Most of the Changlu Salt Administration and Changlu Salt Transportation Envoys were officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so it was normal for Han Xiufeng, a minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Fengchen Yuanqing, to come to Tianjin on business and be received by Chonghou, the Changlu Salt Transportation Envoy.

There were not many attendants, only nine people including Zhili alternate Dao Ronglu, Heying Dusi Wang Hedong, Nanyuan Defense Defu, Yongtai, Twenty-one and Heying Qianzong Xu Jiu, Zhang Xiaobao and so on. Tong had just finished unloading the foreign artillery.

Fugui and his son, who were on errands, stayed together in a salt merchant's house not far from Yunsi Yamen. Fugui's wife, daughter-in-law, and grandson had already returned to the capital early the day before yesterday.

At the banquet just now, Chonghou was the one who helped Han Xiufeng. Fugui couldn't get a word in at the banquet just now. Now that he was full, Han Xiufeng was invited by Chonghou to drink tea in the back hall. He and his second son Jixiang

I could only wait in the front hall with Ronglu, Han Chen and others, unable to speak.

As soon as Han Xiufeng saw Chonghou in the afternoon, he could tell from his words that Chonghou didn't understand the abolition of "Houyi Hall".

Sure enough, as soon as he sat down and picked up the tea cup, Chonghou began to "ask the question". Not only did he blame him for being "confused," he even complained to Wenxiang.

"Don't be silent, talk instead!"

"What do you want me to say, brother?"

"You..." After talking for a long time, Han Xiufeng acted like it had nothing to do with him. Chonghou was so angry that he didn't know what to say.

Without "Hou Yi Tang", he would never have been able to become a third-grade salt transporter at such a young age. Han Xiufeng could understand his mood. He sighed secretly and put down his tea cup and said: "Dishan, as you just said, Hou Yi Tang

It’s a pity to abolish it like this, but shouldn’t we also think about it the other way around, what would happen if we didn’t abolish it?”

"If there had been no abolition, at least we wouldn't have become deaf and blind like we are now!"

"Yes, if there is no abolition, we will be better informed than we are now, but what use is it if we are not deaf or blind?" Han Xiufeng asked back, staring at him closely and said seriously: "If there is no abolition,

, if you find out about foreign affairs, you have to report it in time, otherwise you will not report it. But in fact, either you can't see the emperor, and if you finally do, you will make the emperor unhappy. In the end, not only will you never see him again, you will not even submit the report.

All the quotes are like stones sinking into the ocean."

"As the saying goes, loyal words are hard on the ears. If even you and Bo Chuan don't tell the truth to the emperor, will the emperor still hear the truth?" Chonghou asked.

"I understand what you mean, but now the emperor doesn't want to listen!" Han Xiufeng took a deep breath and continued: "If we don't immediately ask for the abolition, the result will only make the emperor Long Yan furious. Bochuan and I don't know what will happen.

Where can I go? But today, after Houyi Hall was abolished, Bochuan has been able to enter the value center, which shows that this transaction is not a loss."

"Both you and Bo Chuan have been promoted, so this deal is certainly not a loss for you!"

"Dishan, oh Dishan, why don't you understand the principle of 'leaving green mountains without worrying about having firewood'?"

"I understand what brother said. I just want to ask brother, where is the firewood on your green mountain and how to burn it next?"

Han Xiufeng thought that he was so aggressive, and he was indeed young and energetic. He could only say helplessly: "As long as the foreigners stop mentioning sending envoys to Beijing, everything will be easy. If the foreigners insist on sending envoys to Beijing, they will have no choice but to start a war. The Emperor has made a decision.

Determination, otherwise I would not be ordered to come to Tianjin."

"How about compensation for military expenses?" Chonghou couldn't help but ask.

"It's easy to say," Han Xiufeng said with a wry smile: "In the emperor's opinion, tariffs are not considered official duties, and the court has not collected much tariffs in the past few years, at least not how much taxes have been paid by Guangdong Customs, Fujian Customs and Jiang Customs.

The bank paid the Ministry of Accounts, so it secretly informed Guiliang more than once, saying that no matter how much the military expenses were, they could be deducted from the customs duties, or even be exempted from customs duties."

"But……"

"Don't worry. Firstly, you and I are so soft-spoken that it is difficult for the emperor to take back his orders. Secondly, when it comes to sending envoys to Beijing, the foreigners will not compromise. After all, in their view, even if a peace treaty is signed, it may not be effective. Only sending envoys

Only when I station myself in Beijing can I force the imperial court to abide by the peace treaty."

Chonghou asked solemnly: "According to my brother, this battle is inevitable?"

"It's not inevitable. Counting the days, fighting should have started in Guangdong, but it's not the officers and soldiers who are fighting, but the regiment training."

"Do you think foreigners are fools?"

"What we are considering now is not these, but whether Huang Zonghan can win."

"Do you think he can win?"

"Difficult." Han Xiufeng shook his head helplessly.

"That's it." Thinking that the Xiyi army had just returned south, Chonghou asked worriedly: "Brother Zhixing, you can see that during the march, Seng Gelinqin was stronger than Tan Tingxiang, and he was stronger than Tan Tingxiang by one or two points. But.

The forts on both sides of Haikou are currently being rebuilt, and the construction will not be completed until the end of the year at the earliest. The required large and small copper and iron cannons are being recast, and it is estimated that they may not be cast by the end of the year.

If you need time to practice, aren't you afraid that Elgin will fight back after receiving the news from Guangdong?"

"It's not that I'm not afraid, but that the emperor and the princes in the court are not afraid." Han Xiufeng paused and said in a determined tone: "The army has not moved, and the food and grass have to go first. I don't think Elgin wants to make a comeback this year."

It's so easy, he has to prepare food, grass and baggage for thousands of soldiers and horses first."

"It's okay this year, but what about next year?"

"Let's talk about next year's affairs next year. If we really want to start a fight, let's fight first. The victory or defeat will only be known after the fight is over."

"What you said is easy. To fight a war, you need not only soldiers, but also money and food!"

The more Chonghou thought about it, the more anxious he became, and he stood up and said: "Yesterday morning, I just received a secret edict from the Military Aircraft Department, saying that after being informed by the patrolling ministers and others, the government has decided to withdraw the troops from the capital.

The officers and soldiers at Baliqiao should be disbanded first. The battalions east of Tongzhou are temporarily ordered to remain stationed as usual. Officers and soldiers are transferred from various places, and when they arrive in Beijing, they can also be dispatched separately. Except for the area from Tianjin to Haikou, Henan is strictly deployed for precautions.

, other soldiers and horses have to go back and forth from where they are just like the previous times. In the final analysis, it is not because of the lack of money and food. The soldiers and brave men can't even eat, so why fight?"

"Dishan, I remembered what you said. Before coming, the emperor ordered me to visit Tianjin and other places to see if there is any surplus food. If there is, he ordered me to make arrangements with you to relieve the troops stationed in Nanyuan, Tongzhou and other places.

It’s urgent.”

"I tell you about war, you tell me about food!"

"Is it okay if you were the one who brought up the money and food first?"

"We'll talk about food later. Let's move on to the war. Even if Sushun can collect enough money and food, how many soldiers and horses can he mobilize to fight."

Han Xiufeng whispered: "If you have money and food, you will naturally have soldiers."

"Is it as simple as any brother said? This is to deal with foreigners, not to deal with long hair! I just want to ask you, how many troops did the two sides send in total when the British, Buddhists and other barbarians fought against the Russian barbarians in Crimea?

, how many soldiers and horses were killed or injured?"

"Russia sent 700,000 troops, and Britain, Buddhism, Turkey and other countries sent nearly one million troops. If the information that Shanghai, Guangdong and other semicolonists gathered at the time were correct, the war lasted for three years, and Russia suffered more than 500,000 casualties, while Britain,

Buddha, Tu and other countries also lost about 100,000 dead and wounded soldiers."

"That's it!" Chonghou said excitedly: "Brother Zhixing, when you were in Dingyou, I saw the map in the library and looked carefully at the globe in the library. The distance between Yingyi and Crimea is about 100 kilometers.

The place is not close, and they can send so many troops. If they really want to fight with us, it is always possible to send 300,000 to 50,000 troops, not to mention tens or hundreds of thousands of troops."

"With England's national strength, it is not difficult to send 30,000 to 50,000 troops."

"But what about us? How many soldiers can we scrape together?"

This question really stuns Han Xiufeng. Long hair is a serious problem, but in order to suppress long hair, the imperial court deployed 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in Liangjiang and Huguang, including soldiers from Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Henan.

, there were only more than 100,000 soldiers in total. When fighting on their own territory, the number of soldiers and horses that could be dispatched was not as many as that of the foreigners who went on expeditions, not to mention the huge gap in weapons.

"Dishan, I know what you are worried about. Why aren't Bochuan and I worried? But now we can only think of ways to prepare. If God bless us and we can win by chance, it will be great. If we lose...it won't be that bad.

"

"How can it not be any worse?"

"Think about it, before the forts on both sides of Dagu Port fell, who in the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty really took foreigners seriously? But now, although they are all engaged in the main battle, at least they don't take foreigners as seriously as they did before.

To put it bluntly, we in the Qing Dynasty are like a donkey that will not go away without being whipped with a whip."

Chonghou was so dumbfounded that he couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you afraid that the donkey will be whipped to death with one whip?"

"Don't say this nonsense. If you spread it, you will lose your head."

"Is this what you said first?"

"Did I tell you, I'm asking you if there are any surplus grains in the various counties and counties of Tianjin Prefecture."

"Okay, okay, you didn't say anything, and I didn't hear anything. As for asking me about the food, it's useless. You'd better ask Shi Zanqing tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll ask him early tomorrow morning."

Chonghou realized that this battle with the foreigners could not be avoided, so he thought about it and asked: "Brother Zhixing, you brought Ronglu and the others here this time, isn't it just as simple as patrolling the coastal defense?"

"This is natural," Han Xiufeng took a sip of tea and said lightly: "From now on, I will come every month and stay in Tianjin for more than ten days. Not only will I have to watch Seng Gelinqin build the fort with my own eyes,

When training soldiers and horses, we should also let the Eight Banners' Majiamen Army stationed in Nanyuan and the General Qian of Heying take turns to see the topography of Dagukou area."

"So, I'm not just supervising the troops, but if there really is a fight, I also have to lead the troops into battle when there's an emergency?"

"Eat the king's salary and share the king's worries. You can only do it when it's time to do it."

"I understand, I can't afford to support Seng Gelinqin's army, but I can still afford to support the officers under your command. They eat, drink, and have sex in Tianjin and I transport them to the Yamen."

"That's pretty much it." Han Xiufeng smiled, and after thinking about it, he whispered in his ear: "You just need to know about this, and it must not be spread to Seng Gelinqin's ears, otherwise our family will not be able to withstand it.

He tosses."

"clear."

…………
Chapter completed!