"You're about to drive Longhair out of Hubei? Not enough? Emperor Xianfeng asked in surprise.

"The emperor forgives the sin, please Rong Weichen emphasize, it is about to drive Changmao out of Hubei! But the long hair has not been completely driven out of Hubei! Wu Chaoyue replied in a deep voice: "And even if the long-haired is completely driven out of Hubei, and the Qing Dynasty completely quells the long-haired bandits, it is still far away!" ”

Emperor Xianfeng's face was a little ugly, and Su Shun over there saw that the situation was not good, so he hurriedly came forward and scolded: "Wu Chaoyue, in front of the saint, speak more cautiously, and say less unlucky words!" ”

"The emperor forgives the sin, and Weichen is a little unlucky." Wu Chaoyue hurriedly pleaded guilty under Su Shun's prompt, and said: "But Weichen is too anxious, the long-haired bandits have plagued several provinces, the lives have been ruined, the people have been displaced, Li Shu is miserable, the emperor has also been worried enough about the counterinsurgency, and it hurts God, Weichen is distressed!" Weichen can't wait to kill all the long-haired bandits overnight, and he can't wait to completely quell the Jiangnan bandits in one day! Share more worries and ...... for the emperor and the court. ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue's eyes were a little red, and he wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, and Emperor Xianfeng listened to it, and he was not only agreeing with it, but also a little sad, and said: "What Aiqing said is very true, my mind is exactly the same as yours, in the Qing court, if there are a few more courtiers like you, thinking about what I think, and what I am anxious about, then I don't know how much less worry and how much less effort I can take." ”

"The ministers are guilty!"

The Manchu courtiers present were anxious when they heard this, and hurriedly left their seats and knelt down to plead guilty, while Emperor Xianfeng waved his hand and said, "Let's all be even, Wu Aiqing, get up and speak, and tell me, why do you think that the official and military strength in Hubei is not enough?" ”

"Your Majesty." Wu Chaoyue thanked him first, and then got up and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that Hubei's official and military strength is not enough, because Hubei's location is too important, and it has to prevent Changmao from invading several southwestern provinces, and also has to bear the responsibility of going down the river to rescue Jiangxi and recover Anhui, Jiangsu and other places. In such a heavy place, if the imperial court does not sit in the town with elite soldiers and strong generals, and form an overwhelming advantage over the long-haired bandits in the west, then the Qing court will not be able to occupy the strategic upper hand in the war to exterminate the long-haired bandits, and it will be even more difficult to clear the long-haired bandits in a short period of time and slaughter the bandits! ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue raised his voice a little, and said with teeth and claws: "Therefore, Weichen thinks that if you want to break the long hair, you should first revisit Hubei!" Concentrate superior troops in Hubei, and the Qing Dynasty will be invincible! Retreat can protect the southwestern provinces from the suffering of bandits, enter the river can go down, Dingjiang to restore Anhui, and then go straight to Jiangning, capture Hong Yang bandits, thousands of knives, Ling Chi to death! The Qing Dynasty has dominated the country for thousands of years! ”

Wu Chaoyue was talking about being impassioned, but Su Shun, Qi Liaozao, and Devil Six and the others were indifferent, and Mianyu also quietly pouted disdainfully—because they had heard too many similar words. But fortunately, the most critical Emperor Xianfeng attached great importance to Wu Chaoyue's words, nodded and said: "Aiqing is right, Hubei is located in the heart of the Central Plains, Tongheng nine provinces, and the strategic location is the most important. But Wu Aiqing, it's still the same sentence, your teacher Zeng Guofan Zeng Aiqing has almost driven Changmao out of Hubei, isn't that enough? ”

"Your Majesty, he is playing very well in Hubei, but the regimental training strength under his command is still seriously insufficient." Wu Chaoyue replied respectfully: "The regimental training under the command of the teacher, at the beginning, was only ten battalions of 5,000 troops, and after several strengthenings, it was still only 11,500 people in the twenty-third battalion, and the rabble of long-haired bandits also had hundreds of thousands of people, including no less than 100,000 elite veterans. ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue added cautiously: "And there is another point, the regimental training under the command of the teacher is also mostly recruits, the weapons and equipment are also very average, and the quality of the soldiers and the sharpness of the guns are not as good as the real long-haired elite, even if the current battle is relatively smooth, it is difficult to maintain the victory." ”

"Then Zeng Aiqing can't continue to expand the army?" Emperor Xianfeng asked rhetorically.

Wu Chaoyue didn't dare to say anything, just quietly went to see Qi Liaozao, who had been vigilant against Zeng Guofan, and the result was not as Wu Chaoyue expected, even if Wu Chaoyue's silver was confiscated, the stubborn Qi Liaozao also immediately stood up and reminded him: "Your Majesty, the soldiers and horses under Lord Zeng are all regimental training, not the official army of the imperial court, and it is too expanded, which is also not the blessing of the imperial court." ”

Everyone quietly looked at Su Shun, who had quarreled with Zeng Guofan and Qi Liaozao, but unfortunately, Su Shun had changed his position this time and deliberately did not say anything to weaken Zeng Guofan with Qi Liaozao's knife. And Emperor Xianfeng, who was also very jealous of these things, also nodded slightly, Wu Chaoyue observed his words, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that it is a good way to let the teacher continue to expand the group training, but if you can deploy a strong army of the imperial court behind the teacher, it can be more ensured!" ”

Nodding again, Emperor Xianfeng said: "What Aiqing said is extremely true, but as Aiqing said, most of the main officers and troops of the imperial court in the south have already joined the counterinsurgency war, where can I go to find a strong army to deploy in Hubei?" You can't be drawn from Gyeonggi, right? ”

"The emperor can rest assured, Weichen is not talented, and he is willing to go to Hubei to form a new army for the imperial court!" Wu Chaoyue hurriedly said.

"You went to Hubei to form a new army for me?" Emperor Xianfeng was surprised and asked, "What about Songjiang Shanghai?" What to do with the battlefield in southern Jiangsu? ”

"The emperor can rest assured, Weichen has already thought about it." Wu Chaoyue replied loudly: "If the emperor allows Weichen to go to Hubei to form a new army, then Weichen will only bring a few veteran soldiers to Hubei to help Weichen quickly train and mature the new army." In the group practice in Shanghai, Weichen still stayed in Songjiang, making every effort to secure the wealth of southern Jiangsu, and also waiting for the emperor to send at any time! ”

As Zhou Tenghu expected, hearing that Wu Chaoyue took the initiative to keep his descendants in Shanghai, Emperor Xianfeng not only moved his heart, but also liked Wu Chaoyue's personal gains and losses even more. Secretly happy, Emperor Xianfeng first nodded, and then hesitated: "What Aiqing said is indeed very true, but there is no vacancy in Hubei?" Also, where did the money, food, and salaries for the new army come from? ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen heard that the governor of Hubei is vacant."

Wu Chaoyue's cautious picture of the poor dagger saw that there was already a big uproar in the Heart Cultivation Palace, and Emperor Xianfeng also widened his eyes, and asked with a smile: "Aiqing, do you want to recommend yourself to be the governor of Hubei?" ”

"The emperor is clear, Weichen really wants to recommend himself as the governor of Hubei." Wu Chaoyue kowtowed and said loudly: "Originally, the official position was all from the reward, and the ministers should not be greedy for luck." However, the position of governor is not only in charge of the army, but also in charge of money, if Weichen can serve as the governor of Hubei, he can raise his own money and food and military salaries in Hubei, and form an elite new army for the emperor and the imperial court! Therefore, Weichen dared to beg the emperor to make an exception for Weichen again, and let Weichen temporarily take the post of governor of Hubei! ”

Even the old fox Qi Liaozao's eyes widened, he never expected that Wu Chaoyue would be able to confess to this point, and straightforwardly ask Emperor Xianfeng for the post of governor of Hubei. And Mianyu over there couldn't bear it anymore, jumped out and roared: "Bold! Wu Chaoyue, did you come to the capital to present a peaceful opportunity to the saint? Or do you want to reach out to the official? ”

"Lord Wang, this is not a stretch of hand to ask for an official, it is a self-recommendation." Wu Chaoyue replied calmly: "This is also one of the opportunities that the lower officials presented to the emperor, the lower officials are confident that after patrolling Hubei, they can create elite soldiers for the emperor and the imperial court without adding too much money and food burden to the emperor and the imperial court, so the lower officials have the courage to recommend themselves, is this wrong?" ”

"Phew!" Mianyu's saliva almost didn't spray on Wu Chaoyue's face, and she said angrily: "What kind of thing are you, you dare to peep into the official position of the feudal official?" Qualifications, merit, do you have these things? ”

"Lord Hui is angry, Prince Hui is angry." Zaiyuan stood up and played a round game, and said with a smile: "Also, Lord Hui, the merits of the comfort pavilion seem to be enough, right?" As for the qualifications, Weiting's senior brother Zhonglie Gongjiang Zhongyuan was promoted to the post of governor of Anhui after only a little more than a year, and Weiting has been in the office for more than two years. ”

"And what about his age?" Mianyu pointed at Wu Chaoyue and asked Zaiyuan angrily, "How old is he?" Before you are twenty years old, you can become a governor? ”

Age is indeed Wu Chaoyue's biggest weakness, even Zaiyuan can't find the words to refute Mianyu, but fortunately, Wu Chaoyue has a more reliable backer named Su Shun in the Heart Cultivation Palace, Su Shun immediately stood up and said with a smile: "Lord Hui, the imperial court election is not a birthday star, when Prince Gong was twenty-one years old last year, didn't he also directly enter the military aircraft department?" If the selection of officials must be based on age, then the officials are relaxed, and they don't need to look at the merits of the appraisal of their merits, just pick the old officials who are seventy or eighty years old to be officials. ”

"You ......." Mianyu glared at Su Shun angrily, and Su Shun, who was now red and purple, smiled more easily, taking Mianyu's anger seriously at all - both surnamed wild boar skin, Su Shun, who was deeply trusted by Emperor Xianfeng, was of course not afraid that Mianyu would not be able to mix with the title of prince until now.

"Alright, alright, all shut up." Emperor Xianfeng finally spoke, first drank everyone, and then asked Wu Chaoyue: "Wu Aiqing, you ask for an order to enter Beijing, in addition to recommending yourself for an official position, what other opportunities need to be presented?" ”

"Back to the emperor, Weichen still has some things to do about criminal cases." Wu Chaoyue took out a stack of official documents that he brought with him, held it and said: "Although Wechen has not been in office as the Jiangsu Inspector for a long time, and he has spent most of his time acting in military affairs, Wechen still took the time to clean up the Jiangsu Criminal Prison, investigated and dealt with more than 100 criminal cases, and rehabilitated 13 unjust cases, two of which were homicides. This is Weichen's debriefing, please take a look at the emperor. ”

The eunuch stepped forward and took the official document and forwarded it to Emperor Xianfeng, who casually flipped through a few copies and put it down when he saw that it was probably correct, and said with a smile: "It's rare that you are still conscientious, yes, you can be martial arts, it's really rare." ”

"Your Majesty, ...... the matter of the self-recommendation of the minister?" Wu Chaoyue asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, Rong Zhen will think about it and give you an answer in a few days." Emperor Xianfeng waved his hand to tell Wu Chaoyue not to be too anxious, and then said: "Wu Aiqing, your talent is indeed outstanding, and I also want to give you a chance to show your strength even more, but your age is ......, let me think about it, and then decide." ”

failed to persuade Emperor Xianfeng to let him be the governor of Hubei, Wu Chaoyue was of course disappointed, but he was helpless, fortunately, Emperor Xianfeng didn't say anything to death, and there was still hope for things. However, just when Wu Chaoyue thought that the conversation was about to end, Emperor Xianfeng said: "Wu Aiqing, you are relatively proficient in Yi affairs, and the foreigners asked me to send a messenger to negotiate with them to revise the treaty in the name of the expiration of the Treaty of Nanjing, and you should know about this matter." What do you think? ”

"The emperor forgives the sin, the melon field is under the plum, and the ministers dare not express their opinions." Wu Chaoyue replied with a way to deal with the devil six, and said respectfully: "Wechen often has dealings with foreigners, and I have also met the envoy of Yingyi and Fayi in China, if Weichen expresses his opinion on this matter, it will inevitably attract countless gossip, and there is even the possibility of misleading the Sheng's decision-making, so please forgive the emperor and allow Wechen to refuse to answer this question." ”

Seeing that Wu Chaoyue answered so beautifully, Mianyu and the others, who wanted to make a big fuss about this matter, were of course disappointed, but Emperor Xianfeng did not give up, and said: "It's okay, let's say it, listen to it, I just want to hear what you, a Tongyi person, think." ”

Wu Chaoyue was in great difficulty, and refused to mix this matter again, but Emperor Xianfeng resolutely refused to allow it, Wu Chaoyue was forced to be helpless, so he had to kowtow and said: "Your Majesty, that Weichen has the courage to speak out, the foreigners ask for a revision of the treaty, how to deal with it, in fact, it is the emperor's words." If the emperor thinks that the treaty can be revised, then send a minister to negotiate with the foreigners to revise it, and if the emperor feels that the treaty does not need to be amended, then just refuse it directly, and there is no need to talk nonsense with the foreigners. ”

"Can you just refuse?" Emperor Xianfeng was stunned, and Devil Liu, Su Shun and others were also stammering.

"Back to the emperor, you can really refuse directly." Wu Chaoyue replied truthfully: "As far as Weichen knows, the foreigner minister submitted a diplomatic note to the Qing court, just to show their diplomatic attitude, according to the rules of the Yangyi country, unless the court wants to break off diplomatic relations with foreigners and no longer contact, they should give a reply, if they think it is feasible, they will agree, and if they think it is not feasible, they will refuse, and let the foreigners know your attitude towards the emperor." ”

"If I flatly refuse, will the foreigners take the opportunity to provoke a war?" Emperor Xianfeng hurriedly asked again.

"This ......." Wu Chaoyue hesitated a little and replied: "Weichen doesn't know, the stakes are very high, and Weichen doesn't dare to make rash judgments. ”

Emperor Xianfeng was disappointed, but after a little calculation, Emperor Xianfeng remembered another important matter, and hurriedly asked: "Also, the foreigners also told the imperial court that they would send troops to help the Qing Dynasty resist the Rakshasa foreign soldiers, and also help our Qing Dynasty to recover the northeastern land and Sakhalin Island occupied by the Rakshasa State, what does this mean?" How can a foreigner suddenly become kind? Help us fight the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Rakshasa Kingdom? ”

"Your Majesty, don't you know the reason why foreigners take the initiative to show favor like this?" Wu Chaoyue asked in surprise.

"I don't know? How can I know these things? Emperor Xianfeng asked in surprise.

"Isn't there a Guangdong official who reported to the emperor?" Wu Chaoyue asked even more surprised: "Such a big thing, the newspapers in Hong Kong and Macao have long been spread, and even many people in the Shanghai Concession know that Guangdong has jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, so no one will report to Your Majesty?" ”

"What do you mean by that? What's the big deal? "Emperor Xianfeng is even more confused.

"The emperor doesn't know that a major event happened last year in the countries of Europa." Wu Chaoyue replied: "The foreign countries of Europa, such as Britain, France, Prussia and Austria, declared war on the Rakshasa because of territorial issues, and fought with the Rakshasa in a place called Crimea, and the war was inseparable. In order to share the pressure on the western front, Britain and France decided to follow the Qing Dynasty's strategy of encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao, and opened a new battlefield on the eastern front to fight with the Rakshasa country, making the Rakshasa country difficult to take care of and suffering from the enemy. ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue paused, and then said: "Now the eastern front forces of the Rakshasa Kingdom are mainly concentrated in the territory they snatched from our Qing Dynasty, if Britain and France want to eliminate the Rakshasa soldiers in the east, they must recapture the land that was robbed by the Rakshasa Kingdom in our Qing Dynasty, but Britain and France and other countries are sparsely populated and have insufficient troops, even if they seize these lands, they will not be able to hold them, and at the same time, they will be infamous for encroaching on the land of our Qing Dynasty, which will anger the Qing Dynasty and affect their trade with the Qing Dynasty." Therefore, foreigners want to be a favor, take back the territory snatched by the Rakshasa Kingdom and dedicate it to the Qing court, which not only eliminates the Rakshasa soldiers and weakens the Rakshasa country, but also can please the emperor and the Qing court, killing two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone. ”

"So, the foreigners really helped me regain my territory? Can there be such a good thing in the world? "Emperor Xianfeng's joy is not trivial.

"Your Majesty, this is the habit of foreigners." Wu Chaoyue said with a wry smile: "A few decades ago, there was a foreign emperor named Napoleon in France, who occupied almost the entire Europa continent, but the British led the remnants of the foreign countries to defeat Napoleon, recaptured all the land that was snatched by Napoleon, and returned it to the foreign countries, and the British foreigners themselves did not even ask for an inch of land. ”

Emperor Xianfeng was dumbfounded, and only after a while did he take a look at the dragon case, and roared: "This Ye Mingchen, as the governor of Liangguang and the prime minister of trade and commerce of the foreign countries, knows nothing about the war situation and customs of the foreigners, let alone reported it to me in time, he is simply incompetent!" ”

"Weiting, are you sure that after the foreigners take the land from the Rakshasa Kingdom, they will not rely on it?" Devil Six didn't dare to ask reassuringly.

"Lord Wang, this Weichen dares to vouch." Wu Chaoyue replied confidently: "Britain and France do not have enough manpower to control those lands, and the weather in the northeast is very cold, the sea is frozen, the ports are frozen, and the supply is difficult, and they forcibly occupy those lands more than they can lose, so they have no better choice than to return the Qing court with both hands!" ”

The shrewd devil six is still suspicious, but Emperor Xianfeng is ecstatic, and he patted the dragon case and said: "Okay, if it is really as you say, the foreigners' gunboats went north just to start a war with the Rakshasa Kingdom and recapture the land of Longxing in the northeast for me, then I will make you the governor of Hubei!" ”

Wu Chaoyue was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "The emperor forgives the sin, Rong Weichen reminds that the British and French foreigners want to help us recapture the northeast land in the Qing Dynasty, so that the Rakshasa people can not be resisted, and only during the armistice negotiations can the Rakshasa people be forced to return the land to us, and the foreigners don't know how much time it will take to fight in the Crimea, it is possible for three or five years, and the lack of governors in Hubei, how can it take so long?" ”

"How long is it going to take?" Emperor Xianfeng was also stunned, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then ......, Rong Zhen will think about it again." (To be continued.) )