Qi Shan is already old, in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, when medicine is not prosperous, sixty-seven years old is already considered a long-lived old man, a veteran of the three dynasties who has gone through Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng, at this moment he is leaning weakly on the soft chair in the handsome tent, the silk silk in his hand is covered with old age spots, and he is coughing violently.

Rong Lu's mood is very complicated, this old man's evaluation in history is mixed, but people remember him too much or the word traitor, in Rong Lu's opinion, this view is a little unfair. There is only one reason why Qi Shan is so evaluated by history, he is the opponent of Lin Zexu of the main battle faction, Qi Shan is the main peace faction, and in terms of the attitude towards the Opium War, Qi Shan hopes for the main peace.

The very different historical images of Lin Zexu and Qi Shan show people's simple moral appeals, and at the same time answer the question of whether the Opium War should be fought. For the aggressor, to fight, this is a requirement of national morality. But if the resistance is doomed to failure, and the losses are heavier, should it still be resisted? It's a political issue. A haode politician should not be a blind mover, he should think about how to minimize the damage to the country and how to avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Of course, this does not mean giving up resistance, because in many cases it is the duty of a politician to do what he knows he cannot do, and many times a nation needs to make great sacrifices to defend its moral dignity and spiritual aspirations. In the short term, giving up resistance in pursuit of temporary "benefits" is not necessarily a good thing in the long run, because a nation that has lost its fighting spirit and suffered mental humiliation is the most miserable. From this point of view, the Opium War had to be resisted. However, if for the time being, we endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens, and seek to exert ourselves to make the country strong, then Gou An is actually the best choice for the time being, and the attitude adopted by Japan, which is adjacent to the "Celestial Empire," toward "aggression" after more than 10 years, will have an impact on Japan. Undoubtedly the most haode illustration. However, the "national conditions" of the Qing Dynasty determined that it could only adopt the former way. In fact, even with resistance, there was a chance that the Opium War would be won, and that would be to follow the way China would treat Japan 100 years later.

It can be said that Qi Shan has done everything that a minister should do, but the huge Manchu Dynasty, whether it is diplomacy or the use of troops, in the final analysis, is only one person who has the final say, that is Emperor Daoguang. Whether it is war or peace, Qi Shan, as a courtier, can only bow down and obey orders, and it is absolutely impossible for a dynasty like the Manchu Qing to launch any people's war against the British. So whether it is war or peace, Qi Shan, like Lin Zexu, can't escape the fate of a dismissal and seizure of his family.

"Zhonghua, ahem, it turned out to be you." Qi Shan's old voice interrupted Rong Lu's thoughts. After he and Chengen stepped forward to salute again, Rong Lu said, "The old hall is fine." The kid went to Jiangnan on an errand. I came by the way to say hello to the old hall. ”

Qi Shan finally coughed and listened, gasped a few times, squinted at Rong Lu, then looked at Cheng En, and asked, "......Who is this little brother?"

Cheng En hurriedly stepped forward to report to the house, and Qi Shan said, "It turned out to be the descendant of Iltonga." It can also be regarded as after the meritorious service. Speaking of this, Qi Shan sighed lightly and said: "I'm old, this Qing Dynasty still has to rely on you young people to help share the emperor's worries, and we don't expect anything in this life as slaves, that is, I want to be able to stabilize the Qing Dynasty properly." It can be regarded as being able to meet the ancestors and ancestors under the nine springs. ”

Rong Lu arched his hand and said: "Lao Zhongtang also led the troops to go out in his old age, which really embarrassed the younger generations. ”

Qi Shan smiled bitterly: "I'm going to explain this old bone here, and I don't think much about it." Then he looked at Rong Lu and said with a smile: "A while ago, after the long-haired puppet king of the West captured Jiangning, the soldiers were in full swing, and there was a proverb that the Taiping King killed the king, and the old man was still wondering at the time, who was playing this hand to sow discord, and later the old man knew that it was you kid." ”

Rong Lu was slightly taken aback, this proverb was originally a rumor-mongering scheme he came up with, the purpose was to provoke the relationship between the princes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he used the guards of Shangyu Reserve to buy local gangs and ruffians to spread rumors, and originally thought that this matter was done secretly No one knew, but he didn't expect Qi Shan to know.

Qi Shan saw that Rong Lu's face changed slightly, and said with a faint smile: "The old man has been in the officialdom for decades, and there must be some connections in this corner of the place, otherwise I don't know how to be ruined in the troubled waters of officialdom, and the old man also knows about your sticky guards going south this time." ”

As soon as these words came out, Rong Lu couldn't help but sweat with fright, thinking about it, Xiang Qishan, an old man of the three dynasties, not to mention the eyeliner in the court, that is also what he wants to know, spend a little effort to find out, how can he not find out about the fact that a small character like himself sits? Most of the sticky guards were originally composed of the descendants of the Manchu nobles, and there were not a few of Qi Shan's relatives, as long as Qi Shan wanted to ask, then he would definitely be able to find out. Thinking of this, Rong Lu knew that Qi Shan must know the purpose of his trip, and he didn't know what Qi Shan thought, if he wanted to deal with his sticky guards, he was afraid that it would be easy.

Qi Shan squinted his eyes and sighed softly: "Su Yuting is a person who does things, acts arbitrarily, regardless of the consequences, in order to please the emperor, he dares to move anyone and dare to do anything, but he doesn't know how to be tactful, and he will definitely suffer a big loss in the future." Zhonghua, your grandfather Tasha is the old man's old department, when the old man was the minister in Tibet, he served under the old man, your mother is my Borzigit clan, you are also the grandchild of the old man, your father and uncle died on the battlefield, you are such a lone seedling in the family, originally you were a guard in the palace, and it is not a bad way to go out in the future, but now you are following Su Yuting to do these unsightly things, and there are many people who have offended, and you will be hated in the future. ”

Rong Lu's brain slammed, sweat trickled down his forehead, and he didn't hesitate to hear this, his knees fell to the ground weakly, and he said: "Old Zhongtang, please save the younger generation for the sake of the ancestors." When Cheng En saw it, he also knelt down.

Qi Shan smiled, coughed a few times, and the old man's hand was slightly raised, signaling the messenger who was waiting on the side to step forward and help the two up.

Qi Shan said gently: "The old man is thinking about the love with your grandfather, and I only saw you today." The old man, the Jiangbei camp, told the truth, how much food should be in, how many instruments should be entered, and how many medicines should be imported every day, which are all silver taels of white flowers. Those people in the court looked at it with hot eyes, how many imperial historians and how many young people were staring here, just hoping that the old man would make a mistake one day, and he would be able to defeat the old man in one fell swoop. But Zhonghua, the old man can still talk to you here in a good way, doesn't it make it clear that the old man is relying on a powerful word. As long as the long-haired thief in Guazhou is still there, no one can touch the old man. Then he breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "I don't know how many times the people from the court have been in and out of my camp, and the old man has never covered up some ugly things in the camp, can they not go back and report to the emperor?" The emperor is wise, doesn't he know how rotten the green battalion soldiers in the world are? Zhonghua, in fact, not only the emperor is clear in the court, but also the civil and military forces in the Manchu Dynasty, so why should Su Yuting let you run in vain? The old man wants to come, he wants to find a stunned young man to stab this matter, even if he can't bring down the old man, he can also eradicate a few dissidents in the court, and secondly, he is to get rid of the disobedient people around him, what you did after going south, it seems that it was not made clear to him, but things are done well, you are jealous of Su Yuting. ”

Rong Lu was sweating when he heard this, and it seemed that he was smart, but in fact, he couldn't match these officialdom people in Sushun at all, and he was speechless at the moment.

Qi Shan took a sip of hot tea, coughed violently a few times, spit out thick phlegm, and hurriedly answered it with a spittoon, Qi Shan took a smooth breath and continued: "Zhonghua, the old man also wants to save you, but I want to hear what you plan in your heart?" ”

Rong Lu bowed his hand and said carefully: "Lao Zhongtang is a clear guide, the kid is just ordered to do an errand, and he has no intention of disrespecting Lao Zhongtang." In fact, as Lao Zhongtang said, after the kid went south, most of the green battalion soldiers he saw were also like this, military discipline was lax, combat effectiveness was low, and he fled when he encountered thieves, and he was disturbed by the people. What the younger generation is worried about is not his own gains and losses, the kid is worried about the blessings and misfortunes of the society, and these unworthy green battalion soldiers cannot defeat the long-haired thief. ”

Qi Shan snorted, noncommittal, and motioned for Rong Lu to continue, Rong Lu was slightly bold, and then said: "The younger generation wants to come, now the Eight Banners Green Battalion is useless, and there is only one place to set up regimental training for self-protection, and more regimental training in various townships, and it is difficult for long-haired people to move an inch, gradually shrinking the trend of thieves, purchasing advanced Western firearms to replenish armaments, and training regimental training recruits from various places Xu Tujin to suppress, it will take ten years to pacify this long-haired thief." ”

Qi Shan squinted his eyes, tapped his fingers on the back of the chair, and suddenly asked, "Where does this money and food come from?" ”

Rong Lu replied: "All localities can raise their own money and grain, set up customs cards everywhere, and draw a penny from a merchant's business for a tael of silver. In the eyes of businessmen, one out of a thousand is not a matter of pain, and can be passed on to the buyer. And I will drip water, and gather it into a river, which can raise 100,000,000 elite soldiers. The soldiers are full of food, Hong Yangyan has the reason to be immortal? If so, there will be money and food, and this policy is called centigold. ”

For the first time since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom raised its army, Emperor Xianfeng seemed to know for the first time that the rich and brilliant royal family also had times when their wealth was exhausted. From 1850 to July 1853, Emperor Xianfeng obtained a total of nearly 30 million taels of silver to supply the front line, in exchange for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's capture of Jiangning, and the transportation was almost cut off. At this time, Emperor Xianfeng was exhausted, and the household only had 290,000 taels of silver, and even the salaries of the Beijing officials and soldiers could not be paid. The Manchus were deeply worried about money and food, and Qishan was no exception, and it was common for people to delay wages and arrears in the camp in Jiangbei, so there were those soldiers who bravely plundered the people and opened gambling stalls in the camp, and those people were just to eat for a while. Rong Lu's idea of gold made the old and spicy Qi Shan's eyes shine. (To be continued.) )