In the early summer of last year, the situation in the Taiwan Strait was tense, and the Fujian Xiaodao Society and the Red Money Society took the opportunity to cause incidents one after another, connecting several cities in Funing and Jianning in northern Fujian, and the whole province of Fujian was shaken. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

Zhang Zhongxing dispatched 10,000 regiments to practice, attacked quickly, and in an instant, suppressed the rebel army that had started an incident, and stabilized the situation in Fujian.

The Qing court rewarded meritorious deeds, Zhang Zhongxing was promoted two levels in a row, and was appointed as the acting political envoy of Fujian, and the former political envoy Qingduan was promoted to the governor of Fujian.

While stepping up the training of regiments and training the new army, Zhang Zhongxing also vigorously promoted the strengthening of the defense of the Minjiang River estuary. Wang Yide, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Qingduan, the governor of Fujian, were also particularly concerned about the defense of Fuzhou, and they raised huge sums of money to purchase dozens of coastal defense fortress cannons from Hong Kong, and built and rebuilt forts on both sides of the Minjiang River estuary.

Hujiang Fort is located on Hujiang Island at the mouth of the Minjiang River, and is the most advanced position in the coastal defense fort group at the mouth of the Minjiang River.

It is about 80 miles from Hujiang Island to Mawei Daying, plus the upper reaches of Mawei until Kuiqi, Linpu and other places, stretching for nearly 100 miles, there are 11 coastal defense forts such as Hujiang Fort, Changmen Fort, Min'an Fort, Qinjiang Fort along the way, layer upon layer of lock keys, Gongwei provincial capital Fuzhou.

Xianfeng was worried that the Ming ships would invade Fuzhou from the sea, so he agreed to the request of Wang Yide, Qingduan, and Zhang Zhongxing, and ordered the three of them to renovate the already eroded Sanjiangkou Banner Battalion Sailor.

150 years have passed, Xianfeng also knows that these bannermen have long been rotten, and if they want to save Fujian and resist the attack of the Ming army, they must dismantle the old, weak, sick and disabled, buy Western ships, and train a new Sanjiangkou Naval Division.

Through Fermar, consul of the British Consulate in Fujian, Zhang Zhongxing bought two second-hand "Galen" galleons, and at the same time recruited a group of retired European naval officers from Hong Kong as instructors in the Sanjiangkou Naval Division.

One day in early April, on the sea below the Hujiang Fort, two Western galleons were training at sea.

Garrison Tang Wenchao stood on the slipway, giving orders one by one. William, a retired British naval lieutenant, stood behind Tang Wenchao and pressed him.

"Notify the two ships, and the horizontal formation will become a column!"

The signalman waved the signal flag to inform the ship to act as ordered.

When Cheng Wenming saw the order, he immediately ordered, "Prepare to pull the sails!" ”

The four sailors immediately trotted all the way and did as they were told.

"Straighten the rope!" Cheng Wenming shouted again. "Leash!"

The sailors immediately obeyed, and several European instructors stood by and watched as they operated.

The two galleons of the "Galen" type were the fifth-class sail cruisers eliminated by the British Far East Fleet, with a total length of 150 feet, 44 guns, and a crew of 250 people.

Zhang Zhongxing gave a full bonus, and the Western teaching and training were very serious, and the soldiers of the Sanjiangkou Water Division Battalion grew up very quickly.

Seeing that the formation change drill at sea was very smooth, William nodded with satisfaction, "Once it enters a full-scale attack, each ship must follow the front ship according to the exact position, completing the transition from horizontal melee to line tactics. ”

"Yes, instructor!" Garrison Tang Wenchao bowed his head humbly, "Thanks to the instructor's careful cultivation, the students are grateful." ”

"When sailing at sea, you must abide by the 'navigation regulations'! In combat, we must abide by the 'combat discipline'," William said proudly, "These are the summaries of the experience accumulated by our Royal Navy of Great Britain for hundreds of years. ”

A British-flagged galleon came from the east and quickly approached the mouth of the Min River.

This sailing ship is the two-sail light clipper "Edmont", which is like a "flying sea" fast sailboat, which is generally used to smuggle opium ~ on the coast of East Asia.

The Hujiang Fort lookout found the target, blew the horn in time, and raised the signal flag. A green camp fast crab boat patrolling the mouth of the Minjiang River immediately greeted it and asked Wang Yongjin to put out the banner of "stop the boat for inspection".

Seeing the flags from the Qing army's sentry ships from a distance, Deng Texin, the captain of the "Edmont," said that these Tatar soldiers used to look ragged and listless, but when they saw that all the Western ships were far away, they actually became energetic and dared to come up to investigate.

Two cruisers flying the Yellow Dragon Flag of the Qing Dynasty were not far away, and Dent did not dare to make trouble. He spat hard, turned to the ship's helmsman and shouted, "Stop!" ”

Climbing the general Wang Yongjin from the suspension ladder to the "Edmont", Dent was already waiting on the deck.

"Hello, I'm the captain of the Edmont, our ship is from Nagasaki, Japan, and there are no prohibited items on board......"

In the afternoon, the "Aimont" anchored on the Nantai River in Fuzhou.

Nantai is the gateway to the south of Fuzhou City, and the Min River bypasses from the south of Fuzhou City. There are many ships here, and Western freighters are densely intertwined with local wooden sailing ships and canopy ships.

After the Five Sons trade, Western merchants began to import Western goods into Rongcheng in a calm manner after coming to Fuzhou. In addition to the sinful opium ~ piece, there are still cotton cloth, gauze and other Western products, but Western goods except for opium ~ other wells do not sell well. On the contrary, Fuzhou, as the center of Fujian's tea trade, has become a huge base for exporting tea to Western countries.

In this time and space, an economic crab area has been formed with the Wanji Bridge as the axis, the two sides of Nantai as the base, and the two wings of Nanbai as the periphery. As the people of the time said: "On both sides of the Nantai River, Huayi is mixed, and merchants are scattered, and Fujian Province is the most prosperous place."

Captain Dent ignored the fatigue of the sea, settled the affairs of the "Edmont", and went straight to the British Consulate in Fuzhou.

The British Consulate in Fuzhou is located on Cangqian Mountain on the south bank of the Minjiang River.

The office building of the consulate is a white European-style double-storey brick and wood structure building facing north and south, with the north slope facing the Minjiang River.

"Consul Fermar, the situation is getting worse and worse."

In the British Consul's Office in Fuzhou, Dent was a little angry, "Edo promulgated the Opium ~ Monopoly Law at the end of last month, and our opium ~ sales in Japan have become more and more difficult. ”

The trade of opium ~ in Japan has always been restricted by the shogunate, and sales have always been small. Relatively speaking, sugar and weapons were the best selling goods to Japan, but sugar and weapons were all exported by Taiwan in large quantities, and British merchants could not compete with the Ming Dynasty. They can only make a certain profit by selling opium ~ chips.

After the Japanese opium ~ monopoly sales, this profit became very small, and Dent, these opium ~ dealers felt particularly hurt.

Consul Fermar said with a sneering face, "The Ming Kingdom on the other side of the sea is really capable, and before you know it, it seems that you have completely controlled Japan." ”

"They have a big appetite and want to control North Korea!"

Dent poured out everything he knew, "The Japanese volunteers recruited by the Ming Kingdom in Kyushu have reached more than 10,000, and it is said that they will attack Korea within a month......"

"Volunteers?"

Fermar's expression was very solemn, according to the news from the Taipei Consulate, the Ming Kingdom was about to launch a mainland offensive, and Fujian was the first to bear the brunt. With one hand against the Manchu Qing and the other against Korea, did the Ming have so many troops?

It is a good idea to form a volunteer army and a foreign legion, which can make up for the lack of the army, and can also fight poison with poison.

At night, Ferma entered the city through the south gate in a sedan chair.

The lights in Fuzhou City are beginning to be released, and the shops on both sides of South Street are more and more than one after another, and the pedestrians are like shuttles, a prosperous scene.

"Seven lanes and three squares remember the old tour, and the evening cool voice sings and sells flowers. Ziling Danli yellow peel fruit, all the way to the fragrant wind leading to the restaurant. "That's what it's like.

The sedan chair crossed the South Street and finally stopped in front of the yamen of the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.

In the governor's yamen, Wang Yide was discussing with Qingduan and Zhang Zhongxing.

Since Hangzhou and Shanghai were besieged by the Taiping Army, almost all of Jiangsu and Zhejiang fell into the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At the same time, Shi Dakai returned to Wuhan and fought with Zeng Guofan in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the road from Nanchang to Wuhan was full of war.

The land fast passage between Fujian and Beijing has been cut off, and Fujian and Guangdong can only borrow Western ships to maintain communication with Beijing by sea; Or through the Hunan and Jiangxi Post Road, go around Sichuan and Shaanxi, and transmit the information to the capital.

Today, Beijing sent a clear edict and a secret letter.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty was pragmatism, seeing that the strength of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had risen sharply, and the Ming Dynasty was also ready to move in Taiwan, Xianfeng thought about it, and felt that he was weak and urgently needed external support. So he decided to change the course of order and deal with the troublesome Han people with the power of Yiren.

The Qing court issued a clear decree that the gentry and the common people should have the style of a great country, and they must live in harmony with the Westerners, and they must not cause trouble.

Xianfeng also sent a secret decree to Wang Yide to maintain close communication with Britain, France and the United States. Only Britain, France, and the United States can borrow their teachers to help suppress them, and any demands such as "negotiations on the revision of the treaty" and "consulate entry into the city" can be discussed.

"The Emperor Shengming!" Qingduan praised again and again, he was overjoyed. Maintain communication with the Xiyi people, and there is not a small amount of money in the middle.

"The Emperor Shengming!" Zhang Zhongxing calmly bowed his hand to the north, "The Guangdong bandits are about to interrupt the north and the south, and the Ming bandits are also preparing to go ashore, and Fujian has reached the point of critical survival." The emperor is really like a lamp, and he understands the truth in the light. ”

"Dude!" Wang Yide was shocked, "How can you say this?" ”

This year, the Mawei battalion has trained more than 10,000 foreign guns. Pucheng Fengling Pass, Chong'an Fenshui Pass and other Fujian, Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang transportation arteries and military points are all assigned to be guarded by heavy troops.

The newly formed water division at the mouth of the Sanjiang Estuary has also been initially formed. There are also 11 forts in the 100-mile waterway at the mouth of the Minjiang River, which are locked and keyed layer by layer, strictly guarding and defending the provincial capital.

Why is Fujian in danger?!!

"Xiamen! Xiamen is our soft underbelly. Zhang Zhongxing sighed, "The new sailors are weak and can't deal with the Ming bandits." We must borrow the help of teachers to suppress it, otherwise Fujian will be in danger. ”

He was quite depressed in his heart, this year's training in the army, he spent countless silver taels, broke countless hearts, and his success was also considerable. But it's still too far from dealing with the Ming bandits!

"Borrow the teacher's help!" Wang Yide nodded, turned around and asked Qingduan, "Is there any extra money and food?" ”

"Lord Duxian, the money and food in Fujian Province can still be hidden from your eyes."

Qingduan proposed to ban the ban, change the name of opium ~ tablets to foreign medicine, and set up the General Administration of Centigold in South Taichung.

Each box contains 40 pieces of tobacco soil, and each box receives one round of foreign silver; Its fragments of tobacco soil, four yuan of silver per ten catties. The sale of foreign drugs must be supported by the General Administration of Quotation before they are allowed to be marketed anywhere.

Wang Yide saw that Zhang Zhongxing did not object, he nodded slowly and said, "The cost of prevention and suppression is huge, and you can consider opening a ban." ”

At this moment, Goshha came to report, "My lord! The British consul in Fujian, Fermar, asked to see him. ”

Wang Yide, Qingduan, and Zhang Zhongxing looked at each other and smiled.

Okay, if you want to doze off, the pillow is here!