Chapter 20 The Three National Treasures were snatched by Chen Guorui

After Zeng Guofan arrived in Xuzhou, the generals and officials from all walks of life had already been waiting here.He will discuss carefully with Peng Yulin, Li Hongzhang and others before setting off, and after setting off in the boat, he will discuss with Huang Yisheng, Zhao Liewen and others and make arrangements for the plan to suppress twisting.This plan, Zeng Guofan called it "combination of civil and military". In terms of martial arts, he changed Seng Beilinqin's passive situation of braking with movement and chasing after each other, and established a tactic based on static and combined with static and dynamic.He focused on defending five towns: Xuzhou, Jiangsu, where he himself was stationed; Jining, Shandong, where Liu Mingchuan was stationed; Linhuai, Anhui, where Liu Songshan was stationed; Zhoujiakou and Guide Towns, Henan, where Zhang Shusheng and Zhou Shengbo were stationed respectively.There are also four wandering armies: three land divisions led by Pan Dingxin, Yi Kaijun, and Zhang Shiri, plus a cavalry team led by Li Zhaoqing, responsible for short-distance pursuit and rescue of emergency situations.Zeng Guofan also ordered Yan Jingming, governor of Shandong, Wu Changshou, governor of Henan, Qiao Songnian, governor of Anhui, and Li Hongzhang, governor of Jiangsu, to defend Yanzhou, Yizhou, Caozhou, Chenzhou, Luzhou, Fengyang, Yingzhou, Sizhou, Huai'an, Haizhou and other places.These areas have always been the areas where the Nian Army's activities were frequent, and they have a very important position in the military.Zeng Guofan summed up this tactic in one sentence, that is, the game of chasing after the tail is the division that stops the head, and the army with certainty is used to control the bandits without certainty.

In terms of literature, it is mainly in Chaxiu Village.Zeng Guofan ordered the governors of all provinces to build villages and set up village chiefs in places where the Nian army often haunted.When the Nian army comes, all the people, livestock, food and grass must be gathered in the village, guarded by the militia, and the walls will be cleared to prevent the Nian army from getting any supplies.The law of inspecting dikes was also enacted to conduct a thorough check on dike villages.Those who have a deep relationship with the Nian Army are included in the list of scoundrels, and according to the list, they will be arrested and corrected.Others are included in the register of good people.The five households bonded with the head of the dike, and the five households would sit together if something happened.The head of the fair is bound to the prefecture and county, and the head of the fair will sit together if something happens.In order to cut off the connection between the Nian army and the people.Zeng Guofan sent Xue Fucheng to inspect various places on his behalf to supervise the implementation of the prefectures and counties.When Xue Fucheng was about to leave, Zeng Guofan confessed to him: "You were born in a scholarly family, and you have been influenced by poetry and rituals for a long time. What I am afraid of is that you are tolerant and indulgent, and the law is not strict. A couplet from the Nine Marshals: Using thunderbolts to show the heart of a Bodhisattva, the relationship between Yan and Ci is the most appropriate. In troubled times, heavy codes should be used, and only violence can be peaceful. This is not an easy way to govern the country. I grant you the power of life and death, Just feel free to use it."

Xue Fucheng received this high regard, and his blood surged.He led a group of young scholars like himself to vigorously investigate the villages in Meng County and Bo County, the hometown of the Nian Army, and massacred more than ten people at a time in some villages.Xue Fucheng's hand is really powerful.The common people in Mongolia and Bo were in danger, and no longer dared to have contact with the Nian Army.From then on, the Nian Army was unable to return home and became an army of exiles rushing here and there. Wen's aspect has gained a lot, but Wu's aspect is not satisfactory.In the past few months, the Xianghuai Army and the Nian Army have fought forty or fifty times, basically without victory. The fight between Liu Mingchuan and Chen Guorui outside Jining City made Zeng Guofan even more angry.

Chen Guorui was the first general under Seng Gelinqin. At the age of fifteen, he joined the Taiping Army in his hometown Yingcheng, Hubei, and later surrendered to the Qing Army. Later he returned to Seng Gelinqin.Chen Guorui is not as tall as a middle-aged man, but he is brave and brave and crowned a green battalion flag soldier. He often wears red helmets and armors in battle, and is called a red boy.When Miao Peilin rebelled, he led his troops to encircle and suppress, winning consecutive battles.Miao Peilin withdrew from the stronghold and stood firm, while Chen Guorui camped outside.Cannons rained like rain outside the camp, while Chen Guorui drank as usual in the camp.Suddenly, a cannon shot smashed the wine glass in his hand, and the soldiers advised him to avoid it.He grabbed a chair, sat upright outside the barracks, and yelled loudly: "I am Chen Guorui, shoot me if you have the guts!" He was too frightened to shoot again because he missed dozens of cannonballs in the village.Since then, Chen Guorui's reputation has grown even greater.

After Seng Gelinqin's death, he took care of the imperial envoy Guanfang as the commander-in-chief of Chuzhou Town and was stationed in Jining.Although he was defeated by borrowing Gelinqin, he didn't think he couldn't do it. He was dissatisfied with Liu Mingchuan's entry into Jining.And this Huai army general, Liu Mingchuan, was not a man to be trifled with. Liu Mingchuan grew up in the Huaibei Plain, where the folk customs are strong. He has developed a domineering spirit that fears neither the sky nor the earth since he was a child.When he was eighteen years old, a local tyrant nearby came to his house to extort money from him. His father couldn't come up with the money for a while, so he knelt down in front of the local tyrant and begged for mercy.

The local tyrant kicked his father, scolded him again, and restricted him to pay in three days.Before going out, he lashed the whip a few more times.His father and two older brothers leaned against the door and wept.After Liu Mingchuan came home and learned of the situation, he was so angry that he scolded his two elder brothers for being cowards: "There is no reason why the father is humiliated and the son does not take revenge!" On a street, Liu Mingchuan met his enemy.He pointed at the enemy on the horse and cursed.Liu Mingchuan was not tall, and the man bullied him as an underage boy. He didn't care about his scolding, pulled out a knife from his waist, and said to him: "Don't scold him, dare to use this knife!" Come and kill me, it’s worth it.” After speaking, he laughed loudly at the dozen or so minions behind him.Liu Mingchuan listened, without further ado, patted the horse forward, snatched the knife from the local tyrant's hand, took advantage of the situation, chopped him off the horse, then calmly dismounted and cut off his head, then got on the horse, raised the enemy's head, Shouting: "I have avenged my father, and I don't want this life anymore. Those who are capable, come up and compete with me!"

Liu Mingchuan's arrogance suppressed all the local tyrant's minions, no one dared to step forward, and ran around in fright.At that time Huaibei was in great chaos, the strong gathered a crowd to rectify disciples, and ruled the stronghold as king. Everyone saw that Liu Mingchuan had such courage and ability at a young age, so they all came to him.In this way, he quickly pulled up a team.Li Hezhang and Li Zhaoqing held group training in their hometown and had close contacts with Liu Mingchuan.When Li Hongzhang returned home to recruit the Huai army, he was the first one to take a fancy to him.

Liu Mingchuan has always regarded himself as the number one in the world, and did not take Chen Guorui, the general of the defeated army, into his eyes at all. He completely stationed the five thousand Ming army in Changgouji outside the city, and sent word that Chen Guorui came to see him. he.How could Chen Guorui, who is arrogant by nature, accept his tricks? Not only did he refuse to see each other, but he also deliberately wanted to give Liu Ming a bad impression. Chen Guorui has long coveted Mingjun's foreign guns.In the middle of the night, taking advantage of Liu Mingchuan's absence from the barracks, he personally directed 500 brothers to rush into Changgouji, killed more than 20 Huai Yong, and took away more than 300 new-style foreign guns.Chen Guorui also slipped into Liu Mingchuan's bedroom and took away the French-made special long gun worth two hundred and fifty taels of silver hanging on the wall.He also saw an extra large antique copper plate on the desk, he had never seen such a thing before, it was very strange, he also carried it on his shoulder, and happily took it away.

Early the next morning, the Ming army in Changgouji was furious. Liu Mingchuan was not only resentful for the gun thrown by the dead, but also saddened for the loss of the ancient plate.This ancient plate is not an ordinary thing, it is a real national treasure, and Liu Mingchuan got it legendaryly by chance. It was in April of the third year of Tongzhi, when Liu Mingchuan captured Changzhou, an important town in southern Jiangsu, and lived in the former Taiping Army's Palace of Protectors.In the middle of the night that day, Liu Mingchuan came back from Yuanxiang Building, a brothel on West Street.After all, it's not decent for a prostitute to come back late, so he didn't wake up the porter, walked around the fence, and chose a remote place to climb over the wall and enter.After jumping off the wall, I found out that this is the stable.Several tall horses were grazing night grass, a dim lantern was hung on a post, and the groom went to sleep somewhere.As he walked past the stables, he suddenly heard a pleasant metallic clang.He stopped curiously, listened carefully, and heard another sound.Now he heard it clearly, it was coming from the stable.He went straight to the stables.The black whirlwind he used to ride saw his master come in, and he ate more happily. He shook his head and made another pleasant sound.Liu Mingchuan could see clearly that the sound was made by the iron bridle on Hei Xuanfeng's mouth hitting the metal objects in the trough.What will be in the trough?He reached out his hand and found a black iron pan among the hay.This iron plate is quite large: about four feet long, more than two feet wide, and more than one foot high, rectangular in shape.Touch it with your hands, and there are a few lines of characters cast on the bottom of the plate.He found it interesting and carried it back to his room.

The next day, Liu Mingchuan washed the iron plate, and a few lines of writing were exposed at the bottom of the plate.The writing was so ancient that he couldn't recognize it.It happened that Pan Dingxin came, and Liu Mingchuan asked Pan Dingxin, who was born in Juren, to identify him.Pan Dingxin looked at the iron pan to the left and to the right, and pondered over the words on the bottom of the pan for a long time. Suddenly, he patted Liu Mingchuan on the shoulder and shouted, "Xingsan, this is an amazing treasure!" Liu Mingchuan was taken aback, and said with a smile, "Brother Qinxuan, you are kidding me!"

"Who's kidding you?" Pan Dingxin said sternly, "You Lengtouqing, you're holding a golden Bodhisattva and treating it like a yellow mud figure!" "Really?" Liu Mingchuan was overjoyed, "Brother Qinxuan, where is this treasure?" "If you ask someone about this plate, even if he is a well-educated person, he may not know it. You are lucky to meet me today." Pan Dingxin said proudly, "Daoguang thirty years ago, I undertook repairs at the National History Museum In the biography of the minister, I occasionally saw such an event in the memorabilia of the seventeenth year of Daoguang: In March, an ancient bronze plate was unearthed by the Guochuan Division of Baoji, Shaanxi. Conquering the hunks, victorious, receiving rewards in the Zhou temple, etc. This plate is the largest bronze vessel of the Western Zhou Dynasty unearthed so far, and it was about to be sent to Ouchi for collection, but it was suddenly stolen and its whereabouts are unknown.” "Lost it?" Liu Mingchuan was in a daze when he heard it, and called out regretfully. "You fool!" Pan Dingxin laughed, "If you don't lose it, how can you be so lucky!" "Hey!" Liu Mingchuan smirked again. "Since then, there has been no news of this Guopan. I don't want you to get it. You are so lucky! Is it collected by the long-haired Chen Kunshu?" Liu Mingchuan nodded indiscriminately, and added: "Brother Qinxuan, why do you think it is the ancient plate?" "You ignorant guy!" Pan Dingxin turned the bottom of the plate over, tapped the few lines of Zhong Dingwen that Liu Mingchuan didn't know with his fingers, and said, "Isn't this clearly stated?" Liu Mingchuan was fully convinced, and secretly thanked the heaven for the treasure.He immediately took out two hundred taels of silver, and said to Pan Dingxin with a smile: "Brother Qinxuan, this little silver is just a thank you gift from my younger brother, please don't tell me about it." Liu Mingchuan couldn't put it down and carried it with him.Most of the generals of the Huai Army do not read books, and no one knows its value.Of course, Liu Mingchuan wouldn't say it, thinking in his heart: After defeating the Nian Army, transport it back to his hometown in Luzhou to treasure it, and leave it as a family heirloom for his descendants.Who knew that it was stolen by the damn Chen Guorui in the middle of the night yesterday, how could he not be angry!I wish I could grab Chen Guorui and skin him. Liu Mingchuan mobilized two thousand Huai troops, and rushed towards Jining City with madness of revenge.Chen Guorui suffered a disastrous defeat last time, his vitality has not yet recovered, and the more than 300 foreign guns he snatched can't be used. How can he defeat the Huai army's raindrops of guns?In less than an hour, 40 or 50 green battalion soldiers in Jining City fell in a pool of blood, more than 300 foreign guns of the Huai army were lost and recovered, and Chen Guorui was also captured alive, but Guo Jizi Baipan did not know where to go. Angrily, Liu Mingchuan slapped Chen Guorui twice across the face, forcing him to hand over the plate.Chen Guorui didn't know this treasure, so after taking it back to have a look, he asked someone to throw it into a miscellaneous room.Chen Guorui, who had always been arrogant and lawless, was slapped in the face by these two slaps. He knew that Liu Mingchuan valued it, so he didn't say anything.Liu Mingchuan scolded: "You old long-haired thieves, if you don't hand over the plate, I will starve you to death!" Chen Guorui was locked in the room, and a whole day passed without a drop of rice. This guy always eats a lot. As usual, he has a pot of soju, two catties of pork, and one liter of white rice for one meal.At the end of the day, he was so hungry that he was dizzy.It was the same again the next day, he was so hungry that he wanted to chew the plank and swallow it.On the third day, Chen Guorui couldn't stand it anymore, so he told the guards that he was willing to hand over the plate.After hearing this, Liu Mingchuan thought: The foreign guns were taken back, and the murdered brothers, the Green Camp compensated with double the number of people, and slapped Chen Guorui twice, starving him for two days, the revenge has been avenged, and the Huai army did not suffer.When Chen Guorui's personal soldiers came to Guopan, Liu Mingchuan released the chief soldier of Chuzhou Town who had been relied on by Seng Gelinqin as his right-hand man. Chen Guorui had never experienced such a great humiliation, and after returning to the city, he felt even more uncomfortable.It is a pity that the monk king is dead, and no one can make decisions for him. It is said that Zeng Guofan, the commander-in-chief of the supervisor, is fair. Chen Guorui brought two cronies and three fast horses from Jining to Xuzhou, and sued Liu Mingchuan to Zeng Guofan.