Chapter 2 The second official Wen went to Jiangning to track down the elder brother's association

Five days later, Guan Wen, governor of Huguang, received Cixi's secret order, and the Manchurian scholar, who was recently honored as an earl, was very proud.He was born in the privileged class for generations, and he has a strong prejudice against family status.Over the years, he watched helplessly the poor scholars and farmers of the Han nationality who used to be humble and lowly climbed up one by one to occupy high positions, and he felt very uncomfortable.Out of this kind of psychology, Hu Linyi often hindered him in the early days of his tenure as Efu. Later, for the sake of the overall situation, the shrewd Hu Linyi had to humbly resign, let him go everywhere, and played his wife's diplomacy to maintain the peace situation in Wuchang City.

Also based on this mentality, when Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua were besieged in Sanhe, he not only did not send troops to rescue them, but instead ridiculed them. As a result, the elite of the Hunan Army was greatly damaged. After Jiangning was conquered, although he was made an earl by Jin, he felt uncomfortable seeing Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang both being made earls by Zeng Guofan.Especially not long ago Zuo Zongtang also made an earl, he was even more annoyed.The feud between him and Zuo Zongtang due to the case of Fan Xie did not fade away because of Zuo Later's outstanding military exploits, but was inflamed with jealousy and intensified.

Now, the empress dowager secretly ordered him to do a major event to attack the Han people. How could he not like to come out of it and go there enthusiastically! The officials and the staff in the mansion discussed a perfect plan.So, a few resourceful staff and chivalrous men with the skills of chicken-crowding and dog-thief sailed downstream on a steamer.The steamer stopped at Ribbon Island, twenty miles away from Xiaguan Wharf. There is a temple here, named Xianjue Temple, which was built in the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty and has a history of more than one thousand years.The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom does not believe in Buddhism, so the temples have been deserted these years.There were more than a dozen vacant rooms in the temple. Seeing the arrival of distant visitors, the abbot hurriedly tidied up five clean rooms for this group of people to live in.

The monks in the monastery didn't know the status of this group of people, but they had good looks, they ate well, and they were willing to pay more for the rent. They must be wealthy businessmen, and they were very hospitable.At night, the chivalrous warriors put on night uniforms of green clothes and black hats, sneaked into the various barracks of Jizi Daying, stole the roster of the battalion from the battalion officer's room secretly, and then returned to Xianjue Temple before dawn.During the day, the aides closed the door and copied the names of people ranging from twenty to thirty to forty or fifty from each roster, along with their birthplaces, ages, and positions.After copying, the roster was sent back to the original place that night.In this way, the staff of the supervisory office who lived in Xianjue Temple for three days and three nights had already copied 400 items from the rosters of more than ten military camps in the Jizi Camp, including the Jiezi Camp, Xinzi Camp, and Huanzi Camp. The list and resumes of many officers and men of the Hunan Army.At noon on the fourth day, Guanwen himself boarded a luxurious British-made small steamer and arrived at Ribbon Island at lightning speed. He brought the group of people on board and drove to Xiaguan Wharf in a hurry. Came to Liangjiang Governor's Yamen, which was rebuilt from the former Prince Attendant's Mansion.

Zeng Guofan, who was reviewing the documents in the signing room, was shocked when the yamen servant handed over the famous stab that read "the first-class official document of the Wenhua Palace University scholar Huguang Governor": Why didn't this Manchurian official who always pays attention to appearance and dignity didn't call in advance? Say hello, and come directly to the yamen?Besides, what does Guanwen intend to do when he comes to Jiangning at this time?Zeng Guofan didn't have time to think about it, so he ordered the middle door to be opened wide to welcome the distinguished guests.

"Guanzhongtang came to Jiangning, why didn't you inform the lower officials? You deliberately want me to bear a charge of disrespect!" When Zeng Guofan walked out of the second gate fully dressed, the white and fat official document had already entered the gate.Zeng Guofan greeted him from afar, with an affectionate attitude, as if he was coming from a close friend. "Oh, Zeng Zhongtang, look at what you said, you are Lord Marquis, how dare I bend over to greet you." Guan Wen's attitude was more intimate, and he greeted him with a smile on his face, as if standing in front of him was his brother-in-law. old rain.

After sitting down, the official said: "After going ashore, from the Xiaguan wharf to the governor's office, I saw from the sedan window that Jiangning City has calmed down and all industries are recovering. Zeng Zhongtang is really a great talent in latitude and longitude. It is not easy. !" Zeng Guofan said: "Guan Zhongtang praised Jiangning City for three years. When the Hunan Army entered the city, Changmao resisted desperately. All the pseudo-royal palaces and palaces were set on fire. The prosperous ancient capital of a generation was almost reduced to ruins. It must be restored. At least ten years."

After hearing this, Guan Wen thought to himself: What a cunning Zeng Disheng, it was clearly the Hunan army who set fire to the city, but he insisted on saying that Chang Mao did it, to clear his brother and subordinates of the crime.He smiled and said: "Of course it's not easy to restore it all. It's only a few months now, and it's amazing to be able to look like this. I heard that the Qinhuai River has been repaired, and the scale and grandeur are beyond the early years of Xianfeng. , Zeng Zhongtang is very happy. In a few days, let me go to sit on a painting boat, listen to the music, and enjoy the beauty of the world on the rouge pollen water!" After saying that, he burst out laughing.

Zeng Guofan also said with a smile: "Guanzhongtang is interested in this, and I will definitely accompany you. However, the Qinhuai River has not been fully restored, and only a few houses have been built in Taoyedu. I am afraid that the Guanzhongtang will not be satisfied." "Jiushuai said he was going back to his hometown to recuperate, did he leave Jiangning?" After laughing for a while, Guanwen changed the topic. "I left by boat more than half a month ago." "Leaving so soon? It's a pity, I don't know which section of the river I missed." The official document seemed very regrettable, "Now the Jiu Shuai is a hero that everyone envies in the world!"

"Guan Zhongtang is too polite." Zeng Guofan said sincerely, "Yuanfu's success today is all due to the support and encouragement of Guan Zhongtang. When Yuanfu first came out of the mountain, he belonged to Hubei, and Guan Zhongtang took good care of him. These years, officials Zhongtang dominates the upper reaches of Wuchang, and by cutting Chang Mao's energy, Yuanfu was able to get back to Jiangning by luck. If there is no official Zhongtang, where would today's 'Nine Commanders' come from!" Guan Wen nodded, and said in the tone of a superior and elder: "Although the facts are so, he has to live up to himself. However, don't rush home so soon. Once he leaves, whoever will come to the 50,000 brothers in Jiziying?" Domination?"

"Yuanfu is sick, so it's better to go home early and rest." Zeng Guofan said calmly, "As for Jiziying, they will all be disbanded soon, and they will all be asked to return to their hometowns." "All disbanded?" Guan Wen expressed surprise, "Shang Mao has not been completely wiped out, and there are still rebellions in the north by the Nian Army, and we have to rely on the Hunan Army to defend the court." "The Xiang army has grown old and it is difficult to take on heavy responsibilities, so it is better to disband them all. It's just that there are still some difficulties, so I haven't moved for the time being. "Zeng Guofan was very wary of the sudden arrival of the official document. From what he said just now, he had already guessed that the official document was for the court to inquire about the disbandment of the Hunan Army, so when it came to the Hunan Army, his attitude It is quite clear, and I am afraid that any ambiguity will arouse the suspicion of the court. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the official document aggravated his disgust towards Zeng Guofan: what "breeds old spirits" sounds good, but it is actually fake; ! The small talk in the living room, on the surface, is relaxed and flattering each other, but in the bottom of your heart, you are jealous and have ghosts; the preparations in the kitchen are busy and down-to-earth.The reception wine in the flower hall was enjoyed happily.After the meal, Zhao Liewen was ordered to send Guanwen and his party to rest at the Shengqilou Post House by the Mochou Lake.The water surface of Mochou Lake is more than 700 mu, the lake is full of lotus leaves, and the lakeside is connected with pavilions. It is known as the first lake in Jinling.During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang played chess with Zhongshan King Xu Da here.Zhu Yuanzhang lost, so he handed Mochou Lake to Xu Da.Xu Da built a building by the lake and named it "Shengqi Building".Resting in such a famous place, Guan Wen and others are very satisfied.Zhao Liewen sent someone to recruit several stunning singers from Taoyedu to wait on him.When Guanwen and his party by the lakeside of Mochou were intoxicated by the dancing in the willow building, singing in the wind under the peach blossom fan, in the study of Liangjiang Governor's Office, Zeng Guofan sat alone for most of the night facing an oil lamp. The next morning, Zeng Guofan came to Mochou Lake in a sedan chair to pay his respects. The official document did not mention any serious matters, and Zeng Guofan did not ask any questions.At night, Zeng Guofan proposed to accompany Guan Wen to the Qinhuai River.The official document said: "You are busy, don't go, just ask someone else to accompany you." He had no interest in this, so he asked Zhao Liewen to accompany them on the Qinhuai River to listen to the music and enjoy the scenery on both sides of the river overnight.The official text was eye-opening and full of interest.On the afternoon of the third day, after Guanwen got enough sleep, Zeng Guofan personally accompanied him to inspect the Jiangnan Gongyuan, which was about to be completed. A city under construction.During the inspection process, Zeng Guofan solemnly asked the official document to suggest to the court: Jiangning is an important town in the south of the Yangtze River, and Changmao has been entrenched for many years. After the city is built, it is necessary to select elite soldiers from the Eight Banners to come here.In the past, there were 2,000 bannermen stationed in Mancheng, and the imperial court was asked to send 3,000 more for heavy suppression. The Mancheng under construction was designed on a scale of 5,000.Pointing to a place, he said that a ancestral hall of the highest standard will be built here to commemorate Jiangning General Xianghou who died in the service of the country, and all the banner soldiers who died in the national calamity.After hearing these words, Guan Wen was silent.After the inspection, Guan Wen said to Zeng Guofan with a sincere attitude: "It is reasonable for me to come to the Governor's Mansion to pay a visit to Lord Marquis tonight, but there are too many people in the mansion and it is very inconvenient. I am wronged that Lord Marquis came to Mochou Lake. I have something important to tell you." Zeng Guofan knew that the official document was about to talk about business, so he said with a terrified expression: "It's the right time, and the next official will come to Mochou Lake on time to pay a visit." When dusk fell on the ancient capital, a small sedan chair carried the governor of Liangjiang in casual clothes, quietly entered Mochou Lake and went up to Shengqi Building. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Guan Wen waved away his staff and servants, and said with a stern expression: "I came to Jiangning from Wuchang this time to verify a case." Zeng Guofan was taken aback, and said, "What big case did Labor Officer Zhongtang come to Jiangning in person?" "This case is indeed extraordinary." Guan Wen's face was solemn, and he was completely different from the Manchu dignitaries in the painting. "More than a month ago, someone reported to the Lake Governor's Yamen that there was a Gelaohui in the military camp stationed in Qizhou. Lord Hou was fighting bandits in Changsha ten years ago. He must know what kind of gang the Gelaohui is." In fact, ten years ago when Zeng Guofan first set up a training group in Changsha, there was no Gelaohui among the associations in Hunan.At that time, the most troubled ones in Hunan were Tiandihui, Chuanzihui, Chuanxianghui, Banbianqianhui, etc. The Gelaohui, which originated in Sichuan, had not yet spread to Hunan. After the Tingjun mutiny.He didn't want to tell the official document these things, so he nodded vaguely. "That's really a group of guys who have been bombarded by five thunders and deserve to be hacked to death!" The scholar of Wenhuadian put a series of hats on the Gelaohui to vent his hatred for this party. "They are people in front of them, and ghosts behind their backs. They eat royal rations and receive royal salaries in the military camp, but they are engaged in rebellious activities against the imperial court. They try to follow Mao's example, rebel and rebel, and establish their own dynasty." "Oh!" Zeng Guofan knew that Gelaohui was a gang that worshiped the boss, and it was not as serious as the official document said.He couldn't say anything, so he could only spit out such a word. "I learned that such a thing that endangered the country happened in the military camp, so I went to Qizhou in person and ordered the deputy general Guan Wei to deal with it strictly. He followed the vines and dug out all the gangsters from the elder brother's association one by one, and interrogated them strictly to find out the ins and outs. I figured it all out. As a result, thirty-two gangsters from the Gelaohui were found in Qizhou, and Qu Zhengliang, the leader, was actually a general. I personally interrogated Qu Zhengliang and asked him to confess truthfully. If he confessed well, he could be exempted from the death penalty. " Guanwen stopped, picked up the teacup, took a sip, looked at Zeng Guofan who was sitting upright with his beard stroked, and continued: "The trial came and went, but who knew that the trial was on the head of Lord Hou's Hunan Army." Guan Wen looked at Zeng Guofan again, only to see that he was still sitting upright with his beard stroked, without any change because of this sentence.In fact, since the moment he stepped into the threshold of Shengqi Building, Zeng Guofan's heart has never been at peace.When the official document mentioned the Gelaohui, he knew for sure: the Gelaohui in Hubei must have something to do with the Gelaohui in Tingjun.He had already prepared in his heart, so the words of the official text did not have the effect he expected.Feeling a little disappointed, the official document paused for a moment, and then said: "Qu Zhengliang said that the Gelaohui had only started in Qizhou, and the headquarters was in the Hunan Army. In order to make meritorious service and atone for his crimes, he handed over a roster of the Hunan Army Gelaohui. I was shocked. Jump, there are more than four hundred numbers, and they are all from Jiushuai Jiziying!" Zeng Guofan's hand stroking his beard suddenly stopped.There are more than 400 brothers and elders in the Hunan Army, and it is not Bao Chao's Ting Army, but Lao Jiu's Jizi Battalion, these two points are beyond his surprise. While Zeng Guofan was meditating, Guan Wen took out the roster that he had copied in Xianjue Temple a few days earlier and handed it over.He took the roster and looked at it page by page.The roster was opened in great detail: name, age, place of origin, what camp he belonged to, and which hall and party of the Gelaohui, all written clearly.Among them was someone whom Zeng Guofan recognized.After flipping through it, he closed the roster.Put it on the coffee table, and said in a calm tone: "Thank you Guan Zhongtang for sending this roster. These guys are the scourge of the country and the scum of the Hunan Army. I will definitely find out one by one and punish them severely. However," Zeng Guofan Pulling down his face, he stared at the official document, "This matter involves a wide range of areas and is of great importance. The subordinate officials cannot act rashly. They must check with the battalion officials before discussing it." The moment Zeng Guofan stared at him, Guan Wen felt that his eyes were like two cold lightning bolts, as if he wanted to make public his sneaky actions a few days ago.He felt guilty for a while, with an unnatural smile on his face, and hurriedly said: "Master Hou is right, of course we must verify it. The reason why I personally brought this roster to Jiangning is to let Master Hou verify it. Since Qu Zhengliang is the leader of the Gelaohui, he is by no means a kind person. There is no guarantee that he will not jump the wall in a hurry and frame good people. What's more, Jiushuai's Jiziying is a heroic division that everyone admires, and I will not believe it easily. I suggest Hou The master adjusted the rosters of each battalion without showing any signs of expression, and then appointed a few of his most trusted confidants to check them one by one. If Qu Zhengliang's confession is inconsistent with the facts, I will definitely not spare that kid. Of course, please rest assured, Lord Hou , this matter will never be publicized, and I will wait for news from Lord Hou in three days." The official attitude was so sincere, and the words were so earnest, that Zeng Guofan couldn't say anything more. He said "thank you for the kindness of Guanzhongtang", and left Mochou Lake with the roster in his arms, quietly returning to the supervisor's office. After entering the bedroom, Zeng Guofan lit two large candles, opened the roster again, and carefully reviewed the names one by one.His heart tightened up and down, and he could not help secretly blaming his ninth younger brother: "Yuanfu, Yuanfu, there are so many brothers and elders in your Jizi camp, how come you don't know at all? You are stupid, you are really stupid!" In the middle of the night, he summoned Zhao Liewen and Peng Shouyi to discuss.They were also very surprised, and they all said that they had never heard any rumors, how could this Togo old society pop up all of a sudden, they should not be trusted, they should check first. The next day, Zeng Guofan collected the rosters of the Jizi Daying camps in the name of checking the number of people.The roster was disassembled again, and five staff members were arranged to check it carefully. Two days later, all five staff members came to report, saying that the list sent out was exactly the same as the resumes contained in the battalion roster. This time, Zeng Guofan was stunned.He slumped on the reclining chair, both annoyed and terrified: the Hunan army captured Jiangning, which caused the envy of the generals of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion and the guard of the court;Now let this kind-faced and unkind Manchu scholar get such a major handle, the situation of the Hunan Army will be difficult in the future! "Abolish it as soon as possible!" Zeng Guofan stood up from the recliner, and his already made up mind became more determined at this time. Three days passed, and Guanwen arrived at Liangjiang Governor's Yamen on time.Without waiting for official documents to ask questions, Zeng Guofan first told the truth: "I have checked all the lists of Qu Zhengliang's confessions, and they are no different from those registered in the roster. I will ask the battalion officials to strictly interrogate these criminals and punish them according to law." .” "Did the order of Master Hou come down?" Guan Wen asked nervously. "Sent out tomorrow morning." "That's good." Guan Wen breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a concerned tone, "Master Hou, in my humble opinion, this order does not need to be issued, and the interrogation can also be omitted." "Why?" Zeng Guofan felt a little strange. "Master Hou, listen to me speak slowly." Guan Wen adjusted the shiny satin robe on his knees, moved the chair a few inches to Zeng Guofan's side, and then said with a very sincere attitude: "Xiang Guofan The army has fought for more than ten years. It has worked hard and made great achievements, and the whole world admires it. It is not a big deal for hundreds of brothers and elders to sneak into it. If there is a public investigation and interrogation in various military camps, then the matter will become a big one, and it will inevitably spread. Once it gets out, it will be very unfavorable to the Marquis and the Hunan Army. What's more, these brothers and elders are all from the Jizi Camp, and the Jiu Shuai is not here, so it will inevitably cause him to feel unhappy." The last sentence of the official document was like a blow to Zeng Guofan's heart.Yes, when Yuanfu left Jiangning, he was already in a depressed mood, if he went to Jiziying to investigate the Gelaohui at this time, wouldn't he be trying to demolish him?Doing that would either make him feel more miserable and his illness worse; or he would be pushed to the edge of a cliff, and his brothers would turn against each other as a last resort.Both of these results were what Zeng Guofan did not want to see. "Should we just let them get away with it and not be punished?" Zeng Guofan's tone clearly dropped. "That's not what you said, Master Hou." The official's attitude became more and more earnest, "Master Hou's loyalty to the Queen Mother and the Emperor may not be known to some people in the government and the opposition, but I know it very well. Don't say anything else, just talk about these few days What I have seen of Hou Ye’s restoration of Mancheng, and the worship of General Xianghou and the martyrdom banner soldiers is enough to prove that Hou Ye’s loyalty can be shown to the sun and the moon. In the past, Hou Ye took the initiative to ask the queen mother and the emperor to abolish Hunan. The army, after making great achievements, did not take credit for threats, but clipped their own wings. Throughout the ages, how many people can there be? The empress dowager and the emperor praised it, and I also admire it." Zeng Guofan listened intently to Guan Wen's eloquent speech, expressing his approval with a smile from time to time.He had to listen carefully to every word of this Manchurian who had a very close relationship with the royal family, and carefully pondered it.This person came unusually, and what he did was unusual, and now he said such unusual words, what on earth is he going to do? "Master Hou, in my humble opinion, this matter is handled quietly. Didn't Lord Hou want to abolish the Hunan Army? Since the Hunan Army is going to be abolished, don't these elder brothers and gangsters also disband along with them? Once disbanded, they will still What can they do? Fortunately, they haven't made any big moves yet, so they have eliminated hidden dangers for the country, and also saved the face of the Hunan Army and the Nine Commanders. It's the best of both worlds, what do you think, Lord Hou?" It turned out that he was here to persuade me to take this opportunity to disarm as soon as possible!Zeng Guofan finally understood the intention of Guan Wen's trip to Jiangning.The abolition of the Hunan Army was originally Zeng Guofan's own decision, but it was postponed because of opposition and the fact that the actual problem of payment arrears could not be resolved.Now, Guan Wen came to Jiangning in person to verify the matter of the Gelaohui, and proposed such a best solution purely out of love. Zeng Guofan, who has always been deeply estranged from the superficial admiration of Guan Wen, felt ashamed of his narrow-mindedness. stand up.He said from the bottom of his heart: "Guan Zhongtang has worked so hard to do good for the Hunan Army and the Xiaguan brothers, and we are very grateful. Withdrawing the Hunan Army has long been an established policy, and now it can play an invisible role in eliminating the brother-elder association, and it has further prompted the Xiaguan The officials should handle this matter as soon as possible. However, even if the officials are not interrogating them in Jiangning City, they must tell the local officials to spy on them in the future, so as to prevent them from forming gangs and harming the country." "Hou Ye is old enough to seek the country, and he has far-reaching considerations, so he should do so." The official document said.I thought to myself: As long as there is no interrogation now, the trick will not be exposed. In the future, it doesn't matter whether they are monitored separately or arrested and imprisoned. Those unlucky ghosts have nothing to do with their own fate.He knew that Zeng Guofan was a scheming and scheming opponent, so in order to further dispel doubts and gain favor, he said, "My lord, what about the list I gave you that day?" "Here." Zeng Guofan handed over Qu Zhengliang's list of confessions. "Master Hou, I will burn this list in front of you tonight. From now on, I will treat it as nothing. I will not go to the Brothers' Association in Qizhou to interrogate them anymore, and I will exile them to Ili. Cut them off from the Central Plains forever in this life.” After all, light the list with a candle.Soon, a stack of frightening yellow bamboo paper turned into black butterflies. Zeng Guofan said excitedly: "Thank you for the completion of Guanzhongtang." "Where, where. As the old saying goes, officials and officials protect each other. As an 'official', I will rely on your protection, Lord Hou!" Guan Wen said with a proud smile. "Guan Zhongtang made fun of it. From now on, I will only rely on you for a lot of time. If you really want me to serve you, will I dare not obey you?" Zeng Guofan also laughed. "Master Hou, I will leave Jiangning and return to Wuchang tomorrow." "Leave tomorrow?" Zeng Guofan showed a look of reluctance to leave, "I'm planning to accompany Zhongtang to Tangshan Hot Spring to take a bath!" "Jiang Ning has just been recovered, and there are many things to do. I have a lot of trouble here. I will come back next winter. Then I will go to Tangshan with Lord Hou to take a hot spring bath in peace of mind!" "Okay!" Zeng Guofan said happily, "It's settled like this. Send someone to Wuchang to pick him up in the twelfth lunar month of next year. The wife and son will come together." "Okay, come together!" Guan Wen happily agreed. After sending off the officials and his party the next morning, Zeng Guofan returned to the Superintendent's Office and fell into deep thought again.He has always been uneasy about this matter: He hadn't heard any rumors in the past, so why did so many Gelaohui pop up in Jiziying all of a sudden?Besides, Qu Zhengliang is not the head of the Gelaohui, so how could he have the entire list of the Hunan Army Gelaohui?Then I thought again: If this list is a fabrication, why is it completely consistent with the actual situation?What's more, the Brotherhood is rampant in the Ting Army, and it is hard to guarantee that there will be no Brotherhood in the Jizi Camp.Zeng Guofan didn't believe that burning the list of official documents meant the matter was over. He could leave a copy and report to the imperial court secretly, asking for credit and reward.Instead of letting him inform, it is better to make a note and clarify the matter by yourself, explaining that there are criminals in the Hunan Army, and they will be abolished immediately. Having made up his mind, he called Peng Shouyi and told him to draw up a manuscript first.While the manuscript was being drafted, Zhao Liewen came in and said to Zeng Guofan, "Old Zhongtang, Zhu Hongzhang quietly told me something this morning." "What's the matter?" Zeng Guofan put down the official document in his hand, and Peng Shouyi also stopped writing. "He said that one morning he wanted to check the resume of a whistle chief. Suddenly, he found that the roster was missing. He searched everywhere but couldn't find it. He thought to himself: If there was a thief and it was stolen at night, the roster was stolen. What? Nothing else was lost, not even a few ingots of silver in the drawer where the roster was placed. Huanwen was very strange. The next morning, he accidentally opened the drawer, and the roster appeared in front of him Huanwen thought it was haunted, so he told me about it as a funny thing." "It's really a ghost." Peng Shouyi listened with relish. "Oh!" Zeng Guofan nodded slightly, and many thoughts popped up in his mind. "Old Zhongtang, after I heard Huanwen's words, I immediately thought of the roster brought by Guan Zhongtang. It just so happened that the roster of Huanziying was lost for a day, and there was some connection between it." "There is a connection." Peng Shouyi immediately took over the conversation, "To tell the truth from Lao Zhongtang, the disciples have always had doubts about the list of Guan Zhongtang." "Don't interrupt, just listen to Huifu." Zeng Guofan had already figured it out. "In order to prove this idea, I visited several battalions, and they all said that no roster was lost and recovered. Finally, I went to the Jiezi camp. Nagumo told me that the roster in his battalion was also lost for a whole day. It was put on the same place intact the next day. It is not surprising that the other battalions did not notice it, because when the roster is not useful, they usually ignore it. The situation of the two battalions Huanzi and Jiezi is enough to illustrate The truth of the matter: Someone once intentionally stole the roster in our Hunan Army barracks, stole it the first night, and returned it the next night after finishing the work." "Huifu's analysis is very reasonable." Peng Shouyi couldn't help interjecting again, "And this happened just when people came from Wuchang. The old Zhongtang, that dignified scholar brought a group of drums and fleas." little man!" "Hypocrite!" Zhao Liewen scolded. Zeng Guofan didn't make a sound.It became clear that the so-called list of Qu Zhengliang's confessions was actually copied from the stolen roster, no wonder it was accurate. "This despicable and vicious ghost!" Zeng Guofan cursed in his heart. "Old Zhongtang, don't draw up this note. My disciples will draw up another one to sue the Queen Mother and the Emperor for using despicable means to frame the Hunan Army." Peng Shouyi pushed away the half-written note in anger, and took out another one. a piece of paper. "Chang Geng said it well, we can't tolerate them defrauding Jiushuai and Jiziying like this." Zhao Liewen yelled angrily, "They stayed behind in the war, and they framed them up for no reason after victory. It's unreasonable for them to do this!" Zeng Guofan was in extreme pain. He sat on the chair blankly, with a huge question in his mind over and over again: "Why did the official document do this?" Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the door: "Old Zhongtang, something happened to my uncle in Jiujiang!" Everyone was startled, only to see that the person shouting outside the door was Xiao Bendao, Xiao Fusi's nephew, Chief of Dusi. "What's going on?" Zeng Guofan shouted. "Old Zhongtang!" Xiao Bendao stepped into the threshold and said to Zeng Guofan, "Shen Baozhen seized my uncle's boat." "Why did Shen Youdan arrest the boat? Sit down and explain in detail!" Zeng Guofan said with an unhappy face. "Old Zhongtang, this is how it happened." Sitting beside Zeng Guofan, Xiao Bendao told the story in detail.