Chapter 43 Section 43

Unlike Li Hongzhang, he didn't need to stop thinking about it. On the day he boarded the ship, the streets inside and outside the city, and the streets passed by the sedan chair, were filled with incense tables, and all the battalions fired their cannons in salute. It was very lively.Zeng Guofan, who is usually good at nourishing his energy and never expected to be tempted by honor or disgrace, couldn't help being tempted too.Looking back at the early victory of Jinling, the two brothers were "famous all over the world", and almost "slandered also followed". The ending of the heroes has always been unbearable.At that time, there were also many people who were jealous of meritorious deeds, sowing dissension in the court, misfortune and fortune were unexpected, so I remembered the three poems and seven musts written for his ninth brother's forty-first birthday, and quietly chanted: "Nine After going through a hundred cities with hardships, the sky is full of Jikou, and the sky is full of chaos. Today, drinking yellow flower wine, I began to rebirth with A Lianqing.

The left row of Zhongming and the right slander the book, there are multiplication and division everywhere in the world; bow your head and worship the slaughtered sheep, saying that everything is too empty. Childish and gentle, there is no danger, there are many people who drink wine, and there are few suspicions; teach the formula of longevity with the king, and learn how to drink when babies are drunk. " In this way, he lingered all the way with the mood of "drinking in the baby" until he arrived in the capital on December 13th. Like Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, he lived in Xianliang Temple.

Zuo Zongtang is not as famous as Li Hongzhang, and Li Hongzhang is not as famous as Zeng Guofan.He has been out of Beijing for seventeen years, so almost all the officials, big and small, who were appointed to fill the vacancies during the Xianfeng period, have never seen him, and almost all want to see what kind of heroic appearance this famous minister who suppressed chaos is. ?So when he entered the palace the next day, the officials from the inner court and the outer court all invited him to serve: "Go and see Zeng Zhongtang! Go and see Zeng Zhongtang!" At first glance, some are disappointed, some are surprised.What is disappointing is that Zeng Guofan's beauty is really unattractive. It is not as tall and tall as Li Hongzhang, and he is not like Zuo Zongtang's round face and big belly. Physician style.If it weren't for the red-topped flower feathers on his head and the court beads on his chest, he would definitely be mistaken for a country old man.

Surprised is the person who knows some sackcloth physiognomy.Zeng Guofan's triangular eyes and upside-down eyebrows, in terms of photography, are the appearance of "criminal death".In his current position, he has made great contributions, which is equivalent to granting the "Iron Certificate of Danshu", unless he rebels, there is absolutely no possibility of execution.And Zeng Guofan has always been cautious and fearful, he is afraid that a high position will attract jealousy, and his reputation will cause slander, so where would he have the idea of ​​treason?It seems that cultivating the mind can make up for the appearance.Zeng Guofan never dreamed that his appearance could also teach people to be kind!

When Zeng Guofan entered the palace, he first went to the military plane to pay homage to King Gong.Except for Prince Gong and Bao Yun who were of the same age, the other military ministers were all juniors in terms of their official positions and academic titles.In October, when his mother's mourning was over, Li Hongzao, who returned to the Military Aircraft Department, was a junior. If you are willing to build relationships and make friends, you can also be called a teacher.Therefore, Wen Xiang, Shen Guifen and Li Hongzao all bowed to Zeng Guofan with great respect.King Gong asked him to "raise the kang", and Sheng Dao admired him.Of course, Zeng Guofan also had some maneuvers.Not long after the talk, the military plane "called out", and then Zeng Guofan was summoned, led by Boyan Namo.

After finishing the salute, the Empress Dowager Cixi honored the honored ministers and gave special instructions: "Stand and talk!" So Zeng Guofan took off his hat and kowtowed again, thanked him for his kindness, put on his big hat calmly, and stood at the head of Bo Wang. "Are you done with your official business in Jiangnan?" "It's all over." "Has the soldiers and courage been withdrawn?" "It's all over." "How many people were evacuated?" "Twenty thousand people have been dismissed." Zeng Guofan replied, "There are still thirty thousand left."

"Are there a lot of dismissed people in that province?" "There are a lot of people in Anhui. There are also people in Hunan, but only a few thousand." Zeng Guofan added: "There are a lot of people in Anhui." "No trouble, right?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked very attentively. "very quiet." "Have all the funds for the evacuation of bravery in all provinces been allocated according to the quota?" "All have been allocated according to the number." Zeng Guofan replied: "According to the decree: Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces each borrowed 200,000 taels, and Hubei borrowed 100,000 taels, and all of them were allocated to Liangjiang according to the number. It’s still close, and the minister will work with Li Hongzhang to make up for it, so the retreat is very quiet.”

"Very good." Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, and asked again: "Is the road quiet when you come all the way?" "The road is very quiet. I was afraid that there might be stragglers making trouble, but who would have seen it all the way, and it was safe and sound." "It's rare." Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "How long have you been out of Beijing?" "The minister has been out of Beijing for seventeen years." "You used to be in Beijing, so you naturally know about Zhili?" "I also know something about Zhili." "Zhili is very empty." The Empress Dowager Cixi said with emphasis: "You have to train hard."

"Yes!" Zeng Guofan replied solemnly, "With my talent, I'm afraid I won't be able to do it well." Empress Dowager Cixi didn't say any more, and looked aside.So the Empress Dowager Ci'an asked, "How is your health? You don't have a lot of illnesses, do you?" "It's okay." Zeng Guofan replied: "I was sick for a while in Zhoujiakou the year before last, and I didn't recover until July or August last year." "Are you still taking medicine?" "Still eating." Then, Empress Dowager Cixi talked about Zhili again. Zeng Guofan answered very cautiously because he still didn't quite understand what Prince Gong and the others meant.

"The Zhili region is important, and the soldiers must be well trained!" Empress Dowager Cixi said in a more emphatic tone, "The administration of officials has been slack for a long time, and you must seriously rectify it." "I also know that Zhili is important, and Tianjin and Haikou are especially important. Even though we have reconciled with foreign countries, we must be on guard." Zeng Guofan replied slowly: "I am going, I always talk about military training first, and the administration of officials should also be rectified. But now the minister's energy is not good, he can't talk much, he can't see the subordinates more, the minister has seen too few subordinates in Jiangnan in the past two years, and the minister has been feeling ashamed."

"What are you seeing so little in the south of the Yangtze River?" The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't hear clearly and asked Boyan Nemo. Boyan Namogu has a problem, like a monkey, he has to move all the time, every time he is in front of the imperial errand, he stands with his hands down for a long time, and his whole body feels weak.At this time, he clearly heard the word "subordinate", but he didn't answer it immediately. He turned around and took two steps, first to relax his muscles and bones, then asked Zeng Guofan clearly, and then walked back and said to the Empress Dowager Cixi: "Talk to the Queen Mother." The Queen Mother replied, Zeng Guofan said: "When you see civil and military officials, you are subordinates." "Oh!" Empress Dowager Cixi didn't say anything about it, she just said: "You should do it with solid strength. If there are good generals, just transfer them here. " "Yes! I will try my best to do it according to the order, I'm afraid it won't work." "As long as you do your best, nothing will go wrong." Zeng Guofan agreed, and waited a while, seeing that the queen mothers of the two palaces had nothing to say, knowing that it was time to kneel down, he kowtowed in the middle without his hat, and still led out of the hall by Boyan Namo. "Did you hear it?" Empress Dowager Cixi said to Empress Dowager Ci'an during the chat before passing on the meal: "I'm afraid that Zeng Guofan will resign from the governor of Zhili." "I can hear it too. He keeps saying that he can't manage well, and that he has low energy. He can't talk much and see his subordinates more." Empress Dowager Ci'an replied, "Someone needs to persuade him." Of course, the only way is for Prince Gong to persuade him.A few days later, King Gong returned, saying that Zeng Guofan had taken office in the cabinet and the Imperial Academy, and he had become a Bachelor of Wuyingdian and a Bachelor of the Imperial Academy respectively. Superintendent's guard.Hearing this, the empress dowagers of the two palaces are relieved. "This year is going to be a good year." The Empress Dowager Cixi finally said a word that had been in her heart for a long time. It turned out that because of the disappearance of the two major scourges of Hong Yang and the Nian Army, it was decided that several celebrations and banquets that had been suspended since the rise of the army would be resumed.Now with the words of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the affairs in the palace have increased, and it is particularly lively.However, the empress dowagers of the two palaces still kept a close eye on the emperor's homework, because Li Hongzao had already been paid as usual, and Weng Tonghe had also returned to Beijing from Changshu to sell his holidays.Now that the master has arrived, it is time to work harder, so it was not until the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month that I passed the decree to end school.