In the afternoon of the next day, in the flower hall of the Provincial Department of Taoism, headed by He Guiqing, seven or eight people sat down, accompanied by Wu Xu to drink tea and chat, waiting for the opening of the table. They were all specially invited by Wu Xu to discuss the matter of Shanghai's city defense.

In addition to He Guiqing, there were several senior officials such as Peng Minkuan, a Jiangxi academic administrator, and Sun Shoubo, a retired waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and the directors of the two trade associations were also accompanied. Since the topic is about city defense, it is natural to mention the Xuan army, and everyone has a good impression of this vigorous army.

"Speaking of which, Guan Zhuofan is a person who has made great contributions to the two palaces in Miyun." Peng Minkuan said, "When people are young, they naturally have a sharp spirit, but they are enough to fight with long hair." ”

"It's haode to have sharpness, but in the end, I'm young, and I'm not steady enough to do things." Sun Shoubo grunted and snorted a hookah, and said slowly, "His motion of the foreign gun team, I think it's very ridiculous." In the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, there are some foreign devils with red hair and green hair, what is the matter? His Xuan army wants to be paid, and he has nothing to say, give! But we have suffered enough from foreign devils, and we must no longer use money to support foreign soldiers. Speaking of this, he took two more puffs of cigarette before continuing: "Fortunately, there is still Yungong in the city, both civil and military, with you presiding, Shanghai can be safe." ”

He Guiqing, alias "Genyun", was sipping tea at the moment, listening to Sun Shoubo talk about himself, put down the tea bowl, and said leisurely: "Don't dare to be." I am a sin body, and the affairs of the city guard depend on everyone's decision. However, the matter of the foreign gun team, related to the national system, is absolutely impossible, I think, it is still necessary to take a sum of money, generously reward Li Hengsong's soldiers, and use him as the main to fight, which is the right way. ”

He Guiqing has always boasted of knowing the soldiers, and every time he spoke loudly, he sprinkled his views on the use of troops in the imperial court, and invited Emperor Xianfeng to praise him, thinking that he was a talent, and finally achieved the position of the governor of Liangjiang, but in fact, he was the most useless person, and all strategies depended on Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, to plan for him. When he fled from Changzhou and Wang Youling was martyred in Hangzhou, he no longer had any good ideas to come up with. What he said just now advocated that Li Hengsong's green battalion soldiers should be the main ones to defend the city, and everyone present frowned secretly when they heard it.

But after all, the official position is the biggest with him, although he has been dismissed, but for more than a year, he has not been to Beijing, and the imperial court does not seem to have any intention of pursuing it further. People in the officialdom are the best at observing the wind and distinguishing colors, and in situations like this, they all feel that it is only a matter of time before He Guiqing recovers, and Xue Huan, the governor of Jiangsu, is the person he single-handedly promoted, so the official gentry in Shanghai are still inevitably diverted by his will.

"This ...... With Li Hengsong as the mainstay, will Guan Zhuofan be convicted? ”

"I can't say anything, it's what it is." He Guiqing said disappreciatively, "Although he is in the banner and is a person who came down from the capital, there is still an elder and a young person who is humble and humble." We, who have received the grace of the country, and now we encounter such a major event, we can't help but share our worries for the court! ”

I didn't want to talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived, He Guiqing was still boasting, but the person on the door came to inform Wu Xu, saying that Guan Zhuofan, the county magistrate, asked to see him.

"Bastard! Don't you see that I'm discussing things with the adults? Wu Xu straightened his face and reprimanded, "Go back to him, if there is anything, please come back tomorrow." ”

Among those present, only Jiangxi Xuezheng Peng Minkuan is the current official, although he has not yet arrived, he has not left the capital for a long time, and he has a personal understanding of Guan Zhuofan's reputation in Beijing. Although he is only a seven-rank county now, he has a special identity, which is something that everyone can understand, so he feels that Wu Xu's attitude is very inappropriate, and he is about to open his mouth to persuade him, but he has already spoken on the door.

"If you don't let him in, I'm afraid you won't......" whispered at the door, "and it's full of his soldiers outside." ”

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Qipinzhi County, brought troops into the Provincial Department? Everyone present did not change color, Wu Xu was about to speak, and Guan Zhuofan had already walked in when his boots sounded outside the hall. He was wearing a seven-grade official uniform, and his demeanor was serene, but the dozen or so pro-soldiers who followed behind him, carrying swords and foreign guns, with a protruding chest and belly, were murderous, which was not a good sign!

"Ladies and gentlemen," Guan Zhuofan refused to be rude, and bowed his hands, "The lower officials have official duties, and I hope to bear with them if they are abrupt." ”

None of the people present knew what he was trying to do, and they were suspicious in their hearts, and no one returned the salute or made a sound.

Guan Zhuofan ignored them anymore, walked to the south and turned to stand still, expressionless, and took out a piece of paper framed in yellow silk from his arms.

"He Guiqing takes the order!"

This sound was like thunder on the ground, and everyone was frightened, one by one, like clay puppets, like dementia, unable to move.

Peng Minkuan saw the opportunity the fastest, and when he heard this, he knew that He Guiqing was going to be unlucky, so he was the first to leave his seat and knelt on the side obediently. When everyone saw it, they all understood that Guan Zhuofan was going to make a holy decree! In a hurry, they all followed Peng Minkuan's appearance, knelt down behind him, and did not dare to raise their heads. Only He Guiqing, who was thundered, his face was gray, and he knelt in front of him alone, his lips trembled, and he couldn't even say anything to ask for Saint An.

"Minister...... Minister He Guiqing ......"

"I have something to ask you."

"Yes." He Guiqing barely held on and kowtowed.

Guan Zhuofan saw that this stormy governor of Liangjiang was so sloppy, and sighed secretly, saying in his heart Since you claim to be talented, if you stay in the Hanlin Academy, Tsinghua is valuable, but isn't it good? Why bother wading through this muddy water. During the tenure of the governor of Liangjiang, how many ministers have been produced, including Yu Chenglong, Shi Yizhi, Yin Jishan, Lin Zexu, and Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, how can you Guiqing's brother He De, also deserve to be sideways?

"I ask you: You have always talked extravagantly about military affairs, vainly inviting favors, and once you lose, you don't know how to blame yourself, but instead go up and say, 'The overall situation is shaken, and it is not a scholar who can support it', what is the reason?"

"The minister is guilty. It's really a minister's talk on paper, but because the heart of service is too much, please ask the emperor to punish the crime. ”

"I am ordered to ask you: He Chun is the minister of the Qin Mission, the governor of military affairs, and his authority is above the two rivers. Why didn't you transfer Zhang Yuliang first, and then Ma Dezhao again, and begged for help nine times, without the help of your soldiers, so that the Jiangnan camp was defeated, and the work of several years was ruined. What do you have to say? ”

"If you go back to the emperor, the ministers use soldiers to be obedient, thinking that Changzhou is also an important place and must be defended with heavy troops, so it is a big mistake."

"I am ordered to ask you: Since you have taken Changzhou with heavy troops, why did the Cantonese bandits go east in a hurry before they arrived, and abandoned the people of the city? Why did he order the squad to shoot, kill and injure the kneeling gentry, and be so mad? ”

"The minister was so guilty that he was speechless, but he really did not give the order to shoot, the situation was chaotic on the spot, and the soldiers opened fire on their own. As for leaving the city, the non-ministers dared to do it themselves, and according to the 'public gifts' of the following seventeen officials, the envoy Cha Wenjing urged the ministers to leave the city first to raise salaries. ”

Guan Zhuofan has been saying that "he is speechless, and he should be punished", but in fact, every sentence is to justify himself. Although he was only ordered to ask, he couldn't help but be angry, and said in his heart that this He Guiqing, where did the backbone of the literati go? I was disdainful in my heart and continued to ask.

"I am instructed to ask you: Since you have been dismissed from your post and handed over to the Ministry, you should go to Beijing on your own, why are you still stranded in Shanghai, hiding in the concession, sheltering in foreigners, and disregarding the dignity of the minister of state?"

This is a heart-wrenching question! He Guiqing saw sweat on his forehead, embarrassed, and stood for a long time, before he said, "Minister...... The minister intends to motivate the group to practice in Shanghai, and try to ...... Try to recover the city to atone for your sorrows. ”

Guan Zhuofan sneered in his heart, and after asking, he directly read the edict: "He Guiqing supports the army to protect himself, loses the city and loses the land behind, and harms the people, and the crime is unforgivable." The Xinjiang officials regard the city guard as the main festival, and should not take the words of the subordinates as the advance, and the minister is guilty of the crime, so why should he weigh the public endowment or not? He Guiqing immediately took the question, sent him to Beijing, and handed him over to the Criminal Department for reconsideration of his crime. Chin this! ”

In order to deal with He Guiqing, the ministers of the DPRK and China have different opinions. King Gong secretly consulted several governors, among which the repetition of Zeng Guofan was the most effective, two of which were excellent and superb, and were greatly appreciated by the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces, and were directly written into the edict by the military aircraft, and when Guan Zhuofan left Beijing, he handed over this secret decree to him, and after he arrived in Shanghai, the camera handled.

What Zeng Guofan said was the two sentences of "Xinjiang officials" and "ministers" in the edict. There is a Qing generation, and the authority of the governor is particularly heavy, especially the governor, and the leader of the patrol, even the prince can not be compared, but there is one, "the city is in the people, and the city is dead", which is an irreplaceable iron law. He Guiqing fled from Changzhou on the basis of the "public gift" of his subordinates, and Zeng Guofan's two sentences were equivalent to completely overturning his excuse for leaving the city. Peng Minkuan, who was kneeling beside him, knew that this time He Guiqing was not only sent back to Beijing, but also afraid that he would be unable to escape death.

Guan Zhuofan didn't think much of himself, after reading the edict, he changed his smiling face, first picked up He Guiqing, who was soft on the ground, and was half-supported and half-supported by two personal soldiers, and took him out, and then made a gesture to ask the officials and gentry who were still kneeling on the ground to get up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. The subordinate officials are also duty-bound, so they have to do so. Fortunately, now that the matter is done, I can be regarded as handing over this errand. ”

The moment Guan Zhuofan announced his secret decree, it was equivalent to the identity of the Qin Mission, and now this sentence means that the errand is done, this identity has been removed, what should we do or what we do, as before.

But how can it be the same? Several people were shocked, rubbed their kneeling numb knees, looked at each other, and Peng Min opened his mouth.

"Yixuan, it just so happens that you are here, let's discuss the matter of the foreign spear team's military expenses." Master Peng said solemnly, "After all, the military situation is urgent, and when it comes to fundraising, it can't be delayed for a moment." ”

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(xiexieycbh, rainbow, life, geese, walking, north latitude, feeding horses, xiexie to Yu's full praise.) ）