A day slips away from your fingertips in the blink of an eye.
With the long ringing of the bell, one year has passed and it is already the fourth year of Xianfeng.
We are one step closer to the Second Opium War.
Li Zhen prepared actively, but he had to play when it was time to play. On the day of the Chinese New Year, Li Zhen summoned Zhou Xiuying, Liu Taiping, Qi Zhenhai, Liu Die, Yang Banhou, Smith and others to his house, and together they
We had a reunion dinner. Li Zhenshen had no worries, he was already fatherless and motherless, and celebrating the New Year with Zhou Xiuying, Liu Taiping and others was even more lively.
Such a move also made people's hearts more stable, making Liu Taiping, Yang Banhou and other civil servants and military generals more loyal to Li Zhen. After the New Year, Shanghai became calm.
During this period, Li Zhen summoned businessmen from Shanghai.
Following the precedent of Yangfang, all the businessmen went to the appointment, and there was no one who failed to come.
Li Zhen made three stipulations with the merchants in Shanghai, asking the merchants to increase production, but never touch opium. Most of the merchants still had passion in their hearts, and they followed Li Zhen's advice and began to develop production on a large scale.
Under a stable environment, Shanghai developed rapidly.
Business flourished and tax revenue began to increase.
Even if Li Zhen turned over part of it, he would still have a lot left over, enough to develop his strength.
As Li Zhenjing developed his strength, the combat effectiveness of the more than two thousand soldiers under his command skyrocketed.
At the same time, Li Zhen purchased four more artillery pieces through Gu Lina's channels. These four artillery pieces were not used for maritime operations, but were equipped in the military camp under Li Zhen's command. Li Zhen developed his own strength and added
The more than 10,000 Qing troops who were dragged back were all sent to the Jiangbei camp, euphemistically called to help Qishan resist the Taiping Army in Nanjing.
Qishan leads troops, the more the better.
Li Zhen sent soldiers to him, and Qi Shan put them directly in the Jiangbei camp regardless of whether they were good or bad.
In this way, Li Zhen's men are all elite.
Although Lu Shaochuan and Zhu Wu's people are not yet able to fight against the British and French fleets at sea, they can at least make sneak attacks, intercept British and French merchant ships at sea, and control the trade routes at sea. Li Zhen lacks strength at sea, but he has already done so on land.
Don't be afraid of foreigners.
At least, Li Zhen already has the strength to fight.
In the study, Li Zhen is handling official business.
"Crunch!"
Suddenly, the door of the study room opened, and Lan Weiwen hurried in. Lan Weiwen was in a panic, her face turned into a bitter melon face, and her slender eyebrows were even more wrinkled. He ran into the room and gulped.
Panting heavily, he said directly: "Sir, it's not good, something happened."
Li Zhen put down his pen and said in a deep voice: "What happened?"
Lan Weiwen said: "Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu, is coming, and he must be here to target you."
"Xu Naizhao is here, it seems the wolf is coming!"
Not only did Li Zhen have no worries on his face, he said with a smile: "I killed Yang Nenge and destroyed Yangfang. I have cut off the wealth of Ali Kingdom and Aitang, and also made it impossible for them to control Shanghai. The two of them cannot
To regain my interests, I can only find someone else to suppress me, and Xu Naizhao is here. Besides, Yang Fang is also connected with Xu Naizhao, and he has given Xu Naizhao a lot of money. If Yang Fang is dead, Xu Naizhao cannot let it go."
Lan Weiwen said: "Do you have any idea, sir?"
Li Zhenxiao said: "I am just a small governor of Jiangsu, what should I be afraid of? The soldiers will come to cover up the water and the earth, so there is nothing to be afraid of."
But Lan Weiwen said: "Xu Naizhao is your superior's superior officer and is difficult to deal with."
Li Zhen said: "Lan County Magistrate, this matter will not affect you, don't worry. As long as you work quietly and handle things in Shanghai well, you will have money, women, and rights.
."
Lan Weiwen bent down and said: "I will always be loyal to you in my humble position."
Li Zhen waved his hand, and Lan Weiwen left.
Immediately afterwards, Li Zhen also left the study and headed towards the place where Liu Taiping lived. Li Zhen stayed in Liu Taiping's yard for half an hour before leaving with satisfaction. Returning to the study, Li Zhen ordered the soldiers to go to the United States with their names.
The consulate paid a visit to Ma Hui and invited him to come to Daotai Mansion.
Ma Hui got it and happily went to the appointment.
In the hall, Ma Hui sat down after being greeted.
Li Zhen said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Ma Hui, this is your first time visiting the house. It makes the whole house shine."
Ma Hui smiled and said: "It is an honor to be invited by His Majesty the General."
Li Zhen continued: "I've heard about Mr. Ma Hui for a long time, but I haven't really met him often. Speaking of which, I only met Mr. Ma Hui once at the British Consulate. On the other hand, Aili Guo and Aitang met me several times. First
The first time I just came to Shanghai, I met Aili Guo and Aitang twice in the Qing military camp outside the city, and then several times in Daotai Mansion. However, unpleasant things happened to both parties. Only Ma
Mr. Hui works with integrity, unlike the two of them who often create chaos."
Ma Hui said with a smile: "Your Excellency, the general, defeated the British and French allied forces in succession. It is impressive and admirable!"
"you flatter me!"
Li Zhen smiled, with a bright smile on his face.
Ma Hui didn't ask Li Zhen why he was looking for him, and just talked in random directions. Compared with Aitang and A Liguo, Ma Hui was a China expert. Although his Chinese was not as fluent as Smith's, he could speak it fluently. Especially,
Ma Hui was very talented in his remarks, and Ma Hui in particular had a sense of humor. The conversation between the two was extremely harmonious.
Li Zhen had a smile on his face, but secretly scolded Ma Hui for being an old man.
This guy has always been in trouble.
Li Zhen knew it would be impossible not to take the initiative and said, "Mr. Ma Hui, what do you think of the relationship between China and the United States?"
Ma Hui spread his hands and said, "It's very friendly and beneficial to both parties."
When Li Zhen heard this, he almost cursed.
The United States of America is invading the Qing Dynasty, what a bummer!
Li Zhen looked calm and said calmly: "Mr. Ma Hui, forgive Li Zhen, the relationship between China and the United States is far from being as good as you said. The United States is still barbarically grabbing profits by opening ports in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places.
, without considering long-term development. For the United States, it is a good thing for the time being, but it is not good for the long term.”
Ma Hui smiled and said: "General, do you have any ideas?"
That smile is like that of an old fox sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.
Li Zhenxin wanted to make Ma Hui suffer sooner or later, but he said sincerely: "Mr. Ma Hui, the United States is a country that has just become independent and has begun to develop. It needs allies. I am the natural ally of the United States. Britain and France are rampant on the sea, and they invade unscrupulously.
, and establishing colonies, this is a threat to the United States. It will be beneficial to both parties if the United States and I unite for mutual benefit and long-term cooperation."
Ma Hui stared at Li Zhen and understood what Li Zhen said.
The word ‘I’ represents a specific meaning.
Ma Hui shook his head and said: "Your Majesty General, you are currently enjoying a prosperous life and can even be said to be a rising political star. However, you are already facing danger. I believe the general also got the news about Xu Naizhao coming to Shanghai. I don't know.
Can the general cope with it? If the general can stand firm under the difficulties of the Jiangsu governor and fight back against Xu Naizhao, I will consider cooperating with the general. If the general can't even deal with the Jiangsu governor, there is no prerequisite for cooperation."
Li Zhen smiled and said: "Mr. Consul, we will cooperate."
