Chapter 23 Section 23 Dealing with Difficult Cases

Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem "The Road to Shu is Difficult", lamenting that "the road to Shu is so difficult that it is difficult to go to the blue sky, which makes people listen to this withered beauty!" In this regard, Zeng Guofan deeply agrees.On the first day of walking, the road was fairly spacious, and there were few puddles and mud, so the bearers could walk freely.Not long after the road started on the second day, the road began to get narrower and narrower, and there were more high and low valleys, and puddles and mud were everywhere.

The two bearers encouraged each other to barely make it to noon, and the narrow slippery slab winding mountain road was entangled one after another.Not only the bearers can't take a step, the horse can't ride, they can only walk step by step.The bearer put down the sedan chair with a helpless expression on his face, as if he couldn't earn his hand.At this time, the chief and the platform also let go of the reins, and sat on the stone slab facing each other, panting heavily.Zeng Guofan got off the sedan chair, looked around, and saw green smoke rising from a valley not far away, presumably it belonged to someone.

After thinking for a while, Zeng Guofan took a step forward and said to Chang Shun: "Your guard, there must be someone in the place where the smoke is coming out. In my opinion, I'd better go over and ask, can't this be the way to enter Shu?" Changshun and Taizhuang hurriedly stood up.Looking up at Zeng Guofan's fingers, Chang Shun said: "My lord, is there someone coming over? It saves the footwork of the humble job!" Zeng Guofan squinted his eyes and took a closer look. Sure enough, there were two people walking towards this side, but he thought to himself: "This barren mountain and wild ridge is a good place to cultivate one's character and self-cultivation!"

The two people walking here shouted from a distance: "Is the guest going to cross the ridge?" Zeng Guofan nodded, without saying a word, secretly looking at the two people carefully.Both of them were dressed as coolies, one tall and one short.Both of them wore a pair of leather-soled slip-on shoes, both of which were a piece of thick cowhide, the kind that were randomly tied to the soles of the feet with ropes, which are often worn by people in Xiangxiang.With broad shoulder bones and thick legs, he is obviously a person who is used to walking on mountain roads. Seeing that Zeng Guofan didn't speak, the two of them just looked up and down, knowing that they couldn't trust them, they said, "We specialize in lifting sliding poles, and it's very cheap. Without sliding poles, you won't be able to get through."

Chang Shun asked: "Is this mountain road very long?" One person replied: "It takes two days to walk on a sliding pole!" At this time, Taizhuang asked: "People can ride on sliding poles, but what about horses?" The other rushed to answer: "The horse needs to sit on a sliding pole? We don't lift it. The horse can only be carried by hiring someone to lead it. It's no good to feel sorry for money." After listening for a long time, Zeng Guofan finally understood the beginning and the end, He said: "From what you two say, it seems that they specialize in sliding rods. But there are three of us, and we need three sets of sliding rods. You can only make one pair of sliding rods. Where can I find the two sets of sliding rods?"

Hearing this, one person clapped his hands and pointed to the direction he came from and said, "That's the pole stack, which is dedicated to lifting poles. A pair of poles only costs fifty dollars a day, which is quite bitter!" Another One added: "Even if you want to cross the beam, you can't do it today. Come with us to stay overnight at Huagan, and then order two sets of sliding poles. We will go on the road early tomorrow, and just rest at Shizui Bay in the evening. After another day, this section of the Liang Even if it's over." Taizhuang looked at Changshun, and Changshun looked at Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan understood, so he could only smile and said to the two bearers: "You two can only turn around. It seems that you can't enter Shu without sliding poles." Then he turned to Changshun and said, "Chief guard, give them one or two each. Silver, it can be regarded as compensation."

The two bearers were sent away, and the three of them and two horses went to the slippery pole stack.When I arrived at Huagan Inn, I found out that the so-called Huagan Inn is actually an inn, which is exclusively for Huaganfu and passing merchants. The three of Zeng Guofan stayed in the inn that night, and the enthusiastic shopkeeper helped to hire two pairs of sliding poles and two horsemen. They were all strong men, and they only spent more than one or two taels of silver.The people of Shu are straightforward, and the price is one-buy, which saves the trouble of haggling. Zeng Guofan looked at the lives of the people in central Sichuan through his cheap money, needless to say, it was already extremely difficult.The three of them rode sliding poles and circled the mountain road for two full days before they saw the plain area.

Zeng Guofan then abandoned his pole and rode in a sedan chair, and the two men on the Changtai boarded their horses again, and the group came all the way to Chengdu to watch the scenery.Sichuan has been plagued by natural and man-made disasters in the past few years, and the word "Tianfu" exists in name only.Especially in recent years, opium has been brought in from neighboring provinces, which has made things worse. Many villages have been ignored. Zeng Guofan sighed all the way, it is really unstable without food!It is because of successive years of poor harvests that people are panicking.There are three kinds in Sichuan, many mountains, many trees, and many bandits.The few people were a hundred times more careful, and if they couldn't walk ten miles a day, they hurried to rest, and they never dared to be greedy for too much.After walking for more than 30 days, I arrived at Jianyang Mansion.Jianyang is the gateway of Chengdu, and it is very close to Chengdu. When entering Chengdu from this road, Jianyang is a must pass.

As soon as he entered Jianyang City Gate, Zeng Guofan said to Chang Shun: "Chief Guard, let's go straight to the Jianyang Mansion Yamen, wait for Mr. Zhao here, and then enter Chengdu together, and the Sichuan Governor's Yamen will welcome you. This way, we will be like a person presiding over a rural examination. look." Taizhuang said: "Can't we go to Chengdu and wait for Mr. Zhao?" Zeng Guofan said: "Taiwan guards, the provincial examination is a major event in the whole province. I think that the Sichuan scholar has been waiting for a long time. The chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner walk separately, which is too inconsistent with the royal rules. In the capital, my official is a scholar. I was ordered to enter Sichuan for the general examination , It’s just a poor student, a poor student represents the majesty of the royal family, how can you be sloppy!”

Changshun praised sincerely: "Master Zeng is very considerate, we should also change our official uniforms?" Zeng Guofan glanced at Chang Shun and nodded in satisfaction. The sedan chair came to a secluded place.Zeng Guofan changed from the official uniform of the fifth rank, and the chief and the two officials also restored their appearance.Changshun was a military officer of the fourth rank, and Taizhuang was also dressed in a mighty and mighty manner.After a few people tidied up, they got on the sedan chair and horse again, and rushed to the government office. As soon as the group saw the big stone lions on both sides of the magistrate's yamen, a yamen servant hurried over and asked from a distance, "Is this the master examiner of the Sichuan Provincial Examination?"

Chang Shun was taken aback, and replied: "It is Mr. Zeng, the chief examiner of the Sichuan Provincial Examination, appointed by the imperial court!" The yamen servant plopped down on his knees in front of the sedan chair, and said: "The Beijing newspaper has been here for many days, and the masters of Futai asked the younger one to wait at the gate every day. Finally, it is finally here! Please wait a moment, the younger ones, to report." After finishing speaking, he kowtowed violently, got up and ran into the yamen. Soon, the magistrate came out with more than a dozen officials from various counties. They knelt in front of the sedan chair and said, "Zhang Dianyuan, the prefect of Jianyang, asks Sheng'an. Long live my emperor!" The two also dismounted. Zeng Guofan bowed deeply and said: "My emperor is in good health, my lords, please get up." The magistrate gave another gift: "Master Zeng, a poor student, worked so hard to enter Sichuan to preside over the Central Sichuan Provincial Examination. I would like to thank you on behalf of the thousands of students in Central Sichuan!" Hopeful, ashamed, ashamed!" The crowd rushed Zeng Guofan and three others into the lobby of the yamen.Entering the lobby of Jianyang magistrate's yamen, Zeng Guofan introduced Changshun and Taizhuang to everyone, and everyone greeted each other again before returning to their seats. Zeng Guofan whispered to Changshun, "Get rid of the sedan chair, and don't disturb the people in the yamen." Changshun nodded and walked out quietly.Outside the door, there is no sign of the bearer.When I asked the standing yamen servant, I found out that the magistrate had already paid for the sedan chair and sent the bearer away cheerfully.Changshun had no choice but to go back to the Yamen and tell Zeng Guofan the truth.Zeng Guofan asked Changshun to count out ten taels of silver at that time, and said to the magistrate: "Your Majesty thanked Master Futai for sending the sedan chair, but I have already picked up Cheng Yi when I left Beijing, so I dare not bother Your Excellency anymore. This is a sedan chair of ten taels." Silver, be sure to accept it." The magistrate blushed and said, "Master Zeng, you underestimate our prefecture. It is not right for a student to travel thousands of miles to Sichuan for a test, and the lower official will pay for the sedan chair?" Zeng Guofan put the money on the case and gave He saluted and said: "Your Excellency, you have misunderstood the dismissal! Sichuan was hit by a disaster, and the trip was painful. Ten taels of silver can save twenty lives!" These words moved everyone in the classroom.Changshun was also so moved that he almost shed tears.Zhang Dianyuan had no choice but to ask the master who was accompanying him to take the money for the sedan chair.That night, Zeng Guofan and his party of three lived in the post house, and the magistrate's yamen called the cook to come to the post house to cook three meals a day.According to Zhang Dianyuan, he was going to report to the governor's yamen on the same day, reporting that the apprentice had arrived in Jianyang, but was stopped by Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan told Zhang Zhifu that Zhao Ji, the deputy chief examiner, could not arrive in Jianyang a day or two late due to something, and it would be too late for the magistrate to submit a letter to the governor's office after Mr. Zhao arrived.Because the official documents for the provincial examination in Beijing have already arrived at the yamen in Sichuan, I believe it should be prepared. After breakfast, Changshun and Taizhuang changed into casual clothes and wanted to wander around Jianyang. Zeng Guofan also took out a pen, paper and inkstone, trying to make up the diary that had been left for a few days.Just at this time, Zhang Dianyuan, the prefect, came in quietly, but no one followed him.Zeng Guofan was so surprised that he hurriedly gave up his seat with courtesy. After taking his seat, Zhang Zhifu whispered to the three of them: "Everyone on business, the bodies of three Englishmen were found at the silt estuary of Jianyang this morning. They were all as big as cows, two men and one woman. This is the first time that there is a barbarian case in Jianyang. The government has some Feeling flustered and not knowing how to deal with it, Te Jianyi came to ask for an idea. The Yi case is extraordinary and concerns the lifeline of the country. How can Dian Yuan, a fourth-rank official, handle it!" Changshun was speechless.Zeng Guofan asked: "Are there any barbarians in Jianyang?" Zhang Zhifu replied: "Not before, but in the past one or two years, the Hu family in Jianyang opened a smokehouse in the middle of the street, and there have been barbarians. These barbarians are only with Hu. The family has contacts, so they rarely walk around in the market. According to the private investigation of the government, the opium in the Hu Family Smoke House was brought in by barbarians." Zeng Guofan asked again: "When barbarians come to Jianyang, don't they register at the Yamen?" Zhang Zhifu shook his head and said: "These barbarians are very arrogant, they refuse to go to the small yamen to register, it seems that the governor's yamen has records." Zeng Guofan pondered for a while, and said to Chang Shun: "Chang Shun, the guard, when barbarian people enter the territory, they should be registered in the local yamen in addition to filing at the governor's yamen. Otherwise, how to deal with accidents?" What people do is obviously inconsistent with the laws of the Qing Dynasty." Zhang Dianyuan stomped his feet and said: "Three years ago, Hongdu, the governor of Sichuan, was dismissed because of the killing of barbarians in the territory, and a Taoist priest who was in charge of barbarian cases was dismissed. Beheaded. Now that such a thing happened in Jianyang, wouldn’t it kill me?” As he spoke, steam rose from his head: “Nowadays, barbarian cases are the most difficult to handle, and whoever handles them will be in trouble.” Zeng Guofan thought about it calmly, and suddenly said: "Master Zhang, there is no doubt that the Yi people died of robbery." Seeing Zhang Dianyuan nodded, Zeng Guofan continued: "The criminal must have escaped without a trace. The barbarians hate, even more than the bandits. The barbarians sell opium in Jianyang and treat the magistrate’s office as nothing. Why don’t Mr. Zhang take this opportunity to punish these barbarian merchants?” Zhang Dianyuan asked with wide eyes: “Everyone is dead, why don’t you pay them back? How to punish?" Zeng Guofan's eyes narrowed.He put his mouth close to Zhang Dianyuan's ear and said, "Bury him quietly and deeply on the spot, and ask him three questions, okay?" Zhang Dianyuan cheered up, but then asked back: "How can the leader of the barbarians be like the governor's yamen?" Let it go?" Chang Shun said with a smile: "The barbarian traffickers should be registered in the local yamen, so it is reasonable to pursue it like this. It is reasonable for the barbarians to pursue the governor's yamen, and the governor naturally wants to investigate the magistrate's yamen. What about the magistrate's yamen?" What should we do? We can only investigate the Hu family! Mr. Zhang, think about it, is this the reason?" Zeng Guofan said: "The Hu family dared to do opium business with the barbarians, and their wealth should be quite strong. If they were confiscated and confiscated, they might make the people of Jianyang suffer for a year! I'm afraid it would be better to be an official of the Futai Master!" Only then did Zhang Dianyuan feel relieved.He stood up: "The government will arrange for people to bury the bodies of the three barbarians. The words of the officers made the government suddenly understand, and I will come back to ask for advice, so I will leave." Looking at the back of Zhang Dianyuan going away, Zeng Guofan said to Changshun: "The barbarians are arrogant on the surface, but in fact they are very cunning. They used their addicted opium to plunder the silver of the Qing Dynasty. Weakening our country's strength and manpower, it is really a disaster! Especially Lin Zexu won After the crime, the arrogance of the barbarians became even more arrogance than ever before, and those who appease the barbarians became more and more powerful! But how could those barbarians be willing to give up after getting these advantages? If things go on like this, sooner or later, disaster will happen! Chief guard, are you Master Su and the people around the emperor, do you know what the emperor thinks?" Chang Shun said: "Your Excellency speaks volumes! Your Excellency's words just now show that you have thought carefully, and I am afraid that no civil and military man in the Manchu Dynasty can express it. As for the Emperor's thoughts, the slaves don't know." The three of them chatted for a while, and then the Chang and Tai walked out of the post house to see the street scene in Jianyang. Zeng Guofan was the only one left in the posthouse, and he recorded the barbarian case that happened in Jianyang in its entirety.Zeng Guofan wrote at the end: "It is the most difficult to negotiate with the barbarians, and we can only make decisions by camera. There is no other way." Tell me. My culture was developed in the Qing Dynasty, with a long history of civilization and a large population, so why did I fall behind? I thought it was strange!" He hadn't seen Wei Yuan and others introduce Western works at this time, so he couldn't find out the answer.