Qiao Zhiqing took the information, looked at it with a frown on his brows for a while, sighed and sat down on the couch.The problems identified in the intelligence were even more serious than Qiao Zhiqing expected, in fact, when Sheng Xuanhuai informed Qiao Zhiqing about the opium problem, Yan Yuting's fire fox had already had clues in secret, but the situation was too complicated, and it was not summarized to the top in time.After Qiao Zhiqing asked about Yan Yuting yesterday, after a night of intelligence collation, he pointed the finger at one place, that is, Qichang Foreign Bank in Shanghai.Qiao Zhiqing, the behind-the-scenes boss who operated opium in Jinkuicheng, was also familiar with it, that is, the second commander of the Shanghai Changsheng Army, Bai Qiwen.This matter has to start with the first commander of the Changsheng army, Wall, when Li Xiucheng led the Taiping army to besiege Shanghai, his cousin Li Shixian was also ordered to coordinate the attack on Shanghai from Zhejiang.After Qiao Zhiqing occupied Suzhou, Li Xiucheng saw that the defeat was decided, and because of King Hong Tianwang's successive urgings, he withdrew to Nanjing.But Li Shixian's hard days came, and he also occupied most of the southern part of Shanghai, and Zhejiang was closely connected to Shanghai.After the British and French forces and the Changsheng army saw Liu Xiucheng withdraw their troops, they aimed the spearhead at Li Shixian, and after some siege and uprooting, Li Shixian was beaten to Cixi, Zhejiang.After all, Wall can't escape his fate, Cixi is the place of his fate, no matter what kind of impact Qiao Zhiqing has caused when he comes to this world, it has not changed for him at all.He was shot in the chest and killed in an encounter with the Taipings.There is a providence in the dark, and even Qiao Zhiqing sighed after getting the news.After Wall's death, Chang Shengjun was succeeded by his deputy, Bai Qiwen.But this authentic Yankee is an out-and-out western cowboy, wild, violent, and unruly, which plays to his fullest.As soon as Wall died, Bai Qiwen went to the house of Wall's father-in-law, Yang Qitang, to extort a large amount of property, and saw that Wall's widow Yang Zhangmei was as beautiful as a flower, so he forcibly accepted the poor widow as his wife.After all, Yang Qitang is the manager of Tai Kee & Co., and he has a huge network in Shanghai.As soon as Wall died, he quickly climbed Li Hongzhang's backer and promised to provide Li Hongzhang with 100,000 taels of military rings every month.The condition is to save his daughter from his clutches.Li Hongzhang was also happy to do such a business, and at that time he had just arrived in Shanghai, his foothold was not stable, and he urgently needed the support of these consortia in Shanghai.The most important thing is that Bai Qiwen was arrogant and presumptuous, refused to obey the dispatch, and violated Li Hongzhang's military orders several times.Li Hongzhang sent a favor, found the commander of the coalition army, He Bo, and asked to remove the commander of the Changsheng army.He Bo didn't want to offend Lord Li, who had just been promoted to governor of Jiangsu, and after some discussion between the two, he handed over the position of commander of the Changsheng Army to Li Hongzhang's old acquaintance Gordon.Bai Qiwen continued to serve as his deputy to assist Gordon in managing the Changsheng Army, but he did not have any real power in his hands, and obediently returned Yang Zhangmei to Yang Qitang.But this poor woman, because of the tricks of fate, broke the jar and broke it, and did not want to be pointed at anymore, so she insisted on marrying this rude Yankee.Yang Qitang had no choice but to cut off the father-daughter relationship with her.When Gordon received the order, he was still transporting arms to Qiao Zhiqing in Suzhou, and after learning the news, he hurriedly returned to his post.Since then, when the Huai Army has not yet formed combat effectiveness, it has always been Li Hongzhang's right-hand man.After Gordon took over as commander, he not only strictly enforced military discipline, but also recruited a large number of soldiers, which greatly enhanced the strength of the Changsheng army, and was usually invincible to the Taiping army, which lasted until Li Hongzhang surrendered in Qingpu City.The surrender of Gao Yongkuan, the defender of Qingpu City, was the guarantee made by Gordon, and the two were also old acquaintances, and their relationship has always been good.Li Hongzhang was worried that the thief's heart would not change, so he ordered Liu Mingchuan to kill Gao Yongkuan's soldiers.Gordon is still a principled person among all foreigners, and after seeing Li Hongzhang's treachery, he once held a spear in his hand to find Li Hongzhang to duel, and later eased up after being reconciled.However, they lost confidence in the Chinese officials, voluntarily relinquished the command of the Chang Shengjun and left China.After Gordon left, Li Hongzhang took the opportunity to disband the Changsheng Army and incorporated Bingyong into his Huai Army sequence, and Bai Qiwen lost his job.But this Yankee has never been a person who keeps to himself, and he went to the United States with a gamble.When he returned to Qiao Zhiqing's field of vision again, he had now become a drug dealer who smuggled opium.The most surprising thing is that Yang Qitang, the manager of Tai Kee Yinhao, was also involved in this matter, he used to start selling opium, and when his son-in-law Wall was alive, the tobacco and soil consumed in Shanghai's Shiliyang place were basically monopolized by Tai Kee Yinhao.Now I am afraid that for the sake of profit, I have reconciled with this American son-in-law who has severed relations, and I am smuggling opium together in embarrassment."
Brother Qiao, do you say that this matter will involve Li Hongzhang" Yan Yuting looked at Qiao Zhiqing with a slight wrinkle, snuggled up to him and sat down."
No, I still know Li Dashuai, and in the face of right and wrong, he still has his own set of principles.He is also one of the few enlightened people in the Qing Dynasty, otherwise we would not have been allowed to mess around like this in Suzhou. ”Qiao Zhiqing hurriedly shook his head with an embarrassed look and vetoed, Li Hongzhang had the grace of knowing him, and he couldn't bear to think about it."
Brother Qiao, don't lie to yourself anymore.Taiji Silver has to provide 100,000 taels of silver to Huai Jun every month, how can this be explained, how can there be a reason to take people's money and not do things for others Even if Li Hongzhang did not participate, he must have known about this matter, and he also acquiesced in this matter.Firefox has actually had news about this for a long time, but I have been cautious, and without conclusive evidence, I will not tell you this to make you embarrassed. ”Yan Yuting's attitude this time is quite unquestionable, and she will not deny her judgment because of Qiao Zhiqing's embarrassment.Qiao Zhiqing closed his eyes and thought a lot, if it was really according to what Yan Yuting said, it would inevitably involve the power of foreigners.They originally regarded Shanghai as their own backyard, and Li Xiucheng was besieged by so many foreigners when he attacked Shanghai, which illustrates this truth.If you dig into this matter at this time, you will not only have to be the enemy of the Huai army, but also face all kinds of foreign devils in Shanghai.Even if this matter is brought to the court, relying on the relationship between the Xianghuai forces in the court, I am afraid that not only will Li Hongzhang not be able to defeat him, but he will be punished for a false accusation.Then he is really an enemy on all sides, and he is not tolerated by all forces.Now that he is fledgling, it is definitely not the time to be the enemy of the whole world."
Yuting, you have compiled all the evidence of Bai Qiwen's opium trafficking into written materials for me, and I will go to Shanghai to meet Li Hongzhang and let this old fox clean up the portal himself."
Qiao Zhiqing was suddenly a little relieved, and swallowed this breath after enduring it.Extraordinary people must have extraordinary means, Li Hongzhang is constrained everywhere because of his arrival, and he will slowly change, but he was too grateful to him before.In the final analysis, he is just a layman in this era who pursues fame and fortune.But Bai Qiwen couldn't let it go, this American was too presumptuous, and he even hit his own turf, and if he didn't teach him a lesson, the golden city would never be peaceful."
Okay, it's not early, then Brother Qiao will rest early today, and I'll send you all the information early tomorrow morning."
Yan Yuting yawned tiredly and smiled softly at Qiao Zhiqing.She had worked all night last night, and her face was visibly haggard."
Pay attention to your body, don't get tired.You stand down first, and I'll review some official documents. ”Qiao Zhiqing stood up and stroked Yan Yuting's hair, sighed with concern, and sat down at the desk.Yan Yuting's heart warmed up a little, and after standing up and stretching, she gently retreated.With Qiao Zhiqing's insignificant concern, she is happy no matter how tired she is.Qiao Zhiqing's desk is placed on Ma Xun's letter, he has returned to Shanxi for more than a month, the site selection of the preparation for the construction of the iron and steel plant, workers, coal mines, iron mines, etc., he has been carefully investigated, and now there is a lack of start-up capital, a total of two million taels of silver.The local merchants in Shanxi and the Qiao family used to get along, and Ma Xun also visited them door to door, but everyone was suspicious of this strange thing and didn't dare to put a penny into it.Ma Xun had no choice but to write to Qiao Zhiqing for help, it was really difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.Ma Xun also introduced the situation of the family to Qiao Zhiqing in the letter, and after the eldest brother Qiao Zhiguang was strongly persuaded by Qiao Zhiqing in the letter, he finally went to the capital to find a hospital opened by foreigners, and treated it with Western medicine for more than a month, and his condition gradually improved.In fact, Qiao Zhiguang was only suffering from a disease of tuberculosis, but it was a terminal disease in China at that time, but Western medicine already had a complete set of treatments.Qiao Zhiqing finally breathed a sigh of relief for his eldest brother's matter, and it just so happened that the Chinese in Nanyang donated five million taels of silver today, which happened to be used for the construction of the steel plant.Is it really God bless me Huaxia, God arranged everything all night without incident.As soon as the morning dawned, Qiao Zhiqing got up early in the morning under the service of Ling'er and Hui'er.After grooming properly, Yan Yuting sent the sorted materials to Qiao Zhiqing."
Thank you for your hard work, Yuting.I'm about to leave for Shanghai, and you keep an eye on Firefox in Suzhou and report to me as soon as there is any change. ”Qiao Zhiqing took the information and took a look, and the evidence listed above was indeed related to Li Hongzhang."
Don't worry, Brother Qiao, you should be careful along the way, the situation in Shanghai is complicated, you have to take care of yourself."
Yan Yuting said and hung her head a little reluctantly."
Silly girl, don't worry.This time we just bargained with the old fox to do business, we took advantage of it, and he didn't dare to do anything to Brother Qiao. ”Qiao Zhiqing smiled softly and comforted Yan Yuting for a few words before going out, and spent the morning inspecting the drills of each defense area with his own soldiers, and explained to the generals separately.Then he led a team of personal soldiers, led by Huang Feihong himself, changed into the clothes of merchants, and went down to Shanghai by ship
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