Chapter 46 The victory news of the capture of Jinling three times brought Zeng Guofan two or three points of joy and seven or eight points of sadness

At 3 o'clock in the middle of the night on June 18, Zeng Guofan finally finished reviewing the mountains of documents.He walked out the door and into the backyard.But seeing the sky full of stars and moon, everything is still, I feel a little bit of peace in my heart.The day before yesterday, I received a letter from the ninth younger brother, telling me to dig tunnels around the city of Jinling, and the city was broken in a few days.He looked at the night sky and said in his heart: "Ninth brother, elder brother can't attack the city and kill thieves with you, let's read a famous article for you to help!" That one is coming.He hoped that the ninth younger brother, like Zhou Yu who burned Chibi back then, won the victory in conquering Jinling, and would also shine in the annals of history in the future.Zeng Guofan chanted softly at first, and then gradually became more excited, and even chanted loudly.

"My lord, just now the courier sent an urgent letter from Master Jiu." Jing Qi walked over holding a letter. "Give it to me!" Zeng Guofan's heart skipped a beat, and he delivered the letter late at night, which had never happened before.Military plans are changing rapidly and are unpredictable. Could it be that something happened to Jinling?Zeng Guofan's heart almost reached his throat.Contrary to his usual habit of cutting letters, he snatched the envelope from Jing Qi's hand and tore it vigorously, his hands trembling slightly. The envelope was so strong that he didn't tear it once, but he tore it again.The letter came out, and it was Yuanfu's own handwriting: "At noon on the 16th, my Jizi camp smashed the city wall and captured the outer city of Jinling..."

"Jinling City is broken! Jinling City is broken!" Zeng Guofan murmured twice, then he felt a mouthful of phlegm welling up in his chest, his eyes darkened, and he fell to the ground.Jing Qi didn't know what happened, so she rushed forward in a panic, helped Zeng Guofan up with both hands, laid him flat on the bamboo bed, wet a towel with cold water, and wiped his face and hands.Jing Qi was sweating profusely, touched Zeng Guofan's hand, but it was cold and chilly.Jing Qi was scared. "Where are you going?" Jing Qi was about to go out when Zeng Guofan woke up. "My lord, you are always awake." Jing Qi was very happy, and hurried to the side of the bamboo bed, "My lord, I was scared to death just now, seeing that you are not awake, I am going to call the eldest son."

"Okay, don't call him, I'm fine. You go to bed too, and don't tell anyone about my passing out just now, do you hear me?" Jing Qi agreed, closed the door, and went to sleep in the side room next to her.Zeng Guofan lay on the bamboo bed, deeply ashamed of his gaffe just now.Reading "Book of Jin" on weekdays, I once praised Xie An, "The younger generation has already broken the thief", and praised it several times.It was a major battle that related to the survival of the country and the rise and fall of the Xie family, and there was no certainty in advance. When Xie An received the news of his nephew's success, he still finished playing chess and only slowly said such an understatement.What kind of mind, what kind of bearing!Zeng Guofan had also imagined many times that one day when he received the good news from his ninth younger brother from the Jinling front line, he would casually tell the staff around him like Xie An did, but just now... Fortunately, only Jing Qi was by his side , Even my son didn't see it, otherwise, it would be widely spread as a laughing stock, and passed down to future generations.

After getting a little more comfortable, Zeng Guofan no longer wanted to lie on the bamboo bed. He got up and put on some clothes, sat on a chair, looked at the jumping lights, fascinated and dreamed.He recalled the night when he talked with Luo Zenan about practicing bravery in Xiangxiang County, the prophecy of Guo Songtao and Chen Fu, the oath he made when he resigned from his father by the side of his mother's coffin, and when Mo Yu came out of the mountain, and he remembered receiving Bao Qibao, Tao Enpei, etc. in Changsha City. People's bullying, I think of the blessings given by the descendants of Chuanshan Gong when they presented the sword, I think of the hardships of Jiangxi for several years, I think of the shame of committing suicide by drowning, I think of the frustration of returning to Heyetang to guard the tomb, I think of the defeat of Sanhe after my comeback, I think of Mandi Thinking of the days and nights that my ninth brother had been worried about since he besieged Jinling, I had mixed feelings.The more Zeng Guofan thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became, and finally he couldn't help crying.He felt strange, such a long-awaited and long-awaited happy event really came, why did it bring him only two or three points of joy, but seven or eight points of sadness?

Early the next morning, Jize came to his father's room to say hello.I saw my father sitting in front of the desk, copying Liu Shi'an's "Qing Ai Tang Tie" as before.In Jize's view, the handwriting written by his father is enough to form a family of his own, and there is no need to learn other people's handwriting.Zeng Jize, who had always admired his father extremely, felt even more respectful now as he watched his father's head oozing with thin beads of sweat. "Hello, Father!" Jize repeated what he said every morning. "How long have you been up?" Zeng Guofan asked, without raising his head, but still writing.

"It's been half an hour." Ji Ze replied respectfully. "Where did you walk today?" Zeng Guofan stipulated that his son should go for a walk outdoors after getting up in the morning, and walk a thousand steps after dinner. "I didn't go far today, I just walked around the small pond outside the west gate." "Your ninth uncle sent a letter last night." Zeng Guofan continued to write. "What did Uncle Jiu say in the letter? Did the battle go well?" Jize asked eagerly. "Jinling has been captured by your ninth uncle." Zeng Guofan wrote a horizontal line vigorously while speaking, his face was as calm as if nothing had happened.

"Uncle Jiu took down Jinling!" Jize couldn't believe it, and then he felt that the tone was wrong, could he still doubt his father's words?My father often taught himself to be sincere and respectful, and to be diligent. Sincerity and respect never start from lying, and diligence starts from never getting out of bed.Could my father still lie?Not to mention such a big thing!Ji Ze was very excited and shouted loudly: "Jinling has been captured!" "A third!" Zeng Guofan reprimanded majesticly, "Screaming and making a fuss, what a shame!" "Yes!" Jize realized what he shouldn't have done.My father always said that you should behave in a dignified way, how come you forgot!

"Go and tell Yang Guodong, Peng Shouyi and others, I will wait for them here." In less than a meal, the whole city of Anqing knew that Jinling had been captured.The yamen of the governor of Liangjiang was decorated with lanterns and fireworks, and firecrackers burst into the sky. The aides and staff members played their crowns and celebrated each other in a happy atmosphere.There was an endless stream of congratulators to Zeng Guofan's signing room, and the sound of congratulations and praises filled the ears.Zeng Guofan always received him with his usual dignified and calm attitude, but with a faint smile on his face.

A few days later, Zeng Guoquan sent another detailed letter, reporting that the inner city had also been taken, and attached a thick recommendation letter.Peng Shouyi and others drew up a report according to the content of this letter.Zeng Guofan has always been very cautious in the review of manuscripts. Today's note is unusual. He closed the door, declined all guests, and carefully considered every word. The manuscript was naturally well drafted.The organization is clear, the sentences are fluent, and the preparations for various sieges since June, especially the brave siege of various people and horses on the 16th and the fierce fighting after entering the city, are written concretely and solidly, and the primary and secondary details are detailed. It was very appropriate, although it was longer than the previous memorials, but such a happy event should be longer.If it is lacking, it is that a major event is avoided in the manuscript, that is, the whereabouts of the false young master.Zeng Guoquan said in the letter that the fake young master was rumored to have escaped from the city, and some said that he had set himself on fire in the palace, but this has not been confirmed so far.Peng Shouyi and others couldn't make up their minds about how to word this.This is a big deal.Since it has been written that the false heavenly king died of taking poison, how can we not mention the false young master?Zeng Guofan thought, the false young master is a child under the age of sixteen, what can he do in such a panic, the possibility of death is extremely high, even if he escapes from the city, he will inevitably die.In order to make the victory appear more complete, Zeng Guofan added a sentence in the middle: "After the city was destroyed, the false young master accumulated salary in the palace and set fire to himself." Thinking about it, it feels inappropriate, because there is no conclusive evidence after all.He also added the seven words "According to the confessions of the thieves in the city" in front of it. This is really not the case in the future, so there will be a turnaround.Zeng Guofan read the revised manuscript again from the beginning to the end, and felt that the description of the matter was clear, but the meaning was still unfinished.Throughout the ages, how many such memorials can there be!At that time, the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy decided to write a moving text to follow, so that it could match the great feat of conquering Jinling, and become a famous melody that will be spread all over the world and will last forever.

Zeng Guofan paced around the room with his hands behind his back, stroking his recently sparse long beard from time to time, muttering in his mouth, then sat at the table, concentrated for a moment, picked up his pen, and added a paragraph at the end of the manuscript: "The minister waits for you. Cha Hongni advocated chaos in the west of Guangdong. It has been ten or five years now, and Jinling has been stolen for twelve years. It has been poisoned in the sea, and the gods and men are indignant. The martial arts of our dynasty surpassed those of the past, and we have repeatedly eliminated catastrophes. In the battle of Jiaqing, Sichuan and Chu, only four provinces were ravaged, and less than ten cities were occupied. In the battle of Kangxi's San Francisco, only twelve provinces were ravaged, and more than three hundred cities were occupied. Today's changes in Guangdong bandits have ravaged as many as sixteen Province, fell to more than 600 cities, and among them the fierce chieftains, such as Li Kaifang guarding Feng Guantun, Lin Qirong guarding Jiujiang, and Ye Yun came to guard Anqing, all of them were unyielding. This time Jinling City was broken, and none of the more than 100,000 bandits surrendered Those who gathered people to set themselves on fire without any regrets are indeed rare drama bandits in ancient and modern times." Comparing the Battle of Sichuan and Chu and the Battle of San Francisco, it highlights the great contribution to the pacification of Changmao. Zeng Guofan felt that this passage was indispensable, but he was afraid of boasting and attracting objections, so he simply Add another paragraph: "However, the pawns can make peace in order to eradicate the original evil. The ministers and others deeply cherish the cause. It is because of our emperor Wen Zongxian, Sheng De Hongmo, who was the root of the chaos. Although the palace ban is extremely frugal, he does not hesitate to recruit soldiers "Although famous utensils are extremely prudent, they do not hesitate to break the rules to reward meritorious service; although temple calculations are extremely precise, they do not hesitate to subdue themselves to follow the general's plan. The empress dowager and the emperor keep these three, and they are all added from the old chapter. Go to Xie Miguo, Seeking the virtuous and wide-ranging, using the ability to eliminate the latent and fake, will become the cause of Zhongxing. The giants steal military talismans and meet with occasional meetings. I regret that my Wenzong is too late to witness the day when the offering is completed, and I think it will take too long for people to die. Carefully, wipe out the remaining bandits, and share the worries of the night and day with the difficulties of Su and Li." After writing it, Zeng Guofan read it again, and felt that this memorial was seamless and perfect. He was especially satisfied with the three parallel sentences below "Although the palace ban is extremely frugal", he thought that today's officials in Xinjiang can write this A few words don't come much. The manuscript has been revised, but there is still a problem of titles, and the staff cannot make decisions.Logically speaking, Zeng Guoquan, Peng Yulin, and Yang Yuebin would be the best with Zeng Guofan as the leader. Zeng Guoquan made the greatest contribution and should be placed in the forefront of the ranks; Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin captured Jiufuzhou and cleared the river, which directly guaranteed the land attack.But Zeng Guofan thought deeper.Since he came out of the mountain in the second year of Xianfeng, whenever there was a big victory, he never led alone in the middle of the victory.When Taqibu was there, he took the lead with Taqibu and put the tower in the front; after the death of the tower, when Anqing was captured, he led with Hu Linyi and pushed Hu to the front.In doing so, Zeng Guofan not only showed the court that his merits are not exclusive, won unanimous praise from the court and the public, but also received the help of Ta and Hu.This time, he took the victory over Jinling, and instead of taking the lead alone, he took the official document of the governor of Huguang, and put the official document first, and he was second. After the report has been processed, review the recommendation form again.The recommendation form Zeng Guoquan sent was as many as 32 pages, with nearly 2,000 people.Zeng Guofan knew that there were many people like Jin Yimin among them, and he expected that such excessive recommendation would inevitably lead to criticism in the future, but now he had to report it as such.From the recommendation list, he thought that the ninth brother was ecstatic for some reason.The more successful you are, the more modest and prudent you must be, and this point, the ninth brother who has been unrestrained since childhood, will never think of it.We should go to Jinling immediately.Zeng Guofan thought.Suddenly, there was a piercing bird cry outside the window.He opened the door and saw that it was a group of magpies flying around the pavilion in the courtyard in panic and screaming.The gazebo was in disrepair for a long time and was about to collapse. The steward of the mansion ordered it to be demolished and rebuilt.Now several people are moving and demolishing the magpie's nest built on the top of the pavilion with bamboo poles.Seeing the dead branches and thatch in the nest fall to the ground one after another, and the eggs of the birds fell to pieces one by one, the magpies circled the gazebo and howled mournfully and frightenedly.On a happy day, it is not a good thing to see such a tragic scene in the Governor's Yamen, Zeng Guofan was stunned.He called Jing Qi over and said, "Go and tell them, don't demolish the gazebo, don't destroy the bird's nest, sweep up the broken eggs, don't let these magpies look sad."