Chapter 49 Sixth, I would rather risk the displeasure of the world than to teach others the truth

These days, Li Xiucheng wrote his self-report in the wooden cage at a rate of about 7,000 words per day.Every evening, a soldier took away all the paper he had written that day.Early the next morning, I brought a few more sheets of the same paper.These papers are all yellow bamboo paper of the same color, about five inches wide and eight inches long, divided into thirty-two lines, folded in the middle into two pages, and the words "Jizi Zhongying" are printed on the middle seam.All the self-reports written by Li Xiucheng were sent to Zeng Guofan.He has been so busy these days that he never rests for a moment, and there are already seventy or eighty pages on the desk.Today he abandons all trivial matters and wants to concentrate on reviewing it.Li Xiucheng's handwriting was very sloppy, with many typos, and Zeng Guofan seemed to be struggling.In the past two years, his eyesight has become worse and worse. His right eye often hurts, his eyesight is extremely poor, and his left eye is not as good as before.He found a magnifying glass imported from the West, and read each word. For some words, he had to work hard to guess, which turned out to be very slow.Until late at night, there were still four to five thousand words of the confession of more than 30,000 words. He was dizzy and couldn't hold on any longer. He walked out of the signing room and went for a walk in the backyard.The yard is cooler and people feel more comfortable.

Li Xiucheng’s self-report was written from the birth of the king of heaven, including the establishment of the God Worship Association, the uprising in Jintian Village with Yang, Feng, Xiao, Wei, and Shi, all the way to fight Yong’an, Changsha, Wuchang, and finally Jinling, establishing the capital and establishing the country Then write about your own life experience, how you participated in the uprising army, and your military exploits over the years; then write about the process of breaking the siege of Tianjing six times and the achievements of managing Suzhou and Changzhou; Doing foolish loyalty for the king and so on.Zeng Guofan often lamented that a person who had only studied in a private school for three years could write down the military affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in such a short and orderly manner in such a short space.Superman memory, outstanding talent, shrewd handling of affairs, skillful use of troops, loyalty to master, these aspects are rare in the world.Such an all-rounder general, not to mention that the Eight Banners and the Green Camp cannot be found, even in the Hunan Army. Zeng Guofan even felt that he was not as good as Li Xiucheng in all these aspects.It's a pity, it's a pity that such a young man mistakenly cast himself into the darkness!Especially when he read the sentence "today's court affairs have been decided, it doesn't take much effort, the first thing is to prevent ghosts from rebelling", Zeng Guofan couldn't help putting down the paper and thinking about it for a long time.

After walking around the backyard a few times and returning to the room, Zeng Guofan was still sleepy, and continued to read Li Xiucheng's self-report.Suddenly, a few lines of words jumped into his eyes and caught his attention: "There is a holy treasury in Tianjing City, which is the private collection of the king of heaven, and the elder brother and the second brother of the king each have a treasury. It is said that there are rare treasures in it, but I haven't seen it." Zeng Guofan was greatly disturbed by these few lines.As early as a few years ago, people were spreading such a saying: Jinling was built by long hairs into a small paradise, where gold and silver are like a sea, and wealth is like a mountain.Therefore, many people coveted it. It is said that the reason why Hechun, Zhang Guoliang and others besieged the city desperately was to get this property.Yesterday, accompanied by Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guofan went to Zhu Hongzhang's barracks.Entering the door, there is a lot of noise inside, three or four big boxes are open, pearls, silver coins, silk and satin are scattered all over the ground.Seeing Zeng Guofan brothers come in, everyone was frightened and at a loss.Zhu Hongzhang quickly covered the lid of a big vermilion box, sat down on it, and looked at Zeng Guofan with a smirk.

"Zhu Zhentai, what are you doing?" Zeng Guofan knew about it, and was about to teach him a lesson, when Zeng Guoquan hurriedly said, "Zhu Zhentai, you played so hard that you even used the box as a bet. "Zhu Hongzhang came to his senses after saying "hmmm" twice, left the box and stood up, still smirking and said: "Master Zhongtang, I don't know you're here. In two days, I will prepare a table of thin wine for you. Please do me a favor." "Okay, okay! You mean what you say, and Zhongtang and I will come to the banquet in two days." Zeng Guoquan laughed, and pulled Zeng Guofan out of the gate while laughing...

Yes, gold and silver treasures, long-haired gold and silver treasures, how did Yuanfu deal with them?During the past few days in Jinling, I haven't had the time to discuss this matter with him in detail. "Jing Qi!" Zeng Guofan shouted.Wang Jingqi came over. "You go and ask Master Jiu to come over." "Old Nine, I've read most of Li Xiucheng's confession, so you can read it too when you find time." After Guoquan sat down, Zeng Guofan praised Li Xiucheng's self-report. "How can I have such leisure time at this time." Zeng Guoquan said with a contemptuous attitude, "A green forest bandit who can't read well can write something."

"Old Ninth, although Li Xiucheng doesn't read much, he is well-organized and his knowledge is superior to others. Even you and my brother may not be able to surpass him in terms of personal talent." "Brother, you raised him too high." Zeng Guoquan sneered. For this younger brother, the eldest brother couldn't be more clear.Talking about a long-haired leader who was defeated by him, that is, Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin, Li Hongzhang, etc. who are recognized as talented today, he doesn't pay attention to them.Now that he has made such a great achievement, he is even more complacent and supercilious.This made Zeng Guofan deeply worried.He knew he couldn't be persuaded, so he pointed to the passage just now and said, "Look at what Li Xiucheng said."

Zeng Guoquan took this page over and looked at it, his face a little uncomfortable: "We haven't seen any holy treasury or treasure house." He said and threw the paper on the table. "Old Jiu, I have been so busy these days that I forgot to ask you. Before the city was broken, did you tell the soldiers that gold and silver treasures are not allowed to be privately owned? After the city was broken, did you take any measures? Necessary measures to protect?" "No." Zeng Guoquan answered simply. Zeng Guofan felt very uncomfortable.In the past, he would immediately turn black and say a few words heavily, but now, he thanked his brother from the bottom of his heart for earning such a big face for him, and he also sympathized with his hard work in attacking the city.After a short pause, he still asked in an amiable manner: "Old Ninth, it has long been rumored that there are so many gold and silver treasures in Jinling City. Although there was no time to protect them in the days after the city was broken, they can still be sealed up by order."

"Brother, I gave you an order before you came to Jinling." Zeng Guoquan said lazily, with an expression of displeasure. "That's good, that's good!" Zeng Guofan hurriedly praised. "But all the battalions came to report that they didn't see any property belonging to Changmao. The little paradise, the gold and silver like the sea, are all fake." "Fake?" Zeng Guofan was taken aback. "It's like a mountain like a sea. Of course, it's too much. It's impossible to have nothing at all. What I'm worried about is the chaos in the first few days when I first entered the city, and all the gold and silver went into their own pockets."

"Brother is right." Zeng Guoquan's attitude became serious, "Changmao has been running the puppet capital for more than ten years. If you say that it has no gold, silver and treasures, ghosts will not believe it. These battalion officials can still hide what they say. Me? I knew in my heart that they must have entered the private house. But I didn’t talk about them, and said, “Forget it if you don’t”!” "I can't do without tracing. You have to know how many people inside and outside the government are staring at this property. The Ministry of Household Affairs has already passed on the word that it will rely on this money to pay the arrears. Even I will wait for this money to come to Bao. Chao, Zhang Yunlan, and Xiao Qijiang have been in arrears for several months. Bao Chaoting has not been paid for five months. That day I asked him to follow the false young master's escape route to the south, but he was still unwilling. Guarding the treasury in Jinling and distributing the money, I promised him to make it up this month before he left." Zeng Guofan said it was true.

"The Ministry of Households is waiting for the money from Jinling to pay the arrears!" Zeng Guoquan sneered, "Why don't those grown-ups come and fight themselves?" "Old Jiu, you're going too far!" Zeng Guoquan's domineering attitude made Zeng Guofan a little angry. "How is it too much? Brother." Zeng Guoquan said disapprovingly, "The lords of the household department are sitting in the capital to enjoy the blessings, how do they know our suffering!" Zeng Guoquan said excitedly, "Brothers risked their lives to fight Jinling , What exactly is the plan? It is said that it is for the recovery of the emperor's territory, the emperor should appreciate it, and rewards are based on merit! Brother, how has the emperor rewarded us these years? I have 50,000 soldiers in Jizi battalion. There are more than 300 named admirals, more than 800 named general soldiers, and more than 1,000 named lieutenants. How many people are missing? There are only five people in total. Brother, there are only five people!" Zeng Guoquan stared at his brother with his eyes like a dead person unwilling to rest in peace.Zeng Guofan felt that these two gazes were so cold and stern, which made him feel cold all over his body in the midst of the turmoil. "There is no real vacancies, vacancies are useless! There are more than 10,000 people queuing up to wait for the vacancies. I am afraid that they will not be able to get in the queue. As for the brothers who have not been recommended, they don't even think about it. Brother, Jiziying is not much better than Tingziying, and the brothers have not paid their wages for two or three months. Everyone is staring at this little paradise, so they fight with all their lives! The imperial court treats us So ruthless, now that the brothers have conquered Jinling by themselves and got something from the spoils, what’s wrong? As a commander, I still have the heart to go after it? The boxes in Zhu Hongzhang’s barracks were full of gold, silver and jewels. If you can pretend not to know, let them divide it."

These words made Zeng Guofan speechless. After a long pause, Zeng Guoquan calmed down and said in a calm tone, "I don't care if the Ministry of Households asks for money. I feel at ease. My elder brother can't give you money if you ask for it. I feel uneasy. However, big brother, don’t be too soft-hearted. Bao Chao, Zhang Yunlan, Xiao Qijiang each have their own way, and which one of them doesn’t just take down a city and loot it, making the city like a grate. Same? Brother, don't listen to their complaints. I know that guy Bao Chao, and the Tingzi Camp will not starve to death if they don't pay for another five months.In the future, no matter whether the imperial court comes to ask or other people come to ask, the eldest brother just says that Jinling City is empty, and Jiziying didn't get a tael of silver. " "If you want me to say that there is no gold and silver in Jinling City." Although Zeng Guofan disagreed with his younger brother's words, he felt that there were no more reasons to convince him. Those principles of integrity and serving the country are right now for the commander of the Jiziying , It's all empty talk and nonsense that doesn't have any effect, and for the soldiers of the 50,000 Jizi Battalion, it's like farting. Not only will it not arouse their loyalty, but it will make them even more indignant towards the court. "But Li Xiucheng has already said that there are sacred treasuries and treasure treasuries in Jinling City." "He said it, what's the use of it!" Zeng Guoquan never seemed to regard Li Xiucheng as a role. "Why is it useless? If he said this to the court, it would be a big deal!" "How can I let him talk nonsense, give him a knife, and it will be over." "It's not that simple, Yuan Fu." Zeng Guofan looked at his younger brother and shook his head slightly, "The imperial court has known that Li Xiucheng and Hong Renda have been arrested, and I think they will be taken to Beijing for interrogation by the Ministry of Criminal Justice. " Zeng Guoquan felt that the matter was serious, especially Hong Renda, who would not only tell about the holy treasury and treasure house, but also the treasures of Yulinyuan.That night, Zeng Guoquan took a few confidants and secretly dug up three jars of rare treasures in the Peony Garden of Yulinyuan. If these treasures were exchanged for silver, the Zeng family would not be able to use them up in ten or eight lifetimes. "Li Xiucheng and Hong Renda will be executed tomorrow!" Zeng Guoquan resolutely said. "I'm afraid it won't work!" Zeng Guofan said softly, "It was stated in the last memorial that whether to offer prisoners or execute them on the spot will be decided by the imperial decree." "Brother!" Zeng Guoquan stood up abruptly, and said in an undeniably tough tone, "I must not let these two jumping clowns ruin the great event of my 50,000 soldiers in the Jizi Battalion. I, Zeng Guoquan, would rather risk the disgrace of the world. You can’t give people any excuses either. Li Xiucheng and Hong Renda were captured by me, and I will execute them on my order tomorrow. From now on, there will be a big relationship, so you can just push it on me, brother!” After that, he left without saying hello the door.Zeng Guofan sighed inwardly, and silently agreed to his disposal. In the future, if Li Xiucheng is not the culprit, he can use the example of supporting Chen Yucheng and Shi Dakai for not offering prisoners, and he can also use words such as fear of hunger strike or being robbed on the way to prevaricate.But Li Xiucheng's confession must be reported. How can such words be seen by the court?Zeng Guofan picked up a pen and erased the words "Holy Library". After all this trouble, Zeng Guofan's review became more careful, and after reading a few pages, the wrong words came out again: "I have selfish jealousy, and the two families are fighting at the same time, so I can't hide it, so I was killed by two traitors." Get it, and bring it here." How can this work?Zeng Guofan remembered that in his report to the imperial court, he wrote: "The false loyal king committed a crime, the city was broken and injured, and he hid in a private house in the mountains. Xiao Fusi personally searched for it on the 19th night." Not only did Xiao Fusi lose his credit, but he also committed the serious crime of deceiving the court and taking credit for himself. He took a pen and changed the nine words "I was captured by two traitors" to "I was captured by Zeng Shuai's chasing soldiers." " Read on, Zeng Guofan couldn't help being stunned, only to see Li Xiucheng wrote impressively: "The criminal general Xie Zhongtang will not kill Hou En, and is willing to recruit hundreds of thousands of old troops from all over the country to the Zhongtang command to work for the recovery of our Han family. "This damned prisoner, isn't this instigating me to rebel?Where is the gratitude for my kindness, it is clearly sending me to the guillotine!He blotted out the sentence severely.After a while, I felt that it was not right, so I simply cut it off with scissors and burned it on the lamp.As the note turned into ashes, Zeng Guofan's whole body became sore and limp, and his eyes were dim and painful.Only then did I realize that it was almost dawn, so I stacked dozens of pages of confessions, locked them in a bamboo box, and decided to read them from the beginning tomorrow, word by word, and erased everything that was inappropriate. Just burn the whole page! Zeng Guofan was lying on the bed exhausted, but couldn't fall asleep. He suddenly thought of Hong Tianguifu who had fled outside, and felt very uneasy.Failure to catch this long-haired young heavenly king was, after all, Lao Jiu's biggest omission. He must have fled south and would go to Jiangxi to find Li Shixian, passing through the lands of Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, and Shen Baozhen along the way.If he dies halfway, that's fine, if he is caught by Li, Zuo, Shen and others, it's not in vain to let them steal a great achievement!Old Nine, Old Nine, were you dazzled by the victory of taking down Jinling City, or were you fascinated by the treasures of Little Heaven, why didn't you keep the gap?After learning that the principal culprit had escaped, why didn't he send capable men to chase after him?And now, it's too late!