The second eldest son of the Wu family was not only an official, but also a civil servant in the Ministry of Supervisory Affairs. The eldest son and the third son of the Wu family came to the Taoist Office to see them. Cao Shuzhong did not dare to put on airs and hurriedly went out to greet them.

When we talked about the banditry in Tongzi and the prevention of blockage in Qijiang River, we naturally couldn't avoid Han Xiufeng, who was ordered to return to his hometown to help with the team training.

The Han family is very close to the Taoist Department. Cao Shuzhong thought that he could invite Han Xiufeng after a while by letting his family go there with the invitation. However, when his family came back, he said with a bitter face: "Master, the foreign agent at the door said that Mr. Han I just went to Jiangbei and said that Mr. Chen Dusi and Mr. Ge Qian are here."

Cao Shuzhong subconsciously asked: "He went to Jiangbei to meet Duan Dazhang?"

"It should be," the family member raised his head and took a peek, then said cautiously: "The young man saw Chen Dusi. Chen Dusi said that Mr. Han had told him before he left that if you had time to check the foreign guns and gunpowder lead, You can move him to Fengzhengdi. He also said that it is a heavy responsibility to take care of the ordnance, and he dare not leave his post without permission."

Cao Shuzhong thought that it would cost real money to use foreign guns and gunpowder lead to prevent clogging.

He didn't know what to say, but Wu Junxiang, who was wondering how to prevent bandits from escaping into the Qijiang River, couldn't help but ask: "Master Cao, does that mean Mr. Han returned home with a foreign gun?"

"Yes, I brought quite a lot."

"How many rods did you bring?"

"One hundred and sixty strokes." Thinking that Han Xiufeng, even if he was a saint, would give the Wu family some face, Cao Shuzhong stared at the Wu brothers and added: "They are all the kind that use copper caps to start fires." A self-fired foreign gun, in addition to three thousand kilograms of gunpowder and lead. It is said that this foreign gun can shoot very far and very sharply!"

"There is a gun, and there is an order from the emperor to help him organize group training, so why does he still resist?" Wu Kuixiang asked eagerly.

Cao Shuzhong suddenly felt that these two people had come at the right time. He looked at the Wu brothers and said meaningfully: "Han Zhixing is young but not arrogant. He speaks and does things smoothly and without leakage. What's more, he is simple in the heart of the emperor and is favored by the Holy Family." , so no matter what happens, he doesn’t want to teach others how to handle them. And those foreign guns and gunpowder lead, it seems that he asked his friends to help buy them with money when he came back. "

"I don't want to give others a handle..."

"Brother, I understand what Mr. Cao means. Han Zhixing doesn't want to make the same mistake as Master Zeng Guofan. He will never do this unless the thieves come to his door."

Wu Junxiang came to his senses and asked with laughter and tears: "The bandits not only occupied Tongzi County, but also captured Loushanguan. What if they didn't kill them at the doorstep? Could it be that he planned to stay put and wait until the bandits reached Ba County City before taking action? ?”

"Although he is a civil servant, he has gained this position through hard work. Maybe he likes fighting and is just waiting for the bandits from Guizhou to sneak into our eastern Sichuan!" Wu Kuixiang was really anxious, but after thinking about it, he handed over his hand and said "Mr. Cao, Shu Kuixiang said bluntly, if the bandits really invade from the north, the hundreds of green battalion soldiers stationed in Anwen Town and Yangjiao Sihetou and other places to defend the blockade, let alone whether they can hold it, may not have seen the thieves yet. The shadow of the bandit fled away."

Wu Junxiang couldn't help but said: "Sir, Qijiang has organized a lot of group training, but those street groups and township groups not only lack guns and artillery, but are also in disarray. Speaking of which, everyone knows that there are bandits in Tongzi, but those street groups only care about Help fellow officials to guard the county and towns, while the township regiments only guard the townships and even villages. Once the bandits invade from the north, they will be defeated one by one!"

Compared with Ba County, the situation in Qijiang is much more critical, after all, Qijiang borders Tongzi.

As the troops patrolling eastern Sichuan to prepare the road, Cao Shuzhong can be said to have the responsibility to defend the territory. Logically speaking, he should mobilize some green soldiers and even young men from nearby states and counties to prevent the blockage. But the critical place is not just Qijiang.

Seeing the worried expressions of the two men, Cao Shuzhong could only say helplessly: "Two of you, to be honest, I won't be able to stay in Ba County for long. I will have to move to Kuizhou after the official documents here are arranged."

"Master Cao, how can you move to Kuizhou at this juncture?"

"Because Kuizhou also needs to prevent blockages," Cao Shuzhong sighed lightly and said with a grimace: "I just received an urgent report from Kuizhou this morning. In the first month of the first month, more than a hundred light warships of the Hunan Navy entered Poyang Lake.

Driving to Gutang

, was intercepted by Changmao in the lake, causing the large ships in the river to lose their escorts, and their combat effectiveness was suddenly reduced. The old camp of the Balijiang Navy of the Hunan Army was attacked by fire from the Changmao Navy. More than 40 warships were burned, and the remaining ships returned to Jiujiang.

.

Immediately afterwards, Jiujiang Guanpai Jiashui Camp was attacked by Changmao at night. Even Zeng Guofan's boat was burned by Changmao. All the documents were lost and he almost died. The remaining ships boarded and fled. Changmao took advantage of the victory and pursued Hanyang in one breath.

, Wuchang, Zeng Guofan moved to defend Nanchang. Hu Linyi was also forced to withdraw from the periphery of Jiujiang and return to aid Wuchang, and the life or death of the new governor Tao Enpei was even more uncertain!"

Wu Junxiang was shocked and murmured: "Didn't Wuchang just be recaptured? Why did it fall again?"

"So I don't dare to stay in Ba County for a long time. I have to quickly go to Kuizhou to mobilize troops to defend against the blockage." Cao Shuzhong paused and said solemnly: "Compared to those bandits in Guizhou, Changmao is a serious problem.

Once it is allowed to go up the river, the situation will be out of control."

"But if you leave, what will we do in Qijiang?"

"I will make all arrangements before leaving. Think carefully about it. Han Zhixing came back just in time. He not only trained troops but also led troops to suppress the long hair. He even led the river camp to defend the south bank of the Yongding River when Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang invaded from the north.

In Gyeonggi Province, nothing will happen if he is in charge of Qijiang."

"But is he willing to go to Qijiang?"

"You two can rest assured that he will definitely be willing, but there are some things that we need to help with first, and we have to put his worries to rest first."

"Master Cao, forgive Junxiang for being stupid..."

"That is to say, he doesn't have to worry about recruiting young men, raising food and wages, etc. All he needs to do is to train the troops wholeheartedly and help us deal with the blockade."

"A thousand armies are easy to come by, but a general is hard to find. It seems this is the only way to go."

"You two, the top priority is to leave the foreign guns he brought back as soon as possible. As far as I know, he has a close relationship with Duke Wenjie, who was martyred for his country. Wenjie Gong was the mentor of me, Zeng Guofan and others. In short,

He has an unusual relationship with Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi. If he had known that the war situation in Huguang had taken a turn for the worse, it is hard to say whether he would have sent those foreign guns to Huguang."

"What your lord said is absolutely true. We must keep those foreign guns no matter what!"

It's better to let others pay for it than to pay for it yourself. Cao Shuzhong thought about it and simply stood up and said, "Why don't we go over and have a look first? Han Zhixingjia is behind the Huguang Guild Hall, not far from the Taoist Department."

…

The Wu brothers "went to the doctor in a hurry", so naturally they would not object, so they followed Cao Shuzhong to the Han family again.

Chen Hu hurriedly dressed up and went out to greet the three people. He asked Ge Erxiao and others to carry out a box and unpack it, and took out a rod for the three people to inspect.

Don't be afraid of not knowing the goods, just be afraid of comparing goods.

Seeing the brand-new and fully oiled automatic fire guns, the gunpowder lead wrapped in oil paper, and the fine steel bayonets that can be put on the fine iron barrels, the three of them all lamented that the foreign-made firearms are so sophisticated. In comparison, the long and bulky shotguns and carrying guns used by the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were no better than fire sticks.

Wu Junxiang thought that this is what Qijiang lacks now, and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Chen, did Mr. Han tell you how much this foreign gun costs per shot?"

"Master Wu, according to my knowledge, this gun is worth two hundred and sixty taels."

“So expensive!”

"Mr. Wu, you must have never inquired about the market price of shotguns. Not to mention such a self-fired foreign gun, even a foreign gun lit with a match rope now costs two hundred taels." Chen Hu put down the gun and remained calm. Taking the towel in his hand, while wiping the gun oil on his hand, he said with a wry smile: "This does not include the shipping fee and foot money for transshipment. Think about it, so many guns and gunpowder lead were transported from outside Shanghai County first. How much silver does it cost to transport the foreign concession by sea to Tianjin Wei, then from Tianjin Wei to Zhili, and then along the official road west of Beijing to Shanxi and Shaanxi?"

Wu Fuxiang subconsciously asked: "If shipping is included, how many taels does one shot cost?"

"Mr. Han said that these foreign guns and gunpowder lead are used to keep my hometown safe. He paid for the shipping money and scrap money for the transshipment, which can be regarded as doing something for the elders in my hometown."

"Master Han is so righteous, we admire him!"

"Brother Qiongfu, I said that Han Zhixing will not sit idly by." Cao Shuzhong smiled slightly, then pointed to a box of cardboard gunpowder and lead that had just been carried out and asked: "Brother Chen, how much does this gunpowder and lead cost?" box?"

"Thirty taels per box, totaling thirty-two boxes, totaling nine hundred and sixty taels." After thinking about it, Chen Hu asked Ge Erxiao to bring a bag, took out a mold clip for melting lead, and explained with a smile. : "Master Cao, Mr. Han was worried that the gunpowder and lead would not be enough, so he asked a friend to buy dozens of these mold clips. When the gunpowder and lead wrapped in paper boxes are used up, you can use this mold clip. Cast lead."

"He's really thoughtful."

"Mr. Han's thought is quite thorough, but... our gunpowder can't hit as far as foreign gunpowder, but that's all we can do. After all, it's too expensive to use foreign loaded gunpowder and lead here. It’s too far away from Shanghai County, so even if you can buy it, it’s difficult to transport it.”

Wu Fuxiang couldn't help but ask: "Can we fight far?"

"These gunpowder lead balls packed with foreigners can hit two hundred steps, but our gunpowder can only hit a hundred steps. I tried it when I was intercepting Changmao outside Yangzhou City, and I also tried it in front of the Jinghai Formation."

"How far can our shotgun hit?"

"It can take at most fifty steps, and it's easy to explode the barrel. Sometimes it even fails to fire. Counting three or four out of ten shots, it fails."

"Where's the gun?"

"It only takes a hundred steps to lift a gun. When I was humble and followed Mr. Han to defend Wanfu Bridge, the long-haired shotguns had more shotguns than us, but the long-haired shotguns couldn't shoot far, so we took a big advantage. Later, Changmao discovered that foreigners The guns were sharper than shotguns, so I bought many of them from foreigners. The brothers in Jiangnan Camp, Jiangbei Camp and the Monk King suffered a lot because of this. I don’t know how many brothers were killed by long-haired foreign guns.”

"Master Cao, those bandits in Guizhou are not long-haired. They can't afford foreign guns like this. Fuxiang thinks it's good to be able to shoot a hundred steps with our gunpowder."

"Yes, with such sharp firearms, do you still need to worry about those thieves?" Cao Shuzhong thought deeply.

Wu Junxiang realized that Cao Shuzhong was waiting for him to buy, but he thought that purchasing ordnance to prevent bandits was not just a matter for the Qijiang gentry. He mused: "Master Cao, Qijiang is not as good as Ba County. Merchant from eight provinces in Qijiang are in trouble because of bandits." The salt and tea trade route is so blocked that we can hardly continue to operate, and we really can’t raise much money.”

"A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if you don't raise a lot, you can still raise a little. Brother Qiongfu, how much do you think you can raise?"

"Junxiang estimates that it is only ten thousand taels at most."
Chapter completed!