Han Xiufeng did not communicate with Sushun in advance about the investigation of the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had served in Nanyuan. In fact, even the Qingfeng Division doctor who was overseeing the impeachment of Meng Chuanjin, the censor who complained about injustice, did not communicate with Sushun in advance.

Say hello.

In Meng Chuanjin's opinion, there was not a clean official in all the yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He had long wanted to punish one or two arrogant officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and make a name for himself. Seeing that Han Xiufeng actually dared to stir up a hornet's nest, he would not miss this opportunity.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Anyway, even if the sky falls, Sushun will help him hold it up.

Because he, Cheng Yaojin, came out of nowhere, the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including several ministers in charge, all concluded that Han Xiufeng's "mass killing" was ordered by Sushun, and even if they were dissatisfied, they could only swallow their anger.

Han Xiufeng didn't want to explain. Firstly, he couldn't explain clearly, and secondly, he didn't care about explaining at all.

Counting the days, the armies of the British, Buddhist and other barbarians would soon arrive at the mouth of Dagong. However, the emperor and the princes and ministers in the court thought of the matter very simply, thinking that they could fool the Western barbarians away just like before.

For example, Tan Tingxiang asked Tan Tingxiang to send someone to meet with the Yi chief first and receive the note from the Yi chief. He would use the excuse that he could not make the decision and report to the court first, which would take ten days and a half. After all, it takes time for official documents to come and go; if the Western Yi

Impatient to wait, he said that the imperial court had appointed Huang Zonghan as the imperial envoy to handle barbarian affairs, and persuaded the Western barbarians to return to Guangdong to negotiate with Huang Zonghan...

In short, I have been fooling around like this for so many years, and I feel that I can fool you this time as long as I deal with it carefully. In the words of Prince Zheng Duanhua, Xiyi is like a mad dog. The more you ignore it, the more it will never end with you.

."Stay constant to cope with all changes." Don't pay attention to it. If it makes a fuss for a while and realizes that nothing can be achieved, it will naturally retreat in despair.

Han Xiufeng disagreed. He felt that if he tried to fool Xiyi, he would most likely jump over the wall. He had no confidence in the coastal defense of Dagukou. He didn't know how long Tan Tingxiang, Guorui and others could hold out once Xiyi started fighting.

Therefore, I feel that time is tight, and I have to make as many preparations as I can before the Xiyi capture Dagukou and Tianjin!

Facts have proven that investigating officials is the fastest way to make money.

In just eleven days, Wang Qianli, Wan Shixuan and Te Mulun raised more than 34,000 taels, and the money was turned over to Guangchusi, who was ordered to allocate it to him, the Minister of Fengchenyuan, for

Renovate and repair Nanyuan River Channel Haizi.

As a result, most of the money was spent once he returned, buying shovels, sacks, hemp ropes, poles, baskets and other river management tools, as well as rice, flour, grain and oil, but no armor or weapons, so that in the eyes of those who hated him deeply

Come on, he was squeezing money to help the emperor repair the palaces and temples in Nanyuan, not to repair the rivers, let alone to train troops.

The more than 300 horses, 12 camels, and more than 50 mules kept in Nanyuan by Shangsiyuan, together with nearly 100 grooms and a dozen Mongolian doctors, were all transferred to him with an imperial edict from the emperor.

The Shaoqing of Taipu Temple and the Qing of Fengchenyuan who are "familiar with horse administration" are also in charge.

And the reason is very good, because as a rule, the horses that go to the Si Yuan go to Nanyuan to let green in April every year and return to the pen in October. Now that he, the Minister of Fengchenyuan who is in charge of the ban of the garden, is stationed in Nanyuan, it is perfect for him to take charge of it.

.

Everyone was busy and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, but Han Xiufeng felt that it was still not fast enough. Early this morning, he rushed to the school grounds that had been designated a few days ago and stared at the Heying soldiers and the newly recruited Eight Banners and Gate guards with his own eyes.

Military drill.

He was extremely nervous these days. Ronglu had already seen that he was preparing for war. He couldn't help but whip his horse and came over and asked: "Sir, the cavalry does not practice riding and archery, and they don't even have armor or weapons. They just follow

We are practicing formation together in Heying. If we actually go into battle in the future, will we be able to fight?"

Han Xiufeng looked at Wang Hedong, where Gu Kui, Zhang Xiaobao and others were scolding the soldiers who were coming out of the queue. While stroking the horse's neck, he asked: "Zhonghua, do you think they can practice riding and shooting in a few months?"

Martial arts?"

"Of course a few months is not enough, but practice is better than no practice at all." Rong Lu circled around him, tightened the reins, and said with a grimace: "Look, if you continue to practice like this, this can still be considered a cavalry team.

What's the difference between this and the green battalion infantry?"

Being too busy in the past few days, Han Xiufeng never bothered to explain to him. Seeing that he had opinions on this kind of training, he said helplessly: "I don't know something, so I have no choice but to let you practice like this."

"What's the last resort?"

"Firstly, time is not waiting for me. We don't have much time to practice step by step; secondly, if we train like the Xiaoqi Battalion and the Forward Battalion, even if everyone can develop their riding and shooting skills, we will still be defeated when encountering foreigners."

Ronglu was shocked: "Brother Zhixing, are you saying that these hundreds of soldiers in our company will rush to Tianjin sooner or later to compete with foreigners?"

Han Xiufeng didn't want to answer this question, but said solemnly: "It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but it takes only a moment to use it. The emperor trusts you and me so much, and sooner or later we will need you and me. So these soldiers must be trained well. From now on, where are you and me?"

I won’t go either, just stay here and focus on training.”

"But if you keep practicing like this, what can you achieve?"

"Brother, do you think I'm using my vest as an infantryman?"

"Is not it?"

"Yes, but there is a reason to practice like this." Han Xiufeng took a deep breath and explained patiently: "We have a cavalry, just like the Western Yi, their cavalry has a loud banner called 'Dragon Cavalry'!

They all know how to ride a horse, but they only know how to ride a horse. They are not proficient in riding and shooting, and they will not fight on horseback unless absolutely necessary."

"Then how do they fight this battle?" Ronglu asked puzzledly.

"To put it bluntly, they are a group of horse-riding bird gunners. Each person has a new automatic fire bird gun. Some even have an extra blunderbuss. In addition, they are equipped with a saber required for close combat self-defense. What matters in battle is to be fast and be able to reach the target at the earliest possible moment.

Rush to the designated place as soon as possible to set up."

"When you get to the place, dismount and fire your gun?"

"Absolutely." Han Xiufeng paused and continued: "If their equestrian skills are good enough, they will take turns to harass the enemy in several groups, gallop to the enemy's formation and fire their guns, then run back and wait.

When they arrived at a safe place, they loaded up gunpowder and lead, and then attacked again. Several groups of cavalry did this repeatedly, making it difficult for the enemy to defend themselves."

"This fighting method is quite interesting. It's a bit like the Mongolian cavalry, except they use shotguns instead of bows and arrows."

"You are knowledgeable and worthy of being the queen of generals."

"But we don't have that many shotguns!"

"Just because they don't have it now doesn't mean they won't have it in the future, so they have to practice the formation first, learn how to fire the gun first, and then how to reload it." Han Xiufeng paused, and then added: "It still needs to be done.

Learn how to dig trenches and build fortresses."

Ronglu reacted and asked eagerly: "Brother Zhixing, are you saying that we have a gun, but we just didn't deliver it?"

"I sent people to Shanghai to buy guns a long time ago, and all they bought were automatic guns."

"How many rods did you buy and when will they arrive?"

"There should be three hundred rods. As for when they will arrive, I don't know."

"But there are more than 600 people from Wang Hedong and I, and 300 shots are not enough!"

"I also want to buy more, but you can only do so much with how much money you have," Han Xiufeng looked back at Xu Jiu and continued: "Besides, we can't rely solely on gunmen to fight a war. We need manpower to dig trenches and build strongholds, and to protect the bird gunners."

We need spearmen and swordsmen, and people are also needed to transport food, grass and baggage, so you have a hundred spears here, which are all sent to the vests. The remaining thirty-six sects all serve as swordsmen to protect the vests.

, the grooms, cooks and handymen are responsible for transporting the baggage."

After Han Xiufeng said this, Ronglu finally understood why Wang Hedong and others were practicing so hard these days, and he said by analogy: "There are two hundred bird gunners in Heying, and the remaining two hundred are spearmen and sword players?"

"

"It's almost the same, but there's no need to distinguish it so clearly. After all, there are few horsemen and handymen in Heying. When it's time to dig trenches, they all have to put down their weapons to dig trenches. When it's time to march, they all have to help transport the baggage."

Thinking of the Eight Banners cavalry and Mongolian cavalry stationed in the north, they would leave the Nanshan Mountains without the Shangguan coming. They only knew how to play cards, eat wine, and even smoke cigarettes. Then thinking of the Beijing camp that could not fight at all, Ronglu said excitedly: "Zhixing

Brother, if the foreign guns can be shipped in time, and if the food and salary can be sufficient, given time, when our six hundred soldiers are trained, I am afraid that we can really stand up to the two or three thousand soldiers from the Beijing camp!"

"This is natural, but we must have time first!"

…

While the two were chatting, Xiao Shandong came galloping over on horseback.

"Fourth Master, urgent report from Tianjin!"

"Got it." Han Xiufeng took the unknown letter written in the envelope from his hand and opened it in front of Rong Lu.

Ronglu saw his solemn expression and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Zhixing, are the Xiyi warships coming?"

"It's here, but not all of them have arrived." Han Xiufeng lowered his head and glanced at the letter again, looking toward the east with a furrowed brow and said, "The scouts stationed by Chonghou at Dagukou found out that the Yingfo and the Yi were coming.

There are three ships, anchored five or six miles opposite the fort, watching day and night. They can break in suddenly, there is no way to stop them, and it is difficult to guard against them."

"Didn't I say that the big and small gunboats came on the 50th and 60th? Why are there only eleven?"

"The Western Yi warships vary in size and speed. They should be still behind."

"Tan Tingxiang just sits there and waits?"

"He is busy sending people to negotiate with the Yi chiefs who are ashore. By the way, the Russian envoys and the Mi envoys have also come ashore and are helping to negotiate peace." Han Xiufeng put down the letter and said coldly: "This is obviously a delaying tactic.

I bet they will turn against each other as soon as the large fleet of warships and gunboats arrive."

"How about you hurry up and report to the emperor?"

"No, how to negotiate or prevent blockage has nothing to do with us. Our top priority is to train troops!" Han Xiufeng put away the letter and turned around and said: "Little Shandong, don't worry about Mr. Qingxian's side. Hurry and go to the Old Summer Palace to be on duty at the Department of Etiquette.

I asked Zhang Deyu and Li Weichang to ask them to help find out how the imperial court responded, and if there was an edict, they could help make a copy."
Chapter completed!