On the second floor of a small courtyard at the mouth of Shuijing Hutong, Fu Shanxiang was slowly drinking tea, while Qin Tianqiong was sitting opposite her and looking at her with a smile, and the pistol that had been confiscated from the Tianwang Mansion was placed in the tray on the table.

Qin Tianqiong finished drinking the tea in the cup and said, "Good thing!" The real Emei frost top, at least a few thousand taels and a catty, but also depends on God, the frost is heavy, it is difficult to harvest the leaves, if it is light, the taste is scattered and not gathered. ”

Fu Shanxiang took a sip lightly, didn't say anything, this tea was deliberately ordered by Lin Haijiang to be sent, she drank it a few times, and it tasted good, so she left to make a pot when she was tired, clear her heart and spleen, and calm her mind.

Fu Shanxiang knows very little about tea, she is not willing to waste too much thought and energy on these things that are too luxurious to enjoy, drinking tea is originally to relax herself, but according to the meaning of tea, tea ceremony, tea to taste tea with meticulous experience procedures Fu Shanxiang asked himself if he could not do it, and then complicate simple things with a high-end level of cultural enjoyment? It's really a very puzzling thing for her.

In Fu Shanxiang's view, only people who have leisure, have too much silver in their pockets to put down, and think that people with high levels of culture can spend most of the day to quench their thirst.

Qin Tianqiong glanced at Fu Shanxiang meaningfully and said: "Actually, the meaning of the Heavenly King calling the Heavenly Guardian to wait for you to come back is very clear, I hope you don't have to work so hard, the Hou Ye over there in Guangzhou, you can send someone over, you work hard, if you always let you go back and forth, I'm afraid that the people below will say that the Heavenly King is not sympathetic to the heroes, isn't it?" ”

Qin Tianqiong's words were very twisted in Fu Shanxiang's ears, to put it bluntly, it was for the arms business in Guangzhou, and he wanted to use himself to continue to get arms from that face, as for the money and silver, the gang probably didn't plan to give it at all, he was under house arrest here, and even the maids he brought didn't know that they were sent there.

Fu Shanxiang smiled indifferently when he thought of this, and looked at the night sky outside the window and smiled without saying a word.

Seeing this, Qin Tianqiong smiled and said, "Master Hou must have a weight in someone's heart comparable to a treasure!" There will be a good show tonight, and after a while, I hope you will enjoy it! ”

Fu Shanxiang frowned slightly, she was a little confused, she didn't know what the good show Qin Tianqiong was referring to? The phrase that the weight of someone's heart is like a treasure seems to allude to the one in the Old Port.

Suddenly, a storm of gunfire sounded in the calm night, followed by a roaring explosion, Fu Shanxiang could hear that there seemed to be a pistol shooting and the crisp sound of a five-company rifle, while on the heavenly side was the dull firing sound of the front-loading rifle, a pillar of incense, the gunfire began to become sparse, and the sporadic explosions seemed to be farther than the other?

After a burst of rapid footsteps, Wang Dianjian, who was on the main hall before, was helped and stumbled in with blood on his face, Wang Dianjian saw that Fu Shanxiang was hesitant and didn't dare to speak, Fu Shanxiang snorted slightly coldly and said: "If it's inconvenient, I'd better leave first!" ”

Although Qin Tianqiong realized that there seemed to be a change in his temper, his face was full of embarrassment and said angrily: "Say it directly!" ”

Wang Dianjian paused for a moment, breathlessly said, "Heavenly, those thieves are really amazing!" The brothers opened a large circle and ambushed them on three levels, but they still fought their way out, and sixteen of the twenty-nine thieves were killed, and the rest fled without a trace. ”

Qin Tianqiong's face changed, and he immediately got up and kicked Wang Dianjian to the ground and said angrily: "You 1,500 people ambushed 29 people? And ran thirteen? ”

Wang Dianzhen didn't care about the burst of the wound and cried: "They have fast guns, the place is narrow, we use a shield array, they can penetrate two or three of us after they shoot through the shield, and there is a kind of thing that explodes when it is thrown away, after the explosion, there is a big smoke, choking people don't say anything and can't see, all the brothers who rushed over have become targets, and the bomb is a big piece when it explodes!" ”

Qin Tianqiong began to whip Wang Dianjian with the horsewhip in his hand, they thought that Wang Dianjian was exaggerating the enemy and looking for an excuse for their cowardice.

Fu Shanxiang said coldly on the side: "What he said is true, if in the narrow alley, fifty paces away, the old port made or imported Prussia's five-company foreign guns, on the premise that the bullet is not stuck in the bone, can indeed penetrate three or four people, and the wooden shield wrapped with a layer of copper skin is like a layer of paper."

Qin Tianqiong, who had calmed down, glanced at Fu Shanxiang, and personally picked up Wang Dian, who was afraid and always wanted to dodge, and said, "How many brothers have been killed or injured?" ”

Wang Dianzhen swallowed and foamed, "More than five hundred!" Especially in the pursuit, their bombs are very powerful, one can knock down more than a dozen of us, and all those who chase out are basically knocked down even with bombing, and the specific casualties can only wait for dawn to be counted, and we have captured some of their long and short guys and two of those things. ”

"That thing?" Qin Tianqiong looked at the king who couldn't even understand the words, and he couldn't wait to kick him to death directly at this moment, and 1,500 elite soldiers would go to him at once?

Qin Tianqiong looked at the well-made rifles and grenades of the first year of the Chinese Empire for a long time, and said to Fu Shanxiang with the grenades: "This object is so powerful? Why do we still need a fire sickle to ignite and throw when we buy it? ”

As soon as Qin Tianqiong's hand touched the ring of fire, Fu Shanxiang's face suddenly changed slightly, and Wang Dianjian, who was beaten like a dead dog, rolled out of the stairs on the second floor with a bang, Qin Tianqiong's face turned blue with anger when he saw his subordinates so out of shape.

Fu Shanxiang stroked the teacup and said: "This is the latest product in the old port, which is only equipped with marines and mountain infantry units, and we buy a cheap export type, which is not for sale." ”

Qin Tianqiong picked up the rifle of the first year of the Chinese Empire, which Fu Shanxiang was very familiar with and had been trying to buy, and said, "Presumably, this is also their column type that is not for sale?" ”

Fu Shanxiang nodded and said, "Even if it is sold, it is probably worth a lot, and with the financial resources of the Heavenly Kingdom, it may be difficult to equip a large number of equipment." ”

When Qin Tianqiong was roaring hysterically, because the intelligence was wrong, the Zhou army had been hit by two bullets and had already been lifted onto a small boat, because not far from Yanziji, there were five fourth-class sail cruisers with boiler steam engines on the Chinese Empire's side waiting to be answered.

After Qin Tianqiong left the small courtyard of Fu Shanxiang's residence, he hurried back to the Heavenly King's Mansion, at this moment, Hong Xiuquan was hugging these new princesses and ladies enjoying the singing and dancing, and the previous decadent demeanor was swept away, and the newly promoted civil and military divisions and marquis below did not hesitate to say all kinds of flattery, and Hong Xiuquan, who only owned a few provinces, seemed to be comparable to Yao Shunyu soup for a while, and even surpassed it.

Hong Xiuquan saw Qin Tianqiong coming in a hurry, so he beckoned and pointed to the left hand closest to him, Qin Tianqiong sat down with a lot of heart, and toasted Hong Xiuquan with a glass of wine, Hong Xiuquan happily drank it, and as soon as the song and dance stopped, Hong Xiuquan asked proudly: "My top heaven is waiting for Qin Hou, how are things going?" Can Fu Shanxiang agree? ”

Qin Tianqiong smiled helplessly and said: "Back to the Heavenly King, Fu Shanxiang is very dependent on that side, tonight there sent someone to rescue, I spread false news before and ambushed the people, but the ambush process was not smooth, the other party's foreign guns and grenades are very sharp, if such a sharp weapon can be equipped in large quantities, the southern and northern expeditions will be unhindered, and the generals below will not dare to complain." ”

Qin Tianqiong said very clearly, and Hong Xiuquan heard it even more clearly, he needed a large number of foreign guns and cannons in front of him to stabilize the turbulent situation, or more appropriately, he needed to immediately launch a major offensive to divert everyone's attention from Tianjing City.

So Fu Shanxiang has become the key, the reason why Qin Tianqiong was able to become the top of the heavens, not only because he killed Shi Dakai and his cronies, and seized the control of Tianjing's city defense, but because he offered advice to return to Fu Shanxiang, although there is no scandal news in Guangzhou, but it has already become a household name in Tianjing, that is, the female champion of the year pasted a foreign devil, and got a foreign gun and a foreign cannon, and later it was said that Fu Shanxiang followed Lin Haijiang, the former governor of Nanyang, about the two bathing together, The debauchery of the wine pond meat forest can be said to have a nose and an eye.

Now the news of the establishment of the Chinese Empire is no longer a secret, as far as the foreign gun in front of him that Fu Shanxiang called the first year of the Chinese Empire is a rifle, Qin Tianqiong is extremely shocked, what shocked him is not that Lin Haijiang established himself as king, but that they were able to make a foreign gun that was much more refined and advanced than the foreigners?

Qin Tianqiong hesitated for a while and said slowly: "Qiyu Heavenly King, since sending someone over there also shows Fu Shanxiang's important surname, can we use it to exchange for a large number of foreign guns and cannons?" Solve our urgent needs? ”

Hong Xiuquan frowned slightly and said, "What did you say before?" Said that if you master Fu Shanxiang, you can get a steady stream of foreign guns and cannons? Why don't you reveal Lin Haijiang's independence of the Chinese Empire to the Qing court, and let them eat dogs? ”

Qin Tianqiong sighed lightly and said helplessly: "Back to the Heavenly King, the previous ministers owed Zhou Quan, and what was sold to us over there were old foreign guns and cannons, but the really sharp ones were not provided to us, the current situation is a three-legged situation, as if the Three Kingdoms are general, the difference is that the Western Fan people are stealing chickens and dogs behind the scenes to help the Qing Demon, and there are also foreigners behind the Lin Demon, and the Lin Demon's sailor ironclad ship is extremely sharp, and the foreigners are still invincible, let alone the Qing Demon?" If we push the forest demon into a hurry, I'm afraid he will do something to us. ”

As soon as Qin Tianqiong's words came out, there was a buzz in the hall, some people agreed and some people objected, and Zhao Fan, the protector of the country, said frankly: "The more we taboo each other, the more arrogant and rampant they will be, we can't do it at sea, but I'm afraid they can't do it on land, right?" Increase troops in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi, with the momentum of encirclement, if it is possible, go straight to Liangguang, collect all the financial resources of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Liangguang, and march north along the river, and fight a decisive battle with the Qing Demon, and the Lin Demon will let him drift on the sea! ”

The remarks of the protector of the country Zhao Fan were supported by many people, because after the young generals seized power this time, most of the participants just got an unjustifiable name, these young people who have lost themselves between power and ambition are eager for greater power, eager for more real power, and they want to become the main general of the temperance side calling for wind and rain, and not an empty title in Tianjing City.

The only way is to start a big war, only a big war can lead to a change of power, and many people don't even care about the outcome of the war, but only care about how they can get to power?

Qin Tianqiong can say that he has seen the ignorant, but he has never seen such arrogance and ignorance, Lin Haijiang can capture 5,000 English troops alive and defeat 20,000 French troops, can his land division be weak?

Qin Tianqiong looked at the people who had the most opposition led by Zhao Fan, the Marquis of the Protector of the Kingdom: "Have you ever forgotten the shelling of the Tianjing North Palace?" That's what Lin Demon said, back then he only had two warships, and now he has a hundred warships and more than a dozen invulnerable ironclad ships, and the batteries along the river can't match it at all, do you want to put Tianjing under the fire of Lin Demon? Where do you put the king? ”

As soon as Qin Tianqiong's words fell, a muffled explosion made the wine in the wine glass overflow a little, and the singers and musicians in the hall suddenly scattered, and everyone who was arguing and making noise just now also closed their mouths.

In the continuous explosions, the guards outside the main hall entered the hall and reported: "Qiyu Heavenly King, it is the explosion sound coming from the direction of Yanziji, and one of the pillars of fire is soaring into the sky!" ”

The guard's words frightened Hong Xiuquan's face pale, and Qin Tianqiong hurriedly said, "Please allow me to go to Yanziji and my party to suppress it with the power of the army." ”

Hong Xiuquan hurriedly waved his hand to signal Qin Tianqiong to go quickly, looking at the young elites in the hall, Hong Xiuquan began to miss his old brothers who were not in a panic, these young people are usually full of loyalty and courage, but there are few who are really on the scene, Hong Xiuquan is very helpless to pick up the wine glass, and the artillery fire in the distance seems to be more intensive? Who will it be? Hong Xiuquan has already made up his mind with a conclusion.

Zhou Dajun, who was transported to the battleship, was in stable condition because he was not shot in a fatal part, and the commander of the receiving fleet was Qian Keming, the first cadet adjutant of the Hull Command Branch of the Imperial Naval Academy.

Coincidentally, a ricocheting projectile hit the powder magazine of the defenders of Yanziji, and the violent explosion almost destroyed half of the main battery!

Yanziji was already shrouded in billowing smoke and firelight, and Qian Keming immediately ordered to retreat!

Yan Ziji's bombardment can be said to have frightened the protector Zhao Fan and helped Qin Tianqiong a big favor, because only in this way could Qin Tianqiong have the opportunity to correct and reduce the losses caused to the Heavenly Kingdom by his previous mistakes in judgment and planning.

Qin Tianqiong, who was almost unknown before, had only heard of the commander of the Nanyang Naval Division of the Qing Demon, and had never seen any ironclad ships, and his impression of Lin Haijiang was almost all from rumors in the market, but the attack and shelling that night really shocked him, not so much shocked as frightened, this was just a failed rescue, if it was replaced by an assassination, I am afraid that the heavily guarded Tianwang Mansion was also killed.

Qin Tianqiong didn't want to dare to sleep with his eyes closed from now on, or he was worried that he would have a head to sleep and not get up, so he also realized how bad his previous idea of detaining Fu Shanxiang to blackmail Lin Haijiang was, how could Lin Haijiang be such an easily threatened figure? The shelling of Swallow Rock seems to be a very strong warning.

The complete failure of the rescue operation put both the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Chinese Empire into a dead circle, the new forces of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom hated the old port to the core, and Lin Haijiang hated the old port even more, he was the only one who beat people, and this time it was his turn to be ambushed.

The failure of this armed rescue operation made Lin Haijiang realize that his intelligence agency also seemed to need comprehensive and professional training, otherwise some intelligence officers who lacked the ability to identify intelligence would easily sort out rumors in the market and report them, and in order to verify the real surname of this information, they would often have to waste more manpower, material resources, and energy.

Therefore, before setting up this special operations force with a special mission to be established, Lin Haijiang ordered Wang Faren to improve the overall personnel quality of the intelligence system, purify the intelligence team, and cooperate with the special operations force with accurate and detailed information in the future.

Since the armed rescue operation failed, Lin Haijiang decided not to hide behind the scenes, Lin Haijiang mobilized all 36 fourth-class cruisers and six third-class sail battleships, these shorter ships were deliberately kept by Lin Haijiang before being packaged and sold to the Tokugawa shogunate, and were originally intended to be used as armed merchant ships.

I didn't expect it to have a use now, even the three 700-ton Seagull gunboats with experimental surnames produced by Mawei were also incorporated into the fleet by Lin Haijiang, because Lin Haijiang's main battleships could not enter the Yangtze River channel at all, although it was completely possible in terms of draft theory, because the Yangtze River hydrological channel at this moment was far deeper and wider than that of later generations, but it only worked theoretically, and if anyone took the theoretical things to practice in reality without verifying them, Especially if that valuable warship was put into practice, Lin Haijiang would definitely order this madman to be shot.

said that it was a negotiation, let alone a show of power, and Lin Haijiang had a very strong posture of rushing to the crown and being angry!

Lin Haijiang originally wanted to set up a few new 100-millimeter fast guns on the deck of a third-class battleship, but he was very helpless because the overall structure of the seemingly large third-class sail battleship could not withstand the recoiled kinetic energy of the 100-millimeter Krupp fast gun, so he had to give up.

When the Chinese Imperial Transport Escort Fleet, which was covered by huge sails, appeared in Yanziji, the defenders of Yanziji who were rebuilding the fort immediately scattered.

At this time, Hong Xiuquan realized that he seemed to have stabbed a hornet's nest? The saddest thing is that he didn't poke it with a bamboo pole, but with his own head!

(To be continued)