Chapter 27 Jade Seat Bead Curtain (1-2)

"how?" Li Tangjie shook his head and sighed: "The names of all the honors of the Hundred Worlds are all fake 'Tianwang Mansion', and the fire has greatly reduced it!" This remark touched upon Prince Gong's dissatisfaction with Zeng Guoquan, and he immediately frowned his long brows. Everyone was silent, and one should be cautious and reserved when talking about human integrity. Only Bao Yun was a person who was not deep, and said loudly: "Yes, there are people from the south these days, and they are talking very lively!" "How to say?" "Not only Zeng Laojiu, but also everyone in the Hunan army made a fortune. All the fake 'Prince's Mansion' were burned cleanly, only Chen Yucheng's 'Prince Ying's Mansion' was not burned because it was empty." Bao Jun said again, " Even if it is all burned, there will be a little bit left, 'gold and silver are like the sea', and it will be wiped out all of a sudden, which is too unreasonable."

"Qi is Qi here. Was it burned, or was it robbed? It seems that we have to investigate." "Why did you burn it? Real gold is not afraid of fire!" The prudent Wenxiang made an excuse: "Maybe those 'kings' who escaped took them away by themselves, and I don't know." "No, no!" Bao Jun shook his head vigorously and said, "In a hurry, can we finish it? I haven't seen Li Xiucheng's confession. He escaped on a poor horse. It is conceivable that there are very few mules and horses. Carrying it on the shoulder, how much can you carry?"

Such an analysis, unless it is admitted that there was nothing in the "Heavenly King's Mansion", otherwise it must be confirmed that after Zeng Guoquan's army broke through Jiangning, they searched it all.However, Jiangning was besieged for more than 40 days, the traffic was cut off, and the property of the "Tianwang Mansion" could not be smuggled out of the city, but how could it be "nothing at all"? "Alas!" Prince Gong sighed heavily, stood up, took two steps, stopped abruptly, and said with annoyed face: "I really don't know what to do? We are so poor, and there is no way to deal with the chaos, how can we explain it to the top and the bottom?"

Everyone here sympathizes with Prince Gong's troubles, but they can't help feeling that he is looking for trouble for his almost naive plan.This is no wonder he.Taking Xuanzong's beloved son as the late emperor's sister-in-law, although there were suspicions during the period, Qing Yi believed that he was the one who was wronged.A coup d'etat three years ago, for Sheji, the orthodoxy did not fall, and it had the power to turn the world around.In the past three years, respecting the old and the virtuous, strictly enforcing discipline, and trusting Zeng Guofan are all worse than Sushun.It is because of such courage, internal and external cooperation, each doing his best, that he can reap great merits. This is an opportunity and advantage that Prince Gong's people can hardly match.

However, Tianman Noble, no matter how outstanding his talent is, his experience must be strong. This is not about age, but about status and knowledge.Due to his status, he could not get in touch with the officials of the last rank, and his knowledge was limited to the customs and customs within the capital.Therefore, it was a huge mistake for him to look at Zeng Guoquan from Zeng Guofan's eyes. Except for Prince Gong, everyone present felt that Li Tangjie's reference to Zeng Guoquan as a "man of fame" was a rather subtle and good way of saying it.Because, it is inconvenient to say that what he studied was the feudal towns of the Five Dynasties. He won the battle only to occupy the city, and the city was only used to seal the official treasury.Everyone in Hunan in Beijing knows that as early as the ninth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guoquan built a mansion in his hometown.Prince Gong should know about this ridiculous joke.Li Hongzhang looked at the face of his teacher Zeng Guofan and sold Zeng Guoquan's friendship. He overcame Changzhou and stood still, allowing the "Old Ninth" to restore Jinling alone, so he could do whatever he wanted. This was only two or three months ago. King Gong should know .However, after reading the records in "History of the Song Dynasty" and "Spring and Autumn Period of the Ten Kingdoms", I think that Zeng Guoquan conquered Jinling, like Cao Bin went to the south of the Yangtze River and took over Jinling, bowed himself to guard the palace gate, strictly enforced military discipline, and committed no offense in autumn. The relics of the two masters of the Southern Tang Dynasty, from gold, silver and jewelry to antique calligraphy and paintings, were bundled and sent to the north, and all were handed over to the inner government.Isn't that naive?

Naturally, it is inconvenient to say these thoughts, so I can only persuade them.The only problem is that it is not easy to word words, saying that it is difficult to fight a hundred battles, and saying that he is not famous, can be used as excuses, but with the brother of Zeng Guoquan, compared with him, it seems that Zeng Laojiu is unforgivable.Therefore, all the consolation turned into idle gossip, and they left one after another when they got tired of talking. Only Bao Yun stayed and changed a place to spend the long days with Prince Gong.It was a study made like a hut in the shade of bamboo.They took off each other's traces, dressed in short clothes, and under the service of a group of clever and lovely maids, they chatted casually, from the palace to the market, and said whatever came to mind, without rhetoric or scruples.

The conversation that day was more serious, and the topic was still Prince Gong's troubles, the treasury was running low, and Zeng Guofan wanted money to deal with the aftermath. After all, Bao Yun has more experience than Prince Gong, "Why do you care about his words? Zeng Disheng said that the fake 'Prince's Mansion' is worthless, and he just made some deceitful words for his brother!" The status of Shangshu said again: "Do you think he will really come to me to ask for money? No! Zeng Disheng's Neo-Confucianism is not the Neo-Confucianism of Wogenfeng. He is a man with a deep chest and a great economy. After so many years of fighting, he needed soldiers and wages, so he didn’t think of a way! Now, he should rely on the help of the local government to deal with the aftermath. Does he have to ask the court to allocate funds to do it? Think about it, isn’t that right? "

Prince Gong smiled: "You said this in front of so many people just now, why didn't you say it?" "Why do I say this? What good will it do me if I let it out?" Bao Jun said again: "It's really difficult to be a court official in the Ministry of Household Affairs. He is inconsiderate inside and out. It's really hard to say." Hearing the whining in his tone, Prince Gong couldn't help but play with his words again.It is conceivable that the money-management yamen fails to meet the demands of outsiders and has its own complaints. It seems that the insiders are not considerate of the court officials. What is going on?

So he asked: "What's 'inside out'? What's the matter with your ministry?" "It's not for the decree on the day of the Empress Dowager Ci'an's longevity." This said, Prince Gong understood.On the day of the Empress Dowager Ci'an's longevity, a special edict was issued stating that since the rise of the army, the military expenditures of the provinces do not need to be reimbursed, but since the first day of July this year, it will still be handled as usual.On the surface, this edict was requested from the Ministry of Household Affairs, but in fact it was Prince Gong's decision.His idea is that the provinces have raised their own salaries for military use over the years. Even if there is a so-called "cooperative payment", the provinces that have not been affected by the military disaster try to provide relief, and half of it is obtained through the personal relationship of the military commanders.Since the imperial court has not exerted much strength, it is inappropriate to be demanding at this time, and it is a bad debt. I don't know when it will be settled?It's better to simply zoom in and cut the mess quickly. Once everything is done, it's also a pleasure.

This was a rather courageous decision, not only the generals in front felt relieved, and aroused a heart of gratitude, even people who had nothing to do with it felt that the court was generous and fair, which seemed to be a bold and ambitious situation.However, the clerks and clerks of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War are gearing up to criticize and refute the case of canceling military supplies worth tens of millions of taels of silver.In this way, everything is empty, so it is natural to complain. Seeing Prince Gong's expression, Bao Jun guessed his mood, and then said: "I don't care about them. That's fine, just because they were so disappointed, the more they see that this matter was done beautifully! Really, talk behind your back. It all sounds like this: Except for Prince Gong, no one has such a big responsibility. Tens of millions of taels of military expenditure, just say it and forget it, how big is this?"

A few casual words swept away the unhappiness in Prince Gong's heart, and replaced it with Mr. Guijie's proud feeling of letting go of ten thousand gold, which aroused people's envy. ※ ※ ※ Since Jinling's victory report arrived in Beijing, people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs saw that the world was peaceful and good times had arrived.After more than ten years of fighting, keeping things simple, everyone suffered terribly. Now that the chaos has been settled, shouldn't the empress dowagers of the two palaces enjoy the blessings?Out of this "filial piety", I thought of an excellent topic. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has always used tricks to make money, the most important thing is to find a topic. If you have a good topic, you just need to nod your head and you don't have to worry about not having a good article.Now that you're done, serving the Empress Dowager, this topic is too high-sounding!The content of the next good article is to rebuild the Old Summer Palace. Since the tenth year of Xianfeng, the British and French coalition forces set fire to the Old Summer Palace, almost as soon as the "Fuju" came to an agreement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to make its own plans.After waiting for three years, I finally got an opportunity. The reconstruction project will benefit everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the benefits are not small. Therefore, we have been talking about it for a while. Of course, it is not without difficulties, in fact there is only one difficulty.The Ministry of Internal Affairs is poor, and the Ministry of Household Affairs is also poor. If this gardener moves, he will have to pay at least several million taels of silver. Where will he grow his hair? There was a coat manager who was in charge of the warehouse, and he thought of a way. After talking with his colleagues, everyone thought it was very good.So I drew up a "statement" and submitted it layer by layer. When I arrived at the "Tang Langzhong" who was in charge of the seal and was in charge of daily affairs, I made some corrections, copied it in regular script, and put it in my arms excitedly. Go see Minister of Internal Affairs Ming Shan. Ming Shan had already received Prince Gong's warning from Bao Jun, and when he heard that it was suggested to rebuild the Old Summer Palace, he shook his hand and flatly refused without even looking at the report. Without this ingenious plan, he couldn't even get out of the gate of the House of Internal Affairs.There is a system for playing things, and if the hall officials refuse to hand them over, they can't leapfrog to play, but they are unwilling to give up.After talking together for a long time, a master suggested to find a "Master Du" to deliver it, and at the same time, it is best to "make a decision" in front of the queen mother. The task of "making the bottom line" naturally fell on An Dehai's shoulders.On this day, he took advantage of the moment when the Empress Dowager Cixi had finished her dinner and lightly swayed the round fan in the corridor to "wind around" to digest, followed behind and whispered: "The slave has two things to play with the master." "Yes." Empress Dowager Cixi responded, "Speak!" "The first one...." An Dehai paused pretendingly, "I don't want to talk about it, I'm afraid I will make the master angry. It's not suitable after dinner, so let's go back to the second one first. That's the filial piety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Only by relying on the master can the chaos be quelled, after so many years of worrying, the emperor should also be filial and filial to the empress dowager." Empress Dowager Cixi thought the words were very pleasant, although she didn't speak, she nodded unconsciously. With this expression, An Dehai became more daring: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs is thinking about it every day. It has to think of a way to repair the Old Summer Palace without moving the treasury bank, so that the two empress dowagers can have a rest and relieve themselves. A place to unwind." "This...." The Empress Dowager Cixi stood still, "Is there such a good thing? Can you build the Old Summer Palace without moving Kuyin? How do you do it?" "Of course it is repaired as it is." An Dehai puffed up his chest, and said in a more emphatic tone, "I want to show my breath to the 'devils' who burned the Old Summer Palace! Aren't you trying to be brave? Now the cultivation is even better than before. !" Just these two wild words fit the Empress Dowager Cixi's competitive character, and the Forty Scenes of the Old Summer Palace, a paradise of heaven and earth, is really desirable, so I am very happy to say: "Tell them to send that note up tomorrow for a look!" "Yes." An Dehai agreed, thinking in his heart, should he say what Ming Shan refused to act on behalf of? At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi was walking forward again, and An Dehai hurriedly followed.Back in the hall, she asked again: "What kind of statement is it?" "Then..." An Dehai didn't want to say it right now, because he was afraid that it would be unsightly if he said it unclearly, "I can't say it for a while, anyway, I don't have to worry about the palace and don't move the treasury money. Very good, very good way." "Oh?" The Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to disbelieve, but she refused to disbelieve, "There are actually quite capable people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs! You tell them, as long as they are willing to fawn on their errands and do things with sincerity, they will definitely be gracious." An Dehai smiled and agreed as if he had received a compliment, and greeted him. "I remember seeing a picture of the Old Summer Palace. You go to the respect room and ask them, and ask them to bring me to look at it." An Dehai saw that her heart was so hot, that a great event could be accomplished, and he was extremely excited, so he hurried to the respect room to deliver the decree, "Ode to the Old Summer Palace" made by Emperor Qianlong and the general map of the three gardens of Yuanming, Changchun and Wanchun, They all found out.Wipe it clean, bring it back to the palace, spread it out on a large rosewood desk, and take a Western magnifying glass, arrange everything properly, and then go to reply the decree, and ask the Empress Dowager Cixi to look at it. This look straight into the night.Leaving aside the memories of being favored in the "Tiandi Family Spring" in the Yuanmingyuan, imitating the future restoration, the scene of blooming flowers, with a burning heart, as if there is no place to settle down, and I can't wait to pass the decree immediately and start work soon. This night, my soul haunted my dreams, all in the Old Summer Palace.Because she didn't sleep well, she woke up the next day with a drowsy headache, but she didn't want to let the Empress Dowager Ci'an go to court alone, so she forced herself to join the Palace of Mental Cultivation. After Prince Gong finished his work, the eunuch brought a coffee table and put it down facing the royal case.Li Tangjie unfolded a copy of "Zhiping Baojian", pressed it with a silver ruler, kowtowed first, and then continued to talk. "Today, I'm going to talk about 'Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty is a thousand-mile horse'. Please turn to page thirty-fifth, the two empress dowagers." In front of the empress dowagers of the two palaces, there is a copy of "Zhiping Baojian" with a yellow silk cover, copied by Gong Kai and circled in red pen.After turning to page thirty-five, the Empress Dowager Ci'an first asked, "Which generation of emperors is Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty?" "He can be regarded as the fifth generation emperor of the Han Dynasty, actually the second generation. He is the son of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty." So Li Tangjie first talked about the chaotic politics of Empress Lu, and introduced the history of Zhu Liu, Zhu Lu and Emperor Wen's succession to the throne. He said that he was the best emperor since ancient times, and the "rule of Wen Jing" was a real peaceful and prosperous age. . After speaking in one breath, she had to take a breath, and in this gap, Empress Dowager Ci'an asked again: "How is Emperor Wenwen of Han compared to Emperor Taizong of Tang?" "These two holy masters are two-way people. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was benevolent, and Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty was wise. However," Li Tangjie said emphatically, "Jiang Na's loyal words, frugal use and precious things, these places are the same, so the rule of Wenjing and The rule of Zhenguan is a beautiful story." The story of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty but Chollima happened to continue.He repeatedly stated that the owner should not have hobbies: He said that the emperor is rich in the world, and he serves the imperial wares. ", which will inevitably lead to an extravagant atmosphere.Song Huizong just loved exotic flowers and rocks, but the "Flower and Stone Gang" caused turmoil throughout the country, and finally caused foreign disasters.This is because once the owner has obvious hobbies, he will influence the villain, and for the sake of Xi Rong's solid favor, he will definitely take the opportunity to cater to him. A small useless thing can cause a catastrophe that hinders the national economy and the people's livelihood.This is definitely not the owner's original intention, but once something is wrong, it is often difficult to deal with it. Even if you kill the villain, it will not help the reality, so it is better to be cautious at the beginning, so that the villain has no chance to take advantage of it. The way of the king. To the Empress Dowager Ci'an, these words sound logical, but the Empress Dowager Cixi is vigilant, knowing that the proposal to repair the garden is impossible. "I also heard from the first emperor." Empress Dowager Ci'an said, "Emperor Wen Wen of Han was just like Lord Daoguang, he was very frugal." "Yes." Li Tangjie replied, "Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty wore Yiti clothes, and loved Mrs. Ji Shen. His clothes did not drag the floor, and the curtains were not beautiful. But he is extremely wide, and he only saves himself." "I have to say it again," Prince Gong, who had listened for a long time, suddenly said, "If you do what you do, you will do what you do. As a courtier, if you are grateful to the Holy Lord, you naturally dare not and can't bear to spend too much! This is the principle of the king and his ministers making a warning." "Yes!" Empress Dowager Ci'an nodded and said, "It is best to persuade each other in everything." As she spoke, she turned her head and glanced at the person beside her. This may have been an unintentional action, but Empress Dowager Cixi had a heart, thinking that Empress Dowager Ci'an and Prince Gong were talking about her together, she didn't want to listen any more, so she changed the subject. So he asked casually, "How long has Emperor Hanwen reigned?" "Reigned for twenty-three years, and died at the age of forty-six." Li Tangjie replied. "Only forty-six years old? What a pity!" "However, his crown prince has been well-bred," Prince Gong said again, "the so-called 'Government of Wen and Jing', Jing is Emperor Jing." "It can be seen that the emperor's study is very important." The Empress Dowager Cixi asked again, "Sixth Master, do you often visit the Hongde Hall these days?" Prince Gong has always been ordered to take care of the Hongde Hall and supervise the emperor's schooling. Now that this level is his responsibility, he will report in detail what he has seen recently.Whether the emperor studies hard or not depends on the time. Generally speaking, he goes to school in the second and sixteenth grades, and his spirit is always not very good. Empress Dowager Cixi understood immediately, but Empress Dowager Ci'an was ignorant, so she opened her mouth and asked: "What's the point?" Before the words were finished, the Empress Dowager Cixi teased her quietly, which was to signal her not to ask more questions, but the words had already been spoken, and it was too late. Prince Gong replied without delay, and after a short pause, he calmly replied: "The two empress dowagers are wise, please discipline the Pope more." When the Empress Dowager Cixi heard these words, it meant that she blamed the emperor's refusal to study hard on her head, so she immediately "returned" in the past: "You belong to the respected relatives, what is the emperor's unruly behavior? The two of us can't see it, so you can say him. Besides, you have a mission to 'inspect the Hongde Palace'." "Yes!" Prince Gong replied, but then confessed: "I am ordered to 'inspect the Hongde Palace', and I am not Chang Chuan's care. And there are many things, it is inevitable that the inspection is not thorough, and the prince Hui is sick. According to the decree, it is not necessary to go directly, so I ask the two empress dowagers to pass on the decree to Prince Dun and let him take care of things. In addition, I always invite the two empress dowagers to take extra care." After talking for a long time, Empress Dowager Cixi still felt very uncomfortable, but she still put the responsibility on others, but Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't seem to notice their secret tit-for-tat arguments—this made Empress Dowager Cixi have such an idea: Work hard in front of her to let her know what is wrong with Prince Gong, and only in critical situations in the future can she get her help. After the Hall of Mental Cultivation finished listening to the political affairs, the empress dowagers of the two palaces passed meals to rest in Shufangzhai as usual.The weather at the end of July, after dinner, will be dusk, which is the best time of the day.The emperor took the little eunuch to the imperial garden to pick crickets, but there was an eleven-year-old princess—Prince Gong's Da Gege and a ten-year-old princess, two smart and smart girls, at Cheng Huan's knees.The Empress Dowager Cixi always reads the memorial at this time, and if it is irrelevant, she pinches the finger marks to deal with it, and if there is any discrepancy, she will tell the Empress Dowager Ci'an by the way, and if it is particularly important, she should read the memorial to her and discuss with each other . This day, because I wanted to deal with the Empress Dowager Ci'an, we discussed everything, no matter how big or small.Unfortunately, there are many memorials. The first one is that this year is the year of Jiazi, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice asked to stop the autumn trial. When the Empress Dowager Ci'an heard the case, she said, "This is a good thing!" "Of course it's a good thing! Didn't Li Tangjie say today that Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty issued an order to reduce the punishment as soon as he ascended the throne? Let's learn from him!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't hear the irony in her words, she just kept nodding her head, so the Empress Dowager Cixi stretched out a slender finger, and with her extremely long nails, carved a pinch on the original fold, which meant "as requested" . The second thing is Prince Gong's note, please reschedule the court meeting.As the "Prince of Discussion", he has always been at the top of the princes and ministers, and now he invites himself to rank next to Prince Dun. "What does Sixth Lord mean?" Empress Dowager Ci'an asked in surprise. "It's nothing!" Empress Dowager Cixi said deliberately, "It should be done in order of seniority." "However." The Empress Dowager Ci'an murmured, she had something in her heart, she always felt that Prince Gong should be different, but she was not eloquent, so she couldn't express this meaning. "Allow him!" "Look, look!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an thought for a while and said, "I think it's a good deal." "Otherwise." Empress Dowager Cixi shook her head, "It was originally a trivial matter, but when it was discussed, it turned into a big fuss. It seems that they are at odds with each other and are fighting openly and secretly. How inappropriate!" "Ah, ah!" Empress Dowager Ci'an immediately changed her mind: "You are right." After convincing this honest "sister", the Empress Dowager Cixi felt a small pleasure of revenge.In the past few years, she has deeply understood that an official may not be very concerned about the national economy and the people's livelihood, but is very sensitive to the gains and losses of the rich and powerful.Prince Gong's "sacred family" has always been very prosperous. Whenever there is grace, he naturally always takes "modesty as his heart", resigns from the prince's hereditary inheritance, and inherits the prince's double salary. No matter what the final result is, he is always "excellent" An imperial edict to praise and answer".Therefore, if the memorial to King Dun who invited him to retire from the court meeting, if he still gave him face, he should at least "discuss", implying that he did not think that the status of "Fifth Lord" should be higher than that of "Sixth Lord".But now that it is accepted as soon as the request is made, there will inevitably be people who suspect that Prince Gong's family is not as good as before! Let them guess like that!Empress Dowager Cixi smiled.Picking up the third copy, it was written by Zeng Guofan. He received the decree from the Marquis of Xifeng and dedicated it to express his gratitude. At the same time, the two "Jade Seals" and the "Golden Seal" that Chen Ming obtained in the Mansion of the Puppet Heavenly King have been separately written. Consult the Military Aircraft Department. After she finished reading the scripture, she sneered disdainfully, marked it as read, and put it aside casually, preparing to hand it over to the Military Aircraft Department for processing, but Empress Dowager Ci'an had something to say. "This is a bit strange." She said, "The last time Zeng Guofan reported that there was nothing in the 'Heavenly King's Mansion', and another note said that Li Xiucheng was carrying a lot of gold, isn't that just saying The 'Heavenly King's Mansion' has nothing, did they let those 'kings' take it away?" "By the way, that means what was burned was burned, and what was taken away was taken away!" "No!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an shook her head and said, "The jade seal and gold seal are so important, and they are not cumbersome, so why didn't you take them away?" The Empress Dowager Cixi laughed, "Sister," she said, "Even such a loyal person as you can see the faults of the Zeng family brothers—no, Zeng Guoquan! No wonder there are rumors outside that the Hunan Army is scolding Zeng Guoquan. To be honest, he is afraid of beheading the long-haired jade seal and gold seal, so he dare not take it back to Xiangxiang, otherwise, he wouldn’t even leave a handful of gold for these two pieces of jade.” Empress Dowager Ci'an felt that her views were too harsh.But it is inconvenient to defend Zeng Guoquan again.Because his knighthood was originally her idea, and defending others seemed to be defending herself, so there was no need for that, as long as she had a clear conscience. "Also, what happened to that child of the Hong family?" Empress Dowager Cixi said worriedly, "We must find out the whereabouts! Otherwise, it will always be a disaster!" ※ ※ ※ Hong Fuzhen's whereabouts are generally clear, from Jinling to Guangde, via southern Anhui to Jiangxi, from Xincheng to Shicheng, Jiangxi's chief secretary, Xi Baotian, pursued him relentlessly.It is said that the remnants of the Hong army were protecting their "young lord", mixed among the refugees, resting during the day, burning incense at night as a sign of echo, walking in the dark, and their tracks were extremely secretive. The edict has been pursued again and again, but there is no good news.In September, there were rumors in the capital that Hong Fuzhen had been captured alive by Su Yuanchun, a battalion officer of the Hunan Army.When Xi Baotian got the news, he sent a special messenger to ask for someone, but Su Yuanchun refused to hand it over until Xi Baotian went to ask for it himself. At that time, someone pointed out to Xi Baotian, didn't Su Yuanchun know that this was a great achievement, why did he mean to let Hong Fuzhen go?He does not seek meritorious service, but seeks no faults. In the report of the Zeng brothers, they made a big fuss, saying that the fake "young master" had "self-immolated", and now a fake "young master" came out. Can be fatal.Therefore, I advise Xi Baotian not to be troublesome. Xi Baotian kept silent, and sent Hong Fuzhen to Nanchang, where the governor Shen Baozhen personally interrogated him.This is already a major case that cannot be concealed. When Shen Baozhen reports to Beijing, the imperial court does not know how to deal with it?Those Beijing officials who were dissatisfied or jealous of Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan were all talking about it.Many military officers among the bannermen are particularly active.The reputation of the Hunan Army has long been the source of their heartache, so naturally they gloated and looked forward to the severe punishment of the Zeng Brotherhood. The news confirmed.At the beginning of October, Shen Baozhen sent a special envoy to Beijing. Su Yuanchun’s name was not mentioned in the memorial. It was said that it was Zhou Jialiang, a guerrilla under Xi Baotian’s subordinates—it was rumored to be the military officer who was ordered by Xi to go to Su Yuanchun’s place to demand someone. "Captured Hong Youni in the barren valley of Shicheng".This is something to be thankful for, and a stone in the hearts of Prince Gong and the military ministers can be put down. However, on the surface, Prince Gong regarded Jiangxi's memorial as if it was insignificant. This was because he deliberately diluted the matter so as to leave room for Zeng Guofan to excuse himself.His idea was not wrong, Zeng Guoquan was exaggerating. Since Zeng Guofan had never visited the former enemy in person, how could he investigate whether his brother's words were true or false?It's just that according to the system, if Zeng Guoquan is to be condemned, then Zeng Guofan cannot escape the blame of "overseeing".In order to protect Zeng Guofan, he had to take advantage of his younger brother. On the day Jinling City was destroyed, Zeng Guoquan and his subordinates were busy robbing property, which led to the big mistake of the first rebel slipping through the net, and ignored it. "Zeng Guoquan doesn't have to ask, but Shen Baozhen has to reward." Empress Dowager Cixi asked: "How to reward, have you discussed it?" "There are still many people who deserve the award." Prince Gong replied, "Like Bao Chao, he is the number one general under Zeng Guofan. He played very well in Jiangxi, so he should be awarded a title." "A knighthood?" "Yes, a knighthood. Li Chendian has been made a viscount, so Bao Chao is naturally worthy." "The grace of the imperial court must be cautious." The Empress Dowager Cixi said slowly, with an air ready to comment, "Zeng Guofan should be a marquis. The other uncles, sons, and men are a little too profane. Look, that surname Hong's little child..." "Yes!" Prince Gong snatched her words, wanting to use a quick knife to cut through the mess, and said in one word: "Zeng Guoquan returned home from illness, Li Chendian has died of illness, and Xiao Fusi Dingyou has a vacancy. The matter is over. Please don't worry about it. Pursued." This kind of Chen Zou's attitude made the Empress Dowager Cixi very unhappy.But what about being unhappy? Can you put down your face and say a few words about him?I had no choice but to bear it in my heart. "Now the military affairs in the southeast have been accomplished. Zuo Zongtang's contribution to the restoration of the whole province of Zhejiang is by no means inferior to that of Li Hongzhang. Please ask for instructions on how to motivate him." The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't answer immediately, she first looked at the Empress Dowager Ci'an - half of Zeng Guoquan's appointment as uncle was her idea, and she felt that she had done something wrong, so she refused to speak at this time. So the Empress Dowager Cixi deliberately replied: "You see!" "I have drawn up a list here." Prince Gong presented a piece of paper that he had held in his hand to the royal case. The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at her and said: "Shen Baozhen, governor of Jiangxi, first-class captain of light vehicles, world-class, and rewarded with a top-ranking top; Bao Chao, first-class viscount, governor of Zhejiang; Zuo Zongtang, governor of Fujian and Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang. , the first-class earl; Jiang Yili, the chief envoy of Zhejiang Province, and the world-class captain of the riding capital." Reading the list, Empress Dowager Cixi was thinking, Prince Gong already made arrangements, so why did she say "please handle it"?Isn't it obvious that the palace is right, but it's just a false story? What kind of grace comes from above, it's all deceitful words! Angry in her heart, her face became unattractive. She picked up the stamp of "Tongdaotang", dipped it in the white jade ink clay box, and quickly stamped it under the four names. The seal was not very clear, and she No matter what, just push the list to the left. The Empress Dowager Ci'an stamped her "Imperial Reward" seal very carefully, and asked at the same time: "Where is Xi Baotian? There should be grace, right?" "That's in another case under Zeng Guofan's protection." Prince Gong replied, "What I have planned is that the envoy Xi Baotian be named and rewarded with a yellow jacket; the guerrilla Zhou Jialiang rewards Yun with the title of 'Batulu'." The post of cavalry captain. In addition, how to discuss and discuss the personnel who contribute to the purge throughout Jiangxi is being handled." "Jiangxi has been purged," Empress Dowager Cixi said immediately after him, "Fujian is in a tight spot again!" "This is Hong Jun Yu Xue's harassment. Zuo Zongtang has already entered Quzhou, so he must be able to handle it." "Where's Hubei? What about Anhui? What about Henan?" The voices were louder and louder, and the meaning of blame was obvious. The military ministers under the imperial case were all a little muttered in their hearts. It was the first time they felt the "heavenly power" of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Only Prince Gong was different. All he had was disgust. "There is also the chaos in Xinjiang, Shaanxi, and Gansu." He simply confronted him tit for tat. "As long as the imperial court appoints someone, it can be gradually calmed down, without worrying about it." "We have to come up with a way to do this. Talking in plain language doesn't work." A simple sentence carries a lot of weight.The situation in the Central Plains and the Northwest is very complicated. Where can we come up with a comprehensive solution?However, Prince Gong naturally did not discuss with his colleagues and ministers of relevant departments, so after thinking about it, he first outlined the policy of using troops. "There has always been an incident in the frontier, and it is always necessary to mobilize powerful troops in the interior and raise food and wages before a large-scale attack. Therefore, to pacify Xinjiang, we must first pacify Shaanxi and Gansu, and to pacify Shaanxi and Gansu, we must first eliminate the Nian bandits who stalk Hubei, Anhui, and Henan. .Things have their roots and ends, and things have their beginnings and ends, and success cannot be achieved overnight." "Then let's talk about the Nian bandits," the Empress Dowager Cixi asked in a very stern voice, "What's going on there? Seng Gelinqin and Guan Wen are both in Hubei. A king and a great scholar can't help the Nian bandits. You guys Think about it, what is the reason?" The reason for this is well known, official papers don't work because people make things happen, Seng Gelinqin is proud and self-satisfied, his subordinates have become old-fashioned, and the military discipline is extremely bad, so sometimes he wins and sometimes loses, and he can't reap the rewards.But Prince Gong refused to say this, and once he said it, he would discuss punishment.Monk Wang is a relative of the state, with a long-standing reputation, and Guanwen is the only bannerman in Pinghong Yangzhong who has been knighted. There are rumors that Prince Gong relies too much on Zeng Guofan and despises the banner general. If Monk Wang and Guanwen are punished , the banners of Mongolia and Manchuria are bound to resent it, and everyone will bear the brunt of it. The relationship is too important. Therefore, he suspected the aggressiveness of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and was afraid that it was a trick to kill with a knife, so he must not be fooled by her.In this way, he had no choice but to feint first. "The Empress Dowager Mother is right!" he said, "I will return to the two empress dowagers after the ministers wait for the results of the deliberations." Waiting for Kneeling to withdraw, Prince Gong's expression was very ugly, and he said that at the prime minister's office of national affairs, he had an appointment with the British minister to discuss "teaching matters", and he had already got into the sedan chair, opened the sedan chair curtain, and ordered Bao Yun to invite the minister of military affairs to Jianyuan After dinner, discuss the military affairs of suppressing Nian. Bao Jun agreed and hurried back to the military plane.In Xiaoyangchun's weather, he was wearing more clothes. He flipped back his warm hat, took the handkerchief from the footman, and wiped it on his face—wiping sweat while facing the meditating chair. Wen Xiang stuck out his tongue, and said softly, "I never expected to touch such a big nail as 'Westside'!" Wen Xiang didn't answer.His heart was very heavy, and he felt faintly uneasy, feeling that today's attitude of getting along with the monarch and his subjects was not a blessing for the country, and he was afraid that it would become more and more difficult to handle affairs in the future. Bao Yun saw that his expression was different from usual, and knew why it happened?But he didn't talk any further, he just conveyed Prince Gong's invitation to Wen Xiang, and then went to the outhouse, notified them one by one, and agreed to return the value from the military plane and go to Jianyuan together. Before arriving at Jianyuan, everyone made some preparations. Some asked people to check their files; some verbally asked about the current situation in Hubei; . Therefore, as soon as I arrived at Prince Gong's place in the afternoon, the conversation got to the point and the speech was extremely enthusiastic.Bao Yun's voice was the loudest and the most straightforward, "The Monk King is not as good as before!" He said, "His invariable method has also been seen through. Although the Mongolian horse team is fast, the Nian bandits are also very alert and erratic. You come and I go, you go and I come, always pushing behind others, never ending!" "The Monk King's use of troops is exactly the opposite of Zeng Disheng's, and he doesn't quite understand the principle of stopping with silence." Li Tangjie said slowly and roughly the same opinion as Bao Jun, "But it's no wonder that his elite is a cavalry team, and they come from the desert. , chasing and chasing the north, is its director. Tell him to stand there and not move, how can it work?" "According to this, it is not suitable for people and places. But, how can we transfer the monk king? Who will be called after the transfer? The official document must not be alone. I think——" King Gong had an idea, without thinking So he said it: "Zeng Di was born!" As soon as he finished speaking, Bao Jun blurted out: "Okay! Besides, there is nothing wrong with Zeng Disheng in Jiangning." "How can you say there's nothing wrong?" Wen Xiang immediately corrected him: "Jiangnan's aftermath needs to be dealt with in every possible way, and it's very heavy!" "With Li Shaoquan here, he can do it." Prince Gong waved his hand to prevent them from arguing, and when everyone calmed down, he said in a tone that had made a formal decision: "I think Zeng Disheng, as an imperial envoy, should be stationed on the border of Hubei and Anhui to suppress the Nian bandits; It is not necessary to be the governor of Jiangsu, the lack of..." He sneered slightly, "Someone has been waiting for a long time." Everyone understood that it meant Wu Tang, and no one wanted to tell the truth. "Look, how about doing it like this?" Li Tangjie and Wen Xiang didn't think this was the best way, but there was no better suggestion for a while, and Cao Yuying spoke in this silence. "This is the right thing to do!" He said: "The Hunan Army is being laid off, the Huai Army is rejuvenating, and the two rivers are handed over to Li Shaoquan. This is the most appropriate one. Liu Mingchuan and Liu Lianjie of the Hunan Army have been sent to Hubei for suppression, and Zeng Disheng is there.坐镇，指挥灵活，加上僧王的马队为奇兵，双管齐下，形势必可改观，此其二。” 事情就这样定局了。第二天面奏其事，恭王自觉如此调度，面面俱到，所以在御案前侃侃而谈，意气发舒，显得相当得意。 慈禧太后与他的态度，正好相反，表面仿佛默许，心中不以为然。这三年来她把曾国藩的奏折看得多了，字里行间，另有一番认识。曾国藩这个人最谨慎，总记着“满招损，谦受益”这句话，功名太盛，唯恐遭忌，金陵克复，推官文领衔会奏，就可以看出他的戒慎恐惧之心。目前又亟亟乎裁遣湘军，为曾国荃奏请开缺回籍养病，处处显出急流勇退的决心。然则让他到安徽、湖北边境去坐镇，使得僧格林沁在面子上很难看，他肯吗？他是不肯的。 再说僧格林沁，一向自视甚高，自以为他的威名所播，小丑会闻风而窜。现在派曾国藩去帮他的忙，就跟当初命令在常州的李鸿章领军赴金陵会剿一样，其中不独关乎面子，也怕别人来分功劳。曾国荃所不愿见的事，僧格林沁怎会愿意？ 这话她不愿说破，说破了让恭王学个乖——哼！她在心里冷笑，恭王自以为本事大得很，让他去碰两个钉子，杀杀他的气焰也好！而且，这对僧格林沁也是一种鞭策：就象当初诏令李鸿章会剿，曾国荃深感刺激一样，会策励将士格外用命。既然此举于国家有益，那就越发不必多说了。 于是两宫太后认可了恭王的建议，吴棠调署江苏巡抚，算是慈禧太后意外的收获。这道旨意连同左宗棠封爵的上谕，定在十月初十颁发，作为慈禧太后圣寿节的一项恩典。