Or entered the concession, the ancestors of the Wu family only broke off the shackles on their bodies with the help of the blacksmith and regained their freedom, and then at the invitation of Father Martin, the ancestors of the Wu family lived in the chapel next to the American Consulate - Originally, Wu Chaoyue wanted to be tired and crooked with the current world hegemon of the British, but Wu Jianzhang and the American consul Qi Liyun had a very good friendship (in history, when Wu Jianzhang was captured by the rebel army of the Little Knife Society, it was Wu Jianzhang who was rescued by the American consul), and he was willing to be neighbors with Qi Liyun. Wu Chaoyue, who is a grandson, certainly does not dare to disobey.

But it's all the same, there are so many warships and armed merchant ships anchored next to the concession, and with 10,000 dares from the Weng family's father and son, Yuan Zubi and others, they dare to send people to the concession to arrest the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family, so the safety can definitely be guaranteed, and the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family live with great confidence.

What made Wu Jianzhang and Wu Chaoyue uneasy was their family in the city, as well as Wu Chaoyue's cheap father Wu Xiaoping and other family members - the Manchu court did not have the courage to enter the concession to arrest people, but it was easy to arrest Wu Xiaoping who was in Xiangshan's hometown. So after settling down a little, the first thing Wu Jianzhang did was to write a letter to his son Wu Xiaoping, asking Wu Chaoyue's cheap father Wu Xiaoping to take the family of Xiangshan's hometown to flee to Macau for his life, and if the situation was not right, he could also escape to a safer Hong Kong through Macau. Wu Chaoyue next to him also hurriedly reminded: "Grandpa, don't forget to let my father transfer the family property, don't worry about the land and mansion for the time being, and transfer the silver and jewelry first." ”

"The old man still needs you to teach this?" Wu Jianzhang glanced at his grandson, and said proudly: "Only thirty percent of the old man's silver is deposited in the money bank opened by the Jin merchants and Hui merchants, and seventy percent is stored in the foreigner's bank!" Or divide it into several deposits into the banks of these foreigners in Hong Kong, Macau and Shanghai Concession, even if our home is really raided by the imperial court, you little rabbit cub don't have to worry about starving to beg for food. ”

"The three holes of the cunning rabbit are still the grandfather's mastery." Wu Chaoyue, who was really afraid of starvation, breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly flattered the comprador grandfather, and then said: "Grandpa, why don't you tell my dad by the way, and ask him to buy a farm in Honolulu first, if the imperial court really can't tolerate us, we will simply go to the United States to be Americans." ”

Wu Jianzhang's brush paused, and after a little calculation, he sighed and said, "Don't worry, take your time, let your father arrive in Hong Kong first, and then we will discuss the situation." ”

"Grandpa, don't you want to go abroad to be an overseas Chinese?" Wu Chaoyue saw Wu Jianzhang's thoughts.

"It's hard to leave your homeland." Wu Jianzhang sighed and said, "Grandpa, I am in my sixties, how many days can I live?" If you go abroad at this time, you will definitely not be able to come back if you go out, and if you die outside, how can I return to my roots, grandpa? Do you want me to be a lonely ghost overseas forever? ”

As a traverser, of course Wu Chaoyue doesn't care whether he dies and buries himself in his hometown or is burned to ashes, but after all, he was born in China and grew up in China, Wu Chaoyue still understands Wu Jianzhang's thoughts of the old generation who wants to return to his roots, and under sympathy, Wu Chaoyue no longer urges the comprador grandfather to buy land and settle down overseas as soon as possible, and he also sighed secretly in his heart: "Let's talk about it slowly, anyway, as long as you keep your family property, it's not a matter of words to buy a manor in a foreign country?" Damn, in fact, I don't really want to go abroad in this era, and I will be a first-class citizen when I go. ”

It was also a coincidence that as soon as Wu Jianzhang finished writing the letter, Liu Lichuan, the number one thug of the old Wu family, came to the door with some thugs from the Double Knife Society, and the ancestors of the Wu family were overjoyed, and as soon as they met, they hurriedly asked Liu Lichuan about the situation in the city and his own home, and Liu Lichuan replied helplessly: "Uncle Shuang, I'm sorry, when the foreigner warship sailed into the Huangpu River, I happened to organize people outside the city to prepare to protect you into Beijing, and then after the city gate was closed, it was never opened, so I don't know the situation at home very well." ”

Wu Jianzhang was disappointed when he heard this, and he was worried that the concubine's family in the city was helpless, so he could only quickly ask Liu Lichuan to arrange the most reliable manpower immediately, and return to Xiangshan, Guangdong overnight to deliver a letter to his son, Liu Lichuan agreed, and immediately made proper arrangements. After the reliable messenger was sent out, Liu Lichuan asked again, "Uncle Shuang, what should we do next?" ”

"I can only hide in the concession for a while and see the limelight." Wu Jianzhang said sullenly: "The foreigners have forced Weng Xincun to accept the diplomatic notes, if those notes are sent to the court, the old man's affairs may have a turnaround, and he does not dare to hope that the official will be reinstated, at least there is great hope for rehabilitation." If it really doesn't work, it's not too late to make other plans. ”

"What about the brothers of the Twin Blades?" Liu Lichuan asked again: "Although most of the brothers of the Double Knife Society are outside the city, so they don't have to worry about being arrested by the government, but they have to eat?" And those workers who eat on the docks, who have no business when they start a war, what do they eat? ”

Wu Jianzhang frowned, not knowing how to answer, Wu Chaoyue next to him took over the conversation and comforted: "Uncle Yuan, don't worry, foreigners value commercial interests the most, they sail warships into the Huangpu River just to put pressure on the imperial court and protect the safety of the concession, and will not cut off trade contacts and damage their own commercial interests, so the foreigners' merchant ships will still sail into the Huangpu River to load and unload, you don't have to worry about running out of food." ”

"Really?"

Liu Lichuan asked suspiciously, Wu Chaoyue nodded, and he did have this self-confidence - because Wu Chaoyue clearly remembered that in history, even the rebel army of the Little Knife Society had already taken Shanghai City, and Shanghai's import and export trade had never been interrupted.

However, without waiting for Wu Chaoyue to explain, Wu Jianzhang on the other side took over and said: "Ah Yuan, Chaoyue is right, foreigners will not wait for the imperial court to reply and not do business, there will definitely be foreign ships on the dock tomorrow to load and unload goods, you just have to take the workers to start work as usual." ”

Seeing that Wu Jianzhang had already said this, Liu Lichuan, who trusted Wu Jianzhang very much, no longer doubted it, and immediately nodded in agreement. Who knew that Wu Jianzhang said again: "By the way, by the way, you can inform those customs officers who live outside the city, and let them continue to work at the dock tomorrow." ”

"What are you notifying them for?"

Liu Lichuan asked suspiciously, Wu Chaoyue was also a little puzzled, but Wu Jianzhang's answer made Liu Lichuan and Wu Chaoyue almost faint, "Of course, the tariffs will continue to be levied, the foreigners will not cut off the trade with my Qing Dynasty, and their merchant ships will continue to load and unload goods on the Shanghai docks, and of course the old man will continue to collect tariffs on them for the imperial court." ”

"Uncle Shuang, do you still want to tax foreigners?" Liu Lichuan was dumbfounded and asked: "The foreigners just drove the gunboat into the Huangpu River today to save you and surpass, and you still have to tax them, can the foreigners agree?" What if the foreigner gets angry and kicks you out of the rental industry? ”

Wu Chaoyue was also quite worried about reminding Wu Jianzhang, but Wu Jianzhang had both confidence and experience on it, and said: "It shouldn't be, the old man has experience in this matter, when the warship of the foreigners in Qingpu had sailed to Jiangning City, ready to bombard Jiangning City at any time, in addition to the British merchant ships, the foreign merchant ships of other countries still paid tariffs to our Qing Customs, and after the Qingpu matter was resolved, those British merchant ships also obediently made up the arrears of tariffs." ”

Speaking of this, Wu Jianzhang shook his head, unwilling to recall the past incident back then, and changed his words and said: "In short, foreigners are still good at the rules in business, and they can do things in the long run, this time they drove the warship into the Huangpu River, in addition to saving me and surpassing, the bigger purpose is to build a bank and build a factory, and do bigger and more business with the Qing Dynasty, so the old man believes that the foreigners will definitely continue to pay tariffs, as long as they pay the old man, they will collect it for the imperial court, and they really refuse to hand it over to us and then discuss it slowly." ”

Liu Lichuan was suspicious, and kindly persuaded Wu Jianzhang not to risk offending foreigners at this time, but Wu Jianzhang insisted on acting like this, Liu Lichuan had no choice but to obediently arrange and notify Wu Jianzhang. Wu Chaoyue next to him remained silent, and it was only after Liu Lichuan left that Wu Chaoyue cautiously asked, "Grandpa, do you still want to fight for official reinstatement?" ”

Glancing at his precious grandson, Wu Jianzhang sighed, and then said, "I didn't expect you to be able to see this thought of your grandfather." Yes, grandpa still wants to continue to be a customs superintendent, not to mention that this position is rich in oil and water, if grandpa can keep this official position, it will only be good for your future. The old man doesn't want you to be a rich man who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun for the rest of your life. ”

Wu Chaoyue was silent, although Wu Chaoyue had no interest in being a slave to the Manchu Eight Banners, but he was still extremely moved by the comprador grandfather's deep affection for his calf, and remembered that Wu Jianzhang insisted on bearing all the responsibility in front of Weng Xincun in order to protect himself, Wu Chaoyue's heart was inevitably more shaken. So after thinking about it again, Wu Chaoyue, who had already planned to go abroad to become an overseas Chinese, changed his mind and said to Wu Jianzhang: "Grandpa, if you really want to be reinstated, the best way is not only to continue to be loyal to your duties, but also to hurry up and impeach Weng Xin. ”

"Impeachment Weng in mind?" Wu Jianzhang's surprise was not trivial, and he asked in surprise: "You want me to impeach the minister?" What crime is he impeached? ”

"The impeachment of Weng Xin abused his power to unreasonably interfere with foreigners' missionary business and prohibit foreigners from entering and leaving Shanghai, causing foreigner warships to sail into the Huangpu River and bombarding Wusongkou, thus putting the Qing Dynasty in danger of all-out war with Western countries." Wu Chaoyue pointed out: "As long as this big black cauldron is detained on Weng Xincun's head, Weng Xincun will be dead, you and I can get the snow on your grievances, and you also have great hope that you can be reinstated." ”

"Is this possible?" Wu Jianzhang was even more dumbfounded.

"How could it be?" Wu Chaoyue asked rhetorically, and said, "Grandpa, what do you think?" Now that the imperial court is making every effort to encircle and suppress the Taiping army, where is there still the courage to start a war with the foreigners? Now that the foreigners have submitted a note threatening to go to war, in order to appease the foreigners, the court must find a scapegoat to carry the black cauldron, grandpa, you impeached Weng Xincun, you found a scapegoat for the court, does the court have a reason to quickly detain this black pot on Weng Xincun's head? Weng Xincun dismissed the official and dismissed him, killed his head and raided his family, grandpa, you are not afraid of the power to impeach the official, and you are loyal to your duties and continue to collect tariffs for the imperial court, the imperial court is embarrassed not to reinstate your official. ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue smiled slightly, and said: "Maybe there is still hope for promotion, even if the court is not happy, but in order to compensate for the grievances you have suffered, and to reward your loyalty, the court and the emperor have to consider giving you a little reward appropriately." ”