Chapter 41 Fourth, Zeng Guofan was full of ambition, and he sacrificed his blood to leave his teacher; a decree made him cold from head to toe

Early the next morning, the area from Shiguzui to Yanwuping was boiling.All the five thousand Lu Yongs were dressed in new uniforms, and all the officials above their heights were equipped with horses, their swords and guns shaking, and their horses neighing.All Lu Yong gathered on Yanwuping, waiting for the cannon to go off.Five thousand water braves all boarded the new ship.These new ships are neatly moored on the water of Xiangjiang River under Shiguzui.Nearly 300 Western cannons have been installed on the fast crabs and long dragons.More than a month ago, they were just unremarkable boatmen and farmers, but now they stand proudly beside the foreign guns, as if they have become warriors.On the section of steamed water from Sangyuan Street Ferry to Shiguzui Ferry, more than 200 temporary civilian ships were moored, and 6000 to 7000 men were busy loading the last batch of grain, grass, coal and salt.

After three cannon shots, Taqibu, Luo Zenan and others led the officers and soldiers of the Army Battalion to set off from Yanwuping, walk across the Qingcao Bridge, and head north.Zeng Guofan took Guo Songtao, Liu Rong, Chen Shijie, Huang Mian and a group of people to the Shiguzui River, where they would take a boat and sail northward with the navy. A flagpole more than two feet high had already been erected by the riverside. The flagpole was painted shiny with white paint, and an apricot-yellow flag hung on the top of the pole. On the flag was embroidered with the word "Zeng" in black silk thread.The river wind blew the flags and rattled, attracting tens of thousands of people from Shiguzui to watch the excitement.There is a large square table next to the flagpole, and the table is full of lighted candles and incense sticks.There was an empty wooden tray by the table.Ten feet away from the square table, a temporary tent was set up, and Lu Chuanying, the prefect of Hengzhou, led the county magistrates of Hengyang and Qingquan counties and officials of various yamen, and bought wine for Zeng Guofan and others here.

Surrounded by the crowd, Zeng Guofan came to Shigu's mouth.Because he was still in the mourning period, he was still wearing the old black cotton padded robe that he used to wear every day, but due to over-excitement, his face was glowing red, and he looked radiant.He clasped his fists in both hands, and kept clasping his hands to the crowd of onlookers in all directions, as a way of greeting and thanking them.There was a commotion up and down the mountain, and many people were shouting: "Master Zeng! Master Zeng!" Zeng Guofan walked straight to the square table next to the flagpole.A cattail mat has already been laid out in front of the square table.Zeng Guofan knelt on the cattail mat, looked up at the sky and bowed three times.

At this time, a group member brought a buffalo over.Although the buffalo has a huge skeleton, its skin is brown and its flesh is thin. It is obviously an old cow that has been exhausted.Yesterday, Zeng Guofan temporarily decided to hold a grand blood sacrifice ceremony by the Xiangjiang River, and ordered Guobao to buy a cow.Guobao understood the importance of the blood sacrifice ceremony, so he bought a shiny, tall and strong buffalo from a nearby farm at a high price.When Guobao brought the ox to his eldest brother, Zeng Guofan stroked the back of the ox and was very satisfied. Then he sighed and said to Guobao: "Change to an old ox that can't plow the fields! It is still working hard. It's a pity to kill."

So it was replaced by the current bull.Last night, the cow was washed three times with clean water and fed some concentrated feed.When I got up early in the morning, I put another colored silk around my neck. The old cow didn't understand that this trip was going to the killing field. Because of the meticulous hospitality last night, this morning, instead of his usual dying demeanor, he raised his hooves and walked happily to Shiguzui.Ten brightly dressed, young and strong regiment members walked out of the team, and they came to Lao Niu.Eight people squatted down, divided into four groups of two, and all of them held the four feet of the cow with their hands, and the two in front, each holding a horn.All I heard was a whistle from the team leading the bull, and ten people yelled at the same time, knocking the old cow to the ground.The leader of the leading cow quickly pulled out a short knife from his waist, and stabbed the old cow's throat, and blood spurted out from the throat.A little boy ran over quickly and caught the blood in a wooden basin.The old cow kicked all four hooves on the ground, its whole body twitched in pain, its two big hazel eyes bulgingly looked up at the sky, and it let out miserable and shrill roars.It struggled for a while, and slowly exhausted its strength, and finally lay peacefully on the gravel, never moving again.

Guobao came over, holding the cow's blood in both hands, and walked towards the eldest brother who was kneeling at the square table. Zeng Guofan stood up, took the blood basin with a very solemn expression, raised it above his head, walked slowly to the flagpole, knelt down, and silently He prayed deeply, then stood up, poured the cow's blood on the flagpole, and watched the dark red blood flow down the white flagpole into the soil.Finally, he slammed the tub down.With the sound of the wooden basin falling, the sound of gongs and drums, bugles, and firecrackers sounded together, shaking the ground and shaking the mountains, and the water waves swaying.

Lu Chuanying led the civil and military officials over and offered a glass of fine wine to Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan took the wine glass, popped a few drops on the ground with his fingers, and drank it down in one gulp. Then there was a cheerful suona sound, and behind Lu Chuanying, two big men walked over carrying a horizontal plaque with gold characters on a black background. Eight characters were painted on the plaque: "The dry city of the country, the hope of the people".Zeng Guofan was so overjoyed that he held it with both hands, and his own soldiers immediately came to pick it up.Zeng Guofan bowed his hands and thanked Lu Chuanying: "Prefect Lu, Guofan cannot bear the gold plaque given by the elders of Hengzhou. Please pass on the thanks to the ten thousand Xiangyongs. Guofan will do his best to live up to everyone's expectations."

Lu Chuanying said: "I wish my lord the victory in this trip, the early peace of the adverse atmosphere, and the benefit of the community." After Lu Chuanying finished speaking, Wang Shiquan also came over with a glass of wine and said, "My lord, Shiquan is entrusted by the four hundred students of Dongzhou Academy and Shigu Academy to toast a glass of wine to my lord, wishing my lord good news and triumphant songs along the way. " Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "Guofan and all Xiangyong are deeply grateful for the kindness of the students of Dongzhou and Shigu academies."

Two young students also walked out from behind Shiquan, carrying a horizontal plaque with white characters on a blue background and presenting it to Guofan respectfully.When Guofan looked at it, there were also eight words on the plaque: "Cut out evil religions, defend me, Confucius and Mencius."Zeng Guofan also accepted it happily. The sound of gongs, drums, bugles and firecrackers sounded again. Zeng Guofan bid farewell to officials from Hengzhou, students from Dongzhou Shigu Academy, former relatives and friends in Hengzhou city, and people from all walks of life who had made new friends in half a year. With pride, he walked steadily towards the tug-of-war parked by the river.

At this moment, a Pegasus came from the north, crossed the Qingcao bridge, and rushed straight to Shiguzui.When they approached the pile of senders, the people immediately shouted: "Master Zeng accepts the order!" Zeng Guofan was walking on the springboard at this time, when he heard the sound of "accepting the order", he stopped quickly.Pegasus has come to the riverside, and the one sitting immediately is Patrol Nie from the governor's yamen.Nie Xunju jumped off his horse and said to Zeng Guofan, "My lord, please accept the order." Zeng Guofan returned to the shore, looked north and knelt down.Patrol Nie spread out the edict and read aloud:

"The former right minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zeng Guofan, believed in one-sided words. He was dismissed and demoted. Before his death, Hubei Governor Yang Jian invited him to the Xiangxian Temple. Reserved for downgrade. This is it. " After Nie Xunzu finished reading, all the people in Jiang'an who saw Zeng Guofan off were all shocked and looked at Guofan who was kneeling on the ground.Zeng Guofan's face was livid and his eyes were indifferent.He mechanically said "Thank you", kowtowed his head, then stood up, straightened his robes, and walked towards the springboard with his head held high. Tuk Kwok slowly lifted the anchor, and the navy set off on schedule.Looking at the capital city of Hengzhou that was gradually going away, Zeng Guofan was puzzled by the sudden receipt of such an imperial edict. Even if the memorial was completely inappropriate, it would not be punished so severely, not to mention that the words of the memorial were extremely stable: "Famous officials are judged by officials, and local sages are judged by public opinion." , and entered the Xiangxian Temple with an old governor, which law did he do?What's more, his grandson has contributed to the country today!The secret words of Wang Kaiyun's study surfaced in Zeng Guofan's mind yesterday, could it be because of the reason Wang Kaiyun pointed out? Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan felt chills from head to toe.When Wan Xiangyong was beaming and full of eagerness to get promoted and make a fortune, Zeng Guofan's heart was cast with a heavy shadow.