At three o'clock in the morning, Zeng Guofan returned from deliberations and entered the main hall under the service of his entourage.Qiao Zhiqing played in the mansion for a long time, and was finally led by Yuan Yusheng.When I was in the courtyard, I happened to meet a burly middle-aged man who walked out of the inner hall, only to see that his face was full of smugness, nodded arrogantly at Yuan Yusheng, and strode past Qiao Zhiqing."
Brother Qiao, that person is my father-in-law's staff Li Hongzhang, he is very arrogant, this time he came to discuss with my father-in-law about the preparation of the Huai Army, with his appearance, it is strange that he can accomplish great things."
Yuan Yusheng crouched in Qiao Zhiqing's ear and complained a few words.Qiao Zhiqing was stunned for a moment, laughed dryly, and suddenly had a hint of an idea in his heart, but he calmed down in an instant, and followed Yuan Yusheng into the gate of the main hall.I saw a middle-aged man sitting in the hall, using tea under the service of the maid.The middle-aged man's eyebrows were frowned, his eyes were blank, his cheeks drooped, and the corners of his mouth were slightly closed, which was half a cut short of the Zeng shaved head in Qiao Zhiqing's mind.Yuan Yusheng went in and whispered a few words in Zeng Guofan's ear, and Qiao Zhiqing was passed into the house."
The teacher is well."
Qiao Zhiqing strode into the house and saluted with his fists."
You are Qiao Zhiqing" Zeng Guofan raised his triangular eyes and looked the young man up and down.Qiao Zhiqing stood up and replied, "It's the student." ”Zeng Guofan sneered and asked, "You and I don't have a master-apprentice relationship, why do you call me teacher" Qiao Zhiqing said respectfully, "The student is the nephew of Qi Junzaojun, a scholar of Tirenge University, and I often hear my uncle mention the teacher. ”Qiao Zhiqing has nothing to do with Qi Junzao, but he is an official in Shanxi Province, and his hometown Shouyang and Qi County are close neighbors."
It's reasonable for you to say this, but in the future, you can't mention the relationship between master and apprentice to outsiders, so as not to misunderstand."
This praise was really useful, Zeng Guofan's face showed a smile, he often argued with Qi Junzao about current affairs, although they were friends, they didn't accept each other.As soon as Qiao Zhiqing said this, Zeng Guofan seemed to be bathing in sweet rain, and said in his heart, "It turns out that Qi Junzao has such a broad mind, although he has political disagreements with me, but he lets his children and grandchildren study my books, and it seems that his strength is not as good as his." ”"The student made a note of it."
Qiao Zhiqing secretly snickered in his heart, it seems that everyone likes sycophants, it depends on how it is filmed."
Originally, you acted recklessly, fought with Lord Yang, and destroyed the alliance between the two sides, I should punish you for your crimes, but if you are dedicated to winning glory for the country and saving my family, I will spare you from one sin and return to Shanxi as soon as possible, and don't fight with others again."
Zeng Guofan gave the order, got up and was about to leave.Yuan Yusheng hurriedly stopped and asked softly, "Father-in-law, what do you think about the marriage of Sister Yun that I mentioned to you last night" Zeng Guofan has always liked Yuan Yusheng very much, and he promised to marry Zeng Jijing to him because the Yuan family has a large collection of books, Zeng Guofan likes to read, which is equivalent to marrying the Yuan family's book collection, Yuan Yusheng has been careful in front of Zeng Guofan, for fear that something will go wrong.Qiao Zhiqing heard it clearly, knowing Yuan Yusheng's good intentions, although he didn't want to get married too early, but after all, the Zeng family was powerful, and it was also his blessing to be able to marry Zeng Jiyun.When Zeng Guofan heard this, he was furious, and he didn't care about Qiao Zhiqing's face, and warned Yuan Yusheng loudly, "Don't mention this matter again, Yun'er will never marry Qiao Zhiqing, his Qiao family is just a rich man in Shanxi, how can he be worthy of the daughter of my Liangjiang governor."
Qiao Zhiqing stood at the bottom of the hall, his face was blue and purple, and he wanted to pick up the rude old guy in front of him and beat him, but he still calmed down his anger and shouted to Zeng Guofan word by word, "Lord Zeng, please stay." ”Zeng Guofan looked back at Qiao Zhiqing and asked impatiently, "What's the matter with you" Qiao Zhiqing sneered, and replied stubbornly, "Lord Zeng's little girl is beautiful and fragrant, and the younger generation does have admiration, and the younger generation is anxious about the family business and has no intention of getting married, but since Lord Zeng talks like this, the younger generation wants to marry your daughter as a wife."
Zeng said that the younger generation is the landlord of Shanxi, the status is low, the younger generation is here to make a bet with Zeng Lord, just a year, the younger generation will also come to the adult's house as a minister, if the younger generation loses, then come to see it. ”Zeng Guofan laughed loudly and mocked, "It's really a fool, for the sake of your saving my little girl's face, the old man doesn't care about you, as for your gambling contract, the old man should make it, but this gambling contract can only be known to the three of us, you don't have to mention it to others again, so as not to ruin the reputation of my little girl." ”"Then at this time next year, the younger generation will come to visit Master Zeng again."
Qiao Zhiqing bowed, then turned around and exited the room."
What an arrogant boy, the old man will let you live for another year."
Zeng Guofan scolded angrily and brushed his sleeves away, leaving Yuan Yusheng stunned in place.Yuan Yusheng was very disappointed in his heart, all the people in the Zeng family looked down on him, and now he finally made such a promising person, he originally wanted to promote the marriage of Xiaomei and him, and he also had a strong foreign aid, who knew that now he had made a bet on his life, it was really too hasty.Qiao Zhiqing left Changsha Mansion and returned to the dock with Wang Shumao and the dart master.Yuan Yusheng brought his wife and sister to say goodbye."
Big brother be careful all the way, the coming day is long, and we will see you again in the future."
Yuan Yusheng hugged his fists and sent him off, and Zeng Jijing beside him also smiled goodbye, only Zeng Jiyun pouted, and her eyes were already full of tears."
Alright, you all hurry back, don't catch a cold."
Qiao Zhiqing hugged his fists and said goodbye."
Brother Qiao, I'm waiting for you in Changsha Mansion, if I can't wait for you in this life, I won't marry for the rest of my life."
Zeng Jiyun finally couldn't help crying and said what was in her heart to Qiao Zhiqing."
Pull the anchor and sail."
Qiao Zhiqing didn't answer, he commanded the boatman loudly, held back the pain in his heart, and turned around."
Brother Qiao, don't forget me" After the boat sailed away, Zeng Jiyun shouted at Qiao Zhiqing's back, and then fell into Zeng Jifen's arms and wept silently.Qiao Zhiqing was silent, waved his hand at her, and the boat went farther and farther, and he couldn't see the figure on the shore clearly."
Third Young Master, Yuan Gongzi is really a trustworthy person, come down and take a look."
Wang Shumao screamed in the cabin, breaking Qiao Zhiqing's contemplation."
What are you happy about, Brother Wang."
Qiao Zhiqing got out of the cabin, and Wang Shumao was holding a foreign gun up and down."
Look at this foreign gun, there are 100 guns in total, 5,000 bullets, it's amazing, this ship has an arsenal."
Wang Shumao danced happily, and finally saw him smile once along the way.Qiao Zhidian picked up a foreign gun with a line of English letters engraved on it: "Enfield, this is the most advanced front-loading rifled gun made in the United Kingdom, and the firing range can reach eight or nine hundred meters.Because it is a rifled gun, the accuracy is also good.Because their reloading is already relatively convenient, the propellant and projectile can be reloaded in one piece, and several rounds can be fired in a minute.Compared to the bird gun used when it was used, it was not a little good, and Wang Shumao was so happy that he was like this.The boat traveled to Yiyang in the afternoon, Ma Xun had exchanged the leather goods for tea overnight yesterday and packed them properly, and everyone pulled up their tents and waited for Qiao Zhiqing on the shore."
Third Young Master, we are here."
Seeing Qiao Zhiqing's cargo ship coming, Ma Xun kept greeting excitedly.Qiao Zhiqing smiled at Ma Xun, and after the ship docked, everyone took the board and loaded the tea onto the cargo ship."
Third young master, you are back, I heard that you fought with foreign devils in the Xiangjiang River, it's really fucking relieved, your arm is fine" Ma Xun got on the boat and couldn't stop praising Qiao Zhiqing, his eyes were full of admiration."
It's okay, I've suffered a little skin injury, it's good to recuperate, how did you know about this" Qiao Zhiqing secretly wondered, this Qing Dynasty has not yet broadcasted, and things have spread so quickly, it seems that the common people really hate foreigners."
Of course, the third young master's affairs have been spread all over the people of Yiyang, and that is the reincarnation of Changshan Zhao Zilong, who single-handedly fought against foreigners."
The more Ma Xun said, the more outrageous it became, Qiao Zhiqing hurriedly interrupted him and ordered, "Okay, okay."
You did a good job on this errand, and when you go back, you will reward you well, and now you go to the shore to help, and don't let the guys get the tea wet. ”"Well, you see."
Ma Xun listened to Qiao Zhiqing's praise, and got off the boat triumphantly, looking at the front and back.Everyone was busy until the middle of the night, and the cargo ship was finally sorted out, because he was worried that the Taiping army would come to seek revenge, so Qiao Zhiqing decided to pull anchor and set sail overnight.The dart masters took turns to be on guard in three batches, all of them were replaced by new foreign guns, and the excited crowd danced with their hands, Qiao Zhiqing taught them the method to use, and within an hour, the dart masters could use it freely.Qiao Zhiqing looked at the more than fifty sturdy men on the ship, and secretly had some ideas in his heart, and discussed with Wang Shumao in the cabin, and the two were like-minded and excited.Qiao Zhiqing told Wang Shumao what he thought in his heart, he had an idea since he saw Li Hongzhang in Changsha Mansion, and knew that the Huai Army that Li Hongzhang was preparing to build was the famous Beiyang Army in the future, and now he has a gun and money in his hand, so it is better to go to Anqing Mansion to serve under Li Hongzhang's door first, and then take advantage of the situation to expand his strength when he has military merits, and he will be able to obtain the title of a first-class member with his military merits in a year, and then it will be up to him to see if that old thing dares to underestimate himself.Although Wang Shumao inherited his father's business, he did not like the profession of a dart master, and he did not fantasize about fighting on the battlefield and making contributions countless times, but he did not have the slightest way in the army, so he had to be depressed to do the business of a dart master.This time I went to Jiangnan with Qiao Zhiqing, and I couldn't help but be impressed by his intelligence and bravery, and I thought that Qiao Zhiqing was definitely not a thing in the pool, so I had a happy conversation with him and expressed my heart directly.After hearing about Qiao Zhiqing's plan, he hit it off.The two set up an incense altar again, and became brothers, and Wang Shumao was naturally commensurate with the eldest brother.When the sky was slightly bright, Qiao Zhiqing and Wang Shumao gathered all the men.Wang Shumao stood in front of everyone and commanded loudly, "The old man handed over the property of Tongxing Gong for many years to me, that is, let me take everyone to earn a bite to eat in this troubled world, but a man in the world can't just eat and sleep, then what is the difference with the beast I discussed with Qiao Dongjia all night last night, and now the long-haired thieves are raging, and we as seven-foot men must do our part for the country, so Qiao Dongjia and I decided not to return to Shanxi first." ”After Wang Shumao finished speaking, everyone was talking below, Shanxi people are the most in love with their homeland, and Wang Shumao's words are undoubtedly a bombshell.Qiao Zhiqing smiled and stepped forward and said loudly, "Brother Wang is right, now born in such troubled times, it is the time for my good man to display his talents, so my son decided to go to Anqing Mansion first to join the army under Li Hongzhang's account, and from then on, the horse leather shrouded in the body, serve the country, the brothers in our hometown have blessings and hardships, and when they have military merits and are rewarded by the imperial court, our brothers will return to their hometowns in fine clothes and glory to their ancestors."
If there is any brother who can't leave the belly of his hometown mother-in-law, I, Qiao Zhiqing, will pay double the travel expenses and wages, and I will never force it. ”The dart master and the guys below were stunned for a moment, and suddenly burst into a burst of enthusiastic cheers."
Qiao Dong's family is in charge" "Qiao Dongjia is in charge" "They don't know, at this moment, the balance of fate is gradually tilting, and many of them will follow Qiao Zhiqing to honor their ancestors and worship the prime minister.Qiao Zhiqing smiled with satisfaction, looked at the red sun rising by the river, and suddenly felt enlightened, and the depression and anger in his chest were swept away.It's dawning.The boat traveled to Dongting Lake, and the shore was the boundary of Yuezhou, only to see the ruins and broken walls, which were a little more dilapidated than Changsha.After docking at the port, Qiao Zhiqing only instructed Ma Xun and a few guys to go to the city to buy some dry food, and the others were still waiting on the boat, Yuezhou is the north gate of Hunan, and Yan Zhongwu, the robe brother of the Elders' Association, led the fishermen to rebel, and Hong Xiuquan should join the outside, and took Yuezhou City in one day.Although Yuezhou is now controlled by the Hunan army, there are still rogues everywhere, so it is better to be careful in everything
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