Xiufeng thought to himself what he was going to do, wouldn't this make a mess for the "Houyi Hall", but after thinking about it, he still said in a low voice: "I'll go over and see you." ”

"By the way, I just received an urgent report from the South China Sea Branch, Mr. Wang and Yun Qijun said that there were natives in the territory of Yingyi's East India Company who were in rebellion, and they estimated that Yingyi had to send troops to East India to quell the rebellion first. I have asked Qingxian to draft an official document and send it to the Shanghai branch, and ask Mr. Wang and Su Jueming to quickly verify it. ”

"That's good news."

"It would be nice if Yingyi's battle could last for three or five years."

"Yes, the more fierce Yingyi's internal turmoil is, the better." Although Han Xiufeng said this on his lips, he didn't think so in his heart, but now was not the time to say that, so he followed Eunjun through the backyard to the bookstore.

The house specially reserved for Prince Gong was next door to Qingxian's former public house, Han Xiufeng walked to the front of the house and respectfully reported to himself: "Han Xiufeng, the young secretary of Taifu Temple, asks to see the prince!" ”

Prince Gong had heard of Han Xiufeng for a long time, and had long known that the "Houyi Hall", a yamen dedicated to exploring the situation, was set up by Han Xiufeng, and even knew that Han Xiufeng had succeeded Wen Xiang and then took charge of the "Houyi Hall", but he had never seen it, so he couldn't help but raise his head and say: "Come in, come in and talk." ”

"Thank you, Lord Wang." Han Xiufeng lifted the corner of his clothes, crossed the threshold and walked into the house, only to see a graceful and luxurious young man, sitting in front of the public desk with a teacup, hurriedly dusting off his horseshoe sleeves, and said respectfully while saluting: "The prince is coming, and the lower officials have missed the welcome, so I beg the prince to forgive me." ”

"Thou hast not known that this king is coming, and thou hast been entangled in official duties, and thou hast sinned, arise and speak."

"Thank you, Lord Wang."

Yi also didn't expect Han Xiufeng to be so young, stared at him for a long time, and then put down the cup and pointed to the Yi Qinghui on the case to ask: "Han Shaoqing, I just heard from Enjun that there are indigenous people in the territory of Yingyi's East India Company. You are well versed in the situation, do you think that Yingyi will be busy sending troops to the East Indies to quell the rebellion, and he can't care about making trouble with us again? ”

Han Xiufeng didn't expect him to ask this, and after pondering for a moment, he said helplessly: "Lord Yu, the news that the aborigines of the Yingyi East Indies Colony have committed rebellion, and the lower officials have just heard about it, and they don't know how many aborigines have committed rebellion, nor how many places have swept in, and they haven't even verified it, so the lower officials really can't say why for a while. ”

Yi didn't expect Han Xiufeng to answer so cautiously, thinking about it and asking: "Then you estimate that with Yingyi's national strength, can you fight two battles at the same time?" ”

"Lord Yu, as far as the officials know, those natives in the Yingyi East Indies Colony were originally a plate of loose sand. Even if the news inquired by the Nanhai Branch was true, Xia Guan felt that those natives would not be able to achieve the climate, and it would be a matter of time before they were exterminated by the Yingyi with strong ships and guns. Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "Of course, the rebellion of the natives of the Yingyi colony is good news for my Qing Dynasty, but it is only good news in the eyes of the lower officials. ”

"Just good news, what do you say?"

"If Yingyi sends troops to quell the chaos, it will undoubtedly give me a chance to breathe in the Qing Dynasty. But if we really talk about opportunities, the past three years have just been opportunities, and even from the 22nd year of Daoguang to today, it is an opportunity to rearm and war, and to wash away the humiliation of the past, but we have done nothing. ”

Yi was stunned, and was silent for a while before asking in a low voice: "Han Shaoqing, have you told the emperor these words?" ”

"Lord Wang, Xia Guan has said it more than once, but he didn't say it so bluntly."

"What did the emperor say?"

"The lower officials felt that the emperor had listened to it, otherwise he would not have ordered the lower officials to be the counselors of the General Administration Department, and later ordered the lower officials to be the Shaoqing of the Taifu Temple, and he would not have ordered the lower officials to set up the 'Houyi Hall', which is dedicated to exploring and sorting out and verifying the situation." Looking at Yi Yi's thoughtful appearance, Han Xiufeng said solemnly: "Yingyi may not be able to fight with us for a while, why don't we spare our hands to reorganize the army, it is really difficult to think about the emperor, and as soon as he ascends to the pole, he will encounter long-haired chaos." ”

Han Xiufeng didn't say this for no reason, Yi also realized that it was not appropriate to talk any longer, and said lightly: "This king is an idler, you can't compare with this king when you are entangled in official business, it's important to do errands, so get busy." ”

"Thank you for your compassion, and the official will retire."

……

Han Xiufeng bowed and withdrew, explained to Ji Lu that he should be careful, and then took the urgent report of the Nanhai branch and took the carriage with Enjun to the Old Summer Palace.

Unexpectedly, Enjun also heard about the impeachment of Zeng Guofan by Jiangxi officials and Zeng Guofan's invitation to return to his hometown, so he asked curiously: "Prince Zheng, Prince Yi and Su Shun think that Zeng Guofan is a loyal minister and a capable official. Because of the 'Seven-Day Governor', the Beijing officials in Hunan all felt that Zeng Guofan seemed to have been wronged. But Zhou Zhongtang, Peng Zhongtang and Lord Weng felt that Zeng Guofan was not reusable, and Jiangxi officials hated him even more. Fourth master, you have been to Hubei, what kind of person do you think Zeng Guofan is? ”

"I've been to Hubei, but I've never met Zeng Guofan, so I don't know what kind of person he is." Han Xiufeng lay in the carriage, thought about it and said, "But I don't think he has been wronged much." ”

"Where did you start with that?"

"The emperor took back his order back then, and only made him a seven-day governor, but there was a reason. At that time, the reason why he was ordered to be the governor was because he led Xiangyong to recover Wuchang, but Wuchang fell again a few days later. In the past, he was rewarded for his merits, and later he was punished, which is very fair. ”

"Wuchang didn't fall in his hands!"

Han Xiufeng sat up and patiently explained: "After he recovered Wuchang, he waved Hukou, and then suffered a heavy defeat. His boat burned and he nearly committed suicide by jumping overboard. But for the imperial court, it was precisely because he did not stop the comeback of Changmao that caused Changmao to sweep through Hubei and capture Wuchang again. ”

"So although Wuchang was not lost in his hands, he is just as responsible?"

"Hmm."

Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, and continued: "Jiangxi officials hate him for the same reason, Jiangxi has thirteen prefectures and one Zhili Prefecture, and Shi Dakai has captured Ruizhou, Linjiang, Yuanzhou, Ji'an, Fuzhou and Jianchang in just seventy days. It seems to be overwhelming, and most of the prefectures and cities were captured almost all in one day, but Ji'an was not, and Ji'an held on for seventy days under the siege of Changmao and the remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Seventy days, this time is not a short time, but Zeng Guofan never led troops to rescue, nor did he send a single soldier to help, but on the grounds of 'going deep alone, I am afraid that there will be disadvantages', stationed in Zhangshu Town, not far from the provincial capital Nanchang. Zhou Yuheng, the former Jiangxi envoy, was martyred when Ji'an fell, and if you see Zhou Yuheng's suicide note, you will hate him as much as Jiangxi officials. ”

Eun Joon really didn't know this, so he thought about it and asked, "What happened later?" ”

Han Xiufeng said with a wry smile: "The lips are dead and the teeth are cold, after Shi Dakai conquered Ji'an, he led the army to attack Zhangshu. He didn't go to save Ji'an, if he could keep the camphor tree, he didn't keep it, so Changmao made a big victory for the camphor tree. For a time, Nanchang was shaken, and the people rushed to flee for their lives, and it is said that many people were trampled to death when they went out of the city gate. ”

Enjun reacted: "Not only did he fail to keep Jiangxi safe, but the military discipline was not good, and he didn't even save him when he died, and now he wants to borrow his hometown to worry about picking a son, so the Jiangxi officials and gentry hate him so much?" ”

"He also has his difficulties, but it is an indisputable fact that he always loses the battle, so I don't think he is so wronged."

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