He greeted the chief official Wang Bingtong, put on a long robe of Confucian scholars whom he had never wanted to wear before. With the determination to look at death, Wu Chaoyue walked out of the Ministry of Rites with a resolute expression like he was on the court, preparing to go to Ciren Temple in Nancheng to study the eight-legged articles. The Analects of Confucius Zhuangzi held it in his hand and hid his vicious curses in his heart, "Is it the eight-legged articles invented by that bastard? Is it the unethical thing? I hope you will never be born in the eighteenth level hell! Even if you have a son, you have no anus!"

They were all ready to die, but what Wu Chaoyue said was not expected was that he had just walked out of the gate of the Ministry of Rites and immediately saw Li Hongzhang coming towards him. At first, Wu Chaoyue thought that Li Hongzhang was here to guide him, but before Wu Chaoyue could thank him, he was shocked to find that Li Hongzhang had tears on his face and his eyes were red and swollen. It was obvious that he had just cried. Wu Chaoyue was shocked and asked, "Shaoquan, what happened?"

"Weiting, something big happened." Li Hongzhang's voice was indeed a little choked and said, "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to go to Ciren Temple to study today, and you have to go to your mentor's house to mourn."

"What funeral happened at the teacher's family?" Wu Chaoyue was shocked again.

"In the morning, the teacher's hometown sent bad news. The teacher's mother, our grand master's wife, suddenly passed away." Li Hongzhang wiped his tears and said, "When he heard this news, the teacher cried and fainted in the lobby of the Ministry of War. So today we don't have to go to Ciren Temple, we have to go to the teacher's house to mourn."

"Master's wife--! My dear grandma!"

Wu Chaoyue burst into tears, and even cried loudly in front of the gate of the Ministry of Rites. While crying, he shouted in his heart, "Master's wife, you are not only my grandmother, but also the Guanyin Bodhisattva who is suffering and suffering! When you suddenly passed away, I will at least not have to worry about reading the poems of Zizhi for many days!"

The Grand Master's wife, who saved the suffering, was extremely grateful to her. Of course, Wu Chaoyue cried even more and also alarmed the officials of the Ministry of Rites who were entering and leaving the gate. When everyone was curious to come to inquire about the situation, they saw Wu Chaoyue crying so sadly because of the death of the teacher's mother. Naturally, they praised Wu Chaoyue's respect for his teacher and filial piety. But some people said regretfully: "I'm in trouble now. The hair-growing rebellion is so fierce now. It happened that the mother of Mr. Zeng, the Minister of War, suddenly passed away. She had to go back to her hometown to observe the system for three years. The Ministry of War has been in a hurry for a while this time."

"The war is urgent, and the emperor should issue an order to let Lord Zeng take the love, right?"

"Impossible! Lord Zeng is the 70th generation grandson of the Zong Sheng Zengzi. He has been a role model of loyalty and filial piety for generations. Our dynasty governs the world with filial piety. The emperor will not issue an order to let him take away his love. Moreover, even if the emperor issued this order, Lord Zeng would definitely refuse!"

Hearing such comments, Wu Chaoyue cried more painfully and happier.

Finally, after repeated persuasion and comfort from a large group of colleagues from the Ministry of Rites, Wu Chaoyue barely stopped the heart-wrenching cry. Then Wu Chaoyue did not hesitate and immediately sent his tycoon Wu Dasai to buy a lot of good offerings, and cried to Zeng Guofan's house to mourn with Li Hongzhang. When the Zeng Mansion was already crying, the newly built spiritual shed was already full of Zeng Guofan's family and Zeng Guofan's disciples, Wu Chaoyue took the initiative and rushed to Zeng's mother spirit to kowtow and cry. The sadness was not only far above Zeng Guofan's other students, but also compared Zeng Guofan's sons and nephews, which made many people think that Wu Chaoyue was Zeng Guofan's flesh-and-blood relative, and constantly persuaded Wu Chaoyue to mourn.

Of course, Wu Chaoyue performed until Zeng Guofan appeared. Seeing the newly accepted students crying so sadly, Zeng Guofan naturally added a kind comment to Wu Chaoyue in his heart. Not only did he help Wu Chaoyue up with his own hands, but he also introduced the filial student he had newly accepted to everyone. Finally, Zeng Guofan patted Wu Chaoyue's head and said with great regret: "Weiting, it's the teacher who is sorry for you. The teacher was determined to train you to become a talent with his own hands. But once thought that if he encountered such a thing, the teacher must tell you apart soon."

"Teacher, you can't leave." Wu Chaoyue burst into tears, pulling Zeng Guofan's sleeve and cried: "Students can't bear to leave, students have not received your teachings, and you have not told students that they have learned once, and students cannot bear to leave!"

Wu Chaoyue couldn't bear to leave Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan, who had already been in the second rank, had hope to release the governor and governor, was willing to leave the officialdom temporarily? But there was no way. The Qing Dynasty had this breaking the rules, and Zeng Guofan's ancestors also decided that he had to take the lead in abide by this rule. So there was no way. No matter how reluctant he was, Zeng Guofan could only comfort Wu Chaoyue with kind words, saying that if he had the chance in the future, he would definitely teach Wu Chaoyue well, and would definitely not waste Wu Chaoyue's "amazing talents".

If it weren't for fear that Zeng Guofan would really agree, Wu Chaoyue actually wanted to resign from his post on the excuse of following Zeng Guofan to study and take the opportunity to escape from this Beijing city that made him feel uncomfortable. However, considering the consequences of Zeng Guofan's true agreement, there was also the danger of following Zeng Guofan to build the Hunan Army to fight the Taiping Army in the future. In the early stage, the Hunan Army was beaten by Shi Dakai so that Zeng Guofan could commit suicide by jumping into the water. Wu Chaoyue did not dare to speak out in the end, obediently accepted Zeng Guofan's comfort, and retreated to the crowd of students such as Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan with tears in his eyes.

After thanking the relatives and friends who came to mourn, Zeng Guofan went to work hard for other things. Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang and other disciples were idle. Li Hongzhang also seized this opportunity to introduce several other students of Zeng Guofan, including Zhang Yuzhao, the senior brother of the four disciples of the Zeng family. Unfortunately, Zhang Yuzhao's calligraphy and writing matters that Wu Chaoyue was most annoying, so Wu Chaoyue didn't talk very well with them. Sitting with them was basically a listener.

Originally, I thought I could go home and sleep after having dinner at night, but when it was about to start, another scholar-oriented student of Zeng Guofan, Yu Yue, mentioned a topic that attracted Wu Chaoyue very much. Yu Yue said, "In the same year, do we advise our mentor to return home carefully? Now the rebel bandits have already attacked Hunan. It is very dangerous for mentors to return to their hometown in Hunan at this time."

"Brother Yinfu is worried about everything." Another student Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "Changmao fought north to Yongzhou and retreated back to Daozhou. The battlefield is far away from our old teacher's hometown in Xiangxiang, Changsha Prefecture. What danger can the mentor have?"

"But I heard that General Chun and the others suffered several defeats in succession." Yu Yue whispered: "There are rumors that Xiang Rong and others are afraid of the enemy and dare not encircle and do their best according to the order. The emperor was furious about this. If the rumors were true, it would be impossible for the rebellion to go north to Changsha Prefecture?"

Some people still think that Yu Yue is worrying about the world, but Wu Chaoyue, who was bored, is more interested in this matter and said, "Brother Yinfu, don't you worry. If Changmao really goes north to Changsha Prefecture, will it just give our mentor a chance to show off? His mentor is both civil and military, and he will be on horseback and help the people. If Changmao really dares to go north to Changsha Prefecture, his mentor will definitely immediately bring up a group to fight with them."

Everyone looked at Wu Chaoyue in surprise. Most of them thought that these two Japanese devils could really flatter the teacher. Even if they could act in person, they would flatter the teacher. But some people agreed with Wu Chaoyue. At least Li Hongzhang said: "Not to say, what Weiting said is really possible. Jiang Zhongyuan, another disciple of the teacher, is now taking the troupe to fight with the troupe. He was still winning three battles and defeating the troupe in the Heroe Islands. The teacher praised his military achievements and often lamented that he could not go on horseback and kill the troupe like a student to quell the rebellion for the country. So after his mentor returned home, if the troupe really went north to Changsha Prefecture, his mentor would definitely form a troupe to help the court queupe as Weiting said."

"Nine out of ten, it's what our barber teacher did in history."

Wu Chaoyue muttered in his heart, and when he saw everyone discussing the possibility of Zeng Guofan forming a team training, Wu Chaoyue felt aroused in his heart and asked Li Hongzhang, the future boss of the Huai Army, with a smile: "Shaoquan, if the bandits are really rampant to go north, are you interested in going to the south to organize a group training team to pacify the bandits for the court?"

Hearing this question, a light flashed in Li Hongzhang's eyes, then he smiled and said, "My hometown Hefei County is far away from the battlefield to pacify Fa Ni. Even if you have this idea, you don't have this opportunity. Weiting, your hometown Xiangshan County is not far from the battlefield to suppress the rebellion. If you have this idea, you can come up with the report to fight."

"Thank you, if my grandfather heard that I was going to build a team training and fought with the bandits, he could use a ruler to tie my butt into four petals." Wu Chaoyue shrugged, but when he was halfway through, Wu Chaoyue felt moved and asked, "Shaoquan, am I qualified to build a team training too?"

"Of course there is." Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "Don't mention that you are the head of the Ministry of Rites, you are just an ordinary local gentry. As long as you can use money, grain to recruit soldiers and buy weapons, you can form a group training with the consent of the local government. If you want to organize a group training, you can get the approval of the court and go back to your hometown to organize a group training and assist in the suppression."

Not to mention, Wu Chaoyue really doesn’t know how easy it is to organize a group training. After a moment of stuttering, Wu Chaoyue pounced on him, grabbed Li Hongzhang’s hand and said, “Shaoquan, you have good writing skills. Please help me write a memorial. I want to go back to my hometown in Xiangshan to organize a group training!”

"No way? Weiting, do you really want to organize a group training to assist in the fight?" Li Hongzhang asked in shock.

"Yes, yes." Wu Chaoyue nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, thinking, "As long as you can leave the ghost place in Beijing, you can start a group training, anyway, my family has some money, just pretend it was sprinkled in the water and disbanded for a while!"

Seeing Wu Chaoyue's expression anxious and serious, Li Hongzhang confirmed that Wu Chaoyue was not joking. At that moment, Li Hongzhang quickly put on his face seriously and said, "Weiting, I have to advise you not to joke around. You have to take the training to the battlefield and fight against the enemy with your own team training. How old are you, and you are the only one in your family. This kind of joke cannot be played."

Yu Yue, Zhang Yuzhao and others also advised Wu Chaoyue to be calm. Yu Yue, who was well-informed, also whispered: "Weiting, you are looking for death when you go back to your hometown in Xiangshan to hold a group training! Do you know that in order to quell the Changmao bandits, the imperial court has continuously transferred official troops and group training from surrounding provinces to Guangxi to assist in the fight. The slightly larger group training in Guangdong is almost time to be taken. If you start a group training in Xiangshan, you will become an army today and you may be transferred to Guangxi to participate in the war tomorrow. Do you believe it?"

Hearing this, Wu Chaoyue calmed down a little - Wu Chaoyue wanted to hold a group training just to find an excuse to leave the capital occupied by the Tartars, not to fight the Taiping Army. But Wu Chaoyue was unwilling to give up. After turning his eyes a little, Wu Chaoyue changed his words and said, "Then I'll go to Shanghai to hold a group training. I have lived in Shanghai for more than three years and am familiar with it."

"There is no war in Shanghai to suppress thieves. Even if the group training is held, it is the business of local gentry. How could the court agree to let you, a working official, go to Shanghai where there is no war, to handle the group training?" Li Hongzhang asked with a wry smile.

Xiangshan, which has reason to run a group training, is too dangerous, and may be pulled on the battlefield as cannon fodder at any time. There is no reason for absolutely safe Shanghai. It is impossible for the Qing court to leave the position to run a group training. Wu Chaoyue was helpless, so he could only sit back to his original position in disappointment and continue to calculate. Li Hongzhang comforted Wu Chaoyue and said, "Weiting, it is a good thing that you want to serve the country. There are opportunities in the future, but it is not possible now. You are only seventeen years old and are too young. Let's consider it in a few years."

Wu Chaoyue nodded in depressedly, and continued to think in his heart, "Do you take a risk and go to Xiangshan to organize a group training? Anyway, the Taiping Army must fight to the north. If I organize a group training, I will delay the time, and the possibility of being pulled onto the battlefield as cannon fodder will be much smaller. However, I still want to go back to Shanghai. Xiangshan is now broken and small. Even if it is close to Macau, Macau is not better than the mainland. Alas, I should find another way. It really doesn't work. It's okay to wait for a while and pretend to be sick and resign from office!"

As everyone expected, after Zeng Guofan wrote a letter to return to his hometown according to the rules, Emperor Xianfeng did not issue an order to seize the situation and let Zeng Guofan continue to stay. He also gave a reply on the same day that he allowed Zeng Guofan to return to his hometown Ding You. Zeng Guofan, who had been mentally prepared for this, had no choice but to have to hurriedly hand over the errand, and set off for the trip to return to his hometown in Hunan Ding You.

After Zeng Guofan left, Wu Chaoyue became idle again. Although Zeng Guofan repeatedly told Wu Chaoyue to read more poetry and books before leaving, and asked senior brothers such as Yu Yue and Zhang Yuzhao for teaching, Wu Chaoyue had a headache when he saw the eight-legged essay, and of course he chose to forget the teacher's repeated advice. There is also Lin Ruzhou. Although Wu Chaoyue went through the scene twice as required for Lin Zexu's face, he was always scammers and tricky, and only asked Lin Ruzhou for the "Four Continents" written by Lin Zexu. This book was translated from the British "World Geography Collection". Wu Chaoyue could barely understand it and could publish some experiences that satisfy Lin Ruzhou. Therefore, after two perfunctory times, he not only did not make any mistakes, but also received good comments from Lin Ruzhou who could teach.

Life was both painful and slow. If it weren't for the fact that Li Hongzhang could talk to Wu Chaoyue, he wouldn't know how to make a living. What he planned every day was how to return to the paradise of Shanghai, which he was dreaming about as soon as possible. Li Hongzhang also saw that Wu Chaoyue was unhappy in the capital, so he advised Wu Chaoyue not to be an otaku at home all day long and suggested that Wu Chaoyue go out for a walk and relax. Wu Chaoyue felt that Li Hongzhang's suggestions were reasonable, so he made an appointment with Li Hongzhang to visit outside the city together.

On the day when we were on the outskirts, Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang rode a horse and met at Xibianmen, but after meeting, the horse that Wu Chaoyue rode was laughed enough by Li Hongzhang. For safety reasons, Wu Chaoyue, who could not ride a horse, bought a Mongolian horse about the size of a donkey as a mount. While riding a horse, he had to be led by Wu Dasai in front, while Li Hongzhang rode a tall and majestic Western Regions horse. Of course, Li Hongzhang had to laugh at Wu Chaoyue's rough riding skills.

Wu Chaoyue didn't care about Li Hongzhang's ridicule - there was nothing to be ashamed of having no experience in riding horses? When Li Hongzhang asked Wu Chaoyue that he wanted to visit there, Wu Chaoyue didn't even blink his eyelids, and immediately said: "The Old Summer Palace! Of course it's the Old Summer Palace! Even if he didn't have the chance to go in, it would be nice to see outside."

Li Hongzhang agreed immediately, and the two rode to the Old Summer Palace in the north of the capital. After arriving at the scene, the Old Summer Palace, known as the Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens, also left Wu Chaoyue with the impression that the scenery was indeed beautiful and spectacular. Unfortunately, both Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang's current official positions are not qualified to visit the park, so the two could only walk around the garden and stretched their necks to enjoy the scenery in the park.

Before I knew it, I arrived at Xiaojiahe Bridge in the northwest corner of the Old Summer Palace. Originally, Wu Chaoyue wanted to continue to visit the park, but Li Hongzhang, nicknamed Li Yuanyu, pointed to the north of the bridge with a horse whip and said, "Weiting Pavilion, about ten miles ahead, there is a village called Xiezhuang, which specializes in raising chickens and ducks to supply the capital. There is also a hunter who often goes to Badaling to hunt and sell it. There is also a tavern in the village. The wine is good and the chef's skills are also good. Why don't we try our luck and see if we can eat any fresh wild game?"

Wu Chaoyue agreed, and his heart moved slightly, and he thought to himself: "Xiezhuang in the capital? Why do you seem to have heard of this name there?"

After recalling it, I didn't remember that I had heard of Xiezhuang there. Wu Chaoyue didn't work hard, but just continued to ride with Li Hongzhang. As a result, the Xiezhuang that Li Hongzhang said was already far away. However, when he was about to enter the village, Wu Dasai, the dog-legged man who was holding a horse for Wu Chaoyue, suddenly had to go to the side of the road to get a small break. Wu Chaoyue didn't care, and waved his hand and let Wu Dasai enter the grass on the side of the road.

Then, an accident happened suddenly. Wu Dasai, who went to Xiaojie on the roadside, suddenly rushed out of the grass with a howling ghost and howl, and a group of hornets followed behind him. Wu Chaoyue and Li Hongzhang were shocked when they saw it, so they quickly slapped the horse and ran away. Then, naturally, when the horse was whipped, Wu Chaoyue, whose riding skills were extremely bad, lost control of his mount in a blink of an eye. The Mongolian horse, which was not much bigger than a donkey, seemed crazy, and Wu Chaoyue, carrying a few less fatter than a reed stick, rushed into the village ahead, which was shocked to the point of barking, which scared Wu Chaoyue to scream like a pig killing, "Help! Help!"

No matter how you scream, it is useless. Wu Chaoyue, who had no experience in riding horses, unconsciously kicked the horse's belly, and the wildness of the plague horse became even more aroused. As the plague horse rushed around, he actually knocked over two or three Wu Jianzhang's former colleagues at the entrance of the village - a vendor carrying a chicken cage. Then, the plague horse rushed directly towards a duck-raising pond. Wu Chaoyue was shocked and could only scream quickly, "Help--!"

“Wow————!”

God really didn't have any eyes. When Wu Xiao's comprador, who assisted in signing the "Dagu Treaty", was about to be retribution, a strong man suddenly rushed up from the side of the road. He grabbed Wu Chaoyue's reins and pulled him back hard. Wherever his divine power went, he not only grabbed the horse, but also pulled Wu Chaoyue and his horse to stand up. Wu Chaoyue, who had been scared to retreat from the stirrups, slid down, and sat firmly on the ground, making Wu Chaoyue scream again in pain, "Ouch!"
Chapter completed!