It was related to the safety of the imperial court, Rong Lu did not dare to slack off, and after discussing with the other two military aircraft Wang Wenshao and Zhao Shuqiao, he immediately arranged relevant work. Whether it is a weapon or a silver tael, the imperial court is a "guest", and there are no resources in hand, so it can only rely on Shanxi. Looking for the "related" leaders - Shanxi Domain, Taiyuan Town General Soldier, Taiyuan Prefect and others to discuss raising weapons and salaries for the Shandong Army, and waited for a long time before the relevant officials came to the palace. As soon as they heard the request of the military planes, they immediately poured bitter water, especially silver taels, and the magistrate firmly rejected Rong Lu's proposal for 500,000 taels of silver, whether it was in the province or in the government, he really couldn't come up with so much money.

500,000 taels of silver is the figure proposed by Rong Lu, and not all of them are given to the Shandong army. Long Qian put forward a request of 100,000 taels of silver, plus the newly recruited soldiers, and spread it to each soldier, and the average person was only forty or fifty taels. It doesn't sound like a small number, but it's actually not much. During the Guangxu period, a decent banquet in Beijing cost at least ten taels of silver. Yuan Shikai's monthly salary for ordinary soldiers in the new army was four taels and two dollars of silver, and the officers rose step by step. Moreover, the other expenses of the Shandong army, including grain and grass, were all self-provided. People worked hard for the court and did not receive a penny of reward, so it is not too much to ask for money at this time. Therefore, Long Qian proposed to ask for 100,000 taels of silver, but Rong Lu did not object and immediately agreed. According to Rong Lu's understanding, if Long Qian didn't take the opportunity to ask for silver taels, it would be suspicious.

Rong Lu asked for 500,000 taels from the mountain land, and the bulk of it was to be left to the imperial court. In case the foreign soldiers come over, won't the court still have to run? Where can I do it if I don't have money?

The little money brought out by the palace was spent most of it on the road. The rest was pinched in Cixi's hands, and nothing was said to be bleeding. Cixi, who was used to being extravagant, finally realized the difficulty of having no money to spend, and no one could stand the days when she couldn't get in and out. It can't be said that only in and out, after arriving in Taiyuan, Cixi still received a "huge sum", the amount of which was as much as 130,000 taels. The money came from a very peculiar way, it was "picked up" by a military management band (battalion commander) named Chen Eun on the way from Beijing to Baoding. This Chen Eun is also a strange person, in the Manchu officialdom where there is no official and no greed, there is such a selfless figure who collects money. Chen Eun, who was wounded in the battle at Chaoyangmen, protruded from Xizhimen with dozens of subordinates. On the way to Baoding, I picked up a huge amount of silver taels. In Baoding, when he heard that the foreigners were calling, he continued to flee westward, and even took them all the way to Shanxi and handed them over to Ronglu, the boss of Ronglu who later went to Taiyuan. Ling Ronglu remembered this young officer who was just over thirty. For this. Cixi also summoned Chen Eun and stayed for dinner. I sighed for a long time, and there was a lot of consolation.

Cixi was reluctant to use this wealth that fell from the sky as a military salary. The silver taels of the Shandong soldiers will also land in Shanxi Province.

But things are not so easy. The provincial governor Yuxian was poured down by Cixi with a scoop of cold water. Completely disheartened, he came out of the palace and went home directly, leaving the picks and quitting. It's no wonder that people's heads are about to fall off, and it's not too unkind to expect people to raise money for the imperial court.

In fact, the most unkind is the royal family, Yuxian only realized this truth when he was dying, he was a fool. However, people in the world are burdened by fame and fortune, how many can break it?

Rong Lu didn't look for Yuxian at all. He directly found Yuxian's deputies, just two, the imperial court wanted to resist the invasion of Shanxi by foreigners, and Shanxi wanted to pay money and weapons.

As soon as the two demands were spoken, there was a cry of bitterness below.

Let's talk about weapons first, the Qing army in Shanxi is an old-style army, half of it is a green battalion, and half of it is a patrol battalion formed from the green battalion, and the equipment is very poor, less than half of the foreign guns, and even fewer bullets. However, a few years ago, the green battalion was reorganized and the patrol battalion was organized, and the provincial government bought a few Krupp cannons from the Germans to decorate the façade, which was regarded as a powerful firearm.

Rong Lu got angry, and the gun was just enough, Rong Lu knew that Long Qian had a lot of guns, but he had to raise 100,000 bullets of the right caliber! It's a death order! In addition, the artillery battalion must be transferred up, and all the shells must be brought with it! Rong Lu told the officials in Shanxi that King Qing had come to Taiyuan and told him about Beijing. The foreign soldiers are not bodhisattvas, they are all cannibals. If you want your family's property to fall into the hands of foreign soldiers, then don't do it!

100,000 bullets can still be taken out, but 500,000 silver taels are difficult. Xu Handu had the courage to say that the Shandong army is only more than 1,000 people, where can we use 500,000 military salaries? Taiyuan wants to support the two palaces, spending money like flowing water, Shanxi is a poor province, 500,000 silver, and it really can't be taken out at once.

Cixi is a luxurious master, and she is not willing to treat herself badly in terms of food and clothing. In the past 20 days from Beijing to Taiyuan, I have suffered countless hardships, and now I am comfortable, and the old state has relapsed, and I have to make several baskets of fresh fruits every day, not to eat, but to smell the aroma of fruits. A group of people around him took advantage of this to make money, which made Xu Handu, the prefect of Taiyuan, miserable, and he didn't dare to say it. The money in the treasury was flowing out, and now when Rong Lu talked about military salaries, he immediately expressed his dissatisfaction. He is also the one who planted a heel in the Boxer Rebellion, Yuxian can't save his life, his black yarn will be lost at any time, and he will inevitably have resentment in his heart.

Rong Lu sneered, "If Shanxi is a poor province, there will be no rich people in the eighteen provinces in the world." I don't care what method you use, within three days, you must raise 500,000 taels of silver! Otherwise, wait and listen. ”

What Rong Lu said is not unreasonable, Shanxi's reputation for wealth is outside, look at those money houses in Beijing, the bosses are all from Shanxi!

drove away the officials in Shanxi, and Rong Lu called Cen Chunxuan again.

Cen Chunxuan is a native of Guangxi, not a Han Chinese, but a Zhuang person. is also regarded as the son of an official eunuch, and his father was the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and he was ranked in the feudal territory. Cen Chunxuan was one of the "Three Evils in Beijing" who was famous in Beijing. Relying on the remnants of his father's generation, tired officials to the second rank according to the inspector, he planned to take the opportunity of King Qin to show his face in front of Cixi, but he didn't expect to encounter Gan's army, which hindered the trip, not to mention, and lost one-third of his men and horses. The credit was taken by the little-known Long Qian! The Shandong soldiers not only saved the queen mother and the emperor, but also brought hundreds of foreign prisoners, including a British vice admiral! Since the two palaces were stationed in Taiyuan, the most talked about by the local people was not the exiled imperial court, but the Shandong soldiers who defeated the coalition army! The folk spread the story of the Shandong soldiers beating the foreigners in Tianjin. Even many gentry in Yuci County spontaneously went to Taiyuan to comfort this army that had earned face for the country.

And the court didn't take Cen Chunxuan seriously at all. Cixi summoned him, and said a lot of words of encouragement, but the benefits were not at all, which made Cen Chunxuan very disappointed. Now that there is no money for the army, his subordinates complained, which made this ambitious guy depressed. Rong Lu asked him to hand over the troops to Long Qian, but Cen Chunxuan immediately refused.

"My lord, I am willing to lead the army to Niangzi Pass to defend against the enemy!" Cen Chunxuan was impassioned, "The ministers live in the second grade, and Long Qian is just a named deputy general." How can it be compared with the minister? Please rest assured. The minister must live up to his mission. ”

Regarding the combat effectiveness of the troops, Rong Lu has his own judgment. Shandong soldiers can defeat foreign soldiers, but Dong Fuxiang has no choice but to take the hundreds of foreigners in Dongjiaomin Lane and Xishiku Church. And Cen Chunxuan is a defeated general under Dong Fuxiang, and his superiority is immediately distinguishable. It is a matter of the safety of the imperial court. Rong Lu can no longer believe the nonsense of the generals. Cen Chunxuan is loyal. But war. He trusted Long Qian even more.

Listening to Cen Chunxuan's words, Rong Lu sank his face, "The Queen Mother has made a holy decision. Don't you resist the will? ”

This crime can not be deserved, Cen Chunxuan retreated to the second, "I don't dare to be humble." In this case, he was willing to lead troops to assist the Shandong soldiers to resist the enemy. ”

"That's fine." Rong Lu thought about it for a while and agreed, "However, this is going to guard the Niangzi Pass, mainly with Long Qian's department, do you know the way?" ”

"Humble duty understands."

The Qing court always made such mistakes, especially in the military, and always constrained each other, and it was difficult to unify power.

However, Cen Chunxuan did not make the trip, and his good luck came. Yuxian was dismissed as governor, and Cixi couldn't find a suitable person for a while. Cen Chunxuan's grade was there, so he ordered Cen Chunxuan to act as the governor of Shanxi, and the matter of going on the expedition was naturally put on hold. The Gansu soldiers brought by Cen Chunxuan naturally became his standard battalion.

Long Qian received the holy decree and went back to arrange the action. Everyone was generally happy to break away from the imperial court, and going in the direction of Niangzi Pass was equivalent to a big step closer to Shandong. But during this time, he was stationed in the military camp on the outskirts of the south of the city, and he ate well and slept well, and he was a little reluctant to leave. Long Qian discovered this sign and immediately convened a meeting of officers above the company commander level, explaining the significance of this operation, not only to block foreign troops from entering Shanxi, but also to create an opportunity to return to Shandong.

"I judge that the coalition forces will not attack Shanxi much. And the will to fight will not be resolute. They attacked Beijing to save the embassy, and the attack on Taiyuan was simply a threat to the imperial court. Therefore, this battle is not difficult to fight. We are not fighting alone, according to them, there are three patrol battalions stationed in Niangzi Pass, and there are thousands of people. The Shanxi soldiers defended their hometowns, and there was a motivation to fight. Niangzi Pass is the world's male pass, guarding the main road from Ji to Jin, easy to defend and difficult to attack, single defense, great grasp. What's more, with artillery to help in the war, it is not difficult to win. ”

Cen Chunxuan's request to participate in the war, Long Qian didn't know anything about it.

The officers of the Mengshan Army were not afraid of fighting, and Lu Shan mentioned the issues of military salary, grain, grass and ammunition, and Long Qian said that I had mentioned these to the imperial court, everyone could rest assured, it was a matter of their safety, and they would always solve it a little.

"Now do a couple of things. First, post the recruitment list, not only in the city, but also in several nearby counties, such as Yangqu, Yuci, and Qingxu. It is written that when you join the army, you will be given a settlement allowance of eight taels of silver. How many recruits can be recruited, these people can't fight, at least they can free up the current Minfu team. Second, the people of the Minfu team were organized into each company, and those who did not want to join the army were given five taels of silver. The captives are left alone, and the people sent by Ronglu are handed over, and they will arrive immediately. Both of these things are the responsibility of Lan Xinzhi. Thirdly, the Logistics Section immediately procured supplies, especially cotton clothing, as much as it could. If you can't buy ready-to-wear clothes, you can buy more cotton cloth. Lian Shupeng is in charge, the logistics department will stay in Taiyuan first, and leave later, the area around Niangziguan is mountainous, and these things are not easy to solve. Fourth, Lushan led Situ Jun and the cavalry company to explore the road in advance, surveyed the terrain on the spot, and contacted the garrison. What else do you have to say? ”

Everyone felt that the commander had thought of it, stood up and saluted, and made their own arrangements. Lian Shupeng stayed, saying that the money for recruiting soldiers was definitely not enough, even if he only recruited 300 people, he would not be able to come up with the money. Long Qian said that it doesn't matter, the silver will be available immediately, don't worry.

The Minfu team recruited from Tianjin and followed all the way to Taiyuan has been integrated into the Mengshan Army, and most of them have expressed their willingness to join the army. With the addition of these nearly 300 people, the strength of the existing company will be partially restored.

Wu Yong heard that Long Qian's army was going to go on an expedition again. He came to the barracks and said that he had ordered a meal at the Qingheyuan Restaurant in Taiyuan, and invited Long Qian and the leaders of the Mengshan Army to the banquet. Long Qian immediately agreed, leaving Shi Dashou and Lan Xinzhi on duty, and took Lu Shan, Feng Lun, Ye Yanbing, Du Sanli and others into the city for a big meal. Wu Yong missed the friendship along the way, and said to Long Qian that I really want to go to war with you, but I have no power to restrain the chicken, and it will be chaos to go. I have already written a letter to Lord Li Hongzhang and brought it with me along with the imperial court's edict to Li Xiang. I recommend you to his old man and hope you can help him.

Long Qian was stunned. He knew the role that Li Hongzhang was going to play. But he never thought that he would do this errand with Li Hongzhang, which was destined to be scolded by future generations. "Brother Yongchuan, this is yours. How could you write to Master Li without asking for my opinion? I'm a soldier and I can only fight, where can I help him? ”

"Retreat from my brother." Wu Yong dropped a few glasses of Fen wine. The neck is red. "Along the way, I listened to you analyze the relations between countries several times, and I was full of admiration. Only someone like you, who grew up overseas, can judge the chaotic situation so brilliantly. Great talent is by no means limited to military affairs. Master Li is eager to find talent. I will never bury my brother. ”

Lu Shan and the others didn't understand the conversation between the two, and Long Qian couldn't say it clearly, "Brother Yongchuan, you hurt me." He frowned and thought about things, and his appetite for drinking was not at all.

Lu Shan set off with Situ Jun and the cavalry company the next morning. In the afternoon, Long Qian was handing over foreign prisoners of war to a lieutenant general surnamed Cheng in the Beijing camp sent by Rong Lu, when Lu Guangda ran to say that someone had asked to see him and was here to deliver silver. Long Qian asked the man to wait first, and after counting the number of people and completing the handover, he talked with General Seymour for a quarter of an hour, asked Seymour to repair a letter, put it in his arms, and then shook hands with Seymour to say goodbye.

The person who came was a young man surnamed Jia, who spoke Shanxi dialect, had big ears and a rich face. He said that his name was Jia Jiying, and he was the Xiangli of Dade Hengqian Zhuang stationed in Taiyuan, and he came to send silver to the Shandong army, and as he spoke, he took out a few silver tickets and handed them to Long Qian, "Lord Long, the grass people have long admired the exploits of the Shandong army." Lord Xu Handu raised military salaries for your army and found his name. These 100,000 taels of silver, the grass people must personally send it, thinking of the demeanor of a strong army in the world. ”

After a while, Long Qian understood what this young man surnamed Jia was here for, "Please take a seat, Mr. Jia, so Taiyuan Mansion borrowed money from you?" ”

"Yes. Lord Xu was short of money and couldn't come up with the money, so he asked for a nickname, and asked to handle it today. Cao Min thought to himself, the Shandong army sent troops this time for the people of Shanxi, how could I not do my best? Jia Jiying said with a smile.

"As far as I know, the ticket number originated in Shanxi, and the right to operate and the ownership are separated. You're the manager, not the owner, right? ”

"It's not. The owner is in Qi County. Jia Jiying recalled, "What the adults said is really good, the management rights and ownership are really incisive." ”

"Such a large amount, can you do it with a semicolon?"

"I can't do it. Because I was in a hurry, I made my own decisions. Jia Jiying said calmly.

This is a bit like the story of Hu Xueyan and Wang Youling back then, Long Qian became interested, "If the general number or the owner disagrees, won't you be unlucky?" ”

"The proprietor is very sensible and should not object."

"Then, this amount of money is not small, Lord Xu is asking you to lend me money?" Long Qian looked at the silver tickets.

"Exactly. I also hope that the adult will write a note to me, so that I can give an explanation to the owner. ”

"Hehe, Taiyuan Mansion has a good calculation. The court asked him to pay money, but he played with borrowing money. You'd better have to return it, right? ”

Jia Jiying showed an embarrassed look, indicating that he knew the reason for the matter, "Exactly." If the adults think it's inappropriate, the grass people will go back and tell Lord Xu. ”

"That's it. I don't have time to wait for them to argue. The military situation is like fire, and it will be troublesome for foreigners to enter the Niangzi Pass. Let's do it, this money is borrowed from you by my Mengshan Army. Mr. Jia, I don't understand the rules of your account, you should write the loan paperwork. The amount of interest is according to your rules. Time, just one year. ”

"It's so refreshing, sir. The interest is within my authority, write __ in the lowest tranche"

Long Qian took the pen and ink, but Jia Jiying brought the written paperwork, Long Qian signed his name with a brush after reading it, and there were many strokes of the dragon character, and every time he wrote this word, he felt uncomfortable.

"Although I have escorted the two palaces all the way here, I have nothing to do with it. I can only sign for you. Mr. Jia, this matter is very risky, in case I am killed, in case my troops are wiped out by foreigners, this money, I am afraid that the court will not admit it. Long Qian pinched the signed paperwork and stared at Jia Jiying.

"It doesn't matter. Grass people can trust adults. ”

"For what?"

"The adults led the strong army to break through and fight for the Chinese. If I can't trust adults, my business scripture will be in vain. It's okay, this one will do. As he spoke, he took the paperwork, carefully dried the ink, and carried it in his arms.

"Good! That being the case, Long is very grateful. For a year, Long will return the money! ”

"If there is anything that Lord Long needs to be done by the villain, just bring it up." Jia Jiying said.

Long Qian thought for a moment, "It's really something." My people have just arrived, and their eyes are dark. On this expedition, can you help me purchase some of the purchased goods? ”

"That's fine. Please tell the adult, and the villain will do it with all his heart. ”

Long Qian asked Lu Guangda to find Lian Shupeng, "He is in charge of the logistics of our army, let him explain to you." Money, that's all. Long Qian handed the silver ticket to Lian Shupeng, "You calculate, how much cash you need to withdraw, find this Mr. Jia." ”

Another day later, Long Qian led the main force of the Mengshan Army to leave Taiyuan, and passed through Yuci and Shouyang towards Niangzi Pass. Before leaving, Chen Eun took Rong Lu's warrant and more than 50 soldiers to join Long Qian, "I finally asked for Rong Xiang's consent." The lowly Chen Eun came to General Long's tent to listen to the order. ”

"Oh, you're Mr. Eran? Fortunately! It seemed to be very familiar, Long Qian warmly took Chen Eun's hand, "Mr. Er'an is high-spirited, and Long Qian admires him." Okay, let's go to Niangzi Pass and fight the enemy side by side. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the red envelopes from Brother Samsara and Brother Dragon Knight. If it weren't for the starting point reminder, I would have forgotten my birthday.