Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 55: The Foreign Bombardment Incident
Ye Youyu and Dongxue returned to the room. Seeing Dongxue's excited face, Ye Youyu asked, "What are you so happy about?"
Dong Xue said, "Miss, didn't you hear what the eldest young lady said? Hao Guan went to the South China Sea, not to Huachahao."
Ye Youyu smiled faintly and said, "So what? Whether he goes to the South China Sea or Huachahao, what does it have to do with me! We just need to do our own duties well."
Dongxue said: " But ..."
Ye Youyu said, "Also, Hao Guan may have been in the South China Sea these two days, but it is not certain that he did not go to Huachahao. Sister-in-law may have said this with good intentions. However... it is a little too obvious. Can't you see it?"
Although Dongxue didn't quite understand what he said, she always believed in Ye Youyu's wisdom and judgment, and she was disappointed all of a sudden.
Seeing her disappointed look, Ye Youyu smiled and said, "Look, that's you. You're disappointed because you have restless thoughts. People shouldn't have excessive expectations, so that they can reduce unnecessary troubles. Do you remember what I told you the day before yesterday?"
Dongxue sighed and nodded, but still couldn't help but said, "But...but I think Haoguan treats you very well."
Ye Youyu said, "He's not only good to me. Didn't you see how he treats Changzi and other people around him? You see how much he dotes on Xia Qing, but he was afraid that I would be jealous of her, so what did he say to me on the second day of our wedding? 'Xia Qing is a meritorious person, so let her suffer as long as she hasn't made a big mistake.' He didn't mention doting, but talked about merit, and his tone was indifferent, as if she was a maid who had made merit and was tolerated for her mischief. Is that really the case? Over the past two days, think about it yourself, is Haoguan's indulgence towards Xia Qing really just because she has made merit? In my opinion, this statement and this tone are all intended to make people feel fearless towards her, and this intention must be deep. I even think that Xia Qing's merits may have been arranged by him. Maybe he had planned for Xia Qing to have a foothold in the Wu family a long time ago."
Dongxue was a little stunned by what she heard. However, if a male owner expressed his intention to protect his favorite maid to his wife shortly after marriage, the more he protected her, the more difficult it would be for the mistress to make things difficult for the maid.
"He is good to everyone. So, don't think too much." Ye Youyu said: "Think about what kind of life we lived when we were in the Ye family? What kind of life are we living here now? People should not be too greedy. As long as we live happily in this Wu Garden, why think so much! You are just asking for trouble!"
Just then, someone knocked on the door, followed Xia Qing into the room, and called out, "Third Young Lady."
This time when Wu Chengjian went out, he took Xia Qing with him. Seeing her come in, Ye Youyu asked, "Hao Guan is back?"
"No." Xia Qing said, "I just came back from Nanhai and went to the bank again." As she spoke, she handed over a bottle of plaster: "Here."
Ye Youyu asked: "What is this?"
Xia Qing said, "Hao Guan and I went to Xichi Hall in Nanhai. Hao Guan asked about the eldest young master's condition. By the way, I asked about you, Third Young Madam. Third Young Madam, you were injured recently? No wonder you don't look very well."
She walked in the room and saw Ye Youyu's face after removing her makeup.
Ye Youyu took the bottle of ointment and was stunned for a moment.
Xia Qing smiled and said, "These past two days, Hao Guan forced Mr. Er He to dig out many treasures from Xichi Hall to make this bottle of medicine. Mr. Er He's beard was so angry that it stood up, hehe."
Ye Youyu opened the bottle cap and saw that the plaster was like ice and snow, feeling cool on the skin, without any medicinal smell, but with a faint fragrance.
Xia Qing said, "This is a prescription for external application to remove scars and internal administration to remove blood stasis. Wait for Mr. He to come and check the old man's pulse tomorrow. Then, we can come to Ritianju to check the pulse of the third young lady and then prescribe a prescription."
After saying this, she left. Before leaving, she turned back and said, "Although Third Young Master's words are mean and annoying, he actually has a very good heart. You will know after spending more time with him."
She finally turned around and walked out. Dongxue whispered, "Girl...Haoguan is worried about your injury."
After hearing these words, Ye Youyu looked at the bottle again and felt an inexplicable energy surge up from his chest and abdomen. It took a long time for it to dissipate. He said calmly, "I know he's a good person. Didn't Xia Qing say that? He has a very good heart. I'm his first wife now, and it's his duty to care about his wife's health. Both of us are just doing our own duties."
Putting aside the children's thoughts, some things that seem small but actually have far-reaching impacts are happening on the outskirts of Guangzhou waters, outside the Lingdingyang.
The Lao Wanshan Islands are a series of islands leading to the South China Sea from the Pearl River Estuary. Macau is a few dozen miles to the northwest, and Hong Kong is a few dozen miles to the northeast. To the north of the Lao Wanshan Islands is the Pearl River Estuary - which was called the Lingdingyang at that time. To the south of the Lao Wanshan Islands is the Greater South China Sea region and there are no more large-scale archipelagos close to the mainland.
The main island of this archipelago is Lao Wanshan Island. There is a fishing village on the island, also called Lao Wanshan Village. Although the fishing village is remote, it has a unique sense of tranquility and prosperity.
On this day, the fishermen in Lao Wanshan Village were drying their nets when they suddenly saw a tall mast approaching in the wind from afar.
"Ah, is that the foreign devil's ship?"
How come the foreign ghosts’ ships came here?
Although this is the only way for the Pearl River to enter the South China Sea, it is very different from the Dahengqin Mountain in the northwest.There are fairly wide straits between the Lantau Island in the northeast and the northeast. Fishermen often see various large foreign ships when they go out fishing, but these foreign ships have never come so close to Lao Wanshan Island!
Just when the fishermen were puzzled——
"Boom, boom--" the sound of cannons rang out.
An urgent military intelligence report from Xiangshan County was placed on Zhu Gui's desk.
The situation in which British gunboats bombarded Lao Wanshan Island and then landed to do something unknown was first discovered by the Portuguese in Macau.
They were worried that the British were going to take advantage of the opportunity to plot against the Portuguese interests in the Macao lease, so they secretly sent a message to the Xiangshan County government. After much deliberation, the Xiangshan County Magistrate finally decided to have his advisor - fortunately his advisor was also from Shaoxing - write a letter to the advisor of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi to mention the matter. By the time the Qing Dynasty's officialdom had developed to this point, advisors had formed a system that was semi-independent of the chief official.
After Cai Qinghua learned about this, he urgently ordered Xiangshan County to investigate the matter and report back. Xiangshan County then sent people to Lao Wanshan Island. Looking around, they saw the devastation everywhere. After being horrified, they compiled the situation into military intelligence and reported it to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
This back and forth naturally took quite a bit of time, but it also gave people from all sides some mental preparation.
Zhu Gui had this buffer, so he did not appear furious after receiving the military intelligence. He asked several of his staff members, "What is the intention of the barbarians in doing this?"
His staff were either good at tax calculations, criminal law, or official struggles. None of them had the ability to handle foreign affairs, let alone have an international perspective. Although Zhu Gui was the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, his specific government affairs capabilities were only worse than those of his advisers.
Fortunately, Cai Qinghua was well prepared and had already asked Lu Guanhuan about this matter, so he was able to explain: "I heard that the power of Western countries has fluctuated. The Portuguese who rented Macao seem to be not as strong as the English. Therefore, the foreign ships that come to the Thirteen Hongs for trade are mostly English ships. However, they came to China to pay tribute later, so they could not rent a place near the coast like Portugal."
Zhu Gui asked, "Are the English coveting Macau?"
Cai Qinghua said: "Maybe they are eyeing Macau and want to replace the Portuguese, or they may be eyeing the other side of Lingdingyang. Lu Guanhuan said that the foreign barbarians have secretly landed in Hong Kong Aberdeen and Jiulong Mountain in Xin'an County many times. Their evil intentions can be imagined."
"The wolf's ambition is unpredictable!" Zhu Gui cursed the British from a distance, and then asked: "What about Lao Wanshan? Where is it?"
Cai Qinghua said: "The old Wanshan has no products, and its terrain is not suitable for garrisoning and opening a port. If the population is too large, let alone food, there will not even be enough water to drink. Therefore, although it controls the passage between Lingdingyang and the South China Sea, there has never been a garrison since ancient times. There is only a small fishing village on it. However, the barbarians may use this as a springboard to covet Macau or Hong Kong. Who knows."
"Even if there is only one fishing village, it is still the territory of our Qing Dynasty!" Zhu Gui said, "The barbarians invaded our territory and hurt our people. We must not let them off lightly. Who supervised the British who bombarded Lao Wanshan?"
Cai Qinghua said: "There is no evidence left on the island, but according to the Portuguese, it should be the English East India Company. The East India Company...has business dealings with all the Thirteen Hongs."
Zhu Gui frowned slightly, then said: "Then send a letter to Guangdong Customs and ask them to investigate this matter thoroughly!"
The official document was quickly delivered to the Guangdong Customs. After seeing the document, Jishan sneered and said, "Let's not talk about whether the bombardment is true or false. If it is false, it is naturally meaningless. If it is true, it is military affairs. The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi pushed the military affairs to the Guangdong Customs. What a bullshit!"
Hutab next to him asked, "What should we do?"
Ji Shan said, "Seal the document. It's not our business. Why should we get involved? But let's ask the Thirteenth Lines what's going on. If old man Zhu makes any excessive demands, let Pan Youjie handle it for me."
Hutabu suddenly asked, "Should we inform Lord Liu? If there is any change in this matter, it may be a big handle for He Zhongtang to use."
Jishan raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "It seems that it is right to change you back."
Hutabu bowed quickly and said with a flattering smile: "Thank you very much for the compliment, Master."
