Tongzhi three years June 20th, late at night. On Bingbu Street in the east of Zhengyangmen in the capital, a fast horse rode from the south entrance. Hearing the jingle of the bridle bell, he knew that many people from other provinces had arrived.Sure enough, he rode a fast horse, crossed the Yamen of the Ministry of War, and went straight to the offices of Titang officials stationed in the capital of various provinces.When he arrived at the door, he reined in the horse suddenly and let out a long neigh, and immediately the man was thrown off, a red-tasseled straw hat with a three-pin bright blue top rolled to the side, the man struggled to get up, He staggered and took two steps, before stepping into the threshold, he tilted his body and fell down again, foaming at the mouth.

The people in the office recognized him. He was a Zhaichai from Jiangning. His surname was He, and he was a general.He Bazong was originally Zeng Jiushuai's personal soldier. He won a battle and was promoted once, and he was promoted to the third-rank general after his meritorious service. Seeing that he had passed out after running a long distance on such a hot day, everyone hurriedly carried him in. While prying their teeth, they poured the whole bottle of "Zhuge Xingjun San" into his mouth, and at the same time took the bag from his pocket. Sweat drenched back unloaded.The Titang officer in Jiangsu unpacked the package, took a look at the "reconnaissance and cooperation" issued by the Ministry of War as usual, and then opened it casually. He was surprised to see the "subpoena" outside the oiled paper package.

The subpoena was stamped with the big purple seal of the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and it was stated that Yang Yuebin, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Peng Yulin, the minister of the Ministry of war, and Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Zhejiang, would be issued by Jiangning.The date of the obeisance is June 16, but it is specially approved in walnut-sized characters: "Eight hundred miles, hurry up and fly to Beijing, and it is strictly limited to arrive in Beijing on June 20." The Titang officer quickly took out a silver watch and looked at it. Both the long and short hands pointed to the eleven in foreign characters. It was only a few minutes away. When it was midnight, it would be considered a violation of the limit. Military law is not a joke. !No wonder He Ba always rushed to deliver the goods regardless of his life.

Now the responsibility falls on me!Thinking of the five words "step up at eight hundred miles", Titang Guan suddenly realized, and shouted: "Could it be that Jiang Ning has recovered?" This cry alarmed several titang officials from other provinces, and they gathered around to have a look, all of them were surprised and delighted.There are certain rules for post delivery. The most urgent use is "six hundred miles to speed up".Now Yang and Peng, who are in charge of the navy for the second time in the Jiangning Army, and Zeng Jiushuai, who is attacking the city, will play together. It is clear that it is not an accident that the general was killed in battle.Moreover, making an exception and using "800 miles to step up" and arriving in Beijing within a certain period is not Jiang Ning's recovery, so there is no need to be so strict.

"Come in by express delivery!" Someone said: "Jiangning is here, two thousand four hundred and forty-five miles, dog weather, four days to arrive, it's a game of life! I can't delay it with you." "Yes, yes! I'll go to the palace and hand it over right away." Jiangsu's titang official cupped his hands and said, "Mr. He, please take care of me. Thanks to him!" After finishing speaking, he dressed in a hurry, went out and mounted his horse, and went go west. According to the rules, the emergency military report is delivered to the external affairs office, transferred to the internal affairs office, and then directly to the front of the imperial court.It was already two o'clock in the morning when the memorial was in An Dehai's hands after such a series of twists and turns.

"What? 'Eight hundred miles, hurry up'! I've heard this name there, isn't it a new thing?" Seeing An Dehai's disbelief, the eunuch of the internal affairs department had to explain seriously: "I also asked the foreign affairs department, there is nothing wrong! The Titang official in Jiangsu said it himself, and he also said that the discount from Jiangning, In order to meet the deadline, I was so tired that I fell off my horse and passed out." It was well-founded, and people couldn't help but believe it, but An Dehai was still pondering.The weather was too hot, Empress Dowager Cixi went to bed late, and it was twilight, and she had to get up again to prepare to summon the military plane, so only when the night was darker and cooler, she could sleep for two or three hours.Asking to drive suddenly disturbed her sweet dreams, and she might have to be scolded again.

The eunuch in the internal affairs office was a little anxious, he refused to take the yellow box, his own responsibility had not yet been fulfilled, and the responsibility for this delay could never be taken up, so he urged, "You take the box!" After handing over the yellow box, he added another sentence: "Send it in quickly, don't delay!" An Dehai was unhappy, and he just vented it on him, "Delay or not, it's my business!" He tilted his head and stared at those slightly burst goldfish eyes, with a look like a savage little daughter-in-law, "You Can you handle it?"

"What I told you is a good thing! This may be the good news that the queen mothers of the two palaces have been looking forward to day and night. If it is delayed, you don't have to plan to ask for your head!" An Dehai was surprised and delighted: "What? Tell me, this Is it the good news of Jiang Ning's recovery?" "I didn't say that. Anyway, it's the most important memorial." "Why bother?" An Dehai immediately changed his condescending expression, and said with a smile: "Second brother, are we two brothers still in love? There is news, it is good to come here a little bit, Let's add two to one to make five."

One was that he didn't dare to offend An Dehai, and the other was that he wanted to report good news and receive a reward. The eunuch at the memorial office roughly told him the reason that according to the order of delay in delivering the memorial, it must be a victory. "Wait!" An Dehai became more careful again, "Why didn't the governor of Liangjiang come forward to report? Don't Zeng Guofan be vacant?" "Zeng Guofan is in Anqing, but not in Jiangning. Besides, if Zeng Guofan is vacant, Li Hongzhang, governor of Jiangsu, should report to him. What should he do with Yang Yuebin, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu?"

"Yes, yes! Not bad at all." So, the eunuchs in the Neizuo Office went out of Yuehua Gate from Xierchang Street to go back.An Dehai ordered the little eunuch to still close the Fuhua Gate, walked around the corridor painted with stories of the Dream of Red Mansions on the four walls, and arrived at the back hall of Changchun Palace, awakened the eunuch who was sitting on watch, and knocked on the door lightly twice. When the maid opened the door, An Dehai said in a low voice: "I have to invite you to drive me. If there is an important memorial, I must return to you immediately."

The court lady also had a troubled look on her face, but An Dehai was already the chief eunuch of the Changchun Palace, and was in charge of her, his words were orders, he dared not disobey, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and wake up the Empress Dowager Cixi. "Talk back to the master, An Dehai said that there is an important memorial, and he asked the servant to come and invite him." "Where are people?" As soon as the Empress Dowager Cixi asked her a question, An Dehai replied loudly outside: "This slave has a very happy event, and I will play with the master." Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi lost her drowsiness, but she didn't say anything, and first ordered: "Bring some iced tea!" When the palace maid brought a cup of iced herbal tea made with honey spices and a special prescription from the imperial hospital, she sipped it leisurely.In fact, she was eager to know the good news, but deliberately restrained herself, she must be calm and composed when faced with major events, and she was tempering herself at the moment. After drinking the iced tea, the maid waited on her to wash her face before she ordered: "Tell Xiao Anzi!" An Dehai was called into the bedroom, looked at the Empress Dowager Cixi who was sitting in front of the dressing table, raised a yellow box over the top, knelt down straight, lowered his head and said: "Master is very happy! Jiang Ningke has recovered!" "how do you know?" A cold sentence stunned An Dehai for a moment, but fortunately he would adapt to the situation and replied with a smile: "The master is blessed and the slaves guessed it too." "Guess wrong, slap your mouth. Open it!" So An Dehai opened the yellow box, took out the memorial, and removed the oiled paper.A yellow silk rope was held on the plywood, forming a faucet, and it was loosened with a light tug. The yellow paper was taken out from the plywood to seal, and inside were four memorials in three yellows and one white. The yellow one is to ask for Anzhe as usual, the empress dowagers of the two palaces and the emperor each have a copy, and the Empress Dowager Cixi put it aside and only read the white zhezi.There was a smile on the corner of his mouth when he couldn't see the two lines. An Dehai retreated quietly, patted his palms lightly, waited for all the eunuchs and maids to be summoned, then re-entered the room, knelt down and played: "Please ascend the seat, the master, and the slaves congratulate the master! " The Empress Dowager Cixi ignored him, and only ordered: "Go to 'over there' to have a look. If you wake up, please meet me in the Hall of Mental Cultivation." "twitter!" "Also, send someone to inform Zhang Jing, the military plane on duty, to tell Liu Ye that there is news from Jiang Ning!" An Dehai agreed and ran away.The Empress Dowager Ci'an lives in the Zhongcui Palace of the East Sixth Palace. She detours through the Kunning Palace and turns into Dongyi Long Street. The first palace is there. He was originally asked to take a look at it, but he knocked on the palace door and told it on his own initiative. The chief eunuch said that there was an important memorial, and he invited the Empress Dowager Ci'an to come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to meet her. This has been the case for two or three years, with the "west side" as the main focus in everything, and the "east side" as the call.The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't dare to be negligent, but it took a long time to wash and dress, and when she arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, it was already dawn, the emperor had already gone to the study, and the Empress Dowager Cixi also waited for a while. First met Li in Xinuang Pavilion, Empress Dowager Cixi said calmly: "I will read the memorial from Jiangning, you listen." Then read aloud the most important part of it: "On the 15th, Li Chendian's tunnel was completed, and at noon on the 16th. Get angry, rush forward for more than 20 zhang, pass by Zhu Hongzhang, Liu Lianjie, Wu Weishou, Zhang Shiri, Xiong Dengwu, Chen Shouwu, Xiao Fusi, Peng Yuju, Xiao Qingyan, and lead a large team to rush into the city from the mouth. Thousands of thieves died to protect them. At the entrance, tens of thousands of rebels lined up, resisting to the death. After Zhu Hongzhang and Liu Lianjie, they shouted and charged from the middle, desperately fighting for three hours, and the rebels were defeated..." After reading this, the Empress Dowager Ci'an interrupted her and asked anxiously: "Sister, did you report Jiang Ning's recovery?" "Only the outer city was restored. But once the outer city is destroyed, the inner city must also be destroyed." This is a great happy event that should be happy, but the Empress Dowager Ci'an sighed deeply, suddenly feeling sad, but she refused to let the tears flow, she only held an embroidered silk handkerchief, and kept rubbing her eyes and nose.This action made the serving eunuchs startled, but no one dared to inquire.Those who stood farther away whispered that the news from Changchun Palace was inaccurate, and the memorial from Jiang Ning was probably not a good thing, otherwise, why would "East Side" be sad? Empress Dowager Cixi understood why she was so sad, and she must have thought of the late emperor from this good news.In the eleven years of the emperor, there was hardly a day when he was not in the midst of internal and external troubles.From illness to death, although it was caused by indulging in alcohol and sex, but the kind of awakening in the middle of the night, getting up to read the military newspapers of various provinces, either the army was defeated here, or the army was lost there. Money is as urgent as sparks, and it is really thanks to him to endure such days. "Oh! Poor!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an finally expressed her emotion, "I have been looking forward to it for so many years, and when the news arrives, he is gone!" "The past, the past! Sister, there are many important things to do today, don't be sad!" With this sentence, the Empress Dowager Ci'an's state of mind was temporarily shifted.Her sadness came suddenly and went quickly, and she exclaimed happily: "The emperor pays off those who have worked so hard, Zeng Guoquan has made great contributions, and it is really thanks to him!" Empress Dowager Cixi has a different idea. She believes that Jiang Ning's recovery should not be late.Zeng Guoquan had made up his mind a long time ago to achieve the great honor of going straight to Jinling.In April, Li Hongzhang regained Changzhou and was ordered by the imperial court to march into Jiangninghui to suppress it. Li Hongzhang did not delay because the soldiers were overworked and had to rest. In fact, he did not want to share Zeng Guoquan's merits.If there were no such plans, Jiang Ning would have taken it long ago if they joined forces to attack. "Look at this, the battle was fierce! But how many people died?" "Is that too little?" "Cough!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an looked worried again, "We have won the battle, tidy up the place, and appease the people. In the future, this burden will be very heavy!" This is not the same as the Empress Dowager Cixi's view, but it is impossible to discuss with her in detail for a while, and the Minister of Military Aircraft is summoned for a detailed discussion at the moment. "Call it up!" She said this, she stood up immediately, paused for a while, and waited for Empress Dowager Ci'an to walk beside her, then they walked slowly to the East Nuan Pavilion and ascended to the throne. The whole class of military ministers, Prince Gong, Wen Xiang, Bao Jun, Li Tangjie, and Cao Yuying have long been on standby at the military aircraft. Although the good news is good, it is difficult to see the original performance, and I don't know the details. Is the inner city broken?Although Hong Xiuquan committed suicide by taking poison in late April, did his son, Hong Fuzhen, who was "supported to succeed him", ever be captured?Especially the false "Loyal King" Li Xiucheng, this man is so talented and powerful, if he slips through the net, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not be completely wiped out. While everyone was talking like this, Bao Jun suddenly thought of something, "Shouldn't you be happy today?" "Ah! I forgot about that." Prince Gong said, "Hurry up and send someone to do it." This has been a rule for many years. Whenever the country has a big celebration, the ministers must deliver wishful wishes to the emperor as usual. On days like today, wishful wishes must be delivered. At this time, "Sura" from the Military Aircraft Department came to report: the empress dowagers of the two palaces have arrived at the Palace of Mental Cultivation, and they ordered to come in immediately.Time is running short, even if there is a ready-made Ruyi in the mansion like Prince Gong, it is too late to take it, so I have to give up. Although Ruyi is not handed over, words of praise to the sage are indispensable, so when they arrive at the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, King Gong is the first to congratulate.Naturally, the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces also had some words of consolation, and then sent out the original music.Above the palace, it was inconvenient to share the view, so Baojun read it aloud. The emperors and ministers in the palace, the guards and eunuchs outside the palace all smiled and listened intently. Because the Empress Dowager Ci'an did not understand the terrain of Jiangning, Cao Yuying, who was originally from Jiangyin, gave some "progressive lectures".For the Empress Dowagers of the Two Palaces, he pointed out to Chen that the "outer city" mentioned in Zeng Guoquan's memorial was the capital city built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty.There were originally thirteen city gates, but four of them were closed in this dynasty, leaving nine gates of Zhengyang, Tongji, Jubao, Sanshan, Shicheng, Yifeng, Shence, Taiping, and Chaoyang, which were opened with gunpowder. In Taiping Gate, just southeast of Xuanwu Lake.Going further to the east is Zhongshan, where Hong Jun built two stone fortresses, called "Tianbao City" and "Dibao City".In the spring of this year, Zeng Guoquan captured the "Tianbao City", and Jiangning was encircled. If he captured the "Dibao City" in May, Jiangning's recovery would only happen sooner or later. "What about the inner city?" The Empress Dowager Ci'an asked again. "The inner city is the Forbidden City of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. It is irrelevant to change it to a garrison city in this dynasty! The outer city is ninety-six miles around. The city foundation is made of granite, and the city wall is made of special huge bricks, and the outside is painted with lime." The paste made with Jiangmi rice is extremely strong, once the outer city is broken, Jiangning will be restored." Based on his many years of experience in the military aircraft department, Cao Yuying pointed out again: "It must be that within a few days, Zeng Guofan still has When the memorial comes, all the details of Kefu Jiangning will be known at that time." "Then," asked the Empress Dowager Cixi, "what shall we do now?" "Of course it is a congratulatory edict first. In terms of rewards for meritorious deeds, we have to wait for Zeng Guofan to open the list before we can make a proposal." Prince Gong replied like this. "Okay! I'll take a look at the decree right away, and let Jiang Ning take the difference back." So Cao Yuying withdrew first, and wrote an edict, except that Zeng Guoquan's subordinates were dissatisfied with 50,000 people, and in two years, all the "thief bases" outside Jiangning City were wiped out. In spite of death, the strong city was conquered, thanks to Zeng Guofan's good dispatching, Zeng Guoquan and the officers and men actively worked hard, expressed that they built this marvelous feat, and were extremely pleased, and made a special promise: "This time, all the ministers who have made meritorious service will destroy the puppet city. If it is broken, the giant will be captured, and he will be generously rewarded." After writing it, he sent it to the palace, first handed it to King Gong for reading, and then submitted it to the royal case. "Jiangning's recovery is almost done." The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at Prince Gong and said, "The military salaries for the past few years have all been raised by the provinces themselves. Now that we have to deal with the aftermath, we can no longer ask the local governments to raise funds themselves. Have a plan!" "I have already planned it." Prince Gong replied: "The puppet has searched a lot in the past few years. There are rumors outside that gold and silver are like a sea. As long as his puppet mansion is destroyed, the money for the aftermath will come naturally." "I'm afraid you can't plan like this?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked suspiciously. "Now we have to plan like this first." Prince Gong replied very quickly, his tone seemed very firm, "The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are planning to be poor every month, and the expenses in Beijing are also high, so we have to find ways to save money!" The Ministry of Internal Affairs only pays for the expenses of the court, saying that the Ministry of Internal Affairs needs to save money, which is tantamount to asking the court to spend and save money.The Empress Dowager Cixi had heard An Dehai's report more than once, saying that the Changchun Palace asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for money, and it was rare for Prince Gong to quickly allocate the money.Although she also knew that Prince Gong was not Sushun and didn't intend to embarrass her, but he didn't necessarily respect the Queen Mother too much! What bothered her the most was that last month, a censor named Jia Duo wrote an account, saying that it was rumored that there were eunuchs acting in plays, who were rewarded with a thousand gold, and made costumes out of stock silk. Please ban it as soon as possible, in order to prevent it from happening.Is this the word there?Since the national mourning and filial piety are full, there are some operas and operas in Shufangzhai on the fifteenth day of every month. Why is it "rewarding a thousand pieces of gold"?Since you are acting, you have to wear outfits. It can’t be like the Daoguang period. No matter the emperor, general, or gifted scholar or beautiful woman on the stage, they all wear tattered outfits, with one piece on their bodies, one piece on the other, and the stage is shaking. It’s like a fight between flowers , then why sing?Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi felt that Jia Duo was critical and was very dissatisfied, but Prince Gong defended him and had to issue a denial. Adding these memories together, what Prince Gong said just now is more harsh.But on a day like today, it's easy to cover up the unhappiness, and it's not hard to tolerate the grudge against Prince Gong, so he echoed him and said, "Yes, the chaos in this province must be cleared up, and then 'hundred It's all abolished, and it costs money everywhere. Besides, the bandits are still making trouble, and military expenses are indispensable." Hearing that the Empress Dowager Cixi was so sensible, the ministers of military affairs were all convinced.After exiting the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they went to the Military Aircraft Department to discuss again, carefully studied Zeng Guoquan's original music, and came to the same opinion: Zeng Jun has been besieging the city for a long time, the food supply has been cut off for a long time, and the number of people who starved to death in the city is unknown. , but desperately resisted, and his fighting spirit remained unabated.However, Zeng Jun had been besieged for more than 40 days under the scorching sun, with many deaths and hardships. Once the city was broken, it would inevitably be a vicious fight, the place was corrupted, and it was difficult to deal with the aftermath. Therefore, this good news is really a joy and a worry for the Minister of Military Affairs who is in charge of the country.But in any case, this is the first major expedition since the founding of the country, and it is also the first major meritorious service.The "Shiquan martial arts" of the Qianlong Dynasty is of course second to none, and even the Kangxi Dynasty's pacification of the San Francisco Rebellion is not as good in terms of scale and difficulty.Naturally, Zeng Guofan's contribution to suppressing this chaos is the first, and he really deserves to be crowned a king. But no one is willing to make this initiative. At this time, the outside world had already received the news. At first, they were skeptical. When the Minister of Military Aircraft and Military Aircraft Zhang Jing returned home, they all came to inquire and officially confirmed the good news.That night, from the prince's mansion to Pengmen, when chatting in the cool air, they all used this as a topic. Of course, the idea of ​​this good news varies from person to person.The Jiangnan people living in Beijing are naturally ecstatic when they miss their hometown.Then there are the officers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households, who are particularly excited.A reward for success, the officers of the Ministry of War in the six ministries, who directly participate in military affairs, are sure to be promoted.The officials and secretary offices of the household department can make a fortune. After the military service is over, they have to go through reimbursement. Let alone the old accounts of the Jiangnan camp, the military expenses handled by Brother Zeng Guofan alone are more than tens of millions.Regardless of where these military expenditures come from?It is always necessary to get the approval of the performance, so that the responsibility can be relieved. At that time, we must talk about it carefully. Naturally, they were a little calmer, and those who knew the battle situation felt that they had to wait for Zeng Guofan, the governor of Liangjiang, who was in charge of the military affairs of the four provinces, to come forward and win the victory.And even if Jiangning is completely recovered, there are still hundreds of thousands of Hong troops in the north and south, Jiangxi and southern Anhui, the situation is still tight.Huzhou in Zhejiang has not been attacked for a long time, so even though Jiangning was won, the Hong army may still make a comeback. What's more, the Hong army stationed in the outskirts of Jiangning, such as Xiaguan, still has the opportunity to counterattack. How the situation will evolve is hard to predict. In an excited and anxious mood, at the end of the month, Zeng Guofan's good news finally arrived.Surprisingly, the leader is not Zeng Guofan, who is in charge of military affairs and presides over the entire war situation, but the governor of Shihuguang, who sits in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and relies on Hu Linyi to keep his wealth and wealth.Zeng Guoquan desperately strives for success, while his elder brother is deliberately humble. Why the two brothers' temperaments are so different, I can't help being confused for a while.