Chapter 24 In the city of Qiwuchang, the governor and the governor started a civil war

Hubei governor Zeng Guoquan, who returned three months ago, is completely different from his elder brother. The harsh nature of the royal family, the historical lessons that heroes rarely die well, and the earnest persuasion of Taoist Baiyun Guanchou repeatedly told by the fourth brother can't make him fully understand. He is still supercilious, doing his own way, not paying attention to the Nian Army who has ruled the roost in Anhui and Henan for many years, nor is he paying attention to the official documents of the imperial court's favorite officials.The failure of the New Hunan Army made him resentful, and news soon spread that Peng Yuju had been mutilated and his head hung up for public display, which made him even more violent.

Peng Yuju is his cousin, similar in age and similar in personality, and he contributed the most in attacking Jinling.When Xiao Fusi, Zhu Hongzhang, Liu Lianjie and others were unwilling to go to the battlefield again, Peng Yuju generously accepted the invitation to form a new Hunan Army for him.How can Zeng Guoquan not be sad and furious now that he has suffered this fate?Even Zeng Jize, who was ordered by his parents to temporarily go back to Xiangxiang to take care of the housework, passed by Wuchang and lived in Fufu, was also saddened by his cousin's tragic death. In the middle of the night, Liang Dao Ding Shoucun quietly entered the Futai yamen and met with Zeng Guoquan in secret.

"Jiu Shuai, General Xingnan's death was due to lack of food." Ding Shoucun revealed an important information to Zeng Guoquan. "Why doesn't the Liangtai provide military rations?" Zeng Guoquan suddenly became furious, and shouted at the Liangdao. "Nine Marshals calm down." Ding Shoucun, who had a yellow and thin face, said softly, "The grain platform originally stored one million catties of grain, but because the five thousand E Yong originally recruited by Guanzhong Tang were withdrawn by the Nine Marshals, the debt owed There was no cash for the salary for a while, and the official Zhongtang ordered the humble staff to transfer all the grain and rice from the Liangtai, and distributed it at a rate of 200 catties per brave. Before General Xingnan sent troops, the Liangtai tried every means to raise 40,000 catties of grain for him. To transport them, who would have thought that the grain roads would be cut off by the Nian bandits, if General Peng had brought an extra 20,000 jin, the army would not lose their morale and suffer this defeat."

"Is there any basis for what you said?" Zeng Guoquan stared at Ding Shoucun fiercely. "Here is the humble official's handwritten instructions." Ding Shoucun took out a piece of paper from the bootleaf, and handed it to Zeng Guoquan with both hands.Ding Shoucun was not promoted by Zeng Guoquan, why was he so loyal to Zeng Guoquan? It turned out that he was not trying to please Zeng Guoquan, but to take revenge on Guan Wen.Two years ago, Ding Shoucun embezzled 10,000 taels of silver by taking advantage of his power, and was accused.Ding Shoucun was so frightened that he kowtowed hundreds of times, begged his friends to tell his friends, and collected 10,000 silver to make atonement.The official document is still not letting go.Helpless, Ding Shoucun sold part of his family property and gave Guanwen a gift of 10,000 silver, and Guanwen only allowed him a chance not to participate in impeachment and serve as a substitute for guilt.Therefore, Ding Shoucun hated official documents to death.

Zeng Guoquan, who was furious because of the defeat of the New Hunan Army in the first battle, and couldn't find an excuse to shirk responsibility, suddenly caught a big handle.After Ding Shoucun left, the uncles and nephews discussed for a long time, and decided to keep quiet for now, and sent people to collect the official document's bad deeds in Huguang over the years, and then read him a copy heavily, in order to avenge today's revenge, Yixue did not rescue Sanhe back then Hate! Zeng Guoquan's actions cannot be hidden from the eyes and ears of the official documents.He didn't dare to blatantly offend the murderous Zeng Jiushuai, so he resorted to a trick and told the emperor that the situation in northern Hubei was serious, and he asked Zeng Guoquan to lead his troops out of Wuchang and stationed in Xiangyang in the name of assisting in military affairs.The decree came down soon, as requested in the official document.

Zeng Guoquan had been leading troops to fight on the front line in the past, he didn't know much about the officialdom, and he was not familiar with the history of the dynasty.So I wrote to my brother.Zeng Guofan wrote to tell the ninth brother that there is no need to thank him.He also explained that in recent years, generals such as Li Shizhong and Chen Guorui have been able to help, Liu Dian also got them as a standard secretary, and Wu Tang as a Taoist priest. Do not sign this title on the slips.When Zeng Guoquan received the letter from his eldest brother, it was like a spark falling into a frying pan, and his anger immediately ignited.He hated Guanwen not only for pushing him out of Wuchang, but also for ridiculing him as a Taoist priest and general.He was so angry that he cut off a corner of the desk with his sword, and shouted: "I am a dignified descendant of Yan and Huang, how can I hold my nose up to the puppet generation!"

Zeng Jize was so frightened that he hurriedly said, "Uncle Jiu, the walls have ears!" "What are you afraid of!" Zeng Guoquan scolded his nephew angrily, "I have long wanted to have a fight with them. You draft an article for Uncle Jiu and let them know that Master Zeng Jiu is not easy to bully!" Zeng Jize's articles are well done. Under the guidance of his father, he has also consciously read many famous memorials, but this is the first time he has drafted independently.He closed the door and bit his pen for a few days, thinking hard, and wrote a long memorial of nearly 3,000 words, listing several major crimes in official documents: greed, arrogance, bullying, favoritism, spoiling the family, hindering military administration, and wooing military aircraft , Eliminate the legacy of the party.Although the evidence for the last one is not sufficient, it is serious in nature, so it was added.After Zeng Jize finished writing, he felt a little uneasy, so he showed it to Uncle Jiu.Zeng Guoquan was very satisfied: "Well written! It seems that you have grown a lot by being with your father in the past few years. That's it, let's ask the copy room to arrange a copy, and I will send it out tomorrow."

"Uncle Nine, the official document is the empress dowager's, the emperor's cronies, and the official residence of the university scholar, which is not comparable to ordinary people. To be cautious, how about copying a copy and sending it to Jining Prefecture, so that father can have a look at it before sending it?" "Since your father came back in the eighth year of Xianfeng, his courage has become smaller and smaller, and his worries have become more and more serious. He is cautious in everything and careful in every way. If you let him know this memorial, it will definitely not be published. It is better not to tell him. In the future, even if there are troubles, I won’t be involved in him, and I will take care of it alone.”

The memorial has been sent out.Zeng Jize was still worried, so he copied a copy himself and sent someone to Jining Prefecture. Zeng Guoquan's memorial to the impeachment of the Grand Master immediately caused an uproar among the imperial court and governors of various provinces.In addition to the fact that Peng Yulin pointed out earlier, there is another trick to being an official, that is, to be good at win over Beijing officials.The status of Beijing officials is important, but their salaries are not high. Because they have no local real power, the extra income is very little, and it all depends on the help of local officials.Since Xianfeng became governor of Huguang five years ago, Guanwen has attached great importance to contacting Beijing officials.Every year, the Bingjing in summer and the charcoal in winter are richer than any provincial governor, and the gifts are widely spread, and everyone is satisfied. When it comes to Duanyang, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and New Year’s Day, he chooses to give Distribute the essentials of each ministry.When the imperial envoys sent by the imperial court came to Wuchang, he was the most courteous and the best entertainer.Where did the official document get so much money?It's not the people's fat and people's cream of the two lakes!Therefore, although the people are full of complaints, the official seat is firmly established, and the governor of the lake is seated for thirteen years.Zeng Guoquan fought desperately to take down Jinling, earning only an earl. He lived leisurely in Wuchang, and he also gained the reputation of Guoweibo.This is what official documents do!

All ministries of the imperial court were generally dissatisfied with Zeng Guoquan's behavior of impeaching the Governor-General as soon as he arrived in Wuchang, especially the Military Aircraft Department, because in the memorial it stated that "the Military Aircraft Department deliberately made things difficult for Efu. Whenever there is an order, it is never sent directly, but by the Governor." The words "Transferred by the Department" touched the sore spot of the military aircraft department.Hu Jiayu, Minister of Military Aircraft, reported to the Queen Mother, saying that Zeng Guoquan shifted the responsibility for the military defeat to the official documents, with bad intentions, and there were many inconsistencies in what he said, so he should be dismissed.Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the Ministry of War to send personnel to Wuchang for a close inspection and verification.

In Jining Prefecture, Zeng Guofan received Zeng Jize's letter and read the memorial carefully.Lao Jiu's self-willedness and handling of Meng Lang's affairs made him deeply saddened.He sighed, with a premonition that this matter would lead to serious consequences.It must be clearly pointed out to Lao Jiu: Don't go too far!He wrote a letter: Guan Xiufeng's career has been achieved, but it seems that the internal call is not very clear, and the replacement is not too difficult, which is the best luck.My younger brother said that fate is the master, and Yu Su firmly believed in it; when he said that the self-improvement wins every time, Yu Su didn't believe it very much.The strength of every country must have more virtuous ministers; the strength of a family must have more virtuous children; the strength of a person should follow Zeng and Meng's method of self-cultivation and tell Confucius that he is strong, and it can last for a long time.In addition, the strength of the battle of wits and fighting power can lead to great success due to strength, and great defeat due to strength.Our generation can seek strength in self-cultivation, but it is not enough to seek strength in victory over others. He wrote another letter to Ji Ze, scolding his son not only for not dissuading Uncle Jiu, but for imposing such acrimonious memorial to fuel the flames, which is too ignorant. Just at this time Li Hongzhang came to Xuzhou to inspect military affairs, and Zeng Guofan sent Zhao Liewen to Xuzhou to discuss with Li Hongzhang.When Li Hongzhang heard this, he also felt that Lao Jiu was reckless.He pondered for a long time, and said to Zhao Liewen: "There is only one way now. The teacher will come forward to smooth things over. The secret security officer Xiufeng will criticize Jiushuai as a brother for his sloppy work and try to make things smaller. I don't know what the teacher wants." After Zhao Liewen returned to Jining, he relayed Li Hongzhang's idea to Zeng Guofan and thought it was a feasible solution.From the bottom of his heart, Zeng Guofan was not willing to suppress and promote officials like this, but considering the old nine unofficial opponents, if the lawsuit was defeated and transferred away from Hubei, the New Hunan Army would no longer exist, and the overall plan would be disrupted.For the smooth implementation of the river defense strategy, proceeding from the overall situation of suppressing Nian, we can only come up with this bad strategy.A few days later, a memorial of a secret official document was issued by Jining Prefecture. After receiving the elder brother's letter, Zeng Guoquan's mind began to calm down a little, and the second participation package he had planned was put on hold for the time being.Zeng Jize obeyed his father's order and left Wuchang to go south, jumping out of this circle of right and wrong. Soon, the imperial envoy who came to Wuchang to investigate the dispute between the governor and the governor returned to the capital, and rejected all the official documents listed by Zeng Guoquan one by one.In the Imperial History Book of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it is not established that the official document is to suppress the remnants of the party, and Zeng Guoquan is a false accusation, so the case should be reversed.Some governors of other provinces also reported that Zeng Guoquan served arrogantly and failed in the battle, so he should be punished. Empress Dowager Cixi was quite embarrassed about this matter.She needs not only a loyal domestic slave like Guan Wen, but also a fighting eagle dog like Zeng Guoquan.At present, the Nian Army is powerful and the country is in trouble. The Zeng brothers and the Xianghuai Army are the pillars she relies on.However, the official document was humiliated without fault, and the disputes between the government and the opposition were fierce, and it would be difficult to appease the public's anger if Zeng Guoquan was not suppressed.She wanted to give Zeng Guoquan a "downgrade to two grades", just like what Zeng Guofan got when he invited Yang Jian into the Xiangxian Temple. At this time, Zuo Zongtang, who succeeded Yang Yuebin as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, sent a vigorous memorial to the court, praising Zeng Guoquan's impeachment of the official Wen Yishu, which is the first good article in the world today, the first-class good deed, and the people's hearts. Da Kuai, righteous, and using his identity as Fumu in Hunan for many years as evidence, he accused the official documents of being corrupt, mediocre and unbearable to be sent back to the border.Zuo Zongtang is at the front line of quelling the Hui people's rebellion, and the weight of his memorial is far greater than that of other governors of the province and the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.The memorial of Zeng Guofan's secret protection of official documents was also in the hands of Cixi at this time.Cixi is a shrewd person, she knows that Zeng Guofan is not too late, and at this time, he is no doubt filling the gap for his younger brother.This attitude of Zeng Guofan pleased Cixi very much.She thought: If Zeng Guofan and his younger brother stand on one side and resolutely oppose the official document, it will be even more troublesome; Zeng Guofan still has to give face.Cixi decided to make peace according to the usual practice of discord between governors and governors.So the official documents were transferred to the capital, and the university scholars were in charge of the Ministry of punishment, and the Mongolian capital of Zhengbai Banner was transferred, and Li Hongzhang was transferred as the governor of Huguang.Because the post of Sufu could not leave for the time being, Li Hanzhang, the governor of Hunan, was transferred to be the temporary governor of the lake, and Liu Kun replaced Li Hanzhang.No accusations were made against Zeng Guoquan.A big storm subsided in this way. Just as Zeng Guofan was delighted that his ninth younger brother survived the crisis safely and that the post of governor of the lake fell into the hands of the Xianghuai army, Lai Wenguang and Zhang Zongyu took advantage of the infighting in the officialdom of the Qing court to defeat Guo Songlin's troops in Yuzhou. Then he swung his troops northward, led 50,000 cavalry, easily broke through the defense line from Zhuxian Town to Kaifeng Mansion guarded by the Henan Army, galloped day and night, and advanced into Luxi.The river defense plan, which had been painstakingly planned for half a year, was in vain overnight.The news came that Zeng Guofan was ill in Jining Prefecture.