Chapter 57 Eleven Arrows and Two Eagles

Zeng Guofan was dispatching troops and generals, and when he was about to go east with his whole army, suddenly Duolong'a came out from the middle of the way, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.Duolong'a, word auditorium, Huerlat family, Manchurian Zhengbai Banner.In the first year of Xianfeng, Duolong'a was appointed as the secretary of the Ministry of Industry in Shengjing. Before the Beijing inspection, he went to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Pei Chengjia, late at night, and begged for excellent comments.Train him to be a more decent person, reprimand him for this behavior face to face, and cancel the "excellent first-class" evaluation he got in the previous Beijing inspection.Duolong'a didn't give up, and begged in public in the Gongbu hall, Peicheng was furious, and played to the court.Duo Longa was dismissed.Duolong'a was very embarrassed, and asked people to find a way around, and finally took refuge in the camp of Seng Gelinqin, the king of Horqin Zhasakdo County. In the battle with the Northern Expedition Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom led by Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang, Duolong'a won several victories one after another. , was appreciated and reused by Seng Gelinqin.After Seng Gelinqin defeated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Northern Expedition Army, he thought he was invincible in the world. Not only did he not have the status of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's hundreds of thousands of troops, he also did not have the status of the imperial court's Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps. Qin's subordinate, Seng Gelinqin, sent Duolong'a to Duxing'a to strengthen Duxing'a's strength and win the first victory in conquering Jiangning in the future.Xiangyong captured Wuchang and Hanyang. This was something Seng Gelinqin never thought of. He was very jealous of Zeng Guofan and told Emperor Xianfeng to beware of this army in the hands of the Han people. Take a troop to Wuchang, called to strengthen the eastward force, actually acted as the court's monitor.Seng Gelinqin's close concert was in line with Emperor Xianfeng's wishes.After a secret edict came out, Duolong'a immediately led 3,000 elite soldiers as the deputy capital commander, and set off in the starry night, entered Anhui from Liuhe, then entered Hubei from Yingshan, and then rushed up the river from Huangzhou to Wuchang.

Although Zeng Guofan was very clear about Duolonga's intention to come from Jiangning, he couldn't offend this popular man under his cousin's current cousin.In the flower hall of Hubei Governor's Yamen, Zeng Guofan set up twelve tables of sumptuous banquets.Generals above the capital of the Lvying in Hubei Province, as well as all the battalion officials in Xiangyong, came to the banquet.In the guest-of-honor table, in addition to Duolonga, there were also Jingzhou General Guanwen, Huguang Governor and Hubei Governor Yang Pei, Guyuan Admiral Gui Ming, and Shengjing Military Doctor Deyin Hangbu.Zeng Guofan raised his glass to toast Duo Long'a, and said: "Many generals have sought to be both brave and brave. In the past two years, Changmao has repeatedly defeated Changmao in Shandong and Hebei. In the near future, the unrivaled achievements of many generals will be recorded in the annals of history forever."

Duolong'a, who has always regarded himself as a hero, smiled proudly: "It's all thanks to the emperor's blessing and monk Wang Weimo, what merits are there for Duo!" After finishing speaking, he drank the wine in his glass. Guan Wen also stood up and toasted Duo Long'a: "This time our army is going east, we still have to rely on the power of the general to turn his back on the earth. I toast this glass of wine to the general. I hope that with the help of the general's tiger power, we can gather together and wipe out all the ugly people who have taken possession of Jiangning." .”

"Thank you, thank you." Duolong stood up proudly and said, "Duomou and the three thousand Jiangning green battalion soldiers went through fire and water for the emperor, and they will not say goodbye. The end of the long hair is coming. To boost morale, Duomou has promised to go to the Yuan Dynasty next year." On the festival, all the singers in Jiangning City were carried to the Qinhuai River to sing songs and wine for the soldiers who have done meritorious service." Before Duo Long'a finished speaking, the generals of the green battalion in the flower hall were already cheering and clinking cups.Guiming went on to say: "E Province's troops are weak and inexperienced, and everything depends on the advice of many generals."

Duo Long'a was a little drunk, and waved his hands carelessly: "We are in the same family, why be polite." After all, he picked up the wine glass and drank upside down.Following the frequent toasts by Guan Wen and others, the generals of the Green Camp attending the banquet stood up one after another, shouting and toasting Duolonga. Duolong'a's arrogance, and Guanwen and others' ignorance of Xiangyong's demeanor made Xiangyong camp officials very angry.These battalion officers all sat on the stools, and none of them stood up.Seeing this, Zeng Guofan hurriedly got up and held his wine glass, looked at the motionless Xiangyong battalion officers and said, "Everyone, all my soldiers are about to swear to march eastward. Wine, on the one hand, cleans up the dust for many generals and others, and on the other hand, it also serves as a good show for everyone. Please, everyone, let us drink this cup for the victory of Dongjin!"

Seeing what Zeng Guofan said, the Xiangyong camp officials had to stand up and toast each other.There was a lot of shouting and shouting again at the banquet, and the atmosphere became more and more heated.Seeing that the time had come, Zeng Guofan said to everyone happily: "To help General Duo and everyone enjoy the wine, I invite everyone to see a rare treasure." Duolong'a is the most greedy for money and treasures. Hearing this, he is very happy.He put down his wine glass and asked eagerly, "What treasures does Mr. Minister have, quickly take them out, so that everyone can feast their eyes on them."

Here Wang Jingqi has brought the red sandalwood box given by Shen Mingbiao into the flower hall.Zeng Guofan took out the agate from it. "What a beautiful agate!" Duolong'a couldn't help admiring. Zeng Guofan smiled and said to everyone: "Look, what's in this agate?" Duolonga snatched the agate from Zeng Guofan's hand, took a closer look, and said loudly, "There is a beautiful red peony inside." Guan Wen and Yang Pei all came over and praised together: "This red peony is just like a real flower." The agate was passed on the banquet table, and everyone praised its brightness and purity of color, especially the fresh and tender red peony inside.Shen Mingbiao sat at the table, pretending to be seeing it for the first time, but secretly proud of himself.

The agate was finally passed to Zeng Guofan, who secretly said to everyone: "Please blow out the candles on the table." For some reason, everyone obeyed the order and blew out the candles.Zeng Guofan said: "Please take a look at this agate again." Under the moonlight, when Duolonga looked curiously again, the red peony had already withered, as if it had been frostbitten and frozen.Duolong'a was so strange, rubbed his eyes, took the agate and went to the window to look again, the red peony had indeed withered!Duo Longa's shock was no small matter.Guan Wen, Yang Pei, Gui Ming, Deyin Hangbu and other generals looked at the agate and shook their heads in bewilderment at the withering of the red peony.At this time, Zeng Guofan ordered the candles to be lit again. At the brightly lit banquet, when everyone looked at the agate again, they were shocked: the red peony was in full bloom again.

"It's strange! Mr. Minister, this is really a rare thing in the world." Duo Long'a couldn't help but sigh.There are many treasures in his home, but compared with this agate, those treasures are all useless.The people in Quanhua Hall were greatly eye-opened, and Shen Mingbiao was very happy.Luo Zenan wondered: Disheng has always disliked rare things, how could he show off an agate in front of Duolong'a and other generals tonight? Could it be that Wuchang's victory made him dizzy? "Mr. Minister, where did you get this treasure?" Duo Long'a's eyes were unscrupulously envious, as if as long as he told the source of the treasure, he would immediately go there to find it!

"One of my battalion officers gave it to me." Zeng Guofan replied with a smile, "He got it from Changmao and gave it to me." "It's rare to have such a filial subordinate." Duolonga sighed with emotion, and glanced at his subordinates sitting at other tables. "General Duo, this just shows that you are honest and selfless. You are upright and your subordinates dare not offend you." Zeng Guofan praised solemnly, dispelling the resentment born of jealousy in Duolong'a's heart, and smiled happily: "Mr. you flatter me." "General Duo, I feel ashamed in front of you. I want to ask, what should I do with this agate?" Zeng Guofan's attitude was serious, and Duolonga had to put down his glass.Guan Wen, Yang Pei, Gui Ming and others also put down their wine glasses together.

"I think you'd better accept it. Don't chill the hearts of your subordinates." Duolonga tried his best to put on an air of consideration for others.Guan Wen, Yang Pei, and Gui Ming also said, "Take it, it's a matter of course." After Shen Mingbiao heard this, he was so happy that he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and then busy pouring himself another glass. "I don't know, everyone, he wants to exchange this agate for eight thousand taels of silver!" "Didn't I say I would give it to you?" Duolonga was startled for a moment, then immediately said, "It's worth it, it's worth it!" "Eight thousand taels of silver are easy to get, rare and rare." Guan Wen is an expert in this field, and he said with a slightly boastful look, "Last year, a jeweler in Siam sold me a luminous pearl with a diameter of one inch. That's thirty thousand." "The general officer's house still has such a rare treasure, I must go and see it." Duo Long'a shouted, his eyes were very greedy. Seeing this, the official document regretted his slip of the tongue, and quickly said with a smile on his face: "I don't know how many generals will come. I asked my family to take it back to the capital's home last month. Please appreciate it next time!" "It's a pity that I didn't come last month!" Duolonga was very regretful, turning his face and said to Zeng Guofan, "General Guan costs 30,000 yuan for a night pearl, and I think this agate is no less than his pearl. Eight thousand taels of silver are considered Too cheap." "Many generals, you don't know the inside story!" Zeng Guofan put away his smile and said seriously, "If this person is like the Siamese businessman mentioned by General Guan just now, he has a clear price, let alone 8,000 taels, even 80,000 taels. If I can't afford it, I just don't buy it. If it is a staff member who respects his boss sincerely, it is reasonable to send it to appreciate the kindness of knowing him. But this person is not the same. He took advantage of the opportunity of supervising the warship last year, He lied about the wages and prices, and received three thousand taels of silver more. This time, he reported an extra five thousand taels of silver. He wanted to use this agate to stop my mouth and not tell the fraud of the eight thousand taels of silver. He also wants to use this agate as a bait so that he can keep catching silver from me in the future. It is forgivable to lie to me about my private money, but it is outrageous under the laws of the country to lie to the emperor's money!" The officers at the wine table didn't care about the conversation at the guest-of-honor table, it was still a mess of eating, drinking and yelling.However, Shen Mingbiao was always listening attentively. When he heard these few words, his heart seemed to be caught by Zeng Guofan, he was so nervous that he couldn't breathe, his face was red and white, and he sat there, as if he was being judged.Duo Long'a, Guan Wen and others thought to themselves: He didn't want to get any benefits, so he gave it to you for nothing?Exchange the emperor's money for your own wealth, only a fool would not do it!But they all said: "This person's methods are despicable!" Zeng Guofan said: "So I am going to discuss with you, General Duo, I have an idea, see if it works?" "What's your idea?" Everyone leaned in and asked. "I think this kind of bribery trend must be eradicated in my Xiangyong. Today I am going to use many generals Huwei to strengthen my courage." "Mr. Minister, you just have to worry about it, I will support you!" Duolong'a was as strong as a bull, like a hero who supported the good and suppressed the evil. "I want to take advantage of the good opportunity for many generals to sit in command, and smash this agate in public to show that the military discipline of the country and France cannot be violated." Everyone was shocked when they heard that, Shen Mingbiao felt a hammer hit on the top of his head, with a buzzing sound, his eyes went black.Duo Long'a hurriedly said: "Mr. Minister, you can't do this, you can't do this!" Guan Wen and others also said: "It's overcorrected, it's overcorrected!" Zeng Guofan said: "There are many generals, otherwise it cannot be eradicated!" "Mr. Minister, such a rare treasure is rare. It's a pity to smash it. Just dismiss the person who gave the agate and investigate it. The agate is innocent. Don't blame it." Guan Wen and others hurriedly agreed: "It's a pity to smash it, it's a pity to smash it!" "What a cherished treasure for the country, General Duo is right." Zeng Guofan turned his anger into joy, and said to the people in the hall, "All the generals and officers of Xiangyong, listen up. General Duo Auditorium said just now. The man who gave the agate will be removed from his post and investigated. If anyone here is involved in extorting and accepting bribes, once found out, they will be severely punished. This time, I listened to many generals and cherished treasures for the country. Please do not smash them. Transfer this agate to Ouchi Collection for me." After finishing speaking, Zeng Guofan held up the red sandalwood box with both hands and gave it to Duolonga: "General Duo, please." Duolong'a had a big accident, and he was so overjoyed that he quickly stood up and took it with both hands, saying repeatedly: "I will help you, I will help you!" Guan Wen, Yang Pei, Gui Ming, and De Yin Hang Bu next to him were all extremely jealous. Shen Mingbiao over there wanted to dive into the ground and hide.After the banquet was over, he quickly knelt in front of Zeng Guofan, confessed his guilt, and asked for leniency.Zeng Guofan withdrew his post as battalion officer and stayed in the pro-barracks to see the effect. In the middle of the night, the lights in Deyinhangbu's bedroom were still on.It turned out that Deyinhangbu and Duolong'a had worked together in Shengjing for a period of time, knew his details well, and despised him.Deyin Hangbu didn't know that Duolong'a had come here with a secret order. At today's banquet, he saw Zeng Guofan's disrespect and Duolong's greed for money.After thinking for a long time, he decided to make a secret report to the emperor and report what he had learned during the past few days at the Xiangyong Camp. The matter of agate is also written.After Deyin Hangbu fell asleep, Jiang Yili stole the secret book and gave it to Zeng Guofan.After reading the secret book, Zeng Guofan showed a happy smile, and said to Jiang Yili, "Put it back to its original place, so that the emperor can see it as soon as possible."