Although he has not yet entered the military aircraft department, his power is far less prominent than in the future, and his official position is only the deputy commander of the cabinet with a blue flag, but Su Shun is still the first celebrity in front of Emperor Xianfeng, even if the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Six Shangshu have to be polite when they see Su Shun talking, there are countless court officials who want to hug Su Shun's thick thighs, but unfortunately, Wu Chaoyue's first impression on Su Shun is very bad.

The reason is that Wu Chaoyue is too suspicious, even if Su Shun has already indicated his identity, explaining that he is here to re-investigate the case of Wu family's ancestors and grandsons colluding with foreigners, and promised to let Wu Jianzhang stay in his original post for the time being, but Wu Chaoyue insisted on refusing to let go of Weng Tongxiao, and insisted that Su Shun first show Xianfeng's holy decree and then release him, even if Wu Jianzhang opened his mouth to persuade him, he did not listen, and directly explained: "Grandpa, you can't be gullible, you have to prevent them from trying to deceive Weng Tonggong first, and then take the opportunity to wipe us out!" ”

In the end, Su Shun had no choice but to take out Xianfeng's holy decree and read it aloud in public, proving that he had indeed come to clean up Weng's heart instead of making trouble with the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family. Su Shun was very dissatisfied in his heart, and couldn't help but scold: "Wu Gongzi, your suspicion is too serious, right?" The official has already made his intention in public, and you are still so suspicious, can't you even trust the official? ”

"Lord Su's forgiveness is indispensable for guarding against people." has no interest in being a slave to the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, Wu Chaoyue spoke very directly, and replied frankly: "The villain has never seen you, and he doesn't know your identity and status, of course, he has to guard against Weng's sudden tricks, sending someone to pretend to be a fake messenger to deceive his son, and then take the opportunity to kill me and my grandfather, so the villain has to be cautious." ”

Snorted even more dissatisfied, Su Shun immediately added Wu Chaoyue to the blacklist he didn't like, but fortunately, Su Shun was also a person with a big belly, and he didn't think about revenge for Wu Chaoyue's disrespect to himself, but just beckoned Wu Jianzhang's ancestors and grandsons to enter the city as soon as possible and go to the city to confront Weng Xincun, who was suspected of lying and bullying the king. As a result, Wu Jianzhang happily agreed, but Wu Chaoyue was still worried that he would be wiped out by the Qing court, under the pretext that the concession was preparing to send troops, and he wanted to go back to the concession to explain and appease the foreigners, and refused to follow Su Shun into the city, and persuaded Wu Jianzhang to go back to the concession with him to negotiate with the foreigners. Although Wu Jianzhang understood the thoughts of his precious grandson, in order to fight for the reinstatement of the official, Wu Jianzhang did not agree to return to the concession with his grandson, but only asked Wu Chaoyue to go back to the concession first to explain to the foreigners, and he followed Su Shun into the city to confront Weng Xin.

Because he was worried that the conflict with the foreigners would further expand, Su Shun also agreed to let Wu Chaoyue go back to the concession first to negotiate with the foreigners to pacify, so Wu Chaoyue and Wu Jianzhang told each other to take care of themselves and temporarily separate, Wu Jianzhang followed Su Shun into Shanghai City, and Wu Chaoyue returned to the concession to introduce the situation to the consuls of various countries, as a result, Ali Guo and Qi Liyun and others all sneered when they heard this, and they all said that it was too late to do so, and if they did not force the stupid and arrogant Qing Dynasty to make concessions in fact, the combined fleet would never return! Wu Chaoyue smiled bitterly when he heard it, but he was helpless.

Facts have proved that Wu Chaoyue is worried about it this time, when it was dark, Wu Jianzhang happily returned to the concession, and told Wu Chaoyue that Weng Xincun had been taken down by Su Shun on the spot, and Yuan Zubi was also dismissed on the spot, and all the Wu family members who were arrested before were released, and the family property confiscated by Weng Xincun was also returned, and at the same time, Su Shun also praised Wu Jianzhang for his loyalty to his duties in the face of injustice, saying that Emperor Xianfeng was also very satisfied with this matter, and there was great hope that the old Wu family would survive this turmoil safely.

"Grandpa, what do you say about me building a joint venture with foreigners and helping foreigners preach?" Wu Chaoyue asked a very crucial question.

"Lord Su said that these things should be carefully investigated, and after finding out all the truth, they will be reported to the imperial court, and the imperial court will be asked to decide." Wu Jianzhang replied truthfully, then patted Wu Chaoyue's shoulder again, and comforted: "Don't worry, this matter has reached this point, the imperial court should not be entangled in this matter anymore, grandpa will send more silver to Lord Su another day, and ask him to say a few more good words for you on the fold, and it will be fine if you are vague." ”

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Wu Chaoyue didn't dare to be as optimistic as the comprador grandfather, and reminded: "Grandpa, don't forget, the combined fleet of foreigners is going to Dagukou to negotiate directly with the imperial court, and when the foreigners bombard Dagukou, forcing the imperial court to make more concessions, and it also involves our affairs, the imperial court and the emperor are angry, and they may not take us again!" ”

Wu Jianzhang's face changed, and he immediately nodded, recognizing the worry of his baby grandson, and then Wu Jianzhang's face changed again, and he cried out bitterly: "Oh no, why did I forget to tell Lord Qincha that the foreigner fleet was going to Dagukou?" ”

After complaining bitterly, Wu Jianzhang actually had to return to Shanghai City immediately to report this important matter to Su Shun, but Wu Chaoyue hurriedly stopped him and strongly advised Wu Jianzhang not to venture into the city again, and it was best to continue to stay in the concession and send someone else to report the matter to Su Shun. But Wu Jianzhang was obsessed, thinking that no matter how he should develop next, he must now praise Su Shun, the big celebrity in front of Xianfeng, and insisted on returning to Shanghai City, Wu Chaoyue's hard persuasion was useless, so he had to let Wu Jianzhang pat Su Shun's ass, and then muttered: "Look at it, I'm afraid this matter won't be over in a month or two." ”

After learning that the foreigners' combined fleet withdrew from Shanghai to attack Dagukou, Su Shun was shocked and forced Wu Jianzhang to return to the concession overnight to negotiate with the foreigners, and asked the foreigner fleet to withdraw to Shanghai for renegotiation, let Wu Jianzhang be caught in the middle and be angry at both ends, and it is not a person to run back and forth.

Distressed by the embarrassing situation of the comprador grandfather, Wu Chaoyue gave Wu Jianzhang a bad idea, persuading Wu Jianzhang to restrain his children and grandchildren to submit his resignation, resign to avoid this turmoil, kick the ball back in front of Su Shun and let him figure out his own way, Wu Jianzhang was a little reluctant at first, but in the end he was really forced by Su Shun, Wu Jianzhang gritted his teeth and really submitted his resignation. Then it was not as Wu Chaoyue expected, Su Shun, who was afraid of this big black cauldron on his back, not only did not allow Wu Jianzhang to resign, but also did not dare to be too persecutive on Wu Jianzhang as before, but just pushed the responsibility of provoking the foreigners and causing the foreigners to send troops to Weng Xincun, and asked Emperor Xianfeng to decide.

At the same time, Wu Jianzhang's previous request to Lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, to convey the warning was also sent to Xianfeng by Lu Jianying 600 miles of expedited service, and the Xianfeng Emperor was shocked, and before he could send reinforcements to Dagukou, Dagukou had already sent an urgent military report, reporting that the foreigners' fleet had arrived at Dagukou, and also sent a diplomatic note signed by Burbulon on behalf of the consuls of the six Western countries, asking the Xianfeng Emperor to send plenipotentiary representatives to negotiate with the six Western countries on the contents of the previous note. Emperor Xianfeng was forced to have no choice but to quickly convene a court meeting to discuss countermeasures with his ministers.

The xenophobic faction represented by Mu Yin, Lin Kui, and Seng Lingqin resolutely advocated war with the foreigners, but there were also many courtiers who were afraid of the foreigners' strong ships and guns, and were even more reluctant to open the foreign battlefield when the Taiping army became more and more jubilant, and advocated negotiation and peace, and appropriate concessions in exchange for peace. The main battle faction and the main peace faction quarreled endlessly, and the quarrel almost broke out on the Jinluan Palace, and the discussion did not result for a long time.

It was also a coincidence that when Emperor Xianfeng was hesitant about whether to start a war with the foreigners again, there was another bad news from Hunan, saying that the Taiping army, which had been playing hide and seek with the Qing army at the junction of Hunan and Guangxi, had captured the military town of Daozhou in Hunan, and Yu Wanqing, the governor of Hunan who was ordered to blockade, did not even dare to see the face of the Taiping army, and robbed the civilian ships and fled directly to the Blue Mountain, the door of the hinterland of Hunan is wide open, and even Guangdong next to it is also in an emergency.

After receiving this news, Emperor Xianfeng, who was furious with Long Yan, immediately ordered Yu Wanqing to be beheaded, and he had no intention of going to war with the foreigners again, so he could only decide to seek justice and send a plenipotentiary minister to negotiate with the foreigners to try to deal with the matter peacefully. However, what made Emperor Xianfeng vomit blood was that after he announced this decision at the court meeting, none of the ministers were willing to serve as this representative to negotiate with the foreigners.

But then again, this matter really can't be blamed on the Qing courtiers in the court for refusing to be loyal and dutiful, but none of the Qing courtiers who were previously ordered to negotiate with foreigners can have any good end, Qi Shan, who signed the "Nose Grass Contract", was almost cut off by Daoguang, and Mu Zhang'a, who was in power to the government and the opposition, was personally knocked down by Emperor Xianfeng, and then Emperor Xianfeng personally wrote an edict to cut off the head of Qiying who promised to let foreigners enter and leave Guangzhou City. I don't dare to have anyone pick up this messenger who is destined to carry the black cauldron.

In the end, there was no way, Emperor Xianfeng could only directly name and order, and let Hua Shana, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, carry this big black cauldron, but Hua Shana ran to Dagukou with a sad face to negotiate with the foreigners, but quickly sent an excerpt, saying that the foreigners did not open their mouths this time, but whales! It put forward harsh conditions such as opening Tianjin as a treaty port, allowing foreigners to garrison troops in Tianjin, and allowing foreigners to establish embassies in the capital! No matter how plenipotentiary Hua Shana is, he didn't have the courage to agree to let the foreigners garrison at the feet of the Son of Heaven, so he could only obediently and truthfully report to Emperor Xianfeng and ask Emperor Xianfeng to decide.

It's still a coincidence that when the excerpt of Huashana was sent to Xianfeng by Qi Liaozao, like the last time, Emperor Xianfeng happened to be with his favorite concubine Lan Guiren, and after reading Huashana's excerpt, Emperor Xianfeng Long Yan was furious, and it was inevitable that he fell into a dilemma again. In desperation, Emperor Xianfeng could only ask Qi Liaozao, who sent the excerpt: "Qi Aiqing, in your opinion, what should be done about this matter?" ”

The matter is too big, and if you don't say it well, you may be burdened with a big black cauldron, so Qi Liaozao's answer was very slippery, and he replied: "Your Majesty, Weichen is not familiar with the matter of Tongyi, and it is difficult to have opinions for reference in Banzai, but the emperor may wish to hold another court meeting and discuss this matter with the ministers." ”

Xianfeng frowned and didn't speak, neither wanting to listen to the quarrels of the ministers anymore, nor wanting to discuss how to bow to the foreigners in front of the court. But the Lan Guiren next to him wanted to speak and stopped, and wanted to speak several times but forcibly held back, and finally Xianfeng found out about this, so he took the initiative to say: "Aifei, what do you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, and the concubines dare not speak falsely." Lan Guiren's fake answer - it is indeed fake enough.

"It's okay to be blunt, I'm just asking what you think." Emperor Xianfeng waved his hand, not caring that his favorite concubine made a comment on this matter.

"Then the concubine will be bold and outspoken." Lan Guiren was not very modest, and said directly: "The concubine thinks that it is better to let Huashana compete with the foreigners, the foreigners are asking for a price, and we will pay back the money on the spot, not necessarily if the foreigners cannot give in." ”

"Foreigners are all overseas barbarians, who don't know righteousness and etiquette, and are unreasonable. If you want Hua Aiqing to argue with them, I'm afraid it's very difficult. Xianfeng shook his head, and he had no confidence in Huashana's diplomatic ability.

"Your Majesty, the concubines don't think so." Lan Guiren said again: "It is true that foreigners are all barbarians, but after they bombarded Wusongkou some time ago, they still paid customs duties to our Daqing Customs under Wu Jianzhang's negotiations, and there are examples in the past. ”

"That's because that Wu Jianzhang is a bit of a generalist, and he is known to be a match for foreigners." Xianfeng replied smoothly.

"Your Majesty, then why don't you consider letting Wu Jianzhang enter Beijing and help Hua Shana negotiate with the foreigners?"

Lan Guiren's words almost didn't make Emperor Xianfeng jump, and then Emperor Xianfeng turned his head to look at his beloved concubine in surprise, and said, "Let Wu Jianzhang enter Beijing?" Aifei, what nonsense are you talking about, don't you know that the foreigner's military offense this time is because of him and his grandson? ”

"It is precisely because of him that the concubine suggested that the emperor should use him." Lan Guiren smiled charmingly and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that there is a sentence that requires a bell to be tied to the bell?" Wu Jianzhang has a talent for Yiyi, and this matter started because of him, wouldn't it be much more convenient to transfer him to Beijing to help Lord Hua negotiate with foreigners? ”

"That dog thief has a very close collusion with foreigners, what if he takes advantage of the negotiation and takes the opportunity to betray the Qing Dynasty to foreigners?" Emperor Xianfeng asked sharply.

"Then slash him with a knife." Lan Guiren replied very directly, and said: "He connived at his descendants to help foreigners preach and build factories, and foreigners shouted grievances for him, it is inconvenient for you to kill him, Your Majesty, but if he colludes with Yangyi to betray the Qing Dynasty in the negotiations, the emperor will behead him and ask him for guilt, and the foreigners will naturally have nothing to say." And the final decision on this matter is still in your hands, Your Majesty, if you feel that Wu Jianzhang is not satisfied with the result of the discussion, you are not allowed to sign Hua Shana, ****** is not the slightest loss? ”

Speaking of this, Lan Guiren pursed his lips and smiled, and said: "But if Wu Jianzhang assists Hua Shana and the foreigners to negotiate the result to the emperor's satisfaction, the emperor can also pardon his previous sins, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone?" ”

Xianfeng finally understood the true meaning of the little wife, and it was possible to give him the opportunity to betray the country by letting Wu Jianzhang participate in the negotiations, but the final decision was in his own hands. But if Wu Jianzhang helped Hua Shana negotiate well with the foreigners, and he pushed the boat down the river and issued an order to pardon his previous sins, which not only met the foreigners' demand to admit the innocence of the ancestors of the Wu family, but also did not lose face and not let outsiders feel that the Qing court was forced by the foreigners to pardon the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family, which is indeed a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

Seeing that Xianfeng had been shaken, Lan Guiren took the opportunity to say again: "Your Majesty, the concubine has the courage to remind you of one thing, last time Wu Jianzhang was in charge of solving the Qingpu Yi affairs, the foreigners drove the gunboats to Jiangning City, but Wu Jianzhang just asked the imperial court to depose a Qipin County Order, and let the people who caused the accident compensate three hundred taels of silver. Compared to this, other things are ....... ”

Speaking of this, Lan Guiren obediently lowered his voice and stopped his mouth, and did not poke the scars in Xianfeng's heart about various treaties, Xianfeng nodded involuntarily, and only then did he realize that Wu Jianzhang's Qingpu teaching case that he was responsible for handling last time was indeed quite good - at least he was not forced to open any port, pay for any military expenses, and sign any treaties that made the Qing court lose face.

At this time, Qi Liaozao, who had been silent beside him, suddenly spoke, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, about Wu Jianzhang, Weichen also has a small matter to report to you. In the past, when Lin Wenzhong was in Guangzhou, he named Wu Jianzhang as the interpreter to help him deal with the affairs of the country, and took him to participate in the whole process of Guangzhou's smoking ban and Humen tobacco sales, during which Wu Jianzhang was also ...... without meritorious work. ”

"Is there such a thing?"

Xianfeng and Lan Guiren were both shocked, and then Lan Guiren couldn't help but ask more, "What kind of upright person is Lin Wenzhong?" Can you still name people like Wu Jianzhang as a translator? ”

"It's true, Wen Zhonggong takes a fancy to Wu Jianzhang's innocent family background, and Wu Jianzhang is a bit of a moral person, and he is the only businessman in Guangdong who refused to do opium business at that time and brought disaster to the country and the people, so Wen Zhonggong picked him. Later, the five families traded, and the foreign banks in Guangzhou went bankrupt and closed down, and even Wu Bingjian, the richest man in the thirteen banks, was killed and ruined, but Wu Jianzhang's business became bigger and bigger, and it was because Wen Zhong Gongnian took more care of Wu Jianzhang's merits and festivals. ”

Qi Liaozao replied truthfully, and said: "Weichen is familiar with Lin Wenzhong, this matter is what he personally told Weichen, the reason why the Qingpu Yi case of the first emperor appointed Wu Jianzhang to negotiate with the foreigners was also because Lin Wenzhonggong, who was the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou at the time, strongly recommended it, and the first emperor made an exception to use Wu Jianzhang, who was only an alternate Daoist, to be fully responsible for Qingpu Yi's affairs. ”

Xianfeng was a little speechless, and Qi Liaozao added in his heart, and said secretly: "In fact, the last time Weng Xincun impeached Wu Jianzhang Tongyi for betraying the country, I immediately suspected that Weng Xincun was framing slander, and it was because of these things. ”