Chapter 2 second quarter

According to Guan Zenghui's memorial and Zhecha, Jingzhong knew the details of the recovery of Jiangning at that time.It was Li Chendian's initiative to dig the tunnel from the dragon arm and blast out the 20-foot-long mouth of the Taiping Gate, and it was he who was on the "Dibao City" and Jiangning City. The Qing army and the Hong army bombarded each other day and night. In the bitter battle, step up the excavation.By June 15th, the tunnel was completed, and more than 600 bags of gunpowder were immediately filled.This morning, the "Loyal King" Li Xiucheng also mobilized a group of dead soldiers to rush out of the city.

The next day, June 16, under the direct scorching sun, the medicine thread was triggered.In advance, Zeng Guoquan summoned all the generals under his command, consulted volunteers, and arranged the order of the charge.Zhu Hongzhang, who was originally from Liping, Guizhou, took the lead. The first team rushed up from the back, and the "loyal king" Li Xiucheng personally led the troops to intercept, and more than 400 people were killed.The second team of more than 2,000 people, who followed one after the other, rushed up in one go before they could stand still. So the rear team continued to advance, divided into three groups, rushed in the middle, and left and right circled the city to copy the rear. Hong Jun began to collapse. .

The bloody battle lasted until night, and the mansions of the false kings were all on fire. It is said that the "young master" Hong Fuzhen set his doors on fire and set himself on fire, while the "loyal king" Li Xiucheng was captured. In the list of meritorious generals opened by Zeng Guofan, Li Chendian is the first. He is not among the "first nine generals".Next was Xiao Fusi, because Li Xiucheng was captured by his subordinates.As for Zhu Hongzhang, who was the first to ascend the city, entered the "Tianwangfu" and captured Hong Xiuquan's second brother Hong Renda, he ranked fourth.

As soon as the good news spread, the Ninetowns were once again shocked.Not only was Jiang Ning all under control, Hong Fuzhen was burned to death, Li Xiucheng was captured, although there were many Hong troops in the north and south of the Yangtze River, they lost their support and collapsed without fighting. As a result, many Jiangnan people who lived in the capital and could not return home remembered Lu You's poem "Family sacrifices should not be forgotten to tell Nai Weng", and specially set up sacrifices and burned incense to celebrate.The same is true in the palace. When the victory was handed over, the first thing the empress dowagers of the two palaces decided was to send Chun Wang Yixuan to pay respects to Wenzong's mausoleum and declare the matter.

On the second day, on the first day of the seventh lunar month, princes and princes, ministers of first rank and above, went to the palace to congratulate and express their wishes.Then it's time to talk about merit and deeds.Prince Gong and the Minister of Military Affairs have discussed in secret several times. Using the precedent of no civil servants conferring kings and dukes in this dynasty as an excuse, they conferred Zeng Guofan as a first-class marquis. Like the title of Wenchen. Zeng Guoquan's title was second-class, and he was named Wei Yibo, Li Chendian was a first-class viscount, and Xiao Fusi was a first-class baron.In this battle, the only ones who won the "fifth-class seal" were Hou, Bo, Zi, and Nan.Zeng Guofan's marquis was "hereditary without replacement", and the rest were all done right away.Li Chendian had never been a "lord" for a day, and when the edict came, he had already died on the second day of July.

In addition, the commanders-in-chief and the ministers of the frontiers in the southeast have different numbers, and the officials and Li Hongzhang have also been made earls. Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Zhejiang, and Shen Baozhen, the governor of Jiangxi, are not included, because Zhejiang and Jiangxi have not yet been equalized. , the award cannot be delayed.But with Jiang Ning Kefu's brilliant grace, Zuo Zongtang and Shen Baozhen will naturally work extra hard.This is the deep heart of the imperial court.Naturally, the ministers of military aircraft in Beijing, Zhang Jing of the military aircraft, and meritorious personnel in various yamen also rewarded them for their merits.Generally speaking, the rewards are flat and the hearts of the people are happy.However, Zhu Hongzhang only got a riding captain outside the fifth-class title. Some people felt that he was not fair, thinking that Zeng Guoquan deliberately discriminated against him because he was not a general of the Hunan Army. It was easy to get the Viscount Li Chendian.

Not long after, after Zeng Guofan went from Anqing to Jiangning to personally inspect, there was a stream of reports, and the details became clearer. At the same time, many people came to Beijing from the front and talked about it in detail. Even Xiao Fusi's baron was not satisfied.He was awarded the reward for the reason of capturing Li Xiucheng alive, but it was not because of fighting against others. It was just that Li Xiucheng fled to the ruined temple on the mountain to cover and hide for the villagers. He rewarded him with the jewels he carried with him. A group of villagers competed for profit, but Li Xiucheng was unlucky and was sent to the official army camp, which was exactly Xiao Fusi's subordinates.This is the truth about the so-called "capture alive".

There are many other people who believe this statement. Zeng Guoquan loves Xiao Fusi so much for other reasons.When the city was broken, Zhu Hongzhang, who rushed in first, attacked the "Tianwang Mansion" from the middle, and captured Hong Renda alive. Waiting for Zeng Guoquan to deal with it.Afterwards, Xiao Fusi came to take over the defense, and spent one night looting all the property accumulated in the "Tianwang's Mansion". At noon the next day, somehow, a fire was set up, and the "Tianwang's Mansion" was completely burned down. net.Because Xiao Fusi had made such great contributions to Zeng Jiushuai, in the name of capturing the false "loyal king" alive, he was ranked second in the report, which happened to be a baron's turn.

Although these words are convincing, they are rumors on the road, and they may have been intentionally slandered out of jealousy of Zeng Guoquan's work, but a memorial from Zeng Guofan soon appeared, which seemed to confirm that the hearsay was not false. His memorial said: "Over the years, there have been many rumors at home and abroad that the wealth of the rebels is as rich as the sea of ​​gold and silver. They are the restoration of their old lairs, but they have no goods. It is unexpected. At present, the need for money to deal with the aftermath is very urgent, and the money is very huge, such as comforting the victims of the disaster. , repairing the city walls and garrisoning full camps, all of which are good for the aftermath. The rest of the world is flourishing, and the left and the right are stretched out. In addition to joy, anxiety has increased."

When King Gong saw this memorial, he was very displeased, and like Zeng Guofan, he "increased anxiety".The Empress Dowager Cixi once reminded him that if the chaos is brought to an end and all wastes are eliminated, he must prepare funds early, and his plan to use the goods he received to deal with the aftermath has completely failed now! However, Prince Gong didn't have the time to investigate this level.In the same excerpt, Zeng Guofan reported the situation that "Hong Xiuquan and Li Xiucheng were dealt with separately".Hong Xiuquan's body was found in a fake cave in the "Tianwang Mansion". After being inspected by Zeng Guofan himself, he was burned. Li Xiucheng was executed at dusk on the sixth day of July.The imperial edict originally ordered Hong Xiuquan's body to be killed and "passed to the southeast", and Li Xiucheng was sent to the capital to "present the captives", but Zeng Guofan did not do so.There is also "the false young master Hong Fuzhen has no real whereabouts", especially not reassuring. I have to study the confession of Li Xiucheng, who was copied by Zeng Guofan to the Military Aircraft Department.

Because of the hot weather and extra secrecy, Prince Gong invited the ministers of military aircraft to his villa "Jianyuan" to have a drink and read Li Xiucheng's confession. It took some time, but that was not all of the confession. When Zeng Guofan came to Jiangning, he personally interrogated Li Xiucheng once, and then entrusted his staff to preside over the trial.But in fact, the so-called interrogation was just to let Li Xiucheng write a personal confession in the "stand cage". From June 27th to July 6th, I don't know how many words?He died after writing it.Because Li Xiucheng was almost the only one in the Hong army who could get the sympathy of the people, for his capture, the Jiangning villagers even captured and killed one of Xiao Fusi's personal soldiers, as if to avenge him.At the same time, although Li Xiucheng had become a prisoner in the "cage", the general of the Hong army still knelt down to pay his respects when he saw him. There was an accident during the long journey of the capital, so he did not follow the order of the imperial court and rectified the law on the spot. Because of this, Li Xiucheng's confession is particularly important. Hong Fuzhen's escape was revealed in detail in the confession.On the day when the city was broken, Li Xiucheng served as the "Young Master" to prepare the family members of the kings, and under the protection of thousands of dead soldiers, he was ready to break through.Since the nine gates of Jiangning were guarded by the Hunan Army, they had to hide for the time being. In the middle of the night, they stripped off the uniforms of the fallen Qing soldiers, refitted them all, and rushed out from the Taiping Gate.Li Xiucheng used one of his fine horses as a ride for the "young master", but he himself rode an inferior horse that was not good for walking, so he fell behind and was captured. This is certainly true, but how much else is credible?The transcript of the confession had been abridged by Zeng Guofan, especially the last paragraph. Li Xiucheng said to himself that he could collect the north and south banks of the Yangtze River with one hand, and hundreds of thousands of Hong troops surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.After collecting all the tribes, the Nian bandits who are spreading in the Central Plains can be leveled with a raise of their hands.He also said that "there are ten essentials in recruiting and surrendering", and Hong Xiuquan made "ten mistakes". What are these "ten essentials" and "ten mistakes"?The guest of honor of Jianyuan didn't know about it, because it had been "all abridged". "Why is that so?" Prince Gong shook his head and said, "Could there be some hindrance?" "My lords, please listen to this paragraph." Bao Jun read Li Xiucheng's confession aloud: "'Governor Li has Shanghai, heavy tariffs and a lot of money, so he recruited ghost soldiers to fight with me.'" This refers to Li Hongzhang using Shanghai's tariffs, In terms of the "ever victorious army" that recruited the foreigner Gordon Wall.Everyone here has vaguely heard that Shanghai's tariffs are a major asset of Li Hongzhang, and now they have confirmed it from the mouth of the enemy.From this point of view, Li Xiucheng's confession has another function that can be used to examine the role of the southeast military commander, so it is even more necessary to read the full text. So it was agreed during the meeting to use the decree to inform Zeng Guofan of two matters, one is to send back the part that Li Xiucheng originally submitted for deletion, and the other is to inquire about Hong Fuzhen's real whereabouts. "Since Li Xiucheng has subdued the law, Hong Fuzhen is a bratty child, and there is nothing wrong with it." Wen Xiang's thinking has always been far-reaching, and at this time he raised a very realistic concern: "The chaos will be leveled again, and so many troops will not be needed. The Hunan Army If you don't cut it, you will not only have to pay food and wages, but also stragglers everywhere will harass the local area, so you have to make your own plans." Everyone present took his words for granted, except for Li Tangjie, "It doesn't matter!" He said, " I guess Zeng Disheng himself will take care of it without any instructions from the court." "Ah, ah!" As if he had been reminded of something, Prince Gong looked at Li Tangjie with burning eyes and said, "You were friends with Zeng Disheng in the early years who gave lectures, and you know brothers Zeng very well. Zeng Laojiu, after all, How about it?" The topic changed slightly like this, and it turned to Zeng Guoquan.Li Tangjie recalled the past more than 20 years ago, and slowly replied: "Zeng Yuanfu was only eighteen or nine years old at that time, and he lived in his brother's Beijing apartment for less than two years. Be careful, there are basically two ways. However, Zeng Disheng’s tasters do have unique vision. I remember he sent Yuanfu back to Hunan. Jun and Wu Jun refer to his other two brothers, Guohuang and Guohua, and Yuanfu is really the 'white eyebrow' of his Zeng family for establishing this special honor. But, it's a pity!" "how?" Li Tangjie shook his head and sighed: "The names of all the honors of the Hundred Worlds are all fake 'Tianwang Mansion', and the fire has greatly reduced it!" This remark touched upon Prince Gong's dissatisfaction with Zeng Guoquan, and he immediately frowned his long brows. Everyone was silent, and one should be cautious and reserved when talking about human integrity. Only Bao Yun was a person who was not deep, and said loudly: "Yes, there are people from the south these days, and they are talking very lively!" "How to say?" "Not only Zeng Laojiu, but also everyone in the Hunan army made a fortune. All the fake 'Prince's Mansion' were burned cleanly, only Chen Yucheng's 'Prince Ying's Mansion' was not burned because it was empty." Bao Jun said again, " Even if it is all burned, there will be a little bit left, 'gold and silver are like the sea', and it will be wiped out all of a sudden, which is too unreasonable." "Qi is Qi here. Was it burned, or was it robbed? It seems that we have to investigate." "Why did you burn it? Real gold is not afraid of fire!" The prudent Wenxiang made an excuse: "Maybe those 'kings' who escaped took them away by themselves, and I don't know." "No, no!" Bao Jun shook his head vigorously and said, "In a hurry, can we finish it? I haven't seen Li Xiucheng's confession. He escaped on a poor horse. It is conceivable that there are very few mules and horses. Carrying it on the shoulder, how much can you carry?" Such an analysis, unless it is admitted that there was nothing in the "Heavenly King's Mansion", otherwise it must be confirmed that after Zeng Guoquan's army broke through Jiangning, they searched it all.However, Jiangning was besieged for more than 40 days, the traffic was cut off, and the property of the "Tianwang Mansion" could not be smuggled out of the city, but how could it be "nothing at all"? "Alas!" Prince Gong sighed heavily, stood up, took two steps, stopped abruptly, and said with annoyed face: "I really don't know what to do? We are so poor, and there is no way to deal with the chaos, how can we explain it to the top and the bottom?" Everyone here sympathizes with Prince Gong's troubles, but they can't help feeling that he is looking for trouble for his almost naive plan.This is no wonder he.Taking Xuanzong's beloved son as the late emperor's sister-in-law, although there were suspicions during the period, Qing Yi believed that he was the one who was wronged. A coup d'etat three years ago, for Sheji, the orthodoxy did not fall, and it had the power to turn the world around.In the past three years, respecting the old and the virtuous, strictly enforcing discipline, and trusting Zeng Guofan are all worse than Sushun.It is because of such courage, internal and external cooperation, each doing his best, that he can reap great merits. This is an opportunity and advantage that Prince Gong's people can hardly match. However, Tianman Noble, no matter how outstanding his talent is, his experience must be strong. This is not about age, but about status and knowledge.Due to his status, he could not get in touch with the officials of the last rank, and his knowledge was limited to the customs and customs within the capital.Therefore, it was a huge mistake for him to look at Zeng Guoquan from Zeng Guofan's eyes. Except for Prince Gong, everyone present felt that Li Tangjie's reference to Zeng Guoquan as a "man of fame" was a rather subtle and good way of saying it.Because, it is inconvenient to say that what he studied was the feudal towns of the Five Dynasties. He won the battle only to occupy the city, and the city was only used to seal the official treasury.Everyone in Hunan in Beijing knows that as early as the ninth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guoquan built a mansion in his hometown.Prince Gong should know about this ridiculous joke.Li Hongzhang looked at the face of his teacher Zeng Guofan and sold Zeng Guoquan's friendship. He overcame Changzhou and stood still, allowing the "Old Ninth" to restore Jinling alone, so he could do whatever he wanted. This was only two or three months ago. King Gong should know .However, after reading the records in "History of the Song Dynasty" and "Spring and Autumn Period of the Ten Kingdoms", I think that Zeng Guoquan conquered Jinling, like Cao Bin went to the south of the Yangtze River and took over Jinling, bowed himself to guard the palace gate, strictly enforced military discipline, and committed no offense in autumn. The relics of the two masters of the Southern Tang Dynasty, from gold, silver and jewelry to antique calligraphy and paintings, were bundled and sent to the north, and all were handed over to the inner government.Isn't that naive? Naturally, it is inconvenient to say these thoughts, so I can only persuade them.The only problem is that it is not easy to word words, saying that it is difficult to fight a hundred battles, and saying that he is not famous, can be used as excuses, but there is the brother of Zeng Guoquan, put together, in comparison, it seems that Zeng Laojiu is useless. , All the consolation has become rambling gossip, tired of talking, and they leave one after another. Only Bao Yun stayed and changed a place to spend the long days with Prince Gong.It was a study made like a hut in the shade of bamboo.They took off each other's traces, dressed in short clothes, and under the service of a group of clever and lovely maids, they chatted casually, from the palace to the market, and said whatever came to mind, without rhetoric or scruples. The conversation that day was more serious, and the topic was still Prince Gong's troubles, the treasury was running low, and Zeng Guofan wanted money to deal with the aftermath. After all, Bao Yun has more experience than Prince Gong, "Why do you care about his words? Zeng Disheng said that the fake 'Prince's Mansion' is worthless, and he just made some deceitful words for his brother!" The status of Shangshu said again: "Do you think he will really come to me to ask for money? No! Zeng Disheng's Neo-Confucianism is not the Neo-Confucianism of Wogenfeng. He is a man with a deep chest and a great economy. After so many years of fighting, he needed soldiers and wages, so he didn’t think of a way! Now, he should rely on the help of the local government to deal with the aftermath. Does he have to ask the court to allocate funds to do it? Think about it, isn’t that right? " Prince Gong smiled: "You said this in front of so many people just now, why didn't you say it?" "Why do I say this? What good will it do me if I let it out?" Bao Jun said again: "It's really difficult to be a court official in the Ministry of Household Affairs. He is inconsiderate inside and out. It's really hard to say." Hearing the whining in his tone, Prince Gong couldn't help but play with his words again.It is conceivable that the money-management yamen fails to meet the demands of outsiders and has its own complaints. It seems that the insiders are not considerate of the court officials. What is going on? So he asked: "What's 'inside out'? What's the matter with your ministry?" "It's not for the decree on the day of the Empress Dowager Ci'an's longevity." This said, Prince Gong understood.On the day of the Empress Dowager Ci'an's longevity, a special edict was issued stating that since the rise of the army, the military expenditures of the provinces do not need to be reimbursed, but since the first day of July this year, it will still be handled as usual.On the surface, this edict was requested from the Ministry of Household Affairs, but in fact it was Prince Gong's decision.His idea is that the provinces have raised their own salaries for military use over the years. Even if there is a so-called "cooperative payment", the provinces that have not been affected by the military disaster try to provide relief, and half of it is obtained through the personal relationship of the military commanders.Since the imperial court has not exerted much strength, it is inappropriate to be demanding at this time, and it is a bad debt. I don't know when it will be settled?It's better to simply zoom in and cut the mess quickly. Once everything is done, it's also a pleasure. This was a rather courageous decision, not only the generals in front felt relieved, and aroused a heart of gratitude, even people who had nothing to do with it felt that the court was generous and fair, which seemed to be a bold and ambitious situation.However, the clerks and clerks of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War are gearing up to criticize and refute the case of canceling military supplies worth tens of millions of taels of silver.In this way, everything is empty, so it is natural to complain. Seeing Prince Gong's expression, Bao Jun guessed his mood, and then said: "I don't care about them. That's fine, just because they were so disappointed, the more they see that this matter was done beautifully! Really, talk behind your back. It all sounds like this: Except for Prince Gong, no one has such a big responsibility. Tens of millions of taels of military expenditure, just say it and forget it, how big is this?" A few casual words swept away the unhappiness in Prince Gong's heart, and replaced it with Mr. Guijie's proud feeling of letting go of ten thousand gold, which aroused people's envy.