Hua Shana was indeed quite good to Wu Chaoyue, but intentionally or unintentionally, he also brought new troubles and enemies to Wu Chaoyue - the hostility of the Qing Household Department and the Internal Affairs Bureau, as well as countless corrupt officials in these two yamen. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The reason is that in Huashan Nayue on behalf of Wu Chaoyue to seek the right to mint coins in Hubei, before the minting of silver yuan in Shanghai was a great success, after coming to Hubei in order to increase financial revenue and facilitate foreign trade, Wu Chaoyue has several times on the fold to request to mint silver yuan in Hubei, but each time because of the strong opposition of the Manchu household department and the internal affairs government and unsuccessful, Wu Chaoyue and Zhao Liewen have always been helpless about this.

There is no love for no reason in the world, let alone hate for no reason, and the reason why the masters of the Manchu household department and the internal affairs government are so opposed to letting Wu Chaoyue mint silver yuan in Hubei is, of course, to monopolize the coinage right and make a lot of money from it. As for the poor quality of the silver yuan minted by the Manchu court, which made it difficult for the common people to circulate in the market, and the foreigners categorically refused to accept it, and even many Chinese and foreign profiteers bought this kind of silver yuan at a low price to pay taxes.

Hua Shana, who is quite financially talented, has long seen these drawbacks, knowing that Wu Chaoyue's trial minting and issuance of silver yuan in Shanghai is more practical than the Manchu treasure banknotes he pushed before, and he also knows that only by handing over the coinage power to a bold and honest official like Wu Chaoyue can he really play a role in benefiting the country and the people, so he went all out to fight for Yucheng before taking office, and although the result was miraculously successful, it also made the masters of the household department and the internal affairs government hate him and Wu Chaoyue - dare to rob the uncle's wealth. If I don't kill you, I'm sorry for Lao Tzu's wife and children, and the eighteenth concubine!

What's even worse for Wu Chaoyue is that the current Hubu Shangshu Bai Ye happens to be the political enemy of Zaiyuan, Su Shun and others, and the hated house and Wu have no good impression of Wu Chaoyue, which will make Hua Shana pull Wu Chaoyue to cut off Bai Yue's financial route, Bai Ye of course wants to pick Wu Chaoyue's skin and smoke Wu Chaoyue's tendons.

Of course, no matter how much he hates Wu Chaoyue, no matter what kind of household book, Bai Ye wants to clean up Wu Chaoyue, the real power governor, first of all, he has to get the handle from the beginning, but just when Bai Ye and the official Wen have no way to take Wu Chaoyue's glass marble, a rather unexpected good opportunity suddenly appeared in front of Bai Ye and others - Jiangnan Province Imperial Shi Ding Hao was on the fold, impeaching Wu Chaoyue's grandfather Wu Jianzhang and Wenyu of the Jiangbei camp, embezzling 250,000 taels of military salary and silver from the Jiangbei camp, and also got real evidence.

Wu Lao comprador this time was really because of insatiable greed to provoke the fire, and was ordered to intercept the Jianghai tariff silver to the Jiangbei camp that had been in arrears for many days to solve the urgent need, but it turned out to catch up with the Jiangbei camp was broken by the Taiping army and Qi Shan's violent pawn, Wen Yu, who was in charge of the Jiangbei camp's money and grain, became greedy, and secretly asked Wu Lao comprador to forge official documents, falsely claiming that the salary and silver had been delivered before the Jiangbei camp was breached, and it was snatched away by the Taiping army before it was distributed, and he wanted to join forces with Wu Lao comprador to embezzle this huge amount of money, and Wu Lao comprador has never been clean in this regard, When he saw an opportunity, he immediately agreed. As a result, the silver was in hand, but I didn't expect that there was a problem in that link, and it was known by Ding Hao, the imperial historian of Jiangnan Province, and got the evidence, and a fold was stabbed to the capital, making it difficult for Zaiyuan and Su Shun and others to protect Wu Lao comprador and others, and also gave the Hubu Shangshu Baiye and the Minister of Internal Affairs Yucheng and Lin Kui and others who had just suffered a big loss a chance to take revenge.

Deliberate revenge, and I have long heard that Wu Lao comprador is extremely unclean in the customs supervision, and if the operation is good, it is easy for Zhu Lian to involve Wu Chaoyue, Bai Ye and Yucheng and others are of course jumping up and down, constantly persuading Emperor Xianfeng to strictly investigate the case, investigate to the end, severely punish those involved and even their descendants, and Emperor Xianfeng, who is in a serious deficit and the erosion of the battlefield in the south of the Yangtze River, is not polite, and immediately issued the so-called holy decree, ordering the governor of Liangjiang Yiliang to work with Zhao Dezhe, the inspector of Jiangsu, to strictly investigate the case, and let Wu Lao comprador and Wen Yu be suspended pending participation and await disposal.

Knowing that this matter could not be stopped, Su Shun, who was really good to Wu Chaoyue, had no choice but to quickly send someone to secretly inform Wu Lao Comprador while writing to Wu Chaoyue, so that Wu Chaoyue also knew about this matter, and asked Wu Chaoyue to quickly clear up if there was anything involved.

When I met such a pit grandfather, I would definitely be miserable if I changed someone else, but Wu Chaoyue really didn't have the qualifications to complain - Wu Chaoyue's old comprador was so greedy, largely because Wu Chaoyue, a loser, was too fierce. Therefore, after receiving Su Shun's letter, Wu Chaoyue could only quickly put down other things in his hand and find Zhao Liewen to discuss countermeasures.

"Comfort Ting, this thing is not easy to do." Zhao Liewen also frowned, and said: "Even Su Zhongtang can't stop it in the capital, which means that the emperor is already very angry about this matter, and Master Wu has already taken the evidence, and if he wants to clear up this matter, I'm afraid it's impossible." ”

Wu Chaoyue didn't speak with a gloomy face, because he didn't want to hurt the comprador grandfather, and he also hoped to keep the comprador grandfather's official position so that he could indirectly obtain the salary of Shanghai Customs, but no matter how Wu Chaoyue racked his brains, he couldn't think of any way to achieve this goal. As a result, when Wu Chaoyue was helpless about this, there was news outside the door that Huguang Governor Hua Shana came to visit, Wu Chaoyue had no choice but to quickly lead Zhao Liewen and others out to greet him, and respectfully invited Hua Shana, who was quite good to him, into the second hall and sat down.

"Weiting, I just received the news that your grandfather has an accident."

Hua Shana's intention made Wu Chaoyue very surprised, and as soon as he sat down, he took the initiative to talk about the fact that Wu Lao Comprador had been dismissed and waiting to be involved, and then Hua Shana said to Wu Chaoyue with a calm face: "Weiting, the old man can tell you clearly, your grandfather is not easy to pass, Bai Ye and Yucheng are obviously your grandfather, in fact, Xiang Zhuang is dancing with a sword, the real target is you, you have to be careful, don't let them take the opportunity to catch you with any tricks." ”

"Thank you for the reminder, the younger generation is grateful." Wu Chaoyue hurriedly thanked him, and asked tentatively: "Hua Zhitai, about this matter, I don't know what advice you have for the juniors?" ”

"That's exactly what the old man came to see you for." Hua Shana sighed, looked at Wu Chaoyue with gentle eyes and said, "Comfort Ting, don't blame the old man for making bad words, your grandfather's official position can't be kept no matter what." Embezzling military salaries is a serious crime, and the Jiangbei camp was broken by bandits, a big reason is that the morale is low because of the long arrears of salaries. Fortunately, Bai Ye and Yucheng's gang of giant beetles didn't expect this, and they didn't put the charge of deliberately underpaying and causing the rout of the Jiangbei camp on your grandfather, otherwise your grandfather's situation would only be worse. ”

"So Weiting, the old man must advise you, you'd better not fight the idea of completely exonerating your grandfather." Hua Shana said in a sincere tone: "This can't even be done by Su Shun Su Zhongtang and Zai Wangye, let alone you, if you have to insist on doing this, you will only give people a handle and further implicate you." ”

Wu Chaoyue was silent, and only after a while did he ask: "Flower making platform, what should the junior do?" ”

"Your best choice is to persuade your grandfather to confess his guilt as soon as possible, admit his mistake first, and then find a way to reduce the punishment."

Hua Shana unceremoniously pushed Wu Chaoyue to be unfilial and disobedient, and then took out a fold from his sleeve and said: "This is a copy of the excerpt of the impeachment of your grandfather and Wen Yu by Ding Hao, the emperor of Jiangnan Province, and the origin is not hidden from you, it was secretly sent by the old man in the capital, and it is very clear that it was Wen Yu who first proposed to join forces to covet the Mo army, and your grandfather cooperated with him." Therefore, the old man suggested that you go through the path of Yiliang and Zhao Dezhen as soon as possible, and you must let them make Wen Yu the main offender and your grandfather as an accomplice, so that your grandfather can reduce the punishment. Otherwise, your grandfather is afraid that it will be difficult to keep the head. ”

"Then, you can go to the fold to intercede for your grandfather, and justifiably beg the emperor and the court to spare your grandfather for your sake, return the stolen goods and save your life, and no longer continue to pursue it. With Su Zhongtang and Zai Wang Ye helping you speak in the court, it is definitely not difficult to do this. ”

"Weiting, the old man has long heard that the relationship between your grandfather and your ancestors and grandchildren is extraordinary, and you want your grandfather to confess his sins and be humiliated.

It must be difficult for you to accept to avoid implicating you. But the old man still has to remind you, stay in Qingshan so that you are not afraid of no firewood, let your grandfather confess his guilt and clear you, and don't give your enemies a chance to implicate you, and you will have a chance to help your grandfather make a comeback in the future. ”

"But if you also fall, your grandfather will really never come out in the future. Think of Qi Shan, who was dismissed twice and made a comeback twice; Your teacher, Mu Zhang'a, the engong of Zeng Guofan, offended the emperor so badly that he had already set it to never be used, but relying on donations to support his salary, hasn't he now taken back the five-grade top? Being able to stretch and bend is a big husband, blindly knowing only how to advance but not retreat, that is what a reckless man does. ”

Putting aside these words, Hua Shana said goodbye and left, and although Wu Chaoyue knew very well that Hua Shana's instructions were all good intentions, but to let Wu Chaoyue persuade Wu Lao comprador to take the initiative to confess his guilt and let him be humiliated and tortured, Wu Chaoyue couldn't give up his heart - after all, after Wu Chaoyue came to this era, there was only one person who was the best for himself, and that was Wu Lao comprador.

Knowing the deep relationship between Wu Chaoyue and Wu Lao compradors, Zhao Liewen naturally understood Wu Chaoyue's thoughts, so he also persuaded: "Weiting, I think the guidance of the flower system is really a good word, only by keeping you, your Wu family will have a future, but if you insist on completely exonerating your grandfather and being implicated by your enemies, then everything you have done before will be wasted, and your grandfather still wants to make a comeback, it will only be more difficult." ”

"Also, I think with Boss Wu's temper, even if you don't open your mouth, he will definitely choose to sacrifice himself to protect you."

Wu Chaoyue was still silent, and after a long time, Wu Chaoyue said very reluctantly: "Okay, just follow the instructions of the flower system, contact Gui Liang and Zhao Dezhe, and beg their subordinates to be merciful, don't condemn my grandfather's crime too heavily." ”

…………

According to Zhao Liewen's material, in order not to affect his baby grandson, Wu Lao comprador really chose to honestly admit his guilt after listening to Zhou Tenghu's suggestion, and decisively admitted the fact of corruption and did not give the Manchu court a chance to continue to investigate and investigate. And Yiliang and Zhao Dezhe, who both ran to Shanghai to avoid the Taiping Army's edge under the pretext of investigating the case, not only thought of their past friendship with Wu Chaoyue, but also needed Wu Jun, who Wu Chaoyue stayed in Shanghai, to practice bravely to protect his family's life, and also decisively chose to let Wen Yu bear the first crime, and convicted Wu Lao comprador of a lesser crime of coercing him to obey.

Of course, Bai Ye and Yucheng and others were extremely dissatisfied with this result, and insisted on continuing to investigate, but the result was naturally strongly opposed by Su Shun and Zaiyuan and others, and at the same time, the Taiping army also inadvertently did the old Wu family a favor, and the Taiping army, which did not appear in the Tianjing Incident, broke through the two large camps in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, and took advantage of the situation to develop eastward, and successively took Danyang, Wujin, Changshu and Jiangyin, and once again came to the city of Suzhou. The war situation was so urgent that Emperor Xianfeng, who urgently needed to stabilize the hearts of the people in southern Jiangsu, did not want to expand the case anymore, so he agreed to the request of Yiliang and others with a wave of his hand, and asked Wu Lao Comprador to dismiss his post and return the stolen goods.

After the decree of punishment was sent to Shanghai, the old comprador Wu who had been detained for many days was finally released, and the civil and military officials in the city ran to the old comprador Wu to congratulate him, saying that after the old comprador Wu survived this catastrophe, he would inevitably turn evil into good fortune in the future, and he would definitely have a chance to recover. The old comprador Wu, who was tortured by urine stones and was dying during his detention, was disheartened, and returned home to recuperate after a few perfunctory words, determined to close his door from now on, and never ask about officialdom again.

The old comprador Wu who was physically and mentally exhausted wanted to have a good rest, and Wu Chaoyue also wanted the comprador grandfather to temporarily avoid the limelight, and then find a way to make the old comprador Wu come back after the rumors passed, but Wu Lao comprador and Wu Chaoyue, the unscrupulous ancestors, said nothing in advance What they didn't expect was that the situation in Shanghai would change dramatically in a short period of time......

The change was of course caused by the Taiping army, which was rapidly developing towards southern Jiangsu, and although the Taiping army suffered a small setback under the city of Suzhou, it did not give up, and continued to storm Suzhou after a slight adjustment, and at the same time divided its troops to occupy the surrounding Kunshan, Taicang and Wujiang places. Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu, who was trapped in the lonely city, asked for help from Yiliang who hid in Shanghai every day, and the thunderous Xianfeng Emperor also continued to force Yiliang to send troops to rescue Suzhou, Yiliang could not resist, so he could only hurriedly organize a group of rabble, and borrowed four battalions of Wu army from Zhou Tenghu to practice courage and courage, and personally led the march to Suzhou, and fought with the Taiping army at the Baihe Port at the junction of Suzhou and Songjiang.

There is no way to describe the unfortunate luck of Yi Zhitai, when the battle suddenly rained in the sky, the four battalions of Wu Jun who accompanied the battle could not use the needle gun, and were defeated by the Taiping Army in a battle, and the Qing army completely collapsed, Yiliang was extremely unlucky in the escape of the boat ran aground, was chased and killed by the Taiping army, and the road to escape east with the inspection envoy Zhao Dezhen and the soldiers and horses of the department was also cut off, and he could only flee south to Lou County to close the city for self-protection.

Then, knowing that the Taiping army had won a very lucky victory, did not rush to attack Shanghai, and chose to go south to attack Louxian, but even so, the city of Shanghai was still full of rumors, and the city and the concession were crowded with officials and gentry who were fleeing the war, and the situation was extremely urgent. Wu Lao, who was recuperating at home, could not resist the repeated pleas of the Shanghai officials and gentry, and had no choice but to make a comeback from illness, and discussed with Xue Huan, the political envoy of Jiangsu, the military commander Dao Huizheng, and the county magistrate Zhou Tenghu and others about the urgent expansion of regimental training to defend Shanghai.

As in history, Wu Lao comprador still insisted on colluding with foreigners to defend Shanghai, and also proposed to borrow troops from foreigners to participate in the war, but Xue Huan and others not only agreed, but also asked Wu Lao comprador to personally come forward to preside over the matter, Wu Lao comprador listened to it with a wry smile and said: "The old man is a person who has been dismissed, and he has no grade or rank, so what qualifications do he have to preside over matters related to diplomacy?" ”

"It's easy to do official business." Xue Huan didn't think about it and said: "This official will go to the imperial court, please ask the emperor to be gracious and reinstated, and ask Master Wu to go out of the mountain again to serve the imperial court and help this official preside over the major affairs of defending Shanghai." ”

The sick old comprador Wu shook his head and smiled bitterly, he didn't have the confidence to be able to keep the already stormy Shanghai, nor did he believe that Emperor Xianfeng would slap himself in the face so soon and regain himself. However, Xue Huan, who was in a hurry to go to the doctor, ignored it, and immediately wrote a memora in his own hand, and sent it to the capital with 600 miles to ask for the reactivation of Wu Lao's comprador.

Then, something happened that surprised Wu Lao compradors, and within a few days, Emperor Xianfeng actually sent a decree with an expedited 600 li, and appointed Wu Lao comprador as the general office of Jiangsu Alternate Road and Songjiang Prefecture Group Training, authorized Wu Lao Comprador to belong to Songjiang Prefecture Group Training, and allowed Wu Lao Comprador to intercept part of the tariffs to expand the group training to help Xue Huan defend Shanghai's wealth. And when Xue Huan came to congratulate Wu Lao comprador with the holy decree, Wu Lao comprador who had been demoted to the fifth grade because of the rebellion of the Little Knife Society was inevitably surprised, and asked himself in confusion: "Could it be that the old man is a blessing in disguise this time?" ”

In view of the special political situation of the Shanghai battlefield, as well as the elite veterans who were afraid of Wu Chaoyue staying in Shanghai, in fact, as early as the day when Emperor Xianfeng decided to re-use Wu Lao compradors, Yang Xiuqing, the real military commander of the Taiping Army, had already issued an order to the Taiping Army's East Route Army in Nanjing, requiring the East Route Army not to attack Shanghai, and preparing to persuade Britain and France and other countries to agree to the Taiping Army's occupation of Shanghai through diplomatic means, and then consider taking military action.

Therefore, when the isolated cities of Suzhou and Louxian were successively broken by the Taiping army, and the entire territory of southern Jiangsu was basically completely occupied by the Taiping army, Shanghai was still like a mainstay, firmly nailed to the easternmost part of the Jiangsu battlefield. The position of Wu Lao comprador in the Manchu officialdom was as indestructible as Shanghai's position in the Jiangnan battlefield. (To be continued.) )