Guangzhou City, the Yamen of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
In the signing room, the person sitting at the top was an old man who was over sixty years old. He was wearing a black silk gown and a dark blue Batulu vest. His face was pale and his forehead was covered with wrinkles.
The old man picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said to the official in his fifties with a round face: "Tu Futai, didn't you say you would leave in three days? It's been eight or nine days, why are they still here?" Tanzai Island is not moving? Now the rumors have spread to Guangzhou city."
The person called "Tufutai" was naturally Tusab, the governor of Guangdong; and the old man at the head was Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
"Sun Zitai, I sent my subordinates to question them yesterday. We should see them today." Tusab made a bitter face and scolded Heshen's minion Wang Ping a hundred times in his heart; he had made a good deal with it at the beginning. Damn, who knew he would do this!
Sun Shiyi added: "Those people just arrived at Jijin Yang. They first opened fire on the British, and a few days ago they also attacked the Dan family pirate ship. What do they want to do? What news is there today at the Haiphong Yamen?"
"The Haiphong Yamen sent someone to report in the morning. Except for the Macau side sending a ship to deliver goods in the first two days, there has been no movement. However, according to the humble speculation, they may have had some troubles with the British before, so they met just now. Let's start the fight. As for the Dan family pirates, I really don't know."
Sun Shiyi felt quite helpless. Since he took office as governor of Guangdong, he has been acting vigorously and resolutely. Whether it was clearing up local tax arrears, arresting bandits, or investigating the former governor Fulehun in the first few days, he cut through the mess quickly and won Qianlong's appreciation, so he was promoted to governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Unexpectedly, only a few days after taking office, he was extremely passive by a large iron ship. If these Westerners were like ghosts and animals, he would have sent someone to severely reprimand and expel them, or he would have asked Macao and Portugal to handle it through the Haiphong Yamen. But what he faced now was not Westerners, but a group of rebels who had defeated tens of thousands of imperial troops!
Send navy to fight? Not to mention the lessons learned from Agui and Fukangan, the British were beaten to a pulp just a few days ago; that was a large sailing ship equipped with dozens of cannons!
I heard that Zhao Ni's ship was shot and only lost a piece of paint. Then he used two fast cannons with lightning and thunder, which made the English people run away, so he boarded the ship that night to plead guilty.
Thinking about the dozens of warships in the Huizhou Coastal Defense Camp, Sun Shiyi felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. He was already making plans in private, and was going to send an edict to Qianlong in a few days, asking him to select talented and skilled people to train in the land, water, and green camps of Guangdong, Guangdong, and Guangdong.
"Then let Chen Guilin take someone there to ask about the situation. When the emperor asks, you and I can have an explanation." The Chen Guilin Sun Shiyi was talking about was Chen Xinhuai from Haiphong Tongzhi Yamen.
"It seems that's all we can do." Tusab sighed and obeyed.
Since Beihai Town returned a large number of Eight Banners, there have been faint rumors among the government and the public that although Zhao Ni's men and horses are small, their firearms are extremely sharp, and they can be destroyed by lightning and thunder for dozens of miles; with the cannons and matchlock guns currently available in the court, it is very Hard to match. Although some people from the Eight Banners garrisoned in Guangzhou were released from the north, the news only spread throughout the city, and ordinary people had no idea about it.
Sun Shiyi was far away in Guangdong and had heard some rumors, but he was also very curious about what Zhao Ni's men were like. The so-called knowing yourself and your enemy means that you can be mentally prepared if you encounter someone in the future. Thinking of this, Sun Shiyi lifted the tea cup slightly. Tusab understood that the Taiwanese master was seeing off his guests, so he said goodbye and left.
After Tusab had gone far away, Sun Shiyi said to his own soldier Geshiha: "Go and call a few people and put them into civilian clothes. Tell the disciples the following. If anyone comes to see me in the past two days, just say that I have a cold. .”
After some arrangements, Sun Shiyi also changed his clothes, dressed up as a wealthy businessman, and with four men disguised as domestic servants, he came out from the back door of the governor's office, found a silk and bamboo sedan, and went outside the city. After that, they hired a speedboat and went straight to Humen Customs.
Two days later, Chen Xinhuai, who received the order from the governor's Yamen, boarded the ship at the Nanwan Pier in Macau with half of the officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion and went straight to the location of the Thor.
When the Haiphong Yamen's fleet approached the Thor, Chen Xinhuai bit the bullet and boarded the gangway through calls from his men and sailors on the deck. But after taking just a few steps, Chen Xinhuai's legs immediately began to tremble. Without him, the gangway is too narrow, so only one person can go first. After finally getting on the deck, Chen Xinhuai almost collapsed on the deck if his subordinates hadn't grabbed a handful of the boss and quickly supported him.
When he carefully looked at the tall ship building and the wide deck, the 70-year-old Chen Xinhuai was so frightened that he was speechless and kept muttering: "Sorcery, witchcraft..."
When Zhao Xin saw Chen Xinhuai in the meeting, in addition to a boss standing behind him, there was also a follower in official uniform. The seventy-year-old man looked calm, holding a crane-leg hookah in his hand and puffing on it; he ignored the cigarettes placed on the table.
"Master Chen, right? I am Zhao Xin."
"Yeah." Chen Xinhuai didn't even raise his head and continued to light the hookah with a paper matchstick, but his trembling right hand still revealed the panic in his heart.
Zhao Xin didn't even bother to raise his hands. He sat down opposite Chen Xinhuai and said, "Do you have anything to do today?"
The old bureaucrat couldn't help but be startled when he heard Zhao Xin's fluent Mandarin. He looked up at Zhao Xin, then lowered his head and smoked cigarettes hurriedly. He waited until a strange sound came out of his throat, then stopped and said: "Do you have any quarrels with the Red-haired Yi people?"
Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the other person was talking about the British. "Are we going to celebrate the festival? We didn't have it before, but now we have it this time."
"What's the reason?" Chen Xinhuai is from Fujian and has been an official in Guangdong all year round, so his Mandarin sounds very awkward.
"Master Chen, right? How long have you been a member of the coastal defense community?"
"My lord was transferred here last year." The manager behind Chen Xinhuai suddenly said.
"Hmm. So have you ever paid attention to opium?" Zhao Xin felt that since he had the opportunity, he would mention the opium matter, do his best, and obey fate.
"Opium?" Chen Xinhuai looked at Zhao Xin, then turned to look at the boss. "What happened to the opium?"
"Westerners can no longer make money in China. They are now going to vigorously dump opium into Guangdong." When Zhao Xin spoke, he noticed that the boss's face suddenly looked unnatural.
"It's a joke. I have everything in heaven, so what's the use of those things? Besides, even if the red-haired barbarians are selling opium, what does it have to do with you?" Chen Xinhuai threw the remaining half of the paper matchmaker on the table and took it from the follower's hand. Got a new one.
Zhao Xin said sternly: "Because we are all Han. Although Mr. Chen is a Manchu official, you are still a Han after all. Opium is addictive! It is a poison!"
Chen Xinhuai shook his head indifferently and looked at Zhao Xinda with a mocking look on his face: "Your Excellency has a lot to worry about. This is the place under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty. As a coastal defense officer appointed by the emperor, I have my own rights. You don't have to worry about it. Those red-haired barbarians came to our Chinese territory and made unheard of money. But if anyone dares to disobey, the emperor will cut off their tea, silk and rhubarb and make them bloated. And die.”
Zhao Xinxin said what does this have to do with Dahuang? He didn't know that Europeans had a tradition of eating rhubarb since the opening of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. Before local edible rhubarb was cultivated, medicinal rhubarb had been imported from China for more than ten centuries, which was worse than tea. Trade will take a long time to come. However, compared to the British, the Tsarist Russians, who mainly eat meat, have a more urgent need for rhubarb.
Because of the large export volume of rhubarb and tea, Manchu officials had the illusion that the barbarians in Western countries would die of constipation and bloating without Chinese rhubarb and tea.
Zhao Xin said with a bit of laughter and tears: "Mr. Chen, I don't understand where you get these crazy confidence! Westerners can't die if they don't eat rhubarb! They are just used to it, just like you smoking a hookah."
Chen Xinhuai disagreed with Zhao Xin's explanation and said that since ancient times, when the barbarians came to China, the barbarians would be conquered. How dare you, a guy who doesn't even grow a hair or beard, say he is a Han? ! He didn't intend to discuss the rhubarb issue with Zhao Xin anymore, so he asked again: "Is this boat made of iron?"
Zhao Xin didn't expect that the other party would go off topic again, so he nodded.
"Absurd! How can iron float on water? You must have used magic."
"Master Chen, this is science. This ship not only contains iron, but also steel."
Chen Xinhuai pointed to the bright overhead lamp above his head and asked, "What is this?"
"Lamp."
"Absurd! Thunder and lightning are the power of heaven, how can people use it casually?"
"Then what do you think it is? Is there a candle hidden in it?" Facing such a stubborn old man, Zhao Xin completely lost his temper.
After chatting about random topics, Chen Xinhuai became more and more certain that the guy opposite was a monster, so he started talking about the main topic.
"According to the order of Mr. Futai, I came here to ask why you haven't left yet? You said you would leave in three days."
"There was an accident. We have to wait seven or eight days before leaving. Is there any problem?"
Chen Xinhuai took a few puffs of water pipe before saying slowly: "The whole world is not the land of the king, and the shores of the land are not the king's ministers. The power of the emperor is like divine power, and the emperor is wise. In the prosperous times, his kindness spreads all over the world, even if the world is full of rivers The water in the lake combined is not as good as the emperor's grace. I see you are so talented, why do you want to start an army and cause chaos?"
Zhao Xin was dumbfounded. Chen Xinhuai had been holding it in for a long time and actually said such nonsense. Was he planning to persuade him to surrender? I heard the other party continue: "You just won a victory by luck, but you have to know that our Qing Dynasty has more than a million soldiers. In the eyes of the emperor, you are nothing more than chickens and dogs."
Zhao Xin looked at this old bureaucrat curiously, wondering where he got his confidence.
"Such a big iron ship." Chen Xinhuai spoke again. "What propels you? A sail?"
"Yeah. It relies on oil, fire, and water." Zhao Xin suddenly felt that it was quite interesting. Let's tease the old man.
"Oh?" Chen Xinhuai thought for a while and felt that he seemed to have found the answer to Zhao Xin's detention. "Has the fire on your ship been extinguished? Is the oil leaking?"
"Master Chen, this boat of mine is a unique treasure in the world. Within a hundred miles, no matter how big a boat is, or as small as a person, there is nothing to hide; it is not afraid of any headwinds or tides, just like you The proud Humen Fort, I can blow it up with five cannons. As for the Guangzhou City Wall, I can blow it open with two cannons."
Chen Xinhuai's face turned pale, and he handed the hookah to the attendant. It seemed that he was too nervous, and his whole body trembled as if he had been electrocuted. He leaned forward and asked, "Are they the ones covered with cloth on the sides of the ship?"
Zhao Xin said with a smile: "As long as you get close, nothing can stop you and everything will be broken into pieces."
At this time, Chen Xinhuai's follower took the hookah away from his mouth, wiped the pipe stem with his sleeve, and then handed it to Mr. Chen's mouth. With his cigarette in his mouth, Old Man Chen pretended to be calm and composed again.
He looked at the captain's uniform on Zhao Xin's body and suddenly said: "This clothing is made of good material. How much does it cost per foot?"
ah? Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, thinking that this old man was too unreliable!
The boss saw that Zhao Xin didn't understand, so he said: "My lord is running back and forth for your business. You should honor my lord with a few pieces of cloth and express your feelings. Don't you understand this rule?!"
Zhao Xinxin said, I understand you, you are a hammer! Public demands for bribes were all blamed on him. Okay, the time for teasing Menzi is over.
"Master Chen, go back and tell the person who asked you to come that I have some things to do here and need to wait for another ten days. I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. If you think you can use force to drive me away, you might as well try it. I lost face in front of the Westerners, but don't blame me for not reminding you today! It made me anxious, so I took the Humen Fort first!" After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he picked up the teacup.
"You! Unreasonable! Let's go!" Chen Xinhuai's beard trembled with anger. He placed the hookah on the table, flicked his sleeves, got up and left with the hookah. At the same time, the servant was packing up his tobacco bag, tobacco leaves, and paper media alone.
On a three-plank boat not far from the Thor, Sun Shiyi hid in the boat canopy, holding a telescope and observing the Thor, his mouth wide open. He didn't expect the boat to be so big, it could be as long as several crow boats.
If this is a big iron ship like the rumors say, no matter how many warships the Huizhou Navy comes to use it, it won't be enough! Unexpectedly, Zhao Ni was not only a sharp gun, but also a huge ship.
He turned to the boatman and asked, "Did you see this boat when it was sailing?"
The boatman shook his head and said, "Master, if it weren't for the money you gave us, how dare we come here! I heard that when this boat first arrived, it made an amazing noise, and the movement was like thunder, and all the Yigui boats were frightened. Run away. Just the sound of it is scary as hell."
After the boatman finished speaking, he pointed to the thick anchor chain hanging from the bow of the Thor in the distance and said to Sun Shiyi: "Master, look at that iron chain. It is thicker than a villain's waist. These barbarians are really capable. Money, and boundless power.”
"Oh?" Sun Shiyi asked curiously: "Is the power boundless?"
"No, if there is no magic power, how can such a big iron ship float on the water?"
Sun Shiyi nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly his heart moved. When Wang Lun rebelled, he served as chief envoy in Guangxi. Later, he also heard about some of the evil-breaking methods used to suppress Wang Lun.
It is said that during the Qingshui Sect Wang Lun's uprising in the 39th year of Qianlong's reign, Wang Lun set up the "Yinmen Formation" with the Qing army, which shocked the Qing army who had never seen such a strange formation and did not know how to resist. Seeing that cold weapons were useless, Shu Hede, then a bachelor, pulled up the cannon and prepared to bombard him. Wang Lun's men believed that artillery was the most powerful and yang thing, so they repeated their old tricks and ordered the female disciples under him to open the "Yin Gate Formation" again. The Qing army was shocked, and later visited an expert to find a way to crack it, and ordered the soldiers to pluck their body hair and put it in the barrel of the cannon.
Although the Eight Banners were all "painful", the subsequent bombardment was still very effective, and their morale was instantly boosted. When Wang Lun saw that the "Yin Gate Formation" had been broken, he asked his unmarried male disciples to take off their clothes and set up the "Yang Gate Formation". As a result, the Qing army was surprised again. In a state of uneasiness, the cannon lost its accuracy and actually fired. Missing shot.
So the Qing army once again asked for advice from experts, and actually ordered the old and weak prostitutes in the city to line up in front of the formation and set up the "Old Yin Gate Formation" to exert the effect of "Old Yin defeating Shaoyang". Afterwards, the artillery team cooperated with the "Old Yinmen Formation" to assist, and the cannons roared for a while, causing numerous casualties among Wang Lun's followers.
While he was lost in thought, he heard his subordinates say: "Master, the Haiphong Yamen's ship has left."
Sun Shiyi held up the telescope and looked at it for a while. He decided to ask some Taoist monks after returning to Guangzhou to see if there was any solution.
