The second child of the Wu family is not only an official, but also a member of the Ministry of Supervision and Officials. The eldest and third of the Wu family came to the Taoist Department to pay a visit, but Cao Shuzhong didn't dare to set up a shelf on the platform, so he hurriedly went out to greet him.

talked about the bandits in Tongzi and the blockage of Qijiang, and naturally couldn't avoid Han Xiufeng, who was ordered to return to his hometown to help organize group training.

The Han family is very close to the Provincial Affairs Department, Cao Shuzhong thought that he would be able to invite Han Xiufeng after letting his family bring the invitation for a while, but after the family came back, he said with a bitter face: "Master, the foreign commissioner who guarded the door said that Master Han had just gone to Jiangbei, and said that Chen Dusi and Ge Qian were there." ”

Cao Shuzhong subconsciously asked, "Did he go to Jiangbei to meet Duan Dazhang?" ”

"It should be," the family looked up and peeked at it, and then said cautiously: "The little one saw Chen Dusi, Chen Dusi said that Master Han had explained before leaving, and said that if you have to test foreign guns and gunpowder and lead, you can move to 'Fengzhengdi'." He also said that he had a heavy responsibility to take care of the ordnance, and he did not dare to leave his post without permission. ”

Cao Shuzhong wanted to see that he didn't need to spend silver, and wanted to use those foreign guns and gunpowder and lead to prevent the old ones to be real money.

He didn't know what to say, and Wu Junxiang, who was trying to prevent thieves from entering Qijiang, couldn't help asking: "Lord Cao, so Master Han returned to his hometown with a foreign gun?" ”

"yes, there's quite a bit of that."

"How many rods did you bring?"

"One hundred and sixty." Thinking that Han Xiufeng would give the Wu family more or less face even if he was a saint Enlong, Cao Shuzhong stared at the Wu family brothers and added: "It's all the kind of tap fire guns that are lightened with copper caps, and there are also three thousand catties of gunpowder and lead. It is said that this foreign gun hits far away and is very sharp! ”

"There is a gun, and there is an edict from the emperor ordering him to help organize group exercises, so why is he still pushing back?" Wu Kuixiang asked eagerly.

Cao Shuzhong suddenly felt that these two had come just in time, and looked at the Wu family brothers and said meaningfully: "Han Zhixing is young but not vigorous, he speaks and does things steadily, and he doesn't leak. What's more, he was already in the emperor's heart, and the holy family was enlonged, so no matter what happened, he didn't want to give people a handle. Then there are those foreign guns and gunpowder lead, which seem to have been bought by a friend for help when he came back. ”

"I don't want to give people ......"

"Big brother, I understand what Lord Cao meant, Han Zhixing doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of Lord Zeng Guofan, if the bandits don't kill him at the door, he will never come out like this."

Wu Junxiang reacted and asked with a smile: "The bandits not only occupied Tongzi County, but even captured Loushan Pass, isn't this killing to the doorstep?" Could it be that he plans to stand still and wait for the bandits to kill Ba County before making a move? ”

"Although he is said to be a civil official, but now this official is accumulating merits, maybe he likes to fight, just waiting for the bandits from Guizhou to enter our eastern Sichuan!" Wu Kuixiang was really anxious, thought about it and said: "Lord Cao, forgive Kuixiang bluntly, if the bandits are really to commit crimes in the north, the one hundred and ten green battalion soldiers stationed in Anwen Town and Yangjiao Sihetou to prevent them, let alone whether they can hold it, I am afraid that they will flee before they see the shadow of the bandits." ”

Wu Junxiang couldn't help but say: "My lord, Qijiang has held a lot of regimental exercises, but those street regiments and township regiments not only lack guns and artillery, but also scatter sand. Speaking of which, everyone knows that there are bandits and bandits in Tongzi, but those street groups only help their officials guard the county seat and towns, and the township groups only guard the townships and even villages. ”

Compared with Ba County, the situation in Qijiang is much more critical, after all, Qijiang and Tongzi are bordered.

As a sub-patrol of the eastern Sichuan Army, Cao Shuzhong can be said to be responsible for defending the territory, and it stands to reason that some green battalion soldiers and even young people from nearby states and counties should be mobilized to prevent blockage, and the places that can be critical are not only Qijiang. Seeing the worried looks of the two, Cao Shuzhong could only say helplessly: "Two, don't hide it, this official won't stay in Ba County for long, and he will have to move to Kuizhou when the official documents here are properly arranged." ”

"Lord Cao, how can you move to Kuizhou at this juncture?"

"Because Kuizhou has to be blocked," Cao Shuzhong sighed lightly and said with a bitter face: "I just received an urgent report from Kuizhou this morning, in the first month, more than 100 light warships of the Hunan Army Naval Division entered Poyang Lake, sailed to Gutang, and were intercepted in the lake by Changmao, causing the big ships in the river to lose their guards, and the combat effectiveness was suddenly reduced.

Immediately afterwards, the Jiujiang official Jiashui camp was attacked by Changmao at night, and even Zeng Guofan's boat was burned by Changmao, and the copywriting was all lost, and he almost died, and the rest of the boats broke and fled. Changmao took advantage of the victory to pursue, captured Hanyang and Wuchang in one go, and Zeng Guofan transferred to Nanchang. Hu Linyi was also forced to evacuate the periphery of Jiujiang to help Wuchang, and the new governor Tao Enpei was even more uncertain! ”

Wu Junxiang was taken aback and muttered, "Didn't Wuchang just recover, why did it fall again?" ”

"So this official doesn't dare to stay in Ba County for a long time, so he has to hurry to Kuizhou to mobilize troops to prevent blocking," Cao Shuzhong paused, and said solemnly: "Compared with those bandits in Guizhou, long hair is the biggest problem, once they are allowed to go up the river, the situation will be out of control." ”

"But you're gone, what should we do in Qijiang?"

"This official will make proper arrangements before leaving, think about it carefully, Han Zhixing came back just right, he will not only train the troops but also lead the troops to cut down the long hair, and even when Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang committed crimes in the north, he led the river camp to defend Jinggi with the Tongzhi on the south bank of the Yongding River, and he will definitely be fine with him sitting in Qijiang."

"But is he willing to go to Qijiang?"

"These two can rest assured, he will definitely be willing, but there are some things that we have to help Zhang Luo first, and we have to dispel his worries first."

"Lord Cao, forgive Junxiang for being stupid......"

"That is, he doesn't have to worry about recruiting young people and raising food and salaries, as long as he asks him to train the troops wholeheartedly and help us and others to prevent blockage."

"A thousand troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find, and it seems that this is the only way to go."

"Two, the top priority is to leave the foreign guns he brought back as soon as possible, as far as I know, he has a lot of connections with the martyred Wenjiegong, who is also the mentor of me and Zeng Guofan and others. In short, he had an unusual relationship with Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi, and if he knew that the situation in Huguang had taken a turn for the worse, it was hard to say whether he would send those foreign guns to Huguang. ”

"What your lord said is very true, I have to stay with those foreign guns no matter what!"

It's better to let others pay for the money than to pay for it yourself, Cao Shuzhong thought about it and simply got up and said: "Why don't I wait and go over and take a look, Han Zhixing's house is behind the Huguang Guild Hall, not far from the Provincial Office." ”

……

The Wu family brothers "rushed to the doctor when they were sick", so they naturally would not object, so they followed Cao Shuzhong to the Han family again.

Chen Hu hurriedly dressed up and went out to greet him, and in the courtyard of the three people, asked Ge Erxiao and the others to carry out a box to unpack, and took out a rod for the three of them to inspect.

If you are not afraid of not knowing the goods, you are afraid of comparing goods.

Seeing the brand-new and oil-coated foreign guns, the gunpowder and lead wrapped in oiled paper, and the stainless steel bayonets that could be put on the barrels of fine iron, the three of them all sighed that the firearms made by the foreigners were sophisticated, compared to the long and bulky shotguns and carrying guns used by the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion were not much better than the burning sticks.

Wu Junxiang thought that what Qijiang lacked now was this, and couldn't help asking: "Brother Chen, did Master Han say how much silver is a foreign gun?" ”

"Master Yuwu, as far as I know, this gun is two hundred and sixty tael-one."

"So expensive!"

"Master Wu, you must not have inquired about the market of shotguns, not to mention such a foreign spear, which is a foreign gun ignited with an arquebus, now costs two hundred taels and one shots." Chen Hu put down the gun, took the towel from Chen Buyu's hand, wiped the gun oil on his hand, and said with a wry smile: "This is not counting the ship money and foot money for transshipment, think about it, how much silver does it cost to transport so many guns and gunpowder and lead from the foreign concession outside Shanghai County to Tianjin Wei, and then from Tianjin Wei to Zhili, and then along the Jingxi official road to Shanxi and Shaanxi, and finally how much silver does it cost to transport them here?" ”

Wu Fuxiang subconsciously asked: "If you count the freight, how many taels does a shot cost?" ”

"Master Han said that these foreign guns and gunpowder and lead are used to keep his hometown safe, and he will pay for the boat and foot money for transshipment, which can be regarded as doing something for his hometown fathers."

"Master Han Gaoyi, we admire!"

"Brother Qiongfu, I'll just say that Han Zhixing won't sit idly by." Cao Shuzhong smiled slightly, then pointed to the box of gunpowder lead that had just been brought out and asked, "Brother Chen, how much is this box of gunpowder lead?" ”

"Thirty taels and one boxes, a total of thirty-two boxes, nine hundred and sixty taels." Chen Hu thought about it and asked Ge Erxiao to bring a bag, took out a mold clamp for molten lead, and explained with a smile: "Lord Cao, Master Han is worried that this bit of gunpowder and lead is not enough, so he specially asked a friend to buy dozens of such mold clips, and when these gunpowder and lead wrapped in paper shells are used up, you can use this mold clamp to cast lead." ”

"He's thought it through."

"Master Han is quite thoughtful, but it's just ...... After all, the gunpowder and lead loaded with foreigners are too expensive, and it is too far away from Shanghai County, even if it can be bought, it will be difficult to transport it. ”

Wu Fuxiang couldn't help asking: "Can't we fight far?" ”

"With these gunpowder and lead wrapped by foreigners, you can hit 200 steps, and you can only hit 100 steps with our gunpowder.

"How far can our shotguns go?"

"Fifty paces at most, and it is easy to explode, and sometimes it can't even catch fire, counting three or four out of ten shots."

"Where's the gun?"

"It's only a hundred steps to lift the gun, and the long-haired shotguns that stick to Wanfu Bridge with the lowly post stick to Wanfu Bridge have more long-haired shotguns than ours, but the long-haired shotguns can't go far, so we take a big advantage. Later, Changmao found that foreign guns were sharper than bird guns, so he bought a lot with foreigners, and the brothers under the command of Jiangnan Daying, Jiangbei Daying and the monk king suffered a big loss because of this, and I don't know how many brothers were lost under the long-haired foreign guns. ”

"Lord Cao, those bandits in Guizhou are not long-haired, they can't buy such foreign guns, Fu Xiang thinks it's not bad to be able to fight a hundred steps with our gunpowder."

"Yes, with such sharp firearms, do you still need to worry about those bandits?" Cao Shuzhong thought so.

Wu Junxiang realized that Cao Shuzhong was waiting for him to buy it, but he thought that it was not just a matter for the Qijiang gentry to purchase ordnance to prevent bandits, and muttered: "Lord Cao, Qijiang is not as good as Ba County, and the merchants of the eight provinces of Qijiang are almost unable to operate because of the obstruction of the salt and tea trade routes caused by the bandits, and they really can't raise much money. ”

"The emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, even if there are not too many, you can raise less, Brother Qiongfu, how much do you think you can raise?"

"Jun Xiang estimates that it will be 10,000 taels at most."

"10,000 taels is 10,000 taels, and the rest of the officials will find a way."