Greeted the chief official Wang Bingtong, changed into a Confucian robe that he didn't want to wear before, and with the determination to see death as home, Wu Chaoyue walked out of the gate of the Ministry of Rites with a resolute expression like going to the Dharma field, preparing to go to the Ciren Temple in Nancheng to learn the eight-strand article, the Analects Zhuangzi held it in his hand, and cursed viciously in his heart, "Is it the eight-strand text invented by that bastard?" Lacking virtue, may you never be reborn in the eighteenth layer of hell! I don't have an asshole when I give birth to a son! ”

They are ready to live as if they are dead, but what Wu Chaoyue didn't expect was that he just walked out of the door of the Ministry of Rites, and immediately saw Li Hongzhang coming towards him, at first Wu Chaoyue thought that Li Hongzhang was here to lead the way, but before Wu Chaoyue opened his mouth to thank him, he was immediately stunned to find that Li Hongzhang had tears on his face, and his eyes were also a little red and swollen, obviously just cried, Wu Chaoyue was shocked and hurriedly asked: "Shaoquan, what's wrong?" ”

"Comfort Ting, something is wrong." Li Hongzhang's voice was really a little choked, and he said: "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to go to Ciren Temple to listen to the study today, and you have to go to the teacher's house to mourn." ”

"What happened to the teacher's family?" Wu Chaoyue was taken aback again.

"In the morning, the teacher's hometown sent bad news, and the teacher's mother, who is our grandmother, passed away suddenly." Li Hongzhang wiped his tears and said: "Hearing the news, the teacher cried and fainted in the lobby of the military department on the spot, so we don't have to go to Ciren Temple today, we have to go to the teacher's house to mourn." ”

"Mrs. Tai! Oh my own grandmother! ”

Wu Chaoyue cried loudly, and cried directly in front of the gate of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, crying bitterly and shouting in his heart, "Master Tai, you are not only my own grandmother, but also the Guanyin Bodhisattva who saves suffering!" As soon as you pass away suddenly, I don't have to worry about reading Ziyue Shiyun for at least many days! ”

In my heart, I thanked the wife who saved the suffering to the extreme, Wu Chaoyue of course cried even more dead and alive, and also alarmed the officials of the Ministry of Rites who entered and exited the gate, when everyone came to inquire about the situation, they saw that Wu Chaoyue was crying so sadly because of the death of the teacher's mother, and they were naturally full of praise for Wu Chaoyue's respect for the teacher and filial piety. But some people also said with regret: "It's troublesome now, the long-haired hair rebellion is making such a fierce fuss now, and the mother of Lord Zeng, who was just in time for the military department, passed away suddenly, and he must return to his hometown to guard the system for three years, and the military department has to be busy for a while this time." ”

"The war is urgent, the emperor should issue an order to let Lord Zeng win his love, right?"

"Impossible! Zeng is the seventieth grandson of Zongsheng Zengzi, and he has been a model of loyalty and filial piety for generations. And even if the emperor makes this will, Lord Zeng will definitely refuse! ”

Hearing such discussions, Wu Chaoyue of course cried more painfully and happily.

In the end, under the repeated persuasion and comfort of a large group of colleagues in the Ministry of Rites, Wu Chaoyue barely managed to hold back his heart-rending cry, and then Wu Chaoyue did not hesitate, and immediately sent the dog-legged Wu Dadao to buy a lot of good sacrifices, and went to Zeng Guofan's house with Li Hongzhang to mourn. And when he arrived at Zeng's mansion, which was already crying, the newly built spiritual shed was already full of Zeng Guofan's family members and Zeng Guofan's protégés with white belts around their waists.

Of course, Wu Chaoyue performed until Zeng Guofan appeared, and seeing the newly accepted students crying so sadly, Zeng Guofan naturally added praise to Wu Chaoyue in his heart, not only picked up Wu Chaoyue with his own hands, but also personally introduced his newly accepted filial student to everyone. At the end, Zeng Guofan patted Wu Chaoyue's head again, and said with great regret: "Weiting, it's the teacher who is sorry for you, the teacher was originally determined to train you to become a talent by himself, but I thought that after such a thing, the teacher must soon be separated from you." ”

"Teacher, you can't go." Wu Chaoyue cried loudly, pulled Zeng Guofan's sleeve and cried: "The student is reluctant to let you go, the student has not accepted your teachings, you have not taught the student once, and the student is reluctant to let you go!" ”

Wu Chaoyue was reluctant to let Zeng Guofan go, and Zeng Guofan, who was already in the second grade of the official residence, was willing to leave the officialdom temporarily in the blink of an eye? But there is no way, the Manchu court has this broken rule, and Zeng Guofan's ancestor also decided that he must take the lead in abiding by this rule, so there is no way, no matter how reluctant he is, Zeng Guofan can only comfort Wu Chaoyue with good words, saying that if he has the opportunity in the future, he will definitely teach Wu Chaoyue well, and he will definitely not waste Wu Chaoyue's 'amazing talent'.

If it weren't for the fear that Zeng Guofan would really agree, Wu Chaoyue actually really wanted to resign under the pretext of following Zeng Guofan to study, and take the opportunity to escape from this Beijing city that made him uncomfortable, but considering the consequences of Zeng Guofan's real agreement, and the danger of following Zeng Guofan to build the Hunan army to fight the Taiping Army in the future - the Hunan army was beaten by Shi Dakai in the early stage and made Zeng Guofan commit suicide by throwing himself into the water, Wu Chaoyue still didn't dare to open his mouth in the end, obediently accepted Zeng Guofan's comfort, and returned to Li Hongzhang and other Zeng Guofan's protégés with tears in his eyes.

After thanking the relatives and friends who came to mourn, Zeng Guofan went to be busy with other things, Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang and other protégés were idle, Li Hongzhang also seized this opportunity to introduce several other students of Zeng Guofan to Wu Chaoyue, including the senior brother Zhang Yuzhao among the four disciples of Zengmen, but unfortunately Zhang Yuzhao's best calligraphy and writing is Wu Chaoyue's most hated thing, so Wu Chaoyue chatted with them not very speculatively, and sitting with them was basically a listener.

Originally, I thought that I could go home and sleep after eating dinner at night, but when it was time to start eating, Yu Yue, another scholar-type student of Zeng Guofan, mentioned a topic that Wu Chaoyue was very interested in. Now that the rebels and bandits have already hit Hunan, the teacher is going back to his hometown in Hunan at this time to guard the system, which is a very dangerous thing. ”

"Brother Yinfu is worried." Another protégé of Zeng Guo said with a smile: "Changmao fought north to Yongzhou and then retreated to Daozhou, the battlefield is far away from our old teacher's hometown in Xiangxiang, Changsha Prefecture, what danger can the teacher have?" ”

"But I heard that General Hechun and they suffered several defeats in succession." Yu Yue said in a low voice: "There are also rumors that Xiang Rong and they are afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and they dare not go all out to contain the rebellion according to their will, and the emperor is furious about this, if this rumor is true, it is not impossible to go north to Changsha Mansion if the rumors are true?" ”

Some people still think that Yu Yue is worrying about the sky, but Wu Chaoyue, who is bored, is more interested in this matter, and interjected: "Brother Yinfu, don't worry, if Changmao really went north to Changsha Mansion, didn't it just give our teacher a chance to show his strength?" If Changmao really dares to go north to Changsha Mansion, the teacher will definitely immediately pull up a group to practice and fight with them. ”

Everyone was surprised and squinted at Wu Chaoyue, and most of them said that these two devils are really good at filming the teacher's sycophants, even if they can act in person, they are also sycophants behind the teacher's back. But there are also those who agree with Wu Chaoyue, at least Li Hongzhang said: "Don't say it, what Weiting said is really possible, Jiang Zhongyuan, another disciple of the teacher, is now leading the regiment to practice in the fierce battle against the rebellion, and he is still in the cormorant continent three battles and three victories to break the bandits, the teacher is full of praise for his military achievements, and often sighs that he can't go on the horse to kill thieves like students and quell the rebellion for the country." Therefore, after the teacher returns to his hometown, if the bandits really go north to Changsha Mansion, the teacher will really form a group to help the court pacify the bandits, as Weiting said. ”

"What is the best thing in the world, our barber teacher has done this in history."

Wu Chaoyue muttered in his heart, and when he saw that everyone was enthusiastically discussing the possibility of Zeng Guofan forming a group training, Wu Chaoyue's heart moved, and he asked Li Hongzhang, the future boss of the Huai Army, with a smile: "Shaoquan, if the bandits are really rampant in the north, are you interested in going to the south to organize a group training to pacify the bandits for the imperial court?" ”

Hearing this question, Li Hongzhang's eyes flashed with a gleam, then he smiled and said: "My hometown Hefei County is farther away from the battlefield of pacifying the rebellion, even if I have this thought, I don't have this opportunity, but my hometown of Xiangshan County is not far from the counterinsurgency battlefield. ”

"Thank you, if my grandfather hears that I am going to build a group to practice and work hard with bandits, he can beat my ass into four pieces with a ring ruler." Wu Chaoyue shrugged his shoulders, but when he shrugged halfway, Wu Chaoyue's heart moved, and he hurriedly asked, "Shaoquan, am I also qualified to form a group practice?" ”

"Absolutely." Li Hongzhang smiled and said: "Don't talk about you, the head of the Ministry of Rites, you are an ordinary local gentry, as long as you can get the money, money, and food to recruit soldiers and buy weapons, you can form a regiment with the consent of the local government." If you want to hold a group exercise, you can go back to your hometown to run a group exercise to help suppress it. ”

Not to mention, Wu Chaoyue really didn't know that running a group practice could be so simple and easy, and after opening his mouth for a while, Wu Chaoyue pounced on it, grabbed Li Hongzhang's hand and said: "Shaoquan, your writing is good, do me a favor, help me write an excerpt, I want to go back to my hometown in Xiangshan to do a group practice!" ”

"Wouldn't it? Weiting, do you really want to go to the group to practice and help suppress? Li Hongzhang asked in surprise.

"Yes, yes." Wu Chaoyue nodded like a chicken pecking rice, and said in his heart, "As long as you can leave the ghost place of the capital, you can hold a group practice, anyway, what my family has is silver, just sprinkle it in the water, and disband it for a while!" ”

Seeing Wu Chaoyue's expression eager and serious, Li Hongzhang confirmed that Wu Chaoyue was not joking, and at that moment Li Hongzhang also quickly put on a serious face and said: "Weiting, I have to persuade you, don't joke, the group training is to take Lian Yong to the battlefield and fight the enemy desperately, how old are you, and you are the only seedling in the family, this kind of joke can't be made." ”

Yu Yue, Zhang Yuzhao and others also persuaded Wu Chaoyue to calm down, and the well-informed Yu Yue also said in a low voice: "Weiting, you are looking for death when you go back to your hometown in Xiangshan to hold a group exercise!" Do you know that in order to pacify the long-haired bandits, the imperial court has continuously transferred officers and regimental training from surrounding provinces to Guangxi to assist in suppression, and the regimental training of a little scale in Guangdong is about to be emptied, if you set up a regimental training in Xiangshan, if you become an army today, you may be transferred to Guangxi tomorrow to participate in the war, do you believe it or not? ”

Hearing this, Wu Chaoyue calmed down a little - Wu Chaoyue wanted to hold a regimental training just to find an excuse to leave the capital where the Tartars were entrenched, but he didn't want to fight the Taiping army. But Wu Chaoyue didn't want to give up, and after rolling his eyes slightly, Wu Chaoyue changed his words and said: "Then I'll go to Shanghai to hold a group practice, I have lived in Shanghai for more than three years, and I am familiar with it." ”

"There is no war against thieves in Shanghai, even if the regimental training is the business of the local squire, how can the imperial court agree to let you let an in-service official go to Shanghai, where there is no war, to conduct the regimental training?" Li Hongzhang asked with a wry smile.

Xiangshan, which has a reason to run a group practice, is too dangerous, and may be pulled to the battlefield as cannon fodder at any time, there is no reason for the absolutely safe Shanghai, and it is impossible for the Manchu court to agree to leave his job to run a group practice, Wu Chaoyue has nothing to do, so he can only sit back in his place in disappointment and continue to calculate. Li Hongzhang comforted Wu Chaoyue and said: "Weiting, it's a good thing that you want to serve the country, there will be opportunities in the future, but not now, you are only seventeen years old now, you are too young, let's think about it in a few years." ”

Wu Chaoyue nodded sullenly, and continued to think in his heart, "Is it to take a risk and go to Xiangshan to hold a group practice?" Anyway, the Taiping army is definitely going to fight to the north, and as long as I delay a little time in organizing a regimental exercise, the possibility of being dragged to the battlefield as cannon fodder is much smaller. However, I still want to go back to Shanghai, the current Xiangshan is broken and small, even if it is close to Macau, the current Macau is not better than the mainland. Alas, let's find another way, it's really not good, it's okay to stay up for a while and pretend to be sick and resign! ”

As everyone expected, after Zeng Guofan wrote a letter to ask for a return to his hometown to guard the system, Emperor Xianfeng really did not issue an order to let Zeng Guofan continue to stay in office, and gave a reply on the same day to allow Zeng Guofan to return to his hometown.

After Zeng Guofan left, Wu Chaoyue was idle again, although Zeng Guofan repeatedly told Wu Chaoyue to read more poetry and books before leaving, and asked Yu Yue and Zhang Yuzhao and other senior brothers for teaching, but Wu Chaoyue had a headache when he saw Baguwen, of course, he selectively forgot the teacher's repeated advice. and Lin Ruzhou, although for the sake of Lin Zexu's face, Wu Chaoyue went through the motions twice as required, but every time he was cheating and slippery, he only asked Lin Ruzhou for Lin Zexu's "Four Continents" - this book is translated according to the British's "World Geography", Wu Chaoyue can barely understand it, and he can more or less express some experiences that satisfy Lin Ruzhou, so he perfunctory twice not only did not wear goofs, but on the contrary, he also got good comments from Lin Ruzhou's children who can teach.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Hongzhang, who could talk about it, often came to discuss Western studies with Wu Chaoyue, Wu Chaoyue didn't know how to mess around, and what he calculated every day was how to return to Shanghai, the paradise of his dreams, as soon as possible. And Li Hongzhang also saw that Wu Chaoyue was not happy in the capital, so he persuaded Wu Chaoyue not to be an otaku at home all day, and suggested that Wu Chaoyue go out for a walk, Wu Chaoyue felt that Li Hongzhang's suggestion was reasonable, so he made an appointment with Li Hongzhang to visit outside the city together.

On the day of the trip to the suburbs, according to the prior agreement, Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang each rode a horse to meet in Xibianmen, but after meeting, the horse that Wu Chaoyue rode was laughed at by Li Hongzhang, Wu Chaoyue, who could not ride a horse, specially bought a Mongolian horse about the same size as a donkey as a mount for safety, and the dog-legged Wu Dadao was led in front of the horse, and Li Hongzhang rode a tall and divine horse in the Western Regions.

Wu Chaoyue didn't care about Li Hongzhang's ridicule - he had no horseback riding experience at all, what was there to be ashamed of? And when Li Hongzhang asked Wu Chaoyue if he wanted to visit there, Wu Chaoyue didn't even blink his eyelids, and immediately said: "Old Summer Palace!" The Old Summer Palace, of course! Even if you don't have a chance to go inside, it's good to take a look outside. ”

Li Hongzhang agreed, and the two rode to the Old Summer Palace in the north of the capital, and after arriving at the scene, the Old Summer Palace, known as the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, also left Wu Chaoyue with the impression that the scenery was indeed beautiful and spectacular, but it was a pity that Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang's current official positions were not enough to enter the park, so the two could only walk around the garden, stretching their necks to enjoy the scenery in the park.

Unconsciously arrived at the Xiaojiahe Bridge in the northwest corner of the Old Summer Palace, Wu Chaoyue originally wanted to continue to tour around the garden, but Li Hongzhang, who was nicknamed Li Perch, was famous for his slander, but pointed to the north of the bridge with a horsewhip and said: "Weiting, about ten miles ahead, there is a village called Xie Zhuang, specializing in raising chickens and ducks to supply the capital, and a few hunters, often go to the Badaling area to hunt and come back to sell, there is a tavern in the village, the wine is good, the cook's skills are also good, or let's try our luck and see if we can eat any fresh game?" ”

Wu Chaoyue agreed, and his heart moved slightly, and he said secretly: "Xie Zhuang in the capital? How do you seem to have heard of this name there? ”

I recalled that I didn't remember that I had heard of Xie Zhuang there, and Wu Chaoyue didn't think hard, but just continued to ride with Li Hongzhang, and the result was very soon, the Xie Zhuang that Li Hongzhang said was already in sight, but when he was about to enter the village, Wu Dadao, the dog-legged man who led the horse for Wu Chaoyue, suddenly wanted to go to the roadside to relieve himself, Wu Chaoyue didn't care, and waved his hand to let Wu Dadao enter the grass on the side of the road.

Then, the accident happened suddenly, Wu Dadao, who went to the roadside to relieve himself, suddenly cried wolf and rushed out of the grass, followed by a group of wasps, Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang were shocked when they saw it, and quickly slapped the horse together to escape, and then naturally, when the horse was whipped, Wu Chaoyue, who was extremely bad in riding, lost control of the mount in a blink of an eye, and the Mongolian horse, which was not much bigger than a donkey, seemed to be crazy, carrying Wu Chaoyue, who was not much fatter than a reed firewood stick, rushed directly into the village in front, and was shocked that the dogs in the village barked, also scared Wu Chaoyue into screaming like killing a pig, "Help!" Help me! ”

It was useless to scream, and when Wu Chaoyue, who had no experience in horseback riding, unconsciously kicked the horse's belly, it stimulated the wildness of the plague horse even more, and the plague horse went on a rampage, and even knocked over two or three of Wu Jianzhang's former colleagues at the entrance of the village one after another, the vendor with the chicken coop. Then, the plague horse actually rushed directly towards a duck pond, Wu Chaoyue was shocked when he saw it, and could only quickly scream, "Help-!" ”

"Phew!"

God really doesn't have a long time, when he saw that Wu Xiaocomprador, who helped sign the "Dagu Treaty", was about to suffer retribution, a strong man suddenly rushed up to the side of the road, grabbed Wu Chaoyue's reins, and pulled backwards with all his might, where the divine power went, not only pulled the horse, but also pulled Wu Chaoyue and the horse to stand up, Wu Chaoyue, who had already been frightened to withdraw his feet from the stirrup, slid down, sat on the ground with a strong butt, and screamed again in pain, "Ouch! ”

God, you're so bad!