Chapter 21: A Small Clash

  Just as he entered the flower hall, he saw Su Hongniang sitting beside Ye Zhaoyi and almost didn't recognize her. He thought she was a handsome young man, but wasn't she too handsome and charming? No, it was the beautiful black Western-style dress, and she even wore a top hat, with an air of elegance that couldn't be described as bright and moving.

  As soon as he recognized that it was the only concubine of Young Master Wang, Old Man Zhang dared not take another glance, his eyes observing his nose and his heart. Speaking of which, if Old Man Zhang's daughter-in-law were to dress up as a man, and what's more, a foreign devil man, Old Man Zhang might cripple his son's legs before divorcing her.

  It's as if it's only natural for the young mistress to dress up in front of Little King, and one can't help but feel that she's not overstepping her bounds in the slightest.

  Ye Zhao wrote a letter and was about to send someone to rush back to the capital to report that all was well, but then she thought, how long has it been since he left? The princess consort must be worried sick about him.

  In addition, it was written for the capital city's zhezi, but it was necessary for Lao Fuzi to review it. Ye Zhaoliang had been unlearned and unskilled for twenty years, and he really didn't know how to deal with this kind of classical phrase-filled zhezi.

  Su Hongniang was holding back her laughter as she watched Old Master Ye almost hand-holding Ye Zhaolü to write.

  "Alright, alright, you write it then." Ye Zhaofei grasped the brush and felt really troubled, so she tossed her hair in annoyance.

  The old master stroked his beard and smiled, although it's not respectful to say so, but towards Ye Zhao, he always had a kind of affection for the younger generation, probably because this young man never put on airs.

  "Grandfather, grandfather, it's terrible!" Rui Si suddenly rushed in, panting and flustered, something he had never done before in front of Ye Zhao.

  "Han Jin-chun, he's gone to the Customs House!" Rui Si's face turned somewhat pale, and he couldn't help but scold him for being too talkative. He muttered a few words about how the foreigners were occupying the Customs House and they couldn't get their hands on the account books inside, which was making Master anxious. But before anyone knew it, Han Jin-chun had already snatched the waist knife from Geshaha and rushed out without saying another word.

  Ye Zhaowu furrowed his brow and said: "What is he doing there?"

  Rui Si'er immediately knelt down, slapping her own mouth: "I'm to blame, I'm to blame. It's all because of my big mouth. I said Master was worried about the customs affair, and he said he'd risk his life to help Master get back the customs account book. Bakshi and Alhatu were also possessed by evil spirits and followed him!"

  Baqi and Alhatu were the Gosh Ha of Wei Huaye, the personal soldiers brought out from the palace, both were famous brave warriors of the Blue Banner, and also very proud. But it was Rui Si who gradually came to realize the ferocity of the foreigners and knew that this disaster could be huge.

  Rui Si chased them out and tried to persuade them for half a day, but in the end failed to persuade them to return, so she had to fly back quickly to report the news.

  "What nonsense!" Ye Zhaoyan was furious, slapping the desk with a loud crack, causing ink and brushes to splatter everywhere.

  "Deserves to die, deserves to die!" Rui Si'er knelt on the ground, repeatedly slapping her own mouth.

  Ye Zhao didn't have time to tidy himself up, and in his anxiety, he was at a loss for what to do. He couldn't go to the Qing army's main camp to summon troops as it would take too long, and secondly, Xu Nai-zhao might not be willing to provide assistance readily. This wasn't the Zheng Wang Fu, and he only had a few personal guards with him, while Rui Si and his men were not capable of withstanding a hail of blades.

  "Alright! Get up, go prepare the horses!" Now there's only hope that they can make it in time, and that Han Jin Chun and his two companions won't fall into the foreigners' clutches. Meanwhile, in the backyard, several military horses had already been requisitioned from Xu Naiquan's army camp.

  "Here I go, here I go." Rui Si hastily ran out.

  Ye Zhao turned his head and found that Su Hongniang, who was just sitting at the desk reading her joke, had disappeared. He couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Where is she?"

  The old man shook his head, looking bewildered, and had just been anxious about his heart, but didn't notice where the young lady had gone.

  ……

  The Western-style iron gate opened, and Ye Zhao, although inferior in riding and shooting, still had some horse skills. He rode a tall horse, and several Goshahs were also dressed up, with a stern expression. Rui Si and several other servants gathered beside Ye Zhao's horse, at this time no one dared to be timid, if the young master encountered any mishap, they feared that their relatives would all be implicated.

  A loud "boom boom boom" of gunfire echoed from afar, Ye Zhao furrowed his brow, whipped the reins and **the horse galloped out.

  As soon as the shots rang out, the streets of the concession were deserted, and these days the concession was also in a state of chaos, with people's hearts filled with anxiety.

  "Dada" several horses galloped, Rui Si and other slaves followed closely behind. The distance between the army camp and the customs office was not far. After turning a corner, they saw that in front of the iron gate of the customs office, 20-30 foreign soldiers were surrounding it, each occupying a shooting position and firing inward. On the second floor window of this old customs office, a tiger and leopard flag was raised, which was the banner of the Qing army's elite troops.

  Ye Zhaixin let out a breath of relief, although he didn't know the situation on the battlefield, it was clear that several people had not yet fallen.

  "Cease fire! Cease fire!" Ye Zhaoloudly shouted in English, but the several foreign soldiers near the alley turned around, immediately aiming their guns. "Boom boom boom", the deafening sound of gunfire explosions, Ye Zhao had no time to react, was already knocked off his horse by a bodyguard and fell into a heap.

  A chaotic scene ensued, with several bodyguards swiftly moving to shield Ye Zhao as they darted into a nearby alley. Swords were drawn and stood guard at the entrance of the alley. The bodyguard who had just dismounted from his horse to attack Ye Zhao was also dragged in, his leg covered in blood. Soon after, Rui Si and other servants rushed into the alley, shouting and crying out.

  "Let's go back first, this alley is just around the corner from the yamen." Rui Si saw that Ye Zhao's forehead was swollen with a big bruise and his face had turned pale. These days in the concession area, he had gotten familiar with the alleys.

  Ye Zhaowu knew that shouting anything now would be useless, and staying here would only lead to being captured as a prisoner. If he were to turn back and become the Qing Dynasty's envoy leading soldiers and braves to attack the concession merchant group, it would indeed be unreasonable. He could only return and deliberate on a long-term plan. When he came out, someone had already been sent to the Qing army camp to send a message, so let's see what Xun Naiquan's plan is.

  He nodded and said, "Let's go!"

  Rui Si and others finally breathed a sigh of relief, surrounding Ye Zhao and rushing all the way, when the foreign gun team rushed into the alley, they had already disappeared.

  ……

  Xu Nai Zhuang's reinforcements did not arrive, and after waiting for a while, Ye Zhao couldn't sit still. He thought that he could only ask Su Hongniang for help now. With her guards, they should be able to handle any stray soldiers from the merchant group. Now, there was only one option left - to go see Lawyer Huo and ask him to mediate this matter.

  If it wasn't necessary, Ye Zhaohad no intention of letting politicians like Ali know about his close relationship with Wells and Thorold. Presumably Wells was thinking the same way. And regardless of whether Wells would infringe on his patent rights, at least for now, the two were still partners.

  But when he went upstairs and turned around in a circle, he still couldn't find Su Hongniang. Just as Ye Zhao was at a loss, his personal soldier came to report that the British Consul, Ali Khan, had arrived.

  Ye Zhaixin's heart sank, it seemed that Han Jin Chun and others were either poisoned or captured, otherwise Ali Guo wouldn't have come to the door, and now they had reason, evidence, and rhythm, and even had captives in hand. It was really unclear what kind of play he should perform next.

  But Ye Zhaohad really hoped that the concession merchant group had only captured a few people, especially Bakshi and Alhatu, who were so loyal to him. If the two men's bloody corpses were placed in front of him, he didn't know if he would go mad.

  With a worried heart, Ye Zhaohastened to the flower hall, but who would have thought that Ali Guo's face looked even more unsightly than his.

  "Mr. Jingxiang, I demand that you immediately order your subordinates to leave the customs office and release our nationals, otherwise I will consider your actions as a declaration of war against the Great British Empire!" Alai shouted angrily upon seeing Ye Zhao.

  Ye Zhaoyi was stunned, what? Leaving the Customs House? Releasing the hostages? It turned out that for more than an hour, the foreign gun team not only failed to break into the Customs House, but also had someone captured as a prisoner.

  Ah Li country is now really can be said to be filled with grievances, suddenly there are Qing troops rushing into the customs office and hanging up the Qing army flag, this can still be said to be unprepared, after all, the customs office only left two guards on duty. But then the patrolling merchant team launched an attack, who knew that halfway through, a mysterious and unknown villain emerged, dressed in European noble attire, and when he arrived at the scene, he suddenly snatched a rifle from a gunman and used it to knock out several people before rushing into the customs office.

  Next, twenty or thirty armed men tried to attack the yamen but couldn't get in. The other side not only had accurate arrows but also a very skilled gunman. Seven or eight soldiers were injured by the enemy's firearms. Later, several armed men climbed over the back wall and entered the courtyard to prepare for a sneak attack, but they were all captured alive and tied up as hostages in front of the window.

  Helpless, Ali country had to give up the idea of taking the yamen by force and brought a dozen armed men to the imperial commissioner's office, turned his face and just grabbed the Qing dynasty's imperial commissioner.

  A Li Guo was furious and questioned Ye Zhao, who unexpectedly took the upper hand. He pointed to the bruise on his forehead and said: "Consul, I was at the scene shouting for a ceasefire, but I was attacked by your country's mobs. As a bodyguard, I was injured by your country's mobs! How can you say that?" Ye Zhao's face turned gloomy as he spoke, but in fact, the soldier who had rescued him only had a leg injury and was not in danger of losing his life.

  Ye Zhaow suddenly changed his tone and said, "Forget it, regardless of who is right or wrong, harmony is the most important thing. My original intention was to retrieve a few old files from the Maritime Customs Office for reference. Perhaps due to a misunderstanding, this tragedy occurred. I personally offer my deepest apologies. Please order the withdrawal of the armed forces surrounding the Maritime Customs Office, and I guarantee that your country's nationals will not be harmed."

  A Li Guo hummed and nodded his head.