Chapter 16 Chapter Eight (1-2)

After the decision was made, Liu Bucai was told, and he would naturally help to follow through. This matter was actually beneficial to him, because the property of Yang Er and Cai Yuanji was transferred to Shanghai, so it was natural to operate, and business was indispensable. The relationship in this aspect is equivalent to increasing the strength. However, this is to hide the enemy's property, and the matter is very secretive, so first of all, I warned Yang Er: "Be cautious about this matter, and don't make it public! Please prepare quietly and wait for me to make a good plan."

When Yang Er turned his back, Wang Xixun immediately became nervous, pulled Liu Bucai to the corner, and asked in a complaining tone: "Brother Liu San, why are you so reckless as to lose the burden? Come down!" "It's a heavy burden, I know, but—" Liu Bucai replied with a smile, "It's not impossible to take it off, is it?" "Hey! Your brother is still so indifferent until now, he is really anxious to death. Let me ask you, the two armies have been at a stalemate for a long time. If you can't support this aspect, what should you guard against? "

"I don't understand this!" Liu Bucai still had a relaxed expression, "Your elder brother is the official Baidusi, and I am not even qualified to talk about military affairs on paper. Don't test me, teach me!" "It's not a question of whether to teach or not. Let me tell you, in the current situation, both the Soviet Army and the Zhejiang Army think that when it comes to the situation of catching a turtle in a urn, the thing to guard against is to break through and steal. Therefore, the periphery of the water and land routes, We must step up inspections. Do you think that Yang Er brought his family with him, so there is no reason not to be stopped on the road?"

"That's right!" Liu Bucai nodded deeply. "Since you understand, how can you take Yang Er through the test?" Wang Xixun warned solemnly: "Brother Liu, I know more about tricks in the army than you do. The so-called 'money and silk', don't say that if you have no official business, you have official business, and people don't necessarily sell it. The army is in chaos, what are officers and soldiers? What are bandits? Sometimes it is impossible to tell the difference! If the ship is sunk, go up to report your merits, how many enemies you wipe out, and you can still be promoted. Excuse me, where can you go to appeal for your injustice?"

These consequences were originally estimated by Liu Bucai, but he was a little apprehensive when he heard Wang Xixun say so seriously, and he didn't dare to take it lightly.So he restrained his smile, and replied in a low voice: "I have a plan, and I wanted to ask your elder brother for advice. I want to pretend to be Chang Jie's procurement ship, and use the banner of foreigners to bluff the officers and soldiers.You can't be fooled, can't you be fooled? " "It depends on how to bluff? If you do it well, you can bluff it." "It must be done like that." Liu Bucai said happily, "Now we two, share the duties. One will take Cai Yuanji to Xiaoshan to meet Jiang Fansi, and the other will take Yang Er to Shanghai." He continued He also said: "Your elder brother can always see that if you don't take Yang Er to your knees, the matter will not be settled."

"That's true." Wang Xixun hesitated, "These two tasks, one is difficult and the other is easy, and the difficult one has life and death, so I can't shirk it. But——" "It's over with your old brother's words. If there is a difference in life, I will go. Not only because I know Shanghai well, but also because it is more convenient for you to go to Zhejiang. It must be like this. I will take Yang Er to Shanghai." "What if there is trouble in the middle?" Liu Bucai was stunned by this question, thought for a while, understood what he meant, and replied decisively: "One person does things and one person is responsible. I won't implicate your elder brother."

Wang Xixun is also a person who has experienced the rivers and lakes and is familiar with the world and human relationships. He nodded and said, "Since this is the case, I won't talk to you about useless politeness. Anyway, wealth and wealth share weal and woe, so let's make it clear." These two plain and simple words were like a life-and-death alliance, Liu Bucai raised his vigilance, thinking that in case of trouble, he should think about how to deal with himself. Liu Bucai's mind was also very fast, after thinking through the front and back, he knew the overall situation well, and said immediately: "Brother Wang, the key to our doing this is that the bridge returns to the bridge, and the road returns to the road. They are mixed together and confused. In case something happens to me and I am caught by the patrolling officers and soldiers, and I cannot escape, please inform Sheqin Zhu Guan, and you and Xiao Zhang do not come forward to rescue me. That is to say, you They didn't even know that Yang Erkai and I slipped to Shanghai."

Wang Xixun understood what he meant, this was really to preserve Cai Yuanji, to make his submission process look flawless, so that Cai Yuanji could stand on his feet, and it was a matter of pulling and running. Great merit, the power to speak, it is convenient to save Liu Bucai. "Okay." Wang Xixun nodded and said, "When Cai Yuanji and I are on the road, I will explain it to him in detail, and get the clues clearly, so as not to affect the whole body." "Yes!" Liu Bucai said happily, "Your brother understands completely. Working together like this will definitely go smoothly."

At midnight, Yang Er and Cai Yuanji visited each other with wine, without opening their mouths, it could be seen from their eyes that the two of them, uncle Lang, had already discussed it. "Brother Liu San," Yang Er said, "I'll tell you about our situation. I, my wife, and three children will go with you with eight suitcases, and Yuan Ji will go with Wang Dusi alone." "How master Cai and Wang Dusi will go, let's talk about it later, let's talk about my journey with you first. Excuse me, how old are the three children?" "One girl, eight years old; two boys, the older one is five years old, and the younger one is still nursing."

Yang Er pointed to Cai Yuanji and said, "The older boy is my nephew. I mean my sister, let me take it out first." This meant that Cai Yuanji and his wife had considered something unexpected and planned to leave Gu. Liu Bucai didn't take it seriously, shook his head vigorously and said, "No, it's not appropriate!" "What's wrong?" "First, I promise that Mr. Cai will go there this time. There won't be any danger. Taking the child out first will seem dishonest and extravagant. Second, we are smuggled immigrants to Shanghai. I have a way to hide it. There is a child on the boat, and if he cries at a critical moment, his feet will be exposed, and the gods will not be able to save him. In my opinion, not only will your nephew not be able to take him with you, but your youngest son should also stay here. When the situation is settled, wrap it up on me. Let you father and son reunite."

Before Yang Er could speak, Cai Yuanji first agreed: "That's true. Second brother, let's do it this way!" "I," Yang Er said hesitantly, "first ask Liu Sange how to move?" "We have the flag of Chang Jie Army on board, so we might as well abandon Chang Jie Army's procurement ships." Liu Bucai asked, "Is there any flour in your warehouse?" "some." "That's good. Do you have scalpers? I want a dozen or so." "You can always find a dozen scalpers." "That's even better." Liu Bucai said, "I want five hundred bags of flour, and a dozen or so cattle. I'll kill them, salt them, put them in clean sacks, put them under the open air, and let them freeze. A wooden frame is more than ten feet long, five or six feet wide, and four or five feet high; the wooden frame must be strong and can withstand the weight of heavy things. Ten thousand, ten thousand!" If you want something, you need someone, and you want a foreigner.Just like serving in the army, there are often foreigners employed in each battalion of the Taiping Army, either as coaches or gunners.Most of this generation came from Bai Qiwen, and there were two from Cai Yuanji, one British and one French.The British are cunning, and the French are bad-tempered. Liu Bucai thinks he is not afraid of being cunning, but he is afraid that a bad temper is unreasonable and will cause trouble in an emergency, so he decided to use the British named Eric, and asked for another generalist, surnamed Shen. , who happened to be his little fellow from Huzhou. The next day was only daylight, and we were ready to disembark at dusk.There are two boats, one big and one small. In the small boats are Cai Yuanji and Wang Xixun, sailing directly to Xiaoshan.In the big boat were Liu Bucai, Eric, and Shen Tongshi. In addition, there were Yang Er's family under the five hundred bags of flour. The wooden frame was used here to hide the survivors.Fortunately, there are many gaps in the flour bag, so he is not afraid of suffocation. The problem is that Yang Er is addicted to opium and cannot turn on the light to smoke, so he has to swallow cigarettes to block his addiction. In winter, of course, the northwest wind blows, sailing eastward, and the boat moves like an arrow.Liu Bucai took a good night's sleep first; got up at five o'clock, pushed open the cabin and looked, the sun was like fire, the wind was calm, it was an excellent weather, and he felt a little nervous; he went to Shen Tong's cabin and called him Get up and say you have something to talk to Eric. "Foreigners have a set time for eating and sleeping. This guy doesn't get up until seven o'clock." Shen Tongshi said, "Liu Sanye, you have something to tell me." "Alright. Let me ask you first, come with me, what are you doing, did Second Master Yang tell you?" "I just said that I want to go to Shanghai. I will follow your old command along the way." "I don't dare to be a commander. Now the sea is vast, and we are on the same boat, please help." Liu Bucai said, "When we arrive in Shanghai, Erye Yang and I will give you a lot of rewards." "Liu Sanye is serious. We are from the same hometown, and there is nothing we can't discuss. Please tell me!" "Today is a fine day. Our ship will definitely encounter patrolling navy sailors or foreign warships. At that time, we will pretend to be Chang Jie's procurement ships. Please tell Eric clearly." "This—" Shen Tong had a look of embarrassment on his face. "Why?" Liu Bucai asked, "Eric is hard to talk, isn't it?" "This man is very greedy." "That's all right. He agreed, how much?" Shen Tongshi thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Why give him the money? I see it this way. When I meet officers and sailors, anyway, they don't understand what foreigners say. I'll deal with it. When I meet foreign warships, I just go with them." It doesn't matter if they tell the truth." "Is it okay to be honest?" Liu Bucai pointed to the flour bag and said, "There are still people down there." "It doesn't matter." Shen Tong replied, "The rules of the foreign army do not harm the common people. As long as we tell the truth to them, maybe they will escort us for a ride." Hearing that he spoke so confidently, Liu Bucai was relieved.At the same time, I feel that Shen Tong has a sincere attitude and straightforward words, and since he is a fellow from the same town, he intends to accept him. "I haven't consulted your master yet." "Don't dare to be it! Caozi Wenshan." "Brother Wenshan," Liu Bucai thought that revealing the truth at this time would not be a hindrance, so he asked, "Do you know that the situation in Haining will change?" "I know." "What? Did your 'boss' tell you?" "Boss" refers to Cai Yuanji. He kept the agreement and only talked about the surrender with a few Taiping generals who were very close to him. As Shen Wenshan, it is impossible to keep secrets from him.He smiled and replied: "Just look at the family under the flour bun, and you can guess." "Brother's vision is very strong, I admire it." Liu Bucai asked, "The situation in Haining has changed, what are your plans?" "We'll talk about it when we get to Shanghai. Haining will never go back." "Where's Baojuan?" "I'm all alone." "Like me, I have no cares and worries. In this troubled world, I can't be more clean and happy." Liu Bucai said happily, "Brother Wenshan, living alone is the best place to live in Shanghai. It's convenient to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble. If you don't mind, how about we do business together?" "Why not?" Shen Wenshan said with a smile, "Once I got on the boat and saw the situation clearly, I made up my mind that I should go back to my old job in Shanghai." "What is your profession?" "We are all from Huzhou. If you think about it, what kind of business would it be?" "In this way, we are not only from the same village, but also colleagues. You must also be in the silk business?" "That's right." Shen Wenshan said, "I used to run the streets of Baoshun Foreign Trade Co., specializing in the silk business. I passed through Jiaxing that year, and I was caught by Changmao. I have been unable to escape. Now I am about to escape from the sea of ​​suffering." Hearing what he said, Liu Bucai became more and more happy. He is an expert in silk making and can speak foreign languages. He has a relationship with foreign firms, so he should be Zhu Daqi's excellent helper. Therefore, the two talked more and more speculatively, and they lingered together from morning to noon. At lunch time, the wind was smooth and we had already passed Ganpu. Suddenly, the sailors were in an uproar, calling for the sail to drop.Liu Bucai and Shen Wenshan hurried out of the cabin, and saw two "quick crab big chop" offshore naval warships, divided into left and right, and someone on the bow kept waving flags, which was a signal to stop the ship. "Here we come!" Liu Bucai asked calmly, "Do you want to notify Eric?" Shen Wenshan thought for a while and replied: "I'll go and tell him to stay in the cabin without showing his face." "Okay, you go to inform Eric, and I will notify Yang Er." When they got in touch separately and returned to the bow of the ship, the naval officers and soldiers had already dispatched two sampans, gradually approaching.A military officer wearing a dark blue cap and eight soldiers with knives and guns were ushered onto the boat. Liu Bucai made a bow in a neither humble nor humble way, and asked very modestly, "You want to come for an inspection?" "what is your job?" "We are purchasing supplies for Chang Jie's army." Liu Bucai said, "We are here on official business. Please take a look." Banner official documents were submitted for inspection one by one, and this fourth-rank military attache with a military background could read the characters, "Your surname is Sun?" he asked. Liu Bucai was taken aback, but immediately remembered the name of Sun Ziqing recorded in the official document, and nodded repeatedly: "Yes! My name is Sun Ziqing." "What are you buying?" "Flour, beef, and groceries for foreigners." "Have you paid taxes?" "Talk back to the general," Liu Bucai said with a smile, "We never pay the tax when purchasing military supplies for foreign generals." "It doesn't say what it is, nor the amount. Who knows if you have any private goods?" "Don't dare to do illegal things." "Business. I want to search." This copying, revealing the truth, will cause great trouble, Liu Bucai is quite anxious, but he can't refuse the copying, so he can only bite the bullet and pretend to be calm: "Yes! yes!Please! " "You check separately." The military officer told his subordinates, "Whether there is any private salt, you must pay special attention." "There is absolutely no private goods, and there is no private salt. The salt bag is trendy, so you can tell it at a glance." Liu Bucai saw that he was wearing a dark blue hat, and expected his official position to be the same as Wang Xixun's, and he was the fourth-rank governor. Then he said humbly: "The search will take a while. Master Du Si please come to the cabin to have tea. It's too cold outside." Hearing his pleasant language, the Dusi nodded and accepted his favor.In the cabin, Liu Bucai offered tea and cigarettes, Zhang Luo was very attentive, and at the same time, he was making up his mind, and decided to send a big red envelope.However, someone had to greet him on his behalf, so that he could get away and get the money; but Shen Wenshan didn't know where he went?Not capable at the last minute, and it seems that the man's usefulness is limited.he was thinking. At this moment, there were voices of arguing outside; Liu Bucai rushed out, only to see Shen Wenshan standing with his hips akimbo, shouting in a high-spirited manner: "No investigation, no copying! Please come over here, sir. Foreigners have something to ask for advice." Liu Bucai suddenly realized that Shen Wenshan was going to move Eric out to bluff others.At this time and this place, this is a wonderful move, so he responded with a voice of reconciliation: "Wenshan, Wenshan! You have something to say. These few are on business, don't let foreigners make it difficult for them." The timing of Eric's appearance was also very good. At this time, he poked his head out of the cabin. He was tall and thin, with a pointed nose, yellow beard, and blue eyes. He looked very dignified. He put his hands in his trouser pockets and stood there. It seemed awe-inspiring and inviolable. The Du Si also showed up naturally, in front of the soldiers, he had to act like an official, and asked coldly, "What are you arguing about?" "It's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding!" Liu Bucai hurriedly stopped in front, winking at Shen Wenshan, "Tell Master Du Si about it." "What the foreigners said is that Chang Jie's army does not need to search the ships used to purchase military supplies. It was Li Futai's promise in the past. So he asked Master Du Si and his brothers not to worry about it." Na Si ignored his words and only asked Liu Bucai: "What does he do?" "It's the general manager who invited me, surnamed Shen." "What about the foreigners?" "An officer of Chang Jie's army. British." "I don't care about his country, I only want to talk to you. You tell Tong Shi to tell him, don't meddle in his own business!" The Dusi's attitude suddenly became tough.For a moment, Liu Bucai couldn't figure out what was going on in his heart, so he didn't know what attitude he should take? Is it a fox pretending to be a tiger and doing it hard, or saying a few good words and sending a red envelope as soon as possible, or taking both soft and hard? At this moment, there was a stalemate. Except for Eric who was on the sidelines and was somewhat curious, the rest of the people were relaxed and tense, seeing the turbulent waves and listening to the north. Fenghuhu couldn't help but feel a murderous fear. Suddenly there was a voice, "Ah!" It was both sharp and dull. Although I couldn't tell what the sound was for a while, I could tell where it came from, from the bilge, or from the flour bag. Liu Bucai was shocked, the officers and soldiers were also shocked, but Eric was confused; "Mr. Shen!" He asked, "What's that sound? Like a baby crying?" Only Shen Wenshan knew best, Eric guessed right, it was the baby crying—— Yang Er's wife couldn't bear to let go of her infant only son, so she didn't obey Liu Bucai's restraint, and took the baby with her in private.At this moment, Liu Bucai's concerns were finally proved, and he was really scheming. As he said, "There is a child on the boat, and if he cries at an emergency, his feet will be exposed." Fortunately, there is only one cry, so it is not "a god can't be saved."Of course, it also depends on Shen Wenshan's vigilance and determination. "Yes, there is a baby hidden in the flour bag. Only you can guarantee the safety of the baby and his parents." He said to Eric in English, "I believe you are willing to be a chivalrous knight." "I would," Eric replied. "Tell me, what can I do for someone who needs my help?" "It's what I told you just now, to refuse inspection by the officers and soldiers." "What should I do? Before I can reject the officers and soldiers, you must give a more detailed explanation. However, there is one problem that I think needs to be resolved immediately." Eric squinted at the source of the voice, "Why did the baby's cry disappear? gone?" This reminded Shen Wenshan, "Yes!" He was a little uneasy, "It seems very strange." "People hiding inside may suffocate due to lack of air!" Eric said as he prepared to move the flour buns. This action was very dangerous, and it was equivalent to telling the officers and soldiers that someone was hiding under the flour bag, so Shen Wenshan hurriedly stopped him and said, "Please don't do anything, and act according to my request." "Okay! Say it." "Please use a tough attitude and ask the officers and soldiers to disembark. To put it more clearly, use a tough and unfriendly attitude to talk to the officers and soldiers." Eric fully understood his request, and immediately pointed at Nadusi, and said a lot in a voice that was almost growling—all unreasonable things. After the foreigner finished speaking, it was time for Shen Wenshan to translate, but he didn't speak, but only put on an extremely embarrassed look on his face, which made the officers and soldiers stunned.However, Liu Bucai understood it quickly, with a tacit understanding in his heart, and immediately reacted. "What do foreigners say?" He asked intentionally. "His words are hard to read. Once I read them, everyone will lose face." Shen Wenshan made a helpless expression, "In short, please ignore him, Master Du Si." Liu Bucai was stunned for a moment, then Fang Shi expressed his comprehension, nodded his head a few times, turned around and said to Nadusi: "The temper of foreigners is very strange and unreasonable. Master Dusi, you are generous and generous, and you are very generous, lest we who are small businessmen, It’s hard to be caught in the middle. Come on, come on, it’s cold outside, let’s go to the cabin.” While talking and pulling, he was heartbroken that Liu Bucai found a step for him to come down, which saved him face, but he still had to speak hard, scolding foreigners indiscriminately, "Bastard, bastard"—what do foreigners say? He didn't understand, and he didn't know he was cursing foreigners, but Liu Bucai was there to say good things in a low voice, which was to maintain his prestige in front of his subordinates. The anger is gone, and the business needs to be theoretical, "I don't understand, why use foreigners to escort?" Nadu Si said, "I have also checked several procurement ships, but I have never seen foreigners." "This is a new rule." Liu Bucai replied casually, "Foreigners to eat, the first thing to pay attention to is fresh and clean. The last time I bought a batch of beef, it was plague cattle, and I had diarrhea after eating it, so now I send someone to supervise and inspect it." "Where did these things come from?" "Shanghai." "That's wrong." Nadusi said, "You came from Shanghai, you should go from east to west; now you go from west to east, don't you want to go back to Shanghai?" really!When I thought about it, it was the opposite, and it was a big mistake.If you say "back to empty", it is obviously in stock.Can't justify itself.Fortunately, Liu Bu was quick-witted and calmly replied: "It's not bad to go from west to east. It's not going back to Shanghai, but to Ningbo. This ship will go to two places. First, it will go to Xiaoshan to unload half of the cargo, and then go back to Ningbo to unload half of the cargo." .The wind has been strong these two days, and the direction of the boat is a little bit off. You are old and shrewd, and you can see it." The previous paragraph was finally a reason, and the invisible compliment at the end, like a hair on the cheek, was very vivid, hitting the heart of the other party at once.Natus had nothing more to say. "Okay, I've checked." "Master Du Si," Liu Bucai had already taken the time to prepare a red envelope, "Brothers have worked hard, twenty taels of silver, it's a small thing! Please, Master Du Si, to reward you." "Then," Du Si felt that he was very knowledgeable, so he didn't have to put on an air, and accepted it calmly, "I thank you on behalf of the brothers." ＊＊＊ As soon as the officers and soldiers left the ship, Eric first started to move the flour buns. Everyone helped together, and soon Yang Er's family saw the sun again.As for Yang Er's wife, when she was sure that she had nothing to worry about, Fang Shi let out a cry and burst into tears. "what happened?" Liu Bucai's question was superfluous, but Shen Wenshan asked earnestly: "How is the child? Can it be saved?" It's okay not to ask.The question made Yang Er's wife even more sad, "Where can there be help?" She complained silently, "Let his cruel old man suffocate to death." None of them, including Eric, had anything to say, because they didn't know what to say?Especially Liu Bucai, who had no way to comfort him, but wanted to blame—of course it was Yang Er who should be blamed. Unstoppable, too unforgivable! However, at a critical moment, Yang Er was able to unleash the courage of a strong man to cut his wrists, taking into account the overall situation, which is really commendable.Looking at his ashen-dead face and eyes that were about to cry without tears, one can imagine the pain he felt when he was forced to strangle his only son to death. How could he bear a single word of reproach? "Second Grandma Yang, don't cry!" Finally, Shen Wenshan came out to comfort him, "If you stay with the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood, and you can get out of danger safely. At this time next year, won't you still be a white and fat son?" "That's right!" Liu Bucai also said, "It's just as if he died in a shock, so don't be sad. Please come out and take a good breath. " "No!" Shen Wenshan said, "How long will they be wronged?" "Why?" Liu Bucai asked, "Could it be that there are some flaws in their eyes, and they will go back and forth?" "No, I saw them smiling when they left, did they get any benefits?" "yes!" "The bad is here. Those who have benefited will tell their colleagues when they go back. If the benefits are shared, there may be a second batch." "Ah, ah!" Liu Bucai suddenly realized, "It makes sense." So he comforted Yang Er and his wife with good words, and still piled up the flour buns to hide them.It just ended, and as expected, two more small sampans came over. This time there is no need to panic, and there is no need to cherish the bluff of the foreigners, because the purpose of the officers and soldiers is clear, and with Liu Bucai's wrist, he dealt with Yu Ru, and in a short while, the officials and six soldiers left happily. When we arrived in Shanghai, it was Sun Ziqing's business.He sent someone to take care of Yang Er's family. Anyway, Yang Er brought a lot of money, renting a house to buy furniture, and doing it right away.Eric is a "mercenary", this kind of foreigner who roams the world, like a hungry eagle, who eats far away when he is full, arranged by Sun Ziqing, and asked Yang Er to give him five hundred Mexican silver dollars, which is regarded as repatriation. connection. The provenance of Shen Wenshan is easier to arrange.Hearing Liu Bucai talk about his vigilance, calmness, carefulness and boldness on the boat, Zhu Daqi and Sun Ziqing all praised him highly and competed to get it.In the end, it was Liu Bucai who made the decision and invited Shen Wenshan to be a partner in the silk account that was about to revive and fully open the "Yangzhuang", accounting for one-fifth of the dry shares. ＊＊＊ On New Year's Eve, Xiao Zhang arrived in Shanghai, and of course brought good news. Cai Yuanji, who was introduced and accompanied by Wang Xixun, met Jiang Yifeng at Xiao Sidu on the day of sending off the stove.Jiang Yifeng fully agreed to the conditions proposed by Cai Yuanji.Relatively, two conditions are put forward: first, all Taiping soldiers must shave their hair; second, guns, gunpowder and "seals" must be surrendered.Cai Yuanji also agreed. So Jiang Yifeng was protected by deputy general Liu Shuyuan and his younger brother Dusi Jiang Yixian, took Liao Anzhi and Wang Xixun, the prefect of Haining, and accompanied by Cai Yuanji, across the river to station in Haining County.The work of accepting the surrender was quite smooth. The main thing is that Cai Yuanji kept his word, surrendered with sincerity, opened up warehouses, and scattered all his assets. Except for the selection of strong men, who were organized into eight battalions and led by Cai Yuanji, the rest of the Taiping army all shaved their heads. lay off.Cai Yuanji paid for the travel expenses for repatriation and the two-month salary of Ding Xianguan, a soldier of the Yuanzi Battalion. "This matter is successful, Zuo Zhitai is very happy." Xiao Zhang said, "He has paid his respects to Beijing and recommended Cai Yuanji as a fourth-rank military officer. Of course, he can be exempted from the dismissal of the Royal Capital Division. As for Lao Liu and I , Jiang Fansi has something to say, if you want to be an official, you don't want to be an official to give money, in a word, 'don't forget the farmer when you eat', he said that he must be rewarded." "Then what do you say?" "I said, for the court and for the locality, you should contribute. You don't want to be an official, and you don't dare to be paid." "Good!" Zhu Daqi blurted out praise, "Beautiful." "However, I still begged Jiang Fansi to restore the scholar who was dismissed by my old man. Jiang Fansi couldn't figure out this matter. His friend said: This matter is not difficult, but it cannot be done now. , to wait for Hangzhou to recover, Beijing to let go of academic administration, ask the governor to conduct literature administration, and report to the court, there is no reason to be unreasonable." "Okay!" Zhu Daqi praised again, "You are doing this to honor your old man." "My old man said, thanks to Mr. Zhu's sharp eyesight, seeing deep and far, and pointing us to a clear path. At that time, he was preparing documents and submitting documents on his behalf, leaving a very wide step behind. Today, the whole family's wealth and life , are all preserved by Mr. Zhu. When we meet, you must personally thank Mr. Zhu for your guilt, and ask me to kowtow to him first." As he said that, Xiao Zhang really knelt down on both knees and saluted.Zhu Daqi hurriedly escaped and thanked again and again, of course he was happy in his heart, and also very proud, the indissoluble enmity turned into peace, made friends and got help, it was really a great joy. ＊＊＊ The next day is the first day of the first month of the third year of Tongzhi.This year is Jiazi, sixty years of feng shui turns, the heavenly stems and earthly branches are all at the beginning of the year, and all fortune tellers say that the new luck will be prosperous, good luck, and the hair will be flat and long in this year. Others say that Jiazi 60 years ago was the ninth year of Jiaqing. In the fall of this year, the imperial envoy Eredengbao quelled the state Chu sect bandits who had spread to three provinces for nine years.Taking this as an example, Hong Yang, who is weak and weak, will definitely collapse in autumn at the latest. Zhu Daqi believed in this statement very much, so he started planning on the first day of the new year. Once Hangzhou recovered, what could he do?At the same time, I also pay attention to the two military newspapers in the south and north of Hangzhou to see how Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang restored western Zhejiang? Cai Yuanji's surrender was indeed a great help to Zuo Zongtang, and it also had a considerable encouraging effect on Li Hongzhang.The two groups of men and horses are vying to seize the first city, which is Jiaxing. Changmao has accumulated a lot in Jiaxing. Whoever wants to capture this city first will take over Changmao's warehouse and make a fortune. Li Hongzhang's aggressive strategy is still divided into two routes in the southwest.To attack Yixing and Changzhou in the west, Li Hongzhang was responsible for this route, with Guo Songlin's Sixth Battalion and Gordon's Ever Victorious Army as the main force. Gordon stayed in Kunshan for two months and had no communication with the Huai Army, but Li Hongzhang was very powerful. The food, salaries and miscellaneous expenses of the Changsheng Army are still in good supply.After all this hard work, Gordon finally changed his mind, and after the mediation of the Taxation Secretary Hurd, he finally reconciled and returned to Li Hongzhang's use. The Jiaxing Road was originally attacked by Cheng Xueqi, who were all attached to the Huai army's direct line, Liu Bingzhang and Pan Dingxin's troops.However, Cai Yuanji's aggressiveness is also very sharp. On the second day of the first lunar month, he led the Yuanzi Eight Battalion, and attacked Tongxiang, more than 30 miles north of Haining, at night. , forcing He Peizhang, the defender of the Taiping Army, to surrender the city.Jiang Yifeng followed the precedent of dealing with Cai Yuanji, selected the strong and strong, organized them into six battalions, and handed them over to He Peizhang to guard Shuangqiao and Wuzhen on the road from Jiaxing to Hangzhou and Huzhou. Around the Three Pagoda Temple. When Cheng Xueqi saw that someone with meritorious service was coming, he didn't dare to neglect, and he and Liu Bingzhang hurriedly divided the north and east sides, and the south gate area, because it was close to Cai Yuanji's defense area, for fear of causing friction, he never sent troops to station, only Pan Dingxin sent troops. patrol. On the 24th day of the first lunar month, Cheng Xuefa launched a fierce attack, Cai Yuanji rose up and responded, and won a victory. Although Jiaxing was not conquered, he gained a lot. The victory news spread to Shanghai, and Zhu Daqi must take action up.