Chapter 16 Red Top Merchant (10)

At the end of October in the third year of Tongzhi, Zuo Zongtang handed over his duties as the concurrent governor of Zhejiang; with all the civil and military officials in Hangzhou, he set off for the governor of Fujian under the sound of cannons. Prior to this, the division to aid Fujian set out in three routes.On the West Road, the main force was 8,000 new troops under Liu Dian's Department of Zhejiang Inspector General Liu Dian, who were helping Fujian's military affairs; together with 2,500 people from Jianchang, Jiangxi Province, they entered Tingzhou from Jianchang, Jiangxi Province; A total of 4,600 people traveled from Quzhou, Zhejiang, through Pucheng and Jianning, Fujian, and entered Yanping; in the east, Gao Liansheng, acting governor of Zhejiang Province, and Wei Guangbing, an alternate prefect, led 4,500 troops, crossed the Qiantang River, took a ship from Ningbo, and followed the seaway to Fuzhou landed.

The targets of these three armies are all in southern Fujian-Li Shixian is in Zhangzhou to the west of Xiamen; Ding Taiyang is in Wuping at the junction of Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi provinces;Zuo Zongtang's plan is that they must not be allowed to go to sea; tighten from the north, west, and east, and oppress the enemy to flee south.South of Fujian is Guangdong.Mao Hongbin, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Guo Songtao, governor of Guangdong, knew something was wrong when they saw this scene.If Zuo Zongtang drives the thieves into Guangdong, the troops from Fujian will follow the thieves, which will create a dilemma between Changmao and "friendly troops", so he is very anxious.

However, the Cantonese army led by two deputy generals, Fang Yao and Zhuo Xing, numbered no more than 8,000 people; Fujian Yanjian Shao Daokang Guoqi, although they were Cantonese, and most of the New Unified Army were Cantonese, they could not be counted as the Cantonese army, because He is Zuo Zongtang's subordinate, and he does not obey the orders of Guangdong officials.Mao Hongbin and Guo Songtao had no choice but to send Fang Yao and Zhuo Xing into the Minhui to suppress Changmao and Zuo Zongtang secretly. Before the troops to aid Fujian arrived, Lin Wencha, the admiral of the Fujian Land Route, had already taken over the battle with Li Shixian.Lin Wencha is a native of Changhua, Taiwan. In the eight years of Xianfeng, he helped the bandits in Danshui with his salary. He was appointed a guerrilla and became a military officer. Batulu" name.When Wang Youling was trapped in Hangzhou, he was ordered to aid Zhejiang, but was blocked in Hengzhou; later, he was controlled by Zuo Zongtang, and he made some military exploits. He became the commander-in-chief of Funing Town, Fujian, and was soon promoted to Admiral of Fujian Land Road, and then promoted Go back to Taiwan and put an end to chaos in his hometown.

The leader of the rebellious party is Dai Chaochun, who was originally from Longxi, Zhangzhou;In the name of organizing group training in Changhua, it is actually in collusion with Changmao. At the turn of Xiantong, Zhejiang fell, and the officers and troops in Fujian moved more to northern Fujian and southern Zhejiang; Dai Chaochun thought it was a good opportunity for an uprising, and in March his henchman Lin Yusheng raised an uprising in Dadun. Five days later, the occupation In Changhua, Kong Zhaoci, the military commander of Taiwan, was killed.Dai Chaochun calls himself the "King of the East"; "King of the South" is Lin Yusheng;The following official positions include "Great Master", "Left and Right Prime Minister", "Six Ministers" and so on.

This slightly imitates the system of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, where the monkeys are crowned and crowned, as if the stage is on the scene. Because the southeast war situation is at a critical juncture, the imperial court only sent 600 people to attack and suppress at the request of Ding Rijian, the Liang Dao; thus it was able to Hold for a while.In the autumn of the second year of Tongzhi, when Zuo Zongtang regained Zhejiang, he was confident that he sent Lin Wencha back to Taiwan to call on the old Ministry; Xu Zongqian, the governor of Fujian, also sent Ding Rijian, who had been in Taiwan for a long time, to lead the troops and was awarded the title of Taiwan soldier. Prepare the road and supervise the military affairs of the whole Taiwan.

So at the beginning of November, Changhua was recovered and Douliu was captured. At the end of the year, Dai Chaochun was captured in Zhangcuozhuang and Lin Yusheng was defeated and died in Sikuaicuo. The situation can be considered to have stabilized. However, it is also very laborious to clear up the remnants of the chaotic party; especially after Li Shixian occupied Zhangzhou, Dai Chaochun's remnant party was ready to meet up and reunite.Zuo Zongtang was deeply afraid that Li Shixian, Wang Haiyang and others would go to sea, and that was exactly why. Seeing this situation, Lin Wencha was deeply embarrassed. On the one hand, he had to prevent the resurgence of the ashes, and he couldn't let it go;After careful consideration, we should return to Fujian; because Li Shixian can be eliminated, the rebellious party in Changhua will lose its support and hope, and it will collapse without a fight.

After making up his mind, he crossed in a haste and brought two hundred soldiers with him on the same boat.He had fought against Li Shixian more than once, and he didn't dare to underestimate the enemy; when he arrived in Fujian, he planned to deploy first and then attack, but Li Shixian had already prepared for it, and set up an ambush at Wansong Pass, waiting for him to enter the net. But Lin Wencha changed his mind again.Because he felt that his army was lonely, he took in many scattered soldiers along the way, and made them into an army; if the food was sufficient, the time was leisurely, and he had capable helpers, of course he could gradually train this generation into a strong army, otherwise he had to use them to rush for a way out. Or with the mentality of revenge and revenge, to strengthen morale, as a way to borrow from the city.Lin Wencha is old in military affairs, silently observes the situation, and thinks that he has to fight quickly; if it is delayed, it will waste food and pay, and it will be difficult to control, and he will collapse without fighting.Originally, Zuo Zongtang's order was to instruct him to "strengthen Quanxia", which was a difficult task, because the terrain from the east of Zhangzhou to Xiamen and Quanzhou was flat, easy to attack and difficult to defend, and there was a huge disparity in the number of troops. .As far as strategy is concerned, offense should be used as defense; as far as interests are concerned, it is difficult to attack more with less, but it is better to attack and lose than to defend and lose.Therefore, at the beginning of October, they entered from Quanxia and camped at Wansong Pass.Wansong Pass, also known as Wansong Ridge, is located on Fenghuang Mountain, 25 miles east of Zhangzhou. It is a passageway from Quanxia to Zhangzhou.As soon as the camp was set up, Li Shixian sent a group of troops to attack, with the intention of testing the situation; but the lieutenant general Huishou was useless, so Chang Mao stepped on the camp.Lin Wencha had no choice but to retreat to a place called Yuzhou. After two days, he went out to attack and returned with a small victory.

At this time, he received a letter from Zuo Zongtang, instructing him to "deep trenches and high fortifications, don't fight in waves to win; once the Zhejiang army arrives, work together to restore Zhangzhou." Lin Wencha had to obey orders at this time, and was stationed in On Wansong Ridge, waiting for the reinforcements; Zeng Yuming, the commander of the navy, ligated the water camp in Haikou Town, Chengxian County, near the Jiulong River, as a sign of horns. In this way, until the end of October, Zuo Zongtang had not yet entered the territory of Fujian, and the Zhejiang army, which set out first, would form a three-way encirclement for the next time.Li Shixian originally set up an ambush west of Wansongguan, waiting for Lin Wencha to enter the net; seeing that he stood still and the Zhejiang army had entered Fujian, he had to rush to open a way out, so he launched a surprise attack on the third day of November.

The raid was carried out by land and water.The long-haired people who attacked Shuiying wiped their faces with bituminous coal, deliberately pretending to be hideous and terrifying ghosts; at the same time, they also used it as an identification of "our own people".Zeng Yuming's navy was caught off guard, and except for the bombardment with the small cannons on the gunboat, the rest of the battalions collapsed. Lin Wencha's headquarters at Wansong Pass in the west were originally stragglers who procrastinated and deteriorated; I heard that the rear was attacked and chaos occurred before the battle.Lieutenant General Huishou, guerrilla Xu Zhongbiao, couldn't hold back the formation, so he had to run away; Lin Wencha refused to escape, and was shot and killed in battle.The disbanded rebellious soldiers barely gathered on the east bank of the Jiulong River, which can be regarded as protecting the gate of Quanzhou.

After March, Zuo Zongtang arrived in Pucheng and formally entered the realm of Fujian;The first battle report Xingyuan received was that Lin Wencha was defeated and died in the line of duty. This is not a sign of immediate success, Zuo Zongtang was very displeased.In his view, Lin Wencha had dampened the enthusiasm of the Zhejiang army and hurt his reputation; although he did not deserve to be punished for his death, it was absolutely unforgivable.Therefore, when the performance was played, he refused to discuss this matter specifically, and only used a reason for the case of "the supervisor arrived in Pucheng, and he is now planning to suppress the situation", and reprimanded Lin Wencha for not listening to the dispatch in the excerpt, which caused this mistake; Junyi has rushed from Fuzhou to southern Fujian, and Quanxia can be safe.As for Lin Wencha's shirt code, it is stated that he will request another case; but it is conceivable that the shirt code will not be generous.

But the situation quickly stabilized.What Zuo Zongtang was most worried about was that Li Shixian ran southeast into the sea, so as long as Gao Liansheng's army could go south from Fuzhou, he could block it in time and block it for a while; Then there is a full grasp. For this reason, Zuo Zongtang set up a strategy of defending from the east, attacking from the north and pressing from the west, first recovering Longyan in southern Fujian and northward; After these two victories, the morale was greatly boosted, and the command became more flexible; Zuo Zongtang began to "drive the thieves into Guangdong", first of all, from the Tingzhou and Liancheng areas adjacent to Jiangxi, he drove the long hairs of Wang Haiyang's subordinates to the south. Wuping and Shanghang area bordering Guangdong.At that time, the Soviet army to aid Fujian had arrived one after another, and divided the defense zone with the units of Gao Liansheng and Huang Shaochun of the Zhejiang army, and aimed to advance Zhangzhou. The Soviet army guarded the south of Zhangzhou and the Zhejiang army guarded the north of Zhangzhou.As a result, Li Shixian's way to sea was completely blocked.In mid-April, the armies of Zhejiang and the Soviet Union attacked from the north and the south at the same time to attack Zhangzhou; on April 21, Zhangzhou was restored, but Li Shixian opened the west gate and left, joining Wang Haiyang and becoming a "trapped beast". The situation at that time was that the coastal areas of Quan, Xiamen, and Zhangzhou in the southeast had the strongest military strength; Yongding in the northwest had more than 7,000 people defending; layout. To the west is the Dapu and Raoping areas in Guangdong. Although Fang Yao of the Guangdong Army is defending, they are by no means the opponents of Li Shixian and Wang Haiyang. Anyone can tell.However, what does Zuo Zongtang mean?People with discerning eyes can see it naturally. This discerning person was Xu Gengshen, the foreman of Zhangjing, a military aircraft far away in the capital. On May 12th, he was surprised to see a memorial sent out; Aid the Soviet army from Fujian, join the Zhejiang army and advance in separate routes, and on April 21st conquer Zhangzhou Fucheng." According to Zuo Zongtang's battle report, the situation does not match. In Zuo Zongtang's memorial, the reason for the case was "to force the great victory in Zhangxi, and we are now preparing to handle the situation."It didn't mention Zhangzhou's recovery, and it didn't change to Li Shixian's escape from the west gate of Zhangzhou; it only said that "Li Nishixian was defeated by the officers and troops repeatedly, and his power was getting poorer; The back road. The plan failed, and they tried to collude with the bandits in Tong'an to cause internal strife; after passing through Lisonglinhuang, they led the two battalions of the headquarters to Tong'an, and together with Taoist Zeng Xiande, cleaned up the bandit nests in Xitang, Shangzhai, and Hujing. Look at the date of worship is April 26, and the place of worship is the capital of Fujian Province.Fuzhou is only two or three days away from Zhangzhou; Zuo Zongtang in Fuzhou should not know about twenty-one grams to Zhangzhou.If you already know, why didn't you succeed in the twenty-six prostrations? This is a huge suspicion, but after a little research, it is not difficult to understand that Zuo Zongtang only "slipped through the net" for Li Shixian, and refused to report victory; he first said that he wanted to "detour Anxi", and then wanted to "collude with the Tongan bandits", and finally said Whatever Guo Songlin did was to push Li Shixian's responsibility for "slipping through the net" onto Guo Songlin. As for the reason why Zuo Zongtang wanted to "rectify" Guo Songlin, it can also be inferred.It turned out that after Lin Wencha's death in battle, Guo Songlin, the commander-in-chief of Fushan Town, was replaced by Fujian Land Admiral whenever there was a vacancy. Although he was an acting officer, he was always promoted; The admiral with the highest rank, please don't get Guo Songlin's turn.According to Zuo Zongtang's idea, Guo Songlin's promotion came from aiding Fujian; and the promoted officials were lacking in Fujian, so no matter whether he was grateful for the picture or was responsible for the name, he should belong to him according to the establishment system. underlings.There is no such thing as Guo Songlin, who refused to take office despite the repeated urging of Fujian governor Xu Zongqian.It is quite intolerable for Zuo Zongtang to assume the position of guest general as a military officer in Fujian when he was fighting in Fujian. However, before the Guo and Yang armies sailed south, Li Hongzhang made a special statement: Guo Songlin will not perform his duties, and he will also " Don't advise driving."Zuo Zongtang once agreed, so it's inconvenient to backtrack now!But I regretted Guo Songlin, so I made a foreshadowing at this time. On the one hand, I vaguely stated that it was Guo Songlin's responsibility to pursue Li Shixian; But it is official to ask Guo Songlin to stay in Fujian—it is only right and proper to use the admiral of this province to suppress the bandits in this province. Knowing Zuo Zongtang's secret intrigue, and then looking at Li Hongzhang's "aiding Fujian to win, and Zhangzhou government will be conquered", you will suddenly realize that in addition to expressing merit and inviting rewards, it also has the effect of leaving room for the Soviet army to shrug off responsibility in advance .Because of the eclectic description of the battle situation, the defense area and deployment of Guo and Yang's two armies were particularly detailed. One said: "Dongshan is ten miles south of Zhangzhou City, connected to the Zhangpu Road, and Guo Songlin uses eight battalions to control it; another ten miles is the town. The gate is in the middle of Dongshan, Haicheng, and Shima. Yang Dingxun used five battalions to control it. Haicheng County is the rear route of the two armies. " Furthermore, it is said: "General Liu Lianjie and Fusi Wang opened the list in the northwest; Admiral Gao Liansheng, Huang Shaochun and other troops were on the east road. Since the Soviet army strangled Dongshan, the south road has been cut off." The battalions pursued and suppressed for several miles, and together with Gao, Huang and other troops, they turned back to the southeast and wiped out all the bandits at Fangzi Bridge outside Dongguan, Dongyue Temple and the nearby Nanmen Xinqiao." Whether defending or attacking, they all focus on the south of Zhangzhou, followed by the east; but Li Shixian opened the west gate and fled, who is responsible?Needless to say. After such repeated studies and judgments, Xu Geng believed that Zuo Zongtang was playing terrible tricks.Since the rise of the army, the leading soldiers in various provinces have used it as a habit to drive thieves out of the country; Zuo Zongtang seems to be beggar-thy-neighbor deliberately, hiding some evil intentions.This must be corrected early. Therefore, he pointed out to King Gong, Wen Xiang and others that Chen Lili, and the empress dowagers of the two palaces of the Ming Dynasty, planned to issue a "Ting Ji". When he came down, he said, "Zhangzhou has not been reinstated, and Qu Kui has not yet been appointed as the head. He will definitely conspire with Wang Ni and plan to succeed. Now the situation in the southeast and southeast roads is still stable; the northeast road is also guarded by Liu Mingdeng and others. Zhangpu, Yunxiao, Zhao'an, Pinghe and other cities in front of us are all occupied by thieves. There is no doubt that the rebels must think of fleeing this way. In the area of ​​Raoping and Dapu in Guangdong Province, although Fang Yao and other troops are defending, Fearing that the troops will not be distributed enough, Zuo Zongtang and others should still allocate a strong force, go around to the west road, and join the Cantonese army to intercept them head-on, so as to stop him from crossing the road." At this point, Zuo Zongtang knew that the time was right to drive Guo Songtao away.Before that, he had made a foreshadowing for Jiang Yili; and used Li Hongzhang as a foil to improve Jiang Yili's status.This foreshadowing was set at the beginning of September, when Ruilin and Guo Songtao were at odds with each other, and in the memorial "I implore to take back the orders of all the three provinces and all the troops in the three provinces", he also mentioned: "I am afraid that the military affairs in Guangdong and Guangxi will not end. The talents of the army are like Li Hongzhang and Jiang Yili, and there are disasters and chaos!" It means that it is best to transfer Li Hongzhang to the governor of Guangdong, and Jiang Yili to be promoted to the governor of Guangdong; this is a vague temptation, and the court ordered no clear response. However, the impression that Jiang Yili could be a responsible person has been left in the minds of the Empress Dowager Nishinomiya and the Minister of Military Affairs. At this time, of course, it is not possible to Mingbao Jiang Yili to be promoted to Guangdong; it is to attack Guo Baojiang in "Chen Ming Guangdong Military Affairs and Pay" by clipping.First of all, I said: "The facts about the soldiers in Guangdong Province are impressive, and the issue of pay cannot be questioned. The army has been prosperous for a long time, and the military affairs in various provinces may turn from weak to strong, while Guangdong has been strong in the past and now it is crossbow! The pay of the provinces may gradually change from scarcity. Yu, Guangdong has been spared in the past and now it is exhausted!" Just these two words, the governors of nearly two years attacked together; of course, Guo Songtao's responsibility should be heavier than Ruilin's, because he has been in office longer than Ruilin . Then it was devoted to pay, and this was the duty of the governor; there was no mention of Guo Songtao's name in it, but most of the attacks were concentrated on Guo Songtao, with a special reference to the Chaozhou tax in a wealthy area of ​​​​Guangdong. Zuo Zongtang accused him in this way: "When I arrived in Dapu, I met the officials, gentlemen and people of Chaojun County, and asked about the tax rate of Chaojun County. The total amount of groceries, foreign medicines, Shantou trips, and boat donations, the annual income, the total More than 30,000 taels is a yearly income, which is less than the monthly salary of 6,000 people. Chaozhou is a county in the east of Guangdong, and the tax rate is so small, and the rest can be deduced by analogy." This is an intentional distortion of the facts.Since Qianjiang established Lijin, which is taxed on goods, the most difficult thing to deal with is Guangdong; when Guo Songtao took office at the beginning, he once made a statement with Governor Mao Hongbin.The situation in Guangdong is different from that in other provinces, mainly due to the influence of foreigners.The situation in Guangdong, "Macao occupies its west, Hong Kong surrounds its east, and all the provinces and rivers are at the mouth of Haikou, all of which belong to foreigners, and Hong Kong is especially a place where merchants gather. One or two big shops have been moved to Hong Kong in order to rely on them. The people attached to the barbarians, for their own purposes, all persuaded to donate at a rate, and never dared to ask. Those who intend to evade donations also send more to Hong Kong, hoping to survive. Statistics of incoming and outgoing goods, all major brokers, are transferred from Hong Kong Losing is a way for him to save money and prevent leakage, and eastern Guangdong has a hotbed of escape.” Secondly, the atmosphere in Guangdong is different from other provinces.The gentry in Guangdong often took all the taxes and levies; at the beginning of the establishment of Lijin, they were also contracted by the evil gentry, allowing them to invade and fish for a living.And the public and private suffer from the disease.Later, it was taken over as a government office. It is not surprising that the evil gentry in Baoli were unwilling to lose their privileges because they lost their privileges. They instigated trouble and gathered people to destroy the bureau. Mobilize local officials in prefectures and counties, and use Qiu to make associations.The result is that the more accommodating, the more difficult it is. After Guo Songtao came to office, he rectified the donations with the aim of easy removal of Chinese drinks and a reasonable purpose, which was quite effective. Qiongzhoufu, Lianzhou, and Heyuan in Huizhou, which had never been established, opened successively.As for Chaozhou, as far as Guangdong is concerned, it was located in the eastern corner of Guangdong, and it had been outside for a long time. When Wang Haiyang approached the border of Guangdong, Chao Jiahui tried to open it. Although the number was small, it was always a beginning.The folk customs of Chaozhou are to make the best use of the situation, to say good things first, and to discuss everything; if there is coercive pressure, people will not obey.What Zhang Mian meant was that as long as Chaozhou is willing to accept the donation, it can be increased in the future; moreover, the thieves are in a hurry, and it is extremely dangerous to start a dispute between the government and the gentry.Guo Songtao took this view very seriously; but Zuo Zongtang deliberately ignored the facts, only emphasizing that he only received 30,000 silver per year, but did not say that the 30,000 silver was hard-won, and as long as he could collect the 30,000, the next 300,000 would be the same. possible. The most vicious thing is that Zuo Zongtang exaggerated the income of Guangdong Customs: "I heard that the customs collected at each mouth is no less than two million taels per year. It is impossible to check the number of Beijing. If the governor can manage to organize this, then The official payment period is correct; and it is of great benefit to the overall situation of the province's salary raising. Hereby, it is a two-hundred-year-old system, and no foreign minister dares to discuss it lightly." The next step is to protect Jiang Yili.He said: "The minister led the guest army into Guangdong. I heard about it occasionally, but I dare not not tell the truth. When the soldiers are paid at the same time, the responsibility is heavy. If you are not talented in opening aid, you can't do it. Jiang Yili, the municipal envoy of Zhejiang He is unparalleled in talent, knowledgeable about the number of high-ranking ministers, etc., if he is blessed by God, he will be sent to Guangdong to supervise military affairs and raise military pay at the same time. In the current situation in eastern Guangdong, it will definitely help." This is the so-called power guarantee.The "strength" of Libao can be summed up in one sentence: "Incomparable talent, a little bit of high-ranking ministers, etc." The governor who controls the military affairs of the three provinces is so respected, and the weight is too heavy. Zuo Zongtang pretended to be Zhuge Wuhou, and he was defiant to everything. To actually admire him in such a down-to-earth way is really not like him.Therefore, someone spread an inside story, saying that a close friend of Zhang Zuo, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, received a red envelope of 10,000 silver from Jiang Yili, and strongly advocated adding the ten words "unrivaled talent, knowledge of senior ministers, etc."; if the rumors are true , It counts as a word of gold. However, although the theory of bribery is unknowable, it is necessary to have this cross when discussing the facts.Jiang Yili's talent is known to most military ministers; they all think that it is difficult for him to take on the task.Therefore, although Zuo Zongtang hinted in the memorial that he could replace Guo as governor of Guangdong, and use Li Hongzhang as a foil to increase his social status, the court always pretended to be deaf and dumb.Now Zuo Zongtang's ten words are so heavy that they can't pretend to be deaf or dumb. However, it is not allowed to pretend to be deaf, but it is possible to pretend to be stupid. The imperial court deliberately ignored Zuo Zongtang's hint; just as he asked on the surface, on the eighth day of the first month of the fifth year of Tongzhi, an order was issued: "Jiang Yili, the governor of Zhejiang, went to Guangdong to handle the matter. Military affairs, as well as food and payment." When the memorial for sponsoring Jiang Yili was issued, Zuo Zongtang was sure of recovering Jiaying Prefecture, which Wang Haiyang occupied.On December 12th, a general offensive was launched, and Wang Haiyang was killed by random guns in one battle. Ten days later, Ke Jing was completely successful.Zuo Zongtang paid homage at the end of the year: "Jiayingzhou City will be recovered, the heads of the thieves will be wiped out, and the rest will be wiped out." This is tantamount to eradicating the remnants of Long Mao, Zuo Zongtang himself returned to his post, and all the troops were sent back to the province; but Jiang Yili "flew to Guangdong", what "military affairs" did he do, and what "food and salary" did he raise?If a powerful person does this once, Jiang Yili's new appointment may be revoked.Of course Zuo Zongtang had already considered this, so he took advantage of the problem and pushed Guo Songtao even harder. The title borrowed was "Gao Liansheng led his troops to the post".Gao Liansheng's original position was "Guangdong land admiral"; now that Zuo Zongtang's task of controlling the military affairs of the three provinces has come to an end, since he returned to his own province, Gao Liansheng should also take up the post in Guangdong.When the admiral arrives at his post, he does not need to bring any other troops besides his own soldiers; however, Zuo Zongtang asked Gao Liansheng to bring all his troops to the new post.On the surface, the reason was that the chaos was at the beginning of peace, the people's hearts were uncertain, and they were "suppressed with funds"; in fact, they deliberately created difficulties for Guangdong, because Gao Liansheng's department had 5,000 people, and at least 30,000 gold and silver were paid every month. Guangdong burden. However, Guangdong welcomes Gao Liansheng, but does not welcome Gao Lianchang's troops.So Zuo Zongtang accused Guangdong and complained a lot, saying that "the ministers should ask themselves, so if they are the ones who are planning for Guangdong, they should not do anything, but Guangdong cares about it. If you want all the ministers to order Gao Liansheng's subordinates to be Xuanmin, then the ministers I don't understand. If it is said that Gao Liansheng's military salary should still be received by Minzhi, try to raise it for Guangdong, and the salary of Xiemin should be resolved. There are still more than 300,000 taels. This time, refugees from various provinces and Jiaying Prefecture, Zhenping County relieved Ping’s rice and grain, and all the ministers allotted the price of rice to Baochao’s first army. There were more than 50,000 taels of rice that should be returned from Guangdong. That is to say, all the money was transferred to Gao Liansheng’s military salary, and used to help Fujian’s salary The Fujian army needs about one year; after one year, all the troubles will gradually subside, and it is not too late to disband the army one after another." The provinces pay each other, and which province owes which province is an account that will never be settled. , anyway, it is reasonable to be able to fight a war: it is even more reasonable to win a battle.Zuo Zongtang has the most thorough understanding of this level, so it is more reasonable to be able to speak eloquently. Zuo Zongtang's folded newspapers are often discussed at the end, and this fold is no exception. Because of the attack on Guo Songtao, Guangdong was affected, and it was also criticized: "The troubles of Fusi Haijiang originated in Guangdong; the troubles of thieves in the Central Plains also It started in Guangdong. When the military affairs are just completed, those who have raised troops and raised their salaries, how should they learn from the past and learn from the past, and try to strengthen themselves? If you still think that mediocrity is generous; The big plan may not be enough to relieve the worries of the imperial court. He did not ask for an order to order the governor of Guangdong to deliberate and examine the office, and still call for Gao Liansheng to take his troops to the post, which is from the holy order." This memorial is the same as the memorial of Jiang Yili that was protected before.The people in Zuo Zongtang's shogunate who received red envelopes secretly copied the bottom and sent them to Zhejiang. Although Jiang Yili was a rough man, he was still a master after all, and told him that the time for promotion was not far away.Jiang Yili was overjoyed, and immediately engraved the seal of the governor of Guangdong, ready to take office. The most powerful part of this memorial is to use Ruilin to attack Guo Songtao.The matter started with Ruilin's consultation, and Zuo Zongtang's aggressive writing pointed out Ruilin in the front;What is Ruilu's achievements in Guangdong?The ministers in the court are well-known to everyone; and King Gong and Wen Xiang, compared to the Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties who used Manchurian dignitaries, although they don't know how smart they are?But I also think that Ruilin must be preserved, because first, since the rise of the army, nine out of ten governors are Han Chinese, which is unprecedented since the founding of the Qing Dynasty.At present, only Huguang and Liangguang are bannermen; if Zuo Zongtang's impeachment against Ruilin is endless, forcing the imperial court to make adjustments, there is no suitable senior bannerman to bear the burden for a while.Secondly, Ruilin has the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, so he cannot be moved.Third, although Ruilin is mediocre, he is very obedient; especially the funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have a lot to do with the Guangdong Customs. It is convenient to have an obedient Cantonese governor in Guangzhou. Therefore, the imperial court must appease Zuo Zongtang, not only to preserve Ruilin, but also because of the words "I am afraid that the imperial court's worries in the south will not be satisfied".Therefore, Ruilin was reprimanded in the imperial edict, and the wording was quite severe: "After Zuo Zongtang's triumphant return, Guangdong Province sent soldiers to search and punish bandits. Urging Gao Liansheng to go to Guangdong to serve as the admiral, why did Zuo Zongtang order his department to return to Fujian? If the Fujian army retreats triumphantly, and the surrendered bandits continue to cause troubles and trouble the troops, the department supervisor can take this important role Blame?" The next step is as requested by Zuo Zongtang: "There are more than 5,000 people in Gao Liansheng's department, and the monthly salary is only more than 30,000 taels. That is to say, Zuo Zongtang ordered the admiral to take the department to take up the post, and the monthly salary is from Rui. Lin and Guo Songtao raise money on a monthly basis, and there is no shortage of debts, and there will be troubles!" Ruilin's reprimand was of course very embarrassing, but his future was preserved; the one who lost his future was Guo Songtao, who was not reprimanded. The imperial court meant that they were determined to preserve Ruilin and sacrifice Guo Songtao in exchange for Zuo Zongtang's "loyalty".However, the edict on "employing people for administration" often stated that "one is a righteous man", and the delay in Guangdong's military affairs is the same as that of governors and governors. One should not be deposed and the other should be fine.Therefore, using the unwritten principle of "fairness" of "beating without punishment" and "punishment without hitting", strict warnings to Ruilin are already hitting and not punishing; Punishment". In just seven or eight days, two edicts were issued on the political situation in Guangdong. The "Ting Ji" of the emergency military report "intensified" was divided into Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian, and it wrote: Ma Xinyizou: Inspecting the situation in Haikou, and discussing the transformation of warships; the military affairs of Guangdong Province have been decided. 10% off each.The official army's search for foreign pirates depends entirely on the ability of ships and equipment to be effective.Ma Xinyi saw that he planned to renovate the No. 30 Hongdan Guangboat, and combined Zhang Qiguang with ten Guangboats, totaling No. 40, and distribute them to various key ports in Wenzhou and other places; he also bought one or two foreign ships for guerrilla search and suppression. The preparations are still in place, and they are all done as requested.Still with Ma Xinyi in charge of the generals along the coast, there are division ships, patrolling carefully, hunting down the rest of the bandits, so as to calm the place, without any negligence.An edict has been issued today; Jiang Yili was appointed governor of Guangdong.That is to say, Jiang Yili hurriedly handed over his departure and went to his new post.Jiang Yili was promoted to Xinjiang by the imperial court, and his responsibilities were not light. After he took office, he made great efforts to rectify the affairs of the general affairs, the administration of officials and the raising of salaries, in order to improve in the future;Know this from the decrees of Wubaili. Zuo Zongtang expelled Guo Songtao in order to occupy the territory of Guangdong.On the surface, this goal is achieved; in fact, it is not. Although the imperial court accepted Zuo Zongtang's protection of Jiang Yili, although it was under coercion, it had no choice but to gather the strength of the crowd to deal with the arbitrary Zuo Zongtang.It didn't take long for anyone with a discerning eye to see that, in the end, it was someone who used the government's affairs and had the upper hand. First, the imperial court had a preliminary plan and wanted to use Zuo Zongtang again, so in the matter of using him to protect Jiang Yili, they used extra words to win over Jiang Yili; second, Guangdong's prosperity has long been famous and has always been For more than ten years, Hong Yang has poisoned the southeast, but the disaster in Guangdong is extremely light.However, in order to raise salaries in the early years, the governor of Guangdong had to accommodate the sponsor of Zeng Guofan, who was sent by the expert.After the incident, the situation is different, and the time to take power has come; but one is hindering Zeng Guofan, and the other is Guo Songtao's background and official performance, unless there is a major fault, he cannot be transferred casually, especially with Ruilin. In contrast, if we want to rectify the administration of officials in Guangdong, Ruilin should be transferred first, not Guo Songtao.Even if we take a step back, at least it should be consistent with Ruiguo; otherwise, the high-sounding words such as "employing people and administering with integrity" and other high-sounding words repeatedly stated in the decree will become deceitful talk. It is rare for Zuo Zongtang to attack Guo Songtao vigorously, but it can be used as a way to collect power.It is not easy to depose Guo; it is very easy to depose Jiang Yili.Because in terms of his background, qualifications and talents, he is not suitable for the job in the field; in the future, he will be transferred easily with a piece of paper, and no one will gossip. Another advantage is that there is Jiang Yili's comparison; Ruilin is very qualified when he is the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.Therefore, in August, a decree was issued to eliminate the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in Ruilin; from an acting to an actual delegation. On the same day—August 17th in the fifth year of Tongzhi, there were two other edicts: one was written by Yang Yuebin, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu: "The talent is not enough, the disease is getting worse, please open the vacancy"; Zuo Zongtang was transferred to the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another said: "Yang Yuebin is not very suitable for people and places, and the handling has not been effective; he has a deep relationship with the West Frontier. Zuo Zongtang has a long history of prestige, is familiar with tenacity, and is able to handle it well in military affairs; As the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, in order to quickly sweep back the atmosphere and appease the border areas." It is a special statement that Zuo Zongtang was assigned the important task of subduing the Northwest. According to the traditional regulations, for the transfer of the ministers of the borderlands, firstly, the predetermined candidates are summoned to Beijing, and after seeing the order, Fang Shiming issued an imperial edict; and then "please train" to leave Beijing.If you do not go through this procedure and directly send a decree to make a replacement, then the new incumbent should ask your majesty to see and ask for instructions; this means that this transfer must include the intention of eliminating the old and bringing in the new.What the imperial court hopes, we must first inquire and understand, so we should ask for training.Of course, there are exceptions. For example, if the military situation is urgent and no delay is allowed, it can be clearly stated in the imperial edict: "I will go to the new post immediately, and there is no need to come to Beijing for training." This is the case for Zuo Zongtang's new order. However, this is a superficial view, and there are actually other articles.Because Zuo Zongtang went from the old post in the southeast to the new post in the northwest, bypassing the capital, and entering Qinlong from Shanxi, it was not too troublesome; but the chaos has slowed down, and it has been a long time, and he is afraid that something will happen if he is on the verge of taking precautions. Clean up, the sooner the better the situation is different.And the reason why he was prevented from going to Beijing to ask for training was only because of Zuo Zongtang's method. The Military Aircraft Department and various ministries have been taught, and they are asking for salary and people. trouble?So simply don't want him to go to Beijing. It was already twenty days later when the transferred Shangyu arrived in Fuzhou.At that time, Zuo Zongtang was working on a large-scale "protection case" to eliminate the bandits in Fujian and Guangdong. Those who contributed, of course, all contributed;For a while, the city of Fuzhou was "gathered with crowns and covers", and it was very lively; when it came out that Zuo Zongtang was transferred to the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, he had already set up a line in Fujian as an alternate, and those who could take advantage of military merit to be promoted to fill the vacancy were all very disappointed, because although the backer It hasn't fallen, but it has moved, and there is nothing to rely on. Hu Xueyan was also in Fuzhou at this time.Zuo Zongtang specially prepared a "attached film" in order to reward him for his contribution to providing military supplies and salaries in Shanghai.This "attached film" is the special security guard Hu Xueyan plus an official; it is not included in the list but is sponsored separately, which is called "Secret Security". "According to Hu Guangyong, who was appointed as an inspector to make up for Fujian, he entered Zhejiang Province as a minister and commissioned various affairs, and he found a compromise. After the recovery of Hangzhou, he was very effective in preparing for the aftermath. He was eager to serve the public and righteous, with solid strength, and he was very unusual in handling relief. The achievements are comparable. From Zhejiang to Fujian to Guangdong, the ministers have successively commissioned the military and military boats, and they have been transported one after another. There is no deadline, and the military supplies are reduced." Therefore, I sincerely ask for "extraordinary awards and incentives. Can you reward Jiabu Envoy title". Adding an official is what Hu Xueyan hopes for; however, what makes him particularly excited is not the title of chief executive, but the title of chief executive can be changed.According to the original title, the inspector - the standard secretary is the third rank, and he wears a bright blue cap; the chief envoy - the feudal secretary is from the second rank, so he can wear the red cap. It is extremely difficult for an official from the donated class to wear a red cap; it is even more rare for a businessman to wear a red cap; unless it is from Teen like the salt merchants in the Qianlong period, there are only one or two people.That's why drinking water and thinking about the source, thinking of the red cap that I will have to wear, although it was recommended by Zuo Zongtang; but without Wang Youling, what would we be today?So I made a special trip to Wang Youling's hometown—supporting Wang's bereaved family is Hu Xueyan's first major event during the festival; Originally, I wanted to visit the door of the tomb in person, but I had a big business to do, and I was too busy; I had to wait until the official business was over. The big thing is to plan to build a ship by yourself.Zuo Zongtang's will is strong and resolute, and he cannot be reconciled unless he puts it into practice.At that time, he was ordered to be the supervisor of Fujian, and he couldn't take care of it himself, but he didn't let it go, and entrusted a person he trusted most, that is, Hu Xueyan. Regarding dealing with foreigners, Hu Xueyan must turn to Gu Yingchun for help; he has a wide range of ideas, and believes that there is no need to find Riyige and Dekebei for shipbuilding.Among the countries of Europe and the West today, when it comes to the quality of ships, railways, and firearms, the United States has the tendency to come from behind.同时美国人不似英国人的狡猾、法国人的蛮横、德国人的顽固、日本人的阴险，比较易于相处。 可是胡雪岩另有看法，外国在华势力，英国最大，法国其次。要制抑英国的势力，只有利用法国；美国与英国同种，所以与美国合作，等于帮助英国扩张势力。同时，日意格与德克碑是原始创议之人，无故背弃，道义有亏。 其实胡雪岩还有一层没有说出来的意思；古应春与他多年相处，亦能揣摩得到——左宗棠与李鸿章争权夺利，几已成不两立之势，李鸿章办洋务，倚总税务局英国人赫德为重；然则左宗棠如果再请教英国人，将会逃不了仍由赫德经手。而赫德与李鸿章互为表里，说不定会向总洋务的恭王与文建建议，制造轮船事务以由两江经办为宜。那一来岂不是给李鸿章开了路？ 因此，古应春不再有何主张，只实心实力地作胡雪岩跟日意格、德克碑打交道的助手——实际上只跟日意格一个人接头；因为德克碑已经退伍回国了。一切建船厂的计划、图样及瞀，都由德克碑在法国托人办理，寄给日意格，再找胡雪岩、古应春洽谈；一年多下来，已经策划得很周祥了。 到得左宗棠由广东班师，胡雪岩立即陪着日意格到了福州；左宗棠一看图说详明，非常高兴，亲自去视察日意格所建议的设厂之地；地在福建海口、马尾罗星塔一带，水清土实，宜于开槽建坞。兼以密迩省城，稽察方便，所以一看便即中意。 剩下来的事，就是筹划经费。造厂买机器、雇募师匠，瞀开办费要三十多万银子，厂成开工，材料薪水，每月须银五六万两，一年就是六、七十万，预计两年以后造出第一艘船，要花下去一百五十万银子。不过以后就可以省了，五年通计，不过三百多万。 这三百多万银子，从何筹集？当然煞费周章；左宗棠的意思是先办起来再说，只要有一百万银子，能应付得了头一年，此后欲罢不能，不愁朝廷拿不出办法，好在有胡雪岩，一定可以想出一条维持得下的路子来。 因而粗粗计算，福建海关及本省厘税，提用之权在自己手里；浙江分属自己管辖，不会袖手；广东蒋益澧是自己一手提拔，更当效劳。有此三处财源，尽可放手办事了。 因此，左宗棠在五月中旬，便先奏陈“拟购机器，雇洋匠，试造轮船大概情形”。同时应诏陈言，以为剿捻宜用车战；平回则千里馈粮，转运艰难，应该采用屯田之策。 复旨对车战、屯田之议，不见得欣赏；试造轮船则以为“实系当今应办急务”，所需经费，准予在闽海关关税中酌量提用；如果不够，准再提用福建厘金。同时指示：“所陈各条，均着照议办理；一切未尽事宜，仍着详悉议奏。” 有此一旨，左宗棠便密锣紧鼓地干了起来，一面关照胡雪岩通过已调汉口江汉关税务司的日意格，与在安南的德克碑，商酌一切细节。 日意格是七月初，冒暑到达福州的。第一件事是勘察船厂地址，择定马尾山下，潮平之时水深亦达十二丈的地方设厂；然后议土木、议工匠、议经费，大致妥协，订立草约，担保人照胡雪岩的建议，由法国驻上海的总领事白来尼担保。当然，这个差使必然又落在胡雪岩肩上。 到了八月下旬德克碑直接由安南到达福州，与左宗棠晤见之下，对于所订草约，并无异词，但对所选定的建厂地点，却有意见，认为马尾山下是淤沙积成的一块陆地，基址不够坚固。因而左宗棠决定邀请白来尼、日意格到福州作客，作一个最后的，也是全面的商议，作成定案，正式出奏。 主意既定，先写信找胡雪岩到福州来谈。正在起劲的时候，忽然奉到调督陕甘的上谕；在左宗棠虽觉突兀，但稍一细想，便知事所必然，势所必至，并非全出意外。同时想起历史上许多平定西域的史实，雄心陡起，跃跃欲试，相当兴奋。 在胡雪岩却是件非常扫兴的事，而且忧心忡忡，颇有手足无措之感。因此，到总督衙门向左宗棠道贺时，虽然表面从容，一切如常；但逃不过相知较深的人的眼光。其中有一个是他的小同乡吴观礼。此人字子儒号圭庵，本来是一名举人；才气纵横，做得极好的诗。由于胡雪岩的推荐，入左宗棠幕府，深得信任，担任总理营务处的职司，是闽浙总督衙门唯一参赞军务，可说是运筹帷幄的一位幕友。 吴观礼对左宗棠所了解的，是胡雪岩所不能了解的，这就因为是读书多少的缘故。看到胡雪岩的眉宇之间有落寞之色，当然也就猜想得到他内心的想法。 “雪岩，”吴观礼问道，“你是不是怕左公一去西北，你失掉靠山？” 话问得很率直，胡雪岩也就老实答道：“是的！以后无论公私，我都难了！” “不然！不然！”吴观礼大为摇头。 照吴观礼的看法，出关西征，总得三年五载，才能见功；这当然是一次大征伐，但情势与剿捻不同。捻匪窜扰中原，威胁京畿，在朝廷看，纵非心腹之患，但患在肘腋，不除不能安心；所以督兵大臣，必得克日收功。事势急迫，不容延误。 西征则在边陲用兵，天高皇帝远，不致于朝夕关怀，其势较缓，公事自然比较好办。至于私事，无非胡雪岩个人的事业，有近在东南的左宗棠，可资荫庇，处处圆通。一旦靠山领兵出关，远在西陲，鞭长莫及；缓急之际呼应为难。吴观礼认为亦是过虑。 “你要晓得，从来经营西北，全靠东南支持；此后你在上海的差使，会更加吃重，地位也就更非昔比。事在人为。”吴观礼拍拍胡雪岩的肩说，“你没有读过'圣武记'，不知道乾隆年间的'十大武功'。经营边疆，从前都是派亲贵或者满洲重臣挂帅；如今派了我们左公，是件非同小可的事。洪杨以来的元戎勋臣，曾相高高在上；左李两位两次；从此以后，只怕曾左要并称了。” 最后一句话，点醒了胡雪岩；满腔忧烦，顿时一扫而空。靠山虽远，却更高大稳固；了解到这一层，就不必发什么愁了。 “多承指点。”胡雪岩很高兴地说，“索性还要费你的心，西北是怎么个情形，请你细细谈一谈。” “我们先谈谈造轮船。”左宗棠极坚决地说：“不管朝廷催得怎么紧，要我赶出关；这件事非在我手里先定了局，我不会离开福建。” “是的。”胡雪岩问道：“定局以后，交给哪位？”“着！你问在要害上了。我蓄志三年，辛苦数月，才能有此结果，倘或付托非人，半途而废，我是不甘心的。这一层，我还在考虑；眼前还要请你多偏劳。” “那何消说得。不过，我亦只能管到大人离福建为止。”“不然。我离开福建，你还是要管。”左宗棠说，“管的是船厂。这件事我决不能半途而废，为李少荃所笑。而且我不知道盘算过多少次，这件事办成，比李少荃所办的洋务，不知道要好过多少倍。” 这就很明白的了，左宗棠是出于争胜之心。他的好胜心是决不因任何的规劝而稍减的；胡雪岩知道自己难卸仔肩，非“顶石臼做戏”不可了。不过，刚才那句“问在要害”上的话，并无答复，还得追问。 “大人这么说，我当然只有遵命。”胡雪岩说，“就不知道将来在福建还要伺候哪位？” “不要说什么伺候的话。雪岩，你最聪明不过；没有什么你不能相处的。惟其我付托了这个人，更得借重你——。” 左宗棠没有再说下去：胡雪岩却完全懂了他的意思，他所付托的，是个很难'伺候'的人。这就更急着要问：“是哪位？” “沈幼丹。” 原来是丁忧回籍守制的前任江西巡抚沈葆桢。这在胡雪岩却真有意外之感。细想一想，付托倒也得人；不过以本省人做本省官，而且必是大官，为法例所不许。兼以丁忧，更成窒碍。不知左宗棠是怎么想来的？他只有付之默然了。“我知道你的想法，我给你看个奏稿。” 奏向洋洋千言，畅论造船之利；最后谈到主题：臣维轮船一事，势在必行，岂可以去闽在迩，忽为搁置？且设局制造，一切繁难事宜，均臣与洋员议定，若不趁臣在闽定局，不但头绪纷繁，接办之人无从咨防；且恐要约不明，后多民议，臣尤无可诿咎。臣之不能不稍留三旬，以待此局之定者，此也！惟此事固须择接办之人；尤必接办之人能久于其事，然后一气贯注，众志定而成功可期；亦研求深而事理愈熟。再四思维，惟丁忧在籍前江西抚臣沈荷桢，在官在籍，久负清望，为中外所仰。其虑事详审精密，早在圣有洞鉴之中。现在里居侍养，爱日方长，非若宦辙靡常，时有量移更替之事；又乡评素重，更可坚乐事赴功之心。若令主持此事，必期就绪。商之英桂、徐宗余亦以为然。臣曾三次造庐商情，沈荷桢始终逊谢不遑。可否仰恳皇上天恩，俯念事关至要，局在垂成，温谕沈葆桢，勉轻大义，特命总理船政，由部颁发关防，凡事涉船政，由其专奏请旨，以防牵制。 其经费一切，会商将军督抚随时调取；责成署藩司周开锡，不得稍有延误。一切工料及延洋匠、雇华工、开艺局，责成胡光墉一手经理。缘胡光墉才长心细，熟谙洋务，为船局断不可少之人，且为洋人所素信也。“好！我就交给你了！”左宗棠站起身，一面走向书案，一面说道：“现在要跟你谈第一件大事了！”