Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 110 Someone is feeling uneasy
A ball of flame shot up into the sky and burned fiercely. The fierce flames spread rapidly and soon set several shops near the coffee shop on fire, burning even more vigorously.

Victoria Harbour

The large sailing ship "Guangming" slowly left the dock. Zheng Guohui looked towards the city with an extremely deep gaze. A cluster of burning flames danced in his pupils, as if it were a divine flame from the sky.

Burn it, burn these dirt clean!
Zheng Guohui turned around resolutely and walked towards the cabin with steady steps. He no longer had any interest in this future pearl of Hong Kong and began to plan the major events after returning to China.

Of course, this does not prevent us from finding time to send an armed force to Hong Kong Island.

Li Hezhang also mentioned in his letter that the fighting between Hakkas and locals in northwestern Guangdong was becoming increasingly fierce, affecting several surrounding prefectures and cities, and involving millions of people.

The two sides started fighting, charging at each other like they were in a war, and the cruelty and bloodiness were even greater than before.

In today's Chinese mainland
There are so many desperate criminals who are in danger of losing their lives at any time, and they can be dealt with with a little guidance.

Zheng Guohui has made a decision

Only after returning to Chongming Island did he select suitable personnel to go to Guangdong Province, recruit some brave and hard-working men, and send them directly to Hong Kong by boat.

If we send them two or three ships every month and give them some foreign guns, we can make these British guys suffer a lot and beat them to a pulp.

And they even say “Chinese are not allowed to enter”. Who tolerates these bad habits?

Do it in a more secretive way. The British must have extraordinary abilities to know which big shot is displeased behind the scenes.
four days later

The large sailing ship Guangming, heading north, entered the Yangtze River along the estuary. Soon after going upstream, it turned into the inland waterway of Chongming Island and docked outside the Guangming Town Pier.

this day

It was January 1866, . It was a freezing cold day, but Guangming Town was exceptionally lively. The whole town had expanded a lot compared to when I left.

"The immortal calculated that my restless general would be returning home soon, so I waited here a few days ago. Sure enough, the immortal waited for him."

Li Hezhang laughed heartily as he stepped forward, bowed deeply, and added, "Thanks to the blessings of the gods and Buddhas, my master has had a safe and smooth journey. The immortals here offer their respects and wish him everlasting happiness and good health!"

Zheng Guohui quickly took a step forward, holding Li Hezhang's arms with both hands to help him up, and said sincerely;
"Jinghai is young and playful, and I rely on my military advisor to advise me on everything behind the scenes. He is in charge of everything and has helped my army to march south smoothly. His contribution is to the country."

Zheng Guohui did not deny the other party's title of "Lord", but responded with "contributions to the country and the people".

You give me a compliment, and I'll give you a mouthful of chicken soup. Smart people know this.

Li Hezhang changed the subject, standing up and gesturing towards Guangming Town behind him. He said, "General, please come into the town to rest and wash off the dust of your journey. We have already prepared a banquet to welcome you."

"Okay, Brother Xianqiao, please come with me." Zheng Guohui pulled Li Hezhang's arm affectionately, and the two walked forward together, presenting a scene of harmony between the monarch and his subject.

Unfortunately, the strong man Zheng Sheng walking behind him could not appreciate it. He and another giant man Dong Tiezhu in the personal guard team walked on both sides behind with a sword in one hand and a half-person-high wooden shield in the other, looking around vigilantly.

As personal guards, they would never be careless in any public situation.

Behind each of them was a row of personal soldiers jogging forward, passing the general and Li Hezhang, and setting up a cordon outside the dock pier. All of them held a knife in one hand and a shield in the other.

Guangming Town is not far from the pier, so there is no need for a carriage.

When Zheng Guohui walked over to look, his eyes narrowed slightly. Standing far outside the town, he saw the dragon and lion dance team coming towards them, as well as a large and dense crowd of people.

This was because the sailing ship approached too abruptly, so Zheng Guohui and his party left the dock after the ship docked. Li Hezhang arrived in a hurry and was unable to hold a welcoming ceremony on the pier. I guess this was a courtesy to make up for it.

"Brother Xianqie, arriving on the island is like coming home. There's no need to make such a big fuss, right?"

"My lord, etiquette cannot be abolished!"

"Then let's make a deal and keep it as simple as possible, okay?"

"Just follow my lord's instructions."

As the two were talking, Zheng Sheng and Dong Tiezhu rushed forward a dozen steps and raised their hands to signal the lion dance team and dragon dance team to stop and perform at a safe distance from the adults.

The cheerful gongs and drums sounded, the suona played, and the dragon and lion dances began to dance happily, shaking their heads and tails, creating a festive atmosphere.

A crowd of people rushed forward and knelt down to kowtow. "We, the common people, greet the General and respectfully welcome his return."

"General, you have saved countless lives. You truly have the heart of a bodhisattva. I, a humble commoner, have no way of repaying you. I can only kowtow to you here."

"I wish you the best of luck and happiness, General. Good people will be rewarded."

"Please stand up, everyone please stand up..."

After returning to Chongming Island and being among the people, Zheng Guohui smiled particularly brightly. He really enjoyed the feeling of being respected and loved by all the people.

Perhaps he has a talent for politics in his bones.

Li Hezhang silently took a step back, leaving the most glorious stage to the general, but he felt a little dissatisfied in his heart.

You say no, no with your mouth, but why is your body so honest?

The more Li Hezhang looked at his nephew-in-law, the more he admired him. Some people might be born for big scenes.

Zheng Guohui did not look tired at all after returning from his long voyage. He was warm and friendly as he chatted with the common people, showing his maturity and experience, which led to his extraordinary popularity.

With such a show, who can not give a thumbs up and say "good"?
"Well... you dance well, and this General will reward you handsomely."

"Someone come here! Come and see the reward."

As he was talking, a few large silver ingots weighing five taels each were thrown out with a "clacking sound". The artists were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling and kowtowed repeatedly to express their gratitude.

After another round of greetings, we entered the town.

The weather in this cold winter was frozen hard everywhere, mud and water could not be mixed, and it was not suitable for building houses, so the construction of houses in the town stopped.

The streets of Guangming Town are mainly lined with two- to three-story typical Ming and Qing Dynasty-style buildings. Red couplets, red lanterns, door and window decorations are posted everywhere, and the aroma of fried fruits wafts through the streets, which clearly gives off a festive atmosphere.

Now is the slack season

There are also many people from the villages below who come to the town for a stroll. The 16-meter-wide street in the town is bustling with people, and there are children jumping around in it. There is laughter everywhere.

On this Chongming Island
There is no need to worry about child kidnappers or beggar thugs. Just let the children play on their own and they will definitely not get lost.

Entering Tuchengli

Li Hezhang led his men to welcome the general into the conference hall, and immediately served him hot tea. He drank some water to warm himself up and it was a good time to talk.

The kitchen in the back is ready and the banquet will be served soon.

In such occasions, people don't talk about anything important. They just pick up some random things they've heard and heard from all over the place and keep the conversation going.

"General, you've come back all alone. It's truly worrying. You should have assembled a fleet, after all. You shouldn't have acted so rashly. It makes us feel uneasy."

Only Li Hezhang could say this, advising Zheng Guohui that he was too careless and didn't even have a fleet of escort ships with him when he returned.

Zheng Guohui drank his tea happily, put down the teacup, and then said;
"Brother Xian, you don't know that my great sailing ship, the Guangming, is sailing on the sea at a speed faster than a galloping horse, and no other ship can catch up with it.

It only takes four days to get from Hong Kong to Chongming Island, but with all that baggage, it would take more than a week."

"Western ships are so fast?" Li Hezhang was indeed a little surprised.

He had been in official career for 20 years and traveled almost all over Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu. It can be said that he had taken countless ships, but the only one he had never taken was a Western sailing ship.

Zheng Guohui nodded affirmatively and said, "That's right, Jinghai is not lying."

"I never thought that the West not only has powerful firearms, but also has such exquisite ships. It shows that we can learn from others and polish jade. It is wise to learn from them." Li Hezhang is a knowledgeable person in the world today, but he still has a biased view.

This is the world today
The general perception of the imperial court and even the feudal scholar-official class was that when facing foreigners, they felt extremely inferior on the one hand and extremely confident on the other.

Not to mention the inferiority complex, since the capital was captured twice, officials in the court have developed a general "xenophobia", going from ignorance and arrogance to the other extreme.

Extreme self-confidence stems from thousands of years of profound cultural heritage. The feudal scholar-official class generally regards themselves as "the Celestial Empire, a country of etiquette" and looks down on the crude and ridiculous etiquette of the foreigners.

It is not surprising that there are all kinds of sarcasm, ridicule and denigration, and the understanding is biased.

Hearing what Zheng Guohui said, Li Hezhang suddenly realized, "Oh... the shipbuilding is so exquisite?" It was a bit like the blind men and the elephant in the Chinese idiom.

To be frank

There are only one and a half bureaucrats in the current court who can clearly understand the West. One is Zheng Guohui, and the other half is Prince Gong Yixin. The other ministers of Westernization, including Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and Li Hezhang, are all blind men groping in the dark.

Li Hongzhang was considered knowledgeable about military affairs and was also familiar with Western affairs, but his understanding now was far less than what it would be decades later.

It is limited to "thousands of foreign soldiers firing guns and cannons at the same time, defeating all who were hit."

"The purity of their cannons, the sophistication of their ammunition, the distinctiveness of their equipment, and the strength of their troops are truly beyond the reach of China. Although their army is not their strong point, they are always able to attack cities and plunder camps, and they have all kinds of weapons that are not available in China."

Li Hongzhang was deeply impressed by the sharpness of foreign firearms, and he felt "deeply ashamed that Chinese military equipment was far inferior to that of foreign countries."

He also vowed to "command his soldiers to endure humiliation every day, learn a few secret techniques from the Westerners, and hope to gain benefits."

They believed that foreigners were only good at weapons, and had no idea about the tremendous changes that had taken place in the society and even culture of the European powers that had entered the First Industrial Revolution.

It was not until 30 years later, in 1896, when Li Hongzhang visited Europe, that his worldview was overturned.

This is later.

Zheng Guohui had no intention of talking about this matter at this time. Li Hezhang would eventually go to Southeast Asia. Seeing is believing, and the truth would be revealed when the time comes.

So he changed the subject and asked about the affairs of Jinling. Li Hezhang looked at him and said with a wry smile;

"Originally, even if the General didn't ask, I would have told him after dinner. Now that the General has asked about the situation here, I will naturally tell him everything.

In the two months before His Excellency went to Southeast Asia, the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office did not take any action and both sides were at peace.

During this period, a group of Nian bandits cavalry heading south broke into the territory of Xuzhou Prefecture, burned, killed, looted, and gathered bandits, and refugees appeared everywhere.

The Provincial Administration Office sent letters of accountability many times. Later, He Ruolin, the garrison commander of Xuzhou, and Zheng Jiabao, the garrison commander of Huai'an, each led their troops to suppress the bandits. They tracked them to Wangjiaji in the ancient Picheng and engaged in a fierce battle with them.

Our army won a great victory in this battle, killing 3072 enemies on the spot and capturing countless more.

They pursued the bandits all the way to the border of Pei County, killing the bandit leader Ma Tiansheng, Guo Shanfeng, Wang Hai and other extremely vicious criminals, completely securing victory and making the Nian bandits dare not look south.

Speaking of here
Li Hezhang sighed deeply. He knew that this was a chronic problem of factional strife in the court, but he had no way to solve it.

He continued;

"For more than a month, the Governor Elong has listened to someone's slander and has repeatedly called for accountability for our Green Camp generals. He has falsely accused our army of "killing innocent people and claiming credit", "allowing soldiers to plunder and bring disaster to the countryside", "forming cliques for personal gain and enriching their officials", and "the commanders indulging in wine and women and behaving absurdly". These are 17 major crimes. The impeachment memorial has been sent to the capital.

Second Brother's situation will probably be suppressed for a while, but not for long."

(End of this chapter)