Chapter 40 Jiang Hai Guan Supervision

  "Please instruct me, sir!"

  Qishan said slowly and calmly, "This morning, when you went to the Duke of Quan's mansion for a meeting, His Majesty summoned me again. After entering the palace to pay respects, His Majesty mentioned the bandit affair."

  "What's wrong?"

  Li Zhenxin's heart was overjoyed and he finally let out a sigh of relief.

  As long as it's related to the Taiping Army, it's impossible to stay in Beijing, so Li Zhen doesn't worry about it. What Li Zhen needs now is to fight battles and quickly rise through the ranks, quickly building his own power.

  Qishan continued: "The rebels marched north, entered Baoding, and directly threatened Beijing, causing the Emperor to become enraged. The Emperor has ordered the Minister of War, Gui Liang, to lead troops to Baoding to resist the rebels. At the same time, he also ordered Prince Huiguo Mianyu as the commander-in-chief, and ordered the Grand Minister in attendance, Senggelinqin, as the deputy minister, to take charge of eliminating the rebels."

  At this time, Senggelinqin had already rushed straight to Zhuozhou.

  "With the series of deployments by His Majesty, it is enough to stabilize the trend of the bandits going north."

  However, the situation in Jiangsu was not optimistic. In mid-September, Shanghai had a riot by the Small Knife Society, and the leader of the Small Knife Society, Liu Lichuan, openly rebelled, claiming to be the "Great Ming State".

  "What's even more hateful is that Liu Lichuan has surrendered to the bandits again."

  "Hong Xiuquan's power is growing, Shanghai is in a predicament, and it will definitely affect the interests of foreigners. The Emperor has taken into account the overall situation and is preparing to send someone to stabilize the situation in Shanghai. You are loyal and have both bravery and strategy, I recommend you to the Emperor, and he appoints you to go to Shanghai to take charge of the situation, stabilize the situation, and prevent foreigners from taking advantage of it."

  "Go to Shanghai!"

  Li Zhenxin was overjoyed and extremely excited.

  Before he knew it, Li Zhen was able to go to Shanghai to take charge. When he was outside the Duanjun Wangfu, Li Zhen still secretly said that he didn't know when he could be in power himself, and now being promoted by Qi Shan to Shanghai was just what he wanted.

  Leaving Jiangbei Camp, the sea is vast and fish jump out of the water, the sky is high and birds fly.

  Li Zhen suppressed the joy in his heart, but a hesitant expression appeared on his face. He said: "Your Excellency, you let me take charge of Shanghai's situation, I am naturally willing to go. But going to Shanghai is not only facing the people of the Small Knife Society, but also dealing with the poor and evil foreigners. You can't let me go empty-handed, you have to give me support! If you don't support me, I'll just stay in the Jiangbei camp and won't leave."

  Qishan stroked his beard and laughed scoldingly: "You, you really are... never mind, what do you want? Just say it."

  Li Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, my requirements are not many. As long as Huang Shi Hai brings one battalion of soldiers, it will be enough. I also want 900 Mauser rifles sold by the foreigners. With 900 guns and Huang Shi Hai's one battalion of soldiers, even if there is chaos in Shanghai, I can still stabilize the situation."

  "You really didn't see a rabbit without scattering hawks, and took away all the elite troops from Jiangbei's large camp."

  Qishan scolded, but he didn't feel the slightest bit unhappy.

  Li Zhen was his nominee to Shanghai, and naturally hoped that Li Zhen could stabilize the situation in Shanghai. Once Li Zhen took down the Small Sword Society in Shanghai, he could contain the rebels in Nanjing and attract Yang Xiuqing's attention, alleviating the pressure on the Jiangbei camp, which was Qi Shan's ultimate goal.

  "Sir, what position did General Li take up in Shanghai?"

  Qishan said: "You are currently a lieutenant general, already a third-grade military officer. Although the current military officers are worthless, having a title of a third-grade official is not bad either, and it can also intimidate Shanghai officials."

  Li Zhenxin felt a little disappointed, what's the use of being a third-class military general, and he didn't even have the power to make independent decisions.

  Not to mention three-star generals, even a one-star general would find it difficult to get things done in Shanghai.

  Qishan took a sip of tea and said, "Don't be unhappy in your heart. I have also secured for you the position of Tuanlian Envoy. After you go to Shanghai, you can recruit local braves and train troops like Zeng Guofan did, intimidating foreigners so they won't be arrogant. In addition, I have also secured another official post for you, that is, the Jianghai Customs Supervisor, which is specifically responsible for customs tax collection. You will be in contact with foreigners."

  Li Zhen took a deep breath, his heart was already extremely agitated.

  Historically, Qi Shan was undoubtedly a pro-peace faction. He actively withdrew the deployment of Lin Zexu in Guangzhou to defend against the British army and actively sought peace. He also privately signed the Treaty of Nanjing, ceding Hong Kong and paying an indemnity of 6 million taels of silver. Although this treaty was not recognized by either Britain or the Daoguang Emperor, Qi Shan had committed a humiliating act that compromised national sovereignty.

  At present, Qi Shan has obtained the supervision of Jianghai Customs, which is an extremely important official position.

  Jianghai Customs Supervisor, also known as Jianghai Customs Inspector, officially known as "Inspector of the Jiangnan Maritime Customs Circuit", was responsible for customs taxation. Historically, the position of Jianghai Customs Supervisor was held by the Suzhou-Taicang-District Magistrate of Jiangsu Province, because the Jianghai Customs Supervisor was based in Shanghai and also known as the Shanghai Circuit or Jianghai Circuit.

  In 1854, Shanghai Daotai Wu Jianchang and the British, French and American consuls in Shanghai colluded to sign an agreement allowing each of the three countries to send a tax officer to take charge of the Jianghai Customs. In July of the same year, the Committee for the Management of the Maritime Customs was established, resulting in foreign aggressors directly managing China's customs and further losing sovereignty.

  Li Zhen is now in charge of the Jianghai Customs Supervision and presides over the Shanghai office, and will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

  Li Zhen was really excited, excited for guarding the country's customs.

  He stood up, bowed respectfully and said: "Thank you, sir." This bow can be said to be the most sincere among all Li Zhen's bows, it was heartfelt.

  "Alright, go ahead and do it well, don't disappoint this official's expectations."

  "Your Excellency, rest assured that I will go to Shanghai and quickly sweep away the rebels. At the same time, I will also train an elite force to intimidate foreigners and make them not dare to underestimate China. As long as I am in Shanghai for one day, I will not lose the country's dignity and will not become a national humiliation."

  The most important thing is to be forceful and resounding.

  Qishan listened and was also moved.

  At Qi Shan's age, the hot blood had cooled down, and he had lost his drive. He only considered his own interests now. However, after listening to Li Zhen's words, Qi Shan seemed to see his younger self again. In the past, Qi Shan also wanted to bring glory to the country and his family, but gradually became an old oil slick in the officialdom, blending into the official circle.

  Qishan felt the long-lost passion, extremely excited. His eyes stared at Li Zhen, saying in a low voice: "This official believes you and hopes that you will not tarnish the dignity of the Qing Dynasty."

  Pausing for a moment, Qishan waved his hand and said, "Go gather your things, we're leaving immediately."

  Li Zhen turned and left, Qishan stood alone in a daze.

  Half an hour later, Huang Shi-hai also returned to the post house. Li Zhen took Huang Shi-hai and Yang Banhou with him, following Qi Shan's carriage as they left Beijing City. The horse-drawn carriage had just exited the city when it was stopped by someone blocking its path.

  The person blocking him was none other than Gurdur.

  Qishan saw Gudu, and his heart was even more joyful. He immediately ordered: "Li Zhen, you are leaving Beijing to take up your post in Shanghai, who knows when you will be able to return to Beijing again? Go say goodbye to Zhilan."

  Li Zhen did not decline either and got off his horse carriage, walking towards Zhilan's horse carriage.

  Entering the carriage, there was only Zhi Lan inside.

  "Your trip to Shanghai is fraught with danger, you must be careful and can't afford to be careless."

  Li Zhen nodded, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.

  PS: The third watch is completed, a new volume begins, everyone please give your support!