Although Uehara Yusaku said plainly, Su Yuanchun could still hear the deep reverence for Lin Yiqing in his words.

At this moment, Su Yuanchun, somehow, had a desperate desire to see Lin Yiqing.

After a few more discussions about the details of the army's diversion, Yusaku Uehara took his leave and disappeared into the night.

Su Yuanchun watched Yusaku Uehara and the others leave, and the sergeants and servants had already thrown the dead python's body into the swamp. After making sure that the body of the giant python was completely submerged in the swamp and disappeared, Su Yuanchun led the team back to the camp, and in order to commemorate this thrilling adventure, the guard still brought back the Western long sword that had been broken.

There was nothing to do all night, and at dawn the next day, the army set out of camp, and Su Yuanchun led the army westward according to the direction indicated by the map given by Uehara Yusaku, walked for a day, and came to the bank of the Red River in the evening to camp and wait for the fleet to respond.

Sure enough, seven days later, a mighty fleet appeared on the surface of the Red River.

Most of this fleet are wooden sailing ships, about more than ten of them, but they are all towed by small steamers, so they travel very quickly, seeing that there are many ships, enough to carry his army of more than 5,000 people away, Su Yuanchun felt a big stone in his heart, and admired the efficiency of Lin Yiqing's subordinates.

And what surprised Su Yuanchun the most were the two gunboats escorting this fleet.

As a veteran general of the Hunan army, Su Yuanchun had seen steamships and steam warships, but the two gunboats in front of him were different from all the steamships and warships he had seen before.

The bizarre appearance of these two gunboats is such that it is easy to impress, if not particularly noted. The image of these two ships is difficult to associate with warships. The freeboard of these two gunboats was almost close to the water. On the main deck, however, stands a tall two-story deckhouse. It is extremely incongruous, as if the ship could capsize at any moment because the superstructure is too tall and heavy. In addition, the doors and windows installed on the walls of the deckhouse are not watertight, and they do not take into account the wind and waves at all, and all adopt a large-size shore style, which generally looks like a small hotel, but the huge cannon and a large number of Haggaeus machine guns and Gatling machine guns on the deckhouse show that their identity is not a water hotel, but a sharp weapon for killing.

Soon. The fleet docked, Su Yuanchun did not see Uehara Yusaku, the commander of this fleet was a ship master officer named Chi Zhenquan, after seeing Su Yuanchun, he explained to Su Yuanchun that he was here to meet them, and showed Lin Yiqing's handwritten codex and silver medal order, Su Yuanchun saw the codex and the order, and there was no doubt in his heart, so he immediately ordered the army to board the ship.

Due to the large number of vessels in the fleet, there is ample loading space. Not only did all the sergeants and men get on board, but all the baggage and supplies of the troops were also brought aboard. After the officers carefully checked that not a single person or thing had been left behind, the flotilla set off.

Su Yuanchun, as the commander of this cadre army, went on the gunboat "Xinbi", the flagship of this fleet, and asked Chi Zhenquan, the commander of this fleet and the pipe band of the "Xinbi", about the situation of this strange gunboat, and Chi Zhenquan said proudly that this gunboat was actually designed by Lin Yiqing himself. And the reason why it is designed to be so weird is not without reason.

The "Xinbi" uses mild steel as the hull material, and the warship has a displacement of 162 tons, a length of 44.63 meters, a width of 7.62 meters, a draft of 0.6 meters, a small length-to-width ratio and a very shallow draft, which are typical characteristics of this class of river gunboats. The ship uses 2 vertical steam engines, 2 water-tube boilers, twin-shaft propulsion, 2 4-blade propellers, the main engine power is 470 horsepower, and the speed is 12 knots.

The "Xinbi" was remarkable for the firepower she possessed, which was superior to that of all French river gunboats at the time. One 75-mm Krupp gun was arranged in the bow and stern decks of the ship, and the secondary firepower was four 40-mm Habekis five-barreled machine guns and four "Lin's machine guns." With such firepower, it was more than enough to suppress the potentially hostile targets on land on both sides of the Red River that were not highly armed, and in the event of an exchange of gunboats from other countries, it would undoubtedly have the upper hand.

The strangely shaped river gunboat designed by Lin Yiqing was tailor-made for the cadres to operate in the Red River.

Chi Zhenquan told Su Yuanchun that there is a simple truth in Western ship design, that is, the draft of a warship is deep and the superstructure is short, and the stability of the ship will be relatively good, and the warship designed on the contrary will inevitably be punished by scientific laws. However, judging from the appearance, the "Xinbi" is obviously a product that violates this law, and its stability cannot help but make people gasp. However, just as nature produces special species in certain environments, this strange-looking warship, which is almost impossible to navigate safely in other waters, is precisely the most suitable type of ship for sailing on the Red River.

Different from the hydrological conditions of the sea and the lower reaches of the Red River, the middle reaches of the Red River to Hanoi and Baosheng are narrow, the waters are relatively closed and calm, there are very few strong winds and waves, and the stability of the ship is low. In addition, the value of this kind of river gunboat lies in its good mobility and strong firepower, because most of the potential enemies are the secret organizations of the Hui Party along the Red River, as well as water bandits and thieves who occupy the mountains, they have small and medium-caliber artillery and rapid-fire weapons that can fully cope with it, and there is no need for any additional protection on the ship, so that the draft of the warship can be reduced as much as possible. At the same time, this kind of inland river gunboat, which is responsible for water patrol tasks, often has to carry out protracted berthing vigilance in a certain place according to needs, and has particularly high requirements for the living conditions on the ship, so "Xinbi" arranges all the living cabins on the main deck, and uses large windows with better lighting effect. This is a great favor in the eyes of the officers and men who need to be stationed on the river for a long time and use the boat as their home.

Of course, a creature that thrives in a given environment may not be able to survive once it leaves the environment on which it depends, and the same is true of the Xinbi and her sister ship, the Xinzhen. The second ship was designed and built at the Mawei Shipyard in Fuzhou, but the long sea journey from Fuzhou to Vietnam was definitely an insurmountable daunting road for warships suitable for inland navigation. In the end, Mawei Shipyard simply completed the construction of the individual parts and then shipped all the parts to Vietnam for assembly. It was completed in March this year. Respectively sent into the Red River. When the "Xinbi" and "Xinzhen" sailed along the Red River. When they arrived at Bac Ninh, they also announced the birth of a new type of ship, the "Red River Gunboat", which was modeled after their design.

"Lord Lin this time, but he is ruthless, he wants to eliminate the bandits in Beiqi, so that the businessmen of the two countries can share the blessing of peace." Chi Zhenquan told Su Yuanchun with excitement, "The task of fighting water bandits is mainly to rely on our six gunboats. ”

"Six?" Hearing that there were four more such gunboats, Su Yuanchun couldn't help but be stunned.

Ji Zhenquan told Su Yuanchun. In addition to the first ship "Xinbi" and the second ship "Xinzhen", there were four other ships of the same class, named "Xinzhan", "Xinmin", "Xinzhu" and "Xinyu", which were also transported to Vietnam for assembly, and now they have also sailed into the Red River, and when all the armies arrive, they will be able to exterminate the bandits on a large scale.

After listening to the news revealed by Chi Zhenquan, Su Yuanchun, who had always thought that entering Vietnam this time was a "chore", was inexplicably excited.

At this time, Su Yuanchun, somehow, was also eagerly looking forward to making contributions under Lin Yiqing's command. Returning to his hometown in a beautiful way.

In just ten days, Su Yuanchun's entire army successfully entered the city of Beining.

At this time, Huang Guilan, the governor of Guangxi, had already learned of the arrival of Su Yuanchun's department. He greeted him at the dock on the shore early, and arranged a station for Su Yuanchunjun early, after Su Yuanchun got off the ship, he didn't have to worry about it at all, everything was arranged in an orderly manner, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

He didn't expect that Huang Guilan, a veteran of the Huai Army who was not very much looked down on him, would be such a scene in Beining City.

But Su Yuanchun soon discovered that among Huang Guilan's subordinates, there were a group of capable instructors, and they were the ones who made the Gui army led by Huang Guilan change.

When Su Yuanchun knew that "Lin Yongyuan", who killed the giant python in the middle of the night and saved his life, was also one of the instructors, he immediately understood everything.

These instructors are all elites under Lin Yiqing!

His subordinates are like this, so what kind of powerful person will he be? Su Yuanchun didn't dare to think about it anymore.

At about the same time, Lin Yiqing, who was in Hue, the capital of Vietnam, had also received the news that Su Yuanchun's Hunan army had arrived in Bac Ninh.

"In this case, our troops will be enough, and the river gunboats will be ready, and we can start fighting against bandits." Lin Yiqing looked at the map, yawned heavily, and said to Zhu Xueyan beside him, "It can be regarded as fulfilling the promise to the French in advance, so that they can rest assured that they can do business with us." ”

"Hmm." Zhu Xueyan just nodded slightly.

Lin Yiqing noticed her abnormality, got up and came to her side, "Yan'er, what's wrong?" His hands gently rubbed Zhu Xueyan's shoulders and asked softly.

Zhu Xueyan still pouted and didn't speak, and tilted her head to the side, making a gesture of ignoring him.

"Dare to ask His Royal Highness the county lord, why are you angry? Can you talk to Xiaosheng about it? Lin Yiqing turned to her face, bowed, looked at her face with a smile, and asked.

"I'm embarrassed to be hippie smiling!" Zhu Xueyan glared at him, and turned her head again, "People are born and die outside to work hard for you, you can be good, stealing incense and jade at home......"

"Xiaosheng is wronged, where does this start......" Lin Yiqing was about to cry out for injustice, when he suddenly remembered the beautiful woman Pan Qingxian sent by King Xiehe, and shrank back his words.

"I'm dying outside...... Come back and see that you are actually painting a portrait of that Vietnamese Sao Nizi......" The more Zhu Xueyan spoke, the more angry she became, and tears were about to fall.

"His Royal Highness the county lord is graceful, Xiaosheng and her, absolutely innocent ......"

"Dare to say it! I saw it, she was sitting there, you painted her picture, you two were talking and laughing......"

"His Royal Highness the county lord, that portrait is for the Queen Mother!"

"For the Queen Mother?"

Zhu Xueyan listened to Lin Yiqing's explanation and was stunned.

"His Royal Highness the County Lord, she is actually a famous Vietnamese minister, Xiaosheng painted her portrait in order to help her, but it was a long-cherished wish......" Lin Yiqing took advantage of her stunned moment, and hurriedly told her about Pan Qingxian's origin and life experience.

Lin Yiqing told Zhu Xueyan about the deeds of Pan Qingxian's grandfather Pan Qingjian and how Pan Qingxian came to see him and begged him to rehabilitate Zhaoxue, while carefully observing Zhu Xueyan's expression.

After his eloquent narration, Zhu Xueyan's brows gradually relaxed.

"I painted a portrait of her. It is to present it to the Queen Mother. Seek the sympathy of the Queen Mother. In order to give her grandfather a simple and fair anti-Zhaoxue. Lin Yiqing said, showing Zhu Xueyan the drawn pencil sketch portrait of Pan Qingjian and the secret draft for the Queen Mother.

After listening to Lin Yiqing's story about Pan Qingjian's deeds and Pan Qingxian's unremitting efforts for her grandfather's rehabilitation, Zhu Xueyan became chivalrous and sympathized with Pan Qingxian.

"This matter was all caused by Xiaosheng's carelessness, which caused His Royal Highness the county lord to misunderstand." Lin Yiqing saw the change in Zhu Xueyan's expression, and hurriedly took all the responsibility on himself, "Xiaosheng can't compensate His Royal Highness the county lord for this." ”

"Alright, since that's the case. The county lord was no longer angry. Zhu Xueyan watched Lin Yiqing hurriedly salute herself, looking careful, her heart was sweet, and she went down the steps.

"However, the county lord didn't see that you, Lord Lin, are actually good at danqing, this portrait is very good." Zhu Xueyan picked up the sketch portrait drawn by Lin Yiqing for Pan Qingxian again, and a hint of narrowness flashed in her eyes, "The portrait of the county lord painted by the king of Xiehe, the county lord is not satisfied. I feel that I can't compare to your painting skills, so this time I will punish you to paint a portrait like this for the lord of this county. ”

"Xiaosheng obeys." Lin Yiqing replied with a smile. stepped forward and hugged her, and this time she didn't refuse.

"Seriously, I think your painting is really much better than that Concord King, the portrait he painted for me, how to put it, it feels bad to look at." Zhu Xueyan couldn't help frowning when she remembered the beautiful picture Ruan Fusheng drew for her.

Lin Yiqing understood why she thought Ruan Fusheng's paintings were weird, because Ruan Fusheng still used traditional ink painting techniques when painting her portraits, and there were more freehand elements, and his own mental state had become abnormal because of his long-term use of hemp essence, so that his paintings looked very ghostly, not because of his poor painting skills.

And the portrait I painted for Pan Qingxian is completely realistic sketching, and she looks and feels different.

Seeing that this little turmoil disappeared invisibly, Lin Yiqing was very happy, and kissed Zhu Xueyan's cherry lips lightly, Zhu Xueyan was moved in her heart, and gradually hugged him tightly.

At this time, Zhu Xueyan would not have thought that her future "sister", Pan Qingxian, would not be the last, nor could she be the last.

Seven days later, Lin Yiqing's secret music was sent to Tianjin by a high-speed notification ship, and then sent to Beijing by telegram. After the Empress Dowager Renxi read the recital, she ordered the Ministry of Rites to draw up the name given to Pan Qingjian, and the Ministry of Rites repeated the proposed name three days later, and after the meeting of the ministers, Pan Qingjian was given the title of "Wenzhong".

Beijing Xicheng, "Wanxingju" tavern.

The tavern is an important place for the dissemination of all kinds of news in the capital, in addition to drinking, the people who come to drink want to tell everyone what they know, and the other is also to hear what new news and new things others have, so as to spread it with people who do not know the news, in order to show that he is well-informed, and get an invisible worship from it.

People who come to the low-grade tavern of "Wanxingju" to drink, most of them are heavy laborers, and these people usually gather in the tavern after work, talk about their hearts, complain or scold a few words, and then listen to the voices of others, and also listen to the strange things from different places, and everyone will go home happily!

The cost of taverns such as "Wanxingju" is very low, and the wine and food provided are very suitable for people who come to drink, and they are not very expensive. In addition to these heavy physical crowds, there are also reading people who wear long shirts and stand and drink, mainly to join in the fun. For, though these people are not well educated, they are very simple and enthusiastic, and they know strange things, which are not official news, but they are better than official news, and the narration of these news is often accompanied by many amuses and unusual feelings.

As a special group of big cadres and officialdom, there are also many people who are willing to come here to join in the fun. It is their privilege to "smell the news", and coming to the tavern to "smell the news" is also one of their important things.

For this very down-to-earth "Yahao" of the Qing rumor officials, Zhang Huakui, the son of Zhang Shusheng, the governor of Liangguang who has the nickname of "Qingliu Legs", couldn't be clearer.

Since the public opinion of the Great Qian Empire has always been in the hands of the Qingliu literati, this group of swordsmen and penmen can make a nobody popular overnight, and they can also make a red person stink overnight, so everyone is jealous. Therefore, when the civil and military officials of the feudal territory worship the generals are thanking Tian's grace and packing up and leaving the capital to prepare for their posts, they often leave a cronie (usually a son) to set up a "Beijing office" in the capital, specifically to convince those swordsmen and penmen who can say some good things to their fathers, and the fathers have made some small contributions on the front line. Even if Dad is defeated on the front line, as long as the "Beijing Office" is willing to spend money and work hard, the defeat will be selectively ignored. It is precisely by following the "unspoken rules" of this kind of officialdom that Zhang Shusheng left his son Zhang Huakui to stay in Beijing when he was released to other provinces and established the "Zhang Ji Beijing Office", which "is dedicated to collecting clear streams and serving the reputation of Nai Wengbo". And this Mr. Xiao Zhang is also very hard-working, and the relationship with the Qingliu is so close that as soon as the Qingliu officials have any needs, he immediately saddles up the front and back of the horse, and his nickname of "Qingliu legs" comes from this. (To be continued.) )

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