Chapter 4 Call for escort

The siblings were busy, and Hu Xueyan was lying on the bed alone and thinking.When You Wu came back in again, he had already made up his mind. "Fifth Brother, let's talk about each other now. How is Mi?" "I've taken care of it, and it will be settled this afternoon." You Wu replied, "Although the more the better, it also depends on how many boats Boss Yu has. In a word, as long as he has boats, I have rice." "Okay, let's talk about boats. Boss Yu is afraid of coming and going, and he is most afraid of Changmao. But it doesn't matter, Changmao is on the shore, we are in the river, they don't have gunboats, so don't be afraid of him. At most, they can sit in a small boat and use foreign guns. Come and attack. We can have a group of people, prepare them with dozens of good guns, and fire them as soon as we say we want to fire, and beat him to death." Hu Xueyan said again, "I have also thought about this group of people. I don't know if Lao Gu and Yang Are you familiar?"

You Wu understood what he meant, nodded and said, "Very familiar. It doesn't matter if you're not familiar." "Why?" Hu Xueyan asked. "Uncle, do you mean someone who wants to borrow foreign general Huaer?" "That's right!" Hu Xueyan asked, "Didn't it be said that the negotiations between the foreign general and Haidao were all negotiated by Yang Fang?" "That's right. Yang Fang is the director of the 'Siming Public Office', and Ningbo is also in Zhejiang. There is no reason why he refuses to contribute to the affairs of his hometown. Even if he doesn't know him, he can still ask him for help."

"I don't know much about this person's life. Of course, if there are acquaintances who talk about it, things are more likely to succeed. However, I think so. I don't know if it will work. I have to ask Old Gu first, he doesn't know. When are you coming back?" "You don't need to ask him," You said, "There is already someone here." This person is Xiao Jiaji.He went to work with Gu Yingchun early in the morning. Because of Hu Xueyan's care, Wang Youling's two blood letters had to be handed over to Xue Huan, so Gu Yingchun has been guarding the Jiangsu Governor's office in Shanghai, waiting to be heard.For fear that Hu Xueyan would miss him, Xiao Jiaji was specially sent back to deliver the letter.

"Look," Hu Xueyan said to You Wu, "this is the reason why I just planned to borrow heavily from foreign generals. If there is no way to do things in the officialdom, it will not work. It is so difficult to meet Xue Futai, how can you expect him to send troops? Protect our food. Even if you are willing to send it, you won’t be able to move in three or two days.” He added, emphatically, “I’ve made up my mind, we’ve decided to find a way by ourselves.” So You Wu told Xiao Jiaji his plan, and Xiao Jiaji listened quietly without making a sound. "How is it? Jiaji!" Hu Xueyan asked urgently, already seeing that he had other ideas.

"There is a way to do this. It looks like a lot of trouble, but it's actually easy." He said, "It's better to ask the British or French naval admiral to send a military ship to escort." "This—" You Wu was the first to express doubts, "Is this going to work?" "It works." Xiao Jiaji said, "Foreigners have another set of rules. It is one thing to start a war, but another to save the people. If this batch of rice is military rations, they will not be able to escort it. To save the people, of course Can." Hearing this, Hu Xueyan was very happy.But, "How do I explain this, and who do I talk to?" he asked.

"I can go!" Xiao Jiaji volunteered, but immediately added, "But first ask my master." "Of course your master agrees," You Wu interjected, "However, I still don't quite believe it, I'm afraid there won't be such a good thing." "That might as well be a two-pronged approach." Hu Xueyan asked Xiao Jiaji, "Look, we pay for it ourselves, and ask Huaer to send dozens of people to protect it. Can we try this method?" "There is nothing you can't try." Xiao Jiaji replied, "However, I find it difficult. Why—"

The reason is firstly that the "mercenaries" under Hua Er have been "accustomed" to Shanghai Dao Wu Xu, and spending a lot of money may not be able to win their efforts; secondly, these mercenaries are "infantry Army", it is doubtful whether it can exert its power on the water. "It makes sense." Hu Xueyan was the most unwilling to conceal the strengths of others, and admired Xiao Jiaji greatly, "Jia Ji, I need you to do me a favor in this matter." "Mr. Hu is serious. If there is anything, just ask." One is appreciation, the other is admiration, so You Wu has a concern, let's not talk about it for now, we have to wait for Gu Yingchun to come back.

"Xue Futai saw you." Gu Yingchun looked unhappy, "Uncle, Wang Xuegong is probably delusional if he wants to expect him to do anything." "What did he say?" Hu Xueyan asked calmly. It's okay if you don't ask, but it makes people angry if you ask.Xue Huan lamented a lot of hard work, and blamed Wang Youling for not thinking of a way to train the army in Zhejiang. The military pay was used to support southern Anhui and Jiangxi. Now that the situation is bad, Shanghai is also in a tight spot.He also mentioned how domineering and headstrong he was when he was in Jiangsu, and he said that he has fallen into today's situation, which is to blame himself.

"It's no wonder he!" Gu Yingchun said again, "The chaos in Beijing has turned upside down, and the two princes have lost their lives. Now it's Prince Gong who is in power again, with one emperor and one courtier. Zeng Guofan is coming to Liangjiang soon. Xue Fu The acting governor of Liangjiang in Taiwan and the governor of Jiangsu in actuality seem to be on the verge of crumbling, and of course they are in a bad mood." "I know." Hu Xueyan said, "Before you came, I discussed with Wu Ge and Jia Ji, and I didn't want to rely on him at first. However, he is the governor of Jiangsu, and Wang Xuegong's book must only invite him Baifa. I don’t know about this matter, did he do it?”

"He didn't dare not to do it." Gu Yingchun said, "Even the business of urging Li Yuandu has been explained. I was afraid that it would be too late, so I specially said hello and promised to handle all the business together tomorrow." "Leave it alone, then. We negotiate ours." So You Wu and Xiao Jiaji told Gu Yingchun exactly what happened just now.This was a great comfort to him.Originally, in order to see Xue Huan, he wasted a good time for nothing, not only angry, but also very anxious.From what I can see now, there are many ways to go, and things are not unprepared, so I feel relieved and my spirits are greatly refreshed.

"Since this is the case, we must first determine the purpose. Regarding the matter of hiring soldiers to escort, we can talk to the admirals of Britain and France and send troops to escort. Not only is the force strong enough, it is safe enough, and it doesn't cost money. But there are two concerns. First, I’m afraid the governor of Jiangsu still needs to do official work; second, it can’t be done within three to five days.” "It's too slow!" Hu Xueyan replied immediately, "I'm living like a year now, and I can't wait to leave tomorrow." "The only way to do it is to hire Hua Er's subordinates. I'm afraid this amount of money is quite a lot." "How much?" "It depends on how many people are hired. Each person should have at least thirty taels of silver, and one thousand taels of silver will be given to each person who dies. If there are fifty people, at least one thousand five. If—" If all of them were killed in battle, they would have to pay an additional 50,000 yuan. Gu Yingchun realized that this was too frustrating when the words reached his mouth. As expected, Hu Xueyan's life would not be guaranteed, so he swallowed the words. Hu Xueyan didn't take it seriously, "One thousand and five is one thousand and five. The leader of the team will always give more, I don't care. On the contrary," he pointed to Xiao Jiaji and said, "His worries are good, I am afraid that he is used to fighting on the shore. Yes, once you get on the boat, you can’t use your strength, you can’t use your strength.” "You have to ask them themselves to know. Although there must be brave men under heavy rewards, life cannot be exchanged for money. If they are not sure, of course they dare not agree rashly. We outsiders don't have to be smart." Gu Yingchun's last words seemed to be admonishing the students, so Xiao Jiaji, who originally wanted to express his opinion, was inconvenient to speak. "Speaking of Yang Fang, I also know him. Although we don't have a deep friendship, he still thinks highly of me. I'll go see him tonight." "That's right! Let's work separately. At this moment, let's make a rule that the rice and sand boats belong to me, and the foreign generals belong to you." You Wu said to Gu Yingchun, "There is one more thing, you need to transfer a batch of cash positions. " "It doesn't matter!" Hu Xueyan took a ring from his hand and handed it to Gu Yingchun, "You know the number of shops I've been dealing with. It depends on how many positions you have. You can adjust it as you like." The ring is made of red gold, and there are eight coins even if there is no one tael. It is extremely large and very vulgar, but it is actually a stamp. With the four Zhu Wenzhuan characters of "Hu Xueyan Seal" on the ring surface, one hundred and eighty thousand silver coins were mobilized. Do it now.However, with Gu Yingchun's strength, this is not enough. "No need! You don't leave this ring for a moment, and you still carry it yourself." "No!" Hu Xueyan said, "I have other intentions. This time I go back to Hangzhou, it's all right. If we can't meet again in the future, I will leave everything to you. People owe people, and I will write a list tomorrow to hand over to you." you." It's all tragic when it's entrusted to the funeral.Gu Yingchun also became more and more unwilling to accept his ring seal, took his hand and insisted on putting it on for him.While they were chatting, Grandma Qigu came back, so she had to ask what happened.Everyone knew that she was emotional, and if she said it, it would definitely make her sad, so they winked at each other and covered it up with random words. "The dishes have been ordered. We will cover forty tables for them with a table of sea vegetables at 8 taels of silver." Grandma Qigu said, "The boss there said that it is a loss-making business, but he wants to use this business to create a brand. Since people value it so much, people Less, the scene is not lively enough, and it is not good-looking, fifth brother, I am a little worried." "What are you worried about? Call someone to help with the scene and have a banquet, are you afraid that there will be no one? I will take care of Li Delong later." "Then where is Boss Yu?" "You can rest assured about this. The method that my uncle thinks of is what Boss Yu couldn't wish for, and there must be many people coming." You Wu said again, "If you don't worry about it, I'll ask Li Delong to let the wind out and say that we will take care of it." If you don’t come to the Taihe Pavilion, please invite the Shachuan Gang, if you don’t come, you will look down on us.” "That's good. I'll ask someone to inform, and I'll prepare another ten tables there." Grandma Qigu said as she walked out. "Seventh Sister is really interesting." Hu Xueyan smiled, "It's so lively, it must be a lucky person." "Let's gossip. I still have something to do. Ying Chun, what do you think?" You Wu said, "My uncle needs help. To be honest, it's useless for you and me to go. I'll send Li Delong, you send Xiao Jiaji , followed my uncle all the way to Hangzhou." "En!" Gu Yingchun had a slightly hesitant expression. "No, no need." Hu Xueyan was the most knowledgeable, and quickly resigned. Gu Yingchun was really in a difficult situation.Because the relationship between Xiao Jiaji and him is different from that of the Cao Gang.The Cao Gang opens the Xiangtang to accept apprentices, the master's order is as heavy as a mountain, and he is born and died, so it should not be taken seriously.After all, Xiao Jiaji was just an apprentice learning foreign language and doing business. When it comes to such matters of life and death, it is inconvenient to force him. You have to ask him himself. But Hu Xueyan's friendship in this regard is really too deep.If you can have a part, you must do your part, and you will never be able to say no to excuses.At the same time, I saw that Hu Xueyan said "no need", but there was a disappointed expression on his face, and he felt more and more sorry. Think about it and say honestly: "Uncle, if I had a real brother, I would definitely ask him to follow you. Jiaji's name is apprentice, but his surname is Xiao, I'll ask him." At this point If Xiao Jiaji was timid and refused to go, wouldn't it appear that his apprentice was "not enough", so he had to add a cover-up sentence, "His old lady is sick in bed. If the illness is not harmful, I miss him. Will definitely go." Just after the conversation, someone outside the door spoke. It was Xiao Jiaji's voice. He happened to come over and heard it, and volunteered: "I'll go! I'll definitely go!" This solved Gu Yingchun's problem, and felt that his face was very radiant, but Hu Xueyan had to thank him - he also knew that Xiao Jiaji's mother was ill in bed, it was Gu Yingchun's deliberate setback in order to show compassion for his apprentice .It's just that "it's easy to be a bachelor, and it's hard to escape through the door", and this "passing the door", Gu Yingchun is inconvenient to fight, so he has to speak up by himself. "Jiaji, I know your loyalty, but being loyal and filial is the first, and making the old lady feel unwell, you should stay and serve." "No problem, no problem!" Xiao Jiaji was also very alert, and quickly replied, "My mother's stomachache is an old problem, and it will be cured in two or three days." "That's how it is!" Gu Yingchun stood up, "Since you're going to follow, everything should be on top, so you and I can go to see Boss Yang of 'Big Notes'." A store opened by Yang Fang that specializes in selling foreign villages is called "Daji".When the two masters and apprentices arrived there, Yang Fang was having a big banquet for merchants, so it was all right to invite them to sit and socialize, but Gu Yingchun, in order to express the urgency of the situation, resolutely declined, and at the same time expressed a ruthless request: if necessary, he will be there immediately. Talk alone. "Okay!" Yang Fang promised generously, "Please come here." In the corner of the living room, sitting side by side.Gu Yingchun straight to the point explained why he came here, Yang Fang took a breath, looking quite troublesome. "Brother Yang, forgive me for saying something I shouldn't have said. The east and the west of Zhejiang are closely related. For the sake of the fellow villagers in your province, I ask you to find a way anyway." "Of course I have to think of a way, of course I have to think of a way." Yang Fang said repeatedly, "The embarrassing thing is that recently Hua Er and Wu Daotai have had a quarrel. Temperament, it's not easy to talk. Now there is only this: I will send someone to ask him out first, and I will meet with him tonight. After I finish perfunctory with the guests, we will go together. Just eat and drink, why don't you just sit here .” Speaking of this, Gu Yingchun was naturally inconvenient to refuse, and went to the table to socialize, and at the same time, he was planning in his stomach how to persuade Hua Er. "Master, I think I'll go back first and come back later." Xiao Jiaji said suddenly, "I'm going to ask Mr. Hu carefully." "what? "Foreigners do things carefully, and they are fighting wars. They must ask clearly about the situation on the road, otherwise they will never agree." "That's right." Yang Fang praised greatly, "This little brother is really knowledgeable. Then you go quickly! Can't we finish talking for two hours?" "enough." "Okay. I'll meet Walter at nine o'clock. Come anyway at half past eight." Before the scheduled time, Xiao Jiaji had gone and came back. In addition to asking him everything he wanted to ask, he also brought a word from Hu Xueyan. "Master! Mr. Hu asked me to tell Master: Please general is worse than aggressive general!" This is really a bit of a "military division".Strategize and win thousands of miles, and pay for such a "kit".On the bumpy carriage, Gu Yingchun repeatedly savored the six words "please generals are not as good as aggressive generals". Hua Er camped near the Jing'an Temple in Shanghai.Yang Fang was used to coming here, the guard at the gate of the camp took a lantern and waved his hand to let him go, and the carriage drove to Huaer's "signature room". After the introduction, the four of them sat around a small round table.Yang Fang started by saying that Gu Yingchun is one of the representatives of the official circles in Zhejiang, and he would like to ask for help.Then Gu Yingchun spoke. First, he supplemented Yang Fang's words and revealed his identity. He said that the official representative of the Zhejiang officialdom was Hu Xueyan, a very successful businessman with an official position in the Qing Dynasty, and he was the representative appointed by Hu Xueyan. Having said that, Wall raised his first question: "Why did Mr. Hu appoint a representative?" "He was injured, very seriously. In order to get back within three to five days, he needs to obey the doctor's orders and must not act." Gu Yingchun said, "He is staying at my house to recuperate." "Oh!" Hua Er showed understanding, "Please continue." Therefore, Gu Yingchun expressed his original intention and expressed his hope, but also complimented him, saying that Hua Er will definitely stand on a humane standpoint and help accomplish this righteous deed, and his brave subordinates will also successfully complete the task. Halfway through the talk, Wall was already shaking his head.After he finished speaking, he immediately replied in a stern voice: "Sorry! I sympathize, but I can't help you." "This is so disappointing to me." Gu Yingchun asked, "Can you tell me why you can't help?" "Of course! First, Zhejiang is not the area where I should send troops; second, the mission is very dangerous, and I am not sure." "The first reason does not seem to be valid. I have already said that this is a charitable mission—" "No!" Hua Er rushed to say, "I have my position." "Isn't it your position to help Shun-help the Chinese government?" "Yes." Wall said reluctantly, "I must take care of Shanghai first." "However, dispatching fifty people will not affect your strength." "Whether it will affect it or not is up to me to judge." "Colonel," Yang Fang helped to say good words, "Everyone has great hopes for you, you shouldn't refuse like this." "No!" Wall shook his head, "The mission is too dangerous, it's a worthless adventure." "It's not dangerous!" Gu Yingchun pointed to Xiao Jiaji and said, "He can explain everything to you." "No! I don't need to listen to his explanation." This way of rejecting people thousands of miles away, and showing contempt, Gu Yingchun couldn't help but get angry.Thinking of Hu Xueyan's words, he immediately got hesitant, sneered, and said to Yang Fang with a frosty face: "People's words can't be trusted. All lobbyists will speak justice and justice, be eager to help others, be loyal and brave, who knows that it's not this time at all." It’s just a bunch of cowardly and greedy mercenaries!” Speaking of the last sentence, Hua Er suddenly changed color, stood up suddenly, looked down at Gu Yingchun and shouted: "Who do you say is a cowardly and profit-seeking mercenary?" "You should know." "Of course I know!" Wall roared, "You must apologize, we are not mercenaries." "So, you are a regular army?" "certainly." "A regular army must be under the command of others. Excuse me, should you take orders from Chinese officials? Is it Xue or Wu? As long as you say it, I will have my own way." This strike hit Hua Er's vital point. If it is admitted that someone can command him, then finding someone who can command him to give orders would not be self-deprecating. "To be honest, maybe I am too much greedy for profit, but I don't admit that it is wrong to say that you are timid!" "Your biggest mistake is this. Do you know how insulting it is to say that a soldier is cowardly?" Gu Yingchun didn't give in at all, and confronted him tit for tat: "If it's an insult, it's because of your own behavior!" "What!" Hua Er grabbed Gu Yingchun's shoulder and shook it vigorously, "Speak! Where do I show timidity?" Seeing that he was going to use force, Xiao Jiaji's nurse was eager to block him, and then Yang Fang also came to persuade him, but Huaer's strength was strong and he was furious, so he refused to let go. Gu Yingchun looked calm, and said coldly: "Anyone who is timid is brave enough to fight privately." One sentence made Hua Er let go of his hand, turned to Yang Fang and said, "I must maintain my prestige. This person's behavior does not insult an individual, but the entire group. This matter is quite serious. If he does not have a reasonable explanation , he will bear all the bad consequences." Yang Fang didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Gu Yingchun's gourd, so he couldn't help complaining: "This is not good! I came here to ask for help, so how can I make such a big fuss? Now, it's a little bit difficult to end." He spoke in Chinese, and Gu Yingchun also answered him in Chinese: "Don't worry! I will force him to behave like this! Of course I have a reasonable explanation." Yang Fang didn't know that he followed Hu Xueyan's "ingenious trick" of "please generals rather than aggressive generals", which has other magical effects, so he just solemnly asked again and again: "Be peaceful, be peaceful, and don't cause disputes." "Please don't worry, unless he is unreasonable, he will definitely convince me." Gu Yingchun said these few words in Chinese, then turned his face and said to Huaer in English, "Colonel! There are hundreds of thousands of people in Hangzhou, and they are on the verge of starving to death. fate. They need food, just like you and I need breath now. If with your help, risking this route to transport food to Hangzhou, hundreds of thousands of people will survive. This is a 'worthless adventure' ?" One sentence stopped Wall.He rolled a cigarette and lit the foreign lamp, and said in the thick smoke: "Take this risk, there is no possibility of success." "Is it possible, let's not talk about it. Please answer my question: if the adventure succeeds, is it worth it?" Wall was forced to have no choice but to admit: "If it can be successful, of course it will be valuable." "Very good!" Gu Yingchun followed up his words, "I think you are a valuable person, and of course you are willing to do valuable things. You should remember that I told you that this task is not dangerous. Xiao can explain everything to you. But you don’t think about it at all. When you hear about Hong Yang’s troops, you first feel timid—" "Who said that!" Hua Er was not convinced, "You are insulting me." "I hope you will show your bravery and your worth with your actions." "Okay!" Excited, Hua Er blurted out, "Let me understand the situation first." Then he stood up, walked to a map and stood still. Things turned around, Yang Fang admired and excited, quickly took the lamp on the table, and at the same time signaled Xiao Jiaji to explain the situation.Gu Yingchun followed along, looking at the map drawn on thick foreign paper on the wall under the light of the foreign lamps.This kind of map is much more complicated than the map of China, and there are many small red and blue pennants nailed on it, making it even more difficult to understand.But Xiao Jiaji often looked at the nautical charts on the ship, so after watching for a while, he understood. "You won't encounter any enemies at sea. The possible danger starts here." Xiao Jiaji pointed to the Biezimen and said, "In fact, there is only one more dangerous place, because the sea is vast, and Hong Yang's troops don't have gunboats, so they can't threaten us. There is only one place where the two mountains in the north and the south are bounded by a pass, which is also the source of the famous "Zhejiang Tide". Passing through this pass, the river widens again, and the danger disappears." "Then how wide is the river at this pass?" "I haven't measured it. But if you shoot with a long gun on the shore, you can hit the ship without any power." Wall shook his head: "I'm not afraid of rifles." Then he asked, "Is there a battery?" "Absolutely not." Gu Yingchun said beside him. "Even if there are no forts, there must be temporary artillery positions. If it were me, I would definitely deploy artillery positions here." "Don't overestimate Hong Yang's troops." Gu Yingchun said again, "It's impossible for them to understand your military art." Wall thinks this is a good point.He has taken many battles with Long Mao, so he knows a lot about it. They are not even very proficient with foreign guns, and of course they don't know how to use firepower to hold key points.Looking further, even if you know it, you don't need to defend this pass, because the Qing army in this area is weak, and no navy will pass this pass to reinforce Hangzhou.If you deploy artillery for defense, wouldn't it be a useless weapon. However, the principle of "more counts to win" is the same in both Chinese and foreign art of war.Hua Er felt that a safer method should be adopted, so he asked again: "Is this pass very long?" "No." Gu Yingchun reckoned, "at most ten or eight miles." "Then, what ship?" "Use a sea boat." The so-called sea boats are sand boats.Hua Er studied the army and is a layman in ships, but he always knows the direction of the wind. He pointed to the map and said, "Now is the season of northwest wind. Traveling from east to west, the wind direction is very unfavorable." "This point," Gu Yingchun replied very cautiously, "I don't think you need to worry too much. Apart from using sails, there are always other ways to assist navigation. Sea-going ships are strong and tall, and their hulls have considerable defensive capabilities. I think it's pretty safe." "In this regard, I still need to study, and I need to study with the commander of the fleet. It would be best if we could smuggle through this pass in the dark to avoid a direct conflict with Hong Yang's troops." Such a tone already promised to send troops to escort, Yang Fang said happily: "Thank you, Colonel! We will make a decision today to set the number of people and the salary you want to subsidize. What do you think?" "You want fifty people, and I will send them to you according to the number. For other details, please discuss with my quartermaster tomorrow." "Okay!" Yang Fang happily replied, "I totally follow your wishes." So "turning hostility into friendship", Gu Yingchun also thanked with a smile, took his leave and boarded the car.