Before eight o'clock, a group of merchants who were promoted came one after another, one by one brocade clothes and embroidered robes, their faces were full of irrepressible joy, since the Yuan Qi group practiced victoriously returned to the city, I heard that they were all on the list of guarantees, all of them were counting their fingers to live, looking forward to the reward of the court all day long.

The children of the merchants are not short of silver, and it is effortless to donate an official, but spending money to donate an official has a bad reputation, just like a stolen gong and drum - it can't be beaten, and it is embarrassed to publicize it to the outside world, where can it be worthy of the official style rewarded by the imperial court.

I have been looking forward to it for more than a month, looking forward to the minister, looking forward to the Lord Qincha coming to Henan Daying today to read the holy decree, everyone is naturally elated, one by one joyfully congratulated each other, and the topic of discussion is naturally the reward of the imperial court, discussing what reward Yi Zhicontent, who is the treasurer of Yuanqi and personally leads the troops to Dinghai, will get what reward, and what reward they themselves may get.

Yi Zhishu didn't like to socialize, especially at today's meeting, everyone greeted him with congratulations, he was really lazy to take care of them one by one, and was about to find an excuse to leave, but at a glance he caught a glimpse of Pan Shiming coming quickly with a smile on his face, so he stopped and waited.

When he arrived, Pan Shiming smiled and said, "Congratulations to Brother Contentment." ”

"Rejoice, rejoice." After Yi Zhisuffi returned the salute, he said: "Brother Cheng came just in time, and he is discussing something." With that, he paced out of the crowd, and Pan Shiming followed: "But you want to hype up the imperial court's reward for Yuan Qi's group training?" ”

"That's the way it should be." Yi Zhizu said with a smile: "This is an opportunity to publicize Yuanqi's group training, and it is also a matter of giving the court a long face, so it is natural to publicize it with great fanfare." After a pause, he turned his head and said, "Brother Zecheng still remembered the "Theory of National Debts", right?" From tomorrow onwards, I will introduce Western treasury bonds in a row, publicize the benefits of the imperial court's issuance of treasury bonds, and in addition, I will also focus on the securities transactions in Europe -- treasury bond transactions, stock transactions, etc., and the relevant information. ”

Pan Shiming is in charge of the newspaper, of course, he knows the truth that public opinion comes first, and when he heard this, his face couldn't help but sink, "The imperial court wants to issue treasury bonds?" How much is issued? ”

"Ten million, Yuanqi will undertake it all." Yi Zhizhi said: "Don't worry, I'm sure of this, you are responsible for doing a good job of publicity, in addition, the branch of the newspaper in Jiangnan will start to be built, don't be too publicistic for the time being." ”

"Okay." Pan Shiming responded happily, he is looking forward to the establishment of a branch library is not a day or two, Xiguan Newspaper has been preparing for rapid expansion since the day of its establishment, a large number of apprentices are recruited to train the newspaper office, it may be difficult to open a newspaper in several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River at the same time, but at the same time in Jiangning and Hangzhou to open a newspaper office, it can be said that there is no pressure.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "Even if Yuan Qi undertakes the 10 million treasury bonds issued by the imperial court, this matter will not be two or three months, I am afraid it will be difficult to implement, and now the publicity, is it too early?" ”

"Not early." Yi Zhizhi said: "The sooner it is promoted, the better, and if it can be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it will be easier for the stock exchange to open." For advertising, he was very impressed by Goldlion's publicity strategy in the mainland, Goldlion has been advertising in the mainland for a year or two, but there has been no product sales, it is only two years later, Goldlion began to sell in the mainland, and it has achieved great success as soon as it was put on the market.

He can't emulate Jin Lilai, because he doesn't have enough time, but the sooner the publicity is promoted, the better, this is good, securities trading, this is not an easy thing to accept in the Qing Dynasty, not a large publicity, the opening of the exchange, it must be a door.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Qi Shan led four official ships to arrive at the dock outside the camp, as soon as he got out of the cabin, he saw two columns of soldiers continuing from the dock to the camp, like two ink lines, he really didn't expect that Yi Zhishu would put on this posture to greet him, and it could be seen that the other party was very concerned.

Yi Zhizu did not wear an official robe, but wore a straight military uniform, and led his regiment commanders and battalion commanders to greet him on the dock. ”

As soon as the words fell, a lengthened voice sounded on the dock, "Salute!" All the officers and soldiers on the dock raised their hands in salute, their eyes fixed on Qi Shan.

Qi Shan obviously fluttered for a moment, accustomed to being greeted by kneeling, accustomed to being stared at by so many people, very uncomfortable, only for a moment, he reacted, Yuan Qi group training is trained by the method of Western military training, this must be Western etiquette, although he is not used to it, but he feels a little fresh, the English mission into Beijing Hajj, in order to meet the etiquette, but there is no less fighting, he wants to see what Western etiquette is like.

Seeing that Qi Shan was silent, and the expression on his face was calm, Yi Zhixiang relieved his heart and said loudly: "I respectfully invite Lord Qincha to enter the camp." ”

Qi Shan looked at the guard of honor he brought, groaned slightly, and then waved his hand, signaling the guard of honor to be out of line, and then stepped forward, and Yi Zhizu followed behind without saying a word.

Along the way, the officers and soldiers along the way saluted all the way, and their eyes followed all the way, Qi Shan wondered: "Why do you keep staring?" ”

"It's attention." Yi Zhishu explained, and then said, "My lord, you can't speak." ”

Attention ceremony? Qi Shan secretly despises him, Yingyi is really a barbarian, he doesn't even understand basic etiquette, how can anyone always stare at people? And one by one, they were pestled with straight waists, like wooden stakes, and they didn't even have the least upper and lower humility.

There was nothing to say all the way, silently entered the camp and entered the big tent of the Chinese army, and saw the incense case in the big tent, Qi Shan's heart eased slightly, and then ordered: "Let everyone come in." ”

When everyone came in, Qi Shancai stood facing the north and said loudly: "Yuanqi group practice and a group of people are waiting for the order." ”

Yi Zhizu led everyone to kneel and bow respectfully according to the rules, and then lowered his head and opened his ears to listen, to be honest, he was a little nervous, and he didn't know if Daoguang would appoint him as the minister of group training, which was directly related to the situation of Dao Yuanqi's group training.

"The Lord's Decree; Lin Zexu, the governor of Liangguang, Deng Tingzhen, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, rushed the red flag for 600 miles, and the Guangdong Navy Division and the Yuanqi regiment conquered Dinghai within one day, captured eight Yingyi warships, captured more than 4,000 Yingyi, and suffered more than 100 casualties. ”

For the nonsense at the beginning, everyone in the big tent didn't have the heart to listen carefully, and Yi Zhishu was also a little distracted, until he heard Qi Shan read "Guangzhou Futai Xing is easy to be content." Immediately, the crowd pricked up their ears, and the point was reached.

"In the seventeenth year of Daoguang, he founded Yuanqi Bank, and in the eighteenth year, he wrote "Eighteen Articles on Railway Rejuvenation" and "Theory of National Debts", and donated huge sums of money to strengthen the defense of Humen in Guangzhou."

Daoguang counted the large and small contributions of Yuan Qi in the edict, and Yi Zhicontent, who listened to it, secretly tightened in his heart, judging from the large and small contributions listed, it can be seen that Daoguang is quite familiar with and understands Yuan Qi's situation, and it seems that Daoguang's attention to Yuan Qi is not ordinarily high.

"In the 20th year of Daoguang, he formed the Yuanqi regiment to practice, trained carefully, assisted the Guangdong Navy Division to achieve a great victory in sharpening the knife and Yang, and sent troops to recover Dinghai. Yi Zhi is content with the rank of general and the rank of third-class lieutenant. ”

"Wu Changqing, the son of a businessman of Jardine Matheson."

That's it? Is it to reward a staff officer rank and a third-class light car lieutenant? What about the Minister of League Training? Yi Zhishu is a little confused, and a regimental training minister on the rotten street in the later period is so expensive now? Or does Daoguang not want Yuanqi to practice for a long time at all? If this is really the case, Yuanqi group training is afraid that it is in a worrying situation, and the disbandment of group training at the end of the war is probably the best ending, it is estimated that this ending is all extravagant hope.

After reading for a full quarter of an hour, Qi Shan finished reading the edict, he glanced at everyone, and said in a low voice: "You still don't accept the edict to thank you?" ”

When he came back to his senses, Yi Zhixiang hurriedly kowtowed to thank him, got up and stepped forward to receive the holy decree, and then he asked with a smile: "The rank of general is the third grade, and I know that the third-class light car lieutenant is the grade?" ”

Qi Shan arched his hand and smiled: "Congratulations on contentment." The third-class light car lieutenant is a knighthood, under the duke and the baron, located in the sixth place of the title, is from the third grade, especially rare is the hereditary position, the descendants can take the title three times, and then replace it with the hereditary knight lieutenant, which is the seventh grade. ”

This means that the Yi family has since become one of the nobles? So, is it really a reward? What does Daoguang mean? The third-class light car captain was rewarded, but a regimental training minister was reluctant.

Accompanied Qi Shan to inspect the camp, in the afternoon, Yi Zhishan and his entourage sent Qi Shan back to the dock, and watched the official ship go offshore, Yi Zhishan turned around and glanced at everyone, and said: "Has anyone been pulled down and not received a reward?" ”

"The Emperor's grace is immense." Wu Changqing said with a smile: "Everyone has a reward, and everyone is not lacking." ”

"Then celebrate and celebrate today." Yi Zhizu Lang smiled: "Is it in the camp, or to the restaurant?" ”

"To the restaurant, of course." Wu Changqing said briskly: "Today I will come to charter the venue, let's go to Shuzhu Bridge nearby." ”

Everyone immediately applauded, and Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Changqing will take everyone to go first, I will go back to the camp to arrange, change clothes by the way, and I will arrive later." ”

"Brother contentment can't run away today."

"Don't worry, I'll be here in a while."

When he returned to the camp, he saw that the camp was full of jubilation, and he couldn't help but laugh, looked back at Yan Yangtian, Chen Hongming and other regiment commanders, and said, "What kind of rewards are you all rewarding?" ”

Yan Yangtian replied: "Back to the principal, the regimental and battalion levels are basically rewarded with the rank of Jiadu Division, Garrison, and Qian. ”

are all four, five, or six military attache ranks, Yi Zhishu nodded, it was almost as he expected, the recovery of Dinghai was of great significance, but to say that the war exploits were really not big, Dinghai was a county after all, and it was not bad to have so many rewards to recover a county seat.

However, the imperial court's reward for him is a little surprising, the rank of general of the third grade is expected, he is the fourth grade, because of the merit to promote a positive third grade, it is very normal, the unexpected is the third-class light car lieutenant position, the title is not so easy to earn, if he is a step into the ranks of the nobles of the Qing Dynasty, even if there is no real position, the government officials have to salute respectfully when they see him.

This can be said to be a heavy reward, but Daoguang didn't let him be happy, and the minister of regimental training was reluctant to reward him! After thinking about it, he thought again, I don't know how Guan Tianpei will be rewarded? He has obtained the rank of third-class lieutenant, Guan Tianpei should at least be a baron.

Just thinking about it, Yan Yangtian asked: "Headmaster, this court has rewarded us with official titles, what do we wear on this official robe, where can we get it?" ”

I don't know where to get it? He said casually: "You don't have to worry about this, you can handle it uniformly." ”

"Principal Xie." Several people hurriedly said in unison.

"Let's go back." Yi Zhishu instructed: "Go back to your own camp and have fun." ”

"Honor." Several people hurriedly responded, the rewards were all the nine elite battalions surrounded by small hoops, and the other battalions in the Henan camp did not have a share, so it was indeed inappropriate to spread joy here.

"Also." Yi Zhizu groaned: "Within three days, all the British prisoners of war will be gathered in the Xiaohoop Siege prisoner of war camp. ”

Well, why do you want to gather prisoners of war? Thinking that the British fleet was now off the coast of Guangzhou, Yan Yangtian immediately realized that it was likely to return these prisoners of war to the British army, and he hesitated: "Headmaster, these prisoners of war have personally experienced the power of the Minie gun. ”

Yi Zhishu nodded, but he didn't say anything, he naturally knew this, once this batch of prisoners of war was returned to the British army, the secret of Yuanqi's regimental practice of using the Mini gun would be exposed, but this was no way, and the exposure of the Mini gun was only a matter of time, after all, the scale of use was too large to be kept secret.

Entering the big tent of the Chinese army, he stretched out his hand to signal a few people to sit down, and Yi Zhizhi slowly said a brief description of the negotiation with the British army in Macao, and heard that the prisoners of war were returned to the British army in vain, and several regiment and battalion commanders were stunned, but they did not have the right to speak in this kind of thing, although they were dissatisfied, but they did not dare to oppose the things that Yi Zhilu had decided, besides, this was also for the sake of the overall situation.

After being quiet for a long time, Yan Yang said genius: "Headmaster, can you conduct a thorough investigation of the prisoners of war, and for the prisoners of war who know the Minnie gun, they will be detained for the time being." ”

"Difficult!" Yi Zhizhi said: "It is estimated that most prisoners of war know that our muskets are much better than theirs. After a pause, he said: "The secret of the Minnie gun cannot be kept for a long time, and the battle of Dinghai is to catch a turtle in an urn, and the enemy has nowhere to escape, and all of them are captured." In a battle like Dinghai, there will be no more opportunities in the future, as long as we engage the British army, the British army will perceive the superior performance of the Mini gun. ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at a few people, and said in a deep voice: "The battle of Dinghai, we won very easily, the advantage of weapons is the key, but it is impossible for us to maintain the advantage of weapons for a long time, the technical content of the Mini gun is very low, once exposed, it will soon be imitated, you can't develop the habit of relying on the advantage of weapons."

Why do you want to increase your stabbing training? It is to cultivate your combat style of daring to fight bayonets and bayonets, and relying too much on the superiority of weapons, and Yuanqi regimental training will never become a world-class army. (To be continued.) )