"Where is this place? Why are there so many wild shags?"
It took Seng Gelinqin a while to react, and he turned his head to look at Jiang Zhongyuan and asked.
"Your Majesty, this is Xiangxiang County, Changsha Prefecture, close to Heyetang Town." Jiang Zhongyuan replied in a hoarse voice. "What?" Seng Gelinqin was startled, "Could it be true that Zeng Di was born..."
He got stuck mid-sentence, with a frightened expression on his face that looked a little gray.
Seng Gelinqin is now on his way to Changde Mansion, and Zeng Guofan is currently holding team training in Changde Mansion. If Zeng Guofan really rebels, where else can he escape?
"Impossible, Your Majesty, you are worrying too much." Jiang Minqiao saw that Seng Gelinqin's face was wrong, and he quickly patted his chest and said, "Zeng Disheng will never betray the imperial court or the emperor... because Xianghu Shilin will never betray the imperial court. , betrayed the emperor! If the prince doesn’t believe it, you can catch a few wild shaggy hairs and ask them. "
"Ask, what do you ask?"
Jiang Zhongyuan said clearly: "Ask Changmao, did he allocate land to them? Did he lead them to burn debt notes? Did he lead them to share the frivolous wealth of the gentry's family? Did he force them to kill the landowner's family? !」
He smiled coldly again: "Your Majesty, no matter what, Zeng Disheng is the leader of the Xianghu gentry, not the leader of the Xianghu small farmers!"
"What Changmao did was like a savior to the small farmers, and an enemy to the gentry. If Zeng Disheng wanted to vote for Changmao, then Zhongyuan would have to cut ties with him. Not only Zhongyuan would cut ties with him, but also Zeng Disheng His classmates, disciples, clan members, fellow villagers...all have to sever ties with him!"
"At that time, what capital does he have to raise private soldiers, occupy the state capital, and dominate the state?"
"If he loses his capital and invests in Changmao, what will he accomplish? Will he be a diner with nothing? Can he be willing to do so?"
Jiang Zhongyuan finally said confidently: "So, Prince, you can rest assured that Zeng Disheng will never rebel. The most he can do is support the army and separatist power as his lord. As long as the court can show mercy..."
Seng Gelinqin's mind was quite clear to begin with. He was just in a daze just now. Now when he heard what Jiang Zhongyuan said, he immediately understood. Zeng Guofan was not a rebel. As long as the court could adapt to current events and constantly adjust the standards for rebels, then he was not. Rebel!
If the imperial court must be serious, then not only is he a rebel, Zuo Zongtang, Jiang Zhongyuan, Huang Shijie, Chen Qishu, Luo Zenan and other leaders of the Hunan Army are also rebels!
Moreover, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Jiang Zhongyuan, Huang Shijie, and Luo Zenan are really not on the same side as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The reason why these people can pull together the team training team is because there are teachers, classmates, disciples, clan members, and villagers behind them. The party and a large group of local tyrants and evil gentry have formed a huge network of interests!
The basis of this interest network is the possession of land by these people, but the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is now trying to deprive them of their land! Therefore, the contradiction between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the world's gentry is difficult to reconcile!
Even the "Anti-Jing" that Luo Yaoguo produced was only inciting the gentry and Han officials in the world to become masters instead of slaves, and did not attract these people to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom... because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could not provide corresponding benefits at all, and it was impossible to change its own land policy.
After all, the foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is the poor people who have nothing to eat! They have to lead them to kill the rich and give to the poor. If this changes, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will no longer exist. Seng Gelinqin paused and nodded gently: "Minqiao, what do you mean? I understand all the truth! Because I am actually a big landowner myself!
It’s just that I occupy the pastures and livestock on the Horqin Grassland. Most of the Mongolians on the grassland are herder slaves of Mongolian nobles like me. They are just as hungry and poorly clothed as you Han poor peasants. Who wants to share it with me? Grassland, that would be the same as killing my parents!
Fortunately, the number of herder slaves in the grassland is not as large as that of you poor Han people, because too many people have become monks and become lamas."
Jiang Zhongyuan lamented: "I think the reason why the world is bad is that the Han people have too many poor people... There are 40 million poor people, less than 100,000 acres of land, tens of millions of people who cannot feed themselves, and they are not willing to live in peace. Starvation, this is the source of chaos. Apart from a fight, there is no solution!"
"Hahaha!" Seng Gelinqin suddenly laughed, "There are so many people in the world suffering so much... This is a situation that even gods and immortals find difficult to solve!"
He waved his hand again and said loudly: "Brothers, have you rested enough? If you have rested enough, continue on your way... Let's go to Xiangxiang County, where Zeng Disheng's Xiangyong is stationed. Zeng Disheng is reliable. When we get there, we It’s safe!」
Having said this, he suddenly lowered his voice again and whispered: "When we get to Baling, I will ask Zeng Disheng on behalf of the emperor. Now that there are so many poor people in the world who are not full enough to eat and are going to rebel, does he have any What countermeasures?"
...
Changde Prefecture, Wuling County, Hunan Tuanlian Minister’s Office.
As the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom became more and more prosperous in Hunan Province, each city, state city, and county town changed hands one after another. The poor people in the villages were even more motivated by God Worshiping Church lecturers and Taiping Army teams to take up arms and join in. Join the vigorous movement to divide the land. The landowners and gentry, who were still a little dull and numb at first, finally know how powerful it is!
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom not only wants the Qing Dynasty's life, but also their life and lifeblood!
Moreover, it seemed that the Heavenly Soldiers of the Qing Dynasty could not defeat the Taiping Army. They were defeated again and again. They were thrown from the town to the provincial capital, and then to the whole province of Hunan. By then, these Hunan gentry would have to travel across provinces to beg for food.
Therefore, after Zeng Guofan took office as the minister of regiment training in Hunan, gentry leaders from Hunan prefectures such as Changde, Baoqing, Chenzhou, Yuanzhou, Yongshun, Jingzhou, Lizhou, and Yuezhou that had not yet been captured by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, as well as gentry leaders from Yongzhou, Hengzhou, etc. Tuanlian leaders who escaped from the Taiping Prefecture, Chenzhou, Guiyang Prefecture and other state capitals occupied by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom gathered in Changde one after another.
By the time of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, the Hunan Tuanlian Minister's Office in Wuling County was already bustling with people. Every day, many gentry leaders and Tuanlian leaders came to visit Zeng Guofan, who was dressed in filial piety. Most of them asked him for troops or asked him for money. He wants food and officials.
Of course, some people also heard about the "Essay on Pursuing the Captives and Promoting Confucianism" and learned that there were people in Xiangxiang who were carrying out "returning clothes and crowns and practicing Zhou rites" under the banner of Zeng Guofan.
Therefore, there are many rumors in Wuling City about Zeng Guofan being a minister loyal to two countries and a slave serving two masters. Some people even say that Zeng Guofan has accepted the official position of the Hunan General System of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He now worships the emperor during the day and worships God at night. .
Under such circumstances, Seng Gelinqin dejectedly led a defeated army of less than 4,000 men and arrived at Wuling County, where rumors were spreading and people were floating.
Although Seng Gelinqin led all dejected defeated troops, Zeng Guofan still led Huang Shijie's three battalions to train and Zeng Guoquan's two battalions to train, a total of 2,500 elite soldiers, and marched twenty miles out of the city to meet them.
"Di Sheng, I have been staying in Beijing all these years. I really don't know the sufferings of the people! This time Changmao has made such a big fuss. Not only are the traitors colluding with Western monsters to cause trouble and chaos in our Qing Dynasty, but also the poor people in the world. There are too many people and it is difficult to survive... After I return to the court, I must report the truth to the emperor. But the emperor wants to ask me how to solve the problem, but I don't know how to answer."
"Di Sheng, you are a capable minister valued by the late emperor and the leader of the Xianghu gentry. Can you teach me how to answer this?"
In the lobby of the Hunan Tuanlian Yamen, Seng Gelinqin, who had just been welcomed in by Zeng Guofan, exchanged a few words with Zeng Guofan and then asked Zeng Guofan the most difficult question to answer in front of a group of Hunan officials and gentry.
Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly, squinting his triangular eyes and scanning the officials and gentry in the hall and courtyard. Then he sighed again and hugged Seng Gelinqin: "Your Majesty, there are too many people in the world now, and the place to support the people is Too few. The eighteen provinces of the Han Dynasty support tens of millions of people. The geographical advantages are exhausted, and the world is in chaos. The country and the vassal do not know the way to bridge the chaos, but the vassal is a minister of the emperor and the leader of Xianghu. , I should share your worries for you and solve the problems for the Xianghu gentry."
Chapter completed!