Chapter 61 Section 61

So Zeng Guofan sent a Goshha to see Cheng Yi off, and the two officers were one hundred taels each, which was already quite generous in "Zeng Zhongtang".The gift to Zheng Dunjin was two hundred taels, and a letter written by Zeng Guofan was attached, saying that the Cheng Yi was sent to the same year, not as a gift to the imperial envoy. At the same time, it was stated that it was definitely not public funds, but was allocated from his personal salary. Yes, Zheng Dunjin, please don't refute it anyway, otherwise he just doesn't want friendship. Zheng Dunjin still "doesn't want friendship" and flatly declined.On the sixth day of February, I boarded a boat and returned to Beijing with my entourage. I was unhappy all the way, and often sighed all night long.In this way, when he arrived at Qingjiangpu, he had to change trains to go north. The new governor of water transportation, Zhang Zhaodong, took him to live in the Yamen and left him to hang around for a few days. Zheng Dunjin agreed without hesitation.

Soon, news came from Jiangning that the memorial of Zheng Dunjin and Zeng Guofan's meeting titles had been approved by the imperial decree. If there is any addition, there is no limit.” And Zhang Wenxiang also obeyed the law on the second day after the Shangyu arrived, and the place of execution was in Xiaoying, North of Jiangning City, and Zeng Guofan came to monitor him personally.It has never happened before that the governor of Liangjiang came to the execution ground to monitor the Fa-rectification, which caused many speculations, saying that if this is not the case, there may be unexpected changes, and only Zeng Guofan will be safe and sound.

Zheng Dunjin heard the news again that the Ma family's revenge was very cool, so he ordered a knife and a hook and gave them to the executioner for execution.Ling Chi is severely punished, and it is rare to see it in decades. Some people say that it only needs to be "cut with eight knives", which means a little bit of cutting.But Zhang Wenxiang was in the middle, tied the flesh with a custom-made hook and pulled it up, cut it with a sharp knife, hooked it, and cut it. So Zheng Dunjin said to Zhang Zhaodong in a strange and open-minded voice: "My responsibility is over! It's time to go back."

"The spring is cold and the drought is very bitter. Why don't you play for a while?" Zhang Zhaodong said, "Anyway, the case is over, so it doesn't matter if you return to Beijing later." "I'm not going back to Beijing." Zheng Dunjin shook his head and said, "I'm going home." Zhang Zhaodong was stunned, thought for a while and said, "I think the old man asked for leave when he left Beijing, so he went back to his hometown to visit the grave?" "'The pastoral generals will not return'!" Zheng Dunjin recited this sentence aloud, and then shook his head sadly: "Jiumo Hongchen, my eyes are fascinated, I am really tired."

Zhang Zhaodong was very surprised: "Youlong, the elder's holy family, is old and strong, and there is still a mulberry and elm evening scene. Why do you suddenly have the ambition to return home?" "Return early, good morning." Zheng Dunjin said: "I can't get away from my body, so I can't keep my full name. Like me, I'm in love with the horse, I'm afraid it's true as what I said, 'The name is broken, and the body is ruined!' Go back, go back! At the foot of Yuelu Mountain, Brother Baitou, gossiping with Xuanxuan is better than traveling thousands of miles to try the headless murder case!"

Zhang Zhaodong only found out that it was because of Ma Xinyi's case. He was wronged, so he thought he was complaining, and after a while, he dismissed it.Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Zheng Dunjin came to ask Zhang Zhaodong in person, and sent a special messenger to deliver the memorial for his illness. At the same time, he asked Zhang Zhaodong to hire an official boat for him to go to Changsha. "Why bother, old man?" Zhang Zhaodong said, "I'm going to be sick, and it's not too late to ask for a vacancy after returning to Beijing and recovering my life."

"Then the resignation will fail." Zheng Dunjin said, "Scholars have their own ambitions, brother, let me be fulfilled!" Speaking of this, Zhang Zhaodong was inconvenient to persuade him, so he sent a special envoy to deliver the package for him that day, and then sent a message to the magistrate of Shanyang County, the capital of Huai'an Prefecture, to send a large official ship with bed tents and quilts, and used The utensils are all new, as a tribute to the minister of the Ministry of punishment. The two officers naturally wanted to persuade them, but Zheng Dunjin insisted on not listening.When asked the reason for his resignation, he replied in eight words: "I am ashamed to discuss it, but I am guilty of the gods." He said that only by resigning can he eliminate the guilt and apology for Ma Xinyi and his family members, as well as Sun Yiyan, Yuan Baoqing and others. feeling.

"There is a lot of gossip about this case. If you handle it like this, I am afraid that the court will bend the law. I am afraid that the higher-ups will not be happy." "That's something that can't be helped," Zheng Dunjin said, "I'm afraid it's not the imperial court that is unhappy, but our fellow countrymen in Hunan. But I can't care less! Beneath the law is a helpless thing. If you think that bending the law is for the sake of the overall situation, use this Self-forgiveness and self-examination, Tian Ran steals the position, is it not ashamed of duty?"

Speaking of this, the two officers were also very sad.Originally, he planned to handle this famous case to gain some publicity, just like how Zhang Jing and Chen Qin of the Prime Minister's Yamen handled the Tianjin religious case.Unexpectedly, years ago, he went to Jiangning in the cold and snow, and ended up with such a useless result. Except for Zeng Guofan's one hundred taels of Cheng Yi, he got nothing! So they ate a special meal prepared by Zhang Zhaodong, left the banquet insipidly, and went their separate ways by land and water.Zheng Dunjin took advantage of the east wind and crossed Dongting Lake to return to Changsha. The two officers returned to Beijing by dry road to return to their orders.As soon as he arrived at the ministry, he was surrounded by his colleagues, and everyone knew the truth about Zheng Shangshu's resignation.

In the end, even Prince Gong knew about it, and specially ordered the two officers to meet him at the military plane, and asked Zheng Dunjin why he was tired, but the two officers did not dare to hide anything, and answered truthfully.So Prince Gong also reported the truth to the queen mothers of the two palaces, because the queen mothers of the two palaces also felt that the incident happened suddenly and were quite suspicious. They had asked repeatedly, but Prince Gong had to play. "Let me tell you, although Zheng Dunjin is old, he has always been in good spirits. Why did he sue Bo at once? There are so many hidden secrets in it!" The Empress Dowager Cixi paused and said, "But even if he sued for illness, he should return to Beijing." Let’s talk about returning to life, it’s too unreasonable to return home without authorization.”

Hearing her dissatisfaction with her words, Prince Gong was afraid that the words of the "Ministry of Communications" would be provoked, which would arouse speculation from all parties and cause disputes, so he quickly spoke for Zheng Dunjin: "This case, Zheng Dunjin has worked hard and failed, I can't help feeling that Wronged. The minister and others asked someone to write a letter to persuade him to cancel the leave and invite the two empress dowagers, so there is no need to pursue it for the time being." Since Prince Gong was begging for love for him, Empress Dowager Cixi didn't care, "It's better to let him cancel the vacation." She said, "Otherwise, it will not look good." Even if these words were said very seriously, Prince Gong didn't dare to say anything more, he just agreed: "Yes!" "Woren's illness, how is it?" asked the Empress Dowager Ci'an. "It can't be done!" Prince Gong shook his head slightly, "It's just procrastinating." "That's someone the late Emperor respected." The Empress Dowager Ci'an looked to the right and said in a questioning tone, "Give him some kind of grace, let's rejoice!" "Alright!" Empress Dowager Cixi looked at Prince Gong and asked, "Take a look, what should I do?" When asked about this level, Prince Gong happened to be able to present the proposed method.The University Scholars are headed by official documents. He died of illness in the first month. This is a full vacancy. Ruichang should be promoted as a co-organizer. The vacant vacancy left by Ruichang will be promoted by the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the head of the six ministries, as usual. However, Wen Xiang had been transferred to the Ministry of Officials in the sixth year of Tongzhi, waiting to pay homage to the prime minister, and at this time he was naturally co-organized.However, the four academicians, two halls and two pavilions, need to be rearranged. The official document left the Wenhuadian academician as the head of the palace. According to the usual practice, it should be taught by Zeng Guofan as the Wuyingdian academician. Ren is the first, and the name of the department is also Worenzao. Therefore, it is not impossible for Woren to change Wenyuan Pavilion into Wenhua Palace. After Prince Gong explained all these twists and turns, the empress dowagers of the two palaces unanimously agreed that Woren was the Bachelor of Wenhua Palace.This is the "chief assistant" in name. When it comes to being an official, he can be regarded as a high-ranking official who is "under one person and above ten thousand people".But Chongxi failed to improve the woren, and when the holidays were full in April, two more months of holidays would be granted, and ginseng would be awarded, so there would be no more holidays.The master's shirt code has always been generous, and he was given a gift from the Taibao and enshrined in the Xianliang Temple. The first character of the posthumous posthumous title is naturally "Wen", and the second, as everyone expected, is the exclusive "Duan" word for the Minister of Science. This time there was another vacancy for a university scholar, and Wen Xiang should be promoted. According to his family, the empress dowagers of the two palaces should have explained it a long time ago, but if they didn't mention it, they knew that things had changed. After inquiring, he was the son of Ruilin, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Waitabu, the head of the criminal department, was working on his father's behalf to join the cabinet.Ruilin was born in the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, his family is wealthy, and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is famously fat. Besides Ruilin's kindness to Empress Dowager Cixi's natal family, Wen Xiang already knew that he could not compete with him.Sure enough, as soon as Ruilin's tribute for the wedding arrived and the empress dowagers of the two palaces came to inspect it in person, Empress Dowager Cixi had something to say. "Who should make up what is left of Woren?" She asked. When asked this question, it was a clear statement that he did not want Wen Xiang to be promoted. Fortunately, Prince Gong had already discussed it with Wen Xiang, so the answer was very beautiful. "According to the rules, Wen Xiang should be promoted." Prince Gong pointed and said, "However, Wen Xiang has already told my ministers that he has received a lot of kindness and dare not invite any more honors. Moreover, he has just been co-organized not long ago, and his qualifications are still low. You should practice more. Woren died of illness, and there is a vacancy for the vacant bachelor, please ask the two empress dowagers and another senior and respected minister to fill in." "En, um!" The Empress Dowager Cixi was very satisfied, she turned to the Empress Dowager Ci'an and asked, "Look, it's Rui Linbu, how about it?" The Empress Dowager Ci'an agreed because Ruilin flattered the "big wedding announcement event" and said, "As far as wealth and reputation are concerned, Ruilin is enough. In which year did he enter the military plane? I remember it was the third year of Xianfeng." "Yes!" Prince Gong entered the military plane with Rui Lin, and he remembered it clearly: "In October of the third year of Xianfeng." "Then call Ruilin Bu!" Empress Dowager Cixi felt guilty towards Wen Xiang, so she looked at him and said, "Just let him go!" Hearing this, Wen Xiang quickly knelt down and replied: "The Empress Dowager's words are serious, and this slave is terrified. I feel that I have been blessed by heaven to make up for the co-organizer. I have received more than enough grace, and I really dare not think about it anymore. At present, the cost of the big wedding is huge. In addition to the official account of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it all depends on the governors of the provinces to report their gratitude and participate in the grand ceremony. The work and foreign goods assigned by Ruilin Shi can be carefully handled and completed on time. It is an encouragement for Zhao , he should be allowed to fill this gap, the two empress dowagers are extremely good!" "Having said that, Ruilin is a bit too cheap after all." The Empress Dowager Cixi paused and asked again, "Are you in your fifties this year?" "The slave is fifty-four this year." "Oh!" The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded and said, "Then you can still do things for the imperial court for another twenty years." This means that the future is long and there is no need to fight for a while.Wen Xiang kowtowed to thank him again.Then the Empress Dowager Cixi talked about Western affairs, including Prince Gong, four of the five ministers of military affairs also served as errands in the Prime Minister's Yamen, and it was Shen Guifen who participated in everything, no matter how big or small. Wen Xiang was his recommender, and Bao Yun won his help during the period when he was handling the teaching case. Although Prince Gong was the leader of the military aircraft, he was the only one to speak in front of the imperial court, but in recent years, all of them belonged to the usual The statements are all made by others, so in order to cultivate Shen Guifen at this time, they coincidentally gave him a chance to show his talents in front of the two empress dowagers. Like Li Hongzao, Shen Guifen speaks in a very orderly manner, but Li Hongzao can't help but have the taste of being righteous and remonstrating.As for Shen Guifen, she was calm and eloquent, like the manner in which a butler of a wealthy family replied to the hostess, so the Empress Dowager Cixi found it particularly pleasant. He said that when Chonghou arrived in Paris, because of the "civil strife" in France, the French Emperor Napoleon III was captured by the Prussian Emperor William II, and he could not find a monarch who could accept the Qing Dynasty's repair.But the "Faxiang" still insisted on Luo Shuya's request that Zhang Guangzao and Liu Jie should come to Feng Daye and the murdered priests and nuns, and at the same time, Chonghou should be decided in Paris. "Chonghou reported that he has no right to start a discussion. This answer is very appropriate, but Chonghou wrote back and asked the Prime Minister's Office to ask the two empress dowagers to allow him to return to the country. The ministers think it is absolutely impossible." Shen Guifen continued: "The French are now Having already been defeated and unable to take care of oneself, this is the blessing of the country, and this case just happened to be settled. The ministers thought that Chonghou would have to stay in Paris to hold on, and when he came back, there would be other troubles, and maybe all previous efforts would be wasted." "That's right! This should be done!" Empress Dowager Cixi was deeply satisfied. Then Shen Guifen presented the situation of the Sino-Japanese business agreement in which Li Hongzhang, governor of Zhili, presided over the negotiation, and Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang also played the case of selecting bright children to go to Thailand to "learn skills".According to the Sino-US commercial agreement, young children were recruited, and Chen Lanbin, the head of the criminal department, and Rong Hong, a colleague from Jiangsu, were appointed to lead them to the United States to study military administration and shipping administration.The method of the original play is that Chen and Rong "discussed the charter", and the funds were allocated on an annual basis under the Jiangguan customs tax.Shen Guifen is presenting the outline of the regulations face to face at this moment, waiting for the judge. "It's important to be angry and strong, because I'm afraid I will teach my children badly! However, the United States is still okay, and the Tianjin teaching case is not caught in it." Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said, "This case has been discussed a long time ago. , Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang have a lot of experience in Westernization. They proposed this way, and the Prime Minister’s Office said that this should be done. We sisters, of course, have to follow. I’m afraid that before the matter is done, we will get angry with ourselves first, like when we opened the Tongwen in that year. How many unnecessary right and wrong have been caused! Now that Woren has passed away, I don’t want to say anything about him. I just hope that everyone will understand the court and feel wronged a little bit! Don’t worry about earning your own reputation and embarrass the court.” Li Hongzao's words were very unpleasant to Li Hongzao's ears. Like Woren, he never talked about Western affairs. "Westernization is not impossible to talk about, but it is like Dong Xun on the inside and Chonghou on the outside. It seems that Chinese people are born to be afraid of foreigners, so they have to do everything they can to do Westernization. People from the Prime Minister’s Office always take priority. Customs roads in various places, and the Prime Minister’s Office are even regarded as forbidden. It seems that no one knows how to collect taxes from foreign businessmen except them? In fact, they are just taking advantage of the opportunity. These behaviors, which were despised by the Qing Dynasty, made Li Hongzao look down on those who were engaged in Westernization, so he insisted on the purpose of not doing anything, and refused to engage in Westernization.Of course, she also has aversion to Shen Guifen, who is particularly fawning on foreign affairs. Therefore, the more opportunistic the monarchs and ministers talked this day, the more Li Hongzao felt like a thorn in his back.When I leave the court, but I can't rest, I have to go to a party.Last year, Empress Dowager Cixi's mother, Mrs. Chengen Gong Huicheng, died of illness. On the day of the funeral, there was a lot of traffic and horses in Fangjiayuan, only Li Hongzao ignored the matter, and Empress Dowager Cixi was very unhappy about it.Lesson learned, this time can not be negligent.