Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 261 Weird Qing Court Officials

Guangzhou City, the Yamen of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

In the signing room, sitting at the top was an old man over sixty years old. This man was wearing a black silk gown and a dark blue Baturu vest. His face was pale and his forehead was covered with wrinkles.

The old man took a sip from his teacup, and said to a 50-year-old round-faced official next to him, "Tufutai, didn't you say you would leave in three days? It's been eight or nine days, why are they still in the pool?" Aberdeen Island not moving? Now the rumors have spread to the city of Guangzhou."

The one called "Tufutai" is naturally Tusab, the governor of Guangdong; and the old man above him is Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

"Sun Zhitai, my subordinate is about to send his subordinates to question you, and I want to report to you." With a bitter face, Tusab scolded Heshen's servant Wang Ping a hundred times in his heart; But to such a hand!
Sun Shiyi said again: "Those people just arrived at Jijingyang, they first shot the English people, and a few days ago they shot the Danjia pirate's boat. What are they trying to do? What's the news from the Haiphong yamen today?"

"The Haiphong yamen sent people to report in the morning. Except for the first two days when Macau sent a ship to deliver the goods, there has been no movement. However, according to my guess, they may have had some festivals with the English people before, and they just met. Let's start fighting. As for the Dan family pirates, the lower officials really don't know."

Sun Shiyi was quite helpless in his heart. Since he became the governor of Guangdong, he has always acted vigorously and resolutely.Whether it was cleaning up local tax arrears, arresting gangsters, or investigating the former governor Fu Lehun, they were all quick to cut through the mess, which was appreciated by Qianlong, and only then was he promoted to governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Unexpectedly, only a few days after taking office, he was extremely passive by a big iron boat.If this was a Westerner like a ghost like an animal, he would have sent someone to sternly expel him, or he would have ordered Macao and Portugal to handle it through the Haiphong Yamen.But what he is facing now is not Westerners, but a group of rebels who have defeated the imperial court's tens of thousands of troops!
Send sailors to fight?Not to mention the lessons learned by Agui and Fukang'an are not far away. The Englishman was beaten up a few days ago; it was a sailing ship with dozens of cannons!

I heard that the big ship Zhao Ni was on was only a piece of paint off after being shot, and then he used two fast cannons that were as powerful as lightning, and the Englishmen ran away with their heads in their hands, and they boarded the ship that night to plead guilty.

Thinking of the dozens of warships in the Huizhou Coastal Defense Battalion, Sun Shiyi felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.He was already working on a booklet in private, and he planned to make a decree to Qianlong in a few days, asking to select talented and skilled people to practice the land and water camps in Guangdong and Guangxi.

"Then let Chen Guilin take someone there to ask about the situation. When the emperor asks, you and I will have an explanation." The Chen Guilin Sun Shiyi was talking about was Chen Xinhuai from the Tongzhi Yamen in Haiphong.

"It seems that this is the only way to go." Tusab sighed, and obeyed.

Since Beihai Town returned a large number of Eight Banners, rumors have been faintly spread between the government and the public. Although Zhao Ni's troops are few, their firearms are extremely sharp, and they are rotten for dozens of miles between lightning and thunder; hard to beat.Although some people from the Guangzhou Garrison Eight Banners were released from the north, the news was only spread throughout the city, and ordinary people didn't know it at all.

And Sun Shiyi was far away in Guangdong, and he had heard some gossip, but he was also very curious about what Zhao Ni's team was like.The so-called knowing yourself and knowing the enemy, in case you meet in the future, you can also have a psychological preparation.Thinking of this, Sun Shiyi raised his teacup slightly.Tusab understands that Mr. Taiwan is seeing off the guests, so he bids farewell and leaves.

When Tusab was far away, Sun Shiyi said to his own soldier Goshha: "Go and call a few people, and put them all in casual clothes. Tell the door the following, if anyone comes to me in the past two days, just say that I have a cold .”

After making some arrangements, Sun Shiyi himself changed his clothes, dressed himself up as a rich businessman, and brought four men pretending to be domestic servants, came out from the back door of the Governor's Yamen, found a silk and bamboo sedan chair, and went outside the city.After that, they hired a fast boat and went straight to Humen Customs.

Two days later, Chen Xinhuai, who received an order from the governor's office, took half of the officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion, boarded a ship at the Nanwan Wharf in Macau, and headed straight for the Thunder God.

When the Haiphong yamen's boss approached the Thunder God, Chen Xinhuai bravely boarded the gangway through his subordinates and the sailors on the deck.But after walking a few steps, Chen Xinhuai's legs immediately began to tremble.Without him, the gangway is too narrow, and only one person can go first.After finally getting on the deck, Chen Xinhuai almost collapsed on the deck if his subordinates hadn't taken a few steps to support him.

When he carefully looked at the tall ship building and the wide deck, the 70-year-old Chen Xinhuai was already a little incoherent, muttering incessantly: "Sorcery, sorcerer."

When Zhao Xin met Chen Xinhuai at the meeting, besides the general standing behind him, there was also a follower in official uniform. The 70-year-old man has a calm face, holding a hookah with crane legs in his hand, and sucking it. He is dismissive of the cigarettes on the table.

"Master Chen, right? I am Zhao Xin."

"En." Chen Xinhuai didn't raise his head, and continued to light the hookah with a paper matchmaker, but his trembling right hand still revealed the panic in his heart.

Zhao Xin didn't even bother to arch his hands, so he sat down opposite Chen Xinhuai and asked, "Are you here today?"

The old bureaucrat couldn't help being stunned when he heard Zhao Xin's fluent official language, he looked up at Zhao Xin, then lowered his head and smoked one puff at a time, until a strange sound came out of his throat, then stopped and said: "Do you have a festival with the Hongmaoyi people?"

Zhao Xin was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that the other party was talking about British people. "Would you like to talk about festivals? I haven't had them before, but this time I will."

"Why is that?" Chen Xinhuai is from Fujian and has been an official in Guangdong all year round, so his official speech sounds extremely awkward.

"Master Chen, how long have you been a colleague of Haiphong?"

"My lord was transferred here last year." The boss behind Chen Xinhuai suddenly said.

"Hmm. So have you paid attention to opium?" Zhao Xin thought that since he had the opportunity, he should mention the matter of opium, do his best and obey the destiny.

"Opium?" Chen Xinhuai looked at Zhao Xin, then turned to look at the gun. "What happened to the opium?"

"Westerners can't make any money when they come to China, so they are sending more and more opium into Guangdong." When Zhao Xin was speaking, he noticed that the boss had a sudden unnatural expression on his face.

"It's a joke. I have everything in heaven, so what's the use of those things? What's more, even if it's a red-haired barbarian who sells 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 his servants. Received a new one.

Zhao Xin said sternly: "Because we are all Han Chinese. Although you are an official in the Qing Dynasty, Mr. Chen, you are still a Han Chinese after all. Opium, if you eat it, you will be addicted! It is poison!"

Chen Xinhuai shook his head indifferently, looked at Zhao Xin with a mocking face, and said, "Your Excellency really has a lot to worry about. This is the place under my jurisdiction. Your Excellency, you don’t have to worry about the scale. Although those Hongmaoyi people came to our Chinese territory, although they made unheard of money, if anyone dared to be disobedient, the emperor would cut off their tea, silk and rhubarb, and make them bloated and die."

What did Zhao Xinxin say about rhubarb?He didn't know that Europeans had a tradition of eating rhubarb since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. Before the local edible rhubarb was cultivated, they had imported rhubarb for medicinal purposes from China for more than a dozen centuries. Trade goes further.However, compared with the British, the Tsarist Russians, who mainly eat meat, have a more urgent demand for rhubarb.

Because of the large export volume of rhubarb and tea, Manchu officials had an illusion that barbarians from Western countries would die of constipation and bloating without Chinese rhubarb and tea.

Zhao Xin said a little dumbfounded: "Master Chen, I don't understand where you have such self-confidence! Westerners can't die if they don't eat rhubarb! They just get used to it, just like you smoking hookahs."

Chen Xinhuai didn't take Zhao Xin's explanation seriously, and said to himself that since ancient times, when China entered the barbarians, you, a guy who doesn't even grow a beard, is ashamed to say that you are a Han Chinese? !He didn't intend to discuss the rhubarb issue with Zhao Xin, so he asked again: "Is this boat made of iron?"

Zhao Xin didn't expect that the other party started to digress again, so he nodded.

"Absurd! How can iron float on water? You must have used sorcery."

"Master Chen, this is science. There is not only iron on this ship, but also steel."

Chen Xinhuai pointed to the overhead light 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? There is a candle hidden inside?" Zhao Xin lost his temper completely when faced with such a stubborn old man.

After some ramblings, Chen Xinhuai became more and more sure that the guy in front of him was a monster, so he started talking about the topic.

"According to the order of Master Futai, I came here to inquire, why are you still not leaving? At the beginning, you could have said that you would leave in three days."

"There was an accident. We have to wait seven or eight days before we go. Is there a problem?"

Chen Xinhuai took a few puffs of hookah before slowly saying: "Is it the king's land under the whole world, and the king's ministers on the shore of the land. The power of the emperor is like divine power, the emperor is wise, and it is in a prosperous age. His kindness spreads all over the world. The water of the lake combined is not as good as the emperor's kindness. I think you are a good-looking talent, why do you want to make trouble?"

Zhao Xin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Chen Xinhuai held back for a long time and actually said such nonsense. Is this trying to persuade him to surrender?Only to hear the other party continue: "You were just lucky enough to win a match, but you have to know that there are more than a million soldiers in my 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 the other party got his confidence.

"Such a big iron boat." Chen Xinhuai spoke again. "What are you driven by? Sails?"

"Well. It depends on oil, fire, and water." Zhao Xin suddenly thought it was quite interesting, so 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 lingering. "Is the fire on your ship out? Is there an oil leak?"

"Master Chen, my boat is a unique treasure in the world. Within a hundred miles, there is nothing to hide from, as big as a boat or as small as a person; I am not afraid of any headwinds or tides, just like yours. The proud Humen Fort, I can blow it up with five shots. As for the city wall of Guangzhou, I can blow it up with two shots.”

Chen Xinhuai's face turned pale, and he handed the hookah to his attendant.It seemed that because of excessive tension, his whole body trembled like an electric shock, and he leaned forward and asked, "The ones covered with cloth on the side of the ship?"

Zhao Xin said with a smile: "As long as you touch it, nothing can stop it, and it will be turned into pieces."

At this time, Chen Xinhuai's attendant took the hookah away from his mouth, wiped the stem of the pipe with his sleeve, and handed it to old man Chen again.With the pipe in his mouth, old man Chen pretended to be calm again.

He looked at the captain's suit on Zhao Xin's body, and suddenly said: "The material of this suit is not bad. How much is it per foot?"

ah?Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, thinking that this old man is too unreliable!

Seeing that Zhao Xin didn't understand, he said, "My lord is running back and forth for your affairs. You should honor my lord with a few pieces of cloth to show your affection. Don't you understand this rule?!"

Zhao Xinxin said I understand you a hammer!All the blatant extortion of bribes is on his head.Alright, it's time to end the teasing time.

"Master Chen, go back and tell the person who sent you here that there are things I can't do here, and I need to wait another ten days. I won't offend me, and I won't offend anyone. If you think you can use force to drive me away, you might as well try it. I lost face in front of Westerners, don’t blame me for not reminding you today! It made me anxious, so I’ll take the Humen Fort first!” After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he picked up his teacup.

"You! Unreasonable! Let's go!" Chen Xinhuai's beard trembled, he put the hookah on the table, flicked his sleeves, got up and left with the general manager.At the same time, the servant came to pack up the pipes, tobacco leaves, and paper media by himself.

On a three-panel boat not far from the Thor, Sun Shiyi hid in the canopy, holding up a binoculars to observe the Thor, with his mouth open.He didn't expect the boat to be so big, it could reach the length of several black boats.

If this is a big iron ship as the rumors say, how many warships from the Huizhou Navy will not be enough!Unexpectedly, Zhao Ni not only has sharp guns, but also such a giant ship.

He turned to the boatman and asked, "Did you see this boat when it was moving?"

The boatman shook his head and said, "Master, if you didn't give us a lot of money, we wouldn't dare to come here! I heard that when the boat first arrived, its momentum was astonishing, and the movement was like thunder. All the barbarians' boats were frightened." Run away. Just the sound of it is scary."

After the boatman finished speaking, he pointed to the thick anchor chain hanging from the bow of the Thunder God in the distance, and said to Sun Shiyi: "My lord, look at that iron chain. It's thicker than a villain's waist. These barbarians are really good!" Money, but also boundless mana."

"Oh?" Sun Shiyi asked curiously: "Boundless mana?"

"No, if there is no mana, how can such a big iron boat float on the water?"

Sun Shiyi nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly his heart moved.When Wang Lun rebelled, he served as a political envoy in Guangxi. Later, he also heard about some evil methods used to suppress Wang Lun.

It is said that during the uprising of Qingshuijiao Wang Lun in the 39th year of Qianlong, Wang Lun pulled a group of naked women to the front of the formation in response to the bombardment of the Qing army's cannons. This shocked the Qing army who had never seen such a strange formation. I don't know how to resist.Seeing that the cold weapons were not good enough, the then Grand Scholar Shu Hede pulled up the cannon and prepared to bombard it.Later, someone came up with a clever trick. Each of the Eight Banners plucked a hair and fired it together with the shells, causing Wang Lun's rebels to be in chaos.

When he was thinking about it, he only heard his subordinates say: "Master, the boat from Haiphong Yamen has left."

Sun Shiyi held up the binoculars and looked at it for a while. He decided to ask a few Taoist priests and monks after returning to Guangzhou to see if there was any way to crack it.

(End of this chapter)