Chapter 29 "Biaomin" emerges from poor mountains and bad waters

As mentioned earlier, the person in charge of dealing with the Nian army in the north is called Yuan Jiasan. Yuan Jiasan's family was originally an ordinary farming and studying family in Xiangcheng County, Henan Province, but after only a few decades, it has transformed into a powerful family in Henan.You know, Xiangcheng is definitely a poor place.Poor mountains and bad waters, strong folk customs, and no special resources... Then how did the Yuan family get rich? Entrance Examinations: Father and son Jinshi, brother Juren, one family, two generations and four nobles. To explain, "father and son Jinshi" refers to the fact that Yuan Jiasan and his eldest son Yuan Baoheng won the Jinshi; "brother Juren" refers to the fact that Yuan Jiasan's second son Yuan Baoling and Yuan Jiasan's nephew Yuan Baoqing respectively passed the examination; "four nobles" means These people later had high official positions.

How difficult is the imperial examination, which one of the Juren and the Jinshi is not a master who has passed five tests and cut six generals, and is one in a thousand?It is normal to fail the exam, but it is rare to pass the exam.And the Yuan family has only two generations, and there are two Jinshi and two Juren all at once, which is really quite sturdy. What is especially rare is that Yuan Jiasan is Zeng Guofan's senior brother, and Yuan Baoheng is Li Hongzhang's senior counselor, and they are quite friendly to each other.Which of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang has not been a super minister who has been guiding the country for decades?It is said that it is easy to travel if you have many friends, let alone such an outstanding friend!

Yuan Jiasan met Zeng Guofan when he was taking the imperial examination. The two brothers studied stereotyped essays hard together, worked part-time and study together, and finally both passed the imperial examination. Their friendship is very solid. When the two were working in the capital, they both climbed to higher official positions.With his excellent professional ability, Yuan Jiasan was given a post in the military department of the official residence, which is roughly equivalent to today's department-level cadres.And Zeng Guofan is even more powerful, from officials to ministers, he is a senior official at the deputy ministerial level.

In 1853, the two received orders from Xianfeng. Zeng Guofan supervised the training of the Hunan regiment against the Taiping Army, and Yuan Jiasan supervised the training of the Anhui regiment against the Nian Army. For Yuan Jiasan, this was a very dangerous job, because Anhui was located in the middle of the range of activities of the Taiping Army and the Nian Army, and was surrounded by enemies.However, this frail scholar has always gritted his teeth and insisted on dealing with the Nian army in the north, and he was responsible for cutting off the joint operations of the Taiping army and the Nian army in northern Anhui.His tenacity and courage enabled Zeng Guofan to deal with the Taiping Army with all his strength without worrying about going north.

Yuan Jiasan was able to fight and calm the people.Therefore, despite the extremely severe situation, he still managed to wipe out the Nian army in Huaibei and won a major victory. Because of his outstanding performance, Yuan Jiasan was appreciated and trusted by Emperor Xianfeng, and the relationship between the two was once inseparable.According to the records of the emperor's daily life, Xianfeng and Yuan Jiasan talked alone more than ten times, what a great honor it is!Yuan Jiasan's ancestral grave was not only smoking, it was about to catch fire! One person attains the Tao, chickens and dogs rise to heaven, and the Yuan family joins Yuan Jiasan's team one after another.Among them, Yuan Baoheng, the son of Yuan Jiasan, and Yuan Baoqing, the nephew, performed most outstandingly.

Yuan Baoheng was originally an editor of the Imperial Academy (the Imperial Academy is equivalent to the emperor's secretarial institution), and he was a promising reserve cadre.But he saw his father Yuan Jiasan's career of "suppressing bandits" prosper, so he also threw himself into the army and followed Naifu across the battlefield. This person is quite talented in leading troops to fight, and he has repeatedly succeeded in fighting against the Nian army. Later, due to his meritorious service, he was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, equivalent to the current Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the second most senior official in the old Yuan family after Yuan Jiasan.However, Yuan Baoheng's greatest strength is not his ability to fight, but his clear mind and strong strategic vision. He once made two suggestions to the court:

First, the defense of the three northeastern provinces should be strengthened. Tsarist Russia is our biggest and most vicious enemy. Second, set up a governor in Taiwan to declare sovereignty. The subsequent development of the situation fully confirmed his vision. Tsarist Russia, including the later Soviet Union, was indeed China's biggest and most brutal enemy.If it is said that Japan scolded China while stabbing it with a knife, then Tsarist Russia held the hand of the Chinese people with its left hand, said that China is our best friend, and stabbed China's heart with a knife with its right hand.

Yuan Baoheng also put forward a unique governance policy on the Taiwan issue, and the imperial court accepted his suggestion, and formally established a province in Taiwan. The first governor was Li Hongzhang's famous Huai army general "Liu Mazi" Liu Mingchuan. Yuan Baoqing is a fierce general like Zhang Fei and Chang Yuchun. He can calmly judge the situation on the battlefield and choose an accurate offensive position to make a breakthrough. He is a natural pioneer material.Yuan Baoqing fought for half his life, and later served as Jiangnan Yanfa Road, roughly equivalent to today's mayor of a prefecture-level city, in charge of salt affairs and justice, a position with great power.