Gu Lina also got up and followed behind, preparing to go to the kitchen with Li Zhen.
"Crunch!"
The door opened and Li Zheng just stepped out of the threshold, but a soldier hurried in. When the soldier saw Li Zhen, he immediately bowed and saluted and said: "General, there is a man from outside the house, looking for the foreign woman who entered the house, and
It's an emergency."
After hearing this, Li Zhen immediately explained to Gu Lina and shrugged helplessly.
A trace of annoyance flashed in Gu Lina's eyes. She didn't come when she was supposed to come, but she came when she shouldn't have come. Gu Lina's eyes were as gentle as water, and she said softly: "I will go back to deal with the matter. Next time, please invite the general."
We’re having a banquet at my house.”
Li Zhen nodded and said: "Okay, you can go back."
Originally, Li Zhen planned to show off his cooking skills, but now it seems that there is no need for it. Gu Lina left in a hurry, and Li Zhen also returned to the study. At this time, Li Zhen began to deal with the news brought by Gu Lina
Li Zhen immediately ordered the soldiers to summon Huang Shihai, Yang Banhou, Zhou Xiuying and Lan Weiwen to discuss matters together.
Within a quarter of an hour, everyone gathered in the study.
Li Zhen said: "I just got the news that Aili State and Aitang decided to transport opium into Shanghai. As the supervisor of Jiang Customs, I am responsible for Shanghai's customs duties and have the right to supervise the goods entering Shanghai. Opium has flowed into the country and poisoned countless people. It must not be allowed
Let the opium flow into Shanghai. I have called you here to discuss countermeasures against Aliguo and Aitang."
Huang Shihai said without hesitation: "General, do you still need to think about this? We will wait at the dock. Once the merchant ships under the command of Ali Kingdom and Aitang enter the port, they will send people to inspect when unloading. If the opium is found, it will be destroyed immediately.
.”
Yang Banhou also said: "General, I also agree with Brother Shihai's opinion."
Zhou Xiuying's beautiful eyes were cold and she said in a deep voice: "Not only must we destroy opium, but we must also punish foreigners and kill chickens to scare monkeys." Zhou Xiuying's murderous look made Lan Weiwen, who was sitting next to her, feel cold in her heart.
After hearing this, Li Zhen shook his head slightly.
The words of Huang Shihai, Yang Banhou and Zhou Xiuying are feasible, but they are based on Li Zhen's strong power. At this stage, Li Zhen, A Liguo and Aitang have a small friction, but there is no real quarrel. Britain and France
The coalition forces did not send all their elite troops to participate in the war. The British and French coalition forces were powerful at sea and powerful on land, but Li Zhen was not afraid.
However, what Li Zhen was worried about was that once he angered Aliguo and Aitang, they would jump over the wall and encourage the British and French ministers in China to start a war, which would lead to the early outbreak of the Second Opium War. That was what Li Zhen was worried about.
With Li Zhen's current strength, he can only stabilize the situation in Shanghai.
Once it spreads to Tianjin, Beijing and other places, Li Zhen's power will be far from enough.
Li Zhen could not express his thoughts. Neither Yang Banhou, Huang Shihai, nor Zhou Xiuying believed that there would be a second Opium War, nor did they believe Li Zhen's words.
Li Zhen looked at Lan Weiwen and asked, "Magistrate Lan, what do you think?"
Lan Weiwen said: "I am humble and stupid, I can't think of a way." In fact, Lan Weiwen wanted to persuade Li Zhen and Ali Guo to cooperate, but she didn't dare to speak when she saw the fierce looks in Huang Shihai and others' eyes.
Li Zhen sighed and said: "If you show off your courage for a moment, you can destroy the opium entering Shanghai and even kill foreigners. But the result will definitely be to follow Lin Zexu's old path. Not only will he be dismissed from office, but also the rights in Shanghai will fall to the British and French invaders."
into the hands of the beholder.”
Huang Shihai asked: "Sir, what are you going to do?"
Li Zhen said: "There is nothing we can do for the moment. You all go down and let me have a good rest."
Zhou Xiuying glanced at Li Zhen, with a look of concern in her eyes. However, she couldn't think of a way, so she could only stand up with Huang Shihai and Yang Banhou and walk out of the study. Lan Weiwen stood up and left, just as she reached the threshold
When he was about to do it, he suddenly stopped, turned around and said, "Sir, I can't think of a way in this humble position. Maybe there is someone who can."
"Oh, who is it?"
Li Zhen stood up abruptly, looking very excited.
Only now did Li Zhen realize that he was in urgent need of think-tank talents. Especially since he had to do most of the work himself, and everything was down to the smallest detail, which gave Li Zhen a huge headache.
Li Zhen made up his mind and must recruit talents.
Lan Weiwen said: "The person who talks about humble positions is named Liu Taiping. He comes from a scholarly family. He was a Jinshi in the fifteenth year of Daoguang's reign (1835). After becoming a Jinshi, he became an official in the Hanlin Academy. Unfortunately, Liu Taiping has a straightforward temperament and a bad temper.
I couldn't stand the customs of officialdom, couldn't adapt to them, and ended up being dismissed from office."
Li Zhen frowned and asked, "How can this person learn?"
Lan Weiwen said: "Don't worry, my lord, Liu Taiping is proficient in eight-legged writing, but he is also outstanding in strategy and good at internal affairs. He is a talented person. When Lin Zexu was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he recruited Liu Taiping as his staff. Unfortunately, Lin Zexu's good times did not last long, and Liu Taiping
Taiping also lived in Shanghai and taught in Shanghai."
Li Zhen was extremely happy when he heard that Liu Taiping and Lin Zexu had worked together.
Suddenly, Li Zhen asked again: "Magistrate Lan, Liu Taiping was a Jinshi in the fifteenth year of Daoguang's reign. It is now the Xianfeng period. Liu Taiping must be at least in his early forties."
Lan Weiwen nodded and said, "Sir, Liu Taiping is forty-five years old."
Li Zhen nodded and said: "I have experienced ups and downs in the officialdom, and I am full of strategies. It is worth meeting. Please accompany me."
Lan Weiwen said: "Sir, I have said that this person has a straightforward personality and a weird temper, so you should be careful."
Li Zhen said with a smile: "I have such a big heart, let's go!"
At that moment, Li Zhen asked Huang Shihai and others who were standing outside the study to return to the military camp, and then he and Lan Weiwen left the mansion and headed towards the place where Liu Taiping lived. Behind Li Zhen were two soldiers wearing ordinary clothes to protect Li Zhen.
Safety.
Lan Weiwen led the way towards the west of the city.
In the city of Shanghai, the county government is located in the north, and the east of the city is close to the estuary, where foreigners live. But in the west of the city, there is a mixture of dragons and snakes, traffickers and pawns, and all three religions and nine schools are mixed in. Li Zhen and Lan Weiwen are all wearing ordinary clothes.
Although the material of the clothes is better, it cannot be seen that he is an official.
Li Zhen followed Lan Weiwen into the west of the city and found that the streets were full of people and very lively.
"Sir, do you want to tell your fortune?"
When Li Zhen and Lan Weiwen entered an alleyway, a man dressed as a Taoist priest passed by and wanted to get Li Zhen to tell his fortune. The two soldiers glared at him, and the Taoist priest left in despair.
Li Zhen smiled calmly and asked: "County Magistrate Lan, I think you are very familiar with this place. Do you come here often?"
Lan Weiwen shook her head and said: "Sir, this is the second time I have been humble. The first time I came to see Liu Taiping, I was scolded so badly that I left in despair. Now when I go to see Liu Taiping, I feel a little worried.
fear."
Li Zhen smiled and said, "If you say that, I'm more interested."
The group of people walked through the streets and bypassed the alleys, and came to a residential area with rotten bricks and tiles. In this area, clothes drying poles could be seen hanging outside, and pieces of clothes were hung on the long poles.
.
There are even stinking ditches in many places, exuding a stench.
Looking around, we can see sallow and skinny children wearing thin clothes, playing and playing in the yard, giggling and laughing. After Lan Weiwen and Li Zhen entered the yard, the children playing immediately stopped, their eyes were dazed,
Chichi looked at Li Zhen and Lan Weiwen, seeming a little afraid.
When Li Zhen saw this place, he suddenly felt a mountain-like pressure. These people are all at the lowest level, and they are not a small group of people. They are the majority of people who are superior to others.
Change, this status quo must be changed.
Ps: The third update is completed and there will be an update in the early morning.
