Chapter 133 Daying: Now that I’m gone, you’re starting to miss me?
The only thing that makes Chen Xianliang feel fortunate now is that Li Yi still trusts him and does not blame him for Hu Laosi's audacity.
It also gave him a chance to atone for his sins!
Otherwise, Chen Xianliang really didn't dare to think about what the consequences would be.
Hu Laosi looked up at the top of Guangzhou city, his face full of shock, and subconsciously took several steps back.
"Boss, why are you here?"
Chen Xianliang did not respond to Hu Laosi's question, but continued to scold.
"Hu Laosi, put down your weapon immediately, surrender, and wait for your punishment. Otherwise, no one can save you!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Laosi turned around and wanted to lead his men to escape.
But just as he turned around, he heard a clattering sound of footsteps behind him.
Li Wenmao led his team and charged along the street, blocking the retreat route of Hu Laosi and his group.
"Hu Laosi, put down your weapon immediately and surrender, otherwise you will bear the consequences!"
Li Wenmao drew the sword from his waist and shouted.
When Hu Laosi saw this, his dark face full of flesh instantly collapsed and turned pale.
Because he knew, it was over, everything was over!
Right now, the two big brothers are clearly trying to sacrifice their own relatives for the greater good. Now there is really no one who can save him, and no one will save him...
However, even though things had come to this, Hu Laosi was still unwilling to surrender. He pulled out an oxtail knife from his waist, held it in his hand, and shouted loudly.
"Two bosses, if we fall into the hands of the Restoration Army, we will definitely have no chance of survival."
"I hope the two bosses will spare my life for the sake of our past friendship."
He wanted to morally blackmail Li and Chen.
Chen Xianliang and Li Wenmao couldn't help but frown when they heard this.
Damn it, if I let you live today, I will be dead too!
Hu Laosi had caused such a big mess behind their backs, and Li Yi was able to give them the two of them a chance to atone for their sins, which was definitely a favor outside the law.
If they disappoint Li Yi again, the consequences will be predictable.
Chen Xianliang continued to shout.
"Hu Laosi, put down your weapon immediately, or you will bear the consequences!"
Li Wenmao also waved his hand and ordered his men to move forward to capture Hu Laosi and others.
Seeing this, Hu Laosi gritted his teeth.
"Brothers, since the big guys are so cruel and won't give us a chance to live, then we, the lackeys, can only be unjust and earn a way to live for ourselves."
"Brothers, fight them and kill them!"
With a loud shout, Hu Laosi brandished his knife and rushed towards the city gate, trying to fight his way out of the city.
But at this moment, a ball of fire suddenly flashed on the city wall.
A rifle shooter from the Restoration Army pulled the trigger, smoke filled the air and bullets flew.
The next moment, Hu Laosi was shot in the thigh, and his whole body instantly lost balance and fell forward to the ground.
Let out a hysterical scream!
As Hu Laosi was shot and fell to the ground, his accomplices who had originally wanted to fight to the end immediately lost their backbone and fell into panic.
Soon, all these people were captured by Chen Xianliang and Li Wenmao.
Chen Xianliang came forward and spoke to Chen Yucheng who was counting the amount of opium.
"Brother Yucheng, these thieves have been captured. When are we going to report to the Grand Commander?"
Li Wenmao also spoke in agreement.
"Yes, Brother Yucheng, let's report back as soon as possible!"
Both of them were eager to show their loyalty to Li Yi.
Chen Yucheng just shook his head.
"It's getting late now. The Grand Admiral must have gone to bed long ago."
"If we go and report now, wouldn't that disturb the Grand Commander's sweet dreams?"
"Wait until tomorrow morning!"
"It's just right. We can use this evening to interrogate these thieves, follow the clues, and conduct a thorough investigation of all the opium in Guangzhou."
"The more opium we find this time, the easier it will be for you two to report to the Grand Commander, right?"
Chen Xianliang and Li Wenmao looked at each other and could only speak.
"Listen to Brother Yucheng!"
……
Early in the morning, the sky is just getting light!
Li Yi got up, dressed, washed, and exercised as usual, then ate breakfast while handling some simple military affairs.
It is worth mentioning that the Restoration Army finally completed the seizure of the Eight Banners and Thirteen Hongs in Guangzhou yesterday.
The money, grain and supplies obtained from the house search have also been counted and the report was sent to Li Yi.
Looking at the numbers in the report, Li Yi couldn't help but sucking his teeth.
My goodness, the Eight Banners and Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou are really fat!
The cash alone reached more than 42 million taels.
If we include gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, silk, porcelain, grain, cloth, houses, shops, fields, estates and other movable and immovable properties, the total value is almost enough to pay the Boxer Indemnity.
Especially in terms of land, almost half of the land in the entire Pearl River Delta is the banner fields of the Eight Banners, or the land held by the powerful people in Beijing by the Thirteen Hongs. The value is simply immeasurable.
Such a huge number made Li Yi feel dizzy.
This time, the Restoration Army has really gained a lot!
Next, for at least one or two years, Li Yi will no longer have to worry about the finances of the Restoration Army.
It’s so funny! I can’t spend all the money. I can’t spend all the money!
Li Yi began to think about how to use these financial and food resources.
Li Yi first passed the option of building a palace for himself.
One reason is that he does not have too high demands for personal enjoyment and will not do such extravagant things.
The second reason is that Li Yi is thinking about picking up ready-made resources from Lao Hong or the Qing Dynasty in the future.
Whether it is the Tianwang Palace built by Lao Hong in Nanjing, or the Forbidden City and the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, Li Yi thinks they are all pretty good.
After thinking for a long time, Li Yi decided to use the money and grain mainly in two aspects.
The first is military construction.
The second is industrial construction.
Both of these are typical things that require money to see results.
As for how to spend the money specifically, Li Yi plans to gather everyone together to discuss it later.
Li Yi is very clear about his position. He is equivalent to the overall weather vane of the Restoration Army, or it can be said to be a guiding light.
All he needs to do is to use his knowledge and thinking as a time traveler to point out the direction for the development of the Restoration Army!
As for the details, he usually doesn't interfere.
It’s not that Li Yi trusts his subordinates.
But if he wants to get involved in everything, he will be too busy to handle it.
A qualified leader must not only know how to take power, but also how to delegate power.
Li Yi really doesn't have the energy like Zhu Yuanzhang!
Li Yi bit off half of the shrimp dumpling and chewed it carefully, feeling the sweetness of the shrimp in his mouth, with an expression of enjoyment on his face.
He picked up the bowl and took a sip of the barley and wolfberry porridge, then swallowed the food in his mouth...
Just as Li Yi was eating breakfast, the attendant beside him came to report.
"The Grand Commander, Chen Yucheng, Li Wenmao, and Chen Xianliang are outside seeking an audience."
Hearing this, Li Yi put down the food in his hand and spoke.
"Well, go and invite the person in!"
"By the way, go prepare three more sets of bowls and chopsticks." The servant nodded in agreement, then turned and walked out.
Soon, someone brought over brand new dishes and chopsticks, and a moment later, Chen Yucheng and the other two came to Li Yi.
"I greet the Grand Commander!"
Hearing this, Li Yi looked up at the three of them and spoke in a gentle manner.
"You've been busy all night, and you haven't eaten yet."
"I have already asked someone to prepare the dishes and chopsticks. Please sit down and eat together."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yucheng and the other two spoke immediately.
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!"
Then they sat down next to Li Yi in order, but no one dared to pick up their chopsticks.
Li Yi also put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked.
"Tell me what the results were last night."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yucheng was not polite and spoke first.
"In reply to the Grand Commander, last night, with the cooperation of the two captains Li Wenmao and Chen Xianliang, I successfully captured the opium smuggling gang headed by Hu Laosi."
"We followed the clues and found their opium warehouse in Guangzhou."
"In total, 150,000 kilograms of opium, more than 500 pipes, and 230,000 taels of stolen money were confiscated. It was a great harvest."
Li Yi heard this and nodded slightly.
"Yes, Yucheng, Wenmao, and Xianliang, you all have good intentions."
"This Governor is very satisfied. Once the smoking ban is completed, this Governor will definitely reward everyone generously."
Chen Yucheng accepted Li Yi's praise calmly, but Li Wenmao and Chen Xianliang left their seats in fear and bowed.
"Grand Commander, we two humble servants are here to atone for our sins, how dare we take credit for it?"
Li Yi still smiled and nodded.
"I already know what happened last night. It has nothing to do with you two. I am very pleased that you are willing to sacrifice your own family for the sake of justice."
"No need to do that, get up quickly!"
Regardless of whether this matter has anything to do with Li and Chen, Li Yi is not going to delve into it further.
He raised his hand, and Li Wenmao and Chen Xianliang looked at each other, both of them obviously relieved.
Only then did he dare to get up from the ground!
Li Yi nodded slightly, then continued to speak to Chen Yucheng.
“We need to pay more attention to the smoking ban.”
"Although the opium business is inhumane, the profits are real. There must be many greedy people who are blinded by greed."
"Yucheng, you must not let down your guard from now on!"
"Especially the foreigners. I am worried that they might resort to armed resistance. Be careful."
"Once the smoking ban is completely completed, I will use you for another important purpose."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yucheng nodded vigorously.
"Don't worry, Grand Commander. I understand!"
Upon hearing this, Li Wenmao and Chen Xianliang hurriedly spoke.
"Grand Admiral, we are both willing to contribute to the ban on smoking."
Although Li Yi has forgiven them on the surface, they are still a little unsure in their hearts.
Therefore, I thought that since I had to show my loyalty, I might as well do it thoroughly!
If they could lead the team to confiscate all the opium in and outside Guangzhou, then Li Yi should not have suspected that they were still in the opium business, right?
After hearing this, Li Yi pondered for a moment and then nodded.
"can!"
Since Li Wenmao and Chen Xianliang were willing to show their loyalty, how could Li Yi refuse?
For Li Yi, as long as his subordinates do not make mistakes of principle, he is willing to give them a chance to correct them.
……
Macau, City Hall!
Jadosu, Bulbulon, Mashali and others gathered together again to discuss things.
"The sea off Macau and the outlet of the Pearl River have all been blocked by the navy of the Restoration Army. Merchant ships from all countries, including ours and China's own ships, are not allowed to enter or leave."
Jia Duosu said with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Bulbulon couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"What exactly does the Restoration Army want to do?"
Jia Duosu spoke up.
"According to the news from Guangzhou, it's still about the ban on opium. The commander-in-chief of the Restoration Army is not satisfied with the amount of opium we handed over."
“So, the Pearl River estuary and Macau were blocked.”
Mashali slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.
"Oh my God, if we really hand over all the opium we have, it will cost us at least half our lives."
These days, due to the limitations of China's small peasant economy, ordinary foreign goods simply cannot be sold.
Therefore, among the foreign merchants coming to China these days, at least five out of ten were full-time opium traffickers.
Well, the remaining five are not not selling it, but they are doing it part time, selling opium while doing other businesses on the side.
Li Yi wanted to confiscate all the opium in their hands. For these foreigners, this loss would be too great.
This is why they are only willing to hand over a small part.
But the same thing goes, the arm cannot twist the thigh!
Li Yi might make concessions on other issues, but he would not give in on the opium issue!
The group of people discussed for a long time but still couldn't come up with a good solution.
Now they can't help but miss the time when Daying was still around.
The British may be overbearing, but with their presence, these foreigners in the Far East at least have a backbone and a big brother who can handle things.
But the reality now is that the British are gone, and the British troops stationed in the Far East have been almost uprooted by the Restoration Army.
Even if they wanted to resist, they were powerless!
Soon, soldiers of the Restoration Army entered Macau and began to search the warehouses of businesses in Macau, and seized large amounts of opium from them.
In addition, the navy of the Restoration Army began to search merchant ships along the Pearl River one by one.
No matter who you are or what your identity is, you will be searched and if you have opium, it will be confiscated.
The Restoration Army's anti-smoking efforts were even more stringent than Lin Zexu's back then.
Because Lin Zexu's orders might be obeyed in name only but disobeyed in reality by his subordinates.
But no one in the Restoration Army dared to play tricks on Li Yi's order.
Therefore, even if the smoking ban is the same, the enforcement intensity will be different, and the intensity of the smoking ban will naturally be different.
……
Just as the Restoration Army was making every effort to ban opium in Guangzhou, the news of the fall of Guangzhou was sent all the way to the capital by the Qing court on fast horses.
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace!
After Xianfeng finished dealing with the pile of memorials on hand, he fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't even touch the concubines who were sent to sleep with him.
In recent times, first Jingzhou was massacred, then Nanjing fell, and the Eight Banners were massacred again. The bad news of both almost stunned Emperor Xianfeng.
The Taiping rebels have become so powerful, Xianfeng really feels so sorry for his ancestors and the Qing Dynasty!
Now the only way for Xianfeng to feel less guilty is to keep himself busy by handling government affairs every day.
However, this is not without cost.
Xianfeng's health, which was not good to begin with, gradually deteriorated...
I will update one chapter first, and then write the next one, but it will be later...
(End of this chapter)