Yang Fang lived up to his trust, and soon sent someone to send a letter over: Wall is willing to accept Guan Zhuofan's invitation, but he hopes to see Guan Zhuofan before the matter is decided, and the place is in Yang Fang's house.

This is a reasonable request, Guan Zhuofan also readily agreed, and in the afternoon, he took a sedan chair to the door again. Yang Fang greeted him at the door, and when he entered the living room, before he saw the sofa, there was a young foreigner of twenty-seven or eighteen years old, with a straight figure, wearing a tuxedo, a snow-white collar, and shiny leather shoes, and stretched out his hand to him.

"Lord Guan, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, Wall's appearance can be said to be meticulous, but he didn't expect him to speak Chinese so well. He smiled and stretched out his hand to shake it and said, "Mr. Wall, I have also admired it for a long time, please take a seat." ”

When they both sat down on the sofa, Yang Ying came in from outside the door and personally brought a delicate tray and put it in front of Guan Zhuofan.

"Master Guan, please use tea!" Yang Ying's face was red, with a shy expression, and after saying this, she sat far away as usual.

This little girl is really interesting, Guan Zhuofan thought to herself, when she saw me for the first time, she was very generous, but this time she was shy, could it be that she was secretly in love?

But now is the time to do business, not to think about it. Wall, an American, has a very hearty personality, and it didn't take much time for Guan Zhuofan to finalize all the salary, salary, guns, and station of the foreign guns. The two original deputies of the foreign guns, Forrest and Bai Qiwen, and Wall have also consulted them and expressed their willingness to join. The conversation went so smoothly that the two of them unknowingly changed their names.

"Yixuan, I am very grateful for you inviting me to form a force for you. But there is still one question, and I need your clarification - why should I be allowed to recruit no more than 200 foreigners, but 500 Chinese soldiers? ”

"That's because in Shanghai, maybe there aren't so many suitable foreigners for you to recruit."

"Why not?" Wall shrugged his shoulders disappreciatively, "Lord Guan, I think you may not know, there are many people who have fought in the concession, there are many sailors on the warships of various countries, as long as they have a suitable salary, there are also many Filipinos and Indians......"

"I know very well," Guan Zhuofan took over and was no longer polite, "I also know that last year, you were almost arrested by the commander of the British fleet, Uncle He, because of too many British soldiers. ”

Wall was speechless for a while, glanced at Guan Zhuofan in surprise, and laughed at himself: "In military affairs, there will always be risks, and now there is no trouble." ”

"Wall, after today's matter is decided, I will make a compromise to the court and ask for an official position in the Sipin Capital Division for you. Your foreign gun team will be used by the imperial court as a controlled force, and it will not be disbanded after a battle as it was before, so you must make long-term plans. Guan Zhuofan said calmly, "I hope you can recruit more experienced officers, not soldiers who can only shoot guns, and not those soldiers and drunkards who only know how to soak in taverns." As for the people on the British and French warships, it's not that you can't recruit them, but we have an old saying in China, called 'too much', and if you go too far, people will inevitably have to deal with you, and that's not my intention." ”

This remark is reasonable and well-founded, and Wall can't be unconvinced, but—

"Chinese soldiers, combat effectiveness is not good." Wall's words are also very frank, "and they don't use firearms......

"You're talking about the original Green Battalion! Now these 500 new braves are all selected by thousands of people, not only can they bear hardships and stand hard work, but they are not stupid. Guan Zhuofan stopped him again, "Wall, I heard Qi Weng say that you are the best at leading troops, and I believe you can definitely train them!" ”

"It also depends on who you bring," Wall argued, "and I ...... when I was in Crimea."

"When you were in the Crimea, you took four companies of recruits, snatched two crossings from the Russians in a row, and helped the French hold the Essonne Heights." Guan Zhuofan interrupted Wall for the third time and said nonchalantly, "In Constantinople, your troops are the most disciplined, and there is almost no alcoholism and syphilis. In Mexico, you trained mercenaries for Walker, and with almost 2,500 men, you conquered all of Nicaragua. ”

"I'm ......" Huaer, who was dumbfounded, couldn't say a word anymore, and turned his head to look at Yang Fang. Yang Fang could only spread his hands in surprise, saying that he had never heard of these words. Only Yang Ying, who was sitting on the side, listened to Guan Zhuofan's words and looked at Wall adoringly.

You should worship me! Guan Zhuofan said in his heart, if my brother didn't study history, how could he feel the details of this foreign devil so clearly?

"Now in China, I believe that you will be able to train the battalion I handed over to you into a strong force." He smiled and said to Wall.

"Okay, I promised!" Wall stood up and stretched out his hand to Guan Zhuofan, "Yixuan, no matter how you know this, I admire you!" I don't like your civil servants very much, but it's a pleasure to deal with you. ”

"Ahem, I'm also a civil official in Shanghai County." Guan Zhuofan reminded him.

"You are the guard of His Majesty the Emperor, and you are a soldier." Wall said seriously.

"What about my father?" Yang Ying, who was on the side, blushed, glared at Wall angrily and anxiously and said.

"Oh...... Oh......" Wall, who had always been very serious, actually showed a trace of cowardice on his face, and said in a panic: "Yang Daotai...... is exceptional......"

Nani? Guan Zhuofan looked at Yang Ying, and then at Huaer, and finally realized - I am really a self-inflicted pig!

It's not good, it's not good, he shouted in his heart, this delicate little girl is going to fall into the hands of foreign devils.

*

*

What I didn't expect was that on the third day, Yang Fang suddenly came to the county government in person.

"Yixuan, things have changed." As soon as he sat down in the signing room, Yang Fang frowned and said, "The military expenses of the foreign gun team, I'm just afraid that there will be trouble." ”

"How?" Guan Zhuofan was taken aback, "Is it a temporary lack of funds?" ”

"It's not that there is not enough fundraising, it's just that there is ...... over there," Yang Fang pointed in the direction of the east with his hand, "Let me stop the fundraising for a while." ”

The east side naturally refers to the Daotai Yamen on the East Street of the county. In this way, Wu Xu has changed his mind in the matter of the foreign gun team.

"I see." Guan Zhuofan has an advantage, that is, whenever there is a major event, he is calm, and he is silent at the moment, and asks softly: "Qi Weng, do you know what the Dao is for?" ”

"I heard that the elders in Shanghai have different ideas about the foreign guns."

Guan Zhuofan understood. The elder under the forest is a euphemism for Yang Fang, which originally meant to refer to retired high-ranking officials, and the so-called "retreat to the forest" means. Although there are many people stranded in Shanghai at present, most of them are not really in the "forest" - some are on the way to work or report on their work, the road is blocked by the war, and they have to live here temporarily, some are places where they are officials, occupied by Longhair, and can only live idlely, and some are lost in the city and land, and fled here from under the soldiers of Longhair. Although they have no real power in their hands for a while, they have great influence, and Wu Xu is just a four-grade Dao platform, and he can't help but have some scruples about their opinions.

Guan Zhuofan thought about it in his heart for a while, knowing that he still had to meet Wu Xu first, and after clarifying the situation, he could have a claim. So he sent Yang Fang away, sat in the official sedan chair, and went straight to the provincial office.

Wu Xu naturally knew his intention, and entered the inner room, without speaking, and sighed first.

"Alas, Yixuan, this is something that is really unexpected." He put on a sad look and said, "Several elders in Shanghai feel that it is unreasonable to use foreigners to fight wars, and it is also contrary to etiquette, and it is absolutely impractical. ”

Guan Zhuofan sneered in his heart: At this time, they are still pestering Li Heli, so it is better to invite them to the long-haired military camp, reason and etiquette, and see if Li Xiucheng can "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the ground"?

I couldn't say this directly, but I asked lightly: "Lord Wu, I don't know who are the elders?" ”

"The most powerful opposition is the former Jiang Governor He Guiqing He, the Peng who was ordered to take over the Jiangxi Xuezheng, and the Rite Department Attendant Sun who has already sent a minister, and the others also look to their horse heads." Wu Xu said helplessly, "Yixuan, guarding Shanghai is dominated by you, but Lord He's words, we as subordinates, we can't help but listen." It's not that I can't get along with you, I'm really caught in the middle, and I'm very embarrassed! ”

Wu Xu's words sounded like he didn't want to offend both sides, but his words showed his feet - since Yang Fang's fundraising was stopped, it was equivalent to saying that he would rather offend Guan Zhuofan than disobey the meaning of this group of elders.

"Lord Wu," Guan Zhuofan reminded, "He Gui has been dismissed early in the morning, and it seems that he can't talk about it if he is not subordinate or not." ”

"Yixuan, although what you said is good, but our Xue Futai in Jiangsu, in the end, was promoted by Lord He-"

He Guiqing is a native of Yunnan, a Jinshi of Daoguang for fifteen years, born in Hanlin, extremely popular in official fortune, and became the governor of Liangjiang at the age of forty-one, and he was in the limelight for a while. However, when the Taiping army broke through the Jiangnan camp in Hechun, he had a heavy army in Changzhou and could not save him when he saw death, but when the Taiping army began to approach Changzhou, he was afraid again, and under the pretext of going to the rear to raise money, he intended to leave the city first. The senior gentry in Changzhou, Panyuan knelt down and didn't let him go, and his personal team actually opened fire, killing a total of 19 people, and still went out of the city.

When Changzhou was broken, Xianfeng's holy decree also arrived, and He Guiqing was "dismissed and handed over to the ministry".

As usual, since he was dismissed, he should return to Beijing on his own and wait for the investigation, but He Guiqing knew that his behavior was too despicable, and he would be severely punished for entering Beijing, so he went to Shanghai and stayed in the British concession, and found all kinds of excuses to delay the time and wait for a turnaround. Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, and Xue Huan, the governor of Jiangsu, were both He Guiqing's people, and while they were acting for him in Beijing, they also supported him well in Shanghai. At this time, when the British and French troops entered the city, Emperor Xianfeng hunted Rehe in the north, and the case was dragged down. He Guiqing gradually began to point fingers at the current situation in Shanghai, and simply regarded himself as the leader of Shilin.

Wu Xu meant that even Xue Huan, the governor of the province, had to listen to He Guiqing's words, and these elders had some accusations against the "foreign gun team", and he had a four-grade Taoist platform, so he had to take into account their observations.

Guan Zhuofan can't agree with such an idea - the military situation is urgent, and it has reached the point where it can't be delayed for a day, so why should he consider the perception of others? So he slowed down his tone and said gently: "The officials of the state have rules and regulations, and they cannot be held hostage by private opinions. These elders, since they are under the forest, cannot interfere in local affairs. At this point, please Lord Wu must think clearly, and don't make mistakes. ”

Although the tone was gentle, the meaning of the words was extremely harsh. Above the officialdom, pay attention to the word "harmony", although Guan Zhuofan's identity is different, but in the end he is only a seven-grade magistrate, he actually said such heavy words to Shangguan, and openly warned him "Don't make mistakes", which made Wu Xu, who was exquisite, feel unbearable on his face, and was stunned at first, and then displeased.

"Yixuan, I can't afford your words, return it as it is." Wu Xu dragged out his voice.

Guan Zhuofan saw that Wu Xu was official, but it was inconvenient to continue talking, so he lowered his head and thought about it, and finally made up his mind.

"There is one thing, I originally planned to wait until this time to defeat Long Hair," Guan Zhuofan said in a deep voice, "Now it seems that we have to do it first." ”

"Uh-huh, what's the matter?"

Guan Zhuofan didn't answer, he stood up first, sorted out his official uniform slightly, and then said calmly: "Lord Wu, I have the emperor's secret message. ”

Wu Xu looked at him blankly, his chubby face, two small eyes blinked, and after a while, Huo Ran woke up, hurriedly left his seat, knelt on the ground with both knees, and kowtowed.

"Minister...... Wu Xu, please the Emperor and the Empress Dowager Sheng'an! ”