Wu Jun Lian Yong suffered defeat again.

On 13 September, the Taiping army, which had been in Wuxi for more than a year, suddenly abandoned the Wuxi area, which had been scorched to the ground, and rushed to the Yixing area, where the Qing army's strength was the weakest.

Fortunately, Zhao Liewen, who was greedy for merit, still knew how to maintain the distance between the front and rear armies, and it didn't take long for the Wu army led by Deng Siyuan to be surrounded by the ambush soldiers of the Taiping army, and the Chinese army led by Zhao Liewen himself had rushed to the scene of the incident to rescue, and the Wu army was the best at fighting positional defensive warfare, and in the case that the loss was not too great, Deng Siyuan's army finally succeeded in breaking out of the encirclement and fled north with Zhao Liewen's army. However, in the escape war, in order to protect the weapons and ammunition, Wu Jun Lian Yong had to abandon most of the grain, grass and other baggage, and the loss was not small, and there was no material resources to accompany Hechun to pursue the Taiping army, so he could only obediently withdraw to Suzhou Houming.

When the news reached Shanghai, Wu Chaoyue scolded Zhao Liewen in front of everyone, and also took the opportunity to write to Xu Naizhao, saying that Shanghai was destroyed by the war, all industries withered, and it was difficult for the rich gentry to come up with a lot of silver to supply Wu Jun Lian Yong to fight long distances across counties and prefectures, and decided to withdraw Wu Jun Lian Yong to Shanghai for food, reduce expenses and replenish ammunition. Then Wu Chaoyue didn't care whether Xu Naizhao and He Chun agreed, and directly issued an order to recall Wu Jun Lian Yong, who was not a regular army and still hung a signboard for Shanghai regimental training, and unceremoniously kicked the responsibility of pursuing the Taiping Army to Xu Naizhao and He Chun.

Wu Chaoyue's purpose in doing this is known to his friends, first, to preserve his strength, and secondly, he doesn't want to be dragged into the quagmire of the Ningzhen battlefield by the Taiping army. Xu Naizhao and He Chun, the two old foxes, also knew Wu Chaoyue's vicious intentions, but there was no way, Wu Jun Lian Yong was a local militia not an official army, and he did not take the military salary of the Manchu Qing Dynasty nor was he under the command of Xu Naizhao and He Chun.

So then he is dissatisfied with Wu Chaoyue's selfishness, and Xu Naizhao has no way to take Wu Chaoyue, and he can only come up with the old way to perfunctory and blame each other, Xu Naizhao refuses to send troops under the pretext of reorganizing Suzhou and Wuxi, and Hechun runs around behind the butt of the Taiping army under the sign of chasing and killing Changmao, saying that it is not much different from sending the Taiping army out of the country. At the same time, the treacherous and slippery He Chun also had the idea of escaping from the quagmire of Jiangsu early on, and secretly asked his friend Fuji, the new governor of Anhui, to write to Emperor Xianfeng, and transfer himself to Anhui to help suppress, saying that he didn't want to go back to Nanjing and Zhenjiang to be angry with Xiang Rong and Qi Shan! - The virtues of these two uncles who robbed the merits are not ordinarily rotten!

After Zhao Liewen, who suffered the defeat, led Wu Jun Lianyong back to Shanghai, of course, he did not receive any punishment from Wu Chaoyue, on the contrary, Wu Chaoyue also set up a good banquet for Zhao Liewen and Zhou Tenghu, who returned to Shanghai together, to thank Zhao Liewen for his cleverness and wit, and let Wu Jun Lianyong get out skillfully at a very small price, and get rid of the bad luck of being forcibly pulled into the quagmire of Ningzhen. - Although Zhao Liewen did not ask for instructions in advance and did not report and explain afterwards, Wu Chaoyue, who was cunning, had long understood the clue and knew that Zhao Liewen deliberately lost the battle and deliberately lost not much grain and grass.

After humbly thanking Wu Chaoyue for his praise, Zhao Liewen said to Wu Chaoyue: "Comfort Ting, it's okay to use this method once in a while, but if you use it too much, there will definitely be problems." However, for now, you had better make arrangements as soon as possible and find a way to deal with the next requisition of the imperial court against you as soon as possible, otherwise, sooner or later, you will still be forcibly dragged into the battlefield of Ningzhen and under the mercy and command of Xiang Rong or Qi Shan. ”

nodded, admitting that Zhao Liewen's words were very reasonable, and then Wu Chaoyue told Zhao Liewen and Zhou Tenghu, the unscrupulous uncles, that he wanted to seek the position of governor of Hubei, and also truthfully said that Wu Lao comprador had agreed to take out 500,000 taels of silver to support his actions. In the end, Wu Chaocai said: "The day before yesterday, I received news from the capital that I had already obtained the Shanghai County Order for Mr. Tao Fu, and the letter of appointment would be sent to Shanghai in a few days. When the time comes, there will be Mr. Taofu and my grandfather in Shanghai, and I can sit back and relax, if I can successfully take the position of governor of Hubei, then the big thing will be much easier. ”

Zhao Liewen and Zhou Tenghu didn't ask Wu Chaoyue what big things he wanted to do, and they didn't immediately echo it, but they were silent, and after a lot of time, Zhou Tenghu frowned slightly and said: "Weiting, with your military exploits, it is enough to seek the position of governor, and your qualifications are not too much of a problem, your senior brother Jiang Zhongyuan also took just over a year to be promoted from a scholar without an official position to a governor." But you are too young, and it is not very difficult for you to become governor before you are twenty years old. ”

"I also know that it is very difficult, and if you want to be the governor of Hubei, the age is a big problem." Wu Chaoyue said: "Fortunately, my silver is not a problem, among the court officials who are qualified to serve as the governor of Hubei, I am afraid that there is no second person who can buy this governor's official position for a full 500,000 taels of silver like me." ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue added another sentence and said: "And I also have a way, I can't find the temple gate if I don't carry a pig's head." Su Shun, the number one celebrity in front of the emperor, has always been very good at me, Prince Gong has also taken good care of my family, and ******** Zaiyuan, and even the emperor's favorite concubine, Concubine Yi, can go through the door and speak for me in front of the emperor. So I want to give it a try, no matter how sure it is. ”

Zhou Tenghu still frowned a little, feeling that although Wu Chaoyue's move was a little hopeful, he was still not very sure. Zhao Liewen, who had been silent, suddenly opened his mouth and asked, "Comfort Ting, what are you going to do?" ”

"Of course, I want to ask one of the two of you to work hard for me, take 500,000 taels of silver to the capital, and move this position for me." Wu Chaoyue trusted Zhao Liewen and Zhou Tenghu very much, and even dared to hand over a huge amount of money like 500,000 taels of silver to them and take it away.

"I can't do it." Zhao Liewen replied very directly, and said: "And I think that even if my brother-in-law can get out and go to the capital, he will not be sure to move the position of the governor of Hubei for you." ”

"It's okay." Wu Chaoyue misunderstood Zhao Liewen's meaning, and said: "It is up to people to plan things, and it is up to heaven to make things happen, as long as you do your best, I won't blame you if you can't do it." ”

"No, no, Comfort Pavilion, you misunderstood me." Zhao Liewen shook his head and said, "I'm not saying that we don't want to try our best, I just think that if I or my brother-in-law come forward to move for you to take the position of governor of Hubei, no matter how hard we try, it is basically impossible to succeed." ”

Wu Chaoyue was surprised and asked the reason, and Zhao Liewen replied: "It's very simple, the person who decides whether you can be the governor of Hubei is not Su Zhongtang or Prince Yi, nor is it the emperor's younger brother Prince Gong or Concubine Yi can influence it, only the emperor himself has the ability to exclude public opinion, make arbitrary decisions, and appoint you as the governor of Hubei." ”

"No matter how much silver we give away, Su Zhongtang and Prince Gong say many good things for you in front of the emperor, if the emperor doesn't nod, you still can't get the position of governor of Hubei, and the money spent will only be wasted. Therefore, I think that if you want to be the governor of Hubei, you can't go through the path of a courtier, you can only go directly to the emperor's way, so that the emperor feels that only if you become the governor of Hubei can it be the most beneficial to pacify the long-haired bandits. ”

After pondering for a long time, he felt that Zhao Liewen's words were indeed very reasonable, and Wu Chaoyue said in a deep voice: "Although the words are reasonable, how to go through the emperor's door?" ”

"It's very simple, you go to the road, take the initiative to ask for the order to enter the Beijing Saint, and you will personally go to the capital to carry out the position."

Zhao Liewen said lightly: "After meeting the emperor, you will directly make this request to the emperor, and explain to the emperor the various advantages of your appointment as the governor of Hubei, as long as your statement can impress the emperor, and then Su Zhongtang and Prince Gong will help you say a few good words, then the governor of Hubei will definitely be yours." The 500,000 taels of silver that Master Wu gave you can also save a lot and use it to do more important things. ”

Wake up the person in the dream with a word, Wu Chaoyue suddenly found that he had drilled the horns before, and just wanted to let the accomplice lackeys come forward to bribe and give gifts, and he didn't think that this matter would be handled by himself, not only was it easier to go to the door, but he could also directly see the wild boar skin IX flickering in person, and the hope of success was greater, and it could also save countless comprador grandfathers the silver that they had worked so hard to embezzle. Then, patting his head with great remorse, Wu Chaoyue immediately said to Zhao Liewen: "Huifu, then please write an excerpt for me immediately, and ask the emperor to agree to me to go to Beijing to report to the saint and state the thief's strategy in person." ”

Zhao Liewen agreed, and immediately put pen to paper, and Zhou Tenghu suddenly said: "Weiting, after meeting the emperor, you might as well take the initiative to continue to stay in southern Jiangsu for the Shanghai regimental training, indicating that you only take a few elite backbones to Hubei to rebuild the army, and leave the Shanghai regimental training in Jiangsu to continue to defend the wealth of southern Jiangsu, so that the emperor will be very happy, and it is more likely that you will be appointed as the governor of Hubei." ”

Glancing at Zhou Tenghu, although Wu Chaoyue was extremely reluctant, but considering that the request to take the descendant army to Hubei to take office would inevitably arouse the vigilance and suspicion of the Manchu court, and Shanghai, an important economic place, must also leave a reliable army to defend, Wu Chaoyue still gritted his teeth and nodded, and said: "Mr. Tao Fu, it's really done, I have to ask you for Shanghai's financial resources and Shanghai's group training." ”

"Please rest assured, the students will not let you down." Zhou Tenghu replied calmly.

Zhao Liewen's excerpt was quickly written, and after reading the excerpt and feeling that there was no problem, Wu Chaoyue immediately signed the excerpt and sent it to the capital by expedited horse through the post station, and at the same time began to ponder how to persuade Wild Boar Pi IX to agree to let him be the governor of Hubei. However, to Wu Chaoyue's surprise, when he was patiently waiting for the reply of Wild Boar Skin IX, Zeng Guofan, who had not been in contact with him for a long time, suddenly sent someone to send a letter to him through the waterway, asking for 120,000 taels of silver as soon as he opened his mouth, and asked Wu Chaoyue to send someone to send the silver to the capital to hand over to his second brother Zeng Guohuang.

Thousands of miles away, Wu Chaoyue certainly didn't know why the cheap teacher had to borrow so much silver as soon as he opened his mouth, and he had to send someone to the capital to hand it over to his younger brother Zeng Guohuang. The messenger was just an ordinary staff, and he also didn't know the reason why Zeng Guofan borrowed the silver, but said that Zeng Guofan hoped that Wu Chaoyue would help him with this great favor and lend him the silver for emergency relief.

Of course, 120,000 taels of silver is not a small amount, even if the old Wu family is already the richest man in the country in this era, he has to carefully weigh the situation when he takes out so much silver at once. However, considering the importance of maintaining friendly relations with Zeng Guofan's faction, and once he succeeds in becoming the governor of Hubei, he will definitely have more dealings with Zeng Guofan and the Hunan army, the stingy Wu Chaoyue quietly wiped a handful of tears and said, "Okay, I'll borrow." ”

The messenger was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked Wu Chaoyue to send someone to escort this huge amount of money into Beijing as soon as possible and hand it over to Zeng Guohuang in person. Wu Chaoyue agreed again, and after thinking about it again, he said: "In this way, it just so happens that I have already asked to enter Beijing to face the saint because of some important affairs in the imperial court, if the emperor agrees to let me enter Beijing, I will personally take this silver and hand it over to Second Uncle Zeng in person." If the emperor does not agree, it will not be too late for me to send someone else to the capital. ”

Zeng Guofan's messenger was even more overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly wrote Wu Chaoyue's reply into two letters, one of which was sent to Hubei and handed over to Zeng Guofan, and the other was sent to the capital and handed over to Zeng Guohuang. As a result, after the letters were sent to Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guohuang, the Zeng brothers were also overjoyed together, and they pondered in their hearts together: "It would be great if Weiting also entered Beijing in person, and the people behind him, Prince Sushun, Prince Gong and Prince Yi, are also important ministers who can speak very well in front of the emperor." ”

…………

Next, of course, we must see the reaction of Emperor Xianfeng's side, and it is very coincidental and unfortunate that when Wu Chaoyue's excerpt of requesting to go to Beijing to report on his work was sent to the capital, Emperor Xianfeng was worried about Wu Chaoyue's group of foreigner friends, and he was not in a very good mood.

The reason for the distress was that Wu Chaoyue's group of foreigners were fed up with the repeated delays of Ye Mingchen, the governor of Liangguang, and directly drove the warship to the mouth of Dagu, and directly submitted a request to the Manchu court to revise the expired "Treaty of Nanjing". As a result, the steamship with billowing black smoke drove to the mouth of Dagu, and immediately scared all the eight banner lords in the capital to the point of urine, and also scared the Xianfeng Emperor so much that he hurriedly issued an order to prepare for war, and at the same time categorically rejected the request of Lao Baoling and others to go to Tianjin to negotiate and revise the treaty, and in turn asked Lao Baoling and Burbulon and others to continue to wait for a reply, and did not allow foreigners to set foot on land.

Then, an extremely absurd thing happened, in the face of the diplomatic representations proposed by the foreigners, the Xianfeng Emperor not only did not make his own decision, but also used 600 miles to urgently contact Ye Mingchen in Guangdong, asking Ye Mingchen to present a prescription for the Xianfeng Emperor and the Manchu court. (Roughly similar historical facts, in history, Emperor Xianfeng was the idea of Gilhang Ana, who was in Shanghai at the time.) ）

I had long known how efficient the Manchu court's diplomacy was, and Lao Bao Ling and others did not waste time, and agreed to wait for the Manchu court's reply. Forcing the Russians to return Sakhalin, which had been seized decades earlier, to China.

Of course, Emperor Xianfeng would not believe that the foreigners would be kind enough to help him recover the territory, and he was extremely suspicious that the foreigners were uneasy and wanted to play tricks, but there was no way, the Emperor Xianfeng did not dare to send sailors to block the United Fleet from going north, and those small broken ships in the Bohai Bay could never be the opponent of the United Fleet's steam gunboats.

In this context, when Wu Chaoyue asked to go to Beijing to report on his work and then sent it to Emperor Xianfeng, of course, Emperor Xianfeng had some doubts, and almost suspected that this was not an accidental coincidence, but Wu Chaoyue, who was very related to foreigners, deliberately did it. And because of the matter of Monk Greenqin and Wu Chaoyue, Wang Mianyu of Huijun, took the opportunity to slander and said: "Master, as soon as the foreigner left on the front foot, Wu Chaoyue sent an excerpt on the back foot to ask for a decree to enter Beijing, is this too coincidental?" It's so clever that it's hard to believe? The minions were suspicious ....... ”

"What do you suspect? Something to say! Emperor Xianfeng was very impatient and urged the fifth uncle who deliberately sold Guanzi.

The slave doubts, will Wu Chaoyue act as a lobbyist for foreigners? Help foreigners coerce and lure the imperial court, and force the Qing court to agree to Yangyi's unreasonable demands? Mianyu reminded him gloomily, and said, "Otherwise, there is such a coincidence in the world? He Wu Chaoyue has only been an envoy in Jiangsu for a few days, what major events can he need to report to the saint? ”

Emperor Xianfeng also showed a suspicious look, but fortunately, Su Shun, who was indeed very good to Wu Chaoyue, immediately said: "Is Lord Hui too worried? Wu Chaoyue said clearly in the excerpt, clearly and clearly, in addition to his work report when he entered Beijing, he also had to present to the master a major strategy for pacifying the long-haired bandits, and that sentence mentioned the matter of foreigners? Why is it assumed that he is here to act as a lobbyist for foreigners? ”

"Su Zhongtang, what if Wu Chaoyue is just making excuses?" Mianyu asked unconvinced: "If he just found an excuse to enter Beijing to face the saint, and after entering Beijing, he took the opportunity to act as a lobbyist for foreigners, so what?" ”

"Isn't that a knife that slashed Wu Chaoyue?" Su Shun said: "Wu Chaoyue asked for an order to go to Beijing to report on his work, and his face was a thief strategy, but after entering Beijing, he acted as a lobbyist for foreigners, then his crime of bullying the king was immediately established, and the excerpt he signed by himself was ironclad evidence, and he was justified in cutting him, who can say anything?" He entered Beijing alone without an army, and the court was afraid that he would collude with foreigners? ”

Mianyu was completely speechless, obediently closed his stinky mouth, Emperor Xianfeng's brows finally slowed down, and the new devil Liuzi who was on duty in the military aircraft next to him also took the opportunity to say: "Brother Huang, my brother thinks that he might as well agree to let Wu Chaoyue enter Beijing, in addition to letting him enter the Chengping thief strategy in person, as long as it is clear that he is not acting as a lobbyist for foreigners, you can also have a consultation object who knows foreigners better." When Wu Chaoyue accompanied his subordinates to negotiate with foreigners in Dagukou, he was still quite diligent in handling errands, and he did not make any traitorous moves. ”

Nodding, Emperor Xianfeng finally made a decision with great impact, saying: "Pass the decree and allow Wu Chaoyue to enter Beijing to report on his work." Hurry up with six hundred miles, and tell him to come quickly. (To be continued.) )