Although it is a little impulsive to decide to accompany the comprador grandfather into Beijing, Su Shun has obviously seen that Wu Jianzhang is pretending to be sick, and if he continues to pretend, it will only be more troublesome, Wu Jianzhang has to go to Beijing once, and this time he has to go to Beijing again, and this time he is in danger of entering Beijing, and if he makes a slight mistake, his head may fall to the ground, as a cheap grandson whose conscience has not been eaten up by dogs, Wu Chaoyue really wants to do his filial piety, go to the capital to help the comprador grandfather, and handle the negotiation as well as possible.

In addition, there is another important reason that Wu Beyond knew about Wu Jianzhang and Lin Zexu, and after knowing those things, he was not only moved by the comprador grandfather, but also had a little respect, even if he didn't want to be a slave to the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, he also somewhat imagined that the comprador grandfather would do something more or less for the Chinese of this era.

In order to protect his only grandson, Wu Jianzhang of course strongly opposed his precious grandson following him into Beijing, and Wu Chaoyue clearly told him, "Grandpa, you must have seen it these days, I know foreigners better than you, and I know Western countries better than you. And you don't have to worry about my danger, if the situation is not right when I get to Dagukou, I will run to the foreigner's warship, which is safer than staying in Shanghai! ”

felt that the baby grandson's words were reasonable, and he was extremely touched by the filial piety of the baby grandson, Wu Jianzhang finally agreed to let Wu Chaoyue accompany him to Beijing, but he still told him repeatedly: "Then you have to promise grandpa, if the situation is not right, you will immediately run to the foreigner's warship, don't care about me, it is important to save your life first!" ”

In this way, after Wu Chaoyue returned to the concession and hurriedly prepared, on the morning of the next day, under the protection of Lin Afu and a few other Shuangdao masters and some Wu subordinates, the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family boarded a boat at the Wusongjiang Wharf and set off, and went to the capital by water to be a cow and a horse for Emperor Xianfeng. Su Shun also went to the dock to see off Wu Jianzhang in person, and kindly gave Wu Jianzhang a lot of guidance for the first time in Beijing, so that Wu Jianzhang would not be black-eyed after entering Beijing, and he didn't even know whose pier to worship, Wu Jianzhang sincerely thanked and was very grateful to Su Shun.

Although he didn't like Wu Chaoyue's treachery and suspicion very much, when he was leaving, Su Shun still gave Wu Chaoyue some guidance - asking Wu Chaoyue to restrain his words and deeds in the capital, and not to blindly let his temperament come and cause unnecessary trouble to Wu Jianzhang as in Shanghai. Wu Chaoyue thanked him politely, and wondered in his heart that Su Shun was not as brutal and incompetent as in movies and television, although he didn't know whether Su Shun was the most ruthless minister who suppressed corruption in the late Qing Dynasty, or the minister who attached the most importance to Han officials, but he also had a much better impression of Su Shun.

From the Wu Yan River to the Huangpu River, and then into the Yangtze River, tracing up to the Zhenjiang River into the canal, along the way the Wu family ancestors and grandchildren do not even need to get off the boat can go directly, at the same time take the waterway and can travel day and night, do not have to stop to rest and waste time, so the Wu family ancestors and grandchildren go very fast, the end of the fifth lunar month from Shanghai, the ninth day of June has arrived in Dongpingzhou, the hinterland of Shandong. However, what the ancestors of the Wu family did not expect was that their ship had not yet been able to dock at the wharf in Dongpingzhou, but the magistrate forwarded the Xianfeng decree sent by the imperial court with an expedited stagecoach, asking them to speed up their journey again and make sure to arrive in the capital before June 15.

Although the six days were relatively sufficient, and there was no problem in arriving in the capital on time, for the sake of prudence, the ancestors of the Wu family still accelerated the itinerary again, and at the same time asked the magistrate of Dongping, who had transmitted the will, to inquire about the reason, but they got an answer that made the ancestors of the Wu family frown - because they were dissatisfied with the inefficiency of the Qing court, the combined fleet led by Burbulon opened fire at Dagukou, captured the Dagukou fort and blockaded the Haihe estuary, and at the same time drove Huashana, who was blindly delaying time, back to the capital. The Qing court and the Xianfeng Emperor were asked to exchange another efficient minister to negotiate in Dagukou.

In the face of this change in the situation, Wu Jianzhang was of course worried, knowing that this errand would definitely be more difficult. Wu Chaoyue was afraid that the situation would deteriorate further, leading to the outbreak of the Second Opium War ahead of schedule, and the names of himself and the comprador grandfather would forever be engraved on the pillar of shame in history, so he also urged the boatman to go as fast as possible with the comprador grandfather, but relying on the favorable wind direction to the north, the ancestors and grandsons of the Wu family, who were hurrying slowly, finally arrived at the Tongzhou wharf one day ahead of schedule and on June 14.

After arriving in Tongzhou, the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family learned from the discussions of the common people that after the combined fleet captured Dagukou, it did some things of burning, killing and looting -- this was also the nature of the white-skinned colonists, and they also robbed a lot of military rations in the military grain city, which caused a large number of refugees to flock to the capital, and also made the already small xenophobic sentiment in the Zhili area even stronger, and those who hated foreigners abounded. Wu Jianzhang complained even more bitterly when he heard this, and hurriedly instructed the servants to restrain their words and deeds, and absolutely not let outsiders know Wu Jianzhang's comprador identity, let alone let outsiders know that the foreigner fleet attacked Dagukou this time under the pretext of seeking justice for the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family. And Wu Chaoyue, who originally planned to wear a suit into the capital, also dispelled this previous idea - the Boxers in the Shandong area of Zhili, but they were so anti-foreign that they even killed people who used matches, and it was not cost-effective to die in their hands.

hired a car in Tongzhou and rushed all the way to the capital, according to Su Shun's previous good intentions, the ancestors and grandsons of the Wu family went to the east gate into the outer city of Beijing, and then turned to Chongwenmen to enter the inner city. However, when entering Chongwenmen, Wu Jianzhang had to take out the official seal letter to prove his identity, and as a result, he broke into a big disaster at once, and the tax collector who checked Wu Jianzhang's official certificate immediately changed his face, and grabbed Wu Jianzhang's collar and shouted: "Old bastard!" You're finally here! If Lao Tzu doesn't smoke you to death today, he will have no face and his surname Zhang Jia again! ”

roared, the tax collector really slapped Wu Jianzhang's face, fortunately, Wu Chaoyue next to him was quick-eyed, grabbed the tax collector's wrist first, and asked angrily, "What are you doing?" Why did you hit my grandpa? ”

"Lao Tzu is the one who hits him!" The tax collector shook off Wu Chaoyue's thin hand, and then directly pulled out the shoulder knife on his waist, and shouted: "Lao Tzu not only wants to beat, but also hack this old ...... to death." ”

The tax collector couldn't stop yelling here, because Wu Chaoyue had already appeared in his hand, pointed at his face, and said with a sneer: "If you have the guts, move again, see if your knife is fast, or my gun is fast?" ”

Chongwen Gate is the most lively inner city gate in the capital, Wu Chaoyue and the tax collector are so troublesome, the city gate is naturally immediately surrounded by people watching the excitement, the crowd of people surrounded the Wu family's ancestors and grandsons, Wu Jianzhang saw the great urgency, and quickly nodded to the tax collector and bowed his hand, and asked Wu Chaoyue to put down the gun. Wu Chaoyue didn't listen, and the tax collector didn't pay attention to Wu Jianzhang's pleading, and shouted at the city gate soldiers next to him: "Brothers, come and help, Wu Jianzhang!" This old dog is Wu Jianzhang who led foreigners to Dagukou! ”

The soldiers at the city gate roared angrily when they heard this, but they didn't dare to use force because they were afraid of the foreign guns in Wu Chaoyue's hand, and at the same time, the people watching the excitement on the side were also shouting constantly, all of them were scolding the Wu family's ancestors and grandsons for leading foreigners to Tianjin, and many people were ready to come up and beat people, which frightened Wu Dadao and Lin Afu and other entourages to quickly form a human wall to protect the Wu family's ancestors.

Faced with this scene, Wu Chaoyue, who was carrying two revolvers, was not afraid, and shouted loudly in Mandarin: "What are you yelling about? If you hate foreigners, you go to Dagukou to fight with foreigners, what kind of ability is it to bully an old man? Lao Tzu put his words here today, whoever dares to touch my grandfather, Lao Tzu will put him down with one shot! ”

"The foreigner was attracted by your grandfather!"

Someone in the crowd roared, causing a group to respond, and Wu Chaoyue immediately shouted: "Let your mother's stinky fart!" The person who attracted the foreigners was Weng Xincun, and it was he who framed my grandfather for his personal vendetta, and only then drove the warship to Dagukou when the foreigners were provoked! If you want to hate, you can hate Weng Xincun, and it will be my grandfather's ** thing?! ”

The crowd was noisy, and some people talked about the truth or falsehood of Wu Chaoyue's words, but more people still scolded the ancestors of the Wu family for betraying the country for glory and inheriting the mantle of Wu Sangui - there is no way, these people can't afford to provoke foreigners, so they can only take the thin Wu family's ancestors and grandchildren out of anger.

During the stalemate, the street patrol Yushi arrived with the soldiers of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division to drive away the crowd to understand the situation, and Wu Chaoyue put down the revolver. As a result, after asking what happened, although the royal history patrolling the street scolded the tax collector who stirred up trouble, he didn't have a good face for Wu Jianzhang's ancestors and grandchildren, and scolded Wu Chaoyue: "Bold, Chongwenmen is important, you dare to use a knife and a gun, what crime should you be guilty of?" ”

Wu Jianzhang hurriedly made amends, but Wu Chaoyue was-for-tat and asked rhetorically: "This Lord Yushi, if I don't show my foreign gun, then my grandfather was beaten in vain?" My grandfather is an official of the imperial court, and he was ordered to enter Beijing, and your subordinates not only obstructed the imperial court officials from entering the city, but also beat the imperial officials, what crime should you be guilty of? You are his boss, what are you guilty of? ”

The imperial history was speechless, so he could only shake his head quickly, and said: "He is not my subordinate, he is subordinate to the Chongwenmen overseer, and I am in charge of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses." ”

Wu Chaoyue sneered when he heard this, and just wanted to continue to reprimand the Imperial History of the Patrol City for favoritism and protection, but Wu Jianzhang had already stopped him, and nodded to the Imperial History of the Patrol Street, so that he didn't let the Imperial History continue to argue with Wu Chaoyue, and waved his hand to let the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family enter the inner city. As a result, after entering the inner city under the angry eyes of countless passers-by and Manchu officers and soldiers, Wu Jianzhang immediately complained to Wu Chaoyue: "Little ancestor, can you make less trouble for me?" This is not Shanghai, it's the capital, any official here is bigger than me, you can provoke one at will, you and I have to go around without food! ”

"Grandpa, I know this, but we can't just stand and let them fight in vain, right?" Wu Chaoyue asked rhetorically, and said: "The only way for these urine bags that bully the soft and fear the hard is to fight hard against hard, if we are soft, our life in the capital will only be more sad!" ”

Wu Jianzhang shook his head when he heard this, knowing that what his grandson said was right, and he also understood that if he continued like this, he would definitely cause a big disaster, and he was in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, and in the end he could only sigh and leave speechlessly, and quickly left with his baby grandson.

Wu Jianzhang's positive difference is that Su Songtai is prepared for the road, and after entering Beijing, he must first report to the military department, but because it is the first time to come to the capital, he does not know how to go, so he can only ask passers-by for the path. As a result, what made the ancestors of the Wu family speechless was that they were always followed by some idle and panicked Eight Banner masters, constantly and deliberately shouting at passers-by about the identity of the ancestors of the Wu family, causing the passers-by to refuse to show the way to the ancestors of the Wu family, and either turned a blind eye to the inquiries of the ancestors of the Wu family, or cursed and strode away, so angry that Wu Chaoyue wanted to pull out the gun several times, Wu Jianzhang also kept shaking his head, sighing and sighing.

Fortunately, there was finally a passing person who pointed out the way to the ancestors of the Wu family, but just as Wu Jianzhang nodded and thanked the guide, a voice came from the side, "Lord Wu, don't be fooled, the road he pointed out was wrong, and he deliberately pointed in the opposite direction!" ”

Hearing this, the idle and panicked Eight Banner Masters behind either laughed loudly, or opened their mouths to scold loudly and angrily the person who reminded the ancestors of the Wu family, Wu Jianzhang and Wu Chaoyue hurriedly turned their heads to look, but saw that it was a young man in his twenties who opened his mouth to remind his ancestors and grandchildren, and the young man who was comparable to the ancestors and grandsons of the Wu family also walked over directly, and said with a smile: "Lord Wu, don't pay attention to those idlers, I will take you to the military department." ”

After that, the thin young man pointed out the right path to the ancestors of the Wu family, and asked the ancestors of the Wu family to go with him, Wu Jianzhang thanked him repeatedly, but a few idlers rushed up behind him, pointing at the thin young man and scolding: "Bastard! What the fuck are you, dare to show the way to an old traitor surnamed Wu? Get out of here immediately, or I'll beat you to death today! ”

"If you have the guts, come." The thin young man showed a seal letter, and said with a sneer: "I am an official of the imperial court, at the foot of the Son of Heaven, in the area of the first good, beating the official of the imperial court on the street, to see who is unlucky!" ”

Hearing this, those idlers didn't dare to continue to do it, but the scolding continued, but the thin young man no longer paid attention to them, just beckoned the ancestors of the Wu family to go with him, Wu Jianzhang hurriedly thanked him, the thin young man whispered again: "No need to thank you, this matter is Weng Tongshu's ghost, he knew that Lord Wu was going to enter Beijing, so he instructed Weng Xincun's disciples to spread rumors in the capital, and insisted that it was you, Lord Wu, who attracted foreigners to Dagukou, and deliberately incited the people to embarrass you and avenge his father." He might have a backhand, you have to be on guard. ”

Wu Jianzhang thanked him repeatedly, and Wu Chaoyue also thanked the thin young man, and said: "Thank you Brother Tai for your guidance, in Xia Wu Chaoyue, he is Wu Daotai's grandson, dare to ask Brother Tai's surname, what is his official position?" ”

"Beyond the brother is polite." The thin young man returned the salute and replied calmly: "Under Li Hongzhang, he is currently the editor of the six products of the Hanlin Academy. ”

"Li ......, Li Hongzhang?!" Wu Chaoyue almost didn't shout, and his heart was suddenly very thorough, and he said secretly: "No wonder this kid would rather be scolded than help us, it turns out that he is a peer." ”

Sensing Wu Chaoyue's shocked expression, although Li Hongzhang felt strange, he didn't ask much, but just smiled at Wu Chaoyue and said: "Brother Chaoyue is really the most filial person, so dangerous and dare to escort your grandfather into Beijing, and sacrifice himself outside the Chongwen Gate to protect your grandfather, the most filial piety and bravery, the foolish brother admires." ”

"Awards, awards." Wu Chaoyue smiled bitterly and modestly, and said secretly in his heart: "Actually, I admire you, you signed so many traitorous treaties, and you had a good death, I used to think that you were not easy, but now I know that you are more difficult than I imagined!" ”