"Commander," Ghoshha said to Zeng Guofan, who was "playing a game of chess after dinner", "the official from Zhejiang is asking to see you. Please tell me, Commander: Do you see me or not?" Zeng Guofan was fighting a catastrophe, which was related to the survival of the "Southeast Half", and he had to fight it, but he finally threw himself into it. "There's no reason not to see him. Tell him to come in." The officer was wearing a tattered suit.The weather at the end of September should have changed to a warm hat long ago, but he was still wearing a cool hat with a bright blue cap on top, so he was a third-rank military officer.

"You Tianyong, General of Zhejiang Fubiao, please greet the commander." That You Tianyong took two steps forward, knelt down and kowtowed, a big hole was torn in the clothes on his back, exposing a yellow and black piece of flesh. "Get up, get up!" Zeng Guofan looked at his face, as if it had never been washed, and couldn't bear it in his heart, so he told Ghoshha, "Let's take the general to take a rest, and then please come and talk after eating. " "Return to the commander-in-chief," You Tianyong rushed to say, "I am under the order of my provincial king Futai to rush to Anqing within a time limit and deliver the official documents. Please have a look at the commander-in-chief first."

"Okay, okay! You give me. You get up and talk!" "Thank you, handsome!" You Tianyong stood up, took two steps back, turned his body slightly, unbuttoned his clothes, and took out a thick oiled paper bag that was hidden inside the meat, it seemed that it contained more than just a few sheets of paper and a letter. The oiled paper had been torn, but when you unwrapped it, the large envelope, which was a foot long, was as good as new.When Zeng Guofan received it, he realized that it was not paper, but a piece of cloth or silk.Turn it over and look at the letter first. It says: "Specially presented to Anqing Daying Zeng Zhitai Qin Junqi".Signed below: "Wang Youling personally signed the seal".

Take it apart again, as expected, it is a folded snow-white Hangfang.With a flick of his hand, he was startled, the handwriting was black with red, and there were several purple spots, which could be seen at a glance to be bloodstains——Wang Youling and Xue wrote only four characters the size of a large bowl: "Waiting for Great Aid", There is another line of small characters: "Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang, would like to lead millions of officials and people in the province to pray and cry." Zeng Guofan has cultivated himself all his life, and he has taken the word "not tempted" as his goal, but at this time he has to change his color.

The Mu Youcai officials in the camp were all moved when they saw this thrilling and unique request for help, and watched Zeng Guofan to see how he would deal with it. Zeng Guofan slowly rolled up the Hangfang painting and said to You Tianyong: "You have been traveling all the way, you have worked hard, and you should rest first." "Yes, thank you Marshal." You Tianyong replied solemnly, "Seeing the Marshal in a humble position is more comforting than anything else. I can't remember all the sufferings. I just ask the Marshal to send troops early." "I have a reason." Seeing that he was unwilling to rest, Zeng Guofan asked him about the situation in Zhejiang, "When did you leave?"

"The humble staff set off from Hangzhou on September 20. Yuhang had already fallen at that time." You Tianyong replied, "It seems that Hangzhou has been besieged now." "Hangzhou's city is very strong. I remember it said in "Unified Records" that there are ten city gates." Zeng Guofan read, "'Wai Tide' can be heard as 'clear waves', and 'Yongjin' and 'Qiantang' set 'Taiping' '. At the time of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Xu Zhonghui, a scholar, wished that his descendants would never leave Qiantang, saying that there would never be a disaster of war. If you want to come to Hangzhou, you can keep it."

You Tianyong had heard the poem he recited before. It used Hangzhou's ten city gates, Houchao Gate, Qingbo Gate, etc. as a verse.As for what people from the Song Dynasty said, he was baffled.Just listening to the tone of voice, saying that Hangzhou can be defended, there is no intention of sending troops. You Tianyong was so anxious that he had to speak. "Hangzhou's city is strong, which is good. But it won't last long." "Oh," Zeng Guofan asked, stretching his fingers and brushing his beard, "what's the reason? Tell me." "There is not enough food in Hangzhou."

Although Hangzhou is said to be rich, it has never had a family of rice.Zheximi City is located in Chang'an Town, a hundred miles northeast of Hangzhou. Every year, the landowners in Hangzhou collect rented rice, except for a family of rice, which is transported to Chang'an Town for sale, so there are no ten people in the city. Bread of the day.In the spring and summer of this year, rice prices soared when there was a shortage of crops. However, after Hangzhou was captured and looted in February last year, the people who remained were struggling to survive. Where did they get the money to buy grain and store it?Originally, I wanted to wait for the new valley to appear and make a good plan to store grain, but who knew that the army was defeated like a mountain, and the fields were full of land, which made it easier for the Taiping army.

"Ah!" Zeng Guofan sighed deeply, "It would be great if Zhang Yuliang and Li Dingtai in eastern Zhejiang are willing to resist for a while." He then asked, "The most important thing for defending the city is the abundance of food. Doesn't Wang Futai think of a way?" ?” "Wang Futai is also trying to find a way. Last year, he issued a notice to attract businessmen to buy, and promised to exempt the places where he passed. But the road is not smooth, and rice merchants dare not come." You Tianyong said, "When you leave for a humble job, listen to It is said that Wang Futai is going to ask Hu Daotai to go to Shanghai to buy food and arms, but I don’t know if they have arrived.”

"Which Hu Daotai?" Zeng Guofan asked, "Is it Hu Yuanbo?" "No. It's Hu Xueyan." "Oh, oh, it's him! I heard he's very capable?" "Yes! Hu Daotai is very capable. In the city of Hangzhou, the big gentlemen flee and hide, all rely on Hu Daotai to come forward and borrow food and donations to maintain the army." Zeng Guofan nodded, thought about the situation in Hangzhou, and then asked: "Where is the south bank of the Qiantang River? Now the source of salary in Zhejiang is in Ningshao. This road is always smooth, right?"

"Yes. It's all this way. But—" "Tell me! What's in the way?" "Returning to the commander-in-chief, crossing the Qiantang River, Xiaoshan, Shaoxing, and Ningbo are all under the control of Minister Wang. He is at odds with Wang Futai. Things—" You Tianyong shook his head slightly, and couldn't continue. Minister Wang refers to Wang Luqian, Minister of Training and Training.Zeng Guofan also knew him well, and had received a letter from him complaining about his grievances, saying that the two prefectures of Shaoxing and Ningbo raised 100,000 taels of silver every month to send them to the provincial capital, but Wang Youling did not send a single soldier to cross the river.Listening to You Tianyong's words now, it seems that this is not the case.But no matter who is right or wrong, the generals are at odds, and the soldiers and the people are against each other, it is not a good sign.The situation in Zhejiang is really discouraging. "Go down and rest." With Zeng Guofan's status, if there is something to do with him, he doesn't need to tell You Tianyong clearly, let alone explain to him, he just ordered, "You have a good sleep tonight, and you will pick it up tomorrow." Reply and rush back to Hangzhou immediately to report back. I will send people to prepare documents, horses, and money for you." "Yes!" You Tianyong stood up and greeted him, "Thank you, Commander."