Tuqing: My first love was Cixi

Chapter 179 is in full swing! The hunting operation!

At this time, Jiujiang is in full swing.

There are more ships on the river than before.

The cotton purchased before has been picked when mature, dried and shipped back one by one.

All the cotton in Hubei Province was bought.

There are also tobacco leaves from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, which have been roughly dried and are being shipped one after another.

The entire dock was completely piled up.

Every day, more than a few thousand people transport countless goods from the dock to the warehouse.

In addition, there are countless amounts of steel and countless rubber shipped from overseas.

Bamboo, rainproof cloth, etc.

A few months ago, Su Yi's 10 million taels of silver in Liru Bank were released, and Su Yi made another big purchase.

Sister-in-law Bai Feifei took hundreds of guards on an armed cargo ship and headed to Southeast Asia with more than a dozen ships.

Purchase a wide variety of raw materials.

In the past, it was quite troublesome to purchase this kind of materials. Basically, they had to be smuggled or they had to pay a high price.

However, with the official approval of the British Empire, you can purchase it through normal channels.

Another thing to buy in large quantities is natural shellac.

This is currently the best material for making player discs, and will be so for many years to come.

After a long month or two, Bai Feifei finally led the fleet back.

However, when the fleet entered the Yangtze River waterway from Shanghai, it was directly intercepted.

There are British ships and Qing Dynasty ships.

The other party inspected these materials and related documents very carefully, and there were serious differences.

The British side has checked all licenses and inspected all goods. ,

This batch of goods has all been submitted to Shanghai Customs for approval, and all taxes have been paid.

And they also got a receipt from the customs, so the British ship chose to let it go directly.

However, the Qing government's trade and commerce officials did not agree.

"The customs duties you paid to Shanghai Customs are not enough. You still need to pay us another cent."

Bai Feifei said: "Which yamen are you from?"

The official in front of him was a fourth-grade Taoist priest and said: "We are the Yangtze River Lijin Bureau of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion. I handle business at the Commerce Yamen of the Governor's Mansion."

Bai Feifei said, "See clearly, we are purchasing raw materials from abroad. According to the law, we only need to pay the customs duty once. And these are raw materials, not finished goods, and there is no need to pay any cents."

The trade port official from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion said coldly: "Everyone wants to surrender. It's not up to you to decide whether to surrender or not. If you don't surrender, you won't be able to enter the Yangtze River waterway!"

"Based on the value of your goods, I'll give you ten thousand taels of silver!"

Bai Qi, who was next to him, stepped forward and said, "What if we just don't want to pay each other?"

The Taoist priest from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion said coldly: "Are you challenging us? If you don't hand it over, all the ships will be impounded and all the goods will be confiscated."

Bai Feifei nodded and said: "Hang the flag!"

Suddenly, the entire fleet was hung with the flag of the Jiangxi governor.

On the border of Liangjiang, there are three giants, the governor of Liangjiang, the governor of Jiangsu, and the governor of Jiangxi.

The expressions of the officials at the trade port of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion suddenly changed, and the expressions of the officers and soldiers of the Yangtze River Lijin Bureau also trembled.

Who has not heard the name of Su Yi, the great murderer?

Unexpectedly, what I came to do today was this errand.

At the same time, the British ships retreated directly. They had received reasonable tariffs anyway.

The official from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion shouted: "Major Li De?!"

The Governor's Office of Liangjiang and the British Customs have been cooperating for a long time. At this critical moment, the British fleet's help is needed.

And every time the money is collected, the other party's benefits will not be lost.

But at this time, the British major raised his hands and said: "This is the internal affairs of your Qing Dynasty, and I will not participate."

Suddenly, the Governor of Liangjiang, a Lijin resident official, could no longer step down.

He thought of He Guiqing's instructions in his mind, his face softened slightly, and he stepped forward and said: "It's the purchase from the governor of Jiangxi, so it will be halved. Special matters will be handled specially. I will report to the governor specifically."

Bai Feifei said: "According to the regulations, I won't give you even one tael of silver."

"Get ready to sail!"

With his order, the entire fleet immediately launched, ignoring the inspection of the fleet by the governor of Liangjiang, and headed directly into the Yangtze River waterway.

"Bold, Jiangxi Governor's Yamen, can you not take Liangjiang Governor's Mansion seriously?" The Taoist priest from Liangjiang Governor's Mansion shouted sternly: "Come here, stop me!"

"Set up the artillery for me, raise the foreign gun for me!"

Following an order, the red boat of the Governor of Liangjiang opened its gun jacket.

Dozens of soldiers raised their muskets.

Immediately, the surrounding merchant ships pushed away one after another.

To avoid being affected.

Too bad, the Liangjiang Governor's Office and the Jiangxi Governor's Yamen are having a fight.

The British ship retreated several hundred meters, and then Major Li De even raised a cup of coffee and prepared to watch the show quietly.

"Miss, what should I do? This is the Governor's Mansion of Liangjiang, and he is Mr. Su Yi's boss." The shopkeeper next to him said: "Otherwise, I'll give you five thousand taels of silver and give it away!"

Bai Feifei said: "No!"

"Actually, the other party already knew that we were the goods of Jiangxi Governor's Yamen. They did it on purpose."

"In the future, we will import a large amount of various materials from overseas. We will also frequently enter and exit the Yangtze River Estuary. If we pay money this time, we will have to pay it every time in the future."

Since Lei Yicheng invented the lijin system, the Qing court's provincial governors have used various methods to make money.

There are countless tax cards on various business routes.

In the last few years of the Xianfeng Dynasty, the number of tax cards nationwide reached 3,000.

There are not only live ones, but also sitting ones.

Basically, it's one draw per hundred, but in actual operation, it is extremely flexible.

The Governor of Liangjiang blocked Su Yi's cargo ship just to set a precedent.

In this way, Su Yi will need to collect taxes on every goods entering and exiting the Yangtze River Estuary from now on.

For future financial resources, and for the dignity of the governor of Liangjiang.

But Su Yi absolutely cannot hand it over. If he hands it over this time, will he hand over the mountains and seas of goods in the future?

"Comprehensive interception. If there is resistance, just open fire!" the Taoist priest from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion shouted loudly.

Suddenly, these inspection ships at the Yangtze River Estuary formed an interception array. All soldiers raised their muskets and took full aim.

It's a direct stance to open fire.

Bai Feifei said to Bai Qi: "Open all the artillery jackets and tell the brothers to prepare for battle!"

Following Bai Qi's order.

The two hundred merchant ship guards all raised their rifles neatly.

The muzzle of the black hole was aimed directly at the Taoist priest in the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.

On the armed merchant ship, the four naval guns suddenly tore off their gun jackets.

Several gunners began to change direction and aimed at the inspection red ship of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.

The fourth-rank Taoist priest shouted loudly: "I am a fourth-rank official of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion. Do you dare?"

Bai Feifei said coldly: "If you stop me, I will open fire. At worst, Mr. Su Yi and Mr. He Guiqing will take the lawsuit to the court."

The fourth-grade Taoist priest of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion said: "Your governor has fallen out of favor and is going to be in bad luck."

Bai Feifei said: "Really? Even if I kill you, your death will be in vain!"

Then, he directly ordered: "The fleet sets off and enters the Yangtze River. If there is anyone who blocks it, fire and destroy it!"

Then, the entire fleet immediately moved forward at full speed.

The inspection ships from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion in front still set up interceptors and did not disperse.

"Fire!"

With an order.

One hundred guards opened fire fiercely.

"Bang bang bang..."

Bullets rained down, shooting at the inspection ship of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.

A moment...

These inspection ships dispersed desperately to make way for Bai Feifei's fleet.

Behind him, the fourth-grade Taoist priest from the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion shouted: "I want to join you, I want to join Su Yi."

His whole person was furious.

This trip failed to complete the mission of the Governor.

Who knew that this woman could be so crazy and just open fire like that.

He is a fourth-level Taoist priest and does not have the right to fire.

If the two sides really open fire, not to mention whether he can win, if there are dozens of casualties, a huge conflict between the governor of Jiangxi and the governor of Liangjiang will become public.

Then Su Yi fought with He Guiqing. He, a little fourth-level Taoist priest, could easily become cannon fodder and be sacrificed.

After passing the level.

The fleet successfully entered the Yangtze River waterway.

..................................................................

Recently, the Yangtze River waterway has been uneven.

The reverse navy had attacked Su Yi's fleet before.

The day before yesterday, another fleet in Jiangnan Camp was attacked.

It feels like Tianjing's reversal is going to break some of the previous balance of the Yangtze River waterway.

Moreover, the main force of the navy that is now rebellious is very strong and is attacking everywhere.

Therefore, when there were still hundreds of miles away from the Taiping Navy's sphere of influence, Bai Feifei ordered the fleet to stop.

We waited until dark before continuing our journey.

really!

When passing through the Zhenjiang area, they ran directly into a powerful Taiping Navy navy.

"Prepare, prepare!"

Soon, Bai Feifei's fleet was surrounded.

A moment later, Bai Feifei boarded a Taiping battleship alone.

"General Zeng, the last ship is all your cargo. You can rob it." Bai Feifei said.

Zeng Tianyang said: "Okay, thank you for your hard work, niece."

Then, he directly brought over a box of gold.

This is also a shundaozi transaction.

"That's right." Zeng Tianyang said: "I made some jewelry, you give it to Wan'er."

Zeng Tian took care of an old general, and when he got older, he got a daughter and a baby.

"Okay." Bai Feifei took it.

"Old General, it's so late, why don't you rest?" Bai Feifei asked.

Zeng Tianyang said: "There is a special operation, always cruising on the Yangtze River waterway, waiting for the signal from your commander."

Special operations?

what action?

Bai Feifei doesn't know and can't ask.

She returned to her ship and continued her return to Jiujiang during the night.

......................................................

At this time, Jiujiang has become a huge construction site.

Construction is happening everywhere.

More than tens of thousands of people are working in full swing.

Build various warehouses and factories.

Because the silver poured down like water, construction was extremely fast.

Su Yi had been away for more than half a month, and this large construction site had already undergone tremendous changes.

More than half a year has passed since Su Yi took over as the governor of Jiangxi. The entire appearance of Jiujiang City has completely changed.

The city area has almost doubled.

Various large buildings and large factories are rising from the ground.

There are three or four brick-burning yards around Jiujiang alone.

In addition, we are already planning whether to directly build a cement plant.

Sixty to seventy percent of the Hunan Army's 300,000 immigrants have arrived.

Half of the hundreds of acres of fields are planted with grain and various cash crops.

As these more than 10 million silver were sprinkled, the entire Jiujiang City immediately experienced unprecedented prosperity.

There is no longer even a need for forced immigration. Many people who are living a difficult life in other places, as well as those who are hiding in the mountains to avoid the war, have returned to Jiujiang Prefecture with various hopes.

At this time, the entire population of Jiujiang Prefecture should have exceeded 600,000.

Of course it is much less than when it was in its heyday.

Before the war, the entire Jiujiang Prefecture had a maximum population of about 1.4 million people.

But a year ago, due to large-scale wars, the entire population of Jiujiang Prefecture might not even be more than a hundred thousand.

Because of this prosperity, it also attracts all kinds of merchants to do business.

In everyone's eyes, Jiujiang is prospering and cooking oil.

Only Shen Baozhen, Bai Yan, Hu Xueyan and others have their hair turning gray.

Because all this prosperity was made with money.

Spend money every day.

Su Yi wanted to expand his army and planned to expand his army by five thousand.

but……

In the end, I tried my best and found that I could only expand the army by 3,000 at most.

Military spending is too expensive and the finances cannot support it.

No matter how it is calculated, the investment in the first year of expanding the army by 3,000 yuan will be about 1.3 million taels.

At this time, even if the east wall is demolished, the west wall will be repaired.

It is really difficult to squeeze out more than one million taels.

But... everyone began to tighten their belts and squeezed out more than one million taels to expand the army.

But guns, weapons and ammunition were in trouble again.

Because Count Elgin had completely banned Su Yi, Su Yi could no longer buy any weapons and ammunition whether in Shanghai or Hong Kong.

Sir Henry has already drawn a clear line with Su Yi and banned sales to him.

There are two ways now. One is to purchase these weapons and ammunition through Zeng Guofan.

Another way is to let Bashali and Baoling buy them in Britain or in other colonies.

Su Yi chose the latter, but the cycle needed to be longer.

"Sir, this is too much money invested every day." Hu Xueyan said, "Many people come to Jiujiang to do business now. Why don't we open a bureau?" Over there, the governor of Liangjiang had just finished complaining about how ugly it was to make money.

Here, Su Yi couldn't wait to make money like this.

After thinking for a while, Su Yi shook her head and said: "The business in Jiujiang is still too small. Let's wait until they are fattened up before slaughtering them."

"Sir, we can't continue like this. With such a steady stream of investment, our money can't support it for long." Shen Baozhen said: "I calculated it and found that the current income is too low, almost none, and the expenditure is too high. What we have on hand This money can last for nine months at most, but it will take at least 14 months before our factory is in full production and generates profits."

"We have to generate income early, otherwise money will still be out."

Su Yi said: "According to the deadline, when will Basia Li and Bao Ling come back?"

Shen Baozhen said: "About next month, they will come to Jiujiang with the first batch of machines, engineers, and related materials."

"Of course, the money from the British consortium will also come in by then. But every pound they spend has a specific use and is completely separate from our finances. It cannot solve our problems."

Shen Baoer stepped forward and whispered: "Sir, the time has come. It's time for you to go to the textile factory and cigarette factory to express condolences to the female workers."

At this time, Shen Baoer, in addition to being Su Yi's concubine, was also her female officer, responsible for his schedule.

Textile factory, cigarette factory.

Nowadays, there are a large number of female workers working inside.

Although the advanced textile looms have not yet arrived, the backward looms are in use first.

As for cigarettes, they are completely handmade.

More than 10,000 female workers roll cigarettes by hand every morning.

There is no machine yet for the gorgeously printed cigarette boxes, and the relevant paper has not been shipped, so they are now packed in bamboo tubes.

Before these factories are fully put into operation, Su Yi's money is in danger and he must recover some of his blood first.

It all depends on the cotton cloth spun and the hand-rolled cigarettes of tens of thousands of female workers.

This group of female workers worked day and night, worked hard and made great contributions.

Because after they earn their salary, they basically don’t spend it and deposit it directly into Su Yi’s bank account.

After Su Yi gets the deposit, he can directly spend a large part of it, as long as it does not cause a run crisis.

This means that not only did these female workers work hard to spin and roll cigarettes, but after earning their wages, they directly lent them all to Su Yi.

Therefore, with such a great contribution, Su Yi certainly wanted to express his condolences.

The smell of cigarettes is everywhere in the huge factory.

These female workers cut the tobacco into pieces quickly, rolled them in white paper, put them in groups of twenty, and put them into bamboo boxes.

This efficiency is already very fast.

In a large factory, there are hundreds of people, all vying for the first place.

Su Yi, a handsome young governor, immediately caused a sensation when he entered the group of female workers.

"Sir, as you said before, when will we be given men's gifts?" a bold female worker shouted.

Normally they are timid, but when there are a lot of people and Su Yi has visited them several times, their attitude is very cordial.

Over time, they became less afraid.

Su Yi said: "If you have no future, what's the point of sending a man? Next month, we will organize the first batch of blind dates. Some of them will be future workers, and some of them will be soldiers of the New Army. You have to choose carefully, but don't be in a hurry. You must choose. Find what you like, what is pleasing to the eye, and what is strong.”

"Sir, we have fallen in love with each other. How will the wedding be done if there are no parents?" said another female worker.

Su Yi said: "After you win the match, I will hold a wedding for you and let all the brothers and sisters come to have a drink. And have you seen these houses? Are there a large number of houses under construction? Only married families are eligible to buy. Very, very cheap.”

Suddenly, these female workers were very excited.

"That's great, it's so glorious. Generations have been talking about it. An official as high as the governor is organizing a wedding for us."

"We've gone to see that house. It's not very good at all. The Emperor's Golden Palace is only as good as that."

"I never thought in my life that I could live in a house like this."

"For the sake of the house, I have to catch a man and get married. If we save two years of money, we can buy the house."

Su Yi continued to talk to these female workers affectionately.

Suddenly, Li Qi rushed up from behind.

Su Yi whispered: "Sir, the poisonous snakes are here, not only poisonous snakes, but also tigers, coming to Yangzhou to attack the new army."

The big event is coming!

The poisonous snake is Weng Tongshu.

The tiger is Dexing'a.

Su Yi nodded.

Li Qi quickly retreated.

Shen Baoer whispered: "Sir, are the condolences from the textile factory that year going to be cancelled?"

Su Yi said: "No, don't cancel it, don't favor one thing over another!"

Next, Su Yi, still smiling, entered another factory area to express condolences to the female textile workers inside.

Their work is harder and more difficult.

The cotton cloth woven here is piled up in mountains.

Next, you have to enter the dyeing room and dye it into various colors.

At this time, Su Yi's textile factory was already astonishingly large in scale in the entire south.

Some of these textile machines were collected from the private sector, and some were purchased from Tianjing at very low prices.

When Britain's most advanced distribution looms arrive, these looms will be eliminated and sold collectively.

And when the most advanced Jenny machine arrives, Su Yi's textile factory will become a real giant.

The super giant that crushes the entire Suzhou weaving industry and Hangzhou weaving industry.

Su Yi also chatted and laughed affectionately with these female textile workers.

There was no hint of impatience, nor did he seem to be in a hurry.

He even answered every question they asked seriously.

Completed the entire process.

but……

After leaving the factory, Su Yi's expression turned serious. He spread his legs and started running.

Shen Bao'er picked up her skirt and started running quickly, following behind.

After returning to your room!

Su Yi ordered: "Start the plan!"

"Inform Hong Renli."

"Notify the Secret Service."

"Inform the second battalion and start gathering!"

"Fei Ge sent a message to Tianjing to check with General Zeng Tianyang!"

"Seventeen hours later, he and I will meet up on the Yangtze River!"

Next to her, Shen Baoer changed Su Yi's clothes as quickly as possible.

Then, he started packing the boxes for Su Yi.

The various disguises, drugs, and guns inside were all neatly packed away.

In just a few months, she became Su Yi's indispensable assistant. She could do many tasks better than Su Yi herself.

After cleaning up soon!

Hong Renli said from outside: "Sir, my team has been assembled."

Lin Li said: "The second battalion has been assembled."

"The Secret Service has set off in advance and will continue to report the enemy's location!"

Su Yi glanced at the sky outside and said, "How is the clearance of the other pier going?"

Li Qi said: "The area has been cleared!"

Shen Baoer put on Su Yi's coat.

Su Yi ran away quickly.

She chased after him and couldn't help but kiss him on the face: "Husband, try not to take risks."

Su Yi said: "Next, we must try our best to create the impression that I am still in Jiujiang."

Shen Baoer said: "I know what to do!"

When Su Yi walked out, a dense crowd of 600 people had already assembled outside.

The elite second battalion, the Secret Service, and the Hong Renli assassination team.

Following Su Yi's order.

These are all Su Yi's most elite strengths.

Used to hunt the imperial guards of the Qing Dynasty, the lion fights the rabbit, also uses all the strength!

Su Yi led 600 elites to another dock and boarded several merchant ships.

Taking advantage of the night, we headed along the Yangtze River towards Yangzhou.

Because according to detailed information, the people who came this time were not only Weng Tongshu, but also Dexing'a.

The two attendants totaled about five hundred people.

Among them, three hundred troops.

The opponent's formation was so large that it was impossible to leave it entirely to Hei Gong. Su Yi had to take action himself.

In this way, if he killed two enemies with his own hands, it would be considered a blessing to the other party.

According to Su Yi's plan, only Weng Tongshu was killed.

But he didn't expect that Dexing'a would also come.

It seems that someone in the court is running out of patience.

Not only must Weng Tongshu be sent to Jiujiang to destroy Su Yi's career and find evidence of Su Yi's crime.

We also need to send Dexing'a to Yangzhou and take his new army to Tianjin to be used as cannon fodder.

Let his new army go to Tianjin, the other party is indeed ruthless.

A real blow to the bottom of the cauldron.

If Su Yi stops him, the new army will not go. That proves that Su Yi has different intentions and is disobedient.

And you keep saying that you want the new army to defend the capital, but now it doesn’t count?

Are you loyal and patriotic? where it goes?

When the foreign barbarians invaded and the country was in danger, instead of helping the country, you came out to obstruct it.

Traitor, scum.

Therefore, the only way is to kill!

Come and kill!

Then two of them will be killed.

Come five hundred, and still kill them.

Is the patience of the court and the emperor lower than expected?

Have you been stimulated by anything? So impatient?

............................................................

Night!

Su Yi's fleet sailed silently on the Yangtze River.

After dawn!

This fleet is still extremely low-key, just an ordinary-looking merchant fleet.

Night falls again!

Another fleet appeared on the river.

The leader is Zeng Tianyang, the naval general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

The two fleets started waving signals a hundred meters apart.

Torch signal.

The signal response was successful.

Su Yi stepped forward and took six hundred people with him, all of whom boarded Zeng Tianyang's fleet.

"Old General Zeng, you are well and well. I miss you very much."

Zeng Tianyang stepped forward, hugged Su Yi's shoulders and said, "Master Su, I miss you very much."

Then, Zeng Tianyang said: "Master Su, you brought so many people? I also brought more than a thousand people and six artillery pieces."

Su Yi said: "There are more than 500 people coming from the other side. We need to be fast. We can resolve the battle within half an hour and kill everyone."

"Moreover, we must be prepared for possible support from Jiangnan Camp at any time."

Then, Su Yi found a map.

"The imperial fleet of Dexing'a and Weng Tongshu is currently in the north of Suqian, about 160 miles away."

"And we, in the middle section between Yangzhou and Huai'an, robbed and killed them!"

"The problem now is that our fleet has to cross the Yangzhou river and enter the canal."

It was thought that there was only Weng Tongshu, so the plan was to rob and kill in the Yangtze River waterway.

This is much safer.

Because it is normal for the Taiping Army to appear on the Yangtze River waterway.

But now, Dexing Ayi is here, and his destination is Yangzhou, and he does not need to go to the Yangtze River Channel.

Therefore, it is necessary to ambush them in the canal section.

The Taiping navy has not failed to enter the canal section, but the risk will be relatively high.

Because most of the canal sections are still under the control of the Qing court.

Therefore, when entering the canal section, try not to attract the attention of the Qing army.

Now we are faced with two choices. One is to disguise as a merchant fleet and enter the canal?

Or, rush into the canal as fast as possible, and once it is intercepted by Qing ships, kill them immediately.

Just to make it clear, attack the canal.

"The second type!" Hong Renli said: "It's easier to just kill and enter."

"The Qing army's naval force in the canal is not strong, so it can kill them by surprise."

Zeng Tianyang said: "I agree, just go in."

Su Yi said: "Okay, then let's fight in!"

................................................

After the two sides meet up!

In the pitch-black night, the hunting fleet left the Yangtze River directly from the Mangdao River and entered the Yangzhou river system.

When passing through the Shao Bo Town camp, Su Yi and others felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Two Qing army ships also came forward to question him.

Su Yi, on his side, immediately prepared for battle.

Destroy the enemies as quickly as possible and then leave the area.

As a result, it was completely solved with one hundred taels of silver.

The patrol boats at Jiangbei Camp were not even inspected.

Just let it go.

I...my day!

In this way, Su Yi and Zeng Tianyang's fleet passed through Gaoyou Lake and entered the canal section.

And this time!

The imperial fleet of Weng Tongshu and Dexing'a, ignorant of the danger, was going down the river.

Su Yi's hunting fleet sailed upstream along the canal.

The distance between the two fleets is getting closer and closer!

......................................................

Note: I wanted to finish writing Hunting in one go, but it was already ten o'clock in the morning and I couldn't take it anymore. I finished the next half chapter.

I'm going to bed, see you tonight. I still ask for monthly tickets in a low voice, please, thank you all.

(End of this chapter)