Guangzhou City, the Yamen of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
In the signing room, the person sitting at the top was an old man who was over sixty years old. He was wearing a black silk gown and a dark blue Batulu vest. His face was pale and his forehead was covered with wrinkles.
The old man picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said to the official in his fifties with a round face: "Tu Futai, didn't you say you would leave in three days? It's been eight or nine days, why are they still here?
Tanzai Island is not moving? Now the rumors have spread to Guangzhou city."
The person called "Tufutai" was naturally Tusab, the governor of Guangdong; and the old man at the head was Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
"Sun Zitai, I am about to send my men to question you, and I want to report to you." Tusab made a bitter face and scolded He Shen's minion Wang Ping a hundred times in his heart. It was clearly agreed upon at the beginning, but who knew?
But here comes such a move!
Sun Shiyi added: "Those people just arrived at Jijingyang. They first opened fire on the British, and a few days ago they also attacked the Dan family pirate ship. What do they want to do? What news is there today at the Haiphong Yamen?"
"The Haiphong Yamen sent someone to report in the morning. Except for Macau sending a ship to deliver goods in the first two days, there has been no movement. However, according to the humble speculation, they may have had some troubles with the British in the past, so they met just now.
Let's start the fight. As for the Dan family pirates, I really don't know."
Sun Shiyi felt quite helpless. Since he took office as governor of Guangdong, he has been vigorous and resolute in his work. Whether it is clearing up local tax arrears, arresting gang thieves, or investigating the former governor Fulehun in the past few days, he has always cut through the mess with a sharp knife, which was highly appreciated by Qianlong.
He was promoted to governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Unexpectedly, only a few days after taking office, he was extremely passive by a large iron ship. If these Westerners were like ghosts and animals, he would have sent someone to severely reprimand and expel them, or he would have asked Macao and Portugal to handle it through the Coast Guard Yamen.
.But what he faced now was not Westerners, but a group of rebels who had defeated tens of thousands of imperial troops!
Send the navy to fight? Not to mention the lessons learned by Agui and Fukangan, the British were beaten completely just a few days ago; that was a large sailing ship equipped with dozens of cannons!
I heard that Zhao Ni's big ship was hit by a cannon and only lost a piece of paint. Then he used two fast cannons with lightning and thunder, which made the English people run away, so he boarded the ship that night to apologize.
Thinking about the dozens of warships in the Huizhou Coastal Defense Camp, Sun Shiyi felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. He was already making plans in private, and was planning to send an edict to Qianlong in a few days to select the most capable and skilled men.
As a scholar, he trained extensively in the land, water and green camps of Guangdong and Guangxi.
"Then let Chen Guilin take someone there to ask about the situation. When the emperor asks, we can have an explanation." The Chen Guilin Sun Shiyi was talking about was Chen Xinhuai from Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen.
"It seems that's all we can do." Tusab sighed and obeyed.
Ever since Beihai Town returned a large number of Eight Banners, there has been a faint rumor among the government and the public that although Zhao Ni's men and horses are small, their firearms are extremely sharp, and they can be destroyed by lightning and thunder for dozens of miles; with the cannons and matchlock guns currently available in the court, it is very
It is difficult to match. Although some people from the Eight Banners garrisoned in Guangzhou were released from the north, the news only spread throughout the city, and ordinary people did not know about it at all.
Sun Shiyi was far away in Guangdong and had heard some rumors, but he was also very curious about what kind of people Zhao Ni had. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy means that you can be mentally prepared in case of a confrontation in the future. Thinking of this, Sun Shiyi
Holding the tea cup slightly, Tusab understood that the table-maker was seeing off his guests, so he said goodbye and left.
After Tusab had gone far away, Sun Shiyi said to his own soldier Geshiha: "Go and call a few people and put them into civilian clothes. Tell the disciples the following. If anyone comes to see me in the past two days, just say that I have a cold."
.”
After some arrangements, Sun Shiyi also changed his clothes, dressed up as a wealthy businessman, and with four men disguised as domestic servants, he came out from the back door of the governor's office, found a silk and bamboo sedan, and went outside the city.
After that, they hired a speed boat and went straight to Humen Customs.
Two days later, Chen Xinhuai, who received the order from the governor's office, boarded the ship at the Nanwan Pier in Macau with half of the officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion and went straight to the Thor.
When the Haiphong Yamen's fleet approached the Thor, Chen Xinhuai boarded the gangway through his men and the sailors on the deck. But after taking only a few steps, Chen Xinhuai's legs immediately began to tremble.
He, the gangway was too narrow, so he had to walk alone first. After finally getting on the deck, Chen Xinhuai almost collapsed on the deck if his subordinates hadn't grabbed the general manager a few steps and held him up.
When he took a closer look at the tall ship building and the wide deck, the seventy-year-old Chen Xinhuai was already so frightened that he was speechless and kept muttering: "Sorcery, witchcraft."
When Zhao Xin saw Chen Xinhuai in the meeting, in addition to the boss, there was also a follower in official uniform standing behind him. The seventy-year-old man looked calm and held a hookah with crane legs in his hand.
He was sipping on it; he was disdainful of the cigarettes placed on the table.
"Master Chen, right? I am Zhao Xin."
"Yeah." Chen Xinhuai didn't even raise his head, and continued to light the hookah with a paper medium, but his trembling right hand still revealed the panic in his heart.
Zhao Xin didn't even bother to raise his hands. He sat down opposite Chen Xinhuai and said, "What's wrong with you today?"
The old bureaucrat couldn't help but be startled when he heard Zhao Xin's fluent Mandarin. He raised his eyes to look at Zhao Xin, then lowered his head and smoked cigarettes hurriedly. He waited until a strange sound came out of his throat and then stopped and said:
"Do you have any quarrels with the red-haired barbarians?"
Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the other party was talking about the British. "Do you want to say a festival? I didn't do it before, but now that I'm here, I can do it this time."
"What's the reason?" Chen Xinhuai is from Fujian and has been an official in Guangdong all year round, so his Mandarin sounds very awkward.
"Mr. Chen, how long have you been a member of the coastal defense community?"
"My lord was transferred here last year." The manager behind Chen Xinhuai suddenly said.
"Hmm. Have you ever paid attention to opium?" Zhao Xin felt that since he had the opportunity, he should mention the opium matter, do his best, and obey fate.
"Opium?" Chen Xinhuai looked at Zhao Xin, then turned to look at the boss. "What happened to the opium?"
"Westerners can't make money when they come to China, so they ship more and more opium into Guangdong." As Zhao Xin spoke, he noticed something suddenly unnatural on the boss's face.
"It's a joke. I have everything in heaven, so what's the use of those things? What's more, even if the red-haired barbarians are selling opium, what does it have to do with you?" Chen Xinhuai threw the remaining half of the paper matchmaker on the table and took it from the hands of the attendant.
Got a new one.
Zhao Xin said sternly: "Because we are all Han people. Although Mr. Chen is a Manchu official, you are still a Han after all. Opium is addictive! It is a poison!"
Chen Xinhuai shook his head indifferently and looked at Zhao Xindao with a mocking look on his face: "Your Excellency has a lot to worry about. This is the place under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty. As a coastal defense officer appointed by the emperor, I have my own rights.
You don't have to worry about it. Those red-haired barbarians came to our Chinese territory and made unheard of money. But if anyone dares to disobey, the emperor will cut off their tea, silk and rhubarb and make them bloated.
And die."
Zhao Xinxin said what does rhubarb have to do with this? He didn’t know that Europeans had a tradition of eating rhubarb since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. Before local edible rhubarb was cultivated, medicinal rhubarb had been imported from China for a long time.
It has been for centuries, longer than the tea trade. However, compared to the British, the Tsarist Russians, who mainly eat meat, have a more urgent need for rhubarb.
Because of the large export volume of rhubarb and tea, Manchu officials had the illusion that the barbarians in Western countries would die of constipation and bloating without Chinese rhubarb and tea.
Zhao Xin said with a bit of laughter and tears: "Mr. Chen, I don't understand where you get these crazy confidences! Westerners can't die if they don't eat rhubarb! They are just used to it, just like you smoking a hookah."
Chen Xinhuai disagreed with Zhao Xin's explanation and said that since ancient times, when the Chinese invaded the barbarians and the barbarians, how could you, a guy who didn't even grow a hair or beard, have the nerve to call him a Han?! He didn't intend to discuss the rhubarb issue with Zhao Xin anymore, so he asked again
Said: "This boat is all made of iron?"
Zhao Xin didn't expect that the other party would go off topic again, so he nodded.
"Absurd! How can iron float on water? You must have used magic."
"Master Chen, this is science. This ship not only contains iron, but also steel."
Chen Xinhuai pointed to the bright overhead lamp above his head and asked, "What is this?"
"Electric light."
"Absurd! Thunder and lightning are the power of heaven, how can people use them casually?"
"Then what do you think it is? Is there a candle hidden in it?" Facing such a stubborn old man, Zhao Xin completely lost his temper.
After chatting about random topics, Chen Xinhuai became more and more certain that the guy opposite was a monster, so he started talking about the main topic.
"According to the order of Mr. Futai, I came here to ask why you haven't left yet? You said at the beginning that you would leave in three days."
"There was an accident. We still have to wait seven or eight days before leaving. Is there any problem?"
Chen Xinhuai smoked a few water pipes before slowly saying: "The whole world is not the land of the king, and the shores of the land are not the king's ministers. The power of the emperor is like divine power, the emperor is wise, and in the prosperous times, his kindness spreads all over the world, even if the world is full of rivers
The water in the lake combined is not as good as the emperor's grace. I see that you are a talented person, why do you want to start an army and cause chaos?"
Zhao Xin was a bit dumbfounded. Chen Xinhuai had been holding it in for a long time and actually said such nonsense. Was he planning to persuade him to surrender? The other party continued: "You just won by luck, but you have to know that I have more than a million soldiers in the Qing Dynasty.
In the eyes of the Emperor, you are nothing more than chickens and dogs."
Zhao Xin looked at this old bureaucrat curiously, wondering where he got his confidence.
"Such a big iron ship." Chen Xinhuai spoke again. "What do you rely on to drive it? A sail?"
"Well. It relies on oil, fire, and water." Zhao Xin suddenly felt that it was quite interesting. Let's tease the old man.
"Oh?" Chen Xinhuai thought for a while and felt that he seemed to have found the answer to Zhao Xin's detention. "Is the fire on your ship extinguished? Is the oil leaking?"
"Master Chen, this boat of mine is a unique treasure in the world. Within a hundred miles, no one can escape, no matter how big a boat is, or as small as a person. It is not afraid of any headwinds or tides, just like you."
The proud Humen Fort, I can blow it up with five cannons. As for the Guangzhou City Wall, I can blow it open with two cannons."
Chen Xinhuai's face turned pale, and he handed the hookah to the attendant. It seemed that he was too nervous, and his whole body trembled as if he had received an electric shock. He leaned forward and asked, "Are they the ones covered with cloth on the side of the boat?"
Zhao Xin said with a smile: "As long as you get close to me, nothing can stop you and everything will be broken into pieces."
At this time, Chen Xinhuai's follower took the hookah away from his mouth, wiped the pipe stem with his sleeve, and then handed it to Old Man Chen's mouth. After holding the pipe in his mouth, Old Chen pretended to be calm and composed again.
Look.
He looked at the captain's uniform on Zhao Xin's body and suddenly said: "This suit is made of good material. How much does it cost per foot?"
Huh? Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, thinking that this old man was too unreliable!
The boss saw that Zhao Xin didn't understand, so he said: "My lords are running back and forth for your business. You should honor my lords with a few pieces of cloth and express your feelings. Don't you understand this rule?!"
Zhao Xinxin said, "I understand you, you are a hammer!" He openly asked for bribes and asked for them on his head. Okay, the time for teasing Menzi is over.
"Master Chen, go back and tell the person who asked you to come here that I have some unfinished business here and need to wait for another ten days. I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If you think you can use force to drive me away, you might as well try it.
I lost face in front of Westerners sometimes, but don't blame me for not reminding you today! It made me anxious, so I took the Humen Fort first!" After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he picked up the teacup.
"You! Unreasonable! Let's go!" Chen Xinhuai's beard trembled with anger. He placed the hookah on the table, flicked his sleeves, got up and left with the hookah. At the same time, the follower was packing up alone.
Tobacco pouches, tobacco leaves, and paper media are here.
On a three-plank boat not far from the Thor, Sun Shiyi hid in the boat canopy, holding a telescope to observe the Thor, his mouth hanging open. He did not expect that the boat was so big that it could hold up several turtles.
The length of the boat.
If this was a big iron ship like the rumors said, no matter how many warships the Huizhou navy sent, it wouldn't be enough! I didn't expect that Zhao Ni was not only sharp with guns and cannons, but also such a huge ship.
He turned to the boatman and asked: "Did you see this boat when it was sailing?"
The boatman shook his head and said, "Master, if it weren't for the money you gave us, how dare we come here! I heard that when this boat first arrived, it made an amazing noise, and the movement was like thunder, and all the boats of the Yigui were frightened.
Run away. Just the sound of it is scary to death."
After the boatman finished speaking, he pointed to the thick anchor chain hanging from the bow of the Thor in the distance and said to Sun Shiyi: "Master, look at that iron chain. It is thicker than a villain's waist. These barbarians are really capable.
Money, and boundless power.”
"Oh?" Sun Shiyi asked curiously: "Is the power boundless?"
"No, if there is no magic power, how can such a big iron ship float on the water?"
Sun Shiyi nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly something moved in his heart. When Wang Lun rebelled, he served as chief envoy in Guangxi, and later he heard about some of the evil-breaking methods used to annihilate Wang Lun.
It is said that during the Qingshui Sect Wang Lun's uprising in the 39th year of Qianlong's reign, Wang Lun pulled a group of naked women to the front of the formation in order to cope with the bombardment of the Qing army's artillery. This shocked the Qing army who had never seen such a strange formation.
, I didn’t know how to resist for a while. Seeing that cold weapons were no longer effective, the then academician Shu Hed pulled up a cannon and prepared to bombard them. Later, someone came up with a clever trick. Each of the Eight Banners plucked a hair and fired it together with the artillery shells. Wang Lun’s rebels immediately
Chaos.
While he was lost in thought, he heard his subordinates say: "Sir, the Haiphong Yamen's ship has left."
Sun Shiyi held up the telescope and looked at it for a while. He decided to ask some Taoist monks after returning to Guangzhou to see if there was any solution.