Chapter 23 Ancient temples in the six deserted suburbs meet Yicai

When Li Xiucheng's troops came to Wuning, they learned that Chen Yucheng had withdrawn his troops from Huangzhou Prefecture.He had reluctantly accepted the military plan to encircle Wuchang for thousands of miles, but now that the troops had withdrawn from the north bank, he just made an excuse not to implement it, so he immediately stopped advancing.He recruited 300,000 exiled and hungry people in Wuning, Tongshan, and Chongyang, and led his troops back east.The military plan to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao was aborted like this.A month later, Chen Yucheng realized that he had been fooled, but it was too late to regret.

In the blink of an eye, it was July, and the autumn wind was blowing again. It had been one year and three months since Zeng Guoquan surrounded Anqing.Zeng Guofan was worried, and took Kang Fu and others to inspect outside Anqing City. From Dongliu to Anqing, there is only more than a hundred miles of waterway, and we will arrive at the South Gate Wharf in the afternoon.Guoquan and Zhengan didn't know what the elder brother was doing beforehand, so Zeng Guofan and his party, dressed as ordinary people, went ashore quietly and looked along the outer trench before they went to the river to greet him.

It is very quiet inside and outside the city.But the trenches are wide and deep, filled with bamboo sticks, between the two trenches, barracks are connected, and there are many forts. From time to time, you can see Xiangyong carrying ammunition, wiping knives and guns, and occasionally sentry teams gathering for drills.Zeng Guofan silently praised in his heart.As we approached the Ximen area, there were more hotels and restaurants, and most of the people who came in and out were drunk Xiangyong officers and soldiers.Next to the hotel is a smokehouse.Zeng Guofan looked in from the small window: in the dark room, there were dim lights of fire everywhere. On the kang built of earth bricks, a few smokers were lying in disorder like corpses, with untied coats and sabers piled beside them.Undoubtedly someone from the barracks!Zeng Guofan felt sick for a while.As soon as he turned his face, he saw three young women with powder and grease standing in front of a dilapidated hut on the opposite side, smiling and waving to him.Zeng Guofan was so angry that he turned around and left, accidentally colliding with the person who came in front of him.

"Blind old man, you are going to kill!" Zeng Guofan looked up, and there was a man reeking of alcohol standing in front of him, who was swearing at him.The man was holding a young woman in his right hand and a wine gourd in his left. Zeng Guofan couldn't tell whether he was Xiangyong or a commoner.Kang Fu rushed forward, pointed at the man and said, "You lawless bastard, who are you scolding!" "I killed you!" The man shook off the woman beside him, and pulled out a knife from his waist.Zeng Guofan saw that it was a waist knife engraved with "Kill the ugly people and be loyal to the king. Gift from Zeng Guofan".He couldn't help yelling "ashamed", and hurriedly pulled Kang Fu away.

The engraved waist knife presented by Zeng Guofan for the first time in the fourth year of Xianfeng was deeply loved by the generals of Xiangyong. Later, he personally presented it twice.Anyone who gets the waist knife is regarded as a hero by Xiangyong.Afterwards, the personnel of Xiangyong greatly expanded, and Zeng Guofan was unable to award gifts one by one, so he built them together, and the commanders of each army presented them on their behalf. At the beginning, the control was very strict, but it gradually loosened over time.These waist knives are especially popular with Ji characters, and they are indiscriminate.

Zeng Guofan didn't want to go on tour anymore, so he asked Kang Fu to report.When Zeng Guoquan heard this, he hurriedly brought his younger brother and a group of battalion officials to greet him.Zeng Guofan saw that his two younger brothers were besieged by the wind and dust, and the battalion officials were also full of weather, so he couldn't bear to criticize him. At the reception banquet, he praised Jiziying and Zhenziying greatly.In the evening, in the bedroom, he said solemnly to his two younger brothers: "In the past, when I taught you composition and writing, I always emphasized the word 'Qi'. The writing seeks to prosper, and the characters seek to be consistent. If the writing is not prosperous, although the reasoning is sufficient, His writing is not well-known; his style of writing is incoherent. Although his writing is methodical, his writing is not good enough. The same is true for leading troops.

The word 'Qi' is the most important in the barracks.As a leader, you should always cultivate new energy and courage in the army, and cleanse old energy and inertia.War is an extremely bitter and fierce event, mourning is like attending a funeral, and respect is like receiving a great sacrifice, this is the atmosphere in the army.Therefore, there should be no signs of joy in the army, let alone joy in the middle of the mulberry. If you are arrogant and lewd, you will definitely be defeated.In the past when Tian Shanzhi was in Jimo, the generals had the will to die, but the soldiers had no spirit of life. That's why they broke Yan and restored the army.And when attacking Di, the golden horizontal belt, shouting in front and hugging in the back, the soldiers have the joy of life, and have no desire to die. Lu Zhonglian will never win.The siege of Anqing has not made much progress for more than a year. The reason is that the morale in the army is not correct.Tomorrow, all restaurants, smoking halls, and brothels outside the front trench will be strictly ordered to be removed, and all officers and warriors will be trained in the trench. Anyone who goes out of the trench without permission will not be forgiven! "

Guoquan and Zhenqian respectfully obey the elder brother's orders.A few days later, the weather in the barracks really changed a lot. On this day, Zeng Guofan was still in casual clothes, took Kang Fu with him, and went outside the front trench to check for himself.Along the way, the original smokehouses, restaurants, brothels have been closed, and the densely populated places in the past are now obviously depressed. The Xiangyongs I saw were all sentry officers who brought their partners to buy oil, salt and vegetables. No longer a whore and a drunk.Zeng Guofan was quite satisfied.Since he knows his mistakes and can correct them, and acts swiftly and resolutely, it seems that the two younger brothers are worth cultivating.I like it for a while, seeing the shade of the mountains and forests in front of me, and the long stream flowing, I don't feel a sense of wandering.He said to Kang Fu: "I have heard that Anqing has beautiful mountains and rivers for a long time, let's go to the front and have a look!"

Kang Fu accompanied Zeng Guofan to the forest.Sure enough, the forests are verdant, and the stream is crystal clear, which can really remove dirt and turbidity, and cultivate one's emotions.Although the mountains and rivers are good, the human affairs are frustrating.It was the season of rice harvesting, but there was dense rice and grass in front of my eyes, and the fields were barren. After walking two or three miles, I saw a few old men and thin women weakly plucking the grain, and there was no one in the fields. "War is really a sinful thing!" Zeng Guofan said to himself softly.

Behind the mountain mouth is a mountain depression. Kang Fu pointed to the distance with sharp eyes and said, "Master Zeng, there is a small house under the big cypress tree in front of us. Let's sit there and ask for a bowl of water!" The two walked closer and saw that it was a small temple with three words written across the temple gate: Hongyi Temple. Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "I have never seen such a temple name." "I'm afraid this is based on Zeng Zi's words: a scholar must be ambitious, and there is a long way to go." Kang Fu guessed.

"The monk is illiterate, so I asked the scholars to choose the name of the temple. The scholars did not understand Buddhist scriptures, but only Confucius and Mencius, so they chose these two characters from them, resulting in the temple name combining Confucianism and Buddhism. Do you think so?" Zeng Guofan asked. "I think it may be a frustrated person with lofty ideals who once lived in seclusion here. In order to motivate himself, he simply changed the name of the original temple to this name. Anyway, this place is remote, few people come, and he is not afraid of being condemned by others. .” Kang Fu put forward his opinion. "What you said makes sense. This is an insoluble case." Zeng Guofan said as he entered the temple gate. This temple is really small, as small as a room of one foot square.On the front is a small Bodhisattva about a foot high. In front of the Bodhisattva is a stone incense burner with a few sticks of incense stuck in it.There is a bed on the left, several rows of books are neatly stacked on the bed, and a scabbard hangs on the wall. It is really a three-foot sword and half a bed of books.On the right is a desk and a stool. There are pens, ink, paper and inkstones on the desk. In the middle there is a page of rice paper full of characters. A vermilion agate lion paperweight is pressed on it, which is particularly eye-catching.A couplet is hung on the wall in front of the book case: "Look at the sword while drinking wine, and read at night while burning incense." "Okay, well written!" Zeng Guofan praised, and said to Kang Fu with a smile, "You are still right, there is a hermit living here now." "Where did this hermit go?" Kang Fu looked around, pointed to the little Bodhisattva and said, "My lord, there is another door here." The door was ajar, and opened with a push.Outside the door was a square of earth, and a man was facing away from them, dancing a sword on the earth.That sword dances so well!It advances like lightning and retreats like a gale. It flies up and down, left and right, and draws a dazzling silver plate, just like the mid-autumn moon falling into the world. "Good sword!" Kang Fu was stunned and praised him out of pity. "Who?" The man hastily put away his sword and turned around to ask. Zeng Guofan saw clearly now that the sword dancer was in his thirties, with a fair face and beardless, and a moderate build. Just like what was written in the couplet, he was a scholar who liked to dance swords, not a boxer and knight in the world.Zeng Guofan disliked those swordsmen who wandered the rivers and lakes the most.When he was in Qimen, there was a man who came to join him and called himself Xu Yinqiu, a famous hero in Anhui Province.Wu Yi is indeed very good, but Zeng Guofan doesn't accept it.The staff asked him why.He said that most of these swordsmen are rascals and hooligans, with more evil than good, and they don't follow the law. If they stay, they will ruin military discipline.If there are no famous knights left, there will be no one like knights to join us. "We are two passing guests. We want to ask for a bowl of water here. I offended a lot just now, please forgive me." Kang Fu replied. "Ah, it's two guest officials, please sit in the room!" The man generously let Zeng Guofan and Kang Fu into the room and asked while pouring tea, "Listen to the accent, the guest officials don't look like locals?" "We are from Hunan. We heard that Anqing is fighting a big battle, so we came here to see it." Zeng Guofan thought to himself that this person must not be an ordinary person, and deliberately revealed his identity to him. "The guest officer is too courageous. There is nothing to see in a place where there are wars and murders." The man said with a smile. "Wouldn't it be more courageous for one of you to study and work hard in the ancient temple in the wilderness beside the battlefield?" Kang Fu interjected, with a look of admiration in his eyes. "To be honest, I've been waiting here to meet someone. It's been three months and I haven't had a chance." The man spoke frankly. "Who do you want to see?" Zeng Guofan asked curiously. "Commander of Xiangyong Jizi Battalion Zeng Jiuye Zeng Guoquan." Zeng Guofan and Kang Fu were startled at the same time, and looked at each other. Kang Fu was about to answer when Zeng Guofan spoke first: "Why do you want to see Zeng Jiuye?" "I want to tell him to break the law of Anqing." The man didn't hide anything. "Why don't you go to him?" Kang Fu asked strangely. "In the eighth year of Xianfeng, I personally broke into the tent of Zeng Jiuye's brother Liuye Zeng Guohua and told him not to attack Sanhe and instead attack Lujiang. Zeng Liuye didn't listen to me, and the whole army was wiped out. Later I concluded I have learned a lesson, and the commanders of these troops probably look down on those who recommend themselves. I changed my approach this time and lived here for a long time. I think there will always be a chance to see it.” This man's words brought back Zeng Guofan's memory. Didn't Wen Fu say that that night? "Are you from Yanghu, Jiangsu?" Zeng Guofan stared at each other with glowing eyes. "Yes. I am from Yanghu." The man was surprised. "Your name is Zhao Liewen?" Zeng Guofan asked further. "Exactly! How did the guest officer know?" The man became more and more surprised, and also stared at Zeng Guofan. "Mr. Zhao, I have been friends with you for a long time. I don't want to meet you here today. What a blessing!" Zeng Guofan stood up excitedly and walked to Zhao Liewen's side. "Guest officer, who are you?" Zhao Liewen also stood up, holding Zeng Guofan's hand. "Mr. Zhao, he is Mr. Zeng, the eldest brother of the sixth master and the ninth master." Kang Fu introduced. "Master Zeng!" Zhao Liewen nodded and bowed, "My lord, Wan'an, villains have eyes but don't know Mount Tai." "Get up, get up!" Zeng Guofan helped Zhao Liewen up, "Mr. Zhao, please pack up your books and swords, and let's go to Jiuye's barracks to talk together." Hearing that the person who came was Zhao Liewen who prevented the attack on Sanhe that year, Guoquan and Zhengan looked at him differently.After eating, the three Zeng brothers asked Zhao Liewen for advice on how to break Anqing. Zhao Liewen said calmly: "Long-haired guarding the city, there is an old saying, that is to guard the danger but not the danger. That is to say, the best soldiers and generals are placed in the dangerous places outside the city, but the old, weak, sick and disabled inside the city. We need to start here. Anqing's danger is first at Jixian Pass outside the north gate. After breaking Jixian Pass, half of Anqing City is in hand. The second is at Linghu Stone Fortress. After Linghu Stone Fortress, Anqing is an isolated city. Not going out In ten days and a half, even if there is no attack from outside, internal strife will surely arise." Zeng Guoquan interjected: "We have fought Jixianguan several times. The stone barrier is solid, and Liu Zhenlin is extremely fierce. This hard bone is not easy to chew." Zhao Liewen smiled and said: "A hard attack on Jixian Pass won't work, so another method must be adopted." "Mr. Huifu, if you help us break the Jixian Pass, my brother will definitely recommend you." Zeng Zhenqian said.That night, he heard with his own ears that Brother Six had mentioned Zhao Liewen.In his mind, this person is a strange person. "I don't dare to recommend it." Zhao Liewen said modestly, and continued, "The 5,000 people in Jixianguan are indeed the elite of Anqing's guards. Team brothers, but there are loopholes to take advantage of." "Who is Cheng Xueqi?" Zeng Guofan asked. "It's this person who broke Jixianguan." Zhao Liewen's words greatly raised the mood of the Zeng brothers. "I have been in Anhui for the past few years, and I know a lot about this person. He is from Tongcheng, and he was cast in the province for five years in Xianfeng." "Who else is in Cheng Xueqi's family?" Zeng Guoquan asked.An idea suddenly popped up in his mind: arrest Cheng Xueqi's family members as a threat. "Cheng Xueqi has no one in his family anymore. Both of his parents died when he was young." "Oh!" Zeng Guoquan was very disappointed. "After his parents died, Cheng Xueqi relied on begging for a living. He grew up in the low class and became a master of martial arts. He became king and hegemony in Tongcheng County and did evil. Everyone from the county yamen to the common people was afraid of him. The county magistrate Mingli couldn't help him. So he resorted to a secret trick and used money to buy off a few rascals in Lujiang City. One day in March of the fifth year of Xianfeng, Cheng Xueqi celebrated his 26th birthday, and those rascals took him to Lujiang for a drink. After drinking in the middle of the night, Cheng Xueqi was very drunk. The hooligans tied his hands and feet tightly, carried him to the river, stabbed him in the chest a few times, and immediately the blood flowed all over the ground.Seeing that he was dead, the scoundrels left.In the early morning of the next day, an old woman surnamed Mu in the suburbs of Lujiang went to wash clothes by the river, and saw a big man covered in blood moaning.The old woman Mu was startled, and immediately went home to call her son Mu Laosan.Mu Laosan carried Cheng Xueqi home, and as soon as he entered the room, he passed out again.The old lady Mu wiped away the blood and washed the wound, and the youngest Mu picked some herbal medicine to apply on him.Cheng Xueqi woke up, remembered what happened last night, and was extremely grateful for the life-saving grace of the Mu family's mother and son. He immediately recognized the old lady Mu as a godmother, and worshiped the old lady Mu.A month later, Cheng Xueqi returned to his original position. He knew that he had too many enemies and could not survive, so he simply voted for Long Mao.Cheng Xueqi is capable, he is not afraid of death in battle, he is very appreciated by Chen Yucheng, he is promoted every year, and now he is the supervisor of the army.Cheng Xueqi gained power among the thieves, and a group of ruffian brothers all came to join him, and most of them became officials.Cheng Xueqi doesn't show affection to anyone, but he never forgets the kindness of the Mu family's mother and son.These years gave the Mu family a lot of money, but the Mu family refused to admit it, probably because they were afraid of causing trouble. " Zeng Guofan said: "Cheng Xueqi's ability to repay the kindness of the Mu family shows that his conscience has not been completely wiped out." Zhao Liewen said: "That's exactly what your lord said. I think if Cheng Xueqi can be bribed, and he is required to make trouble internally and cooperate externally, Jixian Pass can be broken." The Zeng brothers all thought it was worth a try, so they asked Zhao Liewen to go to Lujiang first to find Mu Laosan and inquire about Cheng Xueqi's recent situation. A few days later, Zhao Liewen returned from Lujiang and reported to Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan: According to Mr. Mu, Cheng Xueqi has been quite restless recently. , the supervisor has not been promoted for more than a year, he is dissatisfied, and has doubts about Anqing's ability to hold on.After hearing this, Zeng Guofan was overjoyed and said, "This person is available." The three of them discussed carefully in the middle of the night. The next night, Zeng Guoquan brought Peng Yuju, Li Chendian and Zhao Liewen to Lujiang City.After some threats and temptations, the Mu family's mother and son finally gave in.Using the command arrow given to him by Cheng Xueqi, Mu Lao San entered the fourth stone base outside Jixian Pass unimpededly to meet his sworn brother. "Brother Cheng." Mu Laosan said with a mournful face, "Mother is seriously ill, and I'm afraid she only has a day or two to live. The old man talks about you all day long, and wants to see you before he dies." Cheng Xueqi said: "The godmother has great kindness, and logically I should go to die, but the war is urgent, and I can't leave. How about this, you take two hundred taels of silver to make the funeral of the godmother more beautiful." After all, immediately ask the soldiers to fetch the silver.Mu Laosan became anxious and said, "Brother Cheng, I don't care about the money. You give it away on weekdays, and we store it there. Mother wants to see you. You have to go anyway, ride a horse, and you can come back the day after tomorrow. " Cheng Xueqi thought for a while and said, "Okay, I'll go there right away." Early in the morning, the two set off on two fast horses. Anqing was only two hundred and fifty miles away from Lujiang River, and they arrived at dusk.Mu Laosan took Cheng Xueqi to his mother's bedroom.Cheng Xueqi opened the door and looked, but he didn't see the godmother, so he became suspicious.Just as he was about to ask a question, Peng Yuju and Li Chendian rushed in with big knives in their hands.Cheng Xueqi knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly drew his sword from his waist, but Peng Yuju had already pulled the sword away.Cheng Xueqi asked angrily: "Who are you?" Then he turned his face and asked Mu Lao San, "Old San, what's going on?" At this time, Zeng Guoquan walked towards the door of obedience, dressed as a fourth-rank Taoist priest.Cheng Xueqi asked in surprise, "Who are you?" Zeng Guoquan laughed and said, "General Cheng, I have admired you for a long time!" Mu Laosan hurriedly said: "Brother Cheng, this is Master Zeng Jiuye, Commander of Xiangyong Jizi Battalion." Shocked and frightened, Cheng Xueqi turned around and was about to go out, but Mu Laosan grabbed him and said, "Brother Cheng, Mr. Zeng Jiu is here to see you, and we have something important to discuss." Seeing that the door was closed, Cheng Xueqi thought that he would not be able to get out, so he had to stand still. "Sit down, sit down so you can talk." Zeng Guoquan's face shape and facial features are all like that of a big brother, except for his two eyes, which are slender, and when he smiles, they become two lines.Cheng Xueqi sat down reluctantly, his heart beating like a drumbeat, and he slowly calmed down when he saw that Zeng Guoquan had no malicious intentions. "I've heard for a long time that General Cheng is brave and courageous, with clear grievances and grievances. He is a real man. He only surrendered to become a thief out of necessity. My brother and I deeply feel sorry for General Cheng." Cheng Xueqi was still at a loss as to what this deadly enemy was going to do. "General Cheng, why do you need to be called a thief?" Seeing that Cheng Xueqi didn't speak, Zeng Guoquan continued, "My brother has long admired General Cheng's name, and he wants me to use this method to invite the general. I don't think you will." Blame it. Wang Shi has surrounded Anqing for more than a year, and reinforcements from all walks of life are coming in. Chen Yucheng's troops are trapped in the north of the Huache River and cannot move south. Li Xiucheng's southern road has retreated to southern Jiangsu, and Anqing will soon be conquered. I heard that General Cheng was bullied by old thieves from Guangdong and Guangxi in the long hair, and he was very frustrated, why not fight back and turn to the light instead of the dark?" Zeng Guoquan stared at Cheng Xueqi, the murderous look in his eyes was exactly the same as that of his elder brother. Cheng Xueqi became nervous again, and thought to himself: So I was asked to return to the imperial court, it seems that if I don't agree today, I won't be able to leave the house, a hero doesn't suffer the immediate loss, so it's better to pretend to agree. "Master Zeng, it's a great honor to meet you at your godmother's house today. I've also heard that Master Zeng is a hero, and he really deserves his reputation. It's really a last resort for me to vote for long hair. My grandfather is also a little famous in Tongcheng County. I often think: I will die in the future, and I don’t know how to meet my ancestors in the underworld. I have long wanted to go to the court, but I have no chance. I don’t know if Zeng Jiuye wants me to go with you now, or after I go out. Bring people back?" Zeng Guoquan said: "If General Cheng sincerely submits to the imperial court, the imperial court will still sincerely believe in you. You should go back first this time, and respond internally when you have the opportunity. We will attack inside and outside and take down Jixian Pass. I brought a set of uniforms for a lieutenant general today. .” Zeng Guoquan turned to Peng Yuju and said, "Take it out and show it to General Cheng." When Peng Yuju brought out a brand-new second-rank lieutenant uniform, Cheng Xueqi's eyes lit up, especially the blooming coral top on the hat, which made him look at it for a long time.Although the official position of the supervising army is not low, it is not as honorable as the lieutenant general of the imperial court, Cheng Xueqi's heart is moved. "General Cheng, this set of deputy general's uniform is temporarily stored here with your godmother. After Anqing is broken, I will put it on for the general myself." "Willing to serve the Nine Commanders!" Cheng Xueqi stood up, bowed to Zeng Guoquan, and then rode straight to Anqing.