Chapter 54 Relying on the sky to shine on the sea, there are countless flowers, the flowing water and the high mountains are self-aware

It turned out that Zeng Guoquan drew the word "Zhao" on his palm.There is no doubt that this refers to Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, who was turned into a yellow robe by Chen Qiao. "Yuanfu, you're crazy!" Zeng Guofan said angrily, looking coldly at his younger brother who was blushing with emotion. "Brother." Zeng Guoquan lowered his voice and said anxiously, "I've thought about this matter since Anqing was taken down. I also know that Runzhi, Xueqin and Zuo Zongtang have all tempted you by side-talking. It's right for Big Brother to disagree at that time. Yes, because the time has not come yet, and now the time has come. Jizi Daying captured Changmao's lair that has been entrenched for more than ten years. The army is invincible in the world. All the Eight Banners and Green Battalion are not our opponents. Now the imperial court wants to track down the whereabouts of gold and silver , There are complaints from the top and bottom of the Jizi camp, and it is a good time for us to take advantage of it. The Jizi camp has 50,000, the Xueqin and Hou'an sailors have 20,000, Bao Chunting's 20,000, Zhang Yunlan and Xiao Qijiang's 30,000, the 120,000 People are the confidant of the eldest brother, plus Li Shaoquan's Huai army, as long as the eldest brother comes to the stage, everyone will follow. If Zuo Zongtang does not follow, kill him! Brother, you give this team to me, no In two years, I promise that all the people in the world will surrender to Big Brother." The more Zeng Guoquan said, the more complacent he was, and the more Zeng Guofan listened, the more gloomy he looked.Zeng Guoquan thought to himself, elder brother has always been cautious, how could he make such a big decision so easily, keeping silent is just thinking in his heart.He further teased, "Brother, since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, only Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong have had armies in their hands. These armies have always been a thorn in the court's side. Later generations said that Wu Sangui was restless and rebellious. In fact, how did they know that it was It was forced out by the imperial court."

Zeng Guofan was startled, he felt that what his younger brother said made sense, and he had also accused Wu Sangui in the past.It may also be true that what Yuan Fu said was true, Wu Sangui's rebellion was forced out. "The imperial court is also forcing us." Zeng Guoquan gritted his teeth angrily, "Leaving more than a thousand people, what is it compared to taking down Jinling? What is the intention of reprimanding so harshly? The constant pursuit of the whereabouts of the long-haired gold and silver is nothing more than saying We embezzled it privately, so that we can copy the family for the future. Brother, the 120,000 Hunan troops are in your hands. The imperial court is unwilling to eat and restless! The birds are gone, the good bows are hidden, the cunning rabbits are dead, and the lackeys are cooking. I can’t think of today. It's our brother's turn." After Zeng Guoquan sighed heavily, he said to Zeng Guofan viciously, "Brother, why did we bother to come here! Do you want to be fish on someone else's chopping board? He told me that when the new house was built and the beams were put on, the carpenters all sang: The governor of Liangjiang is too small, and he wants to be the emperor in Beijing. They also said that what the grandpa dreamed was not a python, but a dragon, and he lied because he was afraid of being traced by the government. It’s a boa constrictor. Brother.” Zeng Guoquan tugged on Zeng Guofan’s sleeves, he was so nervous that he couldn’t speak, and it took him a long time to spit out slowly, “You are the real Dragon Emperor!”

Zeng Guofan sat across from him, listening to his brother's creepy heartfelt words, he felt chills all over his body.He suddenly realized that he couldn't be allowed to talk endlessly, as long as one sentence in it was reported, it might immediately lead to annihilation of the family.At this time, I was already disturbed and upset, and it was difficult to convince him. There is only one way, and that is to leave immediately. "Old Jiu, your mood is a little out of order today. It may be caused by dampness and poison in your heart. You calm down and lie down. I will call someone to see you." After finishing speaking, before Zeng Guoquan could answer, he said in a hurry gone.

Back in the room, the first thing to do is to ask Jing Qi to call Sheng Si. "Sheng Si." After asking the truth, Zeng Guofan was very angry, "You are also in your thirties, why are you so stupid; you can say such things casually? If you are not my own nephew, I will tell you today. I'll kill you with one knife!" Sheng Si was so frightened that he knelt at the uncle's feet and kowtowed. "You go back to the lotus leaf pond tomorrow morning and warn those nonsense people that if anyone dares to say a word about being the emperor and the real dragon emperor, fourth master will cut off his tongue. Do you understand?"

After dismissing Sheng Si, Zeng Guofan regained his composure.He lit a piece of requiem incense, sat cross-legged on the bed, and thought deeply about everything that had happened in the past two days.Most of Lao Jiu's analysis is correct, but it is absolutely unacceptable to be Zhao Kuangyin himself.This was the fifth time Zeng Guofan had heard such words. The first time it came out of Wang Kaiyun's mouth, he was overwhelmed by it.The second time was the persuasion and temptation of Peng Huzuo and others, but he ignored it.The third time was when Wang Kaiyun acted as a lobbyist for Sushun, which he regarded as arrogance.The fourth time was Wang Tao's ignorant and gossip, which he reprimanded unceremoniously.Could it be that this time the time is ripe as Yuan Fu said?A sneer appeared on the corner of Zeng Guofan's mouth.Timing, for him, there is no possibility of maturity in this life.In this regard, he is much more sober than all the people who persuaded him to win the championship.If it is said that the imperial court is weak and incapable of dealing with Changmao's uprising, the corruption of officials, the decline of people's livelihood, and the bullying of foreigners, then the defense against the Han people, especially the Han people with heavy troops, But they are scheming and heavily guarded.Emperor Xianfeng inquired about Wang Shiquan's gift of the sword. On the eve of Hengzhou's dispatch of troops, he was downgraded to a second-level punishment. The Efu was just appointed and then hastily revoked. Deyin Hangbu was sent from Shengjing to the military camp, and Duolong'a came to Wuchang from Jinling. The piles of past events were engraved deep in Zeng Guofan's mind, and they popped up from time to time, hurting his heart.Although the strength of the Hunan Army has an absolute advantage in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and southern Anhui, Guan Wen, Feng Zicai, and Du Xing'a are all around, especially Seng Gelinqin's Mongolian cavalry.All of this seems to have been deployed to guard against the Hunan Army, and when the Hunan Army has any signs of rebellion, it will be surrounded on all sides.There are also Zuo Zongtang and Shen Baozhen, who are governors and have made great military exploits. Their dissatisfaction with Zeng Guofan has long been exposed.

It can be said that from the day when Zeng Guofan had thousands of regiments of bravery in his hands, the imperial court had been very wary of him. Not only has it not weakened, but it has strengthened with the prosperity of his reputation and achievements. If it is against the imperial court, the first person to stand up and resolutely oppose it is someone inside the Hunan Army, and this person must be Zuo Zongtang, who is defiant and looks down on the world. Zeng Guofan thought to himself, Lao Jiu is too simple, not only Lao Jiu is not as good as him when it comes to fighting, but at present, there is no one in the country who is his opponent.At that time, Zuo Zongtang was in a very favorable situation. It would be much easier to gather the food and troops of the whole country to destroy the Hunan army of the Zeng family than to defeat Changmao.

After burning one stick of incense, Zeng Guofan got out of bed to stretch his sore legs, lit another stick, and sat cross-legged on the bed again, continuing to think about it just now. Even if he was lucky enough to wear the yellow robe on his body, this arrogant, stubborn and vicious old nine, since he can put the yellow robe on his shoulders, he can take it away at any time.The sound of the ax and the shadow of the candle, the mystery of the ages, isn't the old nine Zhao Guangyi?The eldest of the Zeng family, who has always known his brother well, is 100% sure that his judgment will not be wrong.Zeng Guofan's upper and lower rows of teeth moved left and right in his mouth, making a slight rubbing sound, his cheeks tightened and loosened at times, and his eyes were dull and indifferent.Let me bear the eternal infamy of a traitor and traitor, but he easily passes it on to his descendants and sits firmly in the country. The old nine's calculations are too precise.Like the light smoke of requiem incense curling upwards, it became weaker and weaker until it disappeared. Zeng Guofan saw his younger brother more and more clearly until he saw through his internal organs and the depths of his spiritual palace.

Yes, Zeng Guofan can't be a traitor like Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, Wang Mang, and Zhao Kuangyin who has no father, no king, and commits rebellion.Thirty years ago, he was just a peasant boy in the village of Heyetang. He was as humble as a grass by the side of the road and as humble as a dog under a table. , Aren't they all from the grace of heaven, from the royal family?With the help of everything it has given itself, betray it and oppose it, where is the conscience?If you fail, of course you will be infamous for thousands of years, not as good as pigs and dogs; even if you succeed, aren't all the words you said about loyalty and respect in the past all lies to deceive the world?Wouldn't those earnest family education that admonished their children become negative teaching materials for future generations?Lifelong ambitions and eternal fame, Zeng Guofan will never be allowed to have the slightest thought of disobedience!

What's more, Jinling has been captured, and the whole country hopes to end the war as soon as possible, and turn the sword into a hoe. If he raises the flag of rebellion again, won't he drag thousands of people into the blood again? Out of the conscience of a Confucian believer, Zeng Guofan was unwilling to do this either. The column of smoke that rose straight up suddenly broke, and the second stick of incense had already been burned. There were too many issues to ponder carefully, so Zeng Guofan had to get out of bed and light another stick.Since he didn't follow what Yuan Fu said, he had to be more cautious in everything, and he had to gain the full trust of the court.Zeng Guofan thought that the most worrying thing for the court was the more than 100,000 land, land and Hunan troops under his command.Hundreds of military camps are all privately funded by generals, and there is not a single ship in the three thousand miles of the Yangtze River that does not fly the Zeng flag. This has never happened in this dynasty.On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep peacefully?Which dynasty and generation of kings are not like this!Moreover, the performance of the Hunan Army after entering the city was enough to disappoint Zeng Guofan.Even if such an army does not withdraw, it will not be able to fight.It is better to cut 580,000 yuan, which will not only reassure the court, but also get rid of a heavy burden.

The other is to stop dissolving lijin.The Lijin incident was the most unpopular, suffering hundreds of millions of people and fattening thousands of bureaucrats.Now that Jinling has been conquered, if we continue to understand Lijin, it will inevitably lead to people's resentment and offend the local government.The first to withdraw is the Hunan Eastern Expedition Bureau!After making these two decisions, Zeng Guofan felt a little relieved.As soon as he got out of bed, he remembered another important event: this year is the provincial examination, and the Gongyuan must be repaired immediately to catch up with the current provincial examination.

In the early Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan Province was set up, including Anhui and Jiangsu. In the sixth year of Kangxi, these two provinces were divided into two provinces. However, the township examinations were not separated and they were always together. Therefore, the number of admissions was more than that of other provinces, and because of the gathering of talents, heroes came out in large numbers. , the number of Jiangnan candidates is the most among the top three tripods, so the Jiangnan Township Examination has always attracted the attention of the world.Since Jinling fell into the hands of the Taiping Army, the Jiangnan Provincial Examination has been interrupted for more than ten years. During this period, Xianfeng only opened a subject once in Hangzhou in the ninth year of Xianfeng, and because of insufficient admission places, he lost the opportunity to take the examination. After regaining Anqing, Zeng Guofan planned to set up an examination shed in Anqing to separate Anhui from Jiangsu, and first conducted a single rural examination in Anqing, but failed due to the unrest in northern Anhui and the lack of scholars.Those young students in Jiangnan who are eager to become an official look eagerly at other provinces opening courses to obtain scholars.As soon as this matter was made public, I don't know how many people jumped for joy, bursting into tears! If the first thing is enough to remove the vigilance of the imperial court, and the second thing can block the tongues of the people all over the world, then this thing has won the hearts of scholars all over the country!Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan finally got rid of the suffocating burden and felt much more relaxed. "My lord, Xiao Junmen brought more than 30 generals to knock on the door, saying that he has something important to report." Jing Qi opened the door and came in, and stood aside with her hands down after speaking. What are they doing here?Zeng Guofan sat on the chair, thinking in his heart, and slowly combed his beard with one hand.After combing up and down several times, a slight smile appeared on his face. "Changing clothes!" Zeng Guofan got up, and Jing Qi immediately brought the court clothes.In addition to kneeling to receive imperial edicts, important meetings, and New Year's greetings, Zeng Guofan usually only wears casual clothes when meeting his subordinates: in winter, he wears a black cloth cotton robe and a caramel-colored mandarin jacket. Precious leather robe.That year when Tianjia Town was conquered, Emperor Xianfeng rewarded him with a mandarin jacket with fox legs. He only tried it on once to show his acceptance of the holy grace, and sent someone back to the lotus leaf pond the next day to treasure it.In summer, they always wear black or off-white cloth gowns, and they do not wear silk underwear.Today Zeng Guofan was uncharacteristically, wearing a tight court uniform in hot weather, sitting majestically on the tiger-skin chair, his eyes looking straight ahead like lightning.Seeing this scene, Xiao Fusi and others felt a little timid in their hearts. "What do you all want me to do?" The strong Xiangxiang mandarin was generous and loud, echoing in the hall. Xiao Fusi, Zhu Hongzhang, Liu Lianjie, Peng Yuju, Zhu Pinlong and others sat there, you looked at me, I looked at you, no one dared to speak first.Xiao Fusi pushed Peng Yuju lightly, and said in a low voice, "You are Zhongtang's old cousin, tell me!" Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Peng Yuju clearly seemed to be pushing him to stand out.He thought, it seemed that it was his duty, so he straightened his clothes, stood up and said: "Master Zhongtang, all the generals were discussing in the barracks, saying that the imperial court forced us to pay money, but in fact there is no one, and they don't know what to do. Come and ask your Excellency." After speaking, he secretly glanced at Zeng Guofan.I saw Zeng Guofan's hazel eyes staring at him, like two sharp knives stabbing at his heart.Peng Yuju panicked and sat down hurriedly, her heart beating non-stop. "Peng Yuju!" Seeing Zeng Guofan calling him, Peng Yuju stood up subconsciously. "What do you think?" Peng Yuju couldn't answer for a while, looking around at the crowd, Liu Lianjie pouted at him, signaling him to speak boldly. "My lord, there is indeed no gold and silver in Jinling City. Where did the generals find it? They all want to ask your lord to give the empress dowager and the emperor a discount, so as to avoid this matter. I think so too." Peng Yu After Tachibana plucked up the courage to say this, he felt his legs go weak and couldn't wait to sit down. "It is said that Jinling is a small paradise with long hairs, gold and silver are like seas, and wealth is like mountains. You have nothing to say, will the empress dowager and the emperor believe it?" Zeng Guofan still combed his beard, and his tone was calm. "If there is nothing, there will be nothing, and it can't be changed!" Liu Lianjie muttered. "Don't push us into a hurry. If you are in a hurry, you will jump over the wall!" Seeing Zeng Guofan's silence, Zhu Hongzhang spoke a little presumptuously. "Master Zhongtang!" Xiao Fusi stood up and said loudly.He has already smuggled two shipments of goods back to his hometown in Xiangxiang. If the court investigates seriously, not only will the two shipments of goods not be obtained, but his title will also be cancelled. Fate, we will come to Jinling in a few days, we can't wait for him to mess around." "What do you think we should do?" Jiang Ning General Fu Ming came to Jinling to inspect the city. Zeng Guofan had already heard about this matter and was also worried.He asked Xiao Fusi. "Seal the thirteen gates and don't let him in!" Xiao Fusi yelled. "Fuming Alai came to Jinling to inspect the city. If you don't let him in and resist the court, wouldn't that be rebellious?" Zeng Guofan asked peacefully. "Rebellion is rebellion!" Peng Yuju saw that Zeng Guofan had not reprimanded them all the time, thinking that he supported them in his heart, and he became bolder, "My lord, the first is to be strong, and the second is to suffer. It has been like this since ancient times. The rogue gambler Zhao Kuangyin can ascend the throne in yellow robes, My lord's meritorious deeds are great, and the world is at home, why don't you take this opportunity to restore the Han family's rivers and mountains!" "Presumptuous!" Zeng Guofan was so angry that he slapped the table violently and shouted, "Someone is here, arrest this daring traitor!" Immediately, two soldiers came out, Peng Yuju stood up with her head held high, and let the soldiers bind her without arguing or resisting.Xiao Fusi glanced at the crowd with his eyes, then stood up, walked to Zeng Guofan's seat, knelt down on both knees, and the other generals who came with him also knelt down and shouted together: "Please forgive me, my lord!" "Nine Marshals, please!" Zeng Guofan ordered loudly.After a while, Zeng Guoquan got up in a hurry, was shocked by the scene, and hurriedly stood beside his elder brother with his hands down and asked, "What crime did Xingnan commit?" "Yuanfu, Peng Yuju uttered wild words, no father and no king, how do you deal with it?" "Brother!" Zeng Guoquan looked up at Peng Yuju, and said majesticly, "Don't blame Xingnan, and don't blame the brothers, I told them to do it. Big brother..." "Stop talking!" Zeng Guofan waved his hand angrily to stop him, "Jing Qi, paper and pen will serve you!" Wang Jingqi came out with a pen and inkstone in one hand and a stack of white paper in the other. "No, change to a larger pen, a big red paper!" Jing Qi came out again after entering the house.Zeng Guofan stared at the red paper with golden cloud patterns spread out on the table, concentrating for a long time, and then wrote a couplet with a pen.After finishing writing, he threw the pen on the inkstone, looked around at the crowd, turned and left without looking back. Zeng Guoquan and the others stood or knelt in a daze until they could no longer hear footsteps, and then went to the desk one after another. They saw the words written on the quilt: "Depending on the sky, there are countless flowers in the sea, and the flowing water and high mountains know themselves." Some sighed, some were speechless, some were touched, some were numb, some savored carefully and nodded frequently, and some sneered and shook their heads.Zeng Guoquan was annoyed at first, then awe-inspiring, and finally ordered his soldiers in dejection: "Let go of Peng Fantai." Then he said coldly to everyone: "No one is allowed to say anything about today's affairs. If anyone leaks the slightest word, Master Jiu's knife needs to be sharpened with his blood!"