"Your Majesty, this slave is guilty. The battle was not fought well. This slave betrayed the trust of the Emperor. Please punish me..."
On the second day after Seng Gelinqin and "Zeng Linshu" arrived in Beijing, in the Old Summer Palace, in the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall, Seng Gelinqin, a simple Mongolian man, was weeping and apologizing to Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty.
This monk king had the best attitude in asking for forgiveness. On the way to Beijing, he had already made a fragrant and big cake for Emperor Xianfeng.
Seng Gelinqin told Xianfeng that he planned to recruit 5,000 Horqin Mongolian warriors and 15,000 Zhili Han poor peasants to form a 20,000-person training army!
The core of the 20,000-square-foot counter-training army is undoubtedly the 5,000 Horqin Mongolian warriors that only Senggelinqin can firmly grasp, and has been recruited by Zasak of the Horqin banners!
First of all, they are Mongolians, not Han people, and they come from various banners derived from the Mongolian Horqin tribe that first surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. They are absolutely reliable politically!
Secondly, these five thousand people are all Mongolian elites from the Horqin banners, and all of them are skilled in bows and horses. If used by Seng Gelinqin, not only can they defeat tens of thousands of Taiping Northern Expedition troops, they can at least hold them back. Again,
Jingzhou General Officer Wen, Huguang Governor Zhang Liangji, and Hunan League Training Minister Zeng Guofan sent urgent documents to Beijing every now and then, all about the long-haired army's northern expedition to Xiangyang!
If Xiangyang cannot be defended, Changmao will enter the Central Plains!
Now Henan's defenses are empty, and the few Qing troops are also loose. The generals have no will to fight, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, and the people are panicked.
Once the Taiping Army conquered Xiangyang and entered the Central Plains, the imperial court in Beijing would have to immediately send out an elite army that could watch and fight. It would be better to send the "real Tatars" to Henan, so that they could be called Han officials, gentry and soldiers in Henan.
The green camp soldiers all saw that the Qing emperor still had Manchurian and Mongolian heavenly troops at his disposal.
Looking at it this way, the Han officials, gentry, and green soldiers in Henan have a backbone, and they can firmly hold on with the belief that "the Eight Banners' heavenly soldiers are invincible on the plains."
If Xianfeng couldn't even come up with this little capital, he could only send the foreign Yan soldiers from the Beijing banner who "shoot arrows but can miss the target and ride horses to the ground" to go south. Once they were defeated by the Taiping Army with infantry and cavalry, then the Henan people would be defeated.
But everyone needs to sing "Welcome to Peace".
Therefore, Emperor Xianfeng, who was kind-hearted by nature, could not bear to punish Seng Gelinqin, the mainstay of the Qing Dynasty and the last support of the Eight Banners nobles.
"Seng Gelinqin, I understand your difficulties. I don't blame you for the failure of the war... Mainly because of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp. They have lived a comfortable life for more than a hundred years and no longer have the vigor of the past! Moreover, the Han people are unfaithful to us.
Under the grace of the Qing Dynasty, the population multiplied too much, so that the eighteen provinces of the Han Dynasty had too many people, too many people and too little land, and the food they grew was not enough to eat, and they were already extremely vicious!
In addition, there is probably a demon from the West over there in Changmao... I know that this time we have indeed encountered a disaster unprecedented since Dingding Beijing! It can be said that it is a combination of internal and external troubles, demonic disasters and man-made disasters.
.but.."
Xianfeng talked a lot, all of which were trying to find reasons for defeat and to excuse the bunch of drunkards and ricebags below. There was no way! The Qing Dynasty had to rely on these drunkards and ricebags to survive. He, the emperor, would not excuse the big guys. , what else can I do? Are you yelling something depressing like, "I am not the king of a subjugated country, but all of my ministers are ministers of a subjugated country"?
After he finished excusing his subordinates, Xianfeng said "but" and then his tone became lighter.
"Fortunately... our Qing Dynasty is finally about to turn around! First of all, I have thoroughly understood Chang Mao's method of dividing the land to deceive people's hearts. In a tit-for-tat manner, I used the land outside the customs to distribute the land outside the customs to the brave officers and soldiers who sincerely fought for the Qing Dynasty! Zeng Guofan , Zuo Zongtang, and Jiang Zhongyuan have been giving me tips one after another these days. The people who practice Yong below all think that my method is very good. Everyone is eager to try it and want to contribute to the Qing Dynasty. They want to share some fertile soil outside the customs! Hunan practice The number of troops has grown rapidly, and there are already eighty-three battalions with more than 41,000 troops!"
When Xianfeng said this, his face was full of joy.
Kneeling below were a large group of people including the military minister, Manchu and Han ministers, ministers, commanders of the Eight Banners, and several ministers leading bodyguards, etc., all shouted in unison: "The emperor is wise!"
When Xianfeng heard this, he glanced at Prince Gong Yi? It was actually this man who first proposed the allocation of fertile land outside the customs.
After taking his eyes away from Guiziliu who was kneeling respectfully, Xianfeng said in a brisk tone: "Moreover, Zeng Guofan and his father have raised their flags and are our own people. Zeng Guofan's father, Zeng Linshu, is also here. Beijing City, right outside the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall... tell him to come up!"
"Xuan Zenglin writes to the palace!"
With the sound of a eunuch's drake voice, Xianfeng saw a "strong-looking Dazeng" swinging his arms and swaggering in followed by an imperial minister.
The imperial minister of the Qing Dynasty sounds very big, but in fact he is the "imperial sword-carrying guard", which is higher than the first-class bodyguard. However, the imperial minister who led "Dazeng" in was a smoky-faced, skinny nobleman from the Eight Banners. ..If an assassin from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom really entered the Old Summer Palace, and Xianfeng relied on this person to protect him, he would probably die immediately.
And under his background, "Dazeng" is even bigger! "Slave Zeng Jia. Linshu, respectfully greet the Emperor!"
"Zeng Linshu" was not only big in size, but also had a loud voice, like thunder. When he greeted him, Emperor Xianfeng was so shocked that he couldn't even speak for a while. After a while, he nodded and said: "Okay, okay, it is indeed true." ..The son of a tiger and the father of a dog! Linshu, did you have any fame before you came to Beijing?"
"Returning to the emperor, before I raised the flag, I focused on the imperial examination. Unfortunately, I did not do well in the eight-part essay. I failed the imperial examination seventeen times and was always a childish student."
"What a pity..." Xianfeng thought for a moment and smiled, "Linshu, I think you look like a brave martial artist, but do you know how to do martial arts?"
"Your Majesty, my servant studied martial arts at the age of three and literature at the age of five. Although he has practiced for decades, it is a pity that he has achieved nothing in both literature and martial arts."
Xianfeng nodded and thought to himself: "It's already very difficult to write an article. If you still want to practice martial arts, how can you learn it? If you focused on martial arts, you would have become a martial arts scholar long ago, and maybe even an admiral."
"Linshu, you are carrying the flag now, and you are a slave with the yellow flag!" Xianfeng said with a smile, "I will give you a second-class bodyguard and go to Qianqing Sect!"
The second-class bodyguard is an official of the fourth rank, and walking in the Qianqing Gate can "walk outside the Qianqing Gate"! If Xianfeng worked in the Forbidden City, usually in the Qianqing Palace, "Zeng Linshu" could be in Xianfeng's office How much trust does it take to "walk" outside the courtyard gate? And this "walking" not only means literally, but also means to serve outside the Qianqing Gate - in layman's terms, he is the security guard of the Qianqing Gate!
"The second thing is that there is Luo Xueyan from Shanghai. Although he is from Nanyang, he is really capable. He learned the essence of Western military science overseas and helped Luo Bingzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others train their troops. A while ago, he brought eight Bai Xiangyong went to Shanghai to buy foreign guns and cannons, and the result..."
After sending "Zeng Linshu" a guide to guarding the Qianqing Gate, Xianfeng began to talk about Luo Xueyan again. He was so eloquent for a while that he almost turned Luo Xueyan into Chahan Timur of the Qing Dynasty!
There was no way, the situation was critical and people's hearts were fluctuating. I had to tell some good news to make people angry. Although Luo Xueyan did not make any achievements, he got the support of foreigners and pulled out thousands of "foreign guns" in a short period of time. Team"!
Xianfeng's tone became more and more excited, and he announced with a smile: "I have asked the officials to check, and found this person! Indeed, on the recommendation list submitted by the Hunan Governor's Yamen, he has the title of seventh grade candidate county magistrate. .........With such talents, a seventh-grade candidate county is too small!"
It's not that Xianfeng has no brains and doesn't do any "background", but the problem is that this Luo Xueyan has indeed been registered in the Ministry of Personnel, and he is the legitimate parent of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, his files in the Ministry of Personnel are consistent with his The characters created in Shanghai are completely suitable.
A "rich generation" who came back from Southeast Asia can speak English with an Oxford accent, and even fooled the consuls of England, France, and the United States. There is no way that such a persona can be reconciled with the "hatred of the rich" Hook up with the military leader!
Moreover, he did not appear alone with five hundred elite soldiers. He also came to Shanghai with Wang Kui of Hengzhou Prefecture--that was a Qing civil servant who was born as a second-ranked Jinshi! There was also Cheng Zicai, a loyal martyr of the Qing Dynasty. His son Cheng Fupei is also an old acquaintance with him. The Cheng family has three governors, and Cheng Fupei is the son of Dazhonglie. Could this be the Taiping Army?
"Your Majesty," Prince Gong also thinks Luo Xueyan is fine.
His confidant Shengbao also said the same, so he took up what Xianfeng said, "My slave suggested that Luo Xueyan be promoted to the throne of Jiangnan Salt Law Road and be the prefect of Jiangning. Jiangnan Salt Law Road is in charge of the salt administration of Jiangnan, which is beneficial to the salt administration of Jiangnan." Raise salaries. And the post of Jiangning magistrate can encourage the officer... to relieve the siege of Jiangning City!"
Mansion!"
"It's just what I want! Let Luo Xueyan be the Jiangnan salt law road and Jiangning magistrate."
Xianfeng nodded, raised his voice, and began to draw cakes again: "As long as he can relieve the siege of Jiangning Mansion, no, recover Jiangning in the future, I will make him governor of Jiangsu, or even governor of Liangjiang!" He paused, "
Chapter completed!