Chapter 19 Section 19

Seng Gelinqin made great achievements since the Hunan Army conquered Jinling last year. Later, the court ordered Zeng Guofan to move to the borders of Anhui and Henan to suppress the Nian Army.At that time, Zhang Zongyu of the Nian Army fled to Dengzhou, Henan, and the Monk King was defeated in the first battle. Fortunately, Chen Guorui came to help in time, turned the defeat into victory, and pursued him relentlessly.That area is mostly mountainous, unfavorable to the cavalry, and he was repeatedly ambushed, and the monk king was even more annoyed, chasing the enemy on light horses, often walking one or two hundred miles a day and night.When camping, he didn't take off his clothes and slept on the ground. When it was dawn, he jumped up, took a little food, got on his horse first and galloped away with his whip, accompanied by his thousands of horses, throwing hundreds of thousands of infantry away. far away.

In this way, in half a year, the Nian army was driven to the sky and had no way to enter the earth. They fled from Queshan in Henan to Runing, passed through Kaifeng and Guide, and then went north into Shandong Province. From Jining and Yizhou, they went back and went In Caozhou, the Nian Army stated that as long as the officers and soldiers do not pursue so closely and allow them to take a breath, they can surrender.The monk king ignored this and fought a battle in the south of Caozhou. This battle was a battle of besieged beasts in the Nian army. The officer and army lost and retreated into an empty fortress.Surrounded heavily by the Nian Army, they dug long trenches around the empty castle.Once dug out, the officers and soldiers will have no way out, so the army is panicked, and the lack of food and grass, the whole army is in danger of collapse.

Seeing that the situation was not good, those generals gathered together to see the monk king and asked to break out of the siege, and the monk king agreed.So they deployed separately, and the monk king and his general Cheng Baozuo sent a surrendered Nian army named Guisan as a guide. The monk king, who was physically and mentally exhausted, was supported by alcohol at that time. He got on the horse drunk and fell off the saddle.It wasn't because he was drunk. Something was wrong with the horse, the nails were not nailed properly, a horseshoe fell off, and the horse's foot was injured. He refused to go no matter what, so he had to change horses.

That night was the end of the string, and the weather was dark at the second watch.He stumbled and rushed out of the empty fortress, who knew that Gui San had colluded with the Nian army, took a hundred of his men, reined in his horse's head, and charged straight at the officer's army.The Nian army on the outskirts took the opportunity to attack, and there was a scuffle in Heitou, who killed whom?People startled and horses neighed, and fled in all directions.At dawn, each of them collected their troops, but they didn't know the whereabouts of the monk king. At that time, they searched around in confusion, and saw a Nian soldier wearing three-eyed feathers passing by a distant polder triumphantly.There were hundreds of thousands of people on that battlefield, and there was only one three-eyed flower feather. Since it was worn on the head of the Nian army, the head of the monk king disappeared.So the whole army cried: "The prince is dead." While crying, they went to find the body of the monk king, but they couldn't find it after a day of searching.

The king of the monk has prejudices against the Han people, especially the Han people in the south, and most of his subordinates are bannermen. He only looks at Chen Guorui differently. His admiral is protected by the king of the monk.At this time, on the one hand, he felt the kindness of knowing him, and on the other hand, he was also responsible for the death of the commander. Therefore, he summoned the rout troops. Speaking of tears, he was personally determined to fight to the death with the Nian army. He doesn't force it.After speaking, he got on the horse immediately. At this time, hundreds of people were called, although the number of people was small, their fighting spirit was high. The so-called "a mourner must win", shouted to charge and kill, and unexpectedly repelled a large number of Nian troops, opened a wide bloody road, and at the same time found the monk King's remains.

Monk Wang died in a wheat field near Wujiadian.Suffering eight wounds, there was only one stable boy who died with him.Chen Guorui and his men got off their horses, knelt down and wept bitterly. Then he personally carried the body of the monk king and went into the capital city of Caozhou. When the news reached the capital, the ruling and opposition parties were shocked.The empress dowagers of the two palaces made an exception and summoned the military aircraft in the afternoon.First of all, discuss the affairs of the monk king, and decide to send guards to accompany the eldest son of the monk king, Boyan Nemo, to Shandong to welcome the funeral. Agree on the method and request another decree.

Secondly, we need to discuss the successor candidates. This is the real problem!The imperial court originally relied heavily on three people in military affairs, Zeng Guofan in the southeast, Duolong'a in the northwest, and the monk king in the central plains.Duolong'a died in the battle in Shaanxi in April last year, and a full year later, the monk king Qu'er was killed in battle.Although there are still a few veteran generals in the banner camp, none of them are worthy of special recruitment in terms of prestige and talent.However, if the erratic, treacherous and fierce Nian army cannot be stopped in time, when the generals are damaged and the army is panicked, they will cross the river from Shandong to the north and go straight to Gyeonggi.

Therefore, the ministers of military affairs since King Gong are all anxious, but they are afraid that the empress dowagers of the two palaces will be anxious, and they dare not criticize Chen in too much detail about the military situation, but no matter how lightly they are, Shandong is connected to Hebei, just like Tianjin is connected to Beijing. , is nothing more than clear.Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi also knew that it was a major event that had to be decided immediately by ordering the general to replace the monk king and preside over the overall situation of suppressing Nian. After talking about several banner generals, this is not enough, and that is also unreliable. The Empress Dowager Cixi became impatient, "Don't mention our bannermen!" She said to Prince Gong, "I think it must be Zeng Guofan."

This is the person on everyone's mind.But just now, Cai Shouqi had vaguely accused Wang Gong of planting the party and joined Zeng Guofan and the Hunan Army with self-respect, and no one would rashly recommend it.Prince Gong was especially cautious. He considered the matter as soon as he received the news of King Monk's death in battle. He believed that Zeng Guofan was the last choice to succeed King Monk.Although it is under Yi's decree, it is still necessary to state the relationship. In case Zeng Guofan's teacher fails in the future, there is still room for arguing responsibility.

"Responding to the two empress dowagers," he replied slowly, "Zeng Guofan is not what he used to be. He also has many difficulties, and I'm afraid he won't be able to carry this heavy burden." "how?" "Jinling was restored, and the Hunan Army laid off a lot of soldiers. He doesn't have any soldiers now." "Soldiers can be transferred from other places! Besides, didn't Li Hongzhang also train soldiers?" Empress Dowager Cixi said again, "Just do it like last autumn." "Yes!" Prince Gong agreed, disapproving in his heart, but now he no longer has the courage to speak up and speak eloquently, so let's delay it for a while as a buffer: "Rong Chen waits for the arrangements to be made, please request another order .”

Wen Xiang, who had never spoken much during the Zouxiang period, felt that it was necessary to help Prince Gong at this time, so he went over to Chen Zou: "I invite the two empress dowagers, as Prince Gong invited. The death of the monk king has a great relationship In addition to military affairs, the prestige of the monk king has always been known. Once the bad news spreads, the morale of the people will be affected, and we must try to make up for it in advance. After making a decision, we can protect everything, and it is not appropriate to mess up the steps at this time." "By the way! It is also very important to stabilize the hearts of the people. But there is no time for long-term discussions. You can discuss it overnight! "Meet" tomorrow morning, you have to "send a letter"! " King Gong left the palace and immediately sent someone to invite Ruichang and Zhu Fengbiao, Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, Luo Dunyan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Households, Zailing and Wan Qingli, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, to have a meeting at the Military Aircraft Office.After finding these people, it is natural to talk about transferring generals, raising salaries and training soldiers.Before getting into the topic, there were countless sighs, Ruichang was especially sad, he kept crying, told a lot of anecdotes and anecdotes about monks and kings, and then talked about sympathy, and said that the local officials of the provinces where the Nian army passed by failed to intercept and suppress them. , As a result, the monk king Qingqi chased the enemy and was trapped in a heavy siege, so he should be punished. After talking about this for a long time, dusk has risen and the gate of the palace will be closed. Prince Gong had to stop the conversation, announced his decree, and asked everyone what they thought? "Only Zeng Disheng's reputation can suppress Zhu." Rui Chang asked, "Then, who will Jiang Du be?" "The higher-ups want to do it like last autumn." Last fall, the imperial court ordered Zeng Guofan to go to Anhui and Henan to supervise the division. Li Hongzhang, the governor of Jiangsu, acted as the governor of Liangjiang, and Wu Tang, the governor of water transportation, also acted as the governor of Jiangsu. But the situation is different now. "Wu Zhongxuan has been transferred to Guangdong and Guangxi. Although he has not resigned yet, it seems that the system does not fit with the governor of Guangdong and the governor of Jiangsu." Everyone nodded, but no one said anything. Wu Tang is a member of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and it is better not to make any suggestions about his origin. "Bo Chuan!" Seeing this, Prince Gong asked Wen Xiang, "Who do you think Su Fu should call?" "You don't avoid relatives, Liu Songyan." Liu Songyan's name is Xingjiao, and he is currently the governor of Jiangsu Province. He is the same year as Wenxiang, so he said so. At this point, everyone nodded. Liu Xunjiao had always been in Jiangsu and was quite famous. The current governor was promoted to the governor of the department, so it was a matter of course for the feudal department to be promoted to the governor of the department. Wen Xiang talked about Wu Tang again.He has already transferred to Guangdong and Guangxi, but Peng Yulin has been refusing to take up the post after his vacancy, so Wu Tang can't leave. The governor of Guangdong and Guangxi has been represented by General Ruilin of Guangzhou.This vacant situation is not a long-term solution, but the key lies in Peng Yulin.He asked: "What does Peng Xueqin mean? If he is determined not to be Caodu, why not make another arrangement." "How do you see the arrangement?" Wen Xiang didn't open his mouth, but Bao Jun said: "Wu Zhongxuan has been in Jiangsu for many years, and now he has moved his family to the north, and we still have to rely on him. It's better to stay in the post!" "That's a good word. You have to know that the price is different for the same 'supervisor'." Prince Gong said in a low voice, "I sent Wu Zhongxuan's boiled duck flying, and there is no one to follow!" Seeing that Prince Gong was timid and lost his spirit, Li Tangjie was quite impatient, so he put down the hookah and threw the paper coal into the spittoon. He looked like he had something important to say, and everyone paid attention. "My lord!" Li Tangjie said in a loud voice, "The overall situation is in turmoil, and soldiers are so expensive. How to help Shandong and protect the capital, there should be a practical way to talk about it. Today, what time is there to talk about people's honors?" The conversation was aimed at Wu Tang, and his sharpness was so sharp that everyone present felt like being stabbed, but this stab was like a needle, and their spirits were lifted, and they all thought about the overall situation of "aiding Shandong and protecting Gyeonggi" up. "Wenweng blamed it." Prince Gong said with a little shame, but Li Tangjie interrupted him if he wanted to say anything. "My lord's words are serious! How dare I criticize them? However, when it comes to maintaining the overall situation, since Zeng Disheng is indispensable outside, the lord is indispensable inside. Maintaining internal and external relations, although the situation is dangerous! The lord still has to be brave in doing things, the only two The original intention of the Empress Dowager Gong not to let the prince 'indulge in comfort'!" These words are very incisive, and it is the meaning of the so-called "Spring and Autumn Rebuke the Sage". King Gong admired him deeply, and nodded his head humbly and earnestly.At the same time, I was really encouraged by him, got rid of all kinds of worries, and talked about some solutions in a very practical way. Before the meeting was over, several military reports were sent out from the palace. It was Yan Jingming, governor of Shandong, and Liu Changyou, governor of Zhili, who reported the death of the monk king, the fleeing of the Nian army, and the warning of the defense area. There was a tense atmosphere in Shandong hundreds of miles north of Caozhou. .Yan Jingming had already rushed back from Dongchang to Jinan, the provincial capital, to deploy defenses. In addition, there were only 3,000 people from the Shandong feudal chief Ding Baozhen guarding Jining. "Jining used to be Qufu, where the holy relics are located. Naturally, we have to do our best to protect the place. The Nian bandits don't dare to take such a big offense. It probably doesn't matter to the west." Everyone agrees with Cao Yuying's point of view, but what about the east and north?The northeast of Caozhou is the area around Daming Mansion on the border of Zhili Province. Liu Changyou personally supervised the suppression there, but his troops were limited. He said solemnly: "It's time to go to war again." This means that the deployment of troops and generals requires a lot of consideration. It is too late to be exhausted in words. Everyone advocates deliberating while deliberating.So he first drafted the decree to send Zeng Guofan to "go to Shandong to supervise the soldiers and suppress the thieves, and the governor of Liangjiang will act temporarily with Li Hongzhang". Zhang Jing, the military plane, knocked on the palace door and sent it in. The empress dowagers of the two palaces are mourning the monk king, lamenting that there will be no one behind the flag general, and the invincible majesty when entering the pass was wiped out. Seeing the draft of the submission, I couldn't help mentioning Zeng Guofan again. Fortunately, the case of deposing King Gong was not fooled by Cai Shouqi and implicated Zeng Guofan, otherwise it would be very embarrassing at this moment!Not to mention Zeng Guofan's own thoughts, the court is also embarrassed to take the heavy responsibility.The empress dowagers of the two palaces were thinking so in their hearts, but they didn't say it out. They just quickly stamped the stamps of "Yu Reward" and "Tongdaotang" and sent them out. The Ministry of War sent a special envoy overnight to Jinling. The meeting of the Military Aircraft Department was moved to Prince Gong's Mansion, but apart from the Minister of Military Aircraft, there was only one Minister of the Ministry of War, Zai Ling.This minister who was ridiculed by the Empress Dowager Cixi as a "pen post" attended the meeting just because he remembered the numbers. How many soldiers and horses are there? Just ask him and he will know, so you don't have to look it up. After an all-night discussion, the deployment is roughly complete.At that time, when the ugly was handed over, the officials on duty in the inner court should usually get up at this time and prepare to enter the palace. At this time, they don't have to sleep anymore, let alone go back to the mansion.Prince Gong sent someone to fry very thick ginseng soup, prepared very nourishing snacks, and brought hot towels over and over again to wipe his face, so even though he had worked hard all day and night, he could still support his spirit. Entering the palace early in the morning, Zhang Jing, the military plane on duty, has already taken care of all the routine affairs. He knew in advance that he would be summoned today to explain military affairs in front of the imperial court, and he had prepared a map of the five provinces of Zhi, Shandong, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu. .Prince Gong read it carefully, added some marks, and rolled it up for later use. On weekdays, military planes visit, always at the exact hour of the morning, and this day was especially early, when the bell rang just after seven o'clock, Su La came to report: "The superiors are calling." When they met, the Empress Dowager Cixi asked in surprise, "What's the matter? You don't look too good on your face!" "Because of the emergency of the military situation, the ministers discussed all night, and have not slept until now." "Oh!" The empress dowagers of the two palaces said in unison, although they didn't say anything more, the expression of being moved by Jiawei was quite obvious. "The ministers and others discussed that it is important to protect the important areas of the capital. It is always necessary to teach the Nian bandits that no one person or one horse can enter the Zhili realm. This is the best plan. Now we have drawn up a three-pronged strategy, please implement it." Then Prince Gong unfolded the map before the imperial case, and the other four ministers also stood close to the imperial case to help explain.Although the troops marching northward from the two rivers were under the command of Zeng Guofan, the "Huai Army" had actually replaced the "Xiang Army", so Li Hongzhang's responsibility was very heavy. Except for Liu Mingchuan's army, which was originally ordered to go northward from Xuzhou, it should be strictly stepped up. In addition to going to aid, Li Hongzhang was also instructed to mobilize powerful troops from the various armies under his command to go northward by ship from Shanghai, or land from Jiaozhou, and head west to Jinan, or land from Tianjin, and go south to Shandong, so that he could catch up with the Nian Army. In front, head on and suppress. Empress Dowager Cixi always had a question in her mind. Zeng Guofan went out of the provincial capital to suppress the Nian Army from south to north. Didn't they drive them from Shandong to Zhili?At this time, after listening to Prince Gong's explanation, she finally understood, "That's right!" She said cheerfully, "The only way is to stop him in front like this. But can Li Hongzhang's team catch up?" "The steamship moves fast, as long as Liu Changyou and Yan Jingming can block the Nian bandits, within half a month, Huai Yong can take the lead." "Then, can Liu Changyou and Yan Jingming be able to stop them? I think Zhili and Shandong's troops are all guaranteed alone." "The officials and others have all been checked." Prince Gong replied calmly, "We can deploy elite troops to reinforce Zhili and Lu. " The "elite soldiers" in the mouth of King Gong are Chonghou, who is known as the "Western Affairs" and is the Minister of the Ministry of War. , led by Chonghou himself, went to the front line, and was controlled by Liu Changyou.Then he ordered Zaobao, general of Jilin Province, and Tepuqin, general of Heilongjiang Province, to send 500 cavalry teams each to gallop into the pass at night to suppress bandits together. The "Foreign Spear Team" has sharp weapons, and the horse team is light and agile. Although the number of people is small, it is extremely effective. In addition, the governor of Henan, Wu Changshou, was to lead troops out of the provincial capital to suppress. The governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, dispatched the Ninth Battalion of Chubei to the junction of the East and West for support.Joining forces from all walks of life and gathering a large number of troops is really what King Gong said about "going to war". Empress Dowager Cixi was very satisfied with Prince Gong's Chen Zou, she kept nodding her head and said to Empress Dowager Ci'an, "It's very appropriate." So Prince Gong took the opportunity to mention Wu Tang's stay in office, "Wu Tang has been in Lianghuai for many years, and he is very effective in supervising food and payment." Li Hongzhang and Li Hongzhang all rely on him as a helper. Now that Zeng Guofan is going north to supervise the troops, it is even more necessary for Wu Tang to run the grain platform for him. The minister said that Peng Yulin is willing to manage the Yangtze River Navy. It is more suitable for people to stay in the post." The Empress Dowager Cixi pondered, but it didn't take long, "If Wu Tang has to do it, then let him stay in office." She said. Seeing what she meant, she seemed to feel aggrieved for Wu Tang, so Prince Gong added: "Wu Tang has been working hard these past few years. When the situation calms down a bit, see if the governor should be transferred there, and then ask Jane to release Wu Tang. Tang." This is because he was not able to take office as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, so he comforted him in advance.Of course, the Empress Dowager Cixi understood what Prince Gong meant, and felt that he was very knowledgeable, but on the surface she was inconvenient to express it. She just said: "Everything will be done according to your wishes. There are many orders today. First divide it into two or three people and let them write it down." Let's do it!" Prince Gong also wanted to do the same, and immediately made an assignment. Wen Xiang, Li Tangjie, and Cao Yuying returned to the military plane first to "state the decree". Heart Palace. When Wen Xiang and the others go back, Jun Ji Zhang Jing will be very, very busy.As the Empress Dowager Cixi said, there are "many intentions" on this day, and the more detailed the better the instructions and strategies, but with military information confidential, unless the generals and generals in the field can understand the overall deployment, otherwise, in order to keep it secret, measures must be taken. The details of the words are different and vary from person to person.Therefore, for the same matter, the court post sent to Shandong cannot be sent to Henan, and if there is a matter that must be followed by several provinces, they will be copied in several copies.None of this can be done by others, it all depends on Zhang Jing's quick pen. After the decree was prepared and submitted for approval, Cao Yuying, Minister of Military Aircraft, prioritized and ordered the "Two Rivers" court post to be sent first. This was an edict addressed to Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang.There are more than two thousand words, and the words are earnest. If one person copies it, it will take a while, so the method of "clicking and buckling" is used. There are stipulations for the line of the imperial edict, six lines per page for Mingfa, five lines per page for court post, twenty characters per line, point out the number of words in the whole text, check the beginning and end of each page, and copy them separately, which is called "Diankou". .After copying and proofreading, word for word is correct, they are glued together, and then sealed with the silver seal of the military plane, and it was sent out in less than an hour. This has been busy until noon, still not finished.In the Palace of Mental Cultivation, he has not yet retired from the imperial court. The monk king's military exploits during his lifetime do not seem to be very brilliant, but after his death, everyone messed up and realized that he is really a leader of the country. Favorable.So he summoned the Minister of Rites and agreed face to face that, in addition to distributing funds for funerals and inheriting the title from descendants, the posthumous posthumous title of "loyalty" should be given to the Taimiao. In addition, financial resources must be planned.A huge sum of money has already been spent on the Dingling project. Now that the military has reversed, in order to boost morale, the arrears must be paid. At this time, it was already the wrong time to pass on the meal, and it was always breakfast at twilight, and everyone was hungry so far.The monarchs and ministers are the country, and they follow the public. When they retire from the imperial court, as soon as they return to the military plane, a young eunuch immediately comes to pass the decree: The queen mother of the two palaces rewards Prince Gong with a large bowl of glutinous rice stuffed duck, a large bowl of three silk wings, One Yipinguo and a large plate of steamed buns stuffed with spinach and pork are served by the Imperial Dining Room.At the same time, I declare: no need to thank you. Although he said "no need to thank you", Prince Gong still stood respectfully and listened to it.Afterwards, the imperial dining room came to set up dinner. In addition to the usual four plates and four bowls, a round table with marble top was filled with the dishes rewarded by the Empress Dowager.Prince Gong saw it in his eyes and felt it in his heart. It has been a long time since he had such grace!I don't want to be favored again after some setbacks. The difference is that in the past, the decree was "rewarding the king of politics", but now it is "rewarding the prince Gong Gong". 'The five of us can eat so much? Bao Jun suggested: "Allow half of them!" " "They" refers to the military plane Zhang Jing in the opposite room, and Prince Gong interjected, "Why bother? Let them come over and eat together." "Are you afraid you won't be able to sit down?" Wen Xiang said. "It doesn't matter, squeeze it, it's fun." This is really exciting!There are 16 people from Manchu, Han, and Zhangjing, divided into four shifts, and one shift from Manchu and Han, and there are as many as 16 people. Including the Minister of Military Aircraft, there are 21 people in total, and they are replaced by extra-large round tables. Still can't sit down.But Prince Gong was willing to have dinner with the military aircraft Zhang Jing, so as not to disappoint his kindness of being a corporal, Wen Xiang sat at a table with Li Tangjie, Bao Jun, Cao Yuying, and two "Dalami", and let the rest accompany Prince Gong sit. The meal was delicious, one is that the hungry are easy to eat, and the other is that it tastes like a "happy reunion".Prince Gong was overjoyed and told Bao Yun that each of them would give two hundred taels of silver as "Jie Jing".How is the morale ahead?Zhang Jing, the military aircraft, felt the sympathy of Prince Gong, everyone served their lives, there was no case, and the deployment was detailed.Between the government and the opposition, the monk king was killed in battle, the bandit power was revived, and people's hearts were showing signs of turbulence. Now that King Gong and the Minister of Military Aircraft are commanding decisively, those nonsensical rumors have finally been calmed down. But Zeng Guofan has never led troops out of the province, which is always something that cannot be reassured.Even the empress dowagers of the two palaces have already understood that since Jinling, Zeng Guofan was afraid of being high and slandering, and whatever measures were taken, all of them were aimed at maintaining profit and protecting prosperity, and being humble and retreating. Although the wildfire did not burn on Zeng Guofan, but with his sincerity and deepness, he must be wary, so he may not be willing to take on this important task.If he waits for his remark to be made, and then he is responsible for righteousness and honor, although it can be redeemed, he will leave traces in the end, and it will have a lot to do with the morale of the people.This is not as good as "preemptive strikes", so he issued three more heavily worded edicts in a row, urging him to send troops.At the same time, I also know that Zeng Guofan is devoted to brotherhood, and he will do his best to protect his "old nine" for fear of being ineffective, so he specifically mentioned Zeng Guoquan who asked for leave to return home, hoping that he will cancel his leave and "see you in Beijing" so that he can be used. , as a dark win over. This is not enough. As a result of everyone's discussion, it is believed that Zeng Guofan may still use the abolishment of the Hunan Army, no available soldiers, and difficulty in taking on important tasks as the reason for his refusal. Because he also invited the Queen Mothers of the two palaces, he issued a decree: "The imperial envoy will assist the university. Zeng Guofan, Yiyong Hou, first-class governor of Liangjiang, is now going to Shandong to supervise the division and suppress bandits. All the flag green battalions in Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces, as well as the local civil and military personnel, are under the control of Zeng Guofan. Those who follow the schedule will be nominated by the minister to participate strictly." As soon as the decree was sent to the imperial case, the Empress Dowager Cixi read it for a long time, but could not make a decision.Empress Dowager Ci'an looked from the side, and saw that the edict was only three or fifty, and she didn't understand why it was so difficult? Before she could ask, the Empress Dowager Cixi spoke to her first: "With this will, Zeng Guofan will be like a 'general'!" "Great General" is an important task that only close relatives can take on. At one time, Nian Gengyao was given this seal, but he was punished for being domineering.Because the general can command the governor, if he has the heart of disobedience, it can cause huge disasters, so the Han people have never held this title. In the early years of Xianfeng, the "Old Fifth Master", as Prince Hui, was awarded the title of "General Who Was Ordered" and given the "Sharp Sword", which is actually equivalent to a false title.Now Zeng Guofan has been ordered to control the three provinces, "if the local civil and military do not follow the dispatch, they will be strictly appointed to participate." That includes Governor Liu Changyou of Zhili, Governor Yan Jingming of Shandong, and Governor Wu Changshou of Henan, which is really the power of the general. Empress Dowager Ci'an understood the reason for her hesitation.If you think about it, Li Hongzhang, governor of Liangjiang, is Zeng Guofan's favorite student. Yang Yuebin, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, once ran a navy for Zeng Guofan. Liu Rong, Hunan governor Li Hanzhang, and Guangdong governor Guo Songtao all had very close ties with the Zeng family. It seemed that Zeng Guofan's wings spread all over the world.Since the founding of the country, not to mention the Han people, there has never been such a subject with such power. If there is a rebellion, this rebellion will definitely happen! Zeng Guofan wants to rebel?The Empress Dowager Ci'an herself found it funny: "Stamp it!" She urged the Empress Dowager Cixi with a relaxed tone, as if she didn't take this edict seriously.