Chapter 55 Ba Kangfu's top secret mission

On the night of Qinglin's Fa-rectification, Zeng Guofan himself didn't know why, he was restless all night, and he felt a lot of fear for no reason.As soon as he closed his eyes, a group of deadly ghosts appeared: the headless Liao Renhe, Lin Mingguang who died in the cage, Wei Kui who had his eyes gouged out, and Qing Lin who was carrying a bloody head, all came towards him. Open teeth and claws, screaming.He was so frightened that he hurriedly opened his eyes. On the dim oil lamp, the flames flickered, and the things in the room sometimes disappeared.He simply put on his clothes and got up, turned on the wick, and sat at the desk to meditate.The arrival of Man Langzhong, the revocation of the acting governor, and Tao Enpei's repeated promotions, these three things are quite strange, and the last time he was demoted to a second level, could it be that the emperor really has doubts about himself?If this is the case, then the future ending will not be Fenghou Baixiang, it is very likely that the head will be separated.In history, there are too many cases where people who have made great achievements and supported soldiers were tabooed and killed. Let alone Aobai and Nian Gengyao in this dynasty are examples.They are all banner people, or they are auxiliary ministers, or uncles of the country. They are deeply rooted in the court and have many party members. After a night, I fell asleep only when it was approaching dawn.

When he woke up, the red sun was hanging high, Zeng Guofan pushed open the windows and doors, and saw Xiangyong in military uniforms in front of and behind the house, he immediately became energetic and courageous, and the fear of last night had already disappeared. Jing Qi came in and sent Zeng Guofan a letter from home.More than a year ago, Mrs. Ouyang took her children out of the capital and returned to Hunan. This letter was sent by the eldest son Jize from his hometown in Xiangxiang.In addition to reporting to An, I also included a few poems I wrote recently, and asked my father to revise and correct him.Zeng Guofan remembers that the letter to his son last time not only talked about the principles of life, but also talked about writing poetry.He believes that his son has a clear personality and a calm heart, so he should learn from Tao and Meng's poems.

Thinking of the unreasonable fear of last night, Zeng Guofan found that deep in his heart, there was still a cowardly side buried, and his son's innocence and indifference, did he inherit this aspect of himself?If so, it would be terrible.He decided to write a letter to his son this morning. When he was in the capital, no matter how busy he was, Zeng Guofan never cared about letters from home. Every month, one or two letters were sent home, and the letters were trivial and detailed.Especially the letters to my younger brothers, talking about reading, writing poems and essays, talking about how to behave in the world and making friends, talking about physical and moral cultivation, and talking about current events and news, the words are sincere and affectionate.He wished to pass everything on to his younger brother, and hoped that they would all become talents and become the sons of the Ke family of the Zeng family.Jize grew up day by day, and he transferred the love he had for his younger brothers to his son.In the past two years of leading the army, he has written seven or eight letters to Jize alone, mostly talking about reading and writing poetry.He hoped that Ji Ze would be a well-educated gentleman, and he didn't expect him to be a high-ranking official.The way he taught his son to read is: reading, reading, writing, and writing are indispensable every day. "Wen", "Sun Wuzi", "Classical Compilation of Ancient Chinese Ci".He encouraged his son that it doesn't matter if it is almost impossible to memorize reading, the main thing is persistence.He gave his son a proposition and asked him to write an essay according to the topic and send it to the army.Every time he sent an article, he carefully reviewed it before sending it back.Ji Ze liked to write, so he told his son that to learn calligraphy, he should learn the characters of Ou, Yu, Yan, and Liu.These four families are like Li, Du, Han, and Su among the poets, the sun, the moon, and the rivers of heaven and earth, and they specifically told their sons to pay attention to changing pens when writing, which is the key to good calligraphy.Zeng Guofan's letter to his son was filled with the affection of a father who hopes his son will become a dragon.

Zeng Guofan carefully read the "Three Poems of Caring for People" written by his son, and felt that the second one was written with a bit of momentum, so he picked up a pen and commented: "The style of the two poems is like a yellow valley, with a swaying air." Yes, that's right. Starting from the masculine beauty of poetry, it reverses the weak side of Ji Ze's character.He spread out the paper, first wrote his overall views on "Three Poems of Caring for People", and then wrote: I tried to take Mr. Yao Jichuan's theory, the way of poetry and prose, divided into masculine beauty and feminine beauty.Generally speaking, the masculine ones have great momentum, while the feminine ones have deep charm.The vast ones spew out, and the deep and beautiful ones spit out.Mr. Yao likes the beauty of masculinity, and I like majestic and magnificent works most in my life.My son's talent is not low, so when writing essays at this time, one should seek to be eloquent in discussion and unrestrained in talent.Juvenile writing is always noble and majestic, and Dongpo's so-called vigorous and vigorous writing is the best work.Poems and essays are based on the spirit in the chest, and the strange words and big sentences must be driven by the majestic and flying spirit.Therefore, the magnificence of poetry and prose is the magnificence of those who actually write poetry and prose.Taigong Er once said, "A man should be ashamed of being cowardly and lacking strength."

In order to test the effect of this letter, Zeng Guofan ordered his son to write an "Fu of Chibi Breaking Cao Jun" and send it next month.After writing the letter, he felt a burst of relief. He felt that this was not only an education for his son, but also a whipping for his cowardice last night!When he was writing the letter, he thought about all the things that had happened during these days, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. After breakfast, he called Kang Fu into Sanle Bookstore, closed the doors and windows, lowered the curtains, and said softly to him, "Vendor, you leave tonight and go to the capital."

"To the capital?" Kang Fu asked in surprise. "Yes, you go to the capital to do something very important." Zeng Guofan said with a stern expression, "I am very surprised by a few things: the last time I left Hengzhou as a teacher, I was suddenly demoted to a second level. Could it be that he was really invited to enter the Xiangxian Temple for Yang Jian? This time, he was first ordered to serve as a governor of Efu, and within a few days he was rewarded with the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. Tao Enpei came to Hubei, and Deyin Hangbu came to visit. Everything is thought-provoking. This is not only related to my personal prosperity, I don't care about it, but it has a lot to do with the future of our Xiangyong. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, my lord, I understand the relationship between this." Kang Fu has realized the extraordinary significance of this trip, and he said solemnly, "I will tell you my lord, I have thought about these things, but I dare not mention them to you. But , this is my first time in Beijing, and I don't know anything about the personnel and affairs in Beijing, so how can I find out such court secrets?" "Of course you can't go empty-handed." Zeng Guofan pointed to a stack of letters on the desk and said, "I have three letters here, you take them with you. One is for Yuan Fangying, a lecturer at the Imperial Academy, who is my son and daughter's in-laws. One The letter is for Zhou Shouchang, a cabinet scholar, who is a master of the capital. There is also a letter for Master Mu Zhang'a. He is my teacher. Although he has retired from his official position and does nothing at home, he has always been well-informed about government affairs. What do they have? It will tell you the truth."

After speaking, he gave Kang Fu an official ticket of three thousand taels of silver so that he could act in the capital.Kang Fu solemnly took the three letters and the bank notes, and hid them in his underwear. Filled with the excitement of being trusted, he bowed to Zeng Guofan, turned and walked out the door.Just about to go out, Zeng Guofan called softly again: "The price." Kang Fu hurriedly turned his head: "What else do you want to order?" Zeng Guofan stared at him intently, and said slowly: "When you come to Beijing this time, everything must be kept absolutely confidential. When you visit the three residences, you will go only after dark. You don't usually go shopping. You live in the south of the city and serve the country." The virtuous outside the temple went to the inn, and it was quiet there. Choose a good horse, and leave tonight, and tell people that you are going back to your hometown in Yuanjiang for some urgent business. When you are done, you will return."

Kang Fu remembered them one by one, took his leave and went out.