The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 284 The Revolutionary Army of the Qing Dynasty (Requesting subscription and votes)
In August of the third year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Songjiang Prefecture, Shanghai County.

The market in Shanghai was already quite prosperous. In the "new district" outside the county town, there were roads under construction and Chinese or Western-style houses under construction everywhere. In more suburban areas, you could see cheerful landlords accompanying Chinese or Western merchants to look at their own land.

These people were preparing to take advantage of the current surge in land prices to sell their land at high prices, and then deposit the cash in HSBC to earn interest - after all, no one knew when the Taiping Army would break through the "Jiading Defense Line" and approach the Shanghai county seat.

By then, land prices will definitely drop the fastest!

The streets of Shanghai County, which were already crowded, were even more bustling this autumn. Shanghai's old and new citizens, wearing clothes that were much more respectable than those in other places, crowded on the streets. Many people were wearing novel Western-style clothes, and some men imitated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and let their hair down and wore a hood on their heads, which was also a unique sight.

Occasionally, troops of the Shanghai New Army passed by on the streets. They were wearing gray-blue uniforms, green turbans, carrying foreign rifles with bayonets, holding flags that read "The Great Wall Will Never Fall", and shouting the command "one, two, one". Sometimes they would also sing a few lines of the military song "After a hundred years of slumber, the Chinese people are gradually awakening", which was particularly uplifting to listen to.

The spirits of these soldiers were surprisingly good. They all had ruddy faces and strong bodies. They walked with great vigor and were full of energy when shouting commands and singing. It was obvious at first glance that they were a new type of army that received sufficient pay, had enough military rations, and no one smoked foreign cigarettes.

Moreover, their discipline was excellent. Merchants in Shanghai County and Shanghai New District all knew that these new troops never disturbed the people and always paid for their purchases. Even the foreigners living in Shanghai New District would sometimes give them a thumbs up and praise them as "revolutionary troops" - in foreign languages, of course.

Wenxiang led a few cavalrymen and boarded an old lock ship transferred from the Guangdong Navy. They sailed all the way from the Guazhou Wharf in Yangzhou to a newly built military wharf in the North Bund of Shanghai to disembark. At this newly built wharf, he also saw two huge "black ships" flying the new flag of the United States. He asked the Shanghai New Army soldiers on duty at the wharf, who told him that these were warships of Rear Admiral Perry, the admiral of the United States Navy, and that Rear Admiral Perry was now a distinguished guest of Marshal Xue and often visited the Governor's Mansion in Yuyuan.

Afterwards, Wenxiang followed a group of new army soldiers who shouted commands and sang the military song "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" all the way, crossed the Suzhou River wooden bridge into the prosperous Shanghai New District, and walked along the Shanghai Bund, where Western-style buildings were lined up, towards the Shanghai County.

"The Great Wall will never fall, the Yellow River flows for thousands of miles, the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the peaks are colorful. Ask me how my country is sick. Break through the blood and wave goodbye."

Since the soldiers who were doing routine patrols on the Bund Street were all from Hunan and could not sing Cantonese songs, they sang military songs in Hunan Mandarin. Wen Xiang could understand some of it, but the more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong!

If these lyrics were used during the Qianlong period, they would have been the subject of a literary inquisition!

Of course, if this kind of Western elite soldier carrying a Western rifle and practicing Western exercises were to sing, he would have to be a final minister of the Qing Dynasty.
However, Wenxiang now no longer thinks that the army in Shanghai is of the same kind as the Taiping Army. This doesn't seem right. The Taiping Army is obviously more fanatical than them. They have a crazy mentality of killing Qing soldiers while alive and going to heaven after death.

But the smell of Shanghai New Army still makes Wenxiang feel a little scary!

When this team of Shanghai New Army passed by the Bund Street, which originally belonged to the French Concession, many foreigners waved to them and even saluted.

It is obvious that foreigners in Shanghai are very supportive of Luo Xueyan!

Thinking of the elite soldiers singing "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" and Luo Xueyan who was supported by foreigners, Wenxiang felt a little frightened.
When Wenxiang and his men passed through the bustling streets of Shangxian City and appeared outside the south gate of Yu Garden outside Sanshui Hall, a tall officer wearing a blue-gray military uniform, a warm hat without a top or tassel, and a furry short beard, came out, talking and laughing with a tall foreigner with a square face, wide mouth, and lion nose, wearing a blue military uniform. There was a group of Qing officials and foreigners accompanying them, one of whom looked very familiar to Wenxiang - it seemed to be Zeng Guofan!
He has triangular eyes, drooping eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a big beard. He seems to be younger than Zeng Guofan. His official position is not as high as Zeng Guofan's, only the fifth rank. Could this man be Zeng Guofan's brother?
When Wenxiang was shocked, Luo Xueyan had already sent the visiting foreigners to the carriage and waved goodbye to them. At this time, someone had already discovered Wenxiang and several cavalrymen who followed him.

Then the tall officer and the official who might be Zeng Guofan's brother walked towards Wenxiang with smiles on their faces.

Wenxiang was wearing a blue official jacket without any patches on it, but he worked for Prince Gong and held a fourth-rank official position, so he was still quite eye-catching when he wore a fourth-rank hat.

The official who looked like Zeng Guofan spoke first. He smiled, clasped his fists, and spoke with a Xianghu accent: "Is this sir here on official business in Shanghai? I am Zeng Guohua, the deputy governor, and currently a staff member of the Ministry of Commerce of the Five Ports. What is your name?"

Wen Xiang was stunned for a moment, and asked quickly: "Zeng Guohua? Who are you to Zeng Disheng?" "Zeng Disheng is my brother." Zeng Guohua said with a smile.

"I am Guaerjia Wenxiang." Wenxiang was suspicious, but he still introduced himself. Then, without waiting for Zeng Guohua to introduce the tall officer to him, he asked, "Why did you come to Shanghai, Mr. Zeng?"

Zeng Guohua smiled and said, "When I was in Hunan, I often visited Luo Ruweng's place, so I am familiar with Lord Luo who works as a clerk for Lord Luo. That is Lord Luo Xueyan!"

As he said this, he pointed to the tall officer in gray-blue uniform who was with him. The latter also bowed to Wen Xiang and said, "It turns out to be Wen Wenshan. I have heard of you for a long time."

Luo Xueyan then exchanged polite words with Wen Xiang, who looked surprised, and then explained on behalf of Zeng Guohua: "Di Zhang knew that I, his brother, would handle foreign affairs, so he asked Wen Fu to come here to help me."

Zeng Guohua smiled and said, "I dare not help, I am here to learn from Brother Xueyan."

Luo Xueyan waved his hand and said, "Hey, Brother Wenfu is a senior official. I still have a lot to learn from him."

Seeing these two men being so friendly and affectionate with each other, Wenxiang began to suspect that Yuanbao was blind.

He thought to himself, "Luo Xueyan and Zeng Guohua are obviously old acquaintances, and they really met at Luo Bingzhang's place. How could Luo Xueyan be a demon sent from heaven? It can't be that Zeng Guohua is also a demon in disguise?"

"This is not the place to talk. Sir Wen, please come in!"

At this time, Luo Xueyan pointed to Sansui Hall inside the south gate of Yu Garden with a smile, made a gesture to ward off guests, and invited Wenxiang in.

"What? The Emperor wants to marry Concubine Yi's sister Wanzhen to me? Isn't this a rule that the Bannermen and the Han people cannot marry?"

In Sansui Hall, Luo Xueyan was extremely surprised when Wenxiang told him the purpose of his visit. Zeng Guohua, who was standing by, had already clasped his fists and congratulated him: "Congratulations, congratulations! Brother Xueyan, this is a marriage granted by the Emperor. The Emperor's rules are the most important. If he wants to grant a marriage, then he can grant it!"

He smiled at Wenxiang again and said, "Wenshan, although Xueyan has a concubine, he has not married a wife."

Wenxiang smiled and said, "That's great. You don't have to have a legal wife. Brother Xueyan, the emperor doesn't know whether you have a wife or not, so the marriage decree has not been issued. You and I will go to Yangzhou together. After you tell the prince about this matter in person, the prince will report it to the emperor, and then the marriage will be granted. However, Miss Wanzhen is only 12 years old this year, so you have to wait a few more years before you can marry her. Is that okay?"

"No problem, of course no problem." Luo Xueyan smiled, obviously very satisfied with this arranged marriage. Then he asked Wenxiang carefully about Wanzhen's appearance and Concubine Yi's situation. When Wenxiang mentioned that Concubine Yi gave birth to the eldest prince for Emperor Xianfeng, Luo Xueyan was even more surprised.

"Brother Wenshan, I have some free time recently, and I want to go to Yangzhou to visit the prince as soon as possible."

Luo Xueyan then acted a little anxious. After saying this, he seemed to feel something was wrong and changed the subject, saying, "Recently, the Tai Maos have stepped up their siege of Suzhou. Suzhou is surrounded on the east, north and south sides, and only the west side next to Taihu Lake is accessible. We must make a decision as soon as possible, whether to mobilize the army to rescue Yi Futai or to lead Yi Futai to break out. If we delay any further, I'm afraid something bad will happen.

In addition, I also received news that the long-haired fake Eastern King Yang Xiuqing is preparing to personally lead an expedition to Jiangbei and to take down the Jiangbei camp in Yangzhou!"

(End of this chapter)