"Yo, I can't imagine that this overseas Chinese businessman still has such a piece of filial piety, which is really touchable. The Empress Dowager Cixi took a sip www.biquge.info of tea and asked quietly, "Does the sixth master know the origin of the Chen family and the Pan family?" ”

"The minister has specially checked that this Chen family operates dock freight in England, is the leader of the British Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and is in-law with the Rothschild clan, a big family of Taixi money merchants; The Pan family was originally the head of the thirteen merchants in Guangzhou in the past, and now they are also doing business in England, and they are also in-laws with the Chen family, and their business is still distributed in Guangdong Province. Both families are businessmen and have a wide range of wealth. Prince Gong replied one by one.

"The sixth master bothered, in order to repair the garden for me, he was able to have something to do with overseas businessmen who were so far away." The Empress Dowager Cixi smiled again, and at this time Liu Chengyin had already taken the cold bowl and sent it to Prince Gong.

"Sixth master, please use it." The Empress Dowager Cixi raised her hand to Prince Gong, Prince Gong thanked him, took a few bites of the cold bowl from Liu Chengyin's hand, and respectfully placed it on the table.

"How did the Sixth Master find these two Chinese businessmen? Or did they find the sixth master's door on their own? Empress Dowager Cixi smiled and asked, "How do they know that I am going to repair the garden?" ”

Prince Gong was shocked when he heard this, and cold sweat immediately oozed from his forehead and flowed down.

"Liu Chengyin, how did you do this errand? Look at the sixth master's heat, why don't you hurry up and change the cool pad for the sixth master? Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly said to Liu Chengyin.

"Damn it! Minions, let's do it! Liu Chengyin hurriedly replied.

"The queen mother is working so hard, the courtiers are uneasy, and they naturally want to share their worries for the queen mother, but the foreign ministers are also moved." Prince Gong's mind was spinning rapidly, and in the end, he dealt with it vaguely, and did not immediately confess Li Hongzhang and Lin Yizhe, "This matter is the thread drawn by the foreign ministers of Shanghai and Fujian." ”

The Empress Dowager Cixi seemed to know what Prince Gong was thinking, and said with a pleasant smile: "This matter is done well, the relevant ministers, no matter the rank, the sixth master has also reported it, and he has to give some rewards anyway." ”

"Commandment."

"There are also the Chen family and the Pan family, they gave us such a large sum of silver for nothing, we have to show something."

"But there is one thing, the Pan family said that their relatives in Guangzhou were falsely accused of smuggling opium and imprisoned, and they wanted to ask the court to call the shots." Hearing Cixi talk about the reward, Prince Gong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and by the way, he told the Empress Dowager Cixi about Pan Shicheng's case, "The minister has asked the Criminal Department, but he has not yet received the document." ”

"Then the sixth master will let the criminal department investigate, if there is really a matter of smuggling opium, it must not be tolerated and connived, if there is no such thing, it is indeed a false accusation, Jia En will be released immediately, and the person who made the false accusation will be severely investigated." Empress Dowager Cixi said.

"Commandment." Prince Gong replied.

"I have a lot of things, sometimes I can't be separated, this garden work, the sixth master will help me keep an eye on it more. The garden was repaired earlier, so why don't the sixth master often come to sit and chatter about some common words? ”

Hearing the words of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Prince Gong had mixed feelings in his heart for a while.

It's been a long time since I've heard her speak to herself in such a tone......

"The sixth master has to do foreign affairs, and he has to be responsible for the garden work, and the work is huge, and the previous shortage has been restored." The Empress Dowager Cixi keenly noticed the subtle change in the expression on Prince Gong's face, smiled slightly, and said, "This minister of the council also asks the sixth master to continue to be in charge." ”

"Minister...... Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother! ”

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"Deshe!"

"Xiuyun (Pan Shicheng's concubine)? It's you? Are you doing at home? ”

"Madame wept for seven days and seven nights, and her tears were gone. Deshe, I'm sorry for you, I hurt you, I ......"

"The ...... of that shipment"

"It's Gu Dechun's. He came to me yesterday and said that his treasure was out of business, and he didn't even have money for porridge, and begged me to take the silk. I saw that he was really pitiful, so I ...... I'm so confused! ”

"If it were me, I wouldn't be able to die without help. You are not to blame for this. Xiuyun, you've worked hard all these years. ”

"Deshe, it's you who work hard! Over the years, I have become more and more comfortable living with you. You have a scale in your heart, what to do and what not to do, clearly. You are informal, but you know the big things right and wrong. But because I ......"

"Xiuyun, don't talk about it, serve your wife well when you go back, the family depends on you......"

"Deshe! Qimao said that he had arranged for someone to go to Beijing to file a complaint......"

"It's useless! Unless someone proves that the opium was put in silk by Goodchun...... It's a pity that the Pan family's business is still ruined in my hands...... If you had listened to the Chen family, it would have been nice to go to England together! ”

"Xiuyun, you have to do something important for me."

"You say ......"

"The shipment I signed with the English merchant is due in seven days, and you must get that shipment to the dock on time."

"Deshe! At this time, you are still thinking about business? ”

"I'm thinking about my face! Even if the Pan family fails, this last business must start and finish! After I die, I would rather not hold a funeral, than let foreign businessmen scold us Qing merchants for not understanding the rules of the shopping mall! ”

"Deshe!"

"Xiuyun!"

"Deshe! I'm sorry for you......"

"The hour is coming! Speak up! The cell boss roared impatiently.

"Father! Father! Son Pan Guiji cried.

"The business field, the business field, is an authentic life and death field! I regret why I didn't leave this place sooner! ”

"Father! How can you be blamed for this? When Er thought that Gu Dechun was at large, Zuo Zongtang extorted and exploited, and Er was unconvinced, unconvinced! ”

"Whisper! Don't you want to die? ”

"Master Pan, hehe, the little one has a good time to you!" Just as the family was crying, the warden came laughing.

"Where does the joy come from?"

"The Criminal Department issued a document, your case has been re-investigated, a few days ago, someone went to visit Gu Dechun, and saw a tooth merchant give Gu Dechun a few boxes. The man asked what it was, and Goodspring said it was a few boxes of silk. The opium in the silk box must have been put in by the tooth merchant to frame you, Lord Pan. Now Gu Dechun has confessed......"

"This is the decree from above: I will recite it to you. After investigation, Pan's Tongyi has been doing business for more than ten years, respecting the imperial court's smoking ban and downgrading the way of honest business. Since the year of Daoguang, he has donated 2 million taels of military funds, which is an example for businessmen and people. In this opium case, we must not act hastily. If it is indeed an unjust case, it should be immediately acquitted, and the culprit of the framing should be arrested. ”

"The sky has eyes! The heavens have eyes—"

"Father! Wake up! I'm getting you out of prison! ”

The voice of his son Pan Guiji sounded in his ears, which made Pan Shicheng wake up from his dream.

What he saw in the dream just now was his real experience a few days ago.

"What did you say?"

"Father! I'm getting you out of prison! The truth of the case has been revealed! ”

……

"Father, be careful......"

When Pan Shicheng walked out of the prison and came to the street, he was still in a trance.

The scorching sun above his head pierced his eyes, and he involuntarily put his hand in front of his forehead.

Thinking of the prison disaster these days, Pan Shicheng sighed with emotion.

He never imagined that he would fall into such a step.

"Zuo Zongtang! You thief! ”

As soon as Pan Shicheng's words came out, he was covered by his son Pan Guihe's outstretched hand.

"Father, the sedan chair is here." The two sons couldn't help but say something, and pushed their father into the sedan chair that had been prepared long ago.

"Son! Where are we going? Pan Shicheng asked.

"Go back to the Haishan Immortal Pavilion, father."

"Sea Mountain Immortal Pavilion? Isn't it sealed? ”

"The Queen Mother's grace has been rewarded, father." Son Pan Guorong whispered, "Father rest first, let's go back and talk slowly." ”

Hearing his son's persuasion, Pan Shicheng was silent anymore.

When Pan Shicheng returned to his Haishan Immortal Pavilion, he saw that the lychee forest in the garden was still as unique as in the old days, and his heart was relieved, and he couldn't help but cry.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"How can this be true? Outrageous! ”

Zuo Zongtang slammed the court in his hand on the table, and the tea bowls, cups and plates on the table were all shaken. The people on the left and right were all startled, and they lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him.

In the court mail just now, there was news of Pan Shicheng's acquittal.

"The provinces are in arrears, and the cumulative arrears are not less than 10 million, if businessmen from all over the country are like him Pan Shicheng and refuse to pay, who will take care of the overall situation?" Zuo Zongtang said angrily, "There are necessary soldiers in the northwest, but there is no salary in the southeast, how can this be true!" ”

Seeing Zuo Zongtang angry, the relatives and generals on the left and right were silent one by one, and they didn't dare to gasp.

Although some of them are quite slanderous about Zuo's forced apportionment.

Zuo Zongtang fought in the northwest, but he wanted to reach out to Pan Shicheng, a merchant in Guangzhou, to ask for money, which seemed to be unrelated and very funny, but the truth of the facts was not so funny.

Since Qianlong changed the Western Regions to Xinjiang, the military expenses of the Xinjiang garrison and the northwest have been mostly settled in the form of co-payment. What is "Assistance"? Xinjiang was initially established, and it was difficult for the finances to be self-reliant, so the household department and the provinces allocated silver taels to maintain military and government expenditures, and because the expenditures were mostly used for military salaries, it was called "co-paying" for the transfer of silver taels. Beginning in 1760, the Qing court transferred two or three million taels of silver from the interior every year, but due to the Opium War and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, during the Xianfeng period, the salary was repeatedly reduced, and the amount dropped significantly, and in the early years of Tongzhi, the actual annual allowance was only 440,000 taels, and it was often in arrears. Among the annual contributions, 600,000 taels are allocated to Liangjiang, 1.44 million taels in Zhejiang, and 840,000 taels in Guangdong.

Zuo Zongtang's western expedition re-"activated" the co-payment system, but he was repeatedly trapped in arrears, and it was difficult to handle the co-payment. In addition, Zuo Zongtang's popularity is too poor, and it is not comparable to the "ups and downs" of the southeast when Zeng Guofan used the army. In 1867, when Zuo Zongtang moved to the northwest and passed through Jiangxi, Liu Kunyi, the governor of Jiangxi at that time, also took the initiative to ask for an additional 20,000 taels per month. But soon after, Liu Kun excused himself for difficulties, and the salary increase and the co-ordination were nowhere to be found. Zuo Zongtang has repeatedly asked the imperial court to urge all localities to provide timely assistance, however, "the first letter frequently urges, and the rate does not answer."

――――Dividing Line――――

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