Chapter 75 Top ten smelters are the most gold-hating and enthusiastic, how can there be strange talents in the world

The fire ticket from the Ministry of War was handed over by the Minister of Military Aircraft, which copied the previous edict about Shanghai lijin: Zeng Guofan asked to draw lijin in Shanghai to help Jiangxi military pay, etc., and ordered Yiliang and others to observe the situation.It is reported hereby that the Jiangsu Military Supplies Bureau spent a lot of money, relying solely on the payment of cash, and failed to distribute it to Jiangxi.Moreover, the land of Shanghai is mixed with Huayi, and the local officials and gentry have managed to live in peace for more than a year.If we send staff to handle it again, it will be a real hindrance.The playing is based on the truth.All Shanghai lijin can only be reserved for the funds of Jiangsu Province. Zeng Guofan asked Yuan Fangying to transfer Yuan Fangying's special office to pay for Jiangxi's army. There is no need to discuss it.

After Zeng Guofan read this edict, his heart sank.The wishful project allocated to Shanghai Lijin and specially run by Yuan Fangying was flatly rejected by Yiliang, Governor of Liangjiang. "Yiliang is horrible!" Zeng Guofan cursed fiercely in his heart.Now that the imperial court is so weak, Yiliang won't give it if he says no.Zeng Guofan thought that this kind of thing would never happen in the Xuanzong era.Why!In today's situation, if you really want to do things, you must have the real power of the governor!As a governor in any province, it is not a problem to supply 20,000 Yongding, so how can you be so embarrassing to beg for food.Zeng Guofan paced back and forth in the room, full of grievances in his heart.At this time, the door was gently pushed open.

"Oh! Junxian, when did you come back!" Zeng Guofan, who was worried about the military salary, caught a glimpse of Guo Songtao who had returned from transporting salt in Hangzhou, as happy as seeing Marshal Zhao Gong. "As soon as I arrived in Nankang, I came to ask you for a job." After several months of hard work, Guo Songtao became darker and thinner.Zeng Guofan said cordially: "You have worked hard on this errand, look so thin." According to the practice of treating old friends, Zeng Guofan personally brewed a cup of Fuliang tea for Guo Songtao. "It doesn't matter if you're thinner, things haven't been done well." Guo Songtao looked tired.

"Thirty thousand imported salt was transported to Guangxin. You have made great contributions to the military camp. How can you say that it was not done well?" Zeng Guofan knew that Guo Songtao had always been rude, so there must be difficulties in this process. "Disheng, people's hearts are broken now. When the country is in great trouble, we should help each other and rescue the crisis together. In fact, it is wrong." Guo Songtao was very angry. The long hair ravaged the area and could not bear the obligation of 80,000 military pay. Fortunately, the official document from the household department came soon, and he had to reluctantly accept it. The officials at all levels sent to deal with it were exploited layer by layer, which made the people complain. They knew that they were going to Jiangxi for military pay. Everyone scolded you for being heartless."

"The foolish people are ignorant, let him scold them!" Zeng Guofan smiled wryly, "I don't know how many unreasonable curses I have endured since I came out of the mountain to run a group training." "It was finally transported to Jiangxi, and when I unpacked a few packets in Yushan to eat, I found out that I was cheated." "What's the matter?" Zeng Guofan asked in surprise. "The salt is mixed with Avalokitesvara soil. A bag of salt is one hundred catties, and there are at least ten catties of Avalokitesvara soil." "These bastards!" Zeng Guofan blurted out.

"That's all." Guo Songtao continued, "It was originally planned that the price of salt per quotation would be twenty-five taels. After deducting the cost and various expenses, selling it in the Guangxin area would earn more than four taels per quotation. Citation can only be sold for around twenty taels, making almost no money." "What's the reason?" Zeng Guofan felt that the matter was serious, and the plan to make a net profit of 100,000 taels would fail! "Later, there were dozens of stores, and a large number of smuggled Huai salt was being sold recently, and the price was between 19 and 20 taels per quotation, and some were even cheaper."

"Secretary salt is strictly prohibited by repeated orders and five times, why is it not blocked?" Zeng Guofan stood up angrily and walked back and forth in the room. "The prefectures and counties in Jiangxi are beyond the control of you, the Minister of the Ministry of War. You may not know that almost all of the smugglers who buy Huai salt from the thief areas in Anhui have the backing of the government. The smuggling of salt is done by the officials of the prefectures and counties. Will they really ban such a big source of wealth? It is said,” Guo Songtao walked up to Zeng Guofan and whispered, “The chief of the feudal clan, Lu Yuanlang, and the acting magistrate of Yanfa Road, Nanchang Shi Zhier, are the biggest smugglers.”

"Junxian, do you have any conclusive evidence?" Zeng Guofan turned his face and asked aggressively, "If there is, I will impeach him immediately. This group of people is simply the giant of the country!" "Of course there is corroboration. But you can impeach one Lu Yuanhong and one Shi Zhier. Can you impeach all the officials in Jiangxi? The morals of the world are corrupted, and the whole atmosphere is corrupted, which cannot be reversed at all." Zeng Guofan sighed for a long time and said nothing more.He felt that he was already walking in the midst of thorns, tigers, leopards and wolves with their bloody mouths open in front of him, which seemed to be easier to deal with, but the mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, and thornbush traps behind him, left and right, were powerless to punish and guard against.He gritted his teeth and spat out a sentence: "If one day I become the governor of Liangjiang, I will eliminate all these corrupt guys!"

"Disheng, I'm here this time to pay you a job, and to bid farewell to you." "What! You want to leave the barracks too?" Zeng Guofan was deeply surprised. "I have served the imperial court and should return to Beijing to serve. Tomorrow I will leave Nankang and return to Xiangyin to settle down first, and then go north." "The situation in Jiangxi is still in danger, please help me!" Zeng Guofan really didn't want Guo Songtao to leave. "Disheng, according to our friendship, I should stay here to help you, but this time, I am disheartened to handle the salt business. I think our Qing Empire is really going to die. It is not easy to perish in the hands of Changmao, but in the hands of our own people. I was in Hangzhou this time and saw a book introducing the national conditions of the United Kingdom. The Yi people have many strengths worth learning. I really want to go to the United Kingdom to see for myself. "

"The Yi people are indeed better than us in many things. Take the boats and guns they built, they are more than a hundred times better than us. You help me calm down the long hair. After I am done, I will report to the emperor and ask you to go abroad to investigate. ?” Guo Songtao smiled wryly and said: "I'm just talking, you just seized this point and started a deal with me. The hard work of the past few years has also made me bored. You know that I am the most impatient person. Fanju, why don't you let me go to the Imperial Academy to spend a few days of leisure!"

Zeng Guofan knew it was impossible to stay, and said: "Meng Rong and I will buy wine for you tomorrow." Seeing that Zeng Guofan agreed, Guo Songtao felt sorry for it. He looked at Zeng Guofan affectionately and said, "Disheng, you are tenacious and resolute, and you will surely make great achievements. I am weak in nature, and I cannot surpass you in this respect. What I just said Yes, I am too discouraged when I think about it. Where there is a will, there is a way, and the state affairs are not out of control. I will leave tomorrow, and today I want to send you a few words from the bottom of my heart." Zeng Guofan also said emotionally: "My dear brother, please tell me." "If you are like me, if you don't work in the local area, and you don't have the courage to suppress the thieves, then let it go. If you expect to accomplish great things and destroy the rebels, you have to change some of your practices." "Onlookers know. Where I did something wrong, just speak up!" Zeng Guofan has already felt Guo Songtao's sincerity. "First, we must communicate well with the local civil and military forces. Don't always stand in the position of being enemies with them. When there is a compromise, compromise. As the saying goes, a strong dragon does not overwhelm a snake. Not to please, but to attract enemies. Third, we must use the power of the green battalion instead of doing it alone. If these three points are achieved, many things will be handled better.” "Junxian, these three points of yours are indeed good words. From now on, we must act according to your opinion, otherwise, we will end up with nothing but trouble." Zeng Guofan's eyes moistened when he thought of the predicament in Jiangxi. The next day, Zeng Guofan invited Liu Rong to see Guo Songtao off together.Zeng Guofan took out a picture and said to Guo Songtao: "My virtuous brother is leaving. I have nothing to give away, I am upset, and I have no good works. Now I record my old works 16 years ago. I have the right to say goodbye to my virtuous brother." When Guo Songtao took it over to read it, he wrote four poems of Qilu, titled "Four Poems to Zhejiang Province to Guo Junxian": one of One sickness is too much work and hard work to support, don't be too hasty. Two or three confidantes are separated by the end of the world, and they are on the road for half a day. When the rabbit walks, it will have to camp in the cave. Hongfei didn't count the east and west. Why is reading and literacy beneficial?The whereabouts of winning are like turning around. second There are clouds rising from the Jieshi meandering, and the buildings, boats and feathers are rushing to the sun. The mantis wants to block the rut, but can the hip and thigh resist the weight of the axe? However, Xie Zhongtong and Chen's strategy have already heard that Wang She has made great achievements. Now the dream of traveling should be stable, and the arrogance of the heavens should be gone long ago. third Infinite willingness to pay Yin Xun, the fingertips of thirty springs in the world. A game of catalpa, Ping, and Yu changes, and Liang Dong borrows a wheel from a hundred siege. Nostalgia for the past when you are boundless and independent, and try to protect yourself through hardships. I feel ashamed that Taicang is a good nobleman, and I have been poor for several generations. Fourth In the evening, the severe frost broke the house and the cold, and the beautiful moon leaned against the end of the eaves. Since turning through the suitcases, I have been diligently looking for them, and I have been looking around at the book exhibition at home. The feelings of officialdom are thin as cicada wings, leaving people's emotions cocooned. I feel even more sorry for Wu Hui's wandering guests, sitting in the night with a paper tent and a lonely lamp. Recorded Daoguang 20 years ago as Guo Junxian to see him off, and in the winter of Xianfeng 6th year in the Nankang military camp Guo Songtao took the calligraphy, looked at the strong and straight handwriting on it, and the past came to mind.It was when Zeng Guofan was just recovering from a serious illness, Guo Songtao was hired by Zhejiang Xuezheng Luo Wenjun to leave Beijing and go to Zhejiang, just like today, Zeng Guofan bought wine for him at his apartment, and later wrote these four poems to him in a letter.Guo Songtao thought: Disheng re-copied these four poems to me today, did he secretly accuse me of leaving him when I was in trouble?There was a trace of apology in his heart. "Disheng, I will come back after living in the capital for two years." As if to express his shame, Guo Songtao said this insincere sentence. "Junxian, your personality and talent are suitable for Hanyuan, not for the army. It is a good thing for you to return to Beijing. If there is no other reason in the future, you don't have to come to the army again. You contact the officials in Beijing for me, understand For important matters in the court, writing letters frequently will be of great help to me, perhaps even more important than in the army." Liu Rong said: "Just now, Disheng mentioned contacting Beijing officials to understand the important affairs of the court, but it reminded me of one thing. I don't know if you two know?" "What's the matter?" Zeng Guofan had an inexplicable premonition in his heart. "A few days ago, Yuan Xun from Wen Zhongcheng's mansion came to Nankang to count the number of Xiangyong in the camp." "Wen Jun doesn't pay according to the head of the head, so why should he care about how many people I have?" Zeng Guofan interrupted Liu Rong. "Yuan Xunbu said that the army is in Jiangxi, and the local hospitality is not good. Wen Zhongcheng is going to send some gifts to the brothers, so I came to count the number of people." "There is something strange here." Guo Songtao said. "I also think it's not right. Yuan Xunzhen said that there is no need to tell Zeng Shilang again, so I became more suspicious. So I left him, invited him to dinner politely, and when he was drunk, I took out a pair of ivory dominoes Give it to him." "Where did you get this kind of thing?" Liu Rong has always been strict in rules and never involved in poker gambling. Zeng Guofan was surprised that he had dominoes. "Where do I have this kind of thing." Liu Rong said with a smile, "This is Chunting's spoils of war. He asked me to keep it for him. He said that it doesn't matter if the gold and silver are lost. You can't lose this thing. Keep it with me for insurance." "Chun Ting loves to gamble and drink, after all, he is not a general." Guo Songtao has always disliked the rough Bao Chao. "I gave this pair of ivory dominoes to Xunzu Yuan, and he was very happy." Liu Rong didn't want to talk about Bao Chao, and then said, "I took advantage of the situation and asked him what the provincial capital thinks of Zeng Shilang and Xiangyong recently. The surname Yuan He whispered in my ear, "I heard Wen Zhongcheng and Deyin Hangbu discuss Zeng Shilang the day before yesterday." Zeng Guofan stared at Liu Rong's darkened face, feeling a little queasy. "The person surnamed Yuan said, Deyin Hangbu said, Shouyang Xiangguo mentioned to the emperor that Zeng had no achievements in Jiangxi, but the number of brave soldiers continued to increase, and now he asked a younger brother to recruit thousands of soldiers to Jiangxi. It is not a good thing for the three members of the family to lead soldiers, and all of them are concentrated in Jiangxi!" Hearing this, Zeng Guofan panicked and sweated from his palms. "It's that old man Qi playing tricks again. He should have retired a long time ago, but he's always so in love with his job. His success is more than failure." Guo Songtao was very angry.Zeng Guofan's two broom eyebrows were locked into a straight line, his triangular eyes were dim, and his lips were tightly shut. "The person surnamed Yuan told the story, Wen Zhongcheng said after hearing it: "Shouyang Xiangguo is old enough to seek the country, and what he is worried about is." Wen Zhongcheng also said that the surname Zeng was stubborn and cold, and he couldn't get along with him. Chen Zigao was his fellow villager in the same year, and his military salary was slow If you work with this person, you have to be on guard everywhere, and ask Deyin Hangbu to pay attention. Deyin Hangbu said that the city with the surname Zeng is deep, and he can't figure it out. I heard all this nonsense at the time. Trembling with anger, I thought to myself, this is clearly Wen Jun, Deyin Hangbu and Qi Junzao colluding to plot against us. If there is any disturbance, they will be the first to impeach." "This group of demons!" Guo Songtao scolded. The air in the room suddenly became tense.After a long time, Chief Zeng Guofan sighed and said weakly: "The incident at the Sunset Pavilion will happen again soon." Liu Rong's heart tightened.He regretted that he should not have poured out all the words just now, causing Zeng Guofan such great sadness, so he comforted him: "Uncle Yang was born in troubled times, and he was murdered by the powerful, so he was forced to commit suicide. Today the emperor is holy, although Qi Shouyang Confused, after all, he is not a traitor. He has no personal grievances with you, and he praised you for risking his life and admonishing you that year. I think he just doesn’t know much about what you have done in recent years. It’s all about reminding the emperor to pay attention to the chaos caused by the soldiers. Even if it’s not you, if it’s another Han, he will have such suspicions.” Zeng Guofan said: "Meng Rong's words are not bad. Although Qi Shouyang also spoke ill of me in front of the emperor last time, he is not Geng Bao's first-class person after all." "Besides, the emperor is a hundred times wiser than Emperor Han'an." Guo Songtao interjected. "Yes." Liu Rong continued, "From now on, you should pay attention to everything and be careful in everything, so that you can avoid disaster and seek good fortune, and you will be safe." "You should be cautious, but," Zeng Guofan's nervousness has disappeared, replaced by extremely aggrieved pain, "People like Qi Xiangguo in this world are knowledgeable and talented, and the two of you are very clear. The word "Mediocrity" is trusted by the emperor, supported by all the bureaucrats, high-ranked, and well-known, and this kind of person is not only Qi Junzao. In the second year of Xianfeng, Guofan was a registered servant. I just thought of the kindness of the two dynasties, the gentleness and innocence, and I couldn't bear to see the tripod moved by the thief and Confucius and Mencius humiliated, so I overestimated my strength and used a scholar to recruit brave training regiments. I really hope that everyone will work together to wipe out the ugly. Who knew that when he was in Changsha, Bao Qibao was not tolerated. After the defeat of Jinggang, there was a lot of criticism, and those who entered the city of Xiangyong were beaten. In the past two years in Jiangxi, every step of the way was difficult, and there were obstacles everywhere. Not only did they suffer so much in the local area, but they also suffered for no reason in the court. Suspicion. Alas! The rainbow penetrates Jingqing’s heart, and those who see it think it is obscene and ignore it; the blood of Bihua Changhong, those who read it think it is a stubborn stone and abandon it. It seems that the day of my death will not be long. I wrote the epitaph, if you can't say this for me, you will never rest in peace under the Nine Springs." After all, he looked sad and sighed for a long time.Suddenly, he left the banquet, walked to the desk, and wrote vigorously.Then, he said to Guo Songtao: "Don't take the picture just now, I will give you another poem." When Guo Songtao and Liu Rong took it to read, it read: Send Guo Junxian away from camp to Jinjing The square of mourning opened in the city, and Qu Zi's lonely soul returned thousands of times. Fantasies have nothing to ask about, and sorrows can be buried in places. Someone is weeping by the sunset pavilion, when will the martyr's heart be cultivated? Daye hates gold the most and is enthusiastic, there are strange talents in the world! Guo Songtao sighed, Liu Rong was full of tears, the three of them looked at the cold cups and plates, and no longer wanted to eat.Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and Zeng Guofan's heart tightened immediately.