Chapter 68: All Parties Have Their Eyes on It

  When they arrived at He Guiqing's residence in Shanghai, the doorman saw Li Mingfeng's name card and immediately ran inside to report. He Guiqing sent his trusted aide Wu Shiyeh out to greet them.

  Led by Wu Shiyé into the study, Li Mingfeng reluctantly paid his respects to He Guìqīng.

  He Guiqing hastily helped Li Mingfeng up and said with a smile: "Brother Mingfeng, you've really given me face this time!"

  Li Mingfeng hastily and cautiously said: "I dare not, I dare not. In the battle of Sanhe, our army was defeated, resulting in General Li Xubin's entire army being wiped out. This is a betrayal of your great expectations, Mingfeng is guilty."

  He Guiqing put on a displeased expression and said: "Li, my younger brother, how can you say such things? In the battle of Sanhe, the Longhairs were ten times more numerous than us, and it was only natural that we suffered some losses. But I was able to lead the foreign gun squad, fight in multiple battles over a thousand miles, and escape from being surrounded by 100,000 Longhairs. With just over a thousand men, I fought against an enemy of 100,000 for two days and still managed to safely cross the river to the south. After crossing the river and avoiding the brunt of the Longhairs' attack, I also captured the Longhair leader Wei Zhi-jun. Such achievements are truly unprecedented since the outbreak of the Longhair rebellion!"

  Li Mingfeng was praised by He Guiqing, and he felt his face glowing with pride. He hurriedly smiled and said: "Sir, you're overpraising me! I owe it all to Sir for giving me the opportunity to lead the foreign gun squad, which led to today's achievement."

  "The foreign gun team has made such great achievements and should be rewarded. I have already petitioned to the emperor on behalf of the foreign gun team's generals to request recognition of their contributions." He Guiqing said.

  Li Mingfeng was about to make some polite remarks, but He Guoqin's tone suddenly changed as he continued: "Brother Li is also a scholar, and there are some things that don't need to be said by the officials, you should understand. The foreign gun team has made great contributions, and rewards are in order. However, Wei Zhijun was originally a bandit leader, and his subordinates were long-haired bandits who had been bandits for a long time. Their nature is hard to change, if not strictly disciplined, there will be future troubles."

  Li Mingfeng's eyelid twitched when he heard this, and he thought to himself: "Rectify? How can they be rectified? Are they going to disband all these seasoned soldiers? This old man's words sound good, but his actions are ruthless enough, actually wanting to take back the meat that has already been put into someone else's mouth!"

  "These long-haired ones, I have carefully selected them, they are all good people. In the past, they were deceived by the bandits' evil words, later I enlightened them with great kindness and subtle words, these people finally surrendered to the imperial court. They are now absolutely loyal to the imperial court and the emperor." Li Mingfeng said.

  "Haha, Li's words are just for my ears, the officials in the imperial court, who would believe this nonsense? Wei Zhijun has 20,000 long-haired bandits under his command, if they're not disciplined, even the Emperor can't sleep peacefully."

  Li Mingfeng fell silent after hearing this. Although he didn't want the imperial court to interfere, Li Mingfeng also knew that He Guiqing was speaking the truth. If they didn't clean up their act, the imperial court would not trust the foreign gun corps, and if the imperial court didn't trust them, then whether the foreign gun corps could expand or even survive would be a problem.

  "The foreign gun squad was established by your younger brother and is also the foundation of his growth. Therefore, I am telling you these words today, hoping that you can have a mental preparation."

  "Mingfeng knows."

  Seeing Li Mingfeng's poor complexion, He Guiqing comforted him: "The military power is useless and you are being envied! Why not retreat to a high position in the temple, to seek a title for your wife and children?"

  Li Mingfeng forced a smile and said: "What you say is absolutely right, Mingfeng has learned from it!"

  The two men chatted for a few more sentences before Li Mingfeng left the Governor's Mansion again and returned to the base of the Foreign Gun Corps.

  At this time, the sky had already darkened, and all of Wei Zhi-jun's men were settled in. Li Ming-feng returned to the base, pulling along Gong Cheng to discuss matters in his own room.

  After listening to Li Mingfeng's account, Gong Cheng remained silent for a long time before saying: "You've made quite a stir this time. The power of the Foreign Gun Brigade has already caught the attention of many people. He Guiqing, that old scoundrel, is using the imperial court as an excuse, but in reality he wants to control the Foreign Gun Brigade himself. And now the foreigners are looking for an excuse to get involved too... it seems like things won't be easy."

  Li Mingfeng said with a hint of anger: "The team I've worked so hard to build, am I just going to give it away to someone else for nothing?"

  Gong Cheng took over the conversation and said: "As soon as the foreign gun team was established, it became complicated. You want foreigners to provide weapons and training, you want the imperial court to provide troops and supplies. But you don't want outsiders to intervene, is there such a good thing in the world?"

  Seeing Li Mingfeng unable to refute, Gong Cheng continued: "When the foreign gun team was first formed, there were only 1,800 people and horses, and it was still necessary to make arrangements up and down, communicate with all parties, and barely allow its establishment. Now you bring back 20,000 people and horses at once, do you think the imperial court will allow you to turn the foreign gun team into the Li family army?"

  "How can you expect me to hand over the foreign gun squad that I have worked so hard to establish?!" Li Mingfeng was extremely dissatisfied with Gong Cheng's attitude.

  Gong Cheng saw Li Mingfeng with some anger, not only did he not back down, but instead stuck his neck out and retorted: "You don't hand it over, do you think the foreign gun squad is yours?"

  "Of course!"

  "Nowadays, 90% of the soldiers in this base are under Wei Zhi-jun's command. If you want to deploy troops, you need Wei Zhi-jun's approval! Otherwise, don't even think about mobilizing a single soldier or guard from his ranks! In such a situation, do you say the Foreign Gun Corps belongs to Li or Wei?" Gong Cheng asked with some indignation.

  After hearing this, Li Mingfeng could no longer refute. The matter of recruiting Wei Zhijun was indeed a double-edged sword, with both advantages and disadvantages. The benefits were that in a short period of time, the foreign gun team had greatly expanded, and the new recruits were all elite Taiping Army soldiers who had been baptized by many years of war. The downside was that the powerful foreign gun team caused fear and greed among various parties, and Li Mingfeng's power within the team was also threatened.

  Li Mingfeng furrowed his brow and thought for a long time, finally saying in a low voice: "Brother Gong has always been cautious and wise, while I am young and impulsive. I hope Brother will give me some guidance."

  Gong Cheng's anger gradually dissipated after hearing these words, and he said: "Ergun, He Guiqing are not people you can handle. When under someone else's roof, one must lower their head. If you want to continue mixing in the future like a fish in water, you cannot offend either side. I see that they have already made up their minds to intervene in the foreign gun squad. What you need to consider is not how to stop them from intervening, but rather how to minimize their control over the foreign gun squad. Moreover, you can take advantage of the imperial court and the foreigners' power to suppress Wei Zhi-jun's influence within the foreign gun squad."

  Li Mingfeng pondered for half a day before asking, "Your meaning is to let Wei Zhijun, the imperial court and foreigners maintain a balance of power, restraining each other?"

  Gong Cheng finally cracked a smile: "Not bad! This way, although you've lost complete control over the Foreign Gun Brigade, it also means that they won't fall into anyone's hands. The foreigners, the imperial court, and the Taiping rebels are all mutually incompatible, but you're the only leader that all three sides can accept."

  "Gong is indeed Zhuge Liang reborn in this world, and Zhang Liang reincarnated!" Li Mingfeng flattered with a red face.

  Gong Cheng ignored Li Mingfeng's flattery and continued to say, "The road ahead is long, we are like crossing a single-plank bridge, if we are not careful, we may fall into the water. These past few days, Gui Liang, Hua Shana, and Wei Tuo Ma, Prussia have been quarreling fiercely, I am watching from the sidelines, there is still a possibility of war breaking out again, what will you do then?"

  Li Mingfeng was taken aback by these words and asked: "What does the outbreak of war have to do with me?"

  "If war breaks out again, how should the imperial court treat your foreign rifle troops?" Gong Cheng said.

  "The Foreign Gun Brigade is my unit and I have also accepted an official position from the imperial court. Is there still a risk that cannot be overcome?"

  "However, whether it's you or your foreign gun squad, in the eyes of any Chinese person, you are all representatives of the foreign devils."

  "What's good about it?" Li Mingfeng found himself basically a political idiot in front of Gong Cheng.

  "So, I hope the imperial court will directly intervene in the foreign gun teams to deepen their trust. And I also hope you can keep a low profile and stay away from disputes." Gong Cheng replied.

  Li Mingfeng muttered to himself in a low voice: "Low-key actions, stay away from disputes, low-key actions, stay away from disputes..."