On the third day, Wu Chaoyue received a news from the capital that made him snicker--in view of the huge military expenditure, Emperor Xianfeng, who was so poor that he was about to be a crotch, after casting a hundred or a thousand dollars, actually ordered the household to cast lead money as copper money! (Historical facts.) ）

While gloating, Wu Chaoyue suddenly saw the hope of keeping Wu Lao's comprador, although Wu Jianzhang, who was getting old day by day, often said that he was tired and wanted to rest, but Wu Chaoyue could see that Wu Lao's comprador actually didn't want to retire at all, and at the same time, Wu Chaoyue didn't want to see Wu Lao's comprador lose his late festival, and he didn't want him to lose the fat difference of Jianghaiguan supervision, which would affect his plan to expand his armament war. Therefore, Wu Chaoyue soon asked Zhao Liewen to write a recital for him, cheekily begging Emperor Xianfeng to forgive his comprador grandfather, and give full play to his comprador grandfather's financial management skills to continue to collect tariffs for Emperor Xianfeng, and wrote a letter to Su Shun, begging Su Shun to help exonerate his comprador grandfather, and strive to let Wu Lao comprador continue to preside over Shanghai Customs.

In addition, Wu Chaoyue also had a very long-term vision for the important position of Shanghai magistrate, while playing Zhou Tenghu's exploits in Shanghai, recommending Zhou Tenghu to serve as a seven-rank official, and at the same time sending people to Beijing to seek the position of Shanghai county magistrate for Zhou Tenghu.

Xu Naizhao also knows a little bit of etiquette, righteousness and shame, when Wu Chaoyue found him and begged him to also go to the fold to protect Wu Lao comprador, for the sake of Wu Lao comprador taking the initiative to carry the black pot, and at the same time, in order to maintain friendly relations with Wu Chaoyue, an important subordinate, Xu Naizhao did not hesitate to go to the fold to exonerate Wu Lao comprador from the crime. At the same time, Xu Naizhao also complained to Emperor Xianfeng by the way, saying that the long hair is big and the city of Suzhou is too strong, the Qing soldiers are tired and the casualties are huge, and the weather is very unfavorable for the siege operation, it is difficult to break through Suzhou and recover Wuxi in a short time, and asked Emperor Xianfeng to let the Qing army temporarily rest in Songjiang Mansion, and also send reinforcements to himself, and increase military expenses - like Wu Chaoyue, Xu Naizhao is also extremely jealous Xiang Rong and Qi Shan, who can get hundreds of thousands of taels of military expenses every month and basically do not do business.

At the same time, Xu Naizhao's previous excerpts had been sent to the capital by six hundred, and when he heard that the important financial source of Shanghai City was victoriously recovered, Emperor Xianfeng was of course Longyan Dayue, and praised a few words of loyalty and courage of Xu Naizhao and Wu Chaoyue and others. However, under the reminder of someone with a heart, Emperor Xianfeng remembered the important issue of investigating the responsibility of Shanghai officials for their failure to suppress thieves.

The failure to suppress the popular uprising led to the successful capture of Shanghai by the Xiaodaohui rebel army, and the civil and military officials in Shanghai City, except for Wu Chaoyue, who was in the north at that time, had to bear some responsibility. However, who is the culprit has made Emperor Xianfeng very sad, the Shanghai magistrate who is on duty in the city is dead, and the legend has it that when he died, he also scolded the rebel army for barely being a loyal martyr, the biggest black cauldron of course can not let him carry it, the soldier who manages the green battalion is the biological father of the Xianfeng Emperor's favorite concubine, love the house and Wu, of course the Xianfeng Emperor does not want to cut off Hui Zheng's head to explain to the people of the world, so this big black pot is reasonable, and it should be buckled on the head of Wu Jianzhang, the highest official in Shanghai.

Thanks to the blessing of being close to foreigners, the Manchu Qing court, which is proud of its anti-foreign hatred of foreigners, demanded that Wu Lao comprador be severely punished, but Wu Lao comprador rarely touched the light of his precious grandson this time, in order to take care of Wu Chao's emotions as an important general, Emperor Xianfeng was also unwilling to attack Wu Lao comprador too hard, and once planned to dismiss Wu Lao comprador and no longer ask for guilt.

But soon, when he heard that Wu Lao comprador had signed a peace treaty with the foreigners, expelled the Taiping soldiers who had fled into the concession and promised to let the foreigners expand the area of the concession, Emperor Xianfeng was immediately furious again. Weng Xincun's protégé Yushi Liang Shaoxian also took the opportunity to fall into the well, shook out some evidence that had been secretly collected a long time ago, and impeached Wu Lao comprador for enriching his own pockets and embezzling huge tariffs during the collection of tariffs, and Emperor Xianfeng, who was already so poor that he cast lead money and looted the people's wealth, could not bear it, and immediately ordered Wu Lao comprador to be arrested and imprisoned, and escorted to the capital to hand over the crime to the ministry.

If it weren't for Wu Chaoyue's backer Su Shun and Wu Lao Comprador himself to buy it with money, the backer Devil Six tried his best to persuade and plead, maybe the Qin Cha who arrested Wu Lao comprador had already been sent to Shanghai, and after a little delay, Wu Chaoyue and Xu Naizhao's excerpt for Wu Lao comprador was also sent to the capital at the same time and presented to Emperor Xianfeng, but after seeing Wu Chaoyue's shameless plea for Wu Lao comprador to intercede, Emperor Xianfeng was of course angry and funny, and said: "This Wu Chaoyue really does not avoid suspicion, The grandson pleaded for his grandfather to exonerate himself, but I haven't heard of it, but I've never heard of it. ”

"That's also because it's rare for both grandparents and grandchildren to serve the imperial court at the same time." Su Shun, who happened to be present, hurriedly said: "My emperor has a discerning eye, and he is trying to reuse Wu Chaoyue, which is why Wu Chaoyue's successive battles and successes have been repeatedly broken. Our emperor is wise and martial, and he is eclectic in employing people, and he is really a model for emperors through the ages. ”

Although Su Shun's sycophant is disgusting, it is barely a truth, compared with Xiang Rong, Qi Shan, Shengbao and Seng Lingqin, Wu Chaoyue, who is personally overdialed by Emperor Xianfeng, is indeed very much fighting for face for Emperor Xianfeng, and has successively won beautiful battles that make Emperor Xianfeng smile. So secretly proud, Emperor Xianfeng also quietly dispelled the idea of re-running Wu Jianzhang, and recalculated how to clean up Wu Jianzhang.

Seeing that Emperor Xianfeng had lost his anger, Su took the opportunity to say again: "Master, the slave thinks that the imperial history Liang Shaoxian impeached Wu Jianzhang for embezzling tariffs, although some evidence was presented, but it was all some circumstantial evidence, and there was no conclusive evidence, and the current treasury was empty, Wu Jianzhang was very effective in collecting taxes, and was familiar with the various situations of Jiang Customs, and was the best person to rebuild Jiang Customs. ”

Emperor Xianfeng nodded slightly, and picked up Wu Chaoyue and Xu Naizhao's recital to look at it carefully, and then Emperor Xianfeng still had a rare inspiration, and ordered: "Pass the decree, take off Wu Jianzhang's top flower feather, demote him to a concubine, and temporarily leave his original post to preside over the reconstruction of Jianghai customs affairs." Xu Naizhao was then responsible for investigating Wu Jianzhang's corruption of tariffs, and reported it truthfully, and did not engage in favoritism. ”

After that, Emperor Xianfeng smiled slightly and said: "Give Wu Chaoyue another will, tell him that I will give him two months, and within two months, if he can break through Suzhou and recapture this important town of money and grain for me, then I can be lenient to his grandfather, and it is not impossible to keep his grandfather's crown flower feather." If he can't do it, two months later, his grandfather will roll me back to his hometown in Guangdong to care for the elderly. ”

"The master's clever plan, this move not only cherishes Wu Chaoyue, but also does not have to delay the major event of rebuilding Jianghaiguan, and can also inspire Wu Chaoyue and his soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy and pacify the bandits in Suzhou. Killing three birds with one stone, what a wonderful move! ”

Su Shun hurriedly slapped his ass, and then said cautiously: "Master, it's only two months, isn't it too short?" Wu Chaos's department fought in the south and north during this time, went north to Qinwang, and went south to break the thief, I heard that the casualties were very large, the ammunition consumption was too much, the soldiers and weapons needed time to replenish, and Suzhou was a big city, so let him take Suzhou in two months, I am afraid that the time was a little rushed. ”

"Then give him three months!" Emperor Xianfeng didn't think about it and said: "Within three months, as long as he can revive the state for me, I will not cure his grandfather's sin." ”

Although Su Shun was very friendly enough to buy Wu Chaoyue an extra month, and then after receiving the holy decree of Emperor Xianfeng, Wu Chaoyue still smiled bitterly, Wu Jianzhang calmly accepted his fate, patted Wu Chaoyue's shoulder and said: "Grandson, don't be reluctant, grandpa knows that you have tried your best, but grandpa I should have such a catastrophe in my life, grandpa accepted his fate, you don't have to be reluctant, you can do what you want, you don't need to forcibly fight Suzhou City, sacrifice the loyal and brave soldiers under your command in vain." ”

To recapture Suzhou within three months, Wu Chaoyue really couldn't do it, not to mention that Wu Jun Lian Yong was not good at attacking fortified cities, and the friendly army was not enough and not strong enough, even if Wu Chaoyue could quickly expand Wu Jun Lian Yong into ten battalions according to the original plan, it would be useless. The Qing army has already found out that the Taiping army that successfully escaped back to Suzhou and Zhou Lichun, Pan Qiliang's three armies together have more than 6,000 people, and at the same time, there are more than 5,000 troops of Chen Shibao in Suzhou City, and the garrison is quite sufficient and is still expanding rapidly, in addition, the Taiping Army's 'famous general' Xie Changsha in Wuxi will definitely provide reinforcements to Zeng Lichang and Chen Shibao, under normal circumstances, Wu Chaoyue will not be able to take back Suzhou City within three months anyway.

The hope is very pitiful, but Wu Chaoyue, who is barely a filial grandson, refuses to give up, and at the same time of expanding the army and training soldiers, Wu Chaoyue racked his brains to think about the possibility of breaking through Suzhou within three months, but there is no way, the enemy is too strong and the strength of the army is insufficient, Wu Chaoyue almost can't think of any reliable strategy to break the city. At the same time, what made Wu Chaoyue cry and laugh was that Hechun, who led the army to pursue the city of Suzhou, also fought a big defeat outside Suzhou City, and was forced to lead the army back to Kunshan to defend the city, and he couldn't help Wu Chaoyue, and in turn urged Wu Chaoyue and Xu Naizhao to quickly lead troops to help him.

Finally, they didn't have to worry about the fierce war, and were able to rest in the rich and prosperous Shanghai, Xu Naizhao and Wu Chaoyue of course wiped their butts with Hechun's letter for help. As a result, on the same day, in order to prevent further expansion of the army in case and in the future, Wu Chaoyue once again entered the concession to find the Prussian consul A Huawei, and ordered a batch of firing pin guns and supporting ammunition from A Huawei. However, what Wu Chaoyue didn't expect was that Ah Huawei opened his mouth this time and asked for the price of the firing pin gun to be increased by 20%.

"Wu, it's not that I take the opportunity to rip off the bamboo, it's that I have to raise the price. You also know that we in Prussia are preparing for war with Russia, the price of weapons has risen sharply, my procurement costs have increased, and I have to increase the price in order to make money. And I still gave you a special discount, only 20% of the price for you, and 30% for others. ”

"Thirty percent of the price for someone else?" Wu Chaoyue was vigilant and hurriedly asked, "Dear Mr. Ah Huawei, may I ask who else has purchased a firing pin gun from you?" ”

"Wu, protecting the privacy of customers is a virtue of business." Ah Huawei smiled and refused to answer.

"Indeed." Wu Chaoyue nodded, and said with a smile: "But dear Mr. Ah Huawei, if this guest of yours did not ask for his identity to be kept secret in the contract, then with my friendship with you, can you bear to keep it secret from me?" ”

Ah Huawei laughed and said, "Wu, in fact, you don't need to ask at all, who was hit the worst by the firing gun, of course, whoever wants to buy the same weapon to fight." Your opponents are much smarter than your stupid court. ”

"Fuck! Dog Longhair really learns from me! Wu Chaoyue cursed, and then smiled and said, "Dear Mr. Ah Huawei, then how much do I have to pay to know the specific date and place of your delivery to them?" You can rest assured, I will never delay your business, and I will never do it directly in the concession. ”

"Wu, even if you don't consider the moral aspect, I can't answer this question." Ah Huawei said very frankly: "Wu, you know, I have to buy a scrept pin gun from China, and I don't know when the weapon will be shipped to Shanghai. So the beautiful Chinese girl only paid the deposit, but did not agree with me on the delivery date and place. ”

"Beautiful Chinese girl?" When Wu Chaoyue heard the joy, he immediately jumped up and asked, "Dear Mr. Ah Huawei, when did she order the goods from you?" Still not in the concession? ”

Ah Huawei, who strictly adhered to the principle of neutrality, closed his mouth and refused to answer Wu Chaoyue's question, Wu Chaoyue knew the virtue of foreigners and did not force him, and after submitting the purchase list and paying the deposit to Ah Huawei, Wu Chaoyue took the opportunity of Ah Huawei to sort out the contract, found Ah Huawei's servant, handed Wu Datou to inquire about the information, and the servant really told the truth and said: "Yesterday, yesterday a very beautiful woman came to Mr. Consul. ”

"Yesterday? So, it's likely that she is still in the concession? ”

Wu Chaoyue's joy was not trivial, he quickly thanked the servant, and finished the matter of purchasing weapons with Ah Huawei, and Wu Chaoyue hurriedly took his own soldiers to find it in the concession. But it's a pity that Wu Chaoyue ran all over the British and French concessions, and his legs were almost thinner, but he never saw Zhou Xiuying's shadow in the increasingly prosperous concessions.

When he was disappointed and ready to give up, Wu Chaoyue had an idea, and suddenly thought of a possibility, and hurriedly took Wu Dadao and other henchmen to the hotel where he and Zhou Xiuying had good things together, and went directly to the door of his **** Zhou Xiuying's room to knock on the door, but it was still a pity that the door was opened by a big fat man with gold teeth. Wu Chaoyue was completely desperate, and had no choice but to leave with his own soldiers dejected.

The crowd looked for her thousands of times, and suddenly looked back, but the person was in the dim light. When they were all completely desperate, when they came to the lobby of the hotel, Wu Chaoyue met a young woman with a food box in her hand, and she was one of Zhou Xiuying's female soldiers that Wu Chaoyue had seen. Wu Chaoyue was overjoyed, and hurriedly followed the female soldier without saying a word, and followed her to the door of an ordinary guest room, the female soldier had already recognized Wu Chaoyue, although she never gave Wu Chaoyue a good look, but she did not deliberately get rid of Wu Chaoyue's tracking, knocked on the door and went in directly, and then quickly closed the door.

Hurriedly tidied up his clothes, raised his hand and was about to knock on the door, but the door of the guest room was opened from the inside, and Zhou Xiuying, who was dressed plainly, suddenly appeared in front of Wu Chaoyue, glared at Wu Chaoyue with a blushing face, and asked, "How do you know that I am here?" ”

"Guess." Wu Chaoyue said with a smile: "I know, you will not forget here." ”

Zhou Xiuying's pretty face was red to the base of her neck, and after glaring at Wu Chaoyue again, Zhou Xiuying still let Wu Chaoyue into her room and called her two female soldiers out. As a result, as soon as the light bulb left, Wu Chaoyue of course couldn't wait to hug Zhou Xiuying and move his hands and feet, while Zhou Xiuying struggled and said in a low voice: "Be careful, what happened last time, Xiao Ye and they have already been suspicious." ”

The name of the female soldier reminded Wu Chaoyue of a major event, and quickly stopped the claws that were active in Zhou Xiuying's underwear, and whispered in Zhou Xiuying's ear: "Quickly find a way to tell Yang Xiuqing that in the shogunate of Hong Xiuquan's eldest brother Hong Renfa, there is a man named Yeats, who is a spy of the Qing Demon Court, and his real name is Zhang Jigeng, who was my comrade-in-arms when I was in Jiangning, and he is also a stubborn hardcore traitor." ”

Zhou Xiuying was taken aback, nodded quickly, and then said in a low voice: "The grade difference between me and Yang Xiuqing is too far, I can't see him?" ”

"It's okay, just write to him." Wu Chaoyue said in a low voice: "Yang Xiuqing will definitely send someone to investigate after seeing the letter, and after finding out the truth, he will definitely attach great importance to you, and he will want to meet you to understand the truth, and then you can tell him my true intentions, he is a smart person, and he will stop hostile actions against me, avoid me and his useless consumption, and clean up demons in vain." ”

Zhou Xiuying nodded again, remembered Wu Chaoyue's advice, and whispered with a lewd smile: "Also, I heard that Yang Xiuqing is very lustful, when you meet him, remember to guard me like a jade, don't be greedy for glory and wealth, and give me a green hat." ”

"Phew! Who do you think of me? Also, why don't you defend yourself for me and have a beautiful woman by your side?

Hurry up and get another wish in the posture of a certain wardrobe, and when he was gasping for breath and resting, although he knew that there was little hope, Wu Chaoyue still whispered to Zhou Xiuying that he would take Suzhou City within three months, and asked Zhou Xiuying if it was possible for the Taiping Army to take the initiative to abandon Suzhou City? Zhou Xiuying shook her head, sorted out the clothes that were messed up by Wu Chaoyue and said: "Impossible, Prime Minister Zeng and they will not give up Suzhou, they will use Suzhou as a base to counterattack Shanghai." ”

"! Isn't this going to be cheap again? ”

Wu Chaoyue scolded a dirty word, while Zhou Xiuying hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "If possible, I will try my best to help you, I saved Prime Minister Zeng last time, he trusts me very much, and if I have the opportunity, I will try my best to put forward some suggestions that are beneficial to you." ”

Wu Chaoyue blinked his eyes and said, "So, how about you persuade Zeng Lichang to fight Changzhou?" It's also an important town, and after taking it, it will be convenient for you to communicate with Tianjing, and when his main force is gone, I have hope. (To be continued.) )