Chapter 31 Chapter 5 Hengzhou Lianyong Wang Chi put up the signboard of "Xiang Army General Operations Bureau" and was criticized by Zeng Guofan

Hengzhou City, located at the southern foot of Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue, is the second most famous city in Hunan after Changsha. Hunan has been known as Sanxiang since ancient times.There are different opinions on what Sanxiang is.There is a saying that Xiaoxiang, Zhengxiang and Yuanxiang are combined into Sanxiang.Hengzhou City is the confluence of Zhengshui and Xiangshui. It is the gateway of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the key point of water and land. It has rich products and strong folk customs. It has always been a place that military strategists must fight for.Zeng Guofan was very kind to Hengzhou because he was originally from Hengzhou, Mrs. Ouyang was from Hengzhou, and he studied in Hengzhou for many years when he was a boy.When he came to Hengzhou, Zeng Guofan was like returning to Xiangxiang, with a feeling of fish swimming in the sea and tigers returning to the mountains.

Outside the small west gate of Hengzhou City, there is a vast wasteland on the waterfront, which the local people call Yanwuping.This was opened up by Wu Sangui for military exercises when Wu Sangui proclaimed himself emperor in Hengzhou. Later, it became the training ground for the garrisons of successive dynasties, much larger than the training ground outside the south gate of Changsha.The more than 1,000 regiments that Zeng Guofan brought with him were stationed in Sangyuan Street next to Yanwuping, and the command post was set up in an ancestral hall surnamed Zhao on Sangyuan Street.In order to facilitate daily discussions, he asked Luo Zenan, Wang Chi, Li Xubin, Li Xuyi, Kang Fu, Jiang Zhongji and Mandi Guobao to live in the ancestral hall.

This morning, after Zeng Guofan ordered Wang Chi to set up the command post, he took Luo Zenan and others to visit Lu Chuanying, the prefect of Hengzhou.After lunch in the magistrate's yamen, Zeng Guofan heard firecrackers roaring in front of the Zhao family ancestral hall from a long distance away.Luo Zenan smiled and said to Zeng Guofan: "Pushan is capable of doing things, but it is a bit of a problem with grandiose achievements. In fact, there is no need to engage in such a big ostentation, just like the opening of the Golden House." Luo Zenan was born in a very poor family, but also believed in Neo-Confucianism. He was always frugal in his conduct and affairs, and he was very similar to Zeng Guofan in this regard.Zeng Guofan nodded and said: "The key is to practice bravely well, don't put on this kind of ostentation."

When Wang You saw Zeng Guofan coming back, he went forward with a smile on his face and said, "Master Zeng, the wooden sign can't be made for a while. How can we have no signboard in such a big yamen? I asked the carpenter to make it quickly, and wrote it on paper first." It got confused. In order to make it auspicious and lively, we bought tens of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate." Zeng Guofan saw that on the right side of the main entrance of the ancestral hall, a long strip of red paper had been pasted from the top to the bottom. On it was written a line of big characters in a correct and correct style. Army General Battalion Bureau".For the signboard, Wang Chi thought for a whole morning, and finally settled on these seventeen characters.He thought he was majestic and imposing, and was very proud of himself. He was expecting Zeng Guofan's compliment, and saw Zeng Guofan's broom eyebrows slowly tightened. He said "Pu Shan, come with me", and walked straight into the ancestral hall. go.Wang Chi's heart sank, and he followed into the house.

After Wang Chi entered the door, Zeng Guofan said with a serious face, "Pushan, how can you make up your own mind about such a big matter without asking me? Do you know that you have made a big mistake?" Wang Chi is less than 30 years old, he has a high mind and a great talent. He often says that he still has a breath, that is, he should think of the world forever.Luo Zenan appreciated his boldness.In Luo Zenan's view, Wang Chi was the first among his many talented disciples, just like Yan Hui among the seventy-two sages of Confucianism.Wang Chi didn't think there was anything wrong with the signboard he wrote, and said unconvinced: "I don't know what's wrong with the humble job."

Zeng Guofan also admired Wang Chi's literary and military talents.He realized that he was too harsh just now, so he relaxed his face and said a little gently: "Sit down first!" Wang Chi sat down opposite Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan said patiently and carefully: "Pushan, your signature style is impressive enough, but there are two big mistakes. The imperial order said that it is an assistant to run the regiment training. The word 'assistant' established the master-slave relationship. The governor Luo is the master, and I am the assistant. How can you change the position and remove the word "assistant" without authorization? First. Second, we run regiment training, not the army. How can we call ourselves the Hunan Army? This is not in Announce the public, do you want to build another army besides the green battalion?

The courage that Luo Shan and you practiced in Xiangxiang is only called Xiangyong.From now on, our group of regiments can call themselves Xiangyong. First, Hunan is referred to as Hunan, and second, we can also commemorate the pioneering achievements of Xiangxiang Lianyong, but we must not call ourselves the Hunan Army.Pu Shan, have you ever thought that going to 'assistant' and changing 'courage' to 'army' will give others a handle! " Wang Chi is a smart man, once reminded by Zeng Guofan, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly said: "If I don't think carefully about my humble position, I will be torn down."

Just as Wang Chi was about to go out, Zeng Guofan called him again: "Pu Shan, the more you write the face, the better it gets, the wooden sign will take several days to make, and I have to borrow your big brush to write another one and paste it first. " "How many words to write?" "Also write the original old signboard: Hunan Criminal Investigation Bureau." On the eve of leaving Changsha, Luo Bingzhang held a grand banquet at Quyuan Restaurant, a farewell party for Zeng Guofan and all the leaders above the head of the regiment training.Xu Youren, Tao Enpei, Zuo Zongtang, Liangdao, Yandao and other officials all attended to accompany them, but Bao Qibao and Qingde refused to participate.

Zeng Guofan, who has been in the officialdom for a long time, is very aware of the sophistication of Luo Bingzhang and others, but he did not want to tear himself apart with Luo Bingzhang, so he happily attended with all the leaders.Luo Bingzhang was really happy in his heart, the two sat side by side and chatted like a pair of close friends. Zeng Guofan knew the importance of relying on Luo Bingzhang, and immediately wrote a letter to Luo Bingzhang after handling the signboard issue, reporting to him the placement of the regiment, and welcomes him to visit Hengzhou at any time.Then, Zeng Guofan wrote another letter to Guo Songtao and Liu Rong, inviting them to come to Hengzhou to jointly hold important events; he wrote another letter to Li Yuandu, the Qianyang Jiaoyu and Pingjiang Juren.Li Yuandu's courtesy name is Ciqing, and he and Zeng Guofan were classmates at Yuelu Academy.

Zeng Guofan admired Li Yuandu's quick thinking, and invited him to Hengzhou to help with the documents; he wrote another letter to Chen Shijie, who was guarding the system in Guiyang Prefecture.In the twenty-eighth year of Daoguang, Chen Shijie went to Beijing to take the imperial examination for a small official in Beijing. During the imperial examination, the minister who checked the papers was Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan was delighted to admit him when he saw that his policy and discussions were eloquent and meaningful.Since then, Chen Shijie regarded Zeng Guofan as his mentor. After writing these letters, Zeng Guofan felt tired.He lay down on the bed for a while, but couldn't close his eyes.A bigger plan requires him to make up his mind as soon as possible, which is how to train these Xiangyongs in the future.He thought in his heart that the reason why he came out of the mountain was to do the careers of Li Mi and Guo Ziyi. To do this, he must have a strong army. It is much stronger than the Eight Banners and the Green Camp.One thousand people, in any case less.But once it expands its courage, it will immediately attract criticism.At present, ten provinces have set up regiment training, and the other nine provinces do not have such a large regiment as Hunan, and the number of regiments under the direct control of the assistant minister of regiment training is only two to three hundred people.There are more than a thousand people in Hunan, and it needs to be expanded. Will the imperial court agree?this is one.Second, where does the payment come from?Since the Hongyang incident, the court's funds have been running low.Zeng Guofan knew this well.There is little hope for the court to allocate money; do you want Luo Bingzhang and Xu Youren to allocate money?Nor can it be counted on.Zeng Guofan was lying on the bed, troubled by these two problems. After thinking about it, he couldn't find a solution.

Jing Qi opened the door and came in, and said to Zeng Guofan: "My lord, just now the prefect Lu sent an urgent letter." Zeng Guofan sat up and took the letter from Jing Qi.It turned out that this letter was sent by Jiang Zhongyuan, who had been newly promoted to be the procurator of Hubei Province and was leading troops to fight against the Taiping Army's Western Expeditionary Army on the Jiangxi front.Jiang Zhongyuan said in the letter: Changmao is powerful, he is used to fighting, he is not afraid of death in war, and he can buy people's hearts, so it is difficult to deal with.Ask Zeng Guofan to recruit several thousand more troops in Changsha, train them into elite soldiers, and go to Jiangxi as soon as possible to supplement his Chu Yong.After reading this letter, Zeng Guofan thought of a good idea. Zeng Guofan excitedly wrote back to Jiang Zhongyuan, telling him that he had come to Hengzhou to practice bravery, and asked him to report to the emperor, and entrusted the Minister of Hunan Province to recruit 5,000 brave soldiers in Hengzhou, train them into an army, and hand them over to him to command. "As long as the imperial court expressly agrees to expand bravery, we can figure out how to get the salary." Zeng Guofan thought to himself, "As for whether Jiang Zhongyuan will be handed over to command, is it up to me? If I don't give it to him, I forgive him for being embarrassed to insist on it." .” Soon, Guo Songtao, Liu Rong, and Chen Shijie all came to Hengzhou successively. Zeng Guofan was very happy. He thought that he had found a stage for these few friends with low status but rare talents to display their lifelong ambitions.Guo Songtao told Zeng Guofan that he had raised a batch of military pay in Xiangyin, and within a few months he could collect 200,000 yuan.Li Yuandu was also invited.Wearing glasses with profound myopia, this small and thin literati also brought five hundred Pingjiang Yong, and when he arrived, he told Zeng Guofan that he should abandon literature and turn to martial arts, and serve as a battalion officer and lead troops to fight.Zeng Guofan appreciated his courage.Taking advantage of the fact that a large number of brave men had not yet arrived, Zeng Guofan, Luo Zenan, Wang Chi, Guo Songtao, Liu Rong, Chen Shijie, Li Yuandu and others discussed the matter of practicing bravery every day.Everyone refers to Qi Jiguang's Shu Wucheng method, and combines the current actual situation to formulate detailed military regulations.Zeng Guofan also wrote to Luo Bingzhang to second Taqibu, Yang Zaifu, and Zhou Fengshan to the Fubiao Chinese Army.Luo Bingzhang agreed.Soon, the three of them also came to Hengzhou together.Zeng Guofan was very excited to see the abundance of civil and military talents and the prosperous atmosphere.One month later, Li Xubin, Zeng Guobao, and Jin Songling recruited 2,500 brave men from Xiangxiang, and Zou Shouzhang, Chu Meigong, and Jiang Zhongji recruited 1,000 brave men from Jingzhou, Chenzhou, Xinning, Baoqing and other places. Together with the past 1,000 people and Li Yuandu's 500 Ping Jiangyong, there are more than 5,000 people in total.Zeng Guofan divided the more than 5,000 people into ten battalions, and appointed Taqibu, Luo Zenan, Wang Chi and others as battalion officers.In order to enable the officers and warriors to practice with one heart and one mind, Zeng Guofan decided to pay generously. Before the imperial court allocated the salary, Zeng Guofan discussed with Lu Chuanying, the prefect of Hengzhou, to first transfer the 100,000 silver used to build the city wall.The money was cashed out, and the officers and warriors practiced vigorously.Zeng Guofan formulated strict battalion rules: every day at five o'clock and three o'clock, the cannons were fired, and they started immediately when they heard the cannons. At night, each battalion sent ten people to patrol; Evening exercises, roll call before the second shift.Every three, six, and nine days before noon, Zeng Guofan personally went to Yanwuping to supervise the drills and give lectures.From morning till night, every day there was a lot of dust and killing noises in Wuping, and the people in Hengzhou wondered, where did this team come from, who practiced so seriously and diligently?The older ones remember that this barren martial arts field has been practiced by people who have not had food for decades.