Chapter 38 Empress Dowager Cixi has a subtle attitude towards the Ma case

Zeng Guofan was very disturbed when he received this edict.Along with the Shangyu came a large envelope containing the recent Beijing News.The Beijing News published a brief account of the case reported by General Jiang Ning, the governor of the two rivers: Ma Xinyi returned to the office after reviewing the monthly martial arts class. He met a man on the arrow path and was stabbed to death by this man with a short knife.The assassin captured him on the spot. His name was Zhang Wenxiang, a native of Henan. The criminal's confession was inconsistent.After reading the Beijing News, Zeng Guofan fell into deep thought.

It was the first time since the founding of the Qing Dynasty that the governor was assassinated, and Ma Xinyi, who was assassinated, was a shrewd and capable character in modern official circles.Ma Xinyi used to be a member of Zeng Guofan's subordinate, and he knew him well. Ma Xinyi, whose name is Gushan, was born in Heze County, Caozhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. He was a Jinshi in the 27th year of Daoguang, the same year as Li Hongzhang and Guo Songtao.From the third year of Xianfeng, he began to lead troops, first with the Taiping Army, and then with the Nian Army in the Anhui battlefield, and was constantly promoted because of his military achievements.In the second year of Tongzhi, he was appointed as an inspector and moved to the chief envoy.During this period, Zeng Guofan was in Anqing and had a lot of contact with Ma Xinyi. His comments on this prosperous official were: shrewd, diligent, and deep in the city.In the third year of Tongzhi, Ma Xinyi, who had not been a chief envoy for a full year, replaced Zeng Guoquan, who had returned home from a vacancy, and became the governor of Zhejiang.The rapidity of the promotion made people jealous, and even Zeng Guofan was secretly surprised.He didn't understand what kind of background this person had that made the family so prosperous. At that time, Zeng Guofan had already moved to Jiangning.On this day, Ma Xinyi, who was going to Hangzhou to take up his post, came to pay homage to the Governor's Yamen.

Ma Xinyi, who was already handsome and well-proportioned, looked more radiant on the way to high school, chatting with Zeng Guofan indulgently, and his demeanor was very dignified.Zeng Guofan smiled and said: "Your Excellency has served in Anhui for many years, and now you will be the governor of Zhejiang. Have you heard the good story about the three members of Tongcheng's family being the governor of Zhejiang?" "I've never heard of it." Ma Xinyi said happily, "Please tell Zhongtang." "Fang's surname in Tongcheng is a well-known local family." Zeng Guofan stroked his long beard and said with great interest, "During the Qianlong period, Fang Kemin was promoted to Zhefu by the Zhili feudal secretary. Couplet: "The drama on the lake sings clearly, and the officials are also called immortals. I believe that in the past, there were great talents; the sea sells domineering, and the people are like water. I hope that the tide will be flat today." Twenty years later, his nephew Shouchou was also promoted by the Zhili Fansi Zhefu. Twenty-eight years later, his son Fang Weidian took the temporary protection of Zhejiang Fuzhuan as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Fang Weidian remembered that it was a special encounter for his family that his father, brother and him held envoys three times in the past thirty years, so Write a couplet on the wall next to the couplet column of the father's inscription in the past: "The two Zhejiang provinces will stop again, and they will respect Danhao and abide by the teachings; one school has three festivals, the new policy and the old policy, and encourages Suzhi Shao." The sound of the family.' After the couplet, I wrote a long postscript, describing the blessing of the family."

"It's really a good story in the history of the governor of Zhejiang." Ma Xinyi applauded with high five. "Thank you Zhongtang for telling such an interesting story on the eve of my visit to Zhejiang." "Your Excellency has also been promoted to Zhefu as a feudal secretary. I hope that the Mafu will be like the Fang family, and come out of Zhefu in future generations." Zeng Guofan laughed. "Then it's up to Zhongtang's blessing." Ma Xinyi said excitedly. After talking about this interesting story, Ma Xinyi humbly asked Zeng Guofan for advice on how to govern the people. Zeng Guofan also talked about his plan to reduce and exempt taxes in Liangjiang to make the people poor.The two talked very speculatively.

As soon as Ma Xinyi arrived in Hangzhou, he learned from Zeng Guofan's practice. He wrote that the unpaid taxes were owed due to the war. The imperial court agreed to all the unnamed fees.He also personally led troops to eliminate pirates along the coast.In the sixth year of Tongzhi, he was promoted to governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and became a young army commander.In the second year, Zeng Guofan was transferred to Zhili, and Ma Xinyi went to Jiangning to take over. That time, when Zeng Guofan saw Ma Xinyi, who was under 50 years old, had no special achievements, and had no connection with the Hunan and Huaihe schools, he felt very unhappy.The two rivers are important places, and those who are not old-fashioned, long-term, great virtues and great achievements should not be lightly awarded. Letting Ma Xinyi take over, isn't it intentional to lower the standards of the governor of Liangjiang?Could it be that someone in the imperial court deliberately used this to suppress the generals of Xianghuai?After thinking about it this way, he felt that his suspicion was unfounded and his mind was too narrow, so he still treated Ma Xinyi with courtesy.In the past two years, I heard that Ma Xinyi did a good job in Liangjiang, why did he suddenly suffer such a tragic change?Zhang Wenxiang is a wanderer, why did he want to assassinate the governor?This person dared to assassinate in the school ground full of swords and soldiers, but he succeeded in the one-shot assassination, his courage and ability must be extraordinary.Based on Zeng Guofan's experience, he also thought that there might be an unusually complex network behind this person, and once he got involved in it, the consequences would be unpredictable.

At that time, he did not avoid hardships and dangers, forged ahead, followed the example of Kui, Gao, and Yi Yin, and wanted to be a servant of the Ministry of Rites who would shape the world and revitalize the world. The Tianjin case was humiliated, and he was physically weak and sick. In addition, he had experienced too many dangers and waves in the past ten years. More and more pessimistic and disappointed.He went to the empress dowager and the emperor, saying that his right eye had been dull for a long time, and his left eye was also dim.After thinking about it again and again, the only way is to avoid the position and let the virtuous, begging for his life, and begging for the grace of the sage to make the virtuous and capable, and give Liangjiang the important task.At present, the Tianjin case is not ready. After Li Hongzhang arrives in Tianjin to receive the seal script, he should still stay in Tianjin County and handle it together.

The memorial was quickly forwarded back, and Zeng Guofan was ordered to go to Jiangdu immediately and not to resign.The tone of the words was firm, and there was no room for further discussion, so Zeng Guofan had to follow his orders in illness. "My lord, it's really strange that a lowly position wants to rule Taiwan." After learning that Zeng Guofan decided to go to Liangjiang to take up his post, Zhao Liewen reminded, "After the Tianjin case happened, the imperial court made an order every day, and ordered it to be handled quickly and strictly. It has been more than a month since Taiwan was assassinated, and the Beijing News has only a brief report from Kuiyu, but no decree on the matter. Zheng Dunjin, Minister of Criminal Affairs, was ordered to investigate the case in Jiangning, and it is said that he only left Beijing for a few days. Although Ma Zhitai The case cannot be compared with the Jin case, but it is not trivial. Do you still remember the assassination case of Deng Zijiu Zhongcheng more than ten years ago? At that time, Lord Xianfeng took refuge in Rehe. Dian Fu Xu Zhiming’s report was refuted one by one, and the case was finally settled by the Queen Mother and Jinshang. Deng Zijiu was a governor who had just been promoted from the feudal lord, and was killed during the journey. Assassinated in the school grounds, the matter is much more serious, and the court’s reaction is not too strong. This matter is very puzzling.”

Of course Zeng Guofan knew about the assassination of Deng Zijiu mentioned by Zhao Liewen.In the tenth year of Xianfeng, Deng Erheng (Zijiu), the chief minister of Yunnan, was promoted to the governor of Guizhou. On the way to his post, he changed to the governor of Shaanxi.Xu Zhiming, the governor of Yunnan, was not an upright official. He was afraid that Deng Erheng would reveal his secrets when he went to Beijing to see his majesty, so he ordered his deputy He Youbao to murder Deng in Qujing County.Afterwards, it was reported to the imperial court, saying that the bandit had assassinated and the murderer had been brought to justice.Emperor Xianfeng severely reprimanded Xu Zhiming, and ordered Liu Yuanhao, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, to conduct a close investigation and report on the facts.Later, when Liu Yuanhao heard about the reason, he dared not go to Yunnan, and delayed for half a year, begging for illness to return home.Soon after, Emperor Xianfeng died of illness, and the Empress Dowager Xi took power, immediately dismissed Xu Zhiming from his position, ordered Zhang Liangji to go to Yunnan to handle it, and asked Pan Duo to handle the case.In the end, the case came to light because He Youbao and others made a fuss internally.In the few months after Deng Erheng was killed, there was a lot of discussion across the country, and the Beijing News published relevant news every day, and the officialdom focused on Yunnan for a while.In contrast, the horse case is much deserted.Could it be that the imperial court deliberately ignored it?Zhao Liewen's reminder makes sense!

"According to my humble opinion, my lord might as well make another note, asking Your Majesty to see and listen to the views of the two empress dowagers on this matter." Zeng Guofan adopted Zhao Liewen's suggestion and invited His Majesty Jin Jing to see him.At the same time, he sent a letter to Jize, asking his son to arrange for his family members to go south first, without waiting for him. According to the decree, he was allowed to come to Beijing to meet with His Majesty.So Zeng Guofan waited for Li Hongzhang to come to Tianjin, and after handing over the seal of the governor of Zhili, he set off for Beijing.

At this time, Zeng Guofan's 60th birthday was approaching. As soon as he arrived in the capital, the Military Aircraft Office ordered him to give him a birthday: one side of the imperial script "Xun Gaozhushi", one side of the imperial script "Fu" and "Shou", a bronze statue of Brahma, One ruyi handle inlaid with red sandalwood jade, one boa robe, ten pieces of auspicious silk, and ten pieces of crepe crepe.Xiao Junji, who came to Fayuan Temple to deliver birthday gifts, told Zeng Guofan: The plaque of "Xun Gaozhushi" was written by the emperor himself, and these four words were also thought up by him. The six-year-old little emperor really praised it.This is the first time that the emperor handwritten a book as a gift to a minister, and it is really a great kindness.In the past, a general compliment to heaven could make Zeng Guofan's heart excited for days and nights, and it became a powerful driving force for him to move forward, but now these unconventional Chonglong family members will no longer arouse his passion.He is a dry old tree, and the spring breeze can no longer blow out green leaves.

Initiated by Zhou Shouchang, the fellow from Huguang held a grand banquet in the Hunan Guild Hall to celebrate his birthday. Although the plaque inscribed by him has been made as it is, and it is still hanging on the gate of the hall, but the past of smashing the plaque made him feel painful. He only sat down for a while for entertainment, and then excused himself to leave.The joy of celebrating the ten Jinshi of the same discipline has become a very distant memory. After the birthday banquet, the empress dowagers and emperors of the two palaces met twice in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.The emperor remained silent as usual, and the Eastern Empress Dowager did not speak. The two interviews combined, the Western Empress Dowager only asked him a dozen sentences, and the assassination of Ma Xinyi that he was most concerned about was only two sentences.One sentence: "Isn't Ma Xinyi's matter very strange?" He couldn't figure out the meaning of this sentence, so he replied vaguely: "This matter is very strange." The Queen Mother paused for a while, and said again: "Ma Xinyi is very good This sentence finally reached the essence, and he quickly followed her words and replied: "He handles things peacefully and meticulously." When he pricked up his ears to listen to the following, but there was no more, he told him to kneel down and quit.The next day, Ma Xinyi's name was not even mentioned.The Empress Dowager only asked him when he was going to leave, and asked him to train after he arrived in the south of the Yangtze River. On the tenth day of October, it was the Longevity Day of the Western Empress Dowager, and Zeng Guofan came to congratulate her with her class.The next day, it was his 60th birthday, and he left Beijing for the south early in the morning. On the way, Zeng Guofan repeatedly chewed on the two sentences of the Queen Mother, carefully figured out the court's attitude towards the Ma case, and gradually gained a clearer understanding.The Queen Mother was not very enthusiastic about this matter, which confirmed Zhao Liewen's analysis.On the one hand, the imperial court's opinion of Ma Xinyi is good; on the other hand, it has no intention of investigating the case to the bottom.For such a big and strange case, the court's attitude seems quite incomprehensible. Along the way, he discussed these thoughts with Zhao Liewen, Xue Fucheng, Wu Rulun and others, and they all found it strange.These bizarre signs stimulated the curiosity of Zhao, Xue, and Wu's enthusiastic staff.They tried their best to encourage Zeng Guofan to find out the whole matter, and guessed that there would be many unexpected gains after finding out.Zeng Guofan smiled lightly.He doesn't expect any unexpected gains, but since he has been ordered to return to the post of Governor Jiang, it is his duty to find out this matter.So he wrote a secret letter and sent it urgently to Peng Yulin, the servant of the Ministry of War who was rectifying the Yangtze River Navy near Jiangning, asking him to conduct a secret investigation first. The yamen of the governor of Liangjiang is under reconstruction and has not yet been completed. When Ma Xinyi was the governor, the yamen was located in the Jiangning government office.Zeng Guofan didn't want to be company with Ma Xinyi, and the original Prince Ying's Mansion of the Taiping Army had been used for other purposes, so he temporarily borrowed Yandao Yamen to handle affairs. For several days in a row, Jiangning City, from the general Kuiyu to the old acquaintances of the common people, came to pay their respects in an endless stream.Except for Kuiyu, Mei Qizhao, the vassal secretary, and Zhang Zhiwan, the governor of water transportation who was acting as the judge before Zheng Dunjin arrived, Zeng Guofan declined all of them.After busying with these entertainments, he went to Jiangning Mansion to mourn Ma Xinyi in person, and sent an elegiac couplet: Fan Xiwen was worried about the world before, and there was no time to rest; In the evening of that day, Peng Yulin quietly went to the city to visit. "Di Zhang, you look much older!" After only two years of seeing each other, Zeng Guofan aged like an old man, which surprised Peng Yulin. "Xueqin, you also have some gray hair on your temples." Peng Yulin is five years younger than Zeng Guofan. In the past few years, due to Guoxiu's illness, the world has been difficult, his mood is not smooth, and his body is not as good as before. "He's getting old! Hou'an came to Jiangning last month, and he bent his back before he was fifty. And Chun Ting, who suffered a serious illness a few months ago and almost lost his life. " "What's wrong with Chun Ting?" Zeng Guofan's mind quickly flashed back to the scene of Bao Chao being locked up in Changsha City twenty years ago and asking him for help in the street. He never expected that such an invincible man would also collapse. up. "It's not the attacks of stab wounds and arrow wounds in the past!" Zeng Guofan shook his head and sighed. "There is also Ciqing. A few days ago, a brave sentry officer from Pingjiang came to the Navy Division to visit the brothers in the past. He said that Ciqing was writing a book behind closed doors and never talked about the past. He seemed to be full of complaints." "The friends who took refuge in me in Changsha and Hengzhou in the early years, I am confident that I have not treated them badly, and all of them are reasonable. Most of the civil servants are above the Daogong level, and the military officials are at least guerrillas and generals, and they don't want to be When the officials returned home, they were all rich and rich. Only Ciqing has been so far, and I owe him a debt. In a few days, I will make a special note for him, and ask the court to restore him." Peng Yulin was deeply moved by Zeng Guofan's heavy emotions from the heart. He felt that the atmosphere was a little too gloomy, so he changed his tone and said, "There is a person who lives more freely and freely." "Which one?" Zeng Guofan stepped out of his apology for Li Yuandu, and became a little interested. "Guo Junxian. I heard from Hou'an that Gangji passed away. After a period of grief, he quickly let go. I have read a lot of books and newspapers by foreigners in the past two years. It is often said that foreigners surpass us in many places, not just boats. Guns and equipment, their laws and national systems are worthy of our imitation. The world has changed, and it is rude to ask others. He really wanted to go abroad to see, but he never had the opportunity.” Guo Songtao's son, Guo Gangji, was the fourth son-in-law of Zeng Guofan. He was intelligent and eager to learn, but he died of illness at the age of twenty, leaving behind a beautiful wife and young son, which made his father and father-in-law very sad. "Junxian's idea came into being ten years ago. I always feel that he will have a career in this area in the future. It is necessary for some ministers to go outside to have a look. Now that there are too many Yelanghou, I always think that I It’s amazing.” Zeng Guofan thought of how the Qing Yi Party headed by Chun Wang was hindered in handling the Tianjin religious case a few months ago, and he still feels aggrieved. "I once promised Yunxian that he would go abroad for investigation to the emperor. As long as I don't die within the next two years, I will definitely keep my promise." Since handling the Tianjin case, Zeng Guofan has often thought of death. He had a premonition, and this premonition made him dream of his dead grandfather and mother many times. Therefore, he believed that the death was not far away, and he often silently thought about what should be done. It's over but not over, how should it end. At this time, one of his hearts would fly back to the lotus leaf pond as if it had left his body.For some reason, the barren and remote land in the lotus leaf pond, the small shallow trickling river, the barren Mount Gaomei, and the old folks who lived there for many years always aroused him endlessly. The longing for him, how eagerly the humble Gengduzi was eager to go out and do something earth-shattering!Today, this great scholar who honored Gao Zhushi, but wants to return to its peaceful embrace like a dream.What is the reason?Zeng Guofan was perplexed, confused, and bitter about this.The answer here is indeed difficult to find. The atmosphere of the meeting was so sad, which Peng Yulin never thought of before entering the city.The retreat nunnery in Zhajiang has already been built, and the retreat nunnery in Hangzhou is also under construction. Peng Yulin has always been indifferent to fame and career, and the pain in his heart is not as serious as Zeng Guofan's. After talking about the recent situation of a few old friends, He turned to the main topic: "Dizhang, the matter of Ma Gushan is amazing!" "That's right." Zeng Guofan nodded and said, "Xueqin, please tell me the details of the day Ma Gushan was assassinated!" "Okay." Peng Yulin picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said thoughtfully, "This is really a strange thing——"