Chapter 9 Chapter 5 (1-1)

When the Huai army arrived in Shanghai, as Zhu Daqi expected, there was not much harmony between the "strong dragon" and the "land snake".However, Li Hongzhang's "General" Cheng Xueqi quickly became friends with Zhu Daqi and Sun Ziqing, because Sun Ziqing's student Xiao Jiaji and Cheng Xueqi were old acquaintances and had a good friendship, so they tried their best to win them over, and the Huai army needed help. wish for it.Especially in terms of arms, Sun Ziqing helped a lot, but Cheng Xueqi knew that Zhu Daqi was the most admirable person. One day Cheng Xueqi specially invited Xiao Jiaji to see Zhu Daqi.We met each other with sincerity, so we talked very speculatively, and of course they talked deeply.Cheng Xueqiming knew that Zhu Daqi and Wu Xu were from the same hometown, but he didn't shy away from it, and told the truth about Li Hongzhang's dissatisfaction with Wu Xu, without hiding anything.

He told Zhu Daqi that Wu Xu served as the governor of Jiangsu in Shanghai. After Li Hongzhang arrived in Shanghai and received the seal of the governor of Jiangsu, he repeatedly said that he was too busy with business and could only focus on one area. It was best to hand over to Shanghai.In fact, he is advancing by retreating, and he will never give up his job. However, Li Hongzhang wanted to follow his plan, and Baoguo Songtao took over as Shanghai Taoist.I wrote to ask his teacher Zeng Guofan to perform on his behalf, but Zeng Guofan disapproved, thinking that Guo Songtao was a "talent for writing", and it was difficult to be troubled by drama.If you take the liberty to play, you will harm Guo Songtao in the future and delay your official business.Why bother?

Li Hongzhang didn't dare to disobey, so he changed Guo Songtao's protection to Su Songliangdao.But Wu Xu controlled it, the customs tax, the inland lijin, not only did Li Hongzhang have no right to ask, he didn't even know the exact amount of the income and expenditure.It's too unpleasant to be the governor, and at the same time it's hard to win with troops. "There are always four things to fight for victory and defeat with troops. First, the training is strict. It doesn't count if you can win a battle. If you can win a defeat, stay with us and keep your strength, you can be regarded as a well-trained team. Xue Weng, let me say something arrogant. If so, I am sure about it.”

"I know. Otherwise, Li Zhongcheng wouldn't let my brother lead two battalions of soldiers alone." Zhu Daqi asked, "What about the second one?" "The second thing is that the equipment is sharp. My two battalions can also-" "This matter," Zhu Daqi interrupted, "my friend Sun Ziqing and I can help." "Yes. I originally wanted to ask the two of you for help, but there are some difficulties. I will talk about it later. Let me talk about the third thing first, the situation is favorable. "Cheng Xueqi smiled, "I shouldn't have criticized our teacher Zeng, but we might as well talk about it with our own people, our teacher Zeng can't help but be a scholar. "

When it comes to the art of war, Zhu Daqi didn't know anything about it, but in recent years he and Wang Youling guarded Hangzhou, and he knew the tricks, so he asked with great interest: "What does Zeng Zhifu say? He has led troops for many years, and he often wins battles, so he always has his strengths." !" "Yes, Mr. Zeng has one rare advantage: being stable." Cheng Xueqi said, "When it comes to using troops to gain power, he doesn't quite understand. He said that Shanghai is a small town and is close to the sea. It is shaped like the bottom of a cauldron, according to the art of war Speaking of which, it is a desperate situation. So before Li Zhongcheng set off from Anqing, he repeatedly told him to march from Zhenjiang and take advantage of the situation. Only when we got here did we realize that it was not the case. The situation here is very good for fighting long hair.”

"Oh," Zhu Daqi paid more and more attention, "I want to ask for advice." "This area is surrounded by water, and there are many branches and ports. If you are good at using it, you can defeat the enemy and achieve results everywhere." Cheng Xueqi said calmly: "What Changmao relies on is nothing more than a large number of people. The plains and wilds rush forward like a tide. , It is indeed difficult to resist, but in this area, I only need a few hundred people to guard a trap or a bridge, and I can make it difficult for tens of thousands of people to pass. I have carefully read the maps drawn by foreigners. Shanghai to Suzhou is two hundred Duoli, if the navy is capable and quick to respond, there are shortcuts everywhere. Why use Zhenjiang to enter the Huai army?"

"This is the first time I've heard people talk about the situation of using troops in Shanghai! It's really 'listening to what you say is better than reading ten years of books', so brilliant!" Zhu Daqi said, "It seems that the Huai army is bound to make great achievements. " "It's a pity that we can't win the fourth one. The training, equipment, and situation are all favorable; without money, this battle can't be fought. As far as the present is concerned, both Xue Weng and Brother Ziqing are willing to help us by recruiting the best for us." Excellent foreign guns, but if you can't pay for the guns, it's useless."

"This level is negotiable." Zhu Daqi agreed generously, "As long as the brother wants to use it, we will try to supply it first, and the price will be discussed later." "Grateful! Thank you—Xue Weng is so enthusiastic, Huai Jun is endlessly grateful. When I go back to meet Chen Li Zhongcheng, I will make plans with the Liangtai. There must be a payment regulation before I can entrust it." Cheng Xueqi said again. , "War requires money, and it's not limited to buying arms. There are also a lot of expenses. They are all used and owed. For example, if there is any news from Changmao, or the transfer of troops, or someone wants to invest Come here, among them, inquiring and passing on, threading needles, all have to be paid first to be effective. I am afraid that there is only a generous and loyal person like Xue Weng who is willing to help without a penny."

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Zhu Daqi was thinking in his heart. According to what Cheng Xueqi said, Li Hongzhang must take power from Wu Xu, the relationship is really important!For the sake of the overall situation, the friendship between him and Wu Xu's little fellow countryman had to be left behind.It would be best if he could persuade Wu Xu to hand it over by himself, but even if he had enough friendship, Wu Xu might not be willing to listen.We have to find another way for the Huai army. Thoughts were turning in my mind like this, but nothing came out of my mouth.Cheng Xueqi couldn't help but be disappointed, he went all the way, from the four things that military strategists must contend for, to the aspect of financial use, he thought that Zhu Daqi must have some advice, but who knew that it was a waste of effort!

That being the case, there is no need to talk about it, so he stood up and said, "Come to ask for advice some other day!" We had a good talk, but when we left suddenly, Zhu Daqi knew that something was wrong.Cherishing the affection of the conversation that day, he retained him and said: "It's still early, it's still early! Let's talk again. The fourth thing the old man said may be able to talk about the results. " Hearing this, Cheng Xueqi readily agreed: "Yes. Follow orders!" After sitting down again, Zhu Daqi took care of him for a change of tea, and then had a good time talking about business.He was talking about the bank of his own bank, and said that under the "people" of the general department's business, there must be several capable helpers, one is "remittance transfer", which assesses the balance of money, registers the journal, checks the receipts, General review and planning, the responsibility is extremely heavy.The second is "clearing accounts", which specializes in various ledgers and general ledgers, prepares year-end and monthly statements, calculates interest, and manages important documents. It has a very high status in the bank and is the main helper of everyone.Then there is the "guest room" for receiving guests and concurrently serving as general affairs, the "letter room" for correspondence and all documents; and the "running street" for attracting customers and checking customer credit.

The host spoke with gusto, and the guest fell asleep. Cheng Xueqi really didn't understand why he wanted to talk about such an irrelevant and non-urgent matter?I was extremely bored in my heart, just for the sake of being polite, I had to force myself to deal with it. "Let's talk about the account books of the bank. There are so many names that outsiders often don't understand. Some can also be just as the name suggests, for example, "kecunxinyi" is a separate account for customers, and "profits and interests" is a loan account.It's hard to guess like 'Rejuvenation Book'.Dude, do you know what is 'Rejuvenation Book'? " "How would I know?" Cheng Xueqi replied, "I've never looked at the account books!" There was impatience in the words, but Zhu Daqi didn't seem to notice it, and he still said vigorously: "'Rejuvenation Book' specializes in recording bad debts, also called dead debts. The loan is down, and it is not easy to get it back, but the debt is still the same. Remember, I am looking forward to the spring of dead trees and the day of rejuvenation, so it is called "rejuvenation book". However, these accounts are all cleared accounts, so it is not important; the most important thing is two account books, one is called "grass" "Excerpts", the short-term and long-term receipts and payments of daily transactions with customers are all recorded in this book; the other "silver exchange", all due silver collections and settlements are first recorded in this book, and then summarized. Therefore, these two account books must not be lost, otherwise it will be difficult to track down what is owed to others." "Hmm, um!" Cheng Xueqi yawned and responded casually. "Let me tell a story now," Zhu Daqi said, "I have a friend who is also in the same business. He opened a bank and hired a lot of people. He had a dark conscience and wanted to eat the boss. The boss is extremely honest. Of course he was unwilling to move him. Later, an expert taught him a trick. One day, he went to the store and chatted with everyone as if he was a guest. After talking about it, he said lightly: "I'd like to look at the account books." Of course, everyone was not on guard against him, and they also deceived him that he was not very good at it. They took out all the account books and replied, "Here, they are all here. You can see for yourself!" Picking" and "Yinhui" two account books, squeezed them tightly into the sleeves, stood up and said: "I can't read them all for a while, I will read them slowly when I go home!" Once these two account books are taken away, people owe If you owe someone, you won’t be able to figure it out, and the total profit and loss can also be calculated. Everyone with a black conscience suddenly suffered a dumb loss, so they had to obey obediently.” This story is still very boring to Cheng Xueqi, because he is completely alienated from the bank business, and if he doesn't understand the joints, he can't understand the mystery.And Xiao Jiaji is a businessman after all, and he understands Zhu Daqi's temperament, he never talks nonsense, let alone talk about business with people who don't understand business.When it comes to this story, there is a purpose in it, which is already very clear, but it's just that Cheng Xueqi couldn't think of it for a while. Therefore, when Cheng Xueqi left, Xiao Jiaji rushed to send him out of the gate, quietly grabbed him and asked, "Brother Cheng, did you understand Zhu Daotai's words?" "I don't understand at all. To be honest, I don't know anything about business, and I live up to his sincerity." "You act as Zhu Daotai and want you to invest in the bank business? Brother Cheng," Xiao Jiaji said with a smile, "You are really smart all your life, and you were confused for a while! He is giving you advice on how to deal with Wu Xu." "Ah!" Cheng Xueqi suddenly realized, "Understood, I understand. This really failed Zhu Xueweng's kindness!" He thought for a while with a smile on his face and said: "Please pay my respects first. Come back another day to thank and ask for advice. Zhu Xueweng What a friend, what a taste." Songjiang boss and Xiao Wang brought his family members here.Mother and son, husband and wife, father and daughter get together, as if in a lifetime, the whole family, big and small, sobbing, and Aunt Zhu crying by the side.After finally stopping the crying one by one, Zhu Daqi asked Aunt Zhu to settle her relatives in the new house, and then went back to Sun's house to thank Songjiang Old Daoist, and at the same time inquired about the process of the trip. "Things finally went smoothly. The arms were transported to Jinshanwei safely, and Xiao Wang went ashore to look for Chen Shifa. He was very happy to see it. The next day——" The next day, Chen Shifa sent someone to escort Xiao Wang to Jiaxing. After meeting Liu Bucai and explaining what happened in detail, he realized that the plan had changed and the sandboat could not set off.However, when he heard that the boss of Songjiang had arrived and Songjiang Jinshan was his world, Liu Bucai was very excited. He asked Mrs. Sun Xiang to allocate a big boat, and clearly sent the Zhu family and his family to Jinshanwei. stop. "However, from Jinshanwei to Shanghai, I wronged the old lady and my aunt." The boss of Songjiang said apologetically, "The timing was unlucky, and he was going through the army; I'm not afraid of anything else, but the two younger sisters are too young!" Implicitly said, "I had no choice but to pick a path and sneak around." "Where's Uncle Liu?" "Liu Sanshu's trip is very face-saving. Chen Shifa left him there, and there are still things to discuss. Before leaving, he told me: There are still a batch of goods to be shipped. He asked me to prepare a few boats. Maybe he will come with Chen Shifa. Come to Shanghai. Always within three to five days, he will find a way to send someone to deliver the letter." "Excellent!" Zhu Daqi felt gratified, and then apologized: "This is a big event, but I can't contribute! I'm in a bad mood recently, and I ask my elder brother to discuss everything with my grandson. I don't agree with anything. " With the explanation of this sentence, he got rid of everything for the time being, served his mother, accompanied his wife and children, and devoted himself to enjoying the family happiness, and he became very lazy. An uninvited guest came this day, it was Cheng Xueqi, still accompanied by Xiao Jiaji.As soon as they met, Cheng Xueqi bowed respectfully and said, "Xue Weng, Li Zhongcheng specially ordered me to come and express my thanks." "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it!" Zhu Daqi asked in confusion: "I have never done anything for Li Zhongcheng, how can I say thank you?" "Xue Weng lifted the weight lightly, I don't think he has done anything, we have really benefited a lot. How can we not thank you?" "That's how it is," Xiao Jiaji explained from the side, "Li Zhongcheng finally took back the rights according to Mr. Zhu's method. Brother Cheng, please take the situation at that time and tell Mr. Zhu, won't you fully understand it?" "It happened five days ago." Cheng Xueqi said, "That day the moonlight was very good, and Li Zhongcheng rode a horse to step into the moon—" Li Hongzhang rode on horseback and quietly arrived at the Shanghai Dao Yamen - he had inquired about it in advance, and Wu Xu was in the yamen, so he pretended to wander here casually.No matter how domineering and controlling Wu Xu was, "Being an official, you should perform this ceremony", when the boss arrives, he has to dress up to greet him. "Brother, you don't need to be too polite." Li Hongzhang said, "It's rare to be free, and the weather is hot. When you go out for a walk, you should dress modestly, and restrain each other, so I won't be able to sit for a long time." "Yes! Respect is worse than obedience. Please come here to enjoy the coolness and enjoy the moon. I obeyed and changed into plain clothes to accompany you." "That's right. In this way, I might as well play for a while." So in the courtyard of the flower hall, a few chairs were set up, and the melons were cut open to drink water. The host and guest chatted under the moonlight, talking about the battle situation. Li Hongzhang said that the vicinity of Shanghai had been cleared. Stationed in Yuhuatai, Jinling was besieged, Li Xiucheng must return to the teacher to rescue him, he is going to supervise the Huai army, stationed in Zhenjiang, to support Zeng Guoquan.He inadvertently hinted that Shanghai's defense still needs to rely heavily on the Changsheng Army, that is, to rely heavily on Xue Huan and Wu Xu. Speaking vigorously and listening interestingly, the relationship between the guest and the host suddenly became very harmonious.When the battle situation came to an end, Li Hongzhang suddenly said in a self-ashamed voice: "As a governor, I am ashamed to say that people from Beijing yesterday asked the exact amount of Jiangsu tariffs and likin, but I couldn't answer. Here's a brief counting book; can I borrow it and have a look at it?" "Your Excellency has misunderstood the words. There are no concise counting books; only account books." "Can I have a look at the account book, if it's inconvenient, forget it." "It's not inconvenient." Wu Xu thought to himself: Open it up for you to see, and then give you the abacus, you may not be able to get the gist of it.So, he sent someone to fetch more than a dozen account books and presented them with both hands. "There are more than that, don't you think?" "Yes! There are more." Wu Xu brought over a dozen more. "There are quite a lot of account books!" Li Hongzhang laughed, "And they are all names I have never heard of. How many more? Just use them to open my eyes." Wu Xu was a little suspicious and angry, but after all, there was still a lot of contempt. He was thinking in his heart: It's a lot of money, and the tasks are heavy. It's not something an outsider can intervene. Just try to scare you and make you daunted!After thinking about it like this, he immediately replied: "All the important account books are here. Some are too trivial to bother your lord. Since I want to see it, I will fetch it." So he exhausted all his possessions, and took out all the account books, a total of forty-two. Li Hongzhang flipped through them a little, and suddenly his voice changed, becoming extremely cold and serious: "These accounts have many entries. You must read them tonight. It’s not over, I’ll take it back to watch.” Then he yelled, "Come on!" "Cha!" The eight guards were furious, and then halfway up. "Wrap these ledgers!" The four soldiers had been ordered a long time ago, and in the sound of promise, the one in the lead twitched out of his arms, and a large yellow cloth bundle was unfolded squarely.The two held hands at opposite corners, turned over the account book, then turned their pockets to the bottom, and found that the yellow bundle had been placed under the account book; their four hands intersected, forming two dead knots.The falcon landed with his hands up, extremely fast. "I'm sorry tonight," Li Hongzhang said, arching his hands, "I'll go back and check the accounts!" Wu Xu was dumbfounded, watching Li Hongzhang walk away in a daze, and even forgot to say the due courtesy. Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, was full of ambition. He returned to Xingyuan and summoned friends who were good at calculation overnight, including Qian Dingming, the head of the household department who was recommended by Jiangsu gentry and went to Anqing to beg teachers. Items can receive more than 500,000 yuan, but the newspaper department can't even get 400,000 yuan. The army in Shanghai, including the Changsheng Army, has a total of 40,000 people, with an income of more than 500,000 yuan, which is more than sufficient. Li Hongzhang feels that there is a lot to do.At the same time, only by understanding the source of salary can we coordinate the overall situation. This way, the situation in Shanghai will be discussed in a logical manner, which is very similar to the same thing. Drinking water and thinking about the source is only for Zhu Daqi's advice. On the one hand, Li Hongzhang appreciates Zhu Daqi's talent, on the other hand, he also specially asked Cheng Xueqi to test his tone besides thanking him. "Thank you Li Zhongcheng for your kindness." Zhu Daqi thanked him naturally, and explained the reason frankly: "Wu Guanjian is my little fellow from the same village. Now he is frustrated, and it is really inconvenient for me to work for Li Zhongcheng." There is a saying that has not been said, if he is appointed by Li Hongzhang, he will be suspected of selling his friends for glory.With his temperament, he was unwilling to lose such a reputation no matter what, but Cheng Xueqi's attitude was extremely sincere, so Zhu Daqi had no choice but to pretend, planning to find another reason to refuse in two days. There was one reason, but it was unpleasant.Zhu Daqi inquired about Li Hongzhang's transfer of people to Jiangsu to serve as errands. At the beginning, he said: "Jiangsu officials tend to be superficial and ingenious. Since Wang Youling used things, they specialize in talent, don't pay attention to ethics, and compare with each other. The atmosphere is good. , has been contagious to this day." My heart was filled with resentment, so when Cheng Xueqi was ordered to ask again, he only replied coldly: "I am also someone who Wang Zhongcheng has used a lot!" Regardless of his demeanor or words, he was very unspeculative.Cheng Xueqi knew it well, why did he have this answer?Think about it and say with guilt and regret: "Xue Weng! If the brother has any embarrassment personally, he wants to ask the elder brother for help, and he is still looking forward to today's friendship. " "Then why not?" Zhu Daqi quickly replied, "Your brother is my friend." This made Cheng Xueqi feel a little better, but he couldn't sit still, got up to say goodbye, and left with his head down. On that night, Liu Bucai returned quietly. He first went to Sun's house and was led by Sun Ziqing.There was no information in advance, so Zhu Daqi was quite surprised. Seeing the mysterious look on his face, he felt that the matter was unusual, so he calmly did not ask more questions first, but only asked general words such as safe journey. From the top to the bottom of the Zhu family, they all fell in love with Liu Bucai, so when he arrived, everyone gathered around to ask questions.Only Mrs. Zhu talked for a while, and wanted to go to the kitchen to prepare food for him, Zhu Daqi took this opportunity and said: "You don't have to bother! I invite the third master to have a night wine, which is more comfortable. " Sure enough, after avoiding the Zhu family, Liu Bucai revealed: "I brought a long hair!" "That?" Zhu Daqi asked anxiously, "Chen Shifa?" "yes." "Where are you right now? The interrogation has been very strict these days!" Of course, Liu Bucai also knew that at the time when the Huai Army and the Changsheng Army were carrying out large-scale suppression campaigns, the boundary between the enemy and ourselves was very strict. It would be very dangerous to rashly bring a long-haired leader to Shanghai, so we must be very careful in handling it. , put Chen Shifa in the inn, and told him not to go out.But it is not suitable to stay too long, so Zhu Daqi and Sun Ziqing are suggested to discuss with Chen Shifa all night to reach a result, and let him leave Shanghai early the next morning. "Look," Zhu Daqi asked Sun Ziqing, "Where are we going to talk?" "Do you want to ask Fifth Brother?" "Of course ask him out." "Then listen to Fifth Brother's arrangement." So Sun Ziqing went to Songjiang Boss, and Liu Bucai accompanied Zhu Daqi to the Dingfa Inn on Erma Road to see Chen Shifa.Seeing each other, Zhu Daqi looked at each other, seeing that his description was almost wretched, but he didn't believe that he had great ambitions, let alone that he was a person who could do great things.However, when he sat behind the lamp, the flames shone, and seeing his reserved, deep and extraordinary eyes, Zhu Daqi's perception changed drastically. "Brother Chen is from Anhui?" "Northern Anhui, a bitter place." Chen Shifa said, "I heard Mr. Liu said that Mr. Zhu is from Hangzhou. There is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Blessed land!" "It's very different now." Zhu Daqi said with a sigh. Chen Shifa seemed ashamed, and rubbed his hands together, unable to answer.But Liu Bucai didn't understand that Zhu Daqi was probing on purpose. He was afraid that the conversation would get too deep and reveal the truth. He had to guard against the ears of the wall, so he coughed repeatedly. Of course Zhu Daqi understands, so he doesn't talk serious and gossip. When talking about Yang Yuelou, the "big martial artist" who is popular all over Chunshenjiangtou, and his father Yang Erxi, Chen Shifa suddenly became nervous, "It turned out to be Uncle Yang!" It's a big tiger!" "What?" Zhu Daqi also had a sense of surprise, "Do you know their father and son?" "I know, I know! I'm very familiar with him. Uncle Yang was selling fists. I was only six or seven years old at the time, and sometimes I followed him to play gongs, drink, and make fun of him. It's not that my uncle and Uncle Yang didn't get along. I went to the pier with him a long time ago. gone." "Then, it will not be what it is now. Maybe it will be like Yang Yuelou, learn opera from a teacher, and become popular." Zhu Daqi said, "Yang Yuelou is very rich now, don't you want to see him?" Chen Shifa pursed his lips and shook his head, Liu Bucai asked, "Can't you get along with him?" The gossip got a little unsustainable, so Liu Bucai called the waiter in the inn to buy some stewed vegetables to drink with Chen Shifa.Just when he picked up the wine glass, Sun Ziqing went and came back, saying that Song Jiang's boss was waiting with Yiqing's second. "Let's go!" He said, "Fifth Brother has explained that if the talk is too late, it will be inconvenient to go back to the inn. There are ready-made guest rooms there. I think, take your luggage with you!" So Liu Bucai carried a small package for Chen Shifa, it was wrapped in a very old and dirty blue cloth, no one would pick it up if it was thrown on the road, and Chen Shifa seemed to regard it as very precious, so he was a little worried. Only then, he kept glancing at him, fearing that he would lose his mind. ＊＊＊ When they arrived at Yiqing's second child, both the host and the guest felt very "disappointed". She received guests in a newly added house, which was built on the balcony. There are three rooms in total, the big one is the living room, and the small one is the guest room.There is a board on the escalator to the balcony. When it is lowered and bolted, it is isolated from the outside world and forms another world. The windows on three sides of the living room are opened at the same time, which is very cool. It is a good place that is both tight and comfortable. There are five hosts and guests, Songjiang, Sun, Zhu, and Liu each have different names; and Chen Shifa is all regarded as elder brothers, and the closest relative is of course "Liu Sange"; he said: "Liu Sange, please tell me about my situation." Say." Everyone knows how strong Chen Shifa is, how he is excluded, and how he is open to Shi Da. At this moment, what Liu Bucai wants to announce on his behalf is: Chen Shifa has decided to join the team. "On our side, Songjiang will be defeated sooner or later. Once Songjiang is in hand, there will be a good fight in Jinshanwei. Because 'they' will retreat from Songjiang, most of them will retreat to Jinshan, which is an important seaport. Li Xiucheng has already The order was ordered, and many ships were conscripted to wait at the port. While fleeing and chasing at the same time, Jinshanwei is a place where there is no way to retreat. If you don't fight hard, you can't understand that 'they' can't go to sea to escape for their lives. This has a lot to do with it. So when Shifa turned around, Enough to decide victory or defeat!" Hearing Liu Bucai's words, Boss Songjiang and Sun Ziqing seemed very excited, only Zhu Daqi said nothing, but he was not allowed to say nothing, because everything depends on his attitude.Therefore, Songjiang Boss asked, "Little Uncle, what do you think?" "I need to ask you first!" Zhu Daqi replied, "That area is your place." This is ambiguous.Songjiang Boss is the leader of the Songjiang Cao Gang, but it has nothing to do with this matter. Zhu Daqi's meaning seems to be that he has the responsibility to guard the land, or his territory, and everything should be handled by him, and no outsiders should be allowed to comment.Too much misunderstanding. So Songjiang boss thought for a while and replied: "It doesn't matter which place it is! I'm just familiar with that area. Our brother Chen really did this way, but he was ruthless. However, I don't know much about wars, especially now. With foreign guns and cannons, it is another formation, can you ask Brother Chen to explain it to us first?" "That's right." Chen Shifa turned his face and said, "Brother Liu San, please give me my package." After handing over the package, he unwrapped it in public, and inside was a set of blue cloth hakama, in which was hidden a new pistol with a shiny blue light, and an oiled paper bag.Chen Shifa saw it as precious, and the brush and ink are rough, but they are practical rather than beautiful. This map was only successful after he personally checked it and drew it several times.Note it in great detail.If it fell into the hands of the officers and soldiers, they would know the situation in that area and the strength of Changmao's troops well. A piece of old paper could be worth tens of thousands of soldiers. "Please see, this is Zhangyan. There is a road leading directly to Haikou. The most important thing is this bridge. I will guard it. If the team withdraws to Haikou, of course I will cut it off. If the south is aligned with Haikou, the road will be blocked." That is to say, Chen Shifa fired a cannonball and retreated to Haikou's Changmao. If he didn't die, he would have to jump into the sea.This move was really vicious, Boss Songjiang and Sun Ziqing were both moved. "So," Zhu Daqi asked, "do you have any guns?" "Not yet." Liu Bucai replied on his behalf, "That's what we want to discuss." "Oh," Zhu Daqi asked, "There must be a way, right?" "The discussion is over. We need to get a cannon - take it apart and ship it, and then send a few craftsmen to install it, and of course send the gunner. This is a way. Brother Ziqing, see, can you get it from foreigners? A cannon?" "It's hard to say. I'm afraid there is no stock. If there is, I can definitely get it." "Where's the craftsman?" "Craftsmen are ready-made." Sun Ziqing said, "There are no gunners." "Of course it's from the army—" "Third Lord," Zhu Daqi interjected and asked, "Which side of the army would you like to send?" Liu Bucai heard that there was a difference in his tone, and he was stunned, unable to answer, so Sun Ziqing said, "I want to start a conversation with Cheng Xue. After discussing the steps of internal and external cooperation, of course he will send the gunners, or he will simply send the cannons to him." Call over there." Zhu Daqi remained silent.This attitude is very strange, Liu Bucai first asked: "Da Qi! Do you have other plans? " In front of Chen Shifa, Zhu Daqi didn't want to talk deeply, so he just asked: "How about talking with Yang Fang?" "Yangfang has already collapsed, and there is nothing left to do. I heard that the Changsheng Army is now under the direct command of Li Zhongcheng. Why don't we talk directly to the Huai Army?" Sun Ziqing said eloquently. "Alright, let's talk to the Huai Army." Zhu Daqi said, "Talking about the art of war is the same as doing business, more calculations are always better than less calculations. If this method doesn't work, for example, if you can't get the guns for a while, so what?" "The cannon must be obtained. Without the cannon, the show cannot be sung. If local materials cannot be obtained, there is another way. Peng Xueqin's navy has a gunboat, so try to get one and ambush there .but it would be too much work and too conspicuous." "This road won't work!" Boss Songjiang shook his head, "Peng Xueqin's sailors would have come here a long time ago! Why wait until today to think about it?" "Then we must have a meeting with the Huai army. I think," Sun Ziqing said with great confidence, "there will be a successful discussion." "Okay! Say it like that." There was finally an agreement, and Chen Shifa had a look of relief on his face.So Liu Bucai explained another thing: "I'm here in front of Shifa, I ask everyone to have a look. This is what Shifa handed over, and it's worth the price of the gun." He took out a piece of paper from his arms, and first asked Chen Shifa took a photo and handed it to Sun Ziqing. This piece of paper is the catalog of a box of calligraphy and painting antiques. Sun Ziqing has also dabbled in these things in the past few years, and he knows a little bit about them.But on the surface, he remained calm and handed the catalog to Zhu Daqi. "You don't need to show me!" Zhu Daqi made a gesture of pushing outward with his right hand, "Please deal with it." This is humility, but it can also be seen as non-cooperation.If it was just such a single action, Sun Ziqing would of course think that Zhu Daqi, who has always been beautiful, is humility, but when he thinks of his language and attitude that night, he feels that something is strange, but he is a little dazed. Boss Songjiang and Liu Bucai only saw the clues, and both felt puzzled.Especially Boss Songjiang, who is the host, feels even more uneasy; no matter what, let's make the scene lively now!So he called out: "Second brother!" and said: "I'm afraid I'm hungry, let's talk while eating!" When Yiqing's second child brought the little eldest sister to set up the banquet and exchanged greetings with Chen Shifa, Sun Ziqing pulled Zhu Daqi to the balcony, and then Zhu Daqi followed him out. "Little uncle!" He said in a low and solemn voice: "You seem to have something to say about this matter, but you refuse to say it. The matter is very important. If you don't see it right, you should talk about it sooner." "There's nothing wrong with it. I don't want to get involved, though." "Why?" Sun Ziqing asked anxiously: "Did you see that it won't succeed?" "Joke! Old Sun, do you think I'm only planning for myself? I'm not a half-hearted person. When I see that things are not going well, I first save the thought of retreating. I'm not that kind of person!" "Little uncle, I made a mistake. However, I am unpredictable, so I speak in a hurry. We have known each other until now, and I promise you that I will never give up. I never hide anything from me. Today, I also want my little uncle to act as if he thinks highly of me, and tell the truth. " "I will definitely tell you clearly, but I can't finish it for a while. There are guests here. If we talk privately for too long, people will become suspicious. After supper, arrange the guests, and then we will start from the beginning. How? ?” Sun Ziqing couldn't help feeling dismayed, but what he said was the truth, and he had to obey.At that time, the table had already been set up. Although it was a midnight drink, they were very particular.Ivory chopsticks inlaid with silver, cups and plates made of fine Jingdezhen porcelain, four dishes of hors d'oeuvres, a double assortment of eight kinds, red, white, yellow and green, the colors are vividly matched.Has Chen Shifa ever seen such a banquet?He rubbed his hands with a look of stage fright. "Guests, please sit down!" Yiqing's second child seated with a smile, holding up a pair of chopsticks and saluting her eyebrows. This kind of etiquette was also new to Chen Shifa, and he didn't know how to respond, so he became more and more embarrassed, so he just smiled embarrassedly and gave Liu Bucai a look for help. "Second Sister!" Liu Bucai helped him out, "You don't have to be polite! Everyone sit down wherever you want." As he spoke, he pulled Chen Shifa and sat down nearby. "As the master, come and accompany me." The boss of Songjiang said, "Our brother Chen is like a good family." "Wait a while!" Yiqing's second child was afraid that it would be inconvenient for the male guest to speak because she was here, so she evaded: "I'm a novice in the kitchen, so I must go and see there myself." After speaking, he nodded to Chen Shifa with a smile, and then walked away lightly.