The Bund is lined up with foreign-funded enterprises and wide roads. On Chung Wang Street, the combination of Chinese and Western buildings is lined up one after another. At this time, Shanghai was already showing signs of prosperity.

The Wind Sword Society has taken control of the county seat of Shanghai. Gil Jianming, the acting governor of Jiangsu, gathered elite troops on the outskirts to resist. Together with the local militia and well-trained groups, the number of people present was close to 20,000. The camps and flags stretch as far as the eye can see.

The United States, Great Britain and France organized foreign firearms squads to ensure the security of the concession area. As soon as Gu Yongyuan and the others got off the boat, several heavily armed Westerners came to inspect them. When Mo Ba arrogantly told them that they were Qing envoys, they didn't understand. Seeing that Gu Yongyuan's attendants were wearing armor, they raised their guns and aimed at them.

"Whoosh!" Several Goshha steel knives were unsheathed and confronted Western soldiers.

The Westerner was followed by a middle-aged Chinese man, apparently an employee of the Concession Highway and Docks Committee. He wears a stiff-necked tuxedo but has a braid tied back of his head. He arrogantly said to Mo Ba: "The foreigners have instructed us that no matter what your status is, you are not allowed to enter the concession. We treat the Qing Dynasty and the rebels equally and remain neutral! Are you Qing Dynasty envoys? Let's get around it. "South Gate to your camp on the outskirts!"

Gu Yongyuan sighed in his heart. Nowadays, many Chinese have become accustomed to braided hairstyles. Even if they despise their homeland after exposure to the West, this has nothing to do with braids.

With a loud applause, Mo Ba covered his face and retreated again and again. He looked at Mohachi in surprise.

After giving him a resounding slap, Mo Ba still refused to let go. He scolded angrily, "You little bastard, are you blind? Don't you even know who I am? Asking for trouble! After living in the capital for so long, where would he care about a few barbarians?

Seeing that Mo Ba was going to chase and fight the "traitor" again, the Westerners intervened. They were about to use violence to communicate, but Mohachi didn't seem to care about the rifle aimed at him. He probably thought that even a few brave Westerners would not dare to attack the princes and envoys of the Qing Dynasty.

Gu Yongyuan was amused and annoyed. He hurriedly took a few steps forward and said in English to the Westerners: "Gentlemen, I am an official of the Qing Dynasty, and I am aware of the neutrality of your country. But, this time, I'm here. "Negotiations are underway with envoys from the United States, Great Britain, France, can you inform them? Thank you. ”

The Western soldiers looked at Gu Yongyuan in surprise. Even Mo Ba and the old man looked at him with shocked expressions. No one expected that Gu Xiaogongzi would suddenly start speaking in the barbarian language.

After a brief discussion in his own words, one Westerner left to deliver the message, while the others remained cautious, pointing their rifles at the arrogant group of Chinese.

About ten minutes later, a luxurious carriage roared in, and a tall, fat white man in his forties got out of the carriage. His iris are grayish-brown and seem to have a hint of innate cunning.

He glanced at Gu Yongyuan and his party with some suspicion, walked over quickly, and took off his hat to say hello. He said in somewhat stiff Chinese: "Hello, I am the British leader Bautista, Bautista, where are you all from?" ”

Apparently, the news of someone claiming to be an English-speaking Qing Dynasty official caught the attention of the consul.

Gu Yongyuan smiled and took a few steps forward, and said to him in English: "Hello, Mr. Bautista. I am an official sent by Beijing to deal with customs affairs, my name is Aixinjue Luo Jingxiang. He hadn't spoken English for a while, and it was awkward at first, but gradually he became fluent.

Arthur Bautista looked at Gu Yongyuan in surprise. He had never met an English-speaking Qing official before. In fact, with the exception of a few merchants active in treaty ports and some students of church schools barely able to speak a few words of English, almost no one in the entire Qing Empire spoke the language, and its pronunciation was not so clear. At first, when he heard someone deliver the message, he thought it must be an exaggeration.

"Mr. Bautista, I intend to set up temporary accommodation in the concession area, and this does not violate the principle of strict neutrality of your country, does it? I'm not an officer, I'm here to negotiate as a diplomatic envoy. "Customs matters with your country. According to the Treaty of Nanjing, the Treaty of Borg and the supplementary provisions of the Treaty of Borg, the concession is the land leased by China to your country. Your country does not have the right to expel asylum-seeking officials. Your country's recent actions have violated the spirit of the treaty and undermined its legitimacy, and the Qing Dynasty will formally lodge a protest through official channels.

Gu Yongyuan's expression became serious, making Arthur Bautista a little puzzled. He had a bad impression of the high-ranking officials of the decadent empire, all of them arrogant and unruly.

For example, Zhang Guangxi, the governor of Liangguang, treated foreign envoys with complete disrespect. The French envoy, Bourblon, who had been appointed consul to Canton last year, had waited in Macao for more than a year, repeatedly asking for a meeting, but he still did not know which side of the governor's palace to address. Similarly, the acting representative of the United States, Boggs, did not receive approval from the audience during his four-year term. When U.S. Special Envoy Marshall asked for a meeting with Governor Zhang Guangxi when he took office in Guangzhou last year, the governor's response was always "I'm busy with state affairs, and I'll arrange a meeting whenever I have free time." "Auspicious day." More than a year has passed,

The actions of this imperial official frustrated and irritated the foreign envoys. When it came to the conversation, they both hated it. However, Arthur Bautistavan did not expect that a young official from the capital of the empire would suddenly come to his door and communicate in English, and he would be able to speak English relatively fluently and use diplomatic language in conversation. This novelty and surprise led him to question the veracity of the young official's identity.

How is this possible? How could there be such young people in the ignorant and backward bureaucracy of the Qing Empire?

It is well known that the Qing Empire regarded treaties signed ten years earlier as a dead letter, and local officials knew little about the contents of treaties signed by the central government with foreign countries. The Qing emperor was the first to break the treaty, and officials at all levels followed suit. Take the Guangzhou Treaty Port as an example. Ten years have passed, and foreign merchants are still unable to enter the city. Anyone who could infiltrate Canton was likely to be insulted or even attacked by the Qing people. There is no guarantee of personal safety.

Suddenly, however, a young official appeared, who went so far as to present the treaties signed a few years ago and use them to refute his arguments. If his status as an envoy is true, he may add a formidable opponent to diplomatic negotiations with the Qing Empire. However, this is undoubtedly a good thing, because at least now there is an additional Qing official who can communicate more reasonably. In the past, even if you wanted to negotiate, there was no one to negotiate!

Still, the identity of the young official is in doubt.

Despite his skepticism, Arthur Bautista has a lot of experience in dealing with things. He smiled and nodded, and said, "Don't worry, Lord Jingxiang, I will do my best to assist you in arranging accommodation." First, they will spy on him and confirm his identity, and then develop a strategy.

...

In this way, a garden-style villa on Central Street became the temporary residence of the minister.

After everyone was settled, Gu Yongyuan ordered a goshha to go out of the city with a warrant stamped with an official seal and go to the South Gate military camp. It is to summon Luo Liming, the provincial official of South Suzhou Prefecture, and Yushan, the supervisor of Jianghai Customs, to come to the government to discuss matters.

He also ordered that all Western diplomats must keep their distance until they met with Taoist officials. If someone came to visit, they would say that they would meet with a foreign consul after the minister had met with the local officials.

Glass lampshades, kerosene lamps - when he was in the concession, Gu Yongyuan went with the flow and adopted Western conveniences. He set up a study on the second floor of the small building. However, Gu Yongyuan sat there and fell into deep thought. The tea was already cold, but he didn't realize it.

Emperor Xianfeng's words may sound casual, but Gu Yongyuan knew from beginning to end that this was an impossible task. After all, it was hard to get control of the tariffs, how can Western countries surrender without a fight?

It's ridiculous to think about. According to his future historical records, when Britain, France, and the United States first took control of the customs affairs in Shanghai through delegated control, the taxes they collected were actually much higher than they were during the reign of Qing officials. This was most likely due to the fact that Qing officials generally did not understand the economy, and corruption was rampant, leading to an embarrassing situation that even historians and officials found embarrassed.

Because after the Westerners took control of the customs, the amount of money collected was actually increasing day by day. This puts officials who secretly benefit from customs, such as Yi Liang and Bang Yushan, in an awkward position when they need to account for the increased revenue. However, in the Qing Empire, few people really understood how these things could be seen internationally as an "insult to national dignity". Emperor Xianfeng did not delve into the matter. In this way, the right to tariff was deprived, and by the time people realized it, the Qing Empire had been bullied beyond recognition. At that time, wanting to take back customs rights was like getting to the moon.

But now, the ball has landed on his field. Gu Yongyuan couldn't help but sigh. The task will be difficult.

I'm afraid it's impossible to maintain the status quo of customs before the Wind Sword Society uprising. He can only do his best and strive for the best result. If the wisdom of the people has progressed and the country has become stronger, none of these problems will be a problem.

The biggest challenge is actually how to manipulate Emperor Xianfeng and a gang of hard-line ministers in the capital. If not handled well, he could be framed, labeled a traitor, or even accused of being too friendly to foreigners. If the situation were more serious, he could be executed in a brutal manner, and the public might applaud. These are truly frustrating times.

How could he begin to enlighten the people? And how does he get started? How difficult is that?

Gu Yongyuan couldn't help but sigh again.

Suddenly, the wick flickered. Gu Yongyuan suddenly noticed a graceful figure on the curtain. He exclaimed, then turned his head to look. Sure enough, Lin Wanxue stood beside the desk, dressed in flowing red silk, exuding a noble temperament, as if the concubine had descended to earth.

"Wanxue? When did you come? Gu Yongyuan asked with a smile.

Lin Wanxue had actually been here for a while, but she was surprised to find that this little guy was frowning and thinking about something. She stood there for a while, but he didn't notice her. Seeing him so focused, so different from usual, she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking so seriously.

However, hearing Gu Yongyuan call her "Wanxue" in such a familiar tone, Lin Wanxue was a little helpless. It seems that she can't reason with this guy at all. He shamelessly twists everything to his own benefit, as if he has all the power in the world.

Lin Wanxue had a headache when she thought of their current relationship. She was inexplicably coerced by this guy and signed a so-called "Yuan Contract" with him. But he was the one who offered to give him her body. Now, how will it all play out?

They have arrived in Shanghai and should soon be separated. But if she said goodbye now, it was as if she owed him a great favor. After all, after today, they may never see each other again.

"May I ask the young master's real name?" You can't get close to someone and not know who they are, right? Although they are peers, the people of the Heaven and Earth Society are cautious and will not mix with these Qing devils, right?

Gu Yongyuan smiled: "Gu Yongyuan is my real name. ”

Lin Wanxue stared at him without blinking, but she didn't say anything more.

Gu Yongyuan adjusted his expression and asked, "Wanxue, what do you think of the situation in Shanghai?" ”

Lin Wanxue sighed softly and said, "I'm afraid the situation is not good, Shanghai has been surrounded by the Qing army, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is too busy to take care of itself, and it can't be counted on the Heavenly King to rescue." ”

Speaking of the situation of the Wind Sword Society, Lin Wanxue's mood became heavy. The Wind Sword Society, the Triad Society, and the Heaven and Earth Society are all branches of the Hongmen. Because the leaders in various places are different, their names are also different, so there is a Hongmen family. In particular, the members of the Wind Sword Club are mainly from the Suning Branch, Guangdong Branch, and Fujian Branch of the Heaven and Earth Society. Its leader, Liu Lichuan, was originally a big man in the Hong Kong branch of the Heaven and Earth Society, and he was also a fellow disciple of Lin Wanxue.

Gu Yongyuan pondered for a moment and said slowly: "My proposal is: in a few days, I will find a way to send people into Shanghai." You can write a letter, or send someone to Taihong and persuade him to break up. "When he arrived in Tianjing, he seemed to want to form an alliance with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom forces and expand his own power, but this is too much underestimation of the complexity of the situation, you have to make him understand how important Shanghai's position is, if he can unite the local bandits, wouldn't this put the Qing Empire in jeopardy? Even if the Qing Empire had concentrated all its resources, it would likely have attacked Shanghai first and then turned its attention to the Taipings.

Gu Yongyuan didn't particularly care which side won or lost, but he couldn't help it when he thought of the Qing army's final breakthrough of the Shanghai defense line a year later, and the subsequent humiliation and massacre of the Wind Sword Society and the female warriors. Endure.

Lin Wanxue has been thinking about how to deal with her brother's leg injury, and even plans to secretly go to Shanghai to rescue Taihong and save the situation. But this is not something she can easily discuss with Gu Yongyuan. Leaving like this suddenly seemed like she had broken her promise.

She didn't expect Gu Yongyuan to say such a thing, and looked at him in surprise. She didn't know which side the little rascal was on, or what his true intentions were.

"I'm afraid that the Qing army is besieging it, and it will be difficult to escape, right?" Lin Wanxue's delicate brows furrowed.

Gu Yongyuan smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I have my own plan." However, it is necessary to wait and see, patience is the key. I will definitely guarantee the safety of your family. ”

"Family?" Lin Wanxue didn't pay much attention to this word, just nodded, looked at Gu Yongyuan deeply, and became more and more puzzled in her heart.