"Zou Minghe! You old bastard wait for me! If I don't take revenge, I swear not to be a man! ”

It took a lot of effort and time, Wu Chaoyue finally figured out why the comprador grandfather made a big funeral for himself - Wu Jianzhang sent someone to Zhenjiang to inquire about Wu Chaoyue's whereabouts, and happened to meet Zou Minghe, who had a grudge against Wu Chaoyue, in order to take revenge, Zou Minghe fabricated the news that Wu Chaoyue had died in Jiangning, or his subordinates saw the Taiping Army cut off Wu Chaoyue's head, Wu Jianzhang believed it, so there was a farce of mourning for his baby grandson.

But it's not a waste, Wu Jianzhang's mourning hall for his baby grandson can't give Wu Chaoyue a funeral, but it can just be used to do a funeral for Lu Jianying, the governor of Liangjiang, and at the same time, as long as the baby Dumiao's grandson can come back alive, it is enough for Wu Jianzhang, and naturally he won't feel sorry for such a little money, after holding his grandson and crying so much that it was dark, Wu Jianzhang also agreed to Wu Chaoyue's request, moved Lu Jianying's coffin in, and held a grand funeral for Lu Jianying as a subordinate.

hugged the comprador grandfather and cried, said goodbye to the seven grandmothers, said goodbye to a group of foreign friends, introduced everyone for Hui Zheng, sent people to send wine and meat to reward Wu Jun Lianyong, and worked until it was dark, Wu Chaoyue finally seized the opportunity to talk to Wu Xiaohua, the clan uncle who helped him manage the factory, and understand the current situation of the textile factory he opened with foreigners.

Wu Xiaohua was a little apologetic and said: "Beyond, I'm a little sorry for you, Uncle Clan and you handed over the textile factory to me, and it was very good to start a business, but during this time, because the upper reaches of the Yangtze River have been fighting, the route is not working." So the backlog of cloth is a bit serious. But don't worry, I've already arranged for someone to go to the north to open up the market. We are also in contact with ports in Japan and the Ryukyus to sell the backlog of cloth as soon as possible. ”

"And." Wu Xiaohua hurriedly added: "Because of the war." Refugees from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River have fled east to Shanghai, and the population of Shanghai has exploded, and the people who want to work in our factories are willing to work as many as they want, no matter how low the wages are, so I discussed with Mr. Billy and planned to appropriately reduce the wages of some workers and save costs. ”

"You can discuss this with Mr. Billy, just don't be too ruthless, so that the workers can at least support their families." Wu Chaoyue is too lazy to care too much about business matters. He comforted again: "As for the backlog of cloth, don't be afraid, the long hair side also has to wear clothes and eat, and when this breath is over, business will definitely get better again, so you and Billy don't think about reducing production and stopping production, that's a behavior of the mouse." All you have to do is persuade Billy to send foreigners to come forward and let them do business with Longhair, and our backlog of cloth will definitely be sold. ”

Wu Xiaohua was a little dumbfounded. Seeing that Wu Chaoyue was a little stammering, Wu Chaoyue understood his thoughts, so he smiled and said, "What? Feeling surprised to do business with Longhair? We are businessmen, and cloth is not a military supply. Why don't we sell it when we buy it with silver? As long as we don't come forward and let the foreigners contact and negotiate with Changmao, the court can't control it. ”

I looked quietly and left and right, and no one was eavesdropping. Wu Xiaohua said in a low voice: "Transcendence, you are more brainy than Uncle Clan." In fact, I have been thinking about this matter in my heart for a long time, but I am afraid that my uncle will not agree. So I didn't dare to mention it. ”

"Just don't let him know." Wu Chaoyue laughed in a low voice, and then suddenly asked, "Uncle Clan, how many picrics are there in our textile factory now?" ”

"Picric sour?" Wu Xiaohua paused for a moment, recalled for a while, and then said: "It's the kind of dye that dyes yellow cloth, right?" It seems to be six hundred ......, oh no, it seems to have more than seven hundred pounds, why do you ask this? ”

"Why is it so?" Wu Chaoyue began to regret that he had not hoarded such valuable materials in large quantities before.

"That's less?" Wu Xiaohua shouted injustice, "It's not that you don't know, the imperial court has regulations that bright yellow and peaceful yellow can only be used by the royal family, and the yellow cloth used by the people is pitiful, so the sales of yellow cloth are the worst, and the most dyes left in our textile factory are also bitter and sour." ”

"Okay, seal all those bitter acids, I want them all." Wu Chaoyue said helplessly: "Tell Billy, let him import a large amount of picric acid for me, I want as much as I want, and I will give you the silver tomorrow." Also, get me a set of picric acid recipes and production lines, and then buy a piece of land for me by the way, build a dye factory, I want to produce picric acid in large quantities, and even raw materials can be produced. ”

"Transcendence, why did you think of building a dye factory again?" Wu Xiaohua's second King Kong was puzzled, and said suspiciously: "I just told you, saying that yellow cloth is not easy to sell in the Qing Dynasty?" Why do you still produce so much picric acid? ”

"Can I do it for the sake of sycophancy?" Wu Chaoyue was helpless, and said nonsense: "Changmao captures Jiangning, Jiangnan will definitely be in chaos, Jiangsu is the largest textile production base in the Qing Dynasty, and the messy cloth in Jiangnan must be seriously insufficient, and those princes and nobles in the capital and the Forbidden City will not lack yellow cloth?" I can produce yellow cloth here, can the emperor be unhappy? ”

"Then it doesn't take that much, huh?"

Wu Xiaohua still didn't understand what Wu Chaoyue meant, Wu Chaoyue was too lazy to ramble with this uncle who drilled the horns, and immediately took out a purchase list that had been written long ago, which included nitric acid, ****, glycerin, diatomaceous earth, paraffin, paint, small steelmaking furnace, metal forging press and various experimental measuring cups, etc., and handed it to Wu Xiaohua to let him help him purchase from foreigners, and asked for the sooner the better. As a result, Wu Xiaohua was startled after reading the list, and hurriedly said: "Beyond, if you buy all these things, the silver will definitely cost a lot, will your grandfather promise to give you so much silver?" ”

"I don't need him to give me silver, I have my own savings, I'll give you 100,000 taels of silver tomorrow, it's not enough to make up for it, you just have to buy it for me." Wu Chaoyue, who was holding a large amount of Lu Jianying's inheritance in his hand, didn't even blink his eyelids, but urged: "Remember, the sooner the better, and I will be of great use if you help me recruit a few more steelmakers and workers who can operate metal forging presses." ”

After all, he is the uncle of his own family, although he doesn't understand why Wu Chaoyue wants these strange things, Wu Xiaohua still nodded honestly and agreed, promising to immediately start helping Wu Chaoyue purchase these objects. Wu Chaoyue was satisfied, and muttered in his heart: "Xianfeng's niece and son-in-law, your uncle and I really helped you this time." If we get picric acid explosives and mortars or grenadiers out first, at least we can have some weight in talking in front of foreigners. ”

After a night's rest at home. The next morning, Wu Chaoyue had just finished breakfast when he found his comprador grandfather. discussed with the comprador grandfather about the expansion of the Shanghai regimental training, but what made Wu Chaoyue cry and laugh was that Wu Jianzhang, who had been desperately trying to expand the army, suddenly made a 180-degree turn in his attitude this time, not only did not agree, but also reprimanded Wu Chaoyue, "You still want to expand the army?" Do you want to go to the battlefield to fight long hair? You want the old man to worry about death for you, don't you? You are not allowed to hold any more group exercises, otherwise the court will definitely transfer you to fight long hair again, and the old man doesn't want to worry about you anymore and can't sleep or eat every day! ”

"Grandpa. I know you're worried about me, but don't forget, even if the court doesn't transfer me to fight Long Hair now, Long Hair will take the initiative to beat me. If I don't expand my armaments quickly, and wait for Long Hair to fight, I won't even have the strength to fight back! ”

Forced to be helpless, Wu Chaoyue had no choice but to tell Wu Jianzhang carefully what happened to him and the Taiping Army in Jiangning, introduced his feud with Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Ji Wenyuan and other famous Taiping Army generals, and said that he killed Wei Changhui with one shot in the breakout battle. At the end, he said, "Grandpa." If you think about it, I have so much hatred with Long Hair, and they heard that I successfully killed and returned to Shanghai, how could they not come to Shanghai with the army to seek revenge on me? And also. If Longhair wants to continue to make trouble, he will definitely attack Zhenjiang to cut off the Cao Yun, and then Zhenjiang will be broken. The long-haired sailors can go down the river and fight directly to Shanghai, and then we will want to train again. How can it be too late? ”

didn't believe that his baby grandson could play so much in Jiangning, and Wu Jianzhang once suspected that Wu Chaoyue was talking nonsense. In the end, it was Hui Zheng and Wu Dadao and others who testified to Wu Chaoyue, and Wu Jianzhang finally understood that his baby grandson did have a great talent in military affairs, and finally the situation in Shanghai was also dangerous, and the Taiping Army's gnashing teeth and hatred of Wu Chaoyue, Wu Jianzhang gritted his teeth and agreed to let his baby grandson continue to be an official, and further expanded the group training. In the end, Wu Jianzhang asked again: "Transcendence, then how many group exercises do you plan to handle this time?" ”

"Three thousand!" Wu Chaoyue stretched out three fingers and said categorically: "Sun Er has carefully calculated, if you want to make Changmao dare not peep into Shanghai, you have to have at least three thousand group exercises!" ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue hurriedly added: "But grandpa, because I still want to run the artillery this time, the military expenditure must be greater than before, so you must help me with this." ”

"Silver is not a problem." Wu Jianzhang said quietly: "I will tell the rich businessmen and squires in Shanghai about the current dangerous situation, and persuade them to donate more silver to help you build an army as much as possible. ”

When Wu Chaoyue heard the joy, he hurriedly thanked Wu Jianzhang, but in exchange for Wu Jianzhang's scolding pointing to his nose, "Do you still use thank you for the old man?" If you really want to thank your grandfather, hurry up and write your achievements in Jiangning into an excerpt, ask the court and the emperor for merit and reward, and ask the court and the emperor to give you more silver to hold a group practice! Otherwise, no matter how big the old man is, he can be defeated by you, an unfilial grandson! ”

"Yes, yes, yes, my grandson will write an excerpt to ask the court for credit." With a hippie smile on his face, Wu Chaoyue snorted heartlessly in his heart, "Defeated? Is it all lost? Don't think I don't know how dark your old man is in tariffs, you take out half of the tariffs you embezzled in a year, and it's more than enough to support me with these three thousand Lian Yong! ”

…………

Next, of course, we have to take a look at the situation on the side of Emperor Xianfeng, and in fact, Wu Jianzhang can also be said to be happy too early, he is proud of his precious grandson's courage and good fighting in Shanghai, but what he never expected is that the excerpt that reported the fall of Jiangning and framed his precious grandson was already on the way to the capital, and because of time and distance, it was sent to the capital in advance and sent to the Xianfeng Emperor............

It is conceivable that the people in the Military Aircraft Department led by Qi Liaozao were desperate after seeing the report on the loss of Jiangning, but no matter how desperate they were, it was useless, if such a big matter was not reported to Emperor Xianfeng quickly, it would not be Wu Chaoyue and Jiangning officials who would be unlucky in the future, but Qi Liaozao and other military aircraft ministers. Therefore, Qi Liaozao had no choice but to take all the ministers of military aircraft to the Palace of Raising the Heart to meet him, and tremblingly handed over the folds sent by Fuzhu Hong'a and Yang Wending at the same time with six hundred miles of urgency, and then he didn't even dare to breathe. Immediately put his forehead on the ground and waited for Emperor Xianfeng to be furious.

The imaginary dragon face rage did not happen. On the contrary, it was the eunuch in the Heart Cultivation Hall who exclaimed, "Your Majesty! Emperor! What's wrong with you, Your Majesty? Qi Zhongtang. Oh no, the emperor fainted! Someone comes, pass on the doctor, pass the doctor quickly——! ”

Emperor Xianfeng was so angry this time that he was unusually miserable, and after he was finally rescued by the imperial doctor, he opened his eyes and only roared, and he fainted again, and when the imperial doctor woke up the Xianfeng Emperor again, not only Su Shun and Monk Lingqin and other ministers of the guards on duty in the palace had already arrived at the scene. The queen Niu Hulu also brought the harem concubines to visit.

With the joint support of Niu Hulu and Lan Guiren, Emperor Xianfeng reluctantly sat up, and the first thing he shouted was, "Catch!" Immediately draw up a decree and arrest Wu Chaoyue for me! I'm going to cut this dog thing with a thousand knives and put Ling Chi to death! ”

Qi Liaozao and Peng Yunzhang and other military ministers who had something to do with Wu Chaoyue did not dare to say anything, but just kowtowed to receive the order; Lin Kui and Monk Lingqin and others were triumphant and happy; Only Su Shun had the courage to say: "Your Majesty, the excerpt of Admiral Fu does not report Wu Chaoyue's whereabouts. Dare to ask the emperor, where will you order Wu Chaoyue to be arrested? ”

"Do you need to ask?!" Emperor Xianfeng roared madly: "The will will be made clear to the world, so that the state capital and county seat of the whole world will arrest me when they see Wu Chaoyue and put him in the prisoner car." Escorted to the capital to discuss the crime! ”

Seeing that Emperor Xianfeng was so angry, Su Shun, who had a good impression of Wu Chaoyue, didn't dare to say anything, and his brother-in-law was bullied by Wu Chaoyue's six signboards, and the monk Greenqin, who had been bullied by Wu Chaoyue, took the opportunity to fall into the well. suggested: "Your Majesty, do you want to make another will?" Arrest Wu Chaoyue's entire family together? ”

It is a pity for Seng Lingqin, considering the current critical situation, especially the rich land of Liangjiang, which is destined to be a chaotic financial crisis. Also, considering that Wu Jianzhang's collection of tariffs is not an ordinary ability, Emperor Xianfeng finally didn't think of the same impulse as before, shook his head, and said: "Don't be in a hurry, first catch Wu Chaoyue that dog thief." ”

When Monk Lingqin was disappointed, Emperor Xianfeng roared wildly, "Jiang Ning! My Jiangning! My Jiangning! Roaring angrily, Emperor Xianfeng's voice was filled with crying............

In addition to reporting the continuous fall of the state capitals and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, it was to accuse the Qing generals such as Xiang Rong, Qi Shan, and Yang Dianbang of being afraid of the war, and not daring to fight a little while watching the Taiping army run rampant. But just when Emperor Xianfeng roared so angrily that his voice was hoarse, there was finally good news delivered to the capital - Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong A Zuojie, saying that it was the Jiangnan Green Battalion Geng Huan Department under his command who killed Wei Changhui, the northern king of the Taiping Army, in the Battle of Jiangning.

It was as if the person who fell into the water had caught a life-saving straw, and after reading this obviously vague tone in the morning, Emperor Xianfeng immediately issued an order to report the good news to the world with his palace, to encourage morale and stabilize people's hearts, and also ordered to add Fuzhu Hong'a as the Jiangning general of the first product, and Geng Hua as the chief soldier of the green battalion, and reward rich gold and silver together.

Hearing the will of Emperor Xianfeng, Lin Kui and Monk Greenqin, who were honored with the banner man Fuzhu Hong'a, were of course triumphant, but Qi Liaozao strongly objected, kowtowed to Emperor Xianfeng and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that it is better to slow down the rewards given to Fuzhu Hong'a and Geng Huan, let alone use the palace to report the world. ”

Xianfeng asked the reason, Qi Liaozao replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, in the recital, Fu Titai is not sure that Geng Huan killed the pseudo-northern king Wei Changhui, just reported that he had confirmed the death of Wei Wei, and heard the rumor that Geng Huan killed the pseudo-northern king Wei Changhui, this matter has not yet been confirmed, if the rumors are wrong, the emperor, you use the palace to report the world, then after confirming that the rumors are untrue, wouldn't it be a big loss to the face of the court?" ”

After carefully looking at Fuzhu Hong'a's excerpts, seeing that Fuzhu Hong'a really didn't dare to say that it was confirmed that it must be Geng Huan who killed Wei Changhui, Emperor Xianfeng also nodded, agreeing with Qi Liaozao's opinion - after all, once the world is reported by Di, it is not so easy to take back the water that was spilled. However, some people didn't have long eyes, at least Seng Lingqin jumped out and said to Emperor Xianfeng: "Your Majesty, since Fu Titai has confirmed Wei Wei's death, what does it matter who killed Wei Wei?" The slave thinks that the imperial court needs this good news to boost morale and stabilize people's hearts at the moment, so it might as well write this good news into a newspaper with the meaning of Fu Titai's killing of the puppet king Wei Changhui, and let everyone in the world know that although Changmao was lucky enough to break through Jiangning, he also paid a heavy price! ”

When Emperor Xianfeng heard that the idea was good, he immediately nodded and agreed to go, and when Qi Liaozao, who knew very well what kind of virtue Fuzhu Hong'a was, tried his best to dissuade him, he was also reprimanded by Emperor Xianfeng in public, and had to bow his head and return to the train. Manchu and Mongolian officials such as Seng Lingqin, Lin Kui, Shengbao and Gui Liang were triumphant, quietly despised all the Han officials in the court, and said in their hearts: "See? Or our flag people! ”

It was precisely because of the joy in his heart that when he returned to the military aircraft after the dispersal of the dynasty, the first thing Lin Kui did was to personally write a draft, writing the good news of Fuzhu Hong Abe's killing of Wei Changhui in a colorful manner, and also boasting about the great martial arts of the Eight Banners of Mongolia and Mongolia to the sky, and ordered it to be sent to the General Administration Department to report to the world. However, after the messenger sent Lin Kui's splendid article to the General Administration, a military aircraft Zhang Jing suddenly rushed into the military aircraft quickly, handed a fold to Qi Liaozao, who had a gloomy face, and said: "Qi Zhongtang, Songjiang Tuanlian handles the six-hundred-mile expedited sent by Wu Chaoyue!" ”

"Wu Chaoyue?!"

Qi Liaozao looked up in amazement, and the other people in the military aircraft department immediately pricked up their ears, and Lin Kui jumped up directly and roared: "That dog thief still dares to hand over the fold?" Where is he now? ”

Roaring, Lin Kui also directly snatched the fold that had been handed to Qi Liaozao, opened it and only looked at it a few times, Lin Kui was quickly dumbfounded, Qi Liaozao saw that something was wrong, and quickly snatched back the fold, after a few cursory glances, the first thing Qi Liaozao did was to yell: "Send someone to the General Administration Department immediately to chase back the official document of Lord Lin!" ”

The messenger agreed, and immediately rushed out to collect the official documents, and after Lin Kui came back to his senses, he immediately shouted at Qi Liaozao: "Qi Zhongtang, do you believe Wu Chaoyue's nonsense? He fled out of the city, was he ordered to protect the governor of Liangjiang, Lu Zhitai, to break through the siege and ask for help? In the process of breaking through, he not only killed and injured a large number of long-haired bandits, but also killed Wei Changhui, the puppet king of the North, with his own hands? ”

"Of course the old man doesn't dare to be gullible." Qi Liaozao said coldly: "But the old man clearly remembers that Lu Zhitai's last report is that he urged Wu Chaoyue to break the bandits outside Jiangning City, and killed more than a thousand enemies in one battle!" Therefore, Wu Chaoyue's report may not necessarily be fake! (To be continued.) )