Chapter 10 Mikami's beautiful young man who ruled Ryokojo was the son of an old friend

In the afternoon, Xue Fucheng came.At first Zeng Guofan thought he must be an old and prudent Confucian, but he turned out to be a handsome young man!He told Xue Fucheng to sit down casually without being too formal, and then carefully sized up this young man with eyes accustomed to being a matchmaker. But seeing this man's forehead was high and wide, his brows were sparse and clear, and his two black and white eyes shot out a heroic light. "The weapon is beautiful!" Zeng Guofan praised in his heart. "The old man has already read the report written in the No. 1 room. There are so many scholars in the current provincial examination. Everyone seizes the rare opportunity these few days to do a good job in current art according to the topic, strive for excellence, and make the icing on the cake even better. Get fame and wealth. Let go of the business and not focus on business. Don’t you feel that the gain is not worth the loss?” Zeng Guofan leaned back in the chair, combed his long gray beard with his hands, and asked Xue Fucheng with a smile on his face.

"Returning to the adults, Wansheng has never been happy to start a career. Taking the exam this time is just to comfort his mother. Wansheng thinks that the purpose of reading and literacy is to obtain the knowledge of governing the country and the people, so he is happy to think about the people's livelihood. Plan. Wansheng has been thinking about this article for a long time, and it is intended to be used as a reference for adults when they wash Liangjiang, so I would rather abandon the topic and discuss it, and write this topic that Liangjiang's elders put forward for Wansheng."

Although Zeng Guofan was a great bureaucrat who was born in the imperial examinations, he had some opinions on the imperial examinations as early as thirty years old. Once he entered Beijing and entered Hanyuan, he quickly discovered his knowledge from a group of friends with real talents and real learning. Shallow.He resolutely walked out of the stereotyped essays, devoted himself to the writings of his predecessors, and paid attention to current affairs and economics.I also told my younger brothers about my experience in detail, hoping that my younger brothers would not be obsessed with cutting and taking small questions in the examination papers, and pointed out with great pain: There are many mistakes in the imperial examination for life.He has always believed that examinations can select talents, but those who are Chinese-style are not necessarily talented, and those who fail are not all mediocre.

"It's really rare to have such great insights at such a young age." Zeng Guofan praised in his heart, but said in his mouth, "The people's livelihood and the national economy must be considered, and stereotyped essays must be done well. Don't let the sages read the scriptures and seek scholars for the country. painstaking efforts." "Late students follow the teachings of the adults, and study hard after returning this time, striving to get a Chinese style." Xue Fucheng replied sincerely. "That's right." Zeng Guofan stared at Xue Fucheng again, and asked, "The eight measures you have offered to govern the south of the Yangtze River are targeted and hit the current disadvantages. It shows that you always pay attention to the people's health and are good at thinking. The purpose of reading sage books is to cultivate yourself. Outside, it will benefit the world. As a member of my life, I can include the rectification of the two rivers in my homework. It seems that I have initially read the books of sages and sages. Now that the two rivers are at the beginning of leveling, the scars are everywhere. Fang’s opinion. I invite you to come down, and I want to hear your detailed discussion on the two strategies of garrison administration and coastal defense in person, so you might as well say what you think in your chest.”

Xue Fucheng, who was just a fledgling man, was very moved by the rewards and rewards of an elder whose merits shook the world. What's more, his humble attitude and sincere tone made Xue Fucheng even more surprised.He thought about it for a while and said: "The late student is young and has little knowledge, and he is like a shepherd boy in front of the elders, so he is not afraid of making a fool of himself. If there are mistakes, please give the elders advice." "Say it!" Zeng Guofan's eyes glowed with kindness and warmth, and his hand that stopped for a moment began to comb his beard slowly.

"The Tunzheng began in the Han Dynasty. There were military and civilian settlements. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty farmed fields in the Western Regions, and Emperor Xuan of Zhao Chongguo used garrisons in border counties to farm fields. This is the military station. In the first year of Jian'an, Cao Cao farmed in Xuxia and got a hundred grains. Tens of thousands of dendrobium were later promoted to the states and counties, and the Diannong officials recruited people to cultivate them. It enables a large number of barren fields to be reclaimed, and second, it facilitates the promotion of advanced farming techniques and high yields. Until the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Mintun still existed. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the administration of the Tun was abolished. In our dynasty, except for the Tuntian where there was water transportation, it was still under the Weisuo. The farmlands of the rest of the guards were changed to Lizhou County, and they were named Mintun. In fact, the farmland has been changed to Mintian. Changmao has disturbed Jiangnan for more than ten years. There are a lot of barren fields in the province, no one is cultivating them, and some even have no human habitation within dozens of miles. This has prepared the conditions for the implementation of garrison administration today. If the old man adopts the established method of Deng Ai’s garrison in Huai Shang, the government will come forward to organize the people Cultivation, distribution of cows and seeds, promotion of regional farming methods, late students thought that the barren fields in Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi would be full of crops in a few years, and reserve inexhaustible grain for the two rivers. At present, a group of scattered workers urgently need to do it early An Ding, they are part of the disbanded Hunan Army."

Xue Fucheng stopped here and glanced at Zeng Guofan.Zeng Guofan's burning eyes were also staring at him.He hastened to continue: "My lord, Wansheng heard that some of the disbanded Hunan Army are still on both sides of the Yangtze River and have not returned to Hunan. The reason is that these people have no roots in Hunan and have been in the army for a long time. I am not used to living at home. People of insight believe that if the withdrawn soldiers stranded on both sides of the river are not properly dealt with, these people will be greedy for money and murder, and disaster will happen. Some people say that the elders will be contacting them, which is really scary."

Zeng Guofan's hands shaking his beard slightly.About 20,000 to 30,000 Hunan Army demobilized personnel stayed in the provinces along the route and did not return to their hometowns in Hunan. Zeng Guofan knew this, and this was indeed a hidden danger.Once something goes wrong, it will not only endanger the country, but also as the commander of the Hunan Army, he will not be able to escape the responsibility. Let's listen to Xue Fucheng's opinion on how to deal with it. "Wan Sheng suggested that my lord should quickly send the prestigious generals in the Hunan Army to Anhui, Jiangxi and other provinces to recruit stranded officers and braves, reorganize according to the past sentry teams, and take them to places with more barren fields to carry out garrison administration, and give them rewards. The most favorable treatment. The former Paoze are still together, which makes them feel that they will not break up. They have fields to cultivate and things to do, and they will not have evil thoughts. "

"This is a good way!" Zeng Guofan nodded, and said softly, "It eliminates the invisible troubles and benefits the real ones. Regarding coastal defense, do you have any good ideas?" Encouraged, Xue Fucheng became emotional: "Wansheng thought that my real opponent after the Qing Dynasty would be the barbarians from overseas. The barbarians despise the Chinese Empire with strong ships and cannons. If we don't strengthen the sea defense and defeat the barbarians' fierce flames, we will not be late. Scary talk, my Qing Dynasty will perish one day!" The muscles on Zeng Guofan's face twitched, remembering Hu Linyi's last words by the Anqing River.I thought to myself, Chinese officials and scholars all have such clear knowledge as Hu Linyi and Xue Fucheng, and if they had such a sense of anxiety, the Qing Dynasty would never perish.

"My lord, we also want to build iron ships and make sharp guns. Otherwise, we will not be able to defend the sea, or protect the country and species!" Xue Fucheng said these words almost in a shouting tone. Zeng Guofan was quite infected. "The later students thought that the Inner Ordnance Institute established by the boss in Anqing a few years ago could be moved to Shanghai and expanded ten times and a hundred times. Shanghai is located in the corner of the sea, which is convenient for iron ships to test sail; people's wisdom is developed, and talents are easy to find. If this matter is done well, the impact will be huge, and maybe my self-improvement of the Qing Dynasty will be based on this.”

Xue Fucheng's suggestion was exactly what Zeng Guofan wanted.Half a month ago, he received a letter from Yung Wing from the United States, saying that all the machines had been bought and he would hire a ship to ship them back.Yung Wing also suggested building a factory in Shanghai, which would be more convenient in all aspects.When Zeng Guofan was preparing to build the Anqing Nei Ordnance Institute, he thought of building a factory in Shanghai. Now that the conditions are met, of course he agrees.Xue Fucheng also put forward this suggestion, which shows that this son has good eyesight. "This suggestion is in line with what the old man thinks." Zeng Guofan looked at Xue Fucheng kindly and asked, "Do you have any other ideas about rectifying Jiangnan?" Xue Fucheng thought for a while and said: "Wansheng believes that the rectification of Jiangnan's government affairs is first of all the rectification of Yanzheng. Yanzheng is the number one government affairs in Jiangnan, and has the most problems. It's very clear, but I can't come up with any good ideas, so I dare not make false statements." "Oh!" Zeng Guofan lowered his eyes, and his left hand, which was combing his beard, unconsciously stopped.He fell into the memory, and the soothing voice of Wu Yinlai, an old man from Jiangnan, rang in his ears. "There are three major problems in Liangjiang, one is water transportation, the other is river engineering, and the third is salt administration, especially the salt administration, which is like a mess, but salt administration is the most important government affairs in Liangjiang. Thirty years ago, Tao Wenyi, the governor of Liangjiang, Great efforts were made to reform the salt administration, and the results were remarkable for a while. Unfortunately, after the death of Tao Wenyi, the successors were powerless, and the new policy could not be carried out smoothly. When the long-haired chaos broke out, everything went back to the old way. Today, the adults are also from Hunan, and Liangjiang has never forgotten the people from Hunan. Thanks to the kindness, my lord will definitely surpass Tao Wenyi and manage the two rivers better." That was five years ago, when Zeng Guofan was still in Qimen, Zeng Guofan had just been awarded Jiang Du.A juren in his fifties passed the examination and returned home. Dou Nian, the head of the Imperial Academy, asked him to bring a letter to his old friend, so he made a detour to Qimen.Under the dim oil lamp in Qimen Mountain, the man talked with Zeng Guofan all night, especially about the political, official and civil affairs in the south of the Yangtze River.Zeng Guofan knew a lot about Liangjiang customs from his conversation, and insisted on asking him to stay, but the man was homesick and did not want to stay in the shogunate.Zeng Guofan was very sorry.At that time, the war was urgent and there was no time to rectify the government affairs in the south of the Yangtze River, so we made an appointment with him to ask for help after Jinling was captured.The man readily agreed, and after staying in Qimen for five days, he bid farewell and went home.Before leaving, Zeng Guofan presented him with two poems.Zeng Guofan remembered that the man's surname was Xue Mingxiang, his style name was Xiaofan, and he was from Wuxi.Thinking of this, he looked at the beautiful boy in front of him again, and felt that the eyebrows were a bit similar to Xue Xiang.His surname is also Xue, and he is also from Wuxi. Could it be Xue Xiang's son? "There is a person, do you know him or not?" Zeng Guofan asked Xue Fucheng kindly. "I don't know who the lord is asking?" Xue Fucheng seemed to be conscious, and his eyes were full of joy. "Mr. Xue Xiang Xue Xiaofan, have you ever heard of it?" Zeng Guofan stared into Xue Fucheng's eyes. "He is the late-born father." Xue Fucheng smiled slightly. "Are you really Mr. Xiaofan's son? I just guessed it!" Zeng Guofan became happy, "Is your father okay?" "My father passed away last year." Xue Fucheng replied softly. "Oh!" Zeng Guofan sighed, showing infinite regret.Xue Fucheng was very moved when he saw it. "Do you know that Your Honor is my friend? This old man has an appointment with him." After asking, he sighed to himself, "Oh, brother Xiaofan, how could you miss the appointment and go first?" These words made Xue Fucheng's heart feel cold and warm at the same time, tears filled his eyes, as if the person sitting opposite him was no longer the majestic nobleman, but his own uncle.Xue Fucheng said affectionately: "After my father came home from Qimen that year, he often talked about the kindness that the adults treated him, saying that the imperial court released a good governor for Liangjiang, and gave us the poems that the elders gave him. Look, brother." "Can you remember this poem?" Zeng Guofan asked.Is it to review my old works, or to test Xue Fucheng's emphasis on it and his ability to memorize it?Zeng Guofan couldn't figure out which kind of thinking was the main component. "I remember, I remember. The old man gave my father two ancient five-character poems. My father hung them in the middle hall and often recited them. He praised your five-character poems for their essence of the Han and Wei Dynasties. He was so angry that he chased after Su and Li. There is no second person in the world." This is the first song," Xue Fucheng backtracked without hesitation, "It's hard to quell coquettishness, but Jian'an is the only way to promote it. Joining the army believes in doing things, and the voice is also full of talent. Lonely Du Ling is old, suffering for sorrow. Shang Chengrou Thinking lightly, enlightening the blue sea. Looking at the former philosopher, it is difficult to stand alone. You now hold the ancient tunes, and play for me with love. Fame spreads in the wild, and the inner beauty is never exhausted. Each phase accumulates virtues, and each protects Ling Fenghan. The second one is..." "Okay, stop memorizing it." Zeng Guofan interrupted Xue Fucheng with a smile, and changed his tone to be kind and casual to his nephew and nephew, "I ask you, since you know that I am your father's friend, why don't you come to see me directly? How about writing such a statement in the number room?" "My lord, I'm here to take an exam this time. Whether it's before or after the exam, I'm suspected of having passed the joint. The late student doesn't want to use that relationship to attract the attention of the boss. He has to rely on his true talents to gain trust. " "Ambition!" Zeng Guofan blurted out praise, "Is your mother in good health? How many brothers do you have?" "My mother is still in good health. There are six brothers. The eldest brother Fuchen has been practicing medicine in Beijing in recent years, and the rest are at home in Wuxi. The youngest sixth brother is also twelve years old." "Okay!" Zeng Guofan nodded lightly, "I want to keep you to do something in the shogunate, do you want to?" Was Xue Fucheng not happy to be able to participate in the Liangjiang Governor-General's Shogunate, which is known as a wealth of talents, and was more honored than Zhongjinshi to enter Hanyuan at that time?He immediately replied: "Thank you sir for cultivating!" Zeng Guofan was about to encourage Xue Fucheng, when there was a burst of crackling firecrackers outside the door, and Wang Jingqi pushed the door open with a smile on his face.