Chapter 19 The sound of the Second Artillery was for Beizheng Dazhuang, but it shocked the commander's only little grandson to death

Zeng Guofan was unwilling to go to the battlefield again, and of course he was unwilling to hand over the customs defense of the Governor of Liangjiang.In October last year, the imperial court ordered him to lead troops to Anhui and Hubei to assist Seng Gelinqin in pacifying Nian. At that time, he was also called Li Hongzhang to act as Jiang Du.Li Hongzhang rushed from Suzhou to Jiangning excitedly, but his mentor was full of clouds and refused to submit the seal.How cute Li Hongzhang is!Seeing this scene, he didn't say a word about it, but just said to come to see his mentor and ask when he would leave.A few days later, another edict came down, saying that the war in Anhui had improved, and Zeng Guofan didn't have to leave Jiangning.Li Hongzhang was overjoyed and returned to Suzhou disappointed.From this, Zeng Guofan saw that Li Hongzhang was too addicted to being an official and had too much desire for power. He also related to the past of his killing and surrender and the rumors of his greed for money and good goods.

Zeng Guofan has always advocated both ability and political integrity in his view of employing people, with more emphasis on virtue.It is believed that virtue is like the source of water, talent is like the wave of water; virtue is like the root of a tree, talent is like a branch of a tree.Virtue without talent is close to a fool; talent without virtue is close to a villain.The two cannot be combined at the same time. It is better to be close to a fool without talent than to be close to a villain without virtue.Li Hongzhang did not suffer from lack of talent. Zeng Guofan even believed that his ability to adapt to circumstances and interact with foreigners was better than his own. Li Hongzhang suffered from virtue.Zeng Guofan's heart ached because of his consistent employment principles, but he made a mistake at the most important juncture of selecting a successor as a replacement.But this time, he came to pick up the seal impatiently. Zeng Guofan really missed him, so let him stand in the cold outside the city for a few days before talking.However, as soon as this idea emerged, it immediately changed.

Li Hongzhang has been supported, and now he is in a high position, with 50,000 powerful Huai army armed with foreign guns and cannons in his hands. As the saying goes, "the feathers are already ready, and they will span the world." Li Hongzhang is no longer the only one.No matter how bad the virtue is, as long as you don't go to the point of rebellion, you can't shake your current position.Zeng Guofan could no longer offend his disciples, not to mention that this time he was bound to leave Jiangning to hand over the seals to the governor, and the main force to suppress Nian had to rely on the Huai army, how could he act on his own will?Not only can't he be left out in the cold, but also show him an unusual gift!

In the afternoon, Zeng Guofan was preparing to change clothes to leave the office, when Kong Xun came to report: "Li Zhongcheng is here!" "Please!" After a while, Li Hongzhang strode into the signing room.After not seeing him for a few months, the 43-year-old commander of the Huai Army seemed to be more energetic. Comparing with his increasingly thin body, Zeng Guofan felt that his former disciples had an aggressive aura pressing on him.He greeted with a smile: "How is Shaoquan?" "Teacher Hong Fu, it's okay for students to be humble." Li Hongzhang was still as humble as before. He was secretly happy that the teacher's attitude this time was quite different from last time, but he still didn't dare to say his true intentions. "In the past two days, I have been inspecting the city defense in Zhenjiang. I think that I haven't seen my mentor for many days. I feel worried, so I came to visit."

"Shaoquan, you came just in time." Li Hongzhang couldn't hide these lies from Zeng Guofan, but now he doesn't care about them. "Let's hold the handover ceremony of the superintendent's seal here tomorrow!" "Tomorrow? Master, is everything ready?" Li Hongzhang couldn't hold back the surprise in his heart. "Whether I'm ready or not, I won't be allowed to stay in Jiangning any longer. Yesterday came another urging order." Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly, with a look of helplessness. "The monk king has just passed away, and there is no commander-in-chief in the battle. The holy worries are anxious, and the Chinese and foreign countries rely on the mentor as the mainstay. Only when the mentor is ordered to swear to the teacher, the people of the world can be stable." Li Hongzhang said, his attitude is sincere.

"Shaoquan, my mainstay is built on you and your Huai army. With you and the Huai army as the foundation, the mainstay can stand in the middle." Zeng Guofan looked at Li Hongzhang, raised his right hand habitually, Comb back and forth on the beard. "Master's words are serious." Li Hongzhang said with trepidation, "Master had foreseen this step when he asked his students to recruit the Huai army. Now that the Huai army can be driven by the teacher, it is not only the honor of the students, but also the honor of the entire Huai army." It's an honor." When Li Hongzhang said this, he seemed to be genuinely moved, and the corners of his eyes were a little red.

These few words made Zeng Guofan feel relieved.Yes, my choice back then was good. After all, Li Hongzhang managed to train the Huai army.This is what makes him great, and what the world needs right now is such a talent. "Shaoquan, let me tell you the truth, you must not misunderstand." Zeng Guofan looked at the handsome and heroic student peacefully, and said calmly. "I don't know what advice my teacher has for me?" Li Hongzhang became uneasy.I thought to myself: There must be something that fell into the hands of the old man, and a severe reprimand was inevitable.He was ready, at this moment, no matter what the old man said, even if it was not true at all, he had to accept it all, and he would never fight back or argue.

"Shaoquan, I want to take this opportunity to resign from the post of governor of Liangjiang to the queen mother and the emperor, and you will officially take over." Zeng Guofan's eyesight is clearly much dimmed, but in Li Hongzhang's eyes, the sharpness and coldness of the past are still buried behind this dimmed vision!He shivered involuntarily, not understanding the teacher's implication, and hurriedly said: "Teacher, the student is ordered by the holy order to take care of the governor for the time being, and all actions in Liangjiang follow the old rules of the teacher. When the teacher returns triumphantly, the student kneels to welcome the suburban, respectfully return the governor Seal script. If there is something to make up your own mind, then you should let your teacher be responsible."

After all, Li Hongzhang was a smart person, and although this conversation was not in the right way, it did dispel some of Zeng Guofan's concerns.He smiled and said: "Shaoquan, you misunderstood. I am not afraid that you will change my articles of association during the agency period. If there are any inappropriate things about me, you can modify them as you like. The waves behind the Yangtze River push forward the waves before. I am the same year as my father. , I once discussed with you the way of writing. Wouldn’t I be happy if you can surpass me!” Zeng Guofan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said solemnly, “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I Recently, my energy is getting weaker and weaker, my tongue is astringent, I can't talk for long when I see customers, and my business is often abandoned. When my right eye is at night, it seems to be blind.

Looking at things with the left eye is like looking at flowers in the fog.The two rivers are important places, the imperial court has great expectations, and an old corpse like me cannot be left. Sooner or later, the post of Jiang Du will be given up.I lead the troops to the front, and the food, grass, and military salaries come from Liangjiang, and Liangjiang is the hometown of the Huai army. How can I feel at ease if someone else takes this position?I look around the world for governors, and only you are the most suitable candidate. " Li Hongzhang finally understood what the teacher meant, and he said in a firm tone: "Teacher, just go forward with peace of mind, and don't worry about the future. Students will provide food and money in a steady stream, and we will never let the teacher have the same guest as before. situation arises.

As for Liu Mingchuan, Pan Dingxin, Zhang Shushan, and Zhou Shengbo, the disciples had already severely admonished them, asking them to respectfully obey their master's orders.If there is any dissatisfaction, please ask the teacher to deal with it according to military discipline and national law, and the students will never have the slightest objection.The third child and the fourth child have always respected their teachers like fathers, and they will monitor the Huai army on my behalf.They will report to me at any time about the situation in the army.The Huai army is the Hunan army, and they are the children of the mentor, who can be driven by the mentor.The important land of the two rivers cannot be suppressed without a mentor.Man said that the mentor is very energetic, even if he is really tired and sick, with the prestige of the mentor, Liang Jiang can also cure it.In the previous generation, there was Ji An who ruled by lying on the couch.Whatever Ji An is, he can do this, let alone a teacher! " Li Hongzhang really knew how to speak, and Zeng Guofan felt relieved when he said it, and his worries were also removed. The unhappiness in the morning had long since disappeared. "Shaoquan, the seal handing over ceremony will be held as scheduled tomorrow morning, and I will board the boat and head north the morning after tomorrow!" The next day, after the grand handover ceremony of the superintendent seal, Zeng Guofan made a final account of the official affairs with the Jiangning feudal secretary and other senior officials.In the afternoon, he had a long talk with the shogunate staff.I was busy until late at night, before I fell into bed groggy and fell asleep.At some point, he realized that he was climbing a mountain with a wooden boat, and he was sweating profusely, but the boat didn't move a step, and his legs kicked in a hurry. "Master, what's the matter with you!" Mrs. Ouyang was so frightened that she hurriedly turned on the lamp to take care of her. Zeng Guofan just woke up, and her clothes and pants were soaked through.Look at the clock, it's just Yin Chu.After changing clothes, Zeng Guofan could no longer fall asleep.In two hours, we will go out by boat. Doesn't the dream of climbing mountains by boat indicate that this expedition to the north will be extremely unsatisfactory?Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan felt heavy again. The 8,000 Hunan Army Army Division led by Liu Songshan, Yi Kaijun, Zhang Shiri and others, and the 30,000 Huai Army Army led by Pan Dingxin, Zhang Shushan, and Zhou Shengbo have all marched to the front. They agreed to meet up in Xuzhou in early June and wait for Zeng Guofan to come Then make military arrangements.It will take several months for Bao Chao's new Ting army to enter the battlefield.Zeng Guofan's old battalion was escorted by Huang Yisheng personally commanding 3,000 Yangtze River sailors, and these 3,000 sailors will stay with Zeng Guofan as personal soldiers from now on.Regarding the Hunan Army, what Zeng Guofan trusted most was the navy he created with his own hands, and the retained navy is now playing a big role again. Early in the morning, Li Hongzhang held a grand farewell banquet in the supervisory office.Li Hongzhang's personality is quite different from that of Naishi University.He loves to talk about ostentation, spends a lot of money, and likes to be lively and full of fire.He will always remember the reception held by his teacher for his trip to Shanghai in Huaining Restaurant in Anqing, and the extraordinary conversation he had at that reception.Today, Li Hongzhang is full of ambition and full of pride when he is the host and farewell to the north for his teacher.He wants to repay his teacher's great kindness with double grandeur, and also express to everyone with a heroic attitude: After he officially takes the top spot today, everything here will be more impressive.Zeng Guofan, who is frugal by nature, was not used to such a luxurious scene, not to mention he was depressed deep in his heart, he only moved a few chopsticks, took two sips of wine and left the banquet. At this time, according to Li Hongzhang's arrangement, Xiaguan Wharf had set up an unusual guard of honor to send off.Here colorful flags are fluttering, drums and music are in full swing, temporary archways are set up one after another, and guards with swords and guns and bright armor stand next to each other.The most eye-catching thing is the hundreds of Western cannons lined up by the river, all of which point their muzzles at the river.From Jiufuzhou in the west to Caoxie Gorge in the east, there is not a single civilian boat on the river.The newly decorated naval warships are waiting bravely to set off. On the mast of the extra-large "Yangtze River King Ship", a huge handsome flag is flying high. You can see clearly inside and out. Zeng Guofan brought Huang Yisheng, Zhao Liewen, Xue Fucheng and other civil and military officials, accompanied by Li Hongzhang, Peng Yulin and others, to the pier.Brothers Ji Ze and Ji Hong also came to see his father off, and Luo Zhaosheng and Ji Chen also came with their youngest son who was less than half a year old. They obeyed their father's order and returned to their hometown in Hunan.Today is an auspicious day, and there are many people seeing him off. Luo Zhaosheng thinks it is the most beautiful time to leave Jiangning with his father-in-law.Entrusted by the whole family, the couple sent their father to Yangzhou on behalf of the family, and then transferred to the west. Amidst the lively drum music, Zeng Guofan waved to those who saw him off frequently, then stepped on the gangplank and boarded the king boat.Just as the sailors were slowly lifting the anchor, they saw a red flag waving towards the air from the command building by the riverside. In an instant, hundreds of Western cannons fired together, and countless waves rose up on the river.The sound was about to break the blue sky; the waves seemed to roll over the Yangtze River.The officers and soldiers heading north applauded excitedly for this spectacular scene, and Zeng Guofan was also moved by the meticulous masterpiece of his disciples, but unexpectedly, the young life in the king's cabin was frightened by the earth-shattering noise and cried loudly. .The third girl, Ji Chen, anxiously took it from the nurse, patted his son himself, and murmured: "Good boy, don't be afraid, mother is here!" The cannonballs continued, getting louder and louder, and the baby cried more and more.Luo Zhaosheng stomped his feet angrily, cursing in his heart: "Damn cannon, don't stop sooner!" Zeng Guofan was also anxious.He likes this little grandson very much.Every day when he returned to the backyard, he would tease and kiss his relatives. In the past, none of his many children received such love from their father.It wasn't until the last six months that he realized that it's really fun to live a life of your own!Seeing his little grandson crying so hard that his hands and feet twitched again, he was terrified: "Ji Chen, hurry up and take the child ashore!" Immediately, two personal soldiers came to recruit for help.Ji Chen's family and the nanny hurried out of the cabin and onto the diving board.Zeng Guofan suddenly remembered something, and shouted at the springboard: "Let the child recover before returning to Hunan, do you hear me?" The gunfire finally stopped, and the king's boat sailed slowly downstream.Zeng Guofan sat in the cabin, his mind was buzzing. "A child is convulsed by the wind, and escapes close to death", finally looking forward to a cute little grandson, is it just sent back by the sound of salutes? The governor of Liangjiang, who went north to supervise the division, was just like the ordinary farmer in the lotus leaf pond, anxious about the misfortune of his little grandson.How did he know that at this moment, his beloved grandson, whom he placed great expectations on, had slowly stiffened in his mother's arms.