Chapter 7 Qi Zeng Guohua came back from the dead, and he had no choice but to go to the destination where his elder brother gave him guidance

When the news of the annihilation of Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua reached Jiangxi Jianchang Mansion, Zeng Guofan was so frightened by the sudden news that he almost passed out.He placed great expectations on Li Xubin, and believed that Li could live up to his trust.Unexpectedly, it was precisely this old and reliable Li Xubin who broke the big event. Not only was the wishful thinking of running central Anhui and conspiring to conquer Jiangning first, but also the idea of ​​making the sixth brother become famous by relying on Li Xubin was also shattered.He knew that Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua would not be able to survive in such a situation, the good generals would be lost, and their flesh and blood would be farewell forever, and he was deeply saddened.

This was Xiangyong's worst failure since he left the army.From the generals in the Jianchang Army Camp down to Yong Ding, almost everyone had contact with those who died in Sanhe: they were relatives, friends, neighbors, or acquaintances.When the news came, without waiting for orders, each battalion and sentry automatically burned paper and incense, and hung up soul-calling banners, and the entire barracks was covered in haze.For several days, Zeng Guofan felt extremely uncomfortable seeing this scene.He thought of Xiangxiang County at this moment, how many families were holding funeral ceremonies, how many widows and orphans were mourning.The grief of Xiangxiang County will exceed that of the Jianchang Barracks by a factor of ten or a hundred.How does Xiangyong recover his vitality?Will the military strategy for marching into central Anhui be changed?Zeng Guofan was in extreme pain.A few days later, he woke up from the pain. "A hero knocks out teeth and swallows blood", revives the military power, and avenges revenge, which is what a man does.He even had a glimmer of hope that Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua might escape from death, maybe they would suddenly appear in front of him one day, and then he would hand over the affairs of Central Wan to them.He believes that Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua will become more mature after suffering such a setback.After Zeng Guofan figured it out, he ordered all the soul-calling flags in the barracks to be burned, and he was not allowed to talk about the failure of Sanhe, and everything was done according to the original plan.

Ten days later, Yong Ding, who was sent to the Sanhe camp to investigate the corpse, came back and reported that Li Xubin's body had been found and would be buried in a grand ceremony by Weng Tongshu, governor of Anhui Province. Zeng Guohua's body had never been seen.There are hundreds of headless corpses on the battlefield. It is estimated that Zeng Guohua was beheaded to death.More than ten days later, letters from Wuchang, Xiangxiang, Changsha, and Shouzhou arrived one after another, but there was no trace of Zeng Guohua. Zeng Guofan believed that the sixth brother was dead. On this day, he solemnly reported to the court, detailing Zeng Guohua's contributions since he led the bravery in the fourth year of Xianfeng, as well as the tragic death of his country this time.After paying homage, he wrote a letter to his fourth brother and brother Man at home, asking them to comfort his uncle and Wen Fu's wife and concubines; I have a bad temper and my brothers are at odds, so I should take this as a warning in the future.He also asked them to check their parents' tombs to see if they had been dug up and leaked their luck.Half a month later, the imperial court issued an imperial edict, posthumously presenting a Taoist candidate, Zeng Guohua, as a posthumous gift, and giving his father Zeng Jiyun a second-rank seal with grace, and Emperor Xianfeng also personally wrote the four characters of "One School of Loyalty" , as an extra compliment.

Zeng Guofan was very relieved when he received this edict, and immediately sent someone to send the emperor's imperial pen back to the lotus leaf pond, and asked his family to make a gold plaque with the four characters "One Family Loyalty" and hang it high on the golden hall. To comfort the spirit of parents in heaven, and to encourage children and grandchildren to be loyal to the king.As for rewarding his uncle from the second rank, it made Zeng Guofan dumbfounded.As early as the 30th year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan once invited his uncle to confer the first-rank seal code during his tenure as the minister, but he didn't want to get a second-rank seal code eight years later.Zeng Guofan secretly complained in his heart that the officials of the Ministry of Rites were sloppy and sloppy, and they didn't even bother to check things casually. Now he was in a dilemma.Zeng Guofan took a lot of thinking about this.After careful consideration, he gave the emperor a letter of gratitude, first describing the process of the previous canon, and then wrote: "The imperial axis will only receive Xinlun, and I would like to worship the ninefold life of this day; From the old rank, don't forget the kindness of the past two times. But it is very difficult to report it. The minister can only do his best to be foolish and loyal. The answer is higher than in case."

Soon after, Mandi Guobao was ordered by his uncle to come to Jianchang to take his brother's place of courage.Zeng Guofan really encouraged him, assigned 500 brave men to lead him, and changed his name to Zhenqian, with the word Ziheng, which means to learn the lesson of the defeat of Jinggang, to act as a man, to be loyal and persevering. In the middle of the night, under the lamp, Zeng Guofan once again revised the "Lament for Mother and Brother Wen Fu" written recently.He sympathized with his sixth younger brother who was full of talent but failed in his career. When he was about to make his way to the top with his military exploits, he was defeated and died.He also sympathized with his dying uncle.The uncle adopted the sixth younger brother because he had no children. Unexpectedly, the stepson would not live forever. It is a great misfortune in life to lose a child when he is old;At such a young age, I have lost my father forever, what a pain my heart has to endure!As an uncle, Zeng Guofan decided that he would take on the responsibility of raising and educating this nephew in the future, so that he would receive love and warmth like Ji Ze and Ji Hong, grow up, and inherit the incense of his uncle.Zeng Guofan was thinking and revising in this way, often stopping to meditate, looking at the dancing candlelight in a trance.

"Brother, open the door!" The hasty voice brought Zeng Guofan back to his senses.This is Zhengan shouting outside. Zeng Guofan opened the door, and Zhengan hurried into the room, followed by another person. "Brother, do you see who is here?" Zeng Guobao said softly on purpose, but the excitement in his tone was obviously uncontrollable. In the dim candlelight, Zeng Guofan saw the visitor's clothes were torn and his face was haggard.Looking at it, he couldn't help being stunned: Isn't this the sixth younger brother Wen Fu whom he misses dearly? He couldn't believe that Wen Fu had been missing for more than a month. The entire army of Binziying and Huaziying was wiped out. The commander Li Xubin was dead, and none of the senior generals survived. How could the deputy commander of the whole army and the officer of the Huaziying camp appear tonight? it's here?Zeng Guofan picked up the candle and walked to the man.He held the candle up high and looked at the man's face carefully.Yes, this person is indeed his younger brother Zeng Guohua!

"Are you Wen Fu?" Even so, he still asked suspiciously. "Brother, it's me!" Seeing that his elder brother finally recognized him, Zeng Guohua couldn't help feeling sad and happy, hugging his shoulders with both hands, tears streaming down his face. It was absolutely true that his own brother was standing in front of him alive. For a split second, Zeng Guofan's heart was filled with great joy: the sixth brother is not dead!The uncle wiped away the pain of bereavement, and the nephew spared the grief of being an orphan. This is really a great celebration among Zeng's family!

"Sit down, sit down, Wen Fu, you have suffered." Zeng Guofan supported his younger brother to sit down with both hands, his eyes were moist.Zeng Guohua, who escaped from the dead, was very moved when he saw the true brotherhood of his elder brother: "Brother, for more than a month, I have missed you and Lao Man to death!" "We miss you very much too!" Zeng Guofan said sincerely, and brought a cup of hot tea to his brother himself, then turned to ask Mandi, "Zhengan, where did you find Wen Fu?" Zeng Guobao replied happily: "At dusk today, when I was returning to the camp from the town, I passed a disused brick kiln, and suddenly I heard someone call my name softly. When I went in, it turned out that Brother Six was there. I was surprised and happy Sixth brother immediately asked me to bring him to see eldest brother, I said I can't go now, I will take you there in the middle of the night."

"It's done right." Zeng Guofan was very satisfied with Mandi's sophistication, and he turned to his sixth brother, "Wen Fu, the Battle of Sanhe has been going on for more than a month. Why did you show up at this time? It made the whole family anxious. You are dead. Where have you been for more than a month?" "In the middle of the night, there was a thick fog. Chang Mao came to steal the camp. I was outnumbered and was about to kill myself. Suddenly, a long hair knocked the knife from my hand from behind and caught them." Zeng Guohua did not dare to tell the widow. The truth about his family being arrested made up this set of lies. "Shangmao didn't know my identity, so he locked me in a farmer's kitchen, and went to catch other people, leaving me alone. I leaned on the millstone and rubbed it hard, broke the rope, and escaped secretly. Come out. I found out that my eldest brother was in Jianchang Mansion, Jiangxi Province along the way, so I ran straight here, but unfortunately fell ill on the way. I walked and stopped like this, and endured for more than a month." These few sentences are true.After he finished speaking, he drank a cup of tea in one gulp. He was indeed sick, hungry and thirsty.Zeng Guofan felt sad after listening to the sixth brother's narration.

"Wen Fu, why are you going to fight in Luzhou? I want you to go to Anqing with Chun Ting." Zeng Guofan asked after adding a cup of tea for the sixth younger brother. "Brother, this was my mistake. Di'an also advocated going south to encircle Anqing. I want to go south after conquering Luzhou." Wen Fu did not hide his fault, which made Zeng Guofan feel the sincerity of the sixth brother. "Is there anyone in the military who has a different opinion on the attack on Sanhe?" Zeng Guofan, who has always been careful about talents, wanted to use this to find talents with insight.

"No one in the army mentioned it, but a scholar who came to Sanhe as a guest broke into the camp and admonished him, saying that Sanhe should not be attacked, but Lujiang should be attacked instead." "What's this person's name?" Zeng Guofan asked with some surprise. "This person calls himself Zhao Liewen, styled Huifu, a native of Yanghu, Jiangsu, and lives in Quanjiao. He is young, in his twenties and thirties." "It's rare, it's rare." Zeng Guofan patted the table lightly, and said with emotion, Zeng Guohua blushed, and shouted: "Brother, let me go back to Xiangxiang to recruit five thousand brave men. If I, Zeng Guohua, don't report This enmity is in vain for a man in the world!" "Keep your voice down!" Zeng Guofan hurriedly waved his hand to stop it as if he had been taken aback.The sixth brother's majestic words not only failed to attract the appreciation of the eldest brother, but also made the strong family affection when they met disappear, replaced by full of anger: it was because of violating the original plan for fighting that the war was inflicted. This unprecedented fiasco.The elite was wiped out, the plan to march into central Anhui was completely bankrupt, and the future was full of difficulties. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, how much pressure he was under!He really wanted to scold the sixth brother, even slap him twice, to vent the depression in his heart.But he didn't do that, he just stared blankly at Wen Fu without making a sound.Zeng Guohua saw that his eldest brother didn't respond to his words, so he said it again: "Brother, how about I go back to Xiangxiang to recruit bravery in a few days?" "Wen Fu, you are too disappointing!" After looking at it for a long time, Zeng Guofan finally couldn't help uttering a sentence slowly. "Brother, I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for Di'an and the dead brothers, I'm guilty, the crime is serious. I want to go to the battlefield again, and kill the thief to make amends!" Zeng Guohua uttered his own cry from the bottom of his heart.He knew very well that his fault was too great, and this gentle reprimand from his elder brother was not enough to punish him, but he wished to be severely punished with a hundred sticks. "Alas!" Zeng Guofan sighed for a long time, the remorse of the sixth brother diluted the resentment in his heart, and a feeling of pity emerged spontaneously.Wen Fu himself didn't understand the current situation at all!Can he appear in front of everyone?The entire army was wiped out, but his younger brother, the deputy commander who was directly responsible, survived. How could Zeng Guofan explain to the world?How to explain to the emperor?Without Wen Fu's death in battle, how could there be any "one family of loyalty" award!Although Wen Fu ruined the grand plan to enter central Anhui, he earned the Tian family's Kuangdai Long favor for the Zeng family.How much Zeng Guofan, who led troops to fight, needed this honorable status to resist suspicion from all sides!Its effect is far greater than the five thousand Xiangyong that Wen Fu recruited again!How to deal with the younger brother who survived the accident? To live up to the grace of God and let him continue to live in the world, Zeng Guofan was thinking hard. Seeing that the eldest brother remained silent for a long time, Zeng Guobao persuaded the sixth brother: "Don't be in such a hurry. You are in poor health and can't lead the army. Go home and rest for two or three months before talking about it." "No!" Zeng Guohua stood up suddenly, resolutely asked again, "Brother, just promise me!" Zeng Guofan smiled wryly, picked up the manuscript of "Mother and Brother Wen Fu's Lament" on the table, handed it to Zeng Guohua and said, "Wen Fu, it's a pity that you died in Sanhe more than a month ago." Zeng Guohua took the condolences, glanced at them, tore them into pieces, and said with a smile: "That's a rumor, haven't I been here properly?" "No, you died long ago." Zeng Guofan repeated.Looking at the stern and cold face of his eldest brother, it was clear that he was not joking, Zeng Guohua's heart suddenly turned cold, and an inexplicable fear emerged. "Brother, why are you saying this? I'm not dead, I'm not dead!" Zeng Guohua cried miserably. "Don't shout!" Zeng Guofan stopped majestically, with obvious contempt in his tone, Zeng Guohua immediately shut up. "You can tear up the mourning speech, can you tear up the emperor's decree?" Zeng Guofan found out the cabinet's copy of the decree from the cabinet.When Zeng Guohua saw it, his face turned pale. "After Sanhe's defeat, Di'an's body was found very quickly. I have been waiting for you for more than 20 days, but there has been no news. I have sent people to investigate but have not found it. I can only conclude that you are dead. The whole army was wiped out. As Di'an, you His deputy can only be justified if he dies in battle. Therefore, I will report to the emperor that you have died heroically for the country." Zeng Guofan said slowly and heavily.Zeng Guohua could see that the eldest brother was suppressing the great pain in his heart, and when he heard the last sentence, he had goose bumps all over his body.The eldest brother continued: "Heaven's grace is very commendable, and I will give you a gift. Not only will you be posthumously a Taoist priest, but you will also be rewarded with a second-rank seal for your uncle. I have stated a few days ago that my uncle has already been rewarded with a first-rank reward. The introduction will surely be honored. Especially because of your martyrdom, the emperor personally wrote the four characters of "a family of loyalty". I have ordered my family to make a plaque and hang it on the golden hall. Shine brightly. Now that you are going to return home alive, how will I explain to the emperor, and how will our Zeng family explain to the emperor?" "Brother, please pay homage to the emperor again and tell me the reason why I survived. Please take back all rewards, okay?" Zeng Guohua asked tentatively. "You speak so lightly!" Zeng Guofan glanced at his sixth brother and said displeasedly, "Who can bear the crime of deceiving the emperor?" "It wasn't intentional." Zeng Guohua argued. "Even if it wasn't intentional, everyone in the world knows that you, Zeng Guohua, are a great man who killed himself and became benevolent, and the emperor is a benevolent and righteous king who treats heroes preferentially. Now that you are not dead, wouldn't the world laugh at you! What will this do for the emperor? place?" After a short pause, Zeng Guofan said sadly, "Wen Fu, when the golden plaque of 'One Family of Loyalty' is taken down from the Golden Hall, think about it, how much shame it would bring to my Zeng family!" Zeng Guohua shuddered again, he never expected that the matter would be so serious.After pondering for a long time, he asked his elder brother: "So, in this life, I can no longer be brave enough to kill thieves, avenge my revenge, and make my name famous?" "I can't." Zeng Guofan replied softly. "Okay!" Zeng Guohua made the greatest determination, "Tomorrow I will go back to the lotus leaf pond in common clothes, work on the fields, study in class, and spend my whole life." "You can't go back to the lotus leaf pond." "Why?" Zeng Guohua became frightened. Could it be that it's not okay to be an ordinary person who stays with his wife, concubines and children?He simply couldn't understand it. "Hey, Wen Fu, you are thirty-six years old this year, why are you still so ignorant?" Zeng Guofan frowned and said, "Sanhe was defeated, almost every family in Xiangxiang County lost their relatives, and every household summoned their souls. In the bottom of my heart, who doesn't hate Di'an and you to death. It's your incompetence that caused them to lose their relatives. If you die with them, my Zeng family can still feel a little at ease. You have not died yet and returned home , What face do you have to see the elders in your hometown? And I, Xiangyong, have always hated people who escaped from the enemy camp the most. You said you escaped by yourself, who will testify for you? The villagers will say that you caused the death of your brothers. You surrendered to the enemy and begged for your life. At that time, everyone will criticize you, Zeng Wenfu, and you will die without illness!" Zhen Gan wanted to say a few words for the sixth brother, but after hearing what the elder brother said, he was too scared to speak again. "I can't take courage, I can't go home, am I really going to die?" The three brothers sat silently for a long time, and Zeng Guohua uttered a word in despair. "Wen Fu, where are you thinking?" Zeng Guofan got up, walked to the side of the sixth brother, gently patted the shoulder of the sixth brother, and said softly, "You are my real brother, why would the elder brother ask you to die. Brother has thought of a way out for you, I wonder if you are willing?" "Brother, please clarify." Zeng Guohua had no idea at all, and could only rely on his elder brother. "Mr. Chen Guangfu, do you still remember?" Zeng Guohua nodded. "A few months ago, he came to Jiangshi Street to meet with me and told me that after leaving Xiangxiang, he would go back to Lushan Huangyeguan to live in seclusion. You go to him and worship him as a teacher, and you will work in Huangyeguan for the rest of your life. People. Mr. Chen is a person who is detached from the world, you can tell him the whole story, he will not blame you, and he will not make it public. What do you think?" Zeng Guohua couldn't help trembling, tears streaming down his face.This Sixth Master Zeng, who has a great ambition for fame and a strong desire for the world, heard that he will be with the yellow scroll and green lantern for the rest of his life, and be friends with the ancient wooden mountain monkey. Let's go, so I had to reluctantly agree: "Brother, let me quietly go back to the lotus leaf pond, and then go to see Uncle and Shou'er!" "Wen Fu, don't blame elder brother for being unreasonable. You really can't go home. Leave this place as soon as it's dark and don't let anyone see you. After a while, I want Zhengan to go home and tell my uncle the truth. Arrange for them to meet you at Huangyeguan. After the long hair is calmed down, brother will go to Huangyeguan to see you." Zeng Guofan cried unknowingly as he spoke.Guohua hugged her eldest brother and burst into tears, while Zhenqian was also sobbing beside him. Zeng Guofan ordered Zhengan not to wake up the cook, quietly served some cold rice for Guohua to eat, packed some clothes, and gave him a hundred taels of silver.Then, holding the sixth brother's shoulders with both hands, his voice choked up, and it took a while before he said four words: "Brother cherishes it!" Guohua was speechless and could only nod his head, reluctantly leaving the barracks. After the sixth brother left, Zeng Guofan closed the door again and had a long secret talk with Mandi.The next day, Zhenqian personally went to the Sanhe battlefield to find the remains of the sixth brother.After more than 20 days, I came back, followed by a coffin.As soon as he arrived at the gate of the barracks, Zhengan burst into tears, causing the brave men to come out to watch.Zhenqian walked into the room, cried and fell down in front of the eldest brother, shouting: "Brother, the skeleton of the sixth brother has been found, but it's a pity that he lost his head!" "How did you find it? You won't admit your mistake!" Zeng Guofan asked in surprise. "Where can I go wrong! Don't say that the limbs are still there, even if they are burned to ashes, I can recognize them." Zeng Guofan held the coffin and wept bitterly, while asking someone to open the cover.Zeng Guofan saw that the man lying in the coffin had all four limbs intact except for his head.He pulled open the left trouser leg of the deceased, saw a three-inch long scar, and immediately shouted: "Wen Fu, you are back after all, brother has been looking for you so hard!" After all, he burst into tears again.After crying for a while, he said to the people around him: "When Wen Fu was eight years old, he climbed up a peach tree by the pond to pick peaches and ate them. I was afraid that he would fall into the pond, so I shouted at him. He I was so frightened that I quickly jumped down from the tree, and my leg was accidentally cut by a branch, and it rotted for two months before it healed, and this scar has been left since then. I have been guilty of this for nearly 30 years." As he spoke, he shouted to the deceased again: "Wen Fu, my good brother, you sacrificed your life for your country and died heroically. Big brother is sad for you, and big brother is also proud of you!" Zeng Guofan cried more and more, causing the onlookers to groan. After Yang Guodong, Peng Shouyi and others tried their best to persuade them, they finally stopped. At night, Zeng Guofan set up a simple mourning hall for Wen Fu.Xiangyong generals came to express their condolences in an endless stream, and Zeng Guofan recited the condolences to Wen Fu's priest.And from the next day, he ate a seven-day fast for the sixth brother.In the early morning of the eighth day, Zhenqian escorted Wen Fu's coffin back to Xiangxiang with more than 20 brave men, and Zeng Guofan personally delivered it to Xujiang Wharf.