Chapter 71 Section 71 Fearless of intimidation and participation in defeating evil royal officials

The county professor of Daxing County, Shuntian Prefecture, surnamed Shengming Dada, was born in martial arts and a hereditary baron. His grandfather once conquered San Francisco with Emperor Kangxi and was rewarded with a yellow jacket. Zeng Guofan saw that Sheng Dada, who was over fifty years old, had a long beard, big shiny braids, a big face, small eyes, and was wearing an official uniform. Sheng Dada bowed deeply to Zeng Guofan and said, "I have met Mr. Zeng." After the ceremony, without waiting for Zeng Guofan to take his seat, he sat down on the unoccupied wooden bench next to him.

Zeng Guofan knew that the member was a person with a title, so he didn't blame him, he just asked: "The head of the department came to Guixian County to inspect the school. It was the emperor's intention to love the children of the family. If there is something wrong, I hope the instructor can correct it. " Sheng Dada didn't intend to stand up and answer, but raised his head and said, "Your Excellency, just say what you want to say, don't go around the corner, the more straightforward the blood of our family, the better." Zeng Guofan pointed to the horse poem and said, "Which instructor in the county school teaches literature?"

Sheng Dada replied: "It's the official! What, do you have any questions, sir?" Zeng Guofan said: "How dare the Headquarters have doubts! The Headquarters just wants to know if Instructor Sheng has ever written anything?" Sheng Dada smiled instead: "My lord, you are really confused. I am full of people, do I rely on articles? I rely on horseback kung fu!" After finishing speaking, he waved his fist symbolically . Zeng Guofan shouted: "Presumptuous! Who are you talking to!" Sheng Dada stood up this time, stared at Zeng Guofan twice, swung his braids, and strode out of the shaft.It seems that Zeng Guofan is not an official, but a scholar of his subordinates!

Zeng Guofan was so angry that he was shaking all over, he called Li Bao: "Speech the Doming Mansion with the main hall!" Duo Ze strode in, seeing Zeng Guofan sitting by the desk with a livid face, he hastily bowed deeply and said, "Master Zeng, I've been greeting you from time to time, I don't know why your lord is angry?" It took Zeng Guofan a long time to come to his senses, and said: "Duoming Mansion and Daxing County are mostly royal clansmen, and the main hall is well aware of this. According to the usual practice, the main hall asked Teacher Sheng about their homework, and saw that the students' articles were too disreputable. Instructor Sheng said nonsense, Manchus rely on force, not articles! Duoming Mansion, Instructor Sheng is an instructor of the county school, so he can say such bastard words! May I ask Duoming Mansion, how can an instructor like this Teach good children?"

Duo Ze clasped his fists and replied: "As adults say, the instructors are directly under the administration of Xuezheng, and the lower officials can't interfere. Although the instructors like Sheng Dada are of low rank, they are hereditary titles and enjoy the salary of a second-rank official. Didn't the adults see Sheng? Is Dada's top hat as red as an adult's?" Thinking about it carefully, Zeng Guofan shook his head and said, "The hall didn't pay attention to this member's Ding Dai. Since there is a Ding Dai of the second rank, how can he be willing to give in to a small professor of seventh rank county studies? Please enlighten me."

Duo Ze said: "Responding to my lord's words, the first instructor Sheng released by the emperor was a student in Shuntian Prefecture, and then he came to our county to study as a professor for some reason. I can't tell you the details, maybe the emperor has nothing to do with him. Bar." After Duozawa Shili resigned, Zeng Guofan thought about it alone: ​​"Every major task is done half by manpower and half by heaven. Those who are governed by God have no choice but to listen to them; those who are governed by others, every point counts for every point." Zeng Guofan did not continue to work, but packed up the poems and articles of some scholars from Daxing County School, took his entourage, and quietly returned to the capital.

He returned to the mansion, drafted an article overnight, and revised it many times, and then submitted the article together with the poems and essays from Daxing County School, and then went to the Ministry of Rites alone to wait for the order. Seeing Zeng Guofan returning from Jing County, the officer on duty in the Ministry of Rites thought he had finished his business, so he hurriedly served him tea. That night, Emperor Daoguang summoned Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan knelt down and kowtowed, and Emperor Daoguang said: "Zeng Guofan, I asked you to inspect the county schools and officials in Jingxian County. Why did you come back after staying in Daxing for one night? I wrote this note again. Cough, my dear Officials in the Qing Dynasty should be brave enough to take charge."

Zeng Guofan said: "Go back to the emperor, Professor Sheng Dada of Daxing County has the title of hereditary baron and enjoys the salary of a second-rank official. I don't dare to investigate any further. Please punish me with the emperor." "Cough!" Emperor Daoguang sighed, "Zeng Guofan, do you know why I let you go to Daxing? My disciples from the Eight Banners have always favored martial arts over literature. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there have been hundreds of literary champions, but my banner How many people account for it? Not even 100% of it! How many people have passed the Jinshi? There is an old saying that a country is established by force and ruled by culture. If this situation does not change, how can the foundation of the ancestors last? Zeng Guofan, after reading your notes, I thought about it all night, and decided to strip Sheng Dada of his title of baron, and dismiss him from his post and fame! How about recommending a few well-educated sinologists to Xing and Waner counties?"

Zeng Guofan bowed his head and replied, "I dare not speak back to the emperor." Emperor Daoguang was taken aback: "How did you say that? The sponsor still dare not?" Zeng Guofan said: "Returning to the emperor, I have already heard that the emperor sent several Han professors to Shun and Feng two prefectures, but soon retired from illness, and asked for leave, none of them could make it to the end of the term. It is inferred that the person recommended by the minister also ended up in this way." Emperor Daoguang asked back: "Zeng Guofan, why is this?"

Zeng Guofan replied: "Responding to the emperor's words, the minister said something that angered the emperor. The bannermen have always looked down on the Han people. Like Fengtian, there are more bannermen and fewer Han people. More bannermen practice martial arts, and more Han people are literary. Before Daxing, they were sent to fill the past." Professor Han Yuan was beaten away by these Bannermen students who know how to fight. Even a minister dare not go to Daxing to be a professor. Your Majesty, please be careful." Emperor Daoguang was furious, and said: "I will immediately dismiss all the incompetent scholars and officials in Shuntian and Fengtian, and send all Han officials to fill them up! I will immediately decree that if anyone dares to beat the teacher, I will destroy all his families." !"

Zeng Guofan turned his head to the tunnel and said: "The emperor is wise, and I thank the emperor on behalf of the bannermen's children!" Emperor Daoguang took a long time to say: "Since I ascended the throne, there have been bandits all over the place. I know that this is caused by the scum among the banner people oppressing the Han people. Racial discrimination is the root of chaos in the country! Go down and go back to Daxing tomorrow to clean up Beijing. The academic administration and official administration of the county will be followed by my sacred decree." Zeng Guofan Xie En withdrew. At noon, Zeng Guofan and his party entered Daxing Xingyuan for the second time. During lunch, the yamen servant of the Daxing County yamen came to report, please go to the lobby of the county yamen to receive the order.Zeng Guofan didn't dare to be negligent, put down the bowl in a hurry, changed into his official uniform and took a sedan chair to the county government hall to receive the order. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Duo Ze, the county magistrate, Sheng Dada, and other officials kneeling in the hall. When the eunuch who delivered the order saw Zeng Guofan coming in, he shouted: "Zeng Guofan accepts the order!" Zeng Guofan didn't have time to think, and fell to his knees with a plop. The decree said: According to Zeng Guofan, a cabinet bachelor and minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zha Daxing, a hereditary third-class baron, won Dada. He taught students poetry and prose as a joke, making many jokes. It's abominable to speak wild words and insult ministers in order to provoke disputes between Manchu and Han!Then cut off the hereditary baron of Sheng Dada, get rid of all positions, get rid of fame, get rid of flag status.The dismissed member left his post and returned home within a time limit.From now on, anyone who insults or beats the officials ordered by the court will be investigated and punished regardless of the officials or the people.This is it. After all the officials received the order, a yamen servant came over long ago, took off Sheng Dada's hat, stripped off his official uniform, and drove him out of the yamen. Sheng Dada yelled angrily: "Your surname is Zeng, you are nothing more than a dog of my Manchurians. I will never stop with you!" Press your palms down!" Sheng Dada was beaten until his mouth was full of blood, screaming like a pig, Zeng Guofan gave a wink, and the guards Li and Liu stopped. The night is thick, and the sky outside the window is full of stars.While studying at Xingyuan Bingzhu, Zeng Guofan was thinking about the candidate for the professor of Daxing County Studies.The choice of this person is firstly Hanlin, secondly courageous and insightful, and thirdly the emperor and Manchu nobles must trust him.But Zeng Guofan hesitated to find someone with all three points. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting loudly outside: "Who is it?" Zeng Guofan carefully identified the voice of the guard at the door.Someone shouted outside the door: "Let that dog surnamed Zeng come out, I want to ask him a few words!" At this time, he heard Liu Heng shout loudly: "Bold, the imperial envoy is an important place to handle cases, don't be presumptuous! Disperse!" Someone interjected: "The imperial envoy, shit, it's obviously my dog! Brothers rushed in, Skin the dog and braise it with braised dog meat! We are dignified Manchus, and even the world belongs to us, and we are afraid of him as a bird!" The noise intensified, and there was a faint sound of fighting. Panting, Liu Heng and Li Bao rushed in and reported: "My lord, there are more than a dozen people carrying weapons and making trouble outside the gate, and they have already fought with the yamen servants. These people are very skilled, and the yamen servants may not be able to resist them." .My lord, you should stay out of the way. If you break in, you will be in trouble!" Zeng Guofan stood up abruptly and asked, "Does Xingyuan have a back door?" Li Baodao: "Returning to my lord, the Xingyuan leads directly to the back garden. Even if there is no door in the garden, the wall is not very high." Zeng Guofan hurriedly put on his shoes and heard the loud noise of the door, as if it would not take too long to be knocked open.He didn't care about other things, he only wore casual clothes, and was protected by Li Bao and Liu Heng, and rushed to the back garden.Fortunately, the wall was really not very high. Zeng Guofan climbed it three times without success. In desperation, he had no choice but to step on Li Bao's shoulders before turning over.When Li Bao and Liu Heng also jumped over the wall, the gate of Xingyuan had already been knocked open. The three of them didn't have time to run to the distance. After seeing the moat of the back city, Zeng Guofan stopped and gasped with his mouth wide open. Zeng Guofan gasped for a long time, and then he said intermittently: "You two, where should we go? Our hall did not expect the Manchus to be so barbaric!" Li Baodao: "Responding to my lord's words, the green battalion is stationed in the west across the bridge, and the flag army is stationed in the east. Please show me, sir, whether to go to the green camp or to the flag camp?" Zeng Guofan didn't even think about it: "Of course it's going to the Green Camp, the Han army is more talkative. I don't know which general is holding the banner here?" Both of them shook their heads and said, "I don't know about humble positions." The three of them walked towards the green camp station with one foot high and one foot low. When they arrived at the gate of the station, a sentinel stopped him a long time ago and asked loudly, "What are you doing?" Li Bao took the first step and said: "Brother, hurry up and report, Mr. Zeng, a cabinet bachelor, came to Daxing on a business trip, and it happened that bandits were causing trouble, please send troops to protect." The sentry thought for a while, and reluctantly walked into the camp gate; after a while, the camp gate opened, and more than 50 lanterns and torches rushed out. The first guard, wearing a regular five-rank official uniform, couldn't see his face clearly, and went out. He shouted, "Where is Mr. Zeng? I saw the little one in the schoolyard!" Zeng Guofan took a step forward, and said: "The headquarters is on a business mission by order, but there are bandits rioting, so we have to come here late at night to disturb." The guard took a closer look, quickly turned over and knelt down, and said: "Jingbiao fifth-rank guard Hong Jia kowtows to you sir!" As soon as the words fell, more than fifty people all fell to their knees. Zeng Guofan shouted: "Hong Shoubei!" Hong Jia responded, "The humble job is here!" Zeng Guofan thought about it for a while and said, "You immediately order Qi's army soldiers, and go to the imperial envoy Xingyuan with the headquarter to take down all the people who made troubles, and not one person escapes." Hong Jia replied "obey the order" and immediately returned to the camp to make arrangements. After a while, a team of two hundred people was pulled out, and a horse was also led.A soldier led the horse to Zeng Guofan.Hong Jia clasped his fists at Zeng Guofan and said, "My lord, please get on the horse." Zeng Guofan waved his hand and said, "You can walk in the hall as you please, and you won't be riding a horse. Let's go." Hong Shoubei led his men and horses to the imperial envoy on the other side of the river. Only now did Zeng Guofan feel at ease.