Chapter 14 Chapter Seven (1-2)

After this explanation, Cai Yuanji not only dispelled his doubts, but also increased his confidence.He also has a lot of people in his hands, even if Zuo Zongtang wants to imitate Li Hongzhang, he may not be able to do so easily.Thinking about it this way, he resolutely replied: "Okay! I am going to surrender to the Zuozhi Army. How should we proceed?" This question stopped Zhu Daqi.Because along the way, all I have planned is how to say "the stubborn stone nods", and what happens next remains to be broken down.The boss of Songjiang and Sun Ziqing are not familiar with the situation in Zhejiang, and they are not familiar with the rules of the officialdom, so naturally they can't praise it.

Of course, with Zhu Daqi's wit and agility, it is not difficult to think of a way temporarily, or it is easier to prevaricate it first if you want a trick.But he didn't want to do this, because it was like doing business, and he deeply understood the principle of trusting each other. The more sincere he was at the moment, the more he could gain Cai Yuanji's trust, and things would go smoothly in the future. So he replied apologetically: "Master Cai, to be honest, we need everyone to think long-term about how to do it. Especially Wang Dusi, we must invite you to discuss it together. Let me tell the truth again, it is not convenient for me to go ashore at this moment. Why? Because The Jiangsu side is not quite right with me. Maybe they are looking for my faults everywhere, especially if I take you to Zhejiang, which is even more taboo for them. I have to guard against it. I am here to meet you, it has nothing to do with it. An, said that I have been to the long-haired nest, and the suspicion of collaborating with the enemy will not be cleared by jumping to the Yellow River. Not only will I have a lot of trouble, but it will also delay your business. Please forgive me."

"Heavy words, serious words!" Cai Yuanji hurriedly replied: "I also know that officers and soldiers strive for merit, and they don't respect conscience, let alone loyalty. Don't worry about it, I'll invite the two of them to discuss it together." This shows that Cai Yuanji treats each other wholeheartedly.The three hosts were very pleased, they treated each other with wine and gossip about their lives, it is true that they hit it off.Although the stormy waves beat the shore outside the boat and the wind was like a tiger, the sunny weather inside the cabin was intoxicating.

After about an hour or so, Wang and Liu went back to the boat. As soon as Liu Bucai entered the cabin, he smiled and said, "I really can't bear to part with Anlan Garden. I plan to sleep on the dragon bed that Qianlong used to sleep in, and also live to be the emperor." The addiction, just took us back." This is a joke, but if the time and place happen to be different, it will become a crime of treason. This joke can't be taken, so no one answered him.Zhu Daqi only told the two of them about Cai Yuanji's promise, and discussed the steps to proceed. In order to strengthen Cai Yuanji's confidence, and to let him understand the situation of the officers and soldiers so that he can adapt, Zhu Daqi subtly hinted that Yu Xixun should stay in Haining to accompany Cai Yuanji.As for the transmission of information, Liu Bucai was in charge of intermediary contact. Cai Yuanji gave a secret code, a total of two characters, the first one is Liu character, and the second one is used according to the date according to the thousand-character script. If it is the first day of junior high school, it is "" Liu Tian", the second grade is "Liu Di", and the third grade is "Liu Xuan".He will take care of the guards at the seawall every day, as long as he says the correct signal, he will lead him to meet him in the camp.

This talk lasted until late at night, the moon was dark and the waves were high, so it was not suitable to take risks, so Cai Yuanji stayed on the sandboat and left with Wang Xixun at dawn the next day.Zhu Daqi sent him off the boat, and then discussed with everyone. If there is one person to contact Zuo Zongtang, Sun Ziqing and Songjiang are naturally not suitable, and Liu Bucai is not a suitable candidate, so it seems that only Zhu Daqi can do it. "No! I can't. It's not that I'm refusing. One of the reasons is that it's not convenient for me to come forward." Zhu Daqi said, "This trip to persuade Cai Yuanji to surrender is the first step for me to return to Zhejiang. My play will be sung later, and it is not appropriate to contribute now. This credit is very important to Wang Dusi, and I must give it to him. As soon as I came forward, I shared his credit."

Sun Ziqing had a better understanding of Zhu Daqi's thinking and approach, and nodded deeply to express his support: "I understand what my little uncle said, and I also agree with it. The so-called 'If you don't make a song, you will be a blockbuster. Make a sound." "Then," Liu Bucai had an idea, and he thought of someone, and he said excitedly, "Let Xiao Zhang go to the meeting." "Here!" Sun Ziqing praised first, "Xiao Zhang is perfect. Let him come forward to discuss the letter. Doesn't it just echo the letter from the beginning?"

"That's what I mean." Zhu Daqi said, "Don't delay, just do what you say. Third Master, you have to work hard in Hangzhou! " So, starting immediately, sailing from the north bank to the south bank, relying on the banner of Chang Jiejun, landed at a place called Xiao Sidu, crossed the river west to the southern suburbs of Hangzhou, mixed into the city, found Xiao Zhang, and explained in detail go through.Then they went out of the city together, Xiao Zhang came to see Jiang Yifeng, Liu Bucai waited for news in Xiaoshan, and agreed to meet at a Changfa Inn. ＊＊＊ Xiao Zhang obeyed Zhu Daqi's warning and only exaggerated the contributions of Wang Xixun and himself. Although he also mentioned Zhu Daqi, he only said that he was in charge of the overall situation, not mentioning that he had met Cai Yuanji.However, Jiang Yifeng knew very well what Zhu Daqi had done to help Wang Youling in the past, so he asked to meet Zhu Daqi out of nowhere.

"Zhu Observer is in Shanghai. Send someone to invite him. It will take at least ten days and a half months to come over from Ningbo. Haining is waiting for an answer. The night is full of dreams. It will be bad if you change your mind." Xiao Zhang continued Said: "Cai Yuanji is very willing, but he can't be completely relieved about the murder of Suzhou. It's unwise to ask his doubts as the days drag on." "Now it's about him leading the troops. I want to ask Marshal Zuo for instructions." Jiang Yifeng said, "Please stay in my camp today, and I'll take a look at it overnight!"

So Jiang Yifeng left Xiao Zhang in the camp and treated him like a guest of honor. It was he who drove starry night to meet Zuo Zongtang at a place called Hengxitou in the south of Hangzhou and ask for advice. Zuo Zongtang was in trouble at that time.Chen Bingwen, one of the brains of the Taiping Army in Hangzhou, "the king of listening", sent his brother Chen Dagui out of the city to find a way to connect with the army and prepare to surrender the city.This was a good thing in the first place, but what was annoying was that they abandoned the Zhejiang army who was close at hand, and traveled all the way to Suzhou to communicate with Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang was naturally very happy, but suffered from being beyond his reach.Therefore, a committee member was sent to see Zuo Zongtang with Chen Dagui, and he prepared another consultation message, which he vaguely said was "consultation and management".It was this sentence that made Zuo Zongtang angry. "I don't understand what Li Shaoquan means." Zuo Zongtang said with a sneer, "Could it be that he wants to come to Hangzhou to be the governor of Jiangsu?" This committee member is a famous scholar named Xue Shiyu, styled Wei Nong, from Quanjiao, Anhui Province. Paradigm, careful consideration, hunting for Gaudí.

However, Xue Shiyu is not a scholar who is not familiar with world affairs, and he has a quite capable reputation in Li Hongzhang's shogunate.Seeing that Zuo Zongtang was very angry at this time, he hurriedly explained to Li Hongzhang. "My lord, please calm down. Li Zhongcheng has absolutely no reason to come to Hangzhou to accept the surrender. The so-called 'consulting and handling' is nothing more than wanting to know how to respond and cooperate." "That's about the same. Although there is no distinction between each other's hard work, after all, there must be a slight division of authority. It is okay to cross the border to suppress bandits, but it is absolutely not acceptable to surrender the province. Please ask him to be responsible for the suppression of Jiaxing, and don't bother him. .” Having said that, Zuo Zongtang always felt that Li Hongzhang was too deceitful, so he was very excited when he heard Jiang Yifeng's secret report, thinking that this was enough to counter Li Hongzhang's "invasion", he accepted Cai Yuanji's request without hesitation, and authorized Jiang Yifeng to Among the long-haired ones who surrendered, they selected the strong and strong and organized them into the official army, and they were about to attack Jiaxing immediately to atone for their sins. With this instruction, Jiang Yifeng rushed back to the base camp again, dispatched troops and dispatched generals, and appointed Chen Sizhe, the governor of Hangzhou Prefecture, and Liao Anzhi, the governor of Haining Prefecture, to cross the river with Xiao Zhang and meet Liu Bucai at the Changfa Inn in Xiaoshan. After we met, we told Liu Bucai what happened, and asked Liu Bucai to go back to Haining to make contact. As soon as he arrived, he naturally met Wang Xixun first, and had a private conversation with him, only then did he realize that the situation was not good, and Cai Yuanji hesitated a little. "What?" Liu Bucai was shocked, "Did you see something, or did he himself express something?" "Cai Yuanji himself had the intention to vote for it. The hateful thing is that he has a wife-in-law who is obsessed with obsession and has the intention of opposing it. Cai Yuanji told me that things will be smooth when things are slow. Don't be impatient. Look, is it bad?" Of course it's a bad thing.Liu Bucai thought to himself, in a dangerous place, with long nights and dreams, if Cai Yuanji really hesitated, he had to seek self-protection first.So he asked: "Wang Dusi, you have been an official in Haining, do you have acquaintances?" "Yes! But I don't know if I can't find it? What do you mean by asking?" "We have to find a way out first. If Cai Yuanji's attitude changes and he is buried here for no reason, I will die with regret." "Probably not enough." Wang Xixun said, "I also installed a line beside Cai Yuanji. He had a small pen, which I bought with a gold watch. When passing messages, he was courteous to me." Very well, if there is any news that is not good for us, he will always let me know." Hearing this statement, Liu Bucai was more relieved, but even if he could escape with his life in a crisis, the big thing would never happen.After all the hard work, nothing has been achieved, and I also feel unwilling.Liu Bucai pondered for a long time, and said resolutely: "Put him to death and bring him back to life. Wang Dusi, I want to go all out and talk to him." "Mr. Liu, why are you talking to him?" Wang Xixun asked uneasily, "Are you going to break with him? We are in his hands, we have no fists or courage, so we can only make compromises, and we must not be reckless." "I won't break up with him, don't worry." Then, he said his wording closely to Wang Xixun, and the two discussed for a long time before they reached a conclusion.