Chapter 170 Entering Shaanxi
Chapter 170 Entering Shaanxi
"Whoosh, whoosh."
"Giggle!"
Rong Hui took the initiative to build a swimming pool in the back garden of the Shao family.
Rong Hui was wearing very little and was training her two children, Ji Ming and Ji Si, to swim.
After sending the telegram to Liao Rong, he went to Xiaoxiang Cliff to report to Lord Qiao on the siege of Nanjing as processed by Zhang Zhidong. He also inspected Hailing Bilingual Middle School and encouraged the children to study hard so that they could work hard for themselves, get promoted, make money and bring honor to their family in the future. There was still a lot of things to inspect later.
Hailing Arsenal, Wen's Arsenal, Ren's Arms Company, Wen's Logistics Supply Company, Wen's Canal Transport Company, Wen's Money House, Wen Fu Ji Pharmacy, Wen's Agricultural Assistance Company, Lin Ji Raw Silk Company, Song Ji Fur Goods Company...
Every company wholly owned or controlled by the Shaw family only shows up for a few days.
Shao Quanzhong worked tirelessly and tried hard to overcome his psychological barriers. He took a steam train to Xuzhou and inspected the Aiguoyi Coal and Iron Company.
By the time I returned home and had time to reunite with my family, it was already the end of the month.
It's a rare opportunity to stroll around in my own house. As soon as I entered the back garden, I was feasting my eyes...
Children who grew up in the water town of Suzhou are all good at swimming. Shao Quanzhong, who was a landlubber in his previous life, became a swimming expert after reincarnating here.
Children from poor families, both boys and girls, had to work in the paddy fields. When they were young, they rolled around in puddles like mud monkeys, and then ran to the ditch to take a bath. They learned to swim almost as soon as they could walk.
Shao Quanzhong's two sons were born in a wealthy family, so it was impossible for them to play in the ditch. Fortunately, the Shao family is now very rich, and they built a private swimming pool in the back garden to enjoy some water.
Wenxiu is an outlier in the water town of central Jiangsu, and she still can't swim. Even though her family built a swimming pool, she doesn't want to go swimming like Ronghui, wearing so little, but she doesn't object to her son learning to swim with Rongniang.
Rong Hui grew up by the sea in Guangdong and went to school in Hong Kong. She is an excellent swimmer and can lie in the water without sinking even if she doesn't move.
She lay easily in the water, and the two children played and splashed around her, and surprisingly, they had quickly mastered her unique skill.
It is said that the ancestors of mankind originated from the sea and were born knowing how to swim, but if they did not practice, they would slowly forget it. The younger the child, the faster they learn to swim, almost instinctively.
It was the end of the sixth lunar month and the end of the seventh lunar month, and Hailing was quite hot. Rather than saying that Rong Hui was teaching her children to swim, it would be more accurate to say that the three of them, who were already very good swimmers, were playing in the water.
Shao Quanzhong was so excited that he said, "Aunt Qiao, get the two kids away. I want to play in the water with my wife!"
Shao Quanzhong said to himself, "The furnace in Nanjing is too hot. I sweat a lot after wearing the military uniform for a while. My body is always wet and I am almost moldy. I have to take a good shower when I come back."
Aunt Qiao took the two children away with a strange smile on her face.
Liu Niang, who followed Shao Quanzhong closely, was very depressed. She was a landlubber and could not join in...
Wenxiu, who was watching from a distance, regretted, "Why can't I swim?" She deeply suspected that Shao Quanzhong had learned the tricks of Hong Ni in the Jinling Palace City, and now Sister Hui'er had taken advantage of him again...
This was an injustice to Shao Quanzhong, and the Huai Army never entered the Nanjing Palace.
"Report! The imperial edict has arrived. Lord Qiao ordered you to go to Xiaoxiang Cliff immediately to accept the reward."
The guard was reporting loudly outside the gate to the back garden. Hu Liuniang was standing guard at the gate to the back garden, ready to protect the core secrets of the Shao Mansion.
Wenxiu was overjoyed and rushed over to push Shao Quanzhong out. "You have been fighting for so many years, haven't you been waiting for this day? Go quickly and see if you can earn a first-rank lady for Huier and me this time."
He glanced at Rong Hui, who looked like a lotus emerging from the water, and said with a sour tone, "Brother Shao, you can't become a high-ranking official and then imitate Hong Ni and become a tyrant."
…………
Xiaoxiang Cliff, Taohuawu.
The Huai Army soldiers gathered together. The soldiers had a day off, but none of the officers had a day off.
The rewards for military merits in this dynasty have always been timely and generous. I have to say that this is where the Qing Dynasty is better than the previous dynasty. If the merits of conquering Nanjing are reported, the court will definitely reward you generously, and it will definitely be very soon, and it will not be delayed until next month. The backbone of the Huai Army gathered in Hailing, waiting to come when called.
Seeing that the one who came to convey the imperial edict of reward this time was the sixth-rank blue-feathered eunuch An Dehai, and Lord Qiao was walking towards him from a distance with the eunuch An, Shao Quanzhong was full of confusion.
He poked Zhang Zhidong beside him and said, "Brother Xiaoda, why is it that the court sometimes sends eunuchs to convey imperial edicts, and sometimes sends imperial edicts? Is there any pattern to this?"
Zhang Zhidong certainly understood, and whispered to Shao Quanzhong, "In our dynasty, eunuchs are not allowed to leave the capital without the emperor's order. Generally, the emperor sends eunuchs to officials in various places in the form of imperial letters. Only when the emperor has special favors for someone, he can send eunuchs out individually to convey formal rewards."
"Oh, I have seen eunuchs many times. Does this mean that the court has given me special favors?"
"Of course. It is very troublesome for eunuchs to leave the capital. They need a special 'decree' from the emperor and a permit issued by the Ministry of War. Leaving the capital without permission will result in beheading. The emperor likes to use court letters to avoid trouble. Court letters are kept secret, and the eunuchs' public edicts of rewards must be announced to the world. This time, the great achievement of suppressing the Guangdong bandits must be announced to the world, so the eunuchs were sent out."
Before the two of them finished their muttering, Eunuch An had already stood up and took out the imperial edict. Lord Qiao had already taken the lead and knelt down, and a large group of people knelt down.
"Follow the sky..."
Shao Quanzhong automatically skipped the imperial edict drafted by Zhang Zhidong's two fellow top scorers in the imperial examination, which no one could understand, and went straight to the point.
Qiao Songnian was given the title of Minister of War, Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, and was appointed as the Prince's Tutor and first-class marquis, a title that was hereditary.
Shao Quanzhong was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and concurrently the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Governor-General of Shaanxi and other places, Superintendent of Military Affairs, and concurrently in charge of food and pay, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was granted the title of first-class earl, and the title was hereditary for three generations. His mother and wife were both granted the title of first-class ladies. His eldest son, Shao Jiming, was granted the title of Qingche Duwei, and his second son, Shao Jisi, was granted the title of Yunqi Wei.
Wu Wenxi was awarded the title of first-class baron for his contribution in founding the Huai Army, and the title was hereditary.
Zhang Zhidong was promoted to Governor of Henan.
……
The foreign general Ma Han was promoted to the general of Zhenjiang.
……
Le Sen was granted the status of a Jinshi and promoted to the prefect of Xi'an.
……
After reading out all the rewards for everyone, An Dehai's mouth became dry and everyone knelt down until their legs and feet were numb.
From Lord Qiao on down, the Huai Army system was promoted. Ma Yukun, the lowest-ranking officer, was appointed as the garrison commander of Zhuozhen (now Zhouzhi).
Even Liao Rong, who was far away in London, and Emery, who was far away in Berlin, were given official titles because of their meritorious services in the Battle of Nanjing because of the "navy, artillery and engineers they trained."
Except for the two naval commanders Liao Rong and Ma Han and Zhang Zhidong, most of them were appointed to Shaanxi and Gansu.
It was within Qiao's expectation that he would not be crowned a king, but a first-class marquisate that would be hereditary. Those bastard military ministers would certainly use the excuse that the previous emperor's promise to crown him a king was made out of haste and they would not obey the imperial edict.
He had already asked the eunuch An Da. Zeng Guofan was also a first-class marquis, but he was only given the title of Prince Taibao, which was the same level as Qiao Songnian's Prince Taifu, but the honor was a little less.
It seems that the imperial court has finally recognized the Huai Army's achievement of "first breaking through Nanjing". Lord Qiao is already satisfied to be able to defeat Zeng Guofan a little bit.
After reading the imperial edict, An Dehai looked at Qiao Songnian with a smile, "The emperor's grace is as great as the heavens and the earth. Congratulations to Lord Qiao on your promotion. The two palaces' old Buddhas have specifically instructed that Lord Qiao does not need to come to the capital to thank the emperor."
Seeing Qiao Songnian in a daze, An Dehai sighed.
"A month ago, Duolong'a led the 10th Battalion of Horse and Infantry to attack the Guangdong bandit Lan Dashun in Xi'an Prefecture, but was unfortunately shot in the head and died in the battle. Now the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu is deteriorating. Please ask Lord Qiao and Lord Shao to lead the Huai Army into Shaanxi as soon as possible to quell the rebellion."
(End of this chapter)