It turned out that the excerpt of Li Hongzhang and Guan Zhuofan's joint title and request for a trial telegram was approved by the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces and Prince Gong. In their minds, in the end, "military affairs are bigger than the sky", as long as they can tie the long hair one day earlier, everything else can be discussed. Since Chonghou, Li Hongzhang, and Guan Zhuofan all said the telegram so well, and the power of the telegram was in their own hands, it didn't hurt to do it.

With this edict as the sword of Shang Fang, the line that was originally erected privately became a legal thing. Guan Zhuofan discussed with Li Hongzhang and set up the "Shanghai Telegraph Office" in Shanghai, and Guan Zhuofan personally served as the general office of the telegraph office, and at the same time kept Bian Ning the title of a fellow intellectual, and served as the director of the telegraph office.

The object of negotiation was the Sihe Company, and the procurement of telegraphs, wires, poles, and other equipment, as well as the erection of lines, were handled by the Sihe Company, and the price was coordinated by the Yamen of the feudal domain.

said that it was a negotiation, but on this line, it was all his own people, so on the surface, it was Bian Ning and the Danes in Sihe who were talking, but in fact, Libin was secretly presiding over everything, and everything went smoothly without hindrance. As for Jin Nengheng, seeing that the company began to make money, he was even more energetic, and arranged overseas procurement and shipping affairs in an orderly manner.

The telegraph route was based on the discussion between Guan Zhuofan and Li Hongzhang, preparing one to pass through Jiading and extend to the direction of Taicang, and the other through Kunshan and to Suzhou. However, at present, these are still on paper, and it is necessary to wait for the Xuanhuai and Huai armies to fight in Taicang and Suzhou, and the engineers and people of the Sihe Company will follow the erection all the way.

The day of the march to Suzhou. It's set for November. For the sake of after the frost falls. The weather was cold, and the waterways, if not frozen, at least the ground was frozen solid, which was conducive to the movement of artillery wagons and cavalry.

All the battalions of the Xuan Army in Songjiang Prefecture are seizing this period of time and are training in full swing. And all cities and counties, large and small officials. They are also very busy, preparing military supplies for the Xuanhuai and Huai armies, and connecting tens of thousands of sets of winter clothes, tents and other cold materials, if they can't be done on time and miss the military plane, it is not a joke.

The garrison that Guan Zhuofan planned to stay in Shanghai was Ding Ruchang's precursor regiment, with a total of more than 3,000 people, in order to guard against the Taiping army in the direction of Zhejiang, afraid that they would be empty in Shanghai. Something is unusual. However, in this way, the officers and soldiers of the first word regiment. He also lost the opportunity to make meritorious contributions to the west, and he couldn't help but be depressed. Ding Ruchang himself, who was also the boss, was reluctant, thought about it, and came to the Yamen of the Domain Division with the courage to meet the marshal, and wanted to ask for a favor.

"General Ding, why don't you stay in the camp and come to me, what do you want to do?" Guan Zhuofan waited for him to salute, sat down at the back of the case, and asked with a smile, as if he had expected him to come.

"Boss, I want to ask you for a favor." Ding Ruchang thought of a statement, plucked up the courage and said, "The Xianzi Regiment, like the Kezi Regiment, has always been the main force of the Xuan Army, and the equipment is also the most haode. You have spent so much effort to cultivate us, and now when you want to use people, we are hiding in Shanghai to enjoy Qingfu, and the brothers all said that they couldn't go in their hearts. ”

"Well, well," Guan Zhuofan smiled secretly in his heart, but he didn't understand the tone on his face, and asked, "Then what should you do, you can only be happy in your hearts?" ”

"Undermarked...... I was thinking about it, these days, Wu Jianying, Jiang De and they are also working very hard, and there are also lucky devils, who have just been exchanged from Changmao's hands," Ding Ruchang said stiffly, "Boss, is it good to let them take a break in Shanghai, and my first group will go to Suzhou for them?" ”

"Hmm," Guan Zhuofan said expressionlessly, "Then there is Daniel Zhang, Yixan, why don't you mention it?" ”

Ding Ruchang hesitated and did not speak.

Guan Zhuofan sighed and said, "Ruchang, sit down." ”

"Marked ......"

"Sit down, I have something to say."

Ding Ruchang sat uneasy, waiting for Guan Zhuofan to speak.

"Do you think that Daniel Zhang and Iksan are the old men of my Chengnan horse team, so they are not willing to talk about them?"

"Don't dare!" Ding Ruchang really thinks so, but where is he willing to admit it? Hurriedly stood up and replied.

Guan Zhuofan waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down, before he smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of war, I want to make meritorious contributions, this is a good thing." With such morale and determination, how can Long Hair not be even? But when we do things, we can't ignore the head and tail, let me ask you, where did our people, money, and guns come from? ”

"It's all ...... Here in Shanghai. ”

"Not bad! What is Shanghai? It is the nest of our Xuan army, and it is the base camp of my Guan San. Just one Kunshan, one Suzhou, it is good to be able to fight, but what can you do if you can't beat it? It's nothing more than doing it all over again. But if there is anything wrong in Shanghai, it will be a fatal thing, so of course I have to take the most haode troops, defend this place, and watch this home! Guan Zhuofan slowed down his tone and asked casually: "So, who is guarding Shanghai now?" ”

"Got it!" Ding Ruchang stood up excitedly and gave a military salute.

Guan Zhuofan bowed slightly, his face turned solemn, stared at Ding Ruchang, and said word by word: "Ruchang, you must understand that from the day you boarded the ship in Wuchang, I treated you like Daniel Zhang and Ixan, just like that. ”

"Clearly," Ding Ruchang said in a low voice, "Ruchang is willing to serve the dead!" ”

This section makes sense, Guan Zhuofan has to explain another thing. He left Ding Ruchang in Shanghai, in fact, there were still important matters to be handed over to him.

"Ruchang, you used to stay in the long-haired sailor for a total of three years?"

“…… Be. Ding Ruchang hesitated and said. This is his most taboo past, for this reason, he changed his name, but I don't know why Dashuai suddenly mentioned it at this time?

"You pick up hundreds of people from the battalion and those steamboats, preferably with some experience and learn things quickly."

"Yes." Ding Ruchang repeated it and asked, "I don't know what the boss wants them to do?" ”

"The Americans have been anchored at Wusongkou with two gunboats, the Brave and the Independence, led by a naval admiral named Singleton. I have already told him, through the American consul Charles, that you will be allowed to take shifts on the ship, and you will lead you to learn the control of Western warships and the methods of fighting. ”

Is there such a thing? Ding Ruchang, who loves ships like his life, his eyes lit up, and he was surprised and delighted, I don't know why Americans have become so generous.

Guan Zhuofan saw his question, smiled slightly, and said: "Last time Hua Er got married, did you donate my 50,000 taels of silver for nothing?" ”

I see! On the day of Wall's "big wedding", Guan Zhuofan once donated 50,000 taels of silver to the U.S. government. Ding Ruchang admired the handsome man so much, but after solving this mystery, there was a new question.

"Boss," he hesitated for a while, but still asked: "Even if you learn it, let's ...... There is also no own ship yet. ”

"If you want to learn, it's not a matter of one or two days, how easy is it? Just try to familiarize yourself with it first. As for our own ship......" Guan Zhuofan said idly, "Although we haven't it yet, maybe we will have it by the end of the year." ”

The handsome said yes, then there will naturally be! And depending on the meaning of the big handsome, if you have a ship, you have to hand it over to yourself. Thinking that it was possible for him to command a Western warship, Ding Ruchang's voice trembled a little: "Please rest assured, the commander will definitely learn the tricks of Western warships!" ”

After saying this, he realized his gaffe and settled down, and then asked: "I also want to ask the commander to show that the commander will pull out the camp to fight Suzhou, so if there is something in Shanghai, which one will preside over the city?" ”

"It stands to reason that wherever I call, Mr. Bian's telegraph line will be erected. But even so, there is always a time when there is no urgency......" Guan Zhuofan nodded and said, "You asked well." When I was away, my feudal secretary yamen was sat by Zhao Jingxian! ”

*

(The third watch is around 8 p.m.) ）

*(To be continued......)