Chapter 63 Chapter 63

There is a reason why Zuo Zongtang thinks highly of Liu Jintang so much.Liu Jintang is a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan, whose name is Yizhai. He donated to the county magistrate as a supervisor.His father's name was Hourong. He joined the Hunan Army in his early years and died fighting the Taiping Army.In order to avenge his father, he abandoned the county magistrate and joined Zeng Guofan with his uncle Liu Songshan. After Liu Songshan was promoted by Zeng Guofan to be a battalion officer, he handled copywriting for Liu Songshan, and accompanied him with military books and war strategies in his spare time, which won Zeng Guofan's praise.Liu Songshan faced the enemy in front of the battle, and whenever he had any doubts, he would discuss it with him.Every time he offered advice to Liu Songshan, Liu Songshan won every battle, and he accumulated meritorious service to the rank of admiral, which was as famous as Bao Chao; And sent seven battalions under his command.Liu Jintang lost his father in his early years, and has always regarded Liu Songshan as his father.Liu Songshan was also unmarried due to years of fighting, so he regarded Jintang as his son.

Liu Jintang was only twenty-eight years old at the time. Such an achievement at such a young age was indeed rare in the Qing Dynasty at that time. On the night Liu Jintang arrived in Tongguan, Zuo Zongtang asked Liu Jintang about the situation of the various armies in Shaanxi.Liu Jintang said: "Uncle Shirong, in terms of what he saw after he entered Shaanxi, the Shaanxi affairs are so difficult to deal with. In fact, it is because he is in the army and not in the generals. The food and pay are second." When Zuo Zongtang saw Liu Jintang making such remarks, he was taken aback immediately, and couldn't help but asked with a smile: "Yizhai, the first thing that comes to mind when the headquarters receives the order from the supervisor is the salary. You know, every time the headquarters goes out for an expedition, the total Put pay and food as the first priority. The so-called soldiers and horses are not moved, food and grass go first, and this is what you are talking about. Now you are talking about food and pay second, which is beyond the expectations of the Ministry. For several years, you have been focusing on military affairs Ye, tell me about it."

Liu Jintang thought for a while, and said, "Uncle Shi, there are only two of us, uncle and nephew, and Wansheng was not thoughtful enough. Uncle Shi should not blame Wansheng for lying, nor should he laugh at Wansheng's ignorance. Wansheng boldly thought that now in Shanxi The bandit of Zhang Zongyu, the thief, mainly consisted of cavalry, followed by cavalry. And I entered the army of Shanxi, with cavalry as the main force, followed by cavalry. Zeng Xiangguo's failure in Xuzhou for a long time was also due to me. The reason why officers and soldiers from all walks of life are more on foot and less on horseback.”

Zuo Zongtang laughed and said: "What Yizhai said is very true. You probably have heard that Yurui was sent to Mongolia to buy horses by the imperial court, right? Now Yurui has transported the horses to Lanzhou. Mutu Shan is choosing generals and braves to set up a riding camp, and I believe it will be successful in a month. Yizhai, you probably didn't expect that the headquarters would have such a policy, right?" Liu Jintang smiled slightly, and said: "Not only did Wansheng know about Yurui's transport of horses to Lanzhou, but he also heard recently that Marshal Mu is gradually distributing these horses to each battalion for slaughter because of the shortage of food and pay for the standard supervision battalion. Food. Wan Sheng also heard that Uncle Shi asked Yurui to purchase more than 2,000 horses, but Yurui actually delivered only 1,800 horses. If the supervisor still has no food at this time, the horses sent by Yurui should be There are about a thousand horses left."

Before Liu Jintang finished speaking, Zuo Zongtang's eyes widened in shock, his mouth opened wide, and he looked confused.Seeing Zuo Zongtang stunned, Liu Jintang couldn't help but continued, "Uncle Shi was so surprised, maybe he didn't expect it? In fact, it's not surprising when you think about it. Yurui hastily ordered, how could he buy thousands of horses in ten days? War horses? If you don’t use some old, weak, sick and disabled, how can he be able to deal with you? Marshal Mu has been stationed at the border for a long time, and he knows the quality of horses best. Horses that cannot be used on the battlefield will not be slaughtered by soldiers to satisfy their hunger. What's the use of letting him keep it? You can't even afford fodder."

At this moment, Zuo Zongtang seemed to wake up, and said: "Yizhai, where did you hear what you said just now? If it is really like what you said, the tens of thousands of taels of horses purchased by the headquarters Silver, isn’t it a waste of money? Is what you said true? Rumors can’t do it!” Liu Jintang replied: "Uncle, don't worry, Mourinho's military report will be delivered in about one or two days. But no matter what, Wan Sheng has already predicted that not many of the horses purchased by Yurui will be able to actually go to the battlefield. , I’m afraid we won’t even be able to build a riding camp. Uncle Shi, Wansheng has always had a question, whether to talk about it or not?”

Zuo Zongtang hurriedly said: "Just say what you have to say, don't hide it. In this regard, you might as well make Uncle Shouqing happy." Liu Jintang said: "I would like to ask Uncle Shi, the purchase of horses is for the purpose of building a riding camp. Why doesn't Uncle Shi entrust Heilongjiang General Tepchin or Jilin General Fu Ming'a to handle such a major event?" Zuo Zongtang said in a low voice: "Tepchin is ill, and Fu Ming, our hall has never dealt with him, and some believe that he can't see it. What's more, Fu Ming has always been greedy, and our hall is also afraid of him." The lion opened his mouth wide. The main hall sent Yurui to buy horses outside the mouth because Yurui was in charge of the Taipu Temple, so he should know the advantages and disadvantages of horses!"

Liu Jintang interjected: "Everyone in the world knows that Yu Rui is the best at eating horses, but they have never heard of him being good at horses. No one can match how much meat and tendons a horse can produce." Zuo Zongtang hastily waved his hand and said, "Yi Zhai, don't go on talking. The hall wants to discuss with you. Right now, people from all walks of life in Shaanxi are running out of food and pay. How can we stabilize the morale of the army? You have been in Shaanxi for some time. , and fought against Nian Ni and bandits, tell me about it." Liu Jintang murmured: "Uncle Shi Rong, Wansheng thought that compared with food and salary, food is the first, followed by salary. Uncle Shi should first send fast horses to Henan and Shanxi provinces to ask Zhao Changling Futai and Li Henian Futai for help. First, borrow a batch of food for emergency. The imperial court has ordered Zhao Futai to help Shaanxi military affairs, so he has to borrow food from me. Shanxi is a neighboring province of Shaanxi, and Li Futai has no reason to sit idly by. Once the food arrives , The morale of the army can be stable.

"In the second step, Uncle Shi can go to the imperial court and ask Jilin General Fu Ming'a to send an artillery team to Shaanxi to prevent the Nian army from running wild. If the salary is available, Uncle Shi must first send someone to contact Fu Ming'a and ask him Purchasing a batch of horses for the army, the initial purchase number is 5,000, and the number is gradually increased to 10,000. Uncle Shi will draw troops from various battalions around Tongguan to set up a cavalry battalion, and assign people who understand this way as battalion officers. Please divide the commander-in-chief and admiral ranks, and they will be able to form an army within three to five months at the latest.

"Lansheng boldly believed that the road of Shanxi and Gansu should be followed by cavalry, bombarded by artillery battalions, and encircled and wiped out by infantry. Only then can great results be achieved." After Liu Jintang finished speaking, he opened the protective book beside him, took out a few sketches from the protective book, handed it to Zuo Zongtang and said, "Please look, Uncle Shi, this is a pursuit route drawn by Wansheng himself. Finally, here is It is the place to encircle and wipe out the Nian thieves." Zuo Zongtang took the blueprint, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The hall is only fifty-six years old, but compared with you, it is indeed old. Among the current governors, the hall thinks that he has read the most military books and is not afraid of war. , but compared with you, a young man, you are a little slow to think about things. People, you can't accept your old age!"

Liu Jintang hurriedly said: "Wansheng didn't treat Uncle Shi as an outsider, so he said this boldly. How did Uncle Shi say these things? This is not only to slap Wansheng in the face, but actually to force Wansheng to shut up later!" Zuo Zongtang took Liu Jintang's hand and said emotionally: "Yi Zhai, you and I are like father and son. What I said just now is not self-effacing, but what I mean. I am really old! Yi Zhai Zhai, you should know that Honbutang fought in Fujian and Zhejiang for several years. The climate there is almost the same as my Hunan. Not only is the climate in Shaanxi and Gansu very different from my Hunan, but the topography is also very different from what Honbutang imagined. The same. This is actually the reason why the Headquarters has been passive after being ordered to supervise the military affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu. Hou'an and Xiaxian have been here for several years and are familiar with the situation here, but the superiors will not allow them to stay here for one more day. Headquarters There is something about the hall, and there is no one who wants to discuss it! Someone wrote to the hall from Beijing, saying that it was an idea from the official Xiangguo. "Guanwen, this old brat, is trying to ruin the fame of Benbutang I here! There is an old saying in Hunan: 'There is nothing more poisonous than a woman's heart', but Benbutang thinks this is wrong. The Benbutang thinks that the most poisonous thing is the heart of the official! This bastard, the Benbutang will find him sooner or later to settle the score! Yizhai, as you said, the Benbutang is temporarily stationed in Jietongguan or Lintong, first borrow from Zhao Changling and Li Henian Food emergency. After Hu Xueyan borrowed the foreign money, the first thing in the headquarter hall was to select brave men and set up a riding camp." Zuo Zongtang then dispatched several groups of fast horses and summoned generals from all walks of life to discuss matters in Tongguan overnight. After Liu Jintang returned to the camp, Zuo Zongtang lay in bed for a long time without sleep, thinking over and over every word Liu Jintang said. Zuo Zongtang wandered around in the middle of the night, when suddenly there came out a sentence that made Miss Xiang incomprehensible: "Having a child should be like Liu Yizhai, and giving birth to a child should be like Liu Yizhai! If it weren't for the prompt reminder from this son of a bitch, the hall would not know how many detours it would have taken." Miss Xiang was afraid to startle Zuo Zongtang, she was pretending to sleep on her side, but now seeing Zuo Zongtang speak, she had no choice but to open her eyes and said: "This servant always thinks that the master stays up all night because he is worrying about the situation in front of him. I was worried, but I was thinking about Yizhai. Liu Yizhai was about the same age as the young master Xiaowei. The slaves thought that although Yizhai was familiar with military books and brilliant, it was a pity that he was born as a prison student. We Xiaowei, but a Juren!" Zuo Zongtang shook his head with a smile and said: "The two of them can't be compared like this! Although Yizhai was born in a supervisor, what he learned is exactly what he is used today. Don't say that Xiaowei is just a juren, even some of the first-ranked People can't compare with him. In the Qing Dynasty, there is no shortage of ministers, military aircraft, and governors, but there is a lack of young talents like Yizhai." Almost at the same time when the generals arrived at Tongguan, Zuo Zongtang received an urgent leave form from Xi'an from Shaanxi Governor Qiao Songnian. Qiao Songnian reported on the leave form: "Suddenly suffering from dizziness and diarrhea emergency, I have reported a vacancy to the court. Please send a committee member to Xi'an to take care of the food and payment matters." Zuo Zongtang dropped his seal, which is tantamount to demonstrating to Zuo Zongtang!Zuo Zongtang tore up Qiao Songnian's leave form and threw it into the wastebasket, pretending he hadn't received it. The generals who came to Tongguan to meet with Zuo Zongtang this time were: Liu Dian, who was assigned to Shaanxi as an inspector and assistant to handle military affairs in Shaanxi; Liu Duanmian, the commander-in-chief of the vanguard, Zhou Shaolian, the commander-in-chief of the second pioneer of the Chu Army, Yang Hegui, the commander-in-chief of Liu Songshan's tent, Wu Shimai, Zhang Yueling, the governor of Gansu, Gao Liansheng, the admiral of Guangdong, etc.In addition, the five admirals who had fought with Liu Rong in Shaanxi, as well as the newly appointed admiral Guo Baochang of Shaanxi, and Huang Ding, the commander-in-chief of Fubiao who had fought with Qiao Songnian for many years, also rushed to Tongguan. The generals from all walks of life have been fighting with the Nian, Hui and other armies for many days in the Shaanxi border, and they are more or less embarrassed. Coupled with the lack of food and restlessness, they have lost the calmness of the past. Zuo Zongtang knew the hardships of everyone, so on the day of his arrival, he asked Tongguan magistrate Yamen to buy a few cattle and sheep to slaughter on his behalf.Liu Songshan smiled and said to Zuo Zongtang: "Your handsome man, I have been in a lowly position for decades, and I have never been so greedy! I have been in Shaanxi for three months and I don't taste meat. This Qiao Heqi, he can treat the old Xiang The tens of thousands of troops in the army have suffered." Liu Songshan laughed out loud after saying this, and intentionally looked at Guo Baochang and Huang Ding who were sitting opposite, pretending not to hear. Zuo Zongtang quietly asked Liu Dian, "Is Qiao Futai seriously ill?" Liu Dian was taken aback, shook his head silently, and then whispered: "The complexion of Futai is better than anyone in the seat!" Zuo Zongtang smiled wryly, cleared his throat and said, "Let's discuss the matter. Everyone, talk about how this battle should be fought." That night, Zuo Zongtang drew up four memorials to the court under the lamp. One is "Please Urge All Provinces to Quickly Relieve the Emergency Rescue in Shaanxi", the other is "Please Order Jilin General Fu Ming'a to Send Skilled Gunners to Shaanxi to Help the Suppression", and the other is "Qiao Songnian's Sudden Illness Unable to apply for Liu Dian's Temporary Administration of Shaanxi Governor's Book, and an article of "Please order generals from Jilin and Heilongjiang to purchase good horses for training and riding camps in Tongguan".After the 40% discount, Zuo Zongtang attached two more films, "Pre-Chen and Suppression of the Returned Bandits" and "Bao Chao's Injury and Illness". Due to the rapid changes in the military situation, generals from all walks of life only stayed in Tongguan for two days before returning to camp on horseback. Before leaving, Zuo Zongtang distributed the 50,000 taels of rice transferred from Hankou Liangtai to various generals to take back to the army, and handed over the only 80,000 taels of payment to the various generals to charge the battalions for ten days. The salary, talk about stabilizing the morale of the army. Not long after Zuo Zongtang left Tongguan, imperial decrees began to be delivered one after another.The imperial court approved all the requests from Zuo Zongtang, but vetoed Liu Dian's provisional appointment as governor of Shaanxi. Zong Tang saved face. Zuo Zongtang had his reasons, but Qiao Songnian also had Qiao Songnian's grace.Although Zuo Zongtang is an imperial envoy and the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, it is not easy for him to replace the governor of a province.Zuo Zongtang had no other choice but to be sullen all by himself. At this time, Li Hongzhang succeeded Zeng Guofan as imperial envoy to control the Nian forces in Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Anhui and other provinces, and fought against the Eastern Nian army led by Lai Wenguang and Ren Huabang; rate. Three months later, the first installment of 600,000 taels of foreign money borrowed by Hu Xueyan was delivered to Tongguan. Hu Xueyan said in a secret letter to Zuo Zongtang: "Another 1.4 million taels of loan has already been conceived. Bank of East Asia has agreed to commercial loan, but the interest is 8%. Si Li is negotiating with Bank of East Asia through Sheng Xingsun. , It has been promised to six per cent, and Dong Yayin has not yet replied." Zuo Zongtang hurriedly sent an express letter to Hu Xueyan, saying: "If Bank of East Asia insists on not doing anything, you can agree, but you can change the long game into a short game." It was expected by Zuo Zongtang that foreigners took the opportunity to raise the loan interest, but Zuo Zongtang was shocked by the sudden increase. He could only reduce the repayment date by shortening the repayment date. Loss, besides this, there is really no other way. On the second day after Zuo Zongtang received the money, he flew to Fu Ming'a, asking him to send the purchased war horses to Tongguan as soon as possible, and promised to pay for the money when the horses arrived. Zuo Zongtang then wrote to the generals from all walks of life, and sent people to Tongguan to collect one month's salary.Soon, military rice borrowed from Shanxi and Henan provinces arrived in Tongguan; 2,500 gunners selected by Fu Ming'a had also begun to enter Shaanxi one after another. After the 5,000 horses arrived, Liu Jintang, appointed by Zuo Zongtang, went to each battalion to select soldiers, and another ten cavalry battalions were formed to be commanded and trained by Liu Jintang. After repeated consideration, Zuo Zongtang decided to give Liu Jintang a heavy responsibility and use it boldly to solve the contradiction that the commanders of the Hunan and Chu armies could not continue. Bao Chao's failure to disobey this time was a big blow to Zuo Zongtang. If the commanders of the Hunan and Chu armies gathered together, I believe Bao Chao would not dare to disobey his orders due to illness.Zuo Zongtang has already realized that Bao Chao, Liu Songshan and other famous generals are approaching, and it is really time to train a few substitutes for them. Zuo Zongtang sent a letter to Zeng Guofan about Liu Jintang's training camp, and Zeng Guofan wrote back to praise it, calling it a wise move, and praising Liu Jintang's "certain achievements in the future". Zuo Zongtang accepted the letter with a smile, not taking it seriously.He has always had doubts about Zeng Guofan's knowledge of people.But Zuo Zongtang still sent Zeng Guofan's reply to Liu Jintang for reading.Tears of gratitude flowed from Liu Jintang's eyes.From then on, Liu Jintang worked harder and almost lived and ate in the barracks.When he was free, he either studied military books or battle strategies, or discussed with the battalion officers the methods of cavalry battalion combat and the key points of battle defense; the tenth battalion and three cavalry bravery were actually practiced by him after three months. Zuo Zongtang personally went to the camp to watch the drill of riding bravely. He was very satisfied after watching it. After a few days, he ordered Liu Jintang to take this team and the original old troops to the front line. Shaanxi's passive situation began to gradually reverse.