Chapter 43 2. The battle of Mawei ruined the half-life fame of two Qingliu famous ministers

The disastrous defeat of the Battle of Horsetail shocked the whole country, and the ruling and opposition parties felt very sad. What was even more indignant and unforgivable was the behavior of the two officials stationed in the shipyard.Zhang Peilun, the Office of Fujian Maritime Affairs, and He Ruzhang, the Minister of Shipping, were greedy for life and afraid of death, and fled the battle. After the entire army on the river on the 3rd was wiped out, the 4th and 5th were bombarded by French ships, and the shipyard was in chaos due to no one in charge. And the loss was heavy. Empress Dowager Cixi was very angry, and immediately dismissed Zhang Peilun and He Ruzhang from office; two days later, Zhang Peilun recommended Xu Yanxu and Tang Jiong and added a charge of "abuse of security guards". The frontier fortress was exiled and exiled to the army.Then He Jing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Zhang Zhaodong, the governor of Fujian, were dismissed together, ordered to return to their hometowns, and Zuo Zongtang, a 73-year-old Dongge University scholar and military minister, was ordered to go to Fuzhou to supervise military affairs, hoping to use his prestige to appease him. In the southeast, deter legal persons.Yang Changjun was transferred to be the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.At the same time, he issued an edict to condemn France's crimes and openly declared war on France.

When the imperial decree came to Fuzhou, Zhang Peilun was still hiding in Pengtian Township, 30 miles away from Mawei Port. Zhang Peilun has been in Pengtian Township for eleven days, and during these eleven days, he has been in extreme pain.On the afternoon of the accident, he was supported by the shipyard co-manager and a group of workers to the foot of Gushan Mountain, and wanted to settle down in a farmhouse, but the farmer heard that they had escaped from the shipyard, so he refused to let them in.The laborer said in particular: "This is Mr. Zhang, who runs the Fujian Haijiang Association." The farmer looked at Zhang Peilun coldly, and said disdainfully, "We don't accept Mr. Zhang either! Mawei Port was defeated, and the adults who led the troops should respond." Hold your ground, soldiers die on the battlefield, but you run away as a grown-up, do you have a conscience?"

After that, the door was closed with a "bang". Zhang Peilun felt ashamed after receiving these accusations, so he had no choice but to move on.After walking for more than ten miles, I came to Pengtian Township.Drawing lessons from Gushan, they no longer looked for ordinary farmhouses but went to the village head.The mayor of Pengtian Township is an old gentleman. After hearing the introduction, he said disdainfully to the disheveled Zhang Peilun: "Are you that Zhang Youqiao who is known as the master of Qingliu? Huh, you have today! I think my Tang Just because of a small mistake, you went to the chapter to punish him, and the Ministry of Industry interceded for him. You insisted on not giving up, and finally caused him to be demoted two grades. The old man thought you were a decent person , it turns out that you are a truly irresponsible and shameless traitor. Get out, the old man's family can't tolerate you as a duplicity!"

This ridicule really wiped out Zhang Peilun's face, and he wanted to dig the ground to hide. Originally wanted to leave Pengtian Township and go far away, but after these two rounds of insults, Zhang Peilun became weaker and weaker, and he couldn't go any further. Fortunately, there was a nunnery nearby, and there were only one old and one young in the nunnery. A nun, all of them are timid women. Seeing a large group of men in official uniforms, they dare not stop them. The escapees from the shipyard no longer dare to play the brand of Mr. Zhang, and live in the nunnery indiscriminately. .

On the second and third days, Zhang Peilun sent people to the shipyard one after another to inquire about the news. When he came back at night, he said that the French army had fired artillery at the shipyard every day for the past two days. less than. On the evening of the fourth day, the dispatched workers came back and said: the French warship sailed away, and the guns stopped, but the people in the shipyard hated the two adults to death, and Mr. He sent the silver back to Fuzhou twice and left the shipyard.The worker said to Zhang Peilun, don't go back to the shipyard, you will be beaten to death when you go back, why not just stay here and go back to Fuzhou in a few days.

After hearing these words, Zhang Peilun felt unspeakable fear and regret in his heart.He knew that his sin was too great.The French warship has been in the ponytail for more than 20 days, but it has believed lies and failed to see its true intentions, how confused it is! As soon as the cannon fire rang out, I was panic-stricken and couldn't come up with anything. Where did all the ideas go? Could it be said that military planning can only be produced in a quiet study, and when it comes to the battlefield with real swords and guns, Can't come up with any strategy?Especially what I shouldn't, I shouldn't have left the shipyard, how could I be so ignorant and an asshole that day!

When Zhang Peilun thought of his heart, he beat his chest and back, and wailed bitterly!He remembered that only three months ago, he was an admirable and formidable left deputy governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. For more than ten years, he had impeached high officials, rectified eunuchs, discussed foreign affairs, and discussed military affairs. It has won a high reputation at home and abroad and is famous all over the world.Speaking of Zhang Peilun, who wouldn't praise him as a clean-cut celebrity with a penetrating Changhong and a knot like a bamboo?Many years ago, booksellers from Liulichang came to his door for those impressive memoirs, asking them to select some of them to engrave and print thousands of copies, so that those who admired him could recite them every day. Zhang Peilun promised to wait two years .If it wasn't for this out-of-date Fujian Military Affairs Commission, he came to this unlucky Mawei Shipyard, and it wouldn't be long before he could be promoted from the deputy capital envoy to the capital envoy, and from the capital envoy to the grand scholar. The emperor's memorial will be regarded as a classic by millions of scholars, benefiting the present and benefiting future generations.

But now, everything has changed, everything is shattered.Zhang Peilun thought that he would be severely punished, because the grievances were too extensive and there were too many enemies, those people would definitely make up crimes, make serious remarks, and might even be sentenced to behead and ransack the house. As for those memorabilia that sound like jade, they will become a pile of waste paper, and no one will pay attention to them anymore. From now on, the three characters "Zhang Peilun" will become synonymous with "only writing, not working", "a hero in words, a coward in his bones", etc., and will become a negative teaching material for scholar-bureaucrats for generations to come.

After thinking about it like this, Zhang Peilun lost all thoughts, his body was like a haggard tree, and he didn't even have the strength to get up. He lay stiff in the cold bed all day long, his breath was like a gossamer, and he was dying. After the imperial decree arrived in Fuzhou, the officials of the yamen who would run the yamen searched around, and finally found Zhang Peilun in the nunnery in Pengtian Township.After listening to the imperial decree, he was secretly glad that he didn't kill his head, and a trace of vitality recovered from his body.He had no reason or face to make any complaints. After kowtowing and thanking him, he put on his prison uniform and set foot on the garrison in a few days!Along the way, he was always worried, for fear of having a future life.

Sure enough, as he expected, many people went up to denounce him, and even many enemies of the Qingliu Party wanted to recall him from the garrison at this time, and hand it over to the Ministry of Punishment for a decision to be executed.Cixi weighed it and did not call him back to Beijing, but increased the period of border guards from five to eight years. Just as Zhang Peilun put on his prison clothes, Chen Baochen was hit by an arrow and fell off his horse.Originally, before the outbreak of the Battle of Mawei, Cixi had long been dissatisfied with Chen Baochen for agreeing to compensate the legal person for 500,000 military expenses. French warships entered from the mouth of the Yangtze River.

During his inspection tour, Chen Baochen saw with his own eyes that the military discipline of the coastal defense fortress was lax, the defense was lax, and the soldiers were ignorant of the use of gunpowder imported from the West.Gambling is prevalent in the army, and some people stay up all night, winning and losing as many as hundreds of taels overnight.It is almost routine for battalion officials to deduct military pay.What's more serious is that Chen Zhuo, the top general on the front line, is sluggish, greedy and extravagant, treacherous and arrogant. Not only is his character bad, but his talent is mediocre.After Chen Baochen returned to Jiangning, he told Zeng Guoquan the truth. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guoquan not only did not support Chen Baochen, but accused him of criticizing the frontline soldiers casually and disturbing the morale of the army. It turned out that Chen Yun was Zeng Guoquan's relative-in-law from the same hometown, and also a life-and-death friend who had come over the battlefield.When he was the governor of Shanxi, Chen was the inspector of Shanxi.When he was the governor of Jiang, he also played Chen as the commander of water, land and horse steps.Chen's greed and arrogance were not unknown, but Chen is his confidant, and he intends to protect it.Chen Baochen didn't know the depth of his words, and he spoke freely, how could he never be annoyed! However, Chen Baochen still upholds the upright and upright spirit he had when he was in Beijing, and believes that if he does not report the truth to the court, he will bear the heavy trust of the Queen Mother.Chen Baochen was worried about Zeng Guoquan's usual business of relying on the old, selling the old and neglecting his official affairs, so he gave Cixi a fierce memorial. His intelligence is enough to help his traitors, and his greed for power can make him proud. In Zeng Guoquan, he just used his in-laws and lost his understanding of others. In the country, he kept raising scoundrels and causing disasters in the army. Zeng Guoquan is appeasement, and he is disloyal to the empress dowager and the emperor." Now that Zeng Guoquan has been clicked, Chen Baochen simply vomited: "Since Zeng Guoquan was ordered to supervise the defense, he has always been enthusiastic at the beginning. When he is alone, he becomes decadent day by day, his old illness is getting worse, and his ambition is getting more and more frustrated. When he sees the guests, he lies on the couch and groans, talking about military opportunities. Then he burst into tears and said, watching his state of sorrow and suffering. He is almost like a person who will die at night. If you think it is true, how can you face the army with weak and weak spirits; Not long after Chen Baochen's secret trip came to Beijing, Zeng Guoquan was reported secretly by the eyes and ears of the court who usually paid a lot of money.When Zeng Guoquan and Chen Yun found out, they were furious.These people who go in with white knives and come out with red knives hate the scholar who is behind the scenes, and they will never be soft in revenge. On the one hand, Zeng Guoquan instigated people to report to the court, and charged Chen Baochen with a bribe of 50,000 taels of silver from the French for no reason.Some people also played to expose the old story: the recommendation of Xu Yanxu and Tang Jiong was the conspiracy of Zhang Peilun and Chen Baochen; since Zhang is an indiscriminate protector, Chen should not escape responsibility. In Jiangning City, Zeng Guoquan ignored Chen Baochen from then on.Zeng Guoquan would not allow him to participate in all the matters that the Minister of Nanyang Affairs should participate in, leaving Chen Baochen aside and having nothing to do.Chen Yun even instigated some soldiers and ruffians to make trouble around Chen Baochen's house, making unreasonable provocations, which made Chen Baochen lonely, desolate, unable to eat day, sleepless night, in an embarrassing situation, disturbed, feeling like sitting on pins and needles, like being in a stove, Extremely embarrassed! At this time, Chen Baochen regretted coming to Jiangning to be Zeng Laojiu's secretary, and realized that Qingliu can only exist in the capital, and if he leaves the circle of the capital, he will be alone and helpless and unable to move an inch; he finally understands that the world is complicated and the real things are difficult It is far from what can be imagined in the study. As for loyalty, integrity, honesty and self-discipline, the virtues admired by these scholars are only glorious in their articles, but in the real world, they do not have much high status, let alone There is no power at all! Chen Baochen's pedantry finally brought bitter fruits for himself.Empress Dowager Cixi took the same approach to Zhang Peilun, settled new accounts and old accounts together, issued an order together, and demoted Chen Baochen five grades in a row! Chen Baochen was physically and mentally exhausted, disheartened, and he didn't want to go back to the capital to be a lowly official in the capital, so he used his mother's excuse to go back to his hometown to serve his relatives.The court quickly approved it, fulfilling his "filial piety". On the day Chen Baochen left Jiangning, there was no one from the major yamen in Jiangning to see him off, but a group of Qiuba burned paper and burned cannons on the pier, meaning to send off the plague god, which made Chen Baochen angry and ashamed, wanting to cry without tears, and hurried away like a fish slipping through the net. Boat. Unexpectedly, when Chen Baochen returned to his hometown this time, he lived there for 24 years. He did not return to the capital until after Guangxu and Cixi passed away one after another, and Xuantong ascended the throne.Pitiful for an upright and clean celebrity, he didn't know whose hands he fell into in his life until he was dying! And when he left Ning sadly, the owner of Jianyuan in Prince Gong's mansion was congratulating privately, Gao Shen and Sun Yuwen of Prince Chun's mansion were secretly proud, and Li Hongzhang felt relieved as if he had let out a sigh of relief.As for those who were corrected by Zhang Peilun and Chen Baochen, they even celebrated each other with joy.There are also many people who have complex mentalities of hatred, dislike, jealousy, and contempt for Qingliu. At this time, they are all staring at Zhang Zhidong, the lucky one in Qingliu who has been a holy family and has excellent official luck in recent years. Let's see how capable he is! The situation of the Battle of Horsetail soon spread to Guangzhou, and then the oracle to severely punish Fujian officials and declare war on France was issued to all provinces. Zhang Zhidong felt very heavy these days.He is not only worried and angry about the defeat of the war, but also more painful about the misfortune of his old friends.He really didn't understand why Zhang Peilun, who had always been shrewd and strong, was so useless and useless on the battlefield. No matter how bad he was, he couldn't run away. The tall and tall image of Zhang Peilun in Zhang Zhidong's mind for many years began to fade, and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi couldn't help feeling a little contempt for his old friend. The imperial court has declared war on France. Guangdong and Guangxi have undoubtedly become the focus of preparations for war, and Guangdong is the top priority. The top military priority of Guangdong is to strengthen its weapons and equipment.Zhang Zhidong asked Zhang Shusheng to buy another 20 German Krupp steel guns for Guangdong through Li Hongzhang's relationship, and asked Peng Yulin to send someone to Hong Kong to buy a batch of guns and ammunition from a British arms dealer. At this time, Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun returned to Guangzhou from Vietnam. In the yamen signing room, Sang and Wang made a detailed report to Zhang Zhidong on their field trip to Vietnam for more than a month. At present, there are four Chinese troops in Vietnam, namely, the Guangxi Army stationed in Lang Son, led by Pan Dingxin, the governor of Guangxi, with about 3,000 troops, and the Yunnan Army stationed in Zhennanguan, led by the commander-in-chief Yang Yuke, with about 1,500 soldiers. There are about 1,200 Hunan Army stationed in Wenmi, led by the former chief minister Wang Debang, and about 4,000 Black Banner Army led by Liu Yongfu stationed in the Xuanguang area.Although the four groups of troops combined nearly ten thousand people, they were independent and did not form a unified force.In name, Pan Dingxin had the commanding power, but Yang, Wang, and Liu all refused to obey him.In fact, most of Pan Dingxin's Guangxi army were the children of Anhui, the new Huai army, with poor military discipline and weak strength. Pan himself followed the will of his old master Li Hongzhang, focusing on peace rather than war.Both Sang and Wang believed that Pan could not take on the heavy responsibility of the coach on the Vietnam battlefield. Zhang Zhidong listened attentively to the real news from the front, thinking in his heart, if Pan Dingxin can't be the coach, who will be the leader? Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun excitedly told Zhang Zhidong that they met a strange man Tang Jingsong in the forest of Xuanguang Mountain this time. Zhang Zhidong had already heard about Tang Jingsong a few months ago.He was originally the head of the official department.After the accident in Vietnam, he volunteered to enter Vietnam to appease the Black Banner Army for the imperial court.Tang Jingsong's action was an astonishing move for the official circles of the capital.As the rebellion of the Taiping Army and the Nian Army subsided, for more than ten years, the capital returned to the past era of Wen Tian Wu playing and singing and dancing.The officials of the various ministries in central Beijing are used to following the rules step by step and following the old ways. They hope that they will have less official duties, more money and quick promotion.Water transportation has long been restored, and sea transportation has also been unimpeded. Rice, melon, fruit, silk and tea from the south have been continuously transported into the capital.People in Beijing can sit back and enjoy the beauty of various places.Most Beijing officials are unwilling to be released. If they insist on releasing, it is best to be the governor of the two divisions. The second and third ranks are also considered to be afraid of the road, and they do everything possible to find a door to gain connections in order to change their transfer or simply get rid of it.When everyone was so used to it, a Tang Jingsong suddenly appeared, who wanted to leave the comfort zone of the capital and go to Wanli Juyu to appease Liu Yongfu who was screaming in the mountains and forests.Don't say that Vietnam is a small and barren country, and now it is in a time of fierce war and war, just to appease Liu Yongfu is extremely risky, if things don't work out, won't it make people laugh?The mature, steady, intelligent and sophisticated bureaucrats in the capital disapproved of Tang Jingsong's move.But there are also people who deeply appreciate it, thinking that this is the deed of a hero, as the so-called "seeking a prince from thousands of miles away".Without going through hardships and traveling thousands of miles, how can you achieve great achievements?Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guoquan and others appreciated it, as did Zhang Zhidong.He smiled and said to Sang and Wang: "Tang Jingsong is today's Zhang Qian and Ban Chao!" Sang Zhiping told Zhang Zhidong that Tang Jingsong had planned three strategies for Liu Yongfu: upper, middle and lower.The best strategy is to take advantage of Vietnam's internal and external troubles, raise the pole and revolt, and replace Ling Fu as the king of Vietnam.The worst policy is to stick to the Xuanguang area and wait for the legal person to gain power and be expelled.The middle strategy is to cooperate with Pan, Wang, Yang and others to defeat the legal person and maintain its position in Vietnam. Zhang Zhidong said: "Which policy did Liu Yongfu accept?" Wang Zhichun said: "The middle policy." Zhang Zhidong nodded and asked again: "Have you seen Liu Yongfu?" "I met him and spent three or four days with him," Wang Zhichun said. About Liu Yongfu, Zhang Zhidong only knows that he participated in the Tiandihui in his early years, fought against the imperial court, and led his troops to flee to Vietnam after failing. Little is known. "How about Liu Yongfu, is he available or not?" Sang Zhiping said: "Although this man can't read a few words, he has a clear mind and has never forgotten that he is Chinese. His Black Banner Army can still fight. Based on Tang Jingsong's middle policy accepted by him, we persuade He defeated the French, took advantage of his meritorious service to return home, and ended his wandering years in a foreign land. He agreed, but made three demands." Zhang Zhidong hurriedly asked, "What request does he have?" Sang Zhiping said: "First, he hopes that after returning to China, he can be given a corresponding official position, and at least half of his subordinates can be retained." Zhang Zhidong said: "It is right to be rewarded for meritorious service. It is also possible to discuss about keeping half of the old ministry. I will invite the court to discuss this matter in the future." "Liu Yongfu believed that Pan, Wang, and Yang were not to be relied upon, so he hoped that Tang Jingsong could go back to Guangxi to recruit a 2,000-strong army of disciples, who would be paid by the court." "This is also easy to handle!" Zhang Zhidong readily agreed. "Thirdly, Liu Yongfu hopes that Feng Zicai will be able to command the Chinese army in Vietnam. Please advise the Governor-General to persuade Feng Zicai to go out of the mountains and enter Vietnam." Zhang Zhidong said in surprise: "Liu Yongfu can trust Feng Zicai!" Wang Zhichun said: "Liu Yongfu said that if Pan Dingxin is the coach, he will not be able to convince the crowd. If Feng Zicai comes out, there may be hope for defeating the French!" After hearing the reports from Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun, Zhang Zhidong felt much more at ease about the war in Vietnam. For the sake of solemnity, Zhang Zhidong specially invited Peng Yulin, Lou Yunqing, and Wu Hongluo back from the front lines of Humen and Huangpu, and also summoned senior civil and military officials from Guangdong Province, including the admiral and general of the Guangdong Army, to discuss the situation on the Vietnamese battlefield and Coping strategies, the meeting was held for three full days.After the meeting, Zhang Zhidong and Sang Zhiping discussed privately for two nights, and finally formed a relatively complete understanding of the situation in Vietnam.Both Zhang Zhidong and Sang Zhiping believe that in terms of military strength, China is definitely inferior to France in terms of military strength. If it compares to the battle on the water, it is absolutely inferior to the battle on the land. It can surpass France in terms of adaptability to geography, and has advantages over France in terms of supply and demand.It is not impossible to win against France in Beiqi, Vietnam.It is necessary to expand the army.Zhang Zhidong decided to call Tang Jingsong back to China, and he would recruit 1,500 soldiers from the fourth battalion in Guangxi, and pay him 20,000 silver as a military salary.But what is lacking in Vietnam is a military commander who can win the hearts of the people, so it is the most important thing to invite Feng Zicai to come out.Considering various reasons, Zhang Zhidong accepted the suggestion of Sang Zhiping and Wang Zhichun, and personally went to Qinzhou to urge Old General Feng. Twenty years ago, when Zhang Zhidong was a guest in Hu Linyi's Wuchang office, he heard Hu talk about Feng Zicai.At that time, he was stationed in Zhenjiang and Danyang as the commander-in-chief.Both Hu Linyi and the generals of the Hunan Army looked down on the Green Camp, and only expressed their admiration for Feng Zicai.Feng Zicai's excellence lies not only in Feng's martial arts skills, but also in his honesty.At that time, the Hunan Army established a lijin system in order to raise military salaries. No matter whether it was land or water, a card was set up when encountering customs.The green battalion originally had a fixed military salary and could not draw a percentage, but many generals of the green battalion saw that there was a lot of profit to be made, so they set up cards to collect taxes without authorization, and competed with the Hunan army for profits, and the Hunan army had nothing to do about it.Zhenjiang and Danyang, where Feng Zicai's army is located, were originally affluent areas, and his subordinates also persuaded Feng Zicai to learn from other green camps, but Feng Zicai was unmoved.The troops have been stationed in the Zhenjiang area for six years, and the military discipline is also good, and there has been no fight with the local area.Zeng Guofan appreciated Feng Zicai, and after his strong recommendation, Feng Zicai was promoted to Admiral of Guangxi and was awarded a yellow jacket.In the ninth year of Tongzhi, he was stationed in Zhennanguan to put down the bandits in Beiqi, Vietnam.In the first year of Guangxu, he served as the admiral of Guizhou.Three years ago, he retired from office due to his old age and lived in his native place of Qinzhou. Qinzhou belongs to the prefecture of Lianzhou. If you walk more than 200 miles to the west, you will find Liu Yongfu's hometown Shangsi, and if you walk more than 200 miles to the southwest, you will reach the border of Vietnam.From Guangzhou to Qinzhou, it is better to go by water. Zhang Zhidong asked Sang Zhiping to take the trouble to accompany him again. Sang Zhiping had been fond of Feng Zicai for a long time and readily agreed.This kind of visit is usually accompanied by Dagen, but these days, he is suffering from illness, so Zhang Biao, who just came from Shanxi to Qian Xiang, took his place. Zhang Biao is from Yuci, Shanxi Province. He was just in his early twenties. Because of his good boxing skills, he was close to Dagen when he was in Taiyuan Prefecture, and because they both had the surname Zhang, they became brothers.Dagen has no real brothers, so he regards Zhang Biao as a brother.Dagen was too busy in the yamen, so he asked Zhang Biao for help. He did a few things well and was appreciated by Zhang Zhidong, so he was formally recruited into the yamen as a mabian.When Zhang Zhidong came to Guangzhou, Zhang Biao was going to follow him, but when his mother passed away, he went back to Yuci for the funeral.After living at home for a hundred days, he traveled all the way to Guangzhou alone. The small ship traveled along the coastal area for three days. This evening, it sailed from Longmen Sea to Danshui Bay, and then went upstream from the mouth of the Qin River. Less than ten miles away was the ancient city of Qinzhou.As soon as he stepped onto the pier, he saw Liu Mianqin, the county magistrate of Qinzhou, leading a group of people to meet him. A stout man walked in the front holding a huge pale yellow Wanmin umbrella.Seeing the Wanmin Umbrella, Zhang Zhidong immediately frowned and ordered it to be put away immediately.County magistrate Liu said to Zhang Zhidong with a pleasant smile: "It is a long-standing custom in Qinzhou County to greet distinguished guests with a Wanmin umbrella. Please accept it with your honor!" Zhang Zhidong said with a straight face: "What kind of distinguished guest can enjoy this kind of courtesy?" Magistrate Liu replied: "Civil officials above the prefect, military officials above the general, and merchants who have made a lot of money, these people can enjoy the etiquette of being greeted by the umbrella of the people. There are also two kinds of people, one is the new division Jinshi returning home, and the other is the People who are over 80 years old and have four generations of families with clean family traditions can also use the Wanmin Umbrella once when they celebrate their birthdays." Hearing this, Zhang Zhidong's face began to soften, and he said to Liu County Magistrate and other people who came to greet him: "In other places, the Wanmin Umbrella is used to send those upright officials who have done good things for the people to leave their posts. Unexpectedly, the custom in your county is used to welcome guests. I would like to make a suggestion to your county. From now on, officials, regardless of civil servants or military officials, as well as wealthy merchants, will be exempted from this etiquette when they come to Qinzhou. Millet is hard to come by, so if you can save it, you can save it, and you must not be extravagant. As for businessmen, there are many people who are rich and unkind, and they can no longer use the umbrella of the people to fuel their arrogance. It is a very good move for the innocent 80-year-old man to celebrate his birthday with the Wanmin Umbrella. It can encourage scholars to study hard and urge the common people to respect the elders and the family. It should be maintained in the future. The governor also hopes that all counties in Guangdong and Guangxi will support Learning from your county, the county government should commend and promote all good deeds that promote customs and benefit education." County Magistrate Liu and all the people who came to greet him praised the good suggestion of the Taitai Master.Zhang Zhidong said loudly: "Today, I will start from me, put away the Wanmin umbrella, and we will walk all the way into the posthouse." Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhidong was so sympathetic to the people, everyone cheered in unison, surrounded him and entered the city together, attracting many people to watch, and they all whispered: Guangdong and Guangxi have never seen such an easy-going official! During dinner, County Magistrate Liu said to Zhang Zhidong: "Last night, the magistrate of Song Dynasty dispatched a rush to inform the humble officials that the purpose of your Excellency's visit to Qinzhou is to visit General Feng. General Feng lives in Lizhiwan. I will send someone to Lizhiwan immediately How about going and telling him to come to town tomorrow morning?" It turned out that the Lianzhou government notified Qinzhou County yesterday, no wonder County Magistrate Liu was waiting at the pier beforehand, Zhang Zhidong didn't want to bother the county government so much.He said, "Don't bother Old General Feng, let's go to Lizhiwan to see him." County magistrate Liu said: "Lizhiwan is more than twenty miles away from the city, and the road is not easy to walk. Let him come here." Zhang Zhidong put down his chopsticks, said with a downcast face, "I'm here to visit Old General Feng, and I've traveled hundreds of miles. Do you still care about the twenty miles? Old General Feng is almost seventy years old. He went to the city, we sat comfortably, and felt uneasy! Besides, I still want to take this opportunity to check the atmosphere of your county and the farm work in the fields! You will go with me tomorrow, and we will not wear official uniforms , not riding a horse or taking a sedan chair, Feng's residence should not notify in advance, and the people along the way should not be disturbed. Can you go?" Although County Magistrate Liu is less than forty, he has already gained weight due to his long-term pampering, and his belly is as big as a pregnant woman who is seven or eight months pregnant. He usually does not even want to walk a mile or two. He came to Qinzhou as a county for nearly three years. Order, the footprint does not go beyond five or six miles outside the city.Now that he has to walk more than twenty miles, how can he bear it?But in front of this governor who is nearly fifty years old, does he dare to show the slightest embarrassment?He hurriedly replied: "I can walk and walk, and I often go to the four townships to inspect the people's conditions. The weather is hot. Tomorrow we will eat early and leave early." "Okay, tomorrow we will have dinner at 5:30, and we will leave at 6:00, and we will stop shooting along the way, and arrive at Lizhiwan before noon." Zhang Zhidong also did not discuss with the county magistrate, so he made a decision in this way.