Chapter 23 Welcome Zuo Shuai

Hu Xueyan celebrated her mother's birthday, and rushed to Shanghai the next day, which was the sixth day after Gu Yingchun came home. As soon as I arrived, of course I went to see Grandma Qigu first. Xuxu talked for a long time, and it was not until dinner that I could talk about the real business: "Master Zuo has already arrived in Suzhou, and he is scheduled to go to Shanghai the day after tomorrow. Uncle came just in time." "Of course he will live in Tianhou Palace when he comes. The Transit Bureau must come, how do you think he should be received?" "Lord Zuo is considered one of his own people. To visit the Transit Bureau is to inspect his subordinates. I don't think you need to be too polite, but it seems to be alienated."

"Although it is not necessary to be too polite, it is necessary to make him happy." Hu Xueyan said, "I would like to pick a day to treat him to dinner and accompany the guests. Besides our own official people, can the foreigner's consul general and commander Everyone please." "This needs to be discussed first. Logically, there is no reason not to invite them to come." Gu Yingchun said again, "The matter of setting off the salute has already been negotiated, but I don't know when." "Why don't you go to the Daotai Yamen and ask?"

Gu Yingchun remained silent, but Hu Xueyan saw that something was wrong, so he immediately asked what was going on? "'Planning order' has already come. When to arrive, which place to visit on which day, who to treat guests on which day, all have been stipulated. That is, our transshipment bureau went to ask for the order, and it was said that there was no." Hu Xueyan couldn't help being angry, "What do they mean?" He asked, "Our Transit Bureau has always respected them. I'm going to visit Shao Xiaocun tomorrow and listen to what he tells me."

Gu Yingchun was silent at first, and then said in a low voice: "Uncle, don't get angry. I heard a saying, but I don't know if it's true or not. It is said that Li Hefei has sent someone to inform Shao Xiaocun, telling him to contact Sheng Xingsun, Do not allow Zuo Xiangyin's influence to extend to Shanghai. Some people offered advice in front of Shao Xiaocun, saying that Zuo Xiangyin is easy to deal with, but Hu is not easy to mess with. If you want to guard against Zuo, you must first guard against Hu." After hearing this, Hu Xueyan didn't pay much attention to what he said, "They've been guarding against me for more than today." He said, "It's not surprising, it's self-defeating. You don't have to take this matter too seriously."

Seeing his careless attitude, Gu Yingchun couldn't help feeling a kind of hidden worry, but it was inconvenient to say anything more at this time, and he had an idea in private, to be Hu Xueyan's eyes and ears, and to pay more attention to Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang's open and secret struggle in the two rivers However, if there is a possibility of involving Hu Xueyan, it is even more necessary to take precautions in advance to eliminate disasters invisible. Because of Gu Yingchun's vigorous activities, and also because of Zuo Zongtang's own prestige, the bureaus of the Ministry of Industry in Shanghai's British and French concessions, as well as the navies of various countries stationed in Shanghai, all paid tribute with grand etiquette. The leader of the ceremonial team, especially during the military parade at Wusongkou, all the warships on the Huangpu River raised the Huanglong flag of the Qing Dynasty, fired thirteen-gun salutes, and the sound pierced the sky, shaking the whole Shanghai. Shanghai is here.

The residence was set up in Tianhou Palace. Shanghai Taoist Shao Youlian led the prefect of Songjiang and the courts of all counties under it, followed by directors of the Taxation Department of Jiangxi Customs and the Ministry of Industry Bureau, and civil and military officials in Shanghai.Then Shao Youlian joined forces with Taoist priests on errands in Shanghai, including Hu Xueyan and Sheng Xuanhuai, to "respectfully feast the noble ministers". Of course Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun stayed at the end, "Your Excellency is very tired today," Hu Xueyan said, "Please settle down early, and come back to pay your respects."

"No, no!" Zuo Zongtang shook his hands and said, "I watched the manufacturing bureau tomorrow, and I will return to Jiangning the day after tomorrow. I have a lot of things to talk to you about, so I don't have to hurry." Hu Xueyan was talking in front of him, since Zuo Zongtang was in good spirits, and he was willing to stay with him for a talk, he couldn't ask for it, so he agreed and sat down. "Land Defense and Coastal Defense have been fighting for a long time, but at the end of the day, I'm still in charge of it. It's a trick of fate." After finishing speaking, Zuo Zongtang laughed loudly, his voice shaking the roof tiles.

Only Hu Xueyan understood this smile, and it was Li Hongzhang.It turned out that in May of the eleventh year of Tongzhi, Russia saw the chaos in Xinjiang and took advantage of it to send troops to Yili.In March of the thirteenth year, Japan sent troops to invade Taiwan on the pretext of the Ryukyu refugee incident. For a while, the land defense and the coastal defense were alarmed one after another. As a result, there was a debate about which is more important, the land defense or the coastal defense. The protagonist of the two parties was Zuo Zongtang With Li Hongzhang. Zuo Zongtang managed the Northwest, and Li Hongzhang commanded Beiyang. Each had its own divisions and holdings.At that time, Wang Wenshao, the governor of Hunan Province, happened to be returning to Hangzhou to visit the tomb. Hu Xueyan asked him, "Is it in favor of land defense or coastal defense?"

Wang Wenshao asked back, "What do you think?" "As the governor of Hunan, you should naturally speak for the people of Hunan." "That's right. Don't offend the wealthy family for politics." Wang Wenshao said, "I have been hesitating about this matter for a long time. Now I have made up my mind after listening to my brother. Mr. Li Da's friendship will be put on hold for a while. " It turned out that Wang Wenshao had a deep relationship with Li Hongzhang. In order to be an official in Hunan, Wang Wenshao decided to agree with Lu Fang. Regarding the military affairs in Frontier, the Russians occupy Ili, and there is a strong tendency to not return for a long time. If our army is late, the Russians will advance one day. The matter is urgent, so why not."

Because of this memorial, the Lu Fang theory gained the upper hand.Soon Tongzhi died, and the dispute was suspended.In the first year of Guangxu, the controversy resumed, and the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the prince of the county, the bachelor, and the six ministries and nine ministers to hold a meeting on coastal defense matters.Li Hongzhang asked to stop the Western Expedition, but Zuo Zongtang of course opposed it. In the end, because of Wen Xiang's support, Zuo Zongtang was sent as an imperial envoy to supervise military affairs in Xinjiang. Obviously, the theory of coastal defense fell into a disadvantage again.

However, the discussion about Lu Fang actually originated from the Yili Incident, and when Zeng Jize sent Russia to resolve the Sino-Russian dispute, the Lu Fang theory was no longer brought up.After Zuo Zongtang’s conquest of the West, he was summoned to join the military plane, and soon he released the two rivers. Li Hongzhang brought up the old story again, and this time he won a complete victory. One is to set up a camp in Yingkou to train a new type of navy; the other is to raise funds to continue building the "steel-faced and iron-clad" warships. It is urgent to repair docks and forts in Haikou at the same time. Unexpectedly, when the work was in full swing, Mrs. Li died of illness in Hankou, Li Hongzhang Ding You returned home, and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Shusheng, was transferred to act as the direct governor. "Coastal defense, Beiyang can be managed, but Nanyang can't be managed, and most of the funds are spent on the two rivers, and Nanyang is in charge, which makes it more legitimate. I want to start with the docks and forts first. I have already sent people to invite Peng Gongbao , I want to rush back to Jiangning, just because he came down from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to inspect, and he can go to Jiangning within a few days, and the guest is not here, so it would be impolite." Zuo Zongtang said this in one breath, and suddenly called out, "Xueyan!" "What orders does your lord have?" "Is Fogg in Shanghai?" "Yes." Hu Xueyan replied, "He was going back to China, but because he heard that your lord was inspecting Shanghai, he took a late ship. He will definitely come to see you tomorrow." "Well, will he come when he returns to Germany?" "Come on." "That's good. Just take advantage of his return to the country, let's discuss it again, see if there are any new sharp weapons, and ask him to buy them." Hu Xueyan was about to answer when he saw a Geshha come in through the curtain, holding a folder in his hand, walked up to Zuo Zongtang, without saying a word, just opened the folder, and there was a piece of paper inside , Zuo Zongtang picked it up and read it, then handed it to Hu Xueyan. I took it over and saw that it was a translation of a secret telegram, "Shen Ju sent it to Zuo Juexiang, (Henmi) Yuan Shuai supervised Yue, that is, Mingfa." The signature is a word "cloud", Hu Xueyan knows, it was sent by Xu Yongyi secret electricity. This "Yuanshuai" of course refers to Zeng Guoquan, who was named Yuanfu. Hu Xueyan smiled and said: "Guangdong and Guangxi are good places. Zeng Jiushuai will not be like last year. He was the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu for less than half a year. went." Zuo Zongtang nodded, pondered for a while, raised his head, and said slowly: "Calling Zeng Laojiu to Liangguang, it can be seen that Zhang Zhenxian will not return to his post, and the direct governor will be really removed. Xueyan, I want to take this opportunity, everyone In order to rectify, return Nanyang to Nanyang, Beiyang to Beiyang, and eliminate Li Shaoquan's invisible 'three hands'." "Yes." Hu Xueyan thought to himself that Li Hongzhang's influence in Nanyang was already deeply entrenched, and it would not be easy to eliminate it, but if it was done, there will be a different situation in the future, and this matter is worth a lot of effort. "I'll go to the Manufacturing Bureau tomorrow, you'd better go with me to see what can be improved." "Yes. I will serve you tomorrow morning." It was only past nine o'clock after leaving the town, and Shili Foreign Market was in full swing. When getting into the car, Gu Yingchun's coachman whispered, "Master, today is the date at Seventh Miss's place." "You remember it better than I do." Gu Yingchun said, "Did Miss Qi take special care of you and ask you to remind me when the time comes?" The coachman grinned and kept silent, only raised his whip and drove to the south. "Which Miss Seven is?" Hu Xueyan asked. "Lord Seven of Aiyuelou." Gu Yingchun replied, "I just came from Suzhou." "What do people look like?" "It's nothing more than generosity. The social skills are first-class." "It seems that it's not just about entertaining." Hu Xueyan smiled, "The skill of stabbing guests is also first-class." "Uncle will know when he sees it." In a blink of an eye, the carriage stopped at Zhaorong Lane, Baoshan Street, and the old Qi family of Aiyuelou was the second house on the right side of the entrance alley, and Xiangbang shouted: "The back room." Immediately, an aunt came out to welcome her . Gu Hu and the two stood in the middle of the courtyard, and saw that the aunt had her hair full of red flowers, and her face was covered with white powder. , Just like the seventeen or eighteen girls, this is what Suzhou people call "the beauty next door"! "Oh, old man, why did you come here to introduce me? Miss Seven can wait." When she found Hu Xueyan, she became even more fussy, "Oh, yo, it must be a big deal! What is the God of Wealth? Would you like to invite Yasuke?" It didn't matter if she shouted, the windows opened one after another upstairs, and several handsome faces were poked out to look into the courtyard. One of them shouted loudly: "Master Hu, Master Hu, Naia remembers me? The slave is Xiangyun Fourth son, Yanxie, come and sit in Nita." Hu Xueyan was involved in the flower bushes and visited many people. He couldn't remember such a Xiangyun's fourth son, so he only agreed repeatedly: "Okay! Okay!" Following my aunt upstairs, I saw a young woman at the door of the back room, opened the curtain, waited with a smile on her face, after entering the door, Gu Yingchun said: "Lao Qi, you probably haven't seen Mr. Hu?" "What do you mean you have met Xie? I have seen you." He bowed his head and saluted, and said, "Master Hu, good luck with Naifa." "Oh," Hu Xueyan asked, "Miss Seven, where did we meet?" "Shantangwan! It's about the affairs of the year before and after the year. The day is a treat for the young master of Lefutaige. Master Hu also turned around the slave, and the nobles often forget things, but the slave always remembers it. Qin asked questions in his heart." As he spoke, he stepped forward to unbutton Hu Xueyan and take off his mandarin coat. Hu Xueyan smelled the fragrance of her hair, and remembered that when he passed by Suzhou at the end of that year, the eldest son of Jiangsu Governor Le Fangqi, who was Renyou in Shanghai, specially invited guests to a book apartment in Huqiu, as if Turning around during the banquet, his face was vague, but he couldn't remember his name, but it was by no means three words. "You weren't called Aiyuelou at that time, were you?" "Yi Chenguang is called Xifang." "No wonder." Hu Xueyan smiled and greeted, "How have you been these few years?" "It's good for my son, let's hang out in Shanghai." The seventh child of Aiyuelou glanced at Gu Yingchun, "Since the old man came to the show, he has gradually cheered up." "At the end of the day, don't wait for the Bodhisattva, the God of Wealth, to arrive. It's better to add two at the end of Ge Mo!" It was Jiu Pantu who interrupted, Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun were used to this kind of flattery, and they didn't take it seriously, but Aiyuelou Lao Qi heard it harshly, and immediately said: "Nai gossip, how about you?" Then, with another wink, let her back out. At this time, the fruit plate had already been put on the table, and when Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun sat down, the seventh son of Aiyuelou offered melon seeds and tea while exchanging greetings. "Master Hu came to Gejie in one day?" "It's been two or three days since I came here." Gu Yingchun replied, "But it's the first time I came out to eat flower wine today." "Ah! You'll be at Nuta in the first turn, and Ge really thinks of Nuwan! Thank you, thank you." "If I knew you were old friends, I would have invited our little grandpa here yesterday." "Then it's called the young uncle? The old man, the surname is half Hu Wan, what do you call the life of uncle and nephew?" "Wonderful!" Hu Xueyan laughed, "Ying Chun, this is the first time I've heard that your surname is half Hu." Gu Yingchun also laughed, looking back at a group of young ladies and said: "From now on, you can call me Mr. Banhu." "It's really fun!" Aiyuelou Laoqi said, "Eat half a pot of wine at the end of the meal, don't make it with the sparrow after the last one. Do you want to do something wrong?" Seeing her flexible mind and eloquence, Hu Xueyan had a good impression of her. Gu Yingchun saw his thoughts, and immediately said: "Uncle, today's guest, are you here to invite me?" Hu Xueyan has been walking with him for many years, and occasionally has this kind of "letting the virtuous". When he was considering whether to accept this kind offer, the seventh child of Aiyuelou spoke up. "Don't be arrogant! Old man, how good is it to be able to bear the current table wine? Stop eating and turn the table to the front room. Master Hu, how good is it?" "The front room?" Hu Xueyan asked, "It's Xiangyun's fourth brother." "Pretty accurate!" Now that everyone has already made their way, Hu Xueyan, who is used to acting on every occasion, has no objection, and only asks Gu Yingchun: "Who are you inviting?" "Who does my uncle want to see?" So Hu Xueyan casually reported four or five names, all of them were good people in the brothel, and Gu Yingchun wrote like a fly, wrote the invitation card, ordered the host and guest, a total of seven people, and said: "Let's come to cross the sea with the Eight Immortals." As he spoke, he wrote another invitation card, "Flying to the Changfa Inn on Sanma Road, Uncle Sha will seal his heart and come to talk about it." After adding the name, another line was written in small characters: "I have a distinguished guest, please welcome me." Don't say no." Coincidentally, it happened that this special guest was unable to attend the appointment due to illness.But if the rain does not come today, the rain will come again. There is a military officer Lin Maoxian who both Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun knew. He was sent to the prefect of Fujian. As usual, those who can break into the banquet are bored against the journey, so they become uninvited guests. "Excellent, excellent!" Gu Yingchun welcomed him very much, because this Lin Maoxian was also a very interesting person. Will not be left out. After the table was laid, it was named "Shuangtai". In fact, it was still a round table. The seventh child of Aiyuelou took a piece of brand-new white cloth, wrapped in a pair of silver-encrusted ivory chopsticks, walked up to Gu Yingchun and asked: " Are the guests ready?" "There is still one person short. But let's start!" At this time, Hu Xueyan spoke, because although Goulan is not an official place, the seat is also a matter of status, and Hu Xueyan is justifiably the first seat. "Today's first seat, Lin Maoweng can't even push it away—" "Xue Weng, Xue Weng!" "Listen to me, if you don't make sense, then you can refute me." Hu Xueyan waved his hand to stop him and said, "First, you are a visitor from afar; second, you have a happy event; third, besides me and Ying Chun, The rest of you are just meeting for the first time, so you should be polite." As soon as the conversation was over, everyone said that it made sense, so Lin Maoxian cupped his hands and said, "There are tyrants, there are tyrants." After the old Qi of Aiyuelou settled down, he took his seat first. The second seat is of course Hu Xueyan, and the rest are Renyou, no distinction is made, only Gu Yingchun is reserved for the main seat, as soon as he sits down, the young lady immediately holds a black wooden tray, inside the middle is a stack of brushes and inkstones. round ticket. "Mao Weng, who is your name?" "I'm a layman here, and I just arrived yesterday. Today is the first time I've come back for sightseeing. Please give me your talents!" "Call Xiangyun the fourth son." Hu Xueyan said, "I remember that her mouth is very eloquent, which matches Mao Weng's eloquence." Gu Yingchun thought about it for a while, wrote it down, and asked again: "How about you, little uncle?" Hu Xueyan has too many acquaintances, and said with a smile: "You can decide for me." Gu Yingchun nodded and said, "I'll call two for my young master, one is Haoyuan Laojiu, and the other is—" "No, no! I remembered." Hu Xueyan said, "The other one is Jiaofeng Laowu." "Why call her?" Gu Yingchun frowned. "Don't worry about it, I have something to do with her." So I wrote the game tickets one by one and sent them out. The first person who came was Xiangyun's fourth child, who was near the front room, with little feet. One is Master Lin?" "Here, here!" Hu Xueyan pointed and said, "This is Mr. Lin from Beijing, the current magistrate. Fourth, I am a matchmaker just for you!" Xiangyun's fourth son was very unhappy because Hu Xueyan didn't call her, and now that he knew that he deliberately pushed her to someone else, he became even angrier, "Thank you Nai!" , anyone can see that she is angry. It turned out that this was also Hu Xueyan's painstaking efforts in treating customers. This Lin Maoxian was also a prostitute customer in Beijing, but he liked to visit "tea rooms".Because the "Qingyin Small Class" in "Eight Alleys" is like "Changsan" in Shanghai, and the "tea room" is equivalent to "Moer". The latter is more straightforward, even if it is the first time to "open the plate", as long as the conditions are negotiated, the candle can be extinguished and the hair will stay.Lin Mao went to Mazhangtai first, and he liked to have a good time, which is why he often visited the teahouse. Because of this, he recommended Xiangyun's fourth child, because she was famous for her "loose belt" in the third year of high school.Hu Xueyan thought that it was a rare chance to meet Lin Maoxian on a road trip, and wanted to find a one-night pleasure for him, so he made this arrangement, but Xiangyun's fourth child may not understand the grievance, so he might as well explain it to her. I made up my mind that it would be better to do it quickly before Haoyuan and Jiaofeng come.Therefore, when Xiangyun's fourth brother made a toast one by one as usual, explained his appearance, and finally came to the second seat, Hu Xueyan, he asked with a smile, "Can I turn you around?" "Whatever you want! Who is this slave? If you're happy, you'll come with a wave. If you're not happy, you'll kick him to the sea." Hu Xueyan smiled, and said to Lin Maoxian: "Mao Weng, I'm sorry, the fourth brother and I have a little misunderstanding because of other people's affairs, I will turn the game and make it clear to her, and I will return it to Zhao. How about it?" "Ah yo!" Jiang Luobo, a "foreign kid" who is used to hanging out among the flowers unless he doesn't go home on New Year's Eve, imitated Su Bai and said, "It's news! Why do you call me Ni Xiangyun's fourth son?" It's Qing Guan Renwan!" Everyone knows that this is a deliberate misinterpretation of "Wanbi" to make fun of Xiangyun's fourth son. She doesn't understand this allusion, but she knows it's a joke. : "That's right, alas, yes, it's a clear water product. 'Jiang radish', what are you doing!" Amid the roar of laughter from all the audience, Hu Xueyan pulled Xiangyun's fourth brother aside, and whispered together, "Fourth," he said, "I'll be the matchmaker for you, what do you think?" "Nunahu, is it okay to say that? Master Naihu sees me again, and eats rice from a zigzag bowl. What can I do?" Hu Xueyan originally owed her a favor—there was a time when he replied that he should praise her, but he forgot it. This day, he just had the opportunity to make up for the debt, and he also made friends with Lin Maoxian, so he asked straight to the point: "Master Lin is going to Fujian to take up the post." , I'm afraid I don't have time to come to you to 'make a flower head', can you accompany him?" "Then how to accompany?" "Do you want to say more?" Xiangyun's fourth brother blushed, "Dial the number properly!" She said, "After Chuanzai goes out, will there still be a face in Nuluo to meet someone?" "Of course it doesn't mean you don't do all the tricks. I'll be the host when the stage is turned over. Tomorrow afternoon, he will come to your place to have a match. He will set up a double stage at night and come down to 'borrow the dry shop'. Do you think it's okay?" "Borrowing dry shop" is Changsan Middle School's way of deceiving benefactors. It means that the guests are drunk, or the road is too far away, and the weather changes suddenly. The rule is that they will spend six taels of silver.Of course, no one asked whether it was dry or wet. Xiangyun remained silent, which seemed to mean that he was a little active, so Hu Xueyan took the opportunity to make amends, "Fourth," he said, "Master Lin is my friend, even if you are wronged once, Master Lin is very straightforward, and you can't make a move." It would be too stingy. In addition, you go to Fang Jiuxia on the main road to pick out a pair of gold bracelet heads, and I will give it to you." In the sensual scene, gold has always been able to buy the hearts of beauties. The fourth son of Xiangyun thought about it and said: "Master Hu, as a friend, Ge can worry about ways, which is really rare. But it is Master Hu's idea, you are so excited Don't you see me as a slave? I, Feneng, can go up and give it away." Hu Xueyan understood what she meant, and was afraid that if the good thing didn't work out and the gold bracelet fell into nothing, he immediately replied, "In any case, I have given up all my heart. As long as Master Lin boards the boat to Fujian today, you can go to Fang Jiuxia to pick the bracelet head tomorrow. That's it." , so it’s decided.” After speaking, Hu Xueyan stood up and went back to the table. At that time, Yingying, Yanyan, came one after another, and they all brought "Mr. Wushi", the singing and singing were noisy, and it was very lively.At this moment, the "Crosstalk" downstairs shouted: "Guests in the back room." "It must be Sha Yixin who has come." Gu Yingchun hurriedly stood up and went out to welcome him, and it was indeed Sha Yixin. "Brother Yingchun," Sha Yixin said, holding him at the top of the stairs, "my luggage has already disembarked from the Yangtze River ship, and I will be on board at dawn. Because you said you wanted to introduce a friend for me, so you came here specially. I don’t know who this friend is? If you originally lived in Shanghai, we will meet again when I come back from Guangzhou in half a month, okay?” After a pause, he continued, “To be honest, I have to go back Fun." Gu Yingchun thought for a while and said: "The friend I want to introduce for you is Mr. Hu Xueyan and Hu Da. In this way, you go in and meet first, greet everyone, and then I will explain the reason for you and let you go back. Changfazhan, when you come back from Guangzhou, if Mr. Hu Da is still in Shanghai, how about we talk about it?" "It's the wrong way." So Gu Yingchun led him to the banquet and introduced them one by one, most of them were first acquaintances.This Sha Yixin is more than thirty years old, handsome and handsome, he speaks a Beijing accent with a Sichuan accent, and his voice is clear, which is quite favorable to others.Hu Xueyan likes this new friend very much. He is a team of alternate co-prefects, so they call each other by their official titles, "Hu Guan is famous all over the world, and he can only know the thorns today, which shows his loneliness. However, I also met a great Bodhisattva after all, so fortunately." He raised his glass and said, " Borrowing flowers to offer Buddha." After finishing speaking, he drank the cup in one gulp. "Don't dare, dare not." Hu Xueyan declared, "For the first time, I have to do it." "There are rules for Hu Xun to eat flowers and wine, Xiangbu toast." Jiang Luobo said, "Today is Sha Sima's face. Come, come, everyone have a toast." Sha Yixin was a humble person, full of face, stood up quickly and said: "I really dare not accept the love from you all, and I should pay respects to you." He poured himself a full glass, drank the wine and kept saying, "Thank you!" At this time, the wooden plate on which the game ticket was written was brought up again, and Gu Yingchun looked at Sha Yixin and asked, "It's still the third child of Xiao Jinling, how is it?" "No, no! Brother Yingchun, I'm exempted today! You know, my situation is different today." Sha Yixin said again, "And steal this moment, don't ask Hu Guan for a good lesson. It's a pity to waste time." "Alright." Gu Yingchun nodded, "I'll make other arrangements later." "I've already made arrangements." Hu Xueyan interjected, "We'll go to the front room later and have a farewell party for Lin Taizun and Sha Sima." "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it." Lin Maoxian and Sha Yixin said in unison. Gu Yingchun already knew Hu Xueyan's original intention to win over Lin Maoxian and Xiangyun's fourth son, and his other arrangement was to see that Hu Xueyan and Sha Yixin were quite close, and he needed to spare time for them to have an in-depth conversation. Let's do it together, and immediately said: "You heard me. I will be the master on behalf of Mr. Hu Da. Fourth brother, you can go back and prepare now." Xiangyun's fourth son Xi stood up diligently, and first said to Hu Xueyan with a smile: "Gemo Nu, turn around first, and set the table top up first." Then, he raised his voice and said, "Masters, Yan Xie is just going to invite you here, don't make trouble Slip it! Young Master Jiang, it’s the end of the matter, I beg you, Zai Naizai!” "Putting me out of the way, I'm missing something. But, fourth child, thank you so much?" "Be patient!" "Have a nice face, okay?" "Just talking nonsense, if you talk about it, you will be able to find it!" Jiang Luobo gave Jiang Luobo a glance, and walked away. Lin Maoxian lived in the north for a long time, and he was used to seeing the exuberant and incomprehensible northern rouge. This day, he saw the delicate, charming, enchanting and changeable gold powder of the Southern Dynasty, and he was fascinated.Everyone knows that Lin Sha and Lin Sha are the host and guest of this day, and at the same time, from Gu Yingchun's announcement of "acting as the host", they realized that Hu Xueyan and Sha Yixin might have something to talk about, so they took the opportunity to make a fuss. Turn over at this moment. "Let's do this!" Gu Yingchun just re-arranged, "Brother Yixin, please enjoy yourself here, and Mr. Hu Da will accompany you to talk. I will accompany everyone there first, and please come over when you are satisfied." He said, Standing up, because the guest is in the front room, it saves a lot of trouble to wear a mandarin jacket, light a lantern, and go out and in. The seventh child of Aiyuelou still abides by her rules of seeing off guests, standing at the door of the room to greet one by one, and when the guests who should leave have left, she turns around and says to Hu Xueyan: "Master Hu and Mr. Sha, please come here!" In the back is the bedroom of the seventh child in Aiyuelou. There is a big copper bed in the back. In the middle of the bed, there is a cigarette tray, two embroidered lake crepe quilts, folded into long strips, and two foreign-style pillows on it.Although Hu Xueyan doesn't smoke opium, he knows that smokers lie on the left side, so that the right hand is on the top, which makes it easier to move, so he said "please", and let Sha Yixin lie down, and he accompanied him on the opposite side of the cigarette tray. "Master Sha!" Aiyuelou Old Seven came up with a cigarette case with a bright corner in his hand, and said, "What kind of smoke cream do you want, please bear it, there is only cloud and soil, do you know how to accommodate?" , dragged a small stool and sat down in front of the bed. "It's good, it's good. Seventh Miss, I'll do it myself, I don't dare to work." "The dial number is regular!" "Old Qi," Hu Xueyan said, "you don't have to be polite. I know you are not very good at smoking. Since Master Sha said so, you let Master Sha do it himself." "Gemenu has no choice but to be respectful and not to obey fate." He said, put down the cigarette case, ordered hot tea and candy, and went to peel a plate of fruit, and then said, "If there is anything wrong, please say hello." It's the end. The slave will come to the front of the wave." When she put down the door curtain and left, Sha Yixin had already lifted the lid of the box, and started to brew cigarettes on the crystal "Taigu Lantern" with a cigarette stick. It was clean and neat, and after a while, it was made into a big smoke bubble with all three characters of "yellow, high, and pine". Make a hole in the middle of the smoke bubble, then turn sideways and stretch the bong towards Hu Xueyan. "Please, please." Hu Xueyan waved his hands hastily, "I don't have the blessing of 'fushou balm'." Hearing this, Sha Yixin stopped being polite, pointed at the fire and finished smoking in one breath, "sha, sand, sand", took a sip of hot tea from mouth to mouth with the hot camellia pot, closed his eyes for a while, and then started Pale white smoke came out of the nostrils. Sha Yixin had the energy to talk after this pipe of smoke went down—it was really interesting.Talking about a person Hu Xueyan knew very well, Gong Xiaogong who was called a "traitor". This person is the son of Gong Dingan, a famous scholar during the Daoguang period.The Gong family is a family from Hangzhou. Gong Dingan's father and ancestors were all prominent officials. He also has profound attainments in his studies.But after winning the examination, he failed in the general examination and failed several times. It turned out that Xuanzong's qualifications and temperament were very similar to Sizong, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Cao Zhenyong is a mediocre person who is jealous of the virtuous and capable, and deceives his superiors and subordinates. He specially persuades Xuanzong to be picky, and to observe for clarity. Therefore, the political style and writing style are both weak. The quality of the articles in the test paper is second. The most important thing is that the format should not be wrong. Even if it violates the "legal order", no matter how good the article is, it will be rejected.Gong Ding'an lost his name to Sun Shan several times because of this. After finally passing the exam, everyone said that he must order "Hanlin Academy Shujishi", but who knew that the palace examination paper was not selected by the Hanlin Academy because of poor calligraphy.Gong Dingan was full of complaints and had nothing to vent. He asked his concubine and girls to use "big papers" to practice calligraphy. Some of them wrote "black, big, light, and round" in an excellent "guange style". He boasted to others and said, "If you can go to the test for this move, you must order Hanlin." At that time, there was a talented woman from Manchuria named "Xilin Taiqingchun", whose poems were as famous as Nalan Xingde.She is the side Fujin of Baylor Yihui, who lives in Taiping Lake in the southwest corner of the capital, which is later known as Prince Chun's Mansion, which is also the "Qiandi" where Emperor Guangxu was born.Because Gong Ding'an works in the clan's mansion, and because he is proficient in the study of characters and phonology, and can speak Manchurian and Mongolian, not only for "returning to official business", he often visits the residence of relatives and nobles, but also wins the appreciation of some relatives.Yihui people are very open-minded, and Xilin Taiqingchun couldn't help singing with the nobles and celebrities of the court. Gong Ding'an is the person who has the closest relationship with Xilin Taiqingchun's poems and papers. Because Gong Dingan was late in his department, he was only a "officer" when he was in his forties, with a limited future and a meager salary, so he wanted to understand the official.At that time, the salt merchants in Jianghuai were still very rich, and the salt merchants liked to be arty. A person like Gong Ding'an, who was famous in the public office, could live a very comfortable life by "playing the autumn wind".I made up my mind and acted resolutely, but there have been rumors in the capital that he has no choice but to dismiss his official position, because there is an ulterior secret between him and Xilin Taiqingchun, if he does not resign his official position and leave Beijing, there will be unforeseen disasters .Unfortunately, not long after he resigned, he became the head of an academy, and died suddenly overnight. It was really a stroke, and it is said that he was poisoned to death. Gong Xiaogong is the eldest son of Gong Ding'an. He has many names and nicknames. In his later years, he called himself "Half Lun". , it is hard to say that there is still a "half relationship".From this alias, one can imagine that he is a madman. Gong Xiaogong is very talented. Due to his genetics and family education, he is also proficient in Manchu and Mongolian characters. What is even better than his father is that he can also speak English.During the Xianfeng period, Gong Xiaogong lived in Shanghai. He was introduced by a Cantonese surnamed Zeng and got to know the British Minister Wade.During the battle of the British and French allied forces, Wade went north, bringing Gong Xiaogong's documents and consultants.When the British and French allied forces broke through the capital and set fire to the Old Summer Palace, it was said that Gong Xiaogong was the leader who took advantage of the fire to steal a lot of treasures and lived in the Shanghai Concession as an apartment, spending money and dying of poverty. "The origin. "This is wronging him." Hu Xueyan replied, "I know him very well. There are madness, but it is not enough to be a traitor." "It's true. It's a pity for this person!" Sha Yixin said, "Nowadays, there are not many people who pay attention to Western affairs and can really understand the temperament of foreigners. Gong Xiaogong is one of them. If he didn't give up on himself, he could replace those people now." If you want to learn the strengths of foreigners, or if you really want to be a governor, you can help me a lot." "Then according to Yiweng, among the current governors, which ones really want to make a career?" Hu Xueyan asked casually. "Like Zhang Zhenxuan." Zhang Zhenxuan is Zhang Shusheng, the current governor of Zhili.When mentioning this person, Hu Xueyan had to be concerned, because since Zuo Zongtang intended to expel Li Hongzhang's influence in Liangjiang, he would have a direct conflict of interest with Zhang Shusheng, so he wanted to inquire about this person if he had the opportunity. "I heard that Zhang Zhijun is a scholar who started his career with military merits. Now there is a group of Qingliu in Beijing, who are extremely arrogant, and the old men who came from the army can stand them?" Hu Xueyan said again, "In Guangdong before, it can be said that they were born in the sky. Emperor Gaoyuan is now stationed in Tianjin, and I don’t know how many Hanlins pass there by the sea, so he, the governor, must be very troubled!" "Zhang Zhenxuan is not an old man. He was born in a granary—" "It turned out to be a lan student." Hu Xueyan felt that Zhang Shusheng was an old man who was born in the army, and it was a slip of the tongue, because he knew that lan students were among the scholars, second only to Bagong, and there were only a few in a county. With a share of money and food, children who enter school must also be guarantors, and as a rule, they must also be given a thank-you gift. Therefore, senior scholars must not only have real talents and practical learning, but also have good conduct, otherwise Xuezheng will not give this Those who have a limited number of places and have a lot of income are given easily. "Zhang Zhenxuan was born as a gangster, and later took advantage of it." Sha Yixin continued to talk about Zhang Shusheng's experience, "He was in Li Hefei's Huai Army at first, and his reputation was not only inferior to that of Cheng Xueqi, Liu Bingzhang, Guo Songlin, and Liu Mingchuan. It's not even as good as Pan Dingxin. But from military merit to fifth rank, changing the same group, from Wu to Wen, this is an advantage. In the summer of the fourth year of Tongzhi, he acted as an agent of Huaihai Road. Liu Liumazi was the governor of Zhili, and the official worshiped first rank, but他情愿不要这个一品官员，回合肥老家去吃闲饭。雪翁，你知道不知道，这是什么道理？” 这道理胡雪岩懂。“刘六麻子”是刘铭传的外号，他的故事，胡雪岩也听人谈过。原来一省绿营兵的最高武官是提督，通称“军门”，在军队里很神气，一遇见督抚就矮了半截，因为总督挂兵部尚书衔，巡抚挂兵部侍郎衔，都算是兵部的“堂官”，也都是提督的上司，一品的提督要受二品的巡抚的节制，而且正式见礼时，要用“堂参”的大礼。刘铭传自命为儒将，刻过一部《大潜山房诗集》，认为武官即使一品亦不值钱，所以告病开缺，潜居在他的“山房”中。 “是的，武官不值钱。张振轩那时虽只是一个道员，可是一升直隶臬司，一帆风顺，同治十年就以漕运总督署理两江总督。他之得意，李合肥自然很提携他，关系交情不同泛泛，所以这回李合肥丁忧开缺，特保张振轩署理，自然是有作用的。” “啊，啊，我懂了。”胡雪岩恍然大悟，“原来他是替李合肥暂且看家。” “正是。不过，李合肥不知道，昔日部属，已非吴下阿蒙，张振轩跟清流结交上了，那是大前年——” 大前年——光绪五年十一月，两江总督沈葆桢病殁在任上，朝命以两广总督刘坤一调任两江，留下来的缺，由张树声以广西巡抚升任。 广州是八旗驻防之地，广州将军叫长善，出身满洲八大贵族之一的他他拉氏。此人很风雅，乐于奖掖后进，尤其是没有满汉的畛域之见。将军署的后花园，颇有花木之胜，长善常常邀请广州的一班少年名士作文酒之会。前年庚辰科会试，闱中由工部尚书翁同和主持，实学真才多能脱颖而出，其中广东的梁鼎芬，广西的于式枚，便常常作长善座上客，而且都点了翰林。 在广州时，张树声的儿子张华奎，亦常受长善的招邀，所以跟于式枚、梁鼎芬，还有一个文名盛于于、梁，但廪生会试不幸落第的江西人文廷式，都是极熟的朋友。这时张华奎随父到直隶总督任上，便经常进京，与于、梁、文等三人盘桓。虽说他乡遇故，旧雨情深，但张华奎却是另有企图。 原来这几年言路的势力极大，尤其是一班兼讲官的翰林，一言九鼎，连慈禧太后及恭王都不能不听，这班人就是“清流”，其中最有名的四个人，号为“翰林四谏”。于式枚、梁鼎芬虽是翰林后辈，但文名久著，所以亦常与清流有往还，而张华奎便是凭借了于、梁的关系，得以上交张佩纶、盛昱这一班响当当大清流。 这张华奎是个举人，年纪虽轻，人很能干，而且赋性谦和可亲，加以“北洋公所”积存的“公款”很多，凡是应酬京官，无不可以报销，使得张华奎越发长袖善舞。清流们集会，不论是在松筠庵，还是“畿辅先哲寺”，或者陶然亭、崇效寺这些名胜之处，乃至于八大胡同“相公”的下处，筵宴所需，都是他来备办，有事需要奔走联络，张华奎更是义不容辞，因而得了个“青牛腿”的外号。 “青牛”是清流的谐音。民间家家有“青牛图”，春为东、东为木、木色青，所以“青牛”也就是春牛。画春牛图时，头、身、角、耳、腹、尾、胫、蹄，部位分明，因而好事者，用青牛的各部分，来形容清流中人，牛头是同治皇帝的师傅李鸿藻，他门下两张——张之洞、张佩纶是牛身、牛腹。也有人说，李鸿藻是驱牛的勾芒神，张佩纶才是牛头，因为他头上的一对角厉害不过，凡被触及，必受巨创。 张华奎因为替清流效奔走之劳，所以名之为“腿”，但也有人说，他连“清流腿”都不够资格，只是“清流靴子”为“清流腿”服务而已。 不管是“清流腿”还是“清流靴子”，张华奎很受人瞩目是事实。不过因此而引起了李鸿章门下的敌视，认为他“图谋不轨”，第一是因为他常巴结翁同和，而翁同和一向是与李鸿章不睦，同时清流多为北派领袖李鸿藻门下，而翁同和是南派巨擘，对政事的见解，一向是有差异的；第二，张华奎拼命拉拢清流，显然是在为他父亲培养声名，目的是想取李鸿章而代之。 这些加油添酱的谗言，不断传到合肥，在“闭门读礼”的李鸿章不由得也动了疑心。他的一班徒党，因而开始谋画逐张迎李之计，不久便找到了可乘之机。 原来张佩纶满腹经纶，颇有用世之志，张华奎便向他父献计，仿照当年左宗棠奏调袁葆恒来提高本人声望的办法，不妨奏调张佩纶“帮办北洋事务”，专门督办水师。张树声同意以后，张华奎极力向张佩纶游说，那时北洋的水师，已拥有好几艘铁甲兵轮，规模壮阔，前程无量，张佩纶怦然心动，终于同意了。 于是天津、保定等处，很快地传出消息，还说张佩纶帮办北洋军务后，将大加整顿，“四道八镇”，一律要参。直隶总督属下，有四名道员，八名总兵，总兵驻防之地称为“镇”，四道八镇便是直隶文武官员的经制，当然全部都是李鸿章所派的。 不道在此要紧关头，张树声父子一则操之过急，二则不明京朝掌故，以至于走错了一步。原来封疆大吏，准许奏调京官到省任职，但不准奏调翰林，这个禁例在乾隆年间更为严格。因为翰林如兼日讲起居注官，随侍在皇帝身边，一言一动，无不深知，而且有机会看到各种奏章，参与国家机密，如为疆吏所奏调，便有泄密之虞，因而有此厉禁。 到得洪杨以后，禁例虽不如以前之严，但第一要看请奏调的人，够不够分量；第二，要看奏调的时机，是否确有需要。当年左宗棠是封侯拜相的勋臣，奏调袁葆恒总理粮台，又有正当大举西征，用兵深资倚赖的理由，自然容易照准。如今张树声的资格远不如左宗棠，且亦非军务所必需，因而请奏调张佩纶的折子一到军机处，竟奏旨驳斥。这一下不但张树声以封疆大吏碰这个硬钉子，大伤威望，张佩纶的面子更加难看。 照张佩纶的想法，他应该是“诸侯之上客”，张树声应该北面以师礼相事，如今答应帮办北洋军务，已嫌委屈，张树声果然有心延揽，应该设法疏通军机，用“特旨”派他到北洋，才够面子。如今上谕中责备张树声“冒昧”，确是太冒昧了。 李鸿章一系的北洋官僚，看到张树声碰钉子，自然高兴，又听说张佩纶对张家父子有不满的表示，更是大喜过望，认为挑拨离间的良机，决不可失。恰好张树声上奏的那天有“考差”——两榜出身的京官，须经考试合格，才能放出去当乡试主考，一任考官，所得可以维持一两年的生活，所以绝少有人放弃考差，但张佩纶因为有丧服在身，不能派任考官，考差自然不必参加。这个原故，外人不会知道，因而别有用心者，就可以造他一个谣言，说他故意避考，在家等待准为张树声所请的上谕，以便走马上任。这个中伤的谣言，传布很快也很广，张佩纶的清誉大损，不免恼羞成怒，自然是迁怒到张家父子身上。 “丰润学士的气量小是大家都知道的，他一定会复仇，张振轩弄巧成拙，直督一定保不住。”沙一心说，“现在只是在找一个可以让李合肥夺情回任的理由，这个理由一找到，张振轩就要交卸。” 这段内幕，对胡雪岩很有用，原以为李鸿章即会回任，也是父母之丧二十七个月以后的事。不过只要有理由，随时可以回任。照此看来，左宗棠想驱逐李鸿章在两江的势力，应该加速推行才是。 其时沙一心的瘾已过足，便由胡雪岩陪着到湘云老四妆阁中，飞觞醉月地闹了一回酒，沙一心起身告辞，余客亦知胡雪岩与古应春第二天一早要陪左宗棠巡视制造局，都说要走。只有林茂先在湘云老四那里“借干铺”。 “沙一心这个人很有用，”在归途中，胡雪岩对古应春说，“你以后不妨跟他多联络联络，他对淮军及北洋的情形很熟，有事可以请他打听。” “我的原意就是如此。小爷叔放心好了，我会安排。”