The county seat of Shanghai, the northern suburbs. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On the north bank of the Suzhou Creek estuary, a large area of neat and dense tents stretches to the north and cannot be seen at a glance, giving people the feeling of a large military camp, but the people of Shanghai know that this is not a military camp, but a disaster camp.

The Nanhe Yellow River embankment burst, affecting Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, among which more than 20 prefectures and counties in Henan and Anhui were extremely seriously affected, millions of people were displaced, and the imperial court was unable to provide relief at all.

However, Yuan Qi wanted to ensure that the war in the south of the Yangtze River was limited, and the victims who could not get enough relief and relief poured into the surrounding provinces to seek a way to survive.

On the bank of the Huangpu River, on a temporary high platform, Yan Shikuan, the shopkeeper of Yuanqi Shanghai Branch, looked at the busy scene by the river with a cigar in his mouth, and his eyes showed a trace of worry.

Due to the blockade of the Yangtze River channel and the mouth of the Yangtze River, grain can only be transported from Zhejiang, which not only leads to rising grain prices, but also a great shortage of supply.

He had heard the news that Jiangning had made peace talks with the British army, but he did not know how long the peace talks would take, and once the dry season of the Yangtze River came, the grain ships in Huguang would also be greatly restricted.

"Shopkeeper Yan, Master Liu is here." A guy reminded softly.

Yan Shikuan turned his head and glanced at Liu Guangdou's official sedan chair, and greeted him unhurriedly.

Liu Guangdou, the magistrate of Shanghai, got out of the sedan chair and looked at the hot scene in front of him slightly, seeing Yan Shikuan coming slowly, he hurriedly stepped forward.

As soon as they met, Yan Shikuan arched his hand casually, and said with a smile: "How did Lord Liu have time to come to the construction site to inspect today?" ”

Shanghai accommodating and relocating so many victims is a great achievement for Liu Guangdou, who is the magistrate of Shanghai, but because the county government has no money, he has been pretending to be deaf and dumb and does not dare to show his face, Yan Shikuan, who heard this, was obviously dissatisfied, and he didn't care, and said with a smile on his face: "Considering the increasing number of victims in Shanghai, Songjiang Prefecture has promised to allocate 3,000 stone of grain ...... at a flat price." ”

This is good news, Yan Shikuan was happy in his heart, he was still worried about food, although three thousand stones is not much, but it can support a few days, and it is still cheap, he immediately said with a smile on his face: "Lord Liu is concerned about the victims, and he is ...... below." ”

"What is the politeness of the shopkeeper to this official?" Liu Guangdou waved his hand and said with a smile: "This batch of grain county officials paid for it as a relief ...... for the victims. ”

The county government gave 3,000 stones? Yan Shikuan was surprised, he didn't know what the situation was in the county office, where did he get the money to help the victims, as soon as he thought about it, he smiled and said: "Fundraising? ”

Liu Guangdou knew that he couldn't hide it, so he smiled and said: "So many victims of the disaster gathered in Shanghai, how can this official ignore it, and have no choice but to ask the General Chamber of Commerce to raise donations. ”

Yan Shikuan knew that the General Chamber of Commerce was embarrassed to speak to Yuan Qi, after all, the relief and resettlement of the victims during these days were all the silver from Yuan Qi, no matter what, with this batch of food, he could breathe a sigh of relief for the time being, and immediately said sincerely: "Lord Lao is bothered." ”

The words fell into Ying, and as soon as he rode a fast horse, Yan Shikuan's eyes were sharp, and at a glance he saw that the rider on the horse was Yi Zhi's personal guard, and when he landed, he was happy, and he stopped in front of the two and said: "My lord has returned to the house, please Lord Liu and Yan are the shopkeepers." ”

Easy to be content to go back to Shanghai? Liu Guangdou and Yan Shikuan were all overjoyed and hurriedly rushed back to the county seat.

Shanghai Daoya, backyard.

In the bedroom, Yi Zhizu was wrapped in a bath towel and lying on the big bed with a comfortable face, Bai Xue and Lin Xuan cut his nails left and right, Lin Xuan said softly while cutting: "The young master is finally back, these days, we are so worried that we can't even sleep well." ”

Yi Zhifen smiled and said, "Worry, what can I do?" ”

"The master sent troops to let go of horses to fight with Yingyi, how can the slaves not worry."

"Is the battle over?"

"The battle of Jiangning is over, but the battle in the house has just begun, and it will be ...... to change people and fight again at night."

Listening to this, I thought of the scene of the battle when I was taking a bath, the two women's faces were red, and Yi Zhizhi was comfortable, Jiangning's battle was over, and the peace talks were coming to an end, he didn't want to participate in the final signing, regardless of Lin Zexu and Yishan's repeated retention, he went straight back to Shanghai, although this "Jiangning Treaty" is no longer an unequal treaty, but he doesn't want to leave his name on this treaty.

Hearing this, he let out a slight snoring sound, Bai Xue glanced at Lin Xuan, and the two of them stood up lightly and exited the room, and saw the maid Chunmei coming quickly, Bai Xue hurriedly greeted him and said, "The master is asleep." ”

Chunmei said: "Lord Liu and Shopkeeper Yan are here, waiting outside." ”

Bai Xue said: "The old man is tired, and it is not too late, and let them wait for half an hour." ”

Liu Guangdou and Yan Shikuan waited boredly for more than half an hour in the West Flower Hall before they saw Yi Zhicontent walking in apologetically, the two quickly got up to salute, Yi Zhishu waved his hand, and said, "I accidentally fell asleep, and I was tired of waiting for a long time." ”

"Adults are tired from running around all day long, and it doesn't hurt to be off the official and so on." Liu Guangdou said and arched his hand: "Xiaguan congratulates your lord on his success." ”

"Sit, you're welcome." Yi Zhishu said and sat down directly on the main seat, he didn't go around in circles, and asked directly, "How many victims have been settled?" ”

Liu Guangdou did not know the specific number of victims resettled, and immediately closed his mouth with interest, Yan Shikuan said with a slight sigh: "There are more than 21,300 people in Shanghai, more than 6,000 people in Baoshan, and now there are still a lot of disaster victims rushing to ...... every day. After hesitating, he said, "Do you want to control it?" ”

"How to control it?" Yi Zhizhi said: "Do you know how much suffering the victims of Anhui in Henan Province have endured all the way to Shanghai?" When I came back from Jiangning, there were many victims who died along the way. ”

Listening to his tone, where did Yan Shikuan dare to answer, but Liu Guangdou said worriedly: "The number of victims is huge, and the imperial court is unable to provide relief, how much can Shanghai Baoshan accept?" ”

"Don't worry." Yi Zhizhi said: "Yingyi went up the river to attack Zhenjiang and Jiangning, and there should not be many victims from Henan and Anhui provinces who came to Jiangsu, so try our best to accept and resettle first." ”

After hesitating, Yan Shikuan said: "There are more and more victims, and my subordinates are afraid that the food supply will not be available." ”

Yi Zhishu pondered for a moment before he said: "There has been a truce, the situation will gradually improve, the Yingyi prisoners of war, Wusong, and the Shanghai garrison will leave in the near future, and the Yangtze River waterway and shipping will be restored immediately, so don't worry about food." After a pause, he then asked, "How much food do the victims consume in a day?" ”

"Anyone who goes to the construction site will be given two liters of rice a day." Yan Shikuan said: "Now there are seven or eight thousand disaster victims on the construction site, plus the soup soup relief, it costs 220 stones a day. ”

Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, one liter of rice has one catty, two, three, four, two liters of rice is enough to ensure that a family of four is not hungry, and after a slight groan, he asked, "How much is the price of grain now?" ”

"It's already risen to three taels and two dollars a stone."

It costs seven hundred taels of silver a day, and it is still growing, it is indeed not a small amount for a long time, and this is only food consumption, Yi Zhixin frowned unconsciously, Yuan Qi has spent silver like running water for most of the past half a year, and now that the battle is over, he has to think of earning silver.

After being silent for a long time, he said: "The number of victims is large, and they are not from the same place, the county government has dispatched officials and volunteers to maintain order, and besides, it is necessary to prevent epidemics." ”

"The subordinate obeys." Liu Guangdou hurriedly bowed his hand, and after a little hesitation, he still couldn't help but say: "My lord, the price of grain has risen, and the local people have complained a lot....... ”

Quite complaining? I'm afraid it's still a polite statement, the price of grain has risen to three taels and two dollars a stone, it should be full of complaints! Yi Zhishu groaned before saying: "The county government posted a notice that the war has ended, the blockade of the Yangtze River waterway has been lifted, and the blockade of the Yangtze River estuary will also be lifted in the near future." ”

Liu Guangdou said happily: "Is it really all lifted?" So the war is over? ”

Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, he was in a hurry to return to Shanghai this time, in order to lift the blockade of the Yangtze River estuary as soon as possible, the Yuanqi fleet must return to Guangzhou as soon as possible, the delay in Shanghai was too long, and Yuanqi's loss was not small, for this reason, he asked Pu Dingcha to write a letter to order the Dinghai fleet blockading the Yangtze River estuary to return to Dinghai, with Pu Dingcha's handwritten letter, the Yangtze River Estuary was unsealed in one or two days.

Liu Guangdou is resolute, as soon as he returned to the county office, he immediately asked the master to write a notice, and then posted it inside and outside the county with a seal, as soon as the news spread, it immediately caused a sensation, everyone rushed to tell each other, a jubilation, although the Yuanqi group practiced to recover Wusong, but the war did not end for a day, everyone was not at ease, for fear that the war in Wusong would start again.

After learning that the county government posted a notice and the news was correct, everyone began to inquire about the outcome of the war, whether it was won or lost? Why is there no mention of the notice of the county government? Many people vaguely guessed that the Qing Dynasty was defeated, and if it was victorious, how could there be no reason not to be pointed out in the notice?

But many people feel that it is impossible to be defeated, after all, the Yuanqi regiment is practicing to recover Wusong and Zhenjiang, and the momentum is like a rainbow, how can it be defeated? And there was no news of the defeat of the Yuanqi regiment. For a time, the battle for victory and defeat sparked fierce debates inside and outside the county.

The next day, Yi Zhizhi slept until he woke up naturally, and when he saw that the watch had passed nine o'clock, he quickly turned over and sat up, listening to the movement, Chunmei and Xia He hurriedly came in and waited for him to dress, Xia He pursed his lips and smiled while waiting for him to dress: "The shopkeeper Yan came early in the morning and waited in the flower hall." ”

"Why don't you call me?" Yi Zhishu asked casually.

"Sister Xin'er is not allowed." Chunmei said: "Sister Xin'er said that the young master rarely sleeps once, and we are not allowed to call." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "Send it to the West Flower Hall early, and I'll go over later." ”

After washing and cleaning up, Yi Zhizhi came to the West Flower Hall refreshed, and when he came in, Yan Shikuan blinked his little eyes and quipped: "I actually slept until after nine o'clock before getting up, third brother, you are really good, what time did you toss last night?" ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at him, sat down and filled a bowl of porridge, and said, "If I don't toss, you should be worried." ”

Yan Shikuan was not lightly choked by his words, Yan Xiaomei is now the other party's concubine, he quickly changed the conversation and said: "There are endless arguments outside, have we won the battle with England?" Or lost? ”

"What do you say?" Easy to know contentment while peeling eggs while casually saying.

"Jiangning didn't fight in the first battle, judging from the two battles of Wusong and Zhenjiang, we should have won, right?"

Slowly ate an egg, drank a few mouthfuls of porridge, and said contentmently: "I can't say that I won, I can only say that I won a game, and we still lost this war." ”

Yan Shikuan was puzzled and said, "Lost? ”

"Can you still win?" Yi Zhizhi said: "Don't say that we can't completely annihilate the main fleet of the British army in Jiangning, even if we can completely annihilate it, the British army still has two fleets in Hong Kong and Dinghai, what should we deal with?" ”

Yan Shikuan said unconvinced: "Don't we Yuanqi also have a warship?" ”

Yi Zhizu laughed and said: "Our few warships can also fight the pirates on the sea surface of the South Seas, face the British fleet head-on, it is not enough to stuff the opponent's teeth, win back a game, and accept it when it is good, which is the best ending." ”

Stunned, Yan Shikuan said: "After all, we can't be considered a loss, at most it is an undefeated game." ”

"There's no need to deceive yourself, if you lose, you lose ......." Yi Zhixiang said with a smile, "It's a good thing to lose this battle, and it's a bad thing to win." ”

Yan Shikuan said softly: "Is it for our Yuanqi? ”

"It's for the whole Qing Dynasty." Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Shame and courage, the Qing Dynasty still has a chance to be strong, if you are still arrogant, do not know how to forge ahead and do not know how to be flexible, that is the sorrow of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Yan Shikuan said worriedly: "Will the imperial court be flexible?" ”

"The court will not change, let's force the court to be flexible." Yi Zhizhi said: "We have now taken the first step. ”

Yan Shikuan was overjoyed when he heard this, and said tentatively: "The imperial court has agreed to open a port in Shanghai?" ”

"Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai opened ports at the same time." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "Moreover, the imperial court has agreed to build a railway from Beijing to Hangzhou by England, and in a few years, Shanghai will become one of the most prosperous ports in the Qing Dynasty, and it will even surpass Guangzhou soon." ”

"Smack!" Yan Shikuan slapped his thigh excitedly, "Finally waited for this day!" ”

"Look, you're pleased." Yi Zhizhi said: "From the beginning of next year's maritime trade season, Shanghai will enter a period of rapid development, we should try to make use of the gathered victims to build embankments and roads, it is best to leave them all behind, and we will go to the construction site to see later." (To be continued.) )