Chapter 43 The six-horse case is foggy again

On this day, the governor's yamen received a letter without a head.The post stated that Ma Xinyi, the former governor of Liangjiang, was killed by someone sent by Ding Huiheng, the son of Jiangsu governor Ding Richang's alternate.Here's the thing -- Ding Richang's only son, Ding Huiheng, is a playboy who doesn't make progress in his studies, eats, drinks, whores and gambles all day long. He is twenty years old and hasn't passed the examination of scholar.Ding Richang was in a hurry, and donated a student to him, hoping that he could pass the exam.He took the exam three times, and the essay was so stupid that he didn't want to take the exam himself.Ding Richang's 90-year-old mother loved her grandson dearly, so she said to her son, "When you become a governor, you will be prosperous and rich, so you don't think about your son? My Ding family has been an official until your generation?"

Ding Richang was a dutiful son, a loving father, and a corrupt official who was able to make money. He had a lot of money from embezzlement, so he donated a supervisor to his son.Because of the regulations at the time, donors must have the qualifications of supervising students.Then, he exchanged another 20,000 taels of silver and bought an alternate road for his son.Ordinary people have to study hard for ten years, get selected as a Jinshi, and become an imperial scholar. After a few years as an editor of the Hanyuan, they will be released to serve as a magistrate in a local government after encountering special grace. Hope to become a Taoist.This Ding Huiheng was ignorant of poetry and books, and he didn't understand the world. With the money from Lao Tzu's unclear background, he easily got an official position as an alternate Taoist. , Put on the eight-python five-claw snow goose patch robe, and was promoted to the director of the hall, bossing around.

Although Ding Huiheng may become an official mid-level official at any time, he still doesn't know how to cultivate his character and morality. He thought it was inconvenient to live in Suzhou under his father's control, so he took his wife and concubines and several family members to buy a house in Jingutang by the Qinhuai River in the south of Jiangning City. He lived in a spacious building with a garden. Apart from teasing and playing cards and gambling with his wives and concubines at home every day, he would listen to music and drink in the singing hall of the restaurant, and have fun in the flower street and willow alley.

On this day, he came to the Qinhuai River and walked into the newly rebuilt Meixiang Building.This Meixiang Tower was the residence of Li Xiangjun, a famous Qinhuai prostitute in the late Ming Dynasty. It was destroyed by the Qing soldiers when they attacked Jinling, and it was restored later.At the end of the second year of Xianfeng, the Taiping army entered Little Paradise, and the Meixiang Building was burned down again.In the third year of Tongzhi, Zhao Liewen was ordered by Zeng Guofan to renovate the Qinhuai River, and Meixiang Tower was rebuilt accordingly.The current Meixiang Building is several times more gorgeous than the old building in Xianfeng two years ago, almost catching up with the level of Li Xiangjun's era - the leader of the beauty leaders.

As soon as Mr. Ding went upstairs, the madam arranged for his favorite girl, Xiangyu, to accompany him.Xiangyu played the tune and ate flower wine with Ding Huiheng.While enjoying himself, Ding Huiheng saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old beauty clinging to a handsome young man, walking past him, a strong fragrance choked his nose.Ding Huiheng was overwhelmed, and hurriedly called the madam over, pointing to the back and asking: "Who is that girl?" "Xiangbi, the newcomer." The madam smiled flatteringly, "Master Ding likes her?" "En." Ding Huiheng was still greedily inhaling the lingering fragrance left by Xiangbi, staring at the beautiful figure in the swinging dress. "Go and ask her to come over and accompany me, Uncle Ding!"

"Mr. Ding." The mother bustard poured a glass of wine for Ding Huiheng, and said with a smile on her face, "You like her, so it's hard to say! I will ask her to accompany you in the future, but not for a few days." "Why?" Young Master Ding became annoyed. "Mr. Ding." The madam sat down next to Ding Huiheng, and said charmingly, "Don't be angry, Xiangbi has been hired by a rich businessman from Yangzhou in the past five days, and when he leaves after five days, Xiangbi will be you." people." "No, if you ask me to wait five days, I will die." Ding Huiheng was in a hurry, wishing he could hug Xiangbi into his arms immediately. "What kind of rich businessman, tell him to be more acquainted, let him out as soon as possible, otherwise Uncle Ding will be rude!"

The madam didn't like Ding Huiheng, so she had to discuss it with the son of the rich merchant.That young man is also rich and powerful, and he is so hot with Xiangbi that he can't leave for a moment, and he is going to spend a huge sum of money to redeem himself for a long-term reunion, how can he give up!Then he rushed out of the room angrily, pointed at Ding Huiheng's face and scolded him for being vexatious.This angered the yamen.As soon as he waved his hand, several evil slaves rushed forward and started beating wildly.The rich merchant's son was too drunk to wash his body, and he couldn't bear it a few times before he died.Ding Huiheng knew that he had caused trouble, so he handed over two hundred taels of silver to the madam, asking her to take her back to Yangzhou, patted her own buttocks, and sneaked out of Jiangning.

That Yangzhou wealthy businessman also had only his precious son. Although he knew that he died at the hands of the governor, he refused to give up because of his wealth.Ma Xinyi was in a dilemma with this matter: Ignore it, human life is at stake, and the handover of wealthy businessmen is very extensive, Jiang Ning will not accept it, he can sue the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple, and finally he has to investigate his own responsibility, and five thousand taels of silver is not enough. Can't get it; accept it, it's about Ding Richang, how can this kind of relationship be opened?After much deliberation, I still accepted it.

Ma Xinyi asked Ding Richang to come to Jiangning to discuss with him how to deal with this matter.Ding Richang was very annoyed by his son's actions. He had to make some gestures because he wanted to take the governor's face into consideration.In the end, the two agreed: each of the servants who killed someone would pay 100 boards each, and one of them would be exiled to the army, compensated with 10,000 taels of silver, and Ding Huiheng would be dismissed from the post of alternate Taoist priest.The rich businessman in Yangzhou reluctantly agreed, and a murder case was closed in this way.After the incident was settled, Ding Huiheng returned to Suzhou, Ding Richang was so angry that he beat him severely, locked him in the mansion and was not allowed to go out.After Ding Richang went to Tianjin to handle the case, Mrs. Ding saw that her grandson was pitiful, so she let him out.Ding Huiheng concentrated all his hatred on Ma Xinyi, so he used a lot of money to pay for the dead to kill the horse to avenge him. Zhang Wenxiang was the assassin who bought it with three thousand taels of silver.

This is another cloud of fog in the Ma case.Zeng Guofan took this unnamed letter, adding another layer of trouble to his heart.Is the accusation baseless?It is a fact that Ding Huiheng's family member caused trouble in a brothel and killed someone, and Ding Huiheng lost his alternate career because of this. Ding Richang didn't hide this matter, and even went to the empress dowager and the emperor, admitting that he was not strict with his children, and asked for punishment.Saying that Zhang Wenxiang was an assassin paid by Ding Huiheng, where is the evidence?Moreover, Zhang Wenxiang's confession did not involve this matter at all.Ding Richang was highly valued by the Queen Mother, and he supported him very much when handling the case in Tianjin. How could he be easily implicated in such a major case of assassinating the Governor-General without solid evidence!

Zeng Guofan was noncommittal, sealed the headless letter as usual, and sent someone to Qixia Mountain, asking Zheng Dunjin to deal with it.The next day, the letter was returned to Zeng Guofan, and Zheng Dunjin criticized: "This matter must be done carefully, please Lao Zhongtang to decide." "You cunning!" Zeng Guofan said with a wry smile in his heart.Although Zheng Dunjin pushed the burden back, his meaning was still clear, and he did not want Ding Richang to be involved in the case.This is consistent with Zeng Guofan's thinking. how to endZeng Guofan thought hard about this.Ma Xinyi's younger brother Ma Si, who came specially from Shandong, came to the Superintendent's Office every day to entangle him, crying and asking Zeng Guofan to find out the mastermind.Ma Si probably carried out some activities behind the scenes. During this period, the Beijing News published several memorials to the censor one after another, claiming to investigate the case to the bottom.Shangshu, a Beijing-based official from Shandong, plausibly said that since the assassin said, "Raise soldiers for a thousand days, and use them for one dynasty", obviously there is a mastermind behind them, and if the mastermind is not found out, there is no way to comfort the spirit of the dead governor.What worries the court even more is that foreigners are also discussing this matter.Prince Gong Yixin sent a confidential letter, saying that foreigners ridiculed the incompetence of the Chinese government. It has been more than five months since the case happened, and the murderer was arrested on the spot, but the case has not been settled for a long time, which is regrettable.Yixin urged Zeng Guofan to settle the horse case as soon as possible, so as to avoid a lot of discussion at home and abroad. Zeng Guofan was very embarrassed.Sometimes he thought, since the Empress Dowager released Zheng Dunjin to come to Ning to deal with this matter, it would be better to put all the burden on him.It's not right to look back and think about it.If Zheng Dunjin seriously intervened in this case, he might also induce a confession from Zhang Wenxiang. Zhang Wenxiang would still say that he was the head of the Hunan Army and the second uncle of the Gelaohui. There is a Gelaohui in the Hunan Army, and the situation of the Gelaohui is complicated, and these insiders and outsiders are not very clear.If Zhang Wenxiang exposes all these inside stories, or even adds fuel to the story, fabricating some unwarranted plots to please the imperial envoy and save his own life, it will ruin a major event.The achievements of the Hunan Army in conquering the city and destroying Changmao in the past will cast a thick shadow. Not to mention, even the only remaining member of the Hunan Army, the Yangtze River Fleet, may be disbanded, and he himself may be met with unexpected events. to the disaster.The final judgment of this case cannot be pushed to Zheng Dunjin, and the case should be closed as soon as possible in his own hands. "My lord, Mr. Peng and Huang Junmen are here to visit." In the evening, when Zeng Guofan was sitting in front of the candle, the soldiers came in to report. "Please." As soon as the words were finished, Peng Yulin and Huang Yisheng stepped into the threshold one by one. "Di Zhang, are you still doing business?" Peng Yulin asked with a smile. "No, for more than a year, I haven't been able to do anything at night. I can only sit there. It's really a vegetarian meal in the corpse. I have a guilty conscience." Zeng Guofan said while beckoning them to sit down, and the soldiers offered tea before exiting. . "I heard that Ding Zhongcheng gave you a crystal inkstone, which can restore sight to blind eyes if you put water in it. Is this true?" Huang Yisheng asked. "If this happened, my right eye would have recovered sight sooner." Zeng Guofan smiled lightly and said, "But Ding Zhongcheng has a kind heart. Although the water in the stone can't restore sight to the blind eye, it feels cool and comfortable when it drops into the eye. .Maybe it is because of this kind of water, otherwise the left eye may also be blind now." "How about I invite two foreign doctors to take a look?" Peng Yulin said. "Forget it. My eyes can't be cured even if Hua Tuo is reborn. Let it go. It doesn't matter if I'm blind. If I'm blind, I can't see anything. Out of sight, out of mind." Zeng Guofan said with a wry smile.Peng and Huang also smiled wryly and shook their heads.After a while, he asked, "How's the navy's drills recently? Soldiers don't fight, and they have more troubles. Only by arranging tight drills every day can they be tied to their hearts." Peng Yulin said: "The violations of discipline and law by the Yangtze River Navy have been repeatedly banned in the past two years. Smoking opium has become popular, and fighting is still a trivial matter. Gunboats carrying illegal salt and opium sometimes happen, and some camp for ten days. It’s rare to practice once in half a month.” "Has the deputy general who robbed the civilian girl and killed his wife been arrested?" Zeng Guofan interjected. "It has already been arrested." Peng Yulin replied, "If the people hadn't stopped the public to complain about this kind of thing, how would we have known that he had been stationed in Huangshi muscle for many years and covered the sky with one hand!" "You must not be soft-hearted with this kind of person. Xueqin hates evil like hatred and is decisive and tough. I agree. Some people say that you are Peng Datie, but in fact, those who lead soldiers want this kind of character. Chang Qi, you are soft in this respect point." Zeng Guofan looked at Huang Yisheng and said, "Ouyang Ping robbed a civilian girl, this is not the first time, someone reported it to you, but you didn't take it seriously." "Old Zhongtang's advice is that." Huang Yisheng said sincerely, "I think Ouyang's fighting is okay, he just said a few words lightly, but he didn't take it seriously. If he said the key points last time, he might not be so serious. He beat to death his wife who had been in trouble for many years." "Yes, first of all, we were tolerant, but in the end it hurt him. The generals who lead our troops are like the fathers and brothers who are in charge of their children. They should only be strict and not lenient. This is the way of love." Zeng Guofan said, and then asked, "How will Ouyang Ping deal with it?" "It seems that not killing is not enough to anger the people." Peng Yulin said firmly. "I also agree, but he is a lieutenant general, and he is an unusual military officer. All the evidence must be sufficient, and he must sign his own signature." Zeng Guofan said.After a short pause, he sighed with a heavy heart, "Any kind of army in history, no matter how well-disciplined it was at the beginning of its establishment, and how brilliant its military exploits will be in the future, it will surely breed stagnation over time until it rots. Not to mention the previous generations, the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Battalion of this dynasty were all heroic and skilled troops at the beginning. They all relied on them to enter the customs to unify the country and put down the San Francisco rebellion. Later, they failed, but their prestige has been maintained for at least a few days. Ten years. At the beginning of my bravery training in Hengzhou, I hoped that the Hunan Army would not follow the mistakes of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion. Who knew that after Jiangning was defeated, it would no longer be usable. I have great hopes that they will become the pillars of the Great Wall against foreign aggression, and they will not live up to it without it." Peng Yulin and Huang Yisheng said together: "We failed to live up to our high expectations and failed to rectify the navy." "It's because of luck, I can't blame you." Zeng Guofan said softly and slowly, as if he was about to pour out his troubles, but finally he didn't spit it out. "What are you two doing tonight?" "Di Zhang, the Yangtze River Navy has discovered the Gelaohui." "The naval division also has elders' associations!" Zeng Guofan interrupted Peng Yulin in surprise. This was what he was most worried about, and it was also what he was most afraid of.Shen Mingbiao mutinied back then, and it was almost a catastrophe, because there were brothers and elders who would collude and instigate secretly.During the interrogation, he also learned that the Gelaohui was well-organized, which made him even more angry and frightened, so all the more than 100 Gelaohui members found by Ting Jun were beheaded.I always thought that such severe suppression would have the effect of eradicating grass and roots, but unexpectedly it reappeared in the navy. "Huang Junmen, tell your father the details." "A few days ago, Sun Changguo, the commander-in-chief of Guazhou, was inspecting Yizheng. One evening, he went for a walk in a nearby village and town, and saw three navy officers and soldiers sitting in a small hotel, whispering to each other while drinking, behaving secretly. So he ordered a glass too. Drinking wine, sitting on the sidelines pretending to be drinking and listening carefully. I didn’t hear most of what was said clearly, I only heard that Shen Mingbiao was killed, Zhang Wenxiang was about to be cut, and our brother Pao was going to be unlucky again. He also said that our brother Pao could not be killed. When the time comes, we will rob the law field. When Sun Changguo heard it, he was sure that they belonged to the Gelaohui. He was furious, and sent someone to arrest these three people. When I asked, they were all officers. The foreign committee will be in charge." "They want to rob the court?" Zeng Guofan asked in surprise, "Are they going to rob Zhang Wenxiang's court?" "When they were interrogated, they refused to admit it at first, and then admitted it because they couldn't survive the stick. It was Zhang Wenxiang's execution ground. However, they said they were drunk and talking nonsense." Huang Yisheng answered. Peng Yulin said: "This is a very big matter. It is much more serious than Ouyang Ping's killing of his wife, so I came here to report it and ask for instructions on how to deal with it." "Where are these three people? Where are they locked up now?" "It's locked in the Yamen of the General Army of Guazhou." Huang Yisheng replied. "Bring them all to me tomorrow, and I will interrogate them myself!" It was true that the mountain fire was still alive, and the house fire started again, and this fire burned the house that he had worked hard all his life to manage. This is not an ordinary case, and it must not be publicized. Zeng Guofan decided to interrogate individually. The first one to enter was a general manager, his hands were tied behind his back, and he stood with his head bowed after entering the door, his face was indifferent, and he didn't say a word. "Kneel down!" Ghoshha shouted, and as he said that, he swept it away with his foot, and the total fell to the ground, his forehead knocked on the brick floor, making a heavy noise.Ghoshha took a step forward and lifted the collar of his shirt abruptly, and the man was caught, standing like a log, his face still indifferent.Ghoshha slammed his shoulder again, and he knelt down involuntarily.Goshha's three consecutive movements of sweeping, grasping and pressing just now are the greeting ceremony for prisoners in the Yamen in the late Qing Dynasty. "What's your name?" Zeng Guofan scowled, his voice was hoarse, and compared to the loud voice that shook the roof tiles in the past, he was a different person. "Wen and martial arts." Mr. Wen replied in a low voice, as if he was not convinced. "Are you from the Brotherhood?" Zeng Guofan went straight to the point. "No." The answer was straightforward. "If you're not from the Brotherhood, why do you call yourself Brother Pao?" Zeng Guofan asked urgently. Wen Jianwu was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Brothers call each other like this, everyone thinks it's so kind." "Do you know Shen Mingbiao?" "do not know." "Know Zhang Wenxiang?" "I don't know either." "Then why did you rob the court?" Zeng Guofan thought to himself: Could it be that Sun Changguo really arrested the wrong person? "The lowly official drank too much and lost his words. The brothers all admired Zhang Wenxiang and said that he is a hero. Since he is a hero, there will be other heroes who rob the execution ground. It is said that Cai Jiuzhifu killed Song Gongming unjustly, so he Some Liangshan heroes came to rob the court." "Nonsense!" Zeng Guofan patted the desk, "This Wenxiang is a criminal who deserved his death, why do you admire him?" Wen Jianwu was not intimidated by the slap, he paused for a while, and actually replied: "Brothers admire his courage. Thinking that the Ma Zhijun is a high-ranking official, Zhang Wenxiang dares to stand in the middle of the school grounds." How much courage does it take to openly assassinate under the eyes of all eyes! Second, I admire him for doing things alone, neither fleeing for his life nor implicating others. Who doesn't admire such a hero in the army?" Zeng Guofan has been an official for 30 years and has been the commander-in-chief of Xiangyong for more than ten years. This is the first time that a petty criminal general dares not change his face in front of him and calmly defend himself.He also couldn't help secretly admiring Wen Jianwu's courage. "No wonder he keeps claiming to praise Zhang Wenxiang, this kid seems to be desperate." He thought to himself. "Take it down!" Zeng Guofan shouted towards the door.A Goshha came in and took Wen Jianwu under custody. The second bet was Mr. Qian Ren Gaosheng.As soon as he stepped into the threshold, he knelt down on his knees and cried bitterly: "Old Zhongtang, please spare me! I will tell you everything, but I beg you not to behead me." "I won't kill you, just tell me!" Zeng Guofan gave him a contemptuous look and said coldly. "Old Zhongtang means what he says?" Ren Gaosheng asked, wiping away his tears. "What do you mean! The governor has never told lies in his life." Zeng Guofan raised his head, posing in the style of a bachelor and a governor. "Can Lao Zhongtang write me a letter?" Ren Gaosheng raised his face and asked tentatively. "This is a sophisticated and cunning soldier!" Zeng Guofan thought to himself.He suddenly said embarrassingly: "You are so brave, you dare to ask the governor to make a written statement for you. If you don't confess, the governor will not force you, pull me out!" Immediately, a Goshha came over coldly, grabbed Ren Gaosheng who was kneeling on the ground, and was about to drag him out. "Master Lao Zhongtang, you should be damned, you are so daring, please forgive me, Master Zhongtang, I will confess to you all." Ren Gaosheng slammed his head on the brick with all his strength, until blood flowed from the knock, he refused to get up. "Okay, you're telling the truth." Zeng Guofan waved his hand.Ghoshha went out and the door was closed again. Ren Gaosheng wiped away the blood and tears on his face with his sleeves, and said in a teary voice, "The three of us all attended the Gelaohui. Getting dizzy with two glasses of wine, boasting to each other to be a hero, is actually all fake. Lao Zhongtang kills assassins, how dare we go to rob the execution ground." "How many people do you manage?" "Take care of two hundred and fifty people." "Do you know how many people participated in the Gelaohui?" Ren Gaosheng thought for a while and said, "There are fifty or sixty people." Zeng Guofan was taken aback. Out of the 250 people, there were 50 or 60, 40% accounted for 10%, which is not bad!If every battalion was like this, there wouldn't be 5,000 veterans out of 20,000 sailors! "What is your connection with the applicant?" "Shen Mingbiao and I used to be members of Qingzi Battalion under Admiral Bao. Shen Mingbiao was the battalion officer and I was the sentry officer. Some members of the Ting Army came from Sichuan, and the elder brother association was very popular in Sichuan. Some of these Sichuanese were early I joined the elder brother association, and later Shen Mingbiao also joined. He was capable, everyone promoted him as the eldest brother, and he dragged me into it. Later, there was a dispute over wages, many brothers were killed, and Shen Mingbiao and I escaped with a dozen other brothers. I had nowhere to make a living, so I changed my name and joined the navy. Shen Mingbiao later went to Tianmu Mountain, cut his hair in Fahua Temple, and continued the Gelaohui activities as a monk. In a year, we also sent people to contact us two or three times. We also need to mobilize brothers to participate. Not long ago, a little brother secretly told me that Shen Mingbiao was killed, and suspected that the Gelaohui of Fahua Temple had been cracked, but why did he only kill him and the others did not move? Brother They're all weird." "Do you know Zhang Wenxiang?" Zeng Guofan asked. "I don't know." Ren Gaosheng shook his head.Zeng Guofan was puzzled: Does this piece of Wenxiang belong to the Gelaohui?If so, why didn't Ren Gaosheng know him; if not, what he said was the same as what Ren said about the development of the Gelao congregation in Qingziying.Zeng Guofan shook his head, what happened here was really unbelievable. The third bet is that the foreign committee puts the total focus on the product.Zeng Guofan saw that this person looked somewhat delicate and refined, as if he had read a book.After Jiao Kaiji entered, he knelt down in front of Zeng Guofan, lowered his head, but didn't speak. "Come on!" Zeng Guofan shouted.Ghoshha stepped in. "Untie him." Jiao Kaiji raised his head in surprise.Ghoshhar cut the thick hemp rope in his hand with a knife. "Get up." Zeng Guofan ordered gently, pointing to the bench in front of him, "Sit there." Jiao Kaiji was even more amazed, and hurriedly said: "It's a crime to be humble, but I dare not." "Sit down!" Zeng Guofan's tone became stiff, "Sit down and make a confession." Jiao Kaiji had no choice but to sit down as ordered. "Jiao Kaiji!" Zeng Guofan once again scrutinized the foreign commissioner from the corner of his left eye.Jiao Kaiji's tall and thin figure satisfied him: he is the quality of a military officer! "Humble job!" Jiao Kaiji stood up again. "Sit down! How old are you this year? Are you married?" Zeng Guofan asked, like a kind elder caring for the younger generation. "If you go back to the old middle hall, I will be twenty-eight years old this year and have never married a wife." Sitting on a stool, Jiao Kaiji replied in a loud voice. He was very grateful to the governor for treating him with extraordinary courtesy.Before entering the door, he knew that this time he would definitely die, anyway, he would die, he would die a hero, and never implicate others.Now, seeing that Zeng Guofan's attitude was not at all what he had imagined, he changed his mind again, so he might as well take this opportunity to express his thoughts to the former commander of the Hunan Army. Brethren do a great job. "From your accent, you seem to be from Hunan." Zeng Guofan asked with a slight smile on his face. "Humble job is from Daozhou." "Have you ever read a book?" "I studied in a private school for two years when I was young." "Since you have studied in a private school, you should know that Daozhou has produced a great person." Zeng Guofan said, as if a school teacher was questioning a student. "Are you talking about Mr. Lianxi?" Jiao Kaiji was not sure about his answer. "Exactly." Zeng Guofan said happily, "He wrote a famous article called "Ai Lian Shuo". Have you read it?" "I have read it." Jiao Kaiji replied easily. ""Ai Lian Shuo" praises the lotus flower from the mud but not stained, and the clean ripples without being demonic. Do you understand these two sentences?" Less long beard. "I remember listening to my husband when I was young. This is the precious character of the lotus. It is born in the mud and its bones are clean and unpolluted. Mr. Lianxi wants the world to learn from this character of the lotus. I have known it since I was a child. Self-love." "Okay, it's good to know." Zeng Guofan put down his hand stroking his beard, tilted his head slightly forward, and asked: "The lotus flower comes out of mud and is not polluted. As an officer of the Yangtze River Navy, you are in a place of innocence. Why don't you Self-love and want to join the Brothers and Elders Association? This governor sees that you know a little about poetry and books, and you are a talent. I can't bear to see you destroy yourself. Now don't regard this governor as your boss, but as the governor of Liangjiang who is judging you. The governor is your uncle, your teacher, and he tells you all about why you want to join the Gelaohui. Well said, if the governor does not punish you, he will also absolve you of the crimes of those who joined the Gelaohui. ,how?" Hearing these words, Jiao Kaiji felt warm in his heart. As for this big man sitting across from him, Jiao Kaiji only met him from a distance on the boat by chance when he first joined the Navy in the first year of Tongzhi.At that time, Zeng Guofan was stationed in Anqing, and the navy was ordered to go east to fight Jiangning. He personally went to the South Gate Wharf to see Peng Yulin and Yang Yuebin off.Eighteen-year-old Jiao Kaiji not only regarded Zeng Guofan as a god, but also regarded the Hunan Army Navy as a great heroic army.Jiao Kaiji practiced hard, fought bravely, was quick-witted, and could read. He was soon promoted from an ordinary brave man to a chief and a whistle chief. Guerrilla regardless of the deduction of questions, missing first make up the teaching.Soon, the Hunan Army was downsized in large numbers, nine out of ten of the Lu divisions were dismissed, and how many named admirals, named general soldiers, and people with the title of admiral, general soldier, and deputy general were all dismissed and went home to become ordinary people, and the Hunan army was in chaos.The naval division was not bad, only two or three out of ten were cut off, and most of them stayed. Later, they were listed by the imperial court as divisions of war system.The navy ordered 12,000 people, and the actual number was nearly 20,000.The number of officials was limited, and after Peng Yulin's idea of ​​making up for the vacancy was approved, Jiao Kaiji took the rank of general to make up for the guerrillas, and was awarded the general of a foreign commissioner. Although he was downgraded by five ranks, he was considered a lucky man. Everyone envies him. After a long time in the navy, Jiao Kaiji gradually realized that with the expansion of military exploits, the interior of the navy gradually became corrupt, and all bad habits in the barracks, the navy was not only fully prepared, but also developed greatly.Officials bully soldiers, and the strong bully the weak.Soldiers are most afraid that if they lose the battle, their comrades will not rescue them, and the green camp has a very strong wind.At the beginning of Zeng Guofan's establishment of the Hunan Army, in view of the bad habit of the green camp, he used to behead Jin Songling's head to correct the shortcomings.In the first few years when the Hunan Army was established, it was true that there were fewer situations where defeat could not be rescued.Especially the Navy, under the leadership of Peng and Yang, paid more attention to helping each other.By the end of the Xianfeng period, there were not many such good ethos in the Hunan army, and it became a common phenomenon to see death without saving them, and to look after each other before the battle.At this time, the Gelaohui developed as the times require in the Hunan Army.At the beginning, some Yong Ding who were in a low status participated in the camp. They swore to be brothers in the camp post, and put forward the slogan of "Share the blessings, share the misfortunes", and use this as a strict meeting rule.This united force defends the interests of the weak.Especially in wars, all the members of the Gelaohui form a gang, and if they win, they will march forward hand in hand, and if they lose, they will fight to the death to save each other. In one battle, Jiao Kaiji drove a small sampan into the Taiping Army fleet, but was surrounded by groups, and he was about to face annihilation.At this moment, one of his friends rushed in with a sampan, followed by more than a dozen sampans, desperately trying to snatch Jiao Kaiji out.Narrowly escaped, Jiao Kai was extremely grateful to that friend.A friend told him that it was the brothers from the Gelaohui who helped him. From then on, Jiao Kaiji participated in the Gelaohui.In the subsequent battles, with the help of his buddies in Pao, he managed to turn danger into good fortune several times.The power of the Gelaohui gradually became stronger, and officials had to rely on the Gelaohui to stand firm, and many generals also joined the association.Later, the Army Division of the Hunan Army was abolished, and many pao brothers were used to wandering outside, and they did not want to return to their original places, so they used the Gelaohui as an organization to wander around in groups.In this situation, the elder brother in the navy will develop quickly.Everyone said: "If you are messing around in the rivers and lakes, the imperial court is unreliable, and we have to pinch it together by ourselves." Zeng Guofan was very unhappy after hearing Jiao Kaiji's statement.He did not expect that the Gelaohui would be so rampant in the Hunan Army he had created. "Jiao Kaiji, you just said that many military officers have joined the Gelaohui. What is the largest official position you have heard?" "Old Zhongtang, I'm just hearing it, it's not necessarily accurate, so don't be surprised if you say it." "Tell me, it doesn't matter who it is." "I heard that the Gelaohui later had the largest number of people in the Jizi Camp. Xiao Fusi, Li Chendian, Zhu Nangui, Xiong Dengwu and others all joined, but they only kept the Jiushuai from it." Zeng Guofan was taken aback.Xiao Fusi and others have all participated in the elder brother's meeting, how is this possible?Seeing Zeng Guofan's astonished and suspicious face, Jiao Kaiji simply revealed the secret: "Old Zhongtang, you may not know that although Xiao Junmen now lives in Xiangxiang, he still controls thousands of brothers and elders. Brother Pao said : The country is full of troubles, foreigners are strong, the emperor is young, and Lao Zhongtang is weak, maybe the world will be in chaos soon, and then we need our brothers and elders to come out to clean up the crisis." "A bunch of nonsense!" Zeng Guofan cursed, but his voice was weak, and he seemed weak. Jiao Kaiji was taken away by Geshha.Zeng Guofan had a very ominous premonition in his heart: these old troops of the Hunan Army, which were scattered all over the country, are likely to gather together again one day, and the heroes who used to protect the court through difficulties will turn their faces into rebels against the court!What a terrible thing.Of course, Zeng Guofan thought that this kind of thing would never happen when he was alive, and could only happen after his death, but even after his death, he would never tolerate it.If that happened, all his descendants would be slaughtered, the graves of him and his father and ancestors would be dug up, the corpses would be scourged and burned, all the words that praised him would have to be rewritten, and he would be tortured forever. It will be reviled by later generations, and it will last forever.But now that there are so many people and their power has spread, it is impossible to persuade them to change their ways, let alone suppress them openly. "Hey, maybe it's because of fate!" He sighed heavily, repeating this sentence that he often thinks of recently. He hastily ended the interrogation of the Gelaohui robbery case, and ordered Peng Yulin and Huang Yisheng not to deal with them, and not to mention the Gelaohui matter in the navy from now on. Through this interrogation, Zeng Guofan became more and more aware of the extraordinary background of Zhang Wenxiang, a mysterious figure, and he must be judged quickly, otherwise unexpected changes may happen at any time. The imperial envoy Zheng Dunjin also returned to Jiangning City from Qixia Mountain.This Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, known for his proficiency in Qihuang, has served as an official for more than 30 years, and his insight into world affairs and human relationships is no less than his medical skills.From the fact that the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't rush to urge him to leave Beijing, he had a glimpse of the court's subtle attitude towards this matter, and from the various rumors he heard along the way and after arriving in Jiangning, he vaguely noticed the complexity of the case.After Zhang Wenxiang was interrogated, he could tell at a glance that the assassin was a rare and stubborn person, and this kind of person was extremely difficult to deal with.Therefore, he excused his illness, and only read and wrote in the Jiangning feudal yamen every day to cultivate his body and mind.Regarding everything about the Ma case, he took Zeng Guofan's opinion as his opinion, and with an extremely sincere and modest attitude, he completely placed the burden of handling this strange case on Zeng Guofan's shoulders, and cunningly left a trail to deal with future troubles. retreat. Zeng Guofan has a clear understanding of Zheng Dunjin's intentions, but this is in his favor.He began to conceive of a report to close the case.Zhang Wenxiang's confession cannot be played, and Ma Xinyi's words should be careful. As for the rumors of colluding with the Hui Ministry, it is even more involved in the imperial court's plans.All of these cannot touch a word, otherwise there will be endless troubles.How to word it?There are hundreds of memorials written by him, but this one is difficult to get started. "My lord, I discussed with Shu Yun and decided to investigate the case of Ma Zhijun to the bottom." Wu Rulun opened the door and came in, followed by Xue Fucheng. "Do you have any new discoveries?" Zeng Guofan asked, and asked them to sit down. "No." Wu Rulun replied. "Is there any way you can find out the truth?" "The two of us have thought it over and decided to visit privately." Xue Fucheng said.The seriousness of the case, the obscurity of the case, and the wide range of aspects involved attracted these two honest and enterprising youths who were not deeply involved in the world.They admire the stern and selfless Duke Bao very much, and want to learn from his character and imitate his way to solve the horse case, no matter who is involved in the case, even if it is really the mastermind of Prince Chun! "Weifu private visit?" Zeng Guofan smiled slightly. "Where do you plan to visit?" "My lord, there are many suspicious points exposed in this case. As long as we investigate carefully, we can start." The outspoken Wu Rulun immediately answered, "Zhang Wenxiang's words of 'raising soldiers for a thousand days can be used in one dynasty' are very clear. It was instigated by others, and the words have been reported to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor by General Kui, and made public in the Beijing News, so that the whole world knows. If the instigator behind this is not found out, how can we explain to the world?" Zeng Guofan fell silent.These few words really hit the nail on the head. Can the case be closed if the person behind the scenes has not been found out? "I think, judging from the clues we have obtained so far, these are the people behind the scenes." Wu Rulun raised his fingers and counted, "Long Qiyun, a pirate from Zhejiang, Yuandeng, a monk from Fahua Temple, and Ding Huiheng, son of Ding Zhongcheng. .” "Also," Xue Fucheng added, "Jun County King of the capital!" Zeng Guofan was slightly taken aback, and then made a decision in his heart: Their absurd behavior must be stopped! "You don't need to go to Weibo for private visits. I have already investigated the case of Ma Zhijun." Zeng Guofan pointed out solemnly. "Have you found out?" Wu Rulun opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Who is behind the scenes?" Xue Fucheng asked hurriedly. "The person who assigned Zhang Wenxiang to assassinate Ma Gushan is the heinous gangster Long Qiyun!" "It's really him! Where's the evidence?" Wu Rulun felt strange. He thought that Zhang Wenxiang was probably a dead man paid by Ding Huiheng with a lot of money. "What other evidence do you need? The evidence is Zhang Wenxiang's own confession." Zeng Guofan was obviously displeased by this question, and he announced in a decisive tone, "Zhang Wenxiang slipped through the net and grew hairy. He has both previous feuds with Ma Gushan and Xinyuan was bought by the pirate Long Qiyun again, and then assassinated with his death. The case is so clear, you don't need to add extra details." Wu and Xue quit in disappointment.In the house, Zeng Guofan breathed a sigh of relief: The report that he hesitated to write just now, was forced by them like this, didn't he just force it out?He quickly drafted a draft and sent someone to send it to Zheng Dunjin for review. Zheng Dunjin didn't change a word after reading it, so he sent it back that night.The next day, this memorial was issued in the name of the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment and the title of Governor of Liangjiang. Half a month later, the imperial edict was issued, and Zhang Wenxiang was put to death.Before his execution, Ma Xinyi's younger brother, Ma Si, bribed the executioners and asked them to cut 360 knives on Zhang Wenxiang's body before letting him die.On the day Zhang Wenxiang was killed, there were tens of thousands of onlookers. The two executioners removed pieces of bloody flesh from Zhang Wenxiang's body like fish scales. Zhang Wenxiang never groaned until he died.This is really a tough guy like no other in the world!All the people onlookers felt sorry for it and gave out their admiration.After the execution by the executioner, Ma Si took a sharp knife, cut open Zhang Wenxiang's chest, took out his heart, and sacrificed in front of Ma Xinyi's spirit. This move by Ma Si caused Zeng Guofan to think deeply: The Ma family has a deep hatred for Zhang Wenxiang, and the manipulator behind this scene has not been found out. If there is any opportunity in the future, and the Ma family raises questions about the case, it will cause more trouble.Besides, Ma Xinyi’s ancestors are also likely to be Hui people. Currently, the Hui people in Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang are causing trouble. If they are allowed to seize the Ma case as an excuse to blackmail the court, it will be detrimental to the stability of the country. Live in the mouth of the Hui people in the northwest.Thinking of this, Zeng Guofan drew up a draft for the imperial court. Please donate Ma Xinyi to Prince Taibao, and give him the post of Captain and Captain Yunqi, and please build special temples in places where he was originally from Heze, Jiangning, Anqing, Hangzhou, and Haitang.Zheng Dunjin agreed as usual, so he will report it again, and the court will approve it. There was an unprecedented assassination case of the governor in the Qing Dynasty, and it was declared closed in this way.