Chapter 282 The Hongwu Agreement (please order, please vote)
Anhui, Fengyang, Bengbu Collection.
The Huai River is surging, and the dark river water is rolling and flowing eastward, rolling up waves one after another, lapping the high dams on both sides of the bank. A middle-aged man with a white face and short beard, wearing a black linen coat and a fourth-grade top hat. Standing on the dam without saying a word, he waited for Zuo Zongtang to stroll up to him, then pointed at several large wooden boats moored next to Bengbu Pier and whispered:
"Brother Ji Gao, fortunately he lived up to his command and bought two thousand foreign guns, sixty thousand rounds of custom-loaded ammunition, and six twelve-pound foreign cannons."
Zuo Zongtang folded his arms. There was no surprise on his round face. Instead, he frowned slightly and said softly: "Who is Luo Xueyan? How could he accomplish such a great thing all at once? The emperor issued a secret order to consult Luo Ruweng. Fortunately, the wise man came to ask me first, and then I excused myself."
Although he still didn't know that Luo Xueyan was Luo Yaoguo, he vaguely felt that something was wrong, so when he saw Wang Kuiyi who had brought foreign guns and cannons, he immediately asked.
Wang Kui chuckled and asked, "Since Brother Ji Gao takes Jin Liang as his nickname, why don't you count the roots of this person? It seems that he and Brother Ji Gao are old acquaintances."
Zuo Zongtang stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then asked: "Could he be a member of Luosu Weng's family? But I heard that this person's ancestral home is Jiaying Prefecture, and he is a returned overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia. Su Weng has no such distant relatives."
When Wang Kui saw that Zuo Zongtang was also confused, he laughed and reminded: "This man and brother Ji Gao had a Hongwu appointment in Changsha Chao Zong in the past. Brother Ji Gao still remembers it?"
Zuo Zongtang was startled and stared at Wang Kuiyi for a while. He said after a while: "It's him! He's so good at concealing the truth. Even I was deceived by him. I couldn't even think that Luo Xueyan was Luo Yaoguo. Bowen, what about you? Are you working for him now? Why did he give me so many foreign guns and cannons? What on earth does he want to do?"
"What does he want to do?"
Wang Kui smiled faintly, looked at Zuo Zongtang and said leisurely: "Brother Ji Gao has forgotten the old relationship between Xiangjiang and Hongwu? Although King Luo Wu has not yet captured the two Wus in the East and West, the land of Su Song and Taichang has been obtained Halfway through, the Shanghai Port was firmly in hand. It also had the support of the envoys of England, France, and the United States. It also held the Jiangnan Salt Road and Jianghai Customs. It wanted silver, foreign guns, and foreign guns. Han Lin'er was waiting for him. , Liu Futong sent his army to the Northern Expedition, and both the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty were defeated. Then he could fulfill Hongwu's ambition, sweep the world, and clear up the world. Brother Ji Gao still doesn't want to fulfill his promise?"
"So, King Luo Wu is going to abandon the Ming religion and establish the Ming Dynasty!"
As soon as these words came out, Zuo Zongtang's pupils dilated slightly, and he was obviously agitated. However, after thinking about it for a while, he felt doubtful, and then asked again: "Since King Luo Wu wanted to do Hongwu's deeds, why did he want to fight Luo Xueyan?" His sign became the Qing Dynasty’s Shanghai Warden and Minister of Commerce of the Five Countries? This seems to be Zhang Shicheng’s doing!”
Wang Kui laughed and replied: "King Luo Wu is from Western Wu, Governor Luo is from Eastern Wu, Zhu Hongwu, and Zhang Shicheng all asked him to do it alone, isn't it good?"
Zuo Zongtang was still puzzled and looked at Wang Kuiyi blankly.
Wang Kui said leisurely: "Brother Ji Gao must have read through the three volumes of "Anti-Jing" and knows the root cause of the current chaos in the world, right?"
"I know a little bit," Zuo Zongtang said, "it's actually a tragedy for the common people."
"Although there are many people, the world is bigger!" Wang Kui said calmly.
Zuo Zongtang's pupils trembled slightly: "King Luo Wu has not even unified China, so he is thinking about expanding abroad and showing off his power in foreign lands? But in today's world, there are many great powers, including England, France, the United States and other countries. They are all extremely powerful. It is really difficult for China to compete with them. Let’s fight!”
Zuo Zongtang still knows a lot about the situation in the world, but he is incomparable to Luo Yaoguo.
"It is currently impossible to expand overseas and show off to foreign lands, but sending some poor people who have no food at home to go to Southeast Asia and the Americas to do hard work for foreigners to earn some money to live on, the foreigners welcome the hardships, and they still welcome them. There is a risk of being acclimatized and dying in a foreign country, but it is better than staying at home and waiting to starve to death, right?" Wang Kuiyi frowned and said slowly, "The reason why the great powers are great powers is not because they have large populations. Not because their land is vast, but because their technology is prosperous and their industry is advanced, which is the specialty of the West.
If China wants to be strong, it must learn the skills of the foreigners, and if it wants to learn the skills of the foreigners, it must have a land that can communicate with foreign countries and allow the Chinese and foreigners to mix. Moreover, this land must also be able to absorb a large amount of money and industry and commerce. People from all walks of life can also allow them to learn from the strengths of the Western barbarians with peace of mind, introduce technology, build industry, run education, and develop. The land of Shanghai is the foundation chosen by King Luo Wu to become strong.
Maybe in ten or twenty years, we in China will have a piece of land with a machine industry comparable to that of the great powers. By then, we will be able to make our own strong ships, cannons, and foreign guns and ammunition. King Luo Wu wants to wipe out all the waste and establish Liuhe. , and even becoming famous in foreign lands is possible.
This is Hongwu’s ambition today! Brother Ji Gao, are you willing to fulfill the old agreement with the Chao Sect?”
Zuo Zongtang thought again for a while. After a long time, he raised his eyes to look at Wang Kuiyi and asked softly: "Brother Bowen, there is something I still don't understand."
"Brother Ji Gao doesn't understand why King Luo Wu wants to use Luo Xueyan's brand to run Shanghai?" Wang Kueyi had already guessed what Zuo Zongtang wanted to ask. He said with a smile on his face: "After all, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom wanted to divide the land and distribute the wealth. If it is not divided, there will be no one to follow, and it will be difficult to establish a foundation, and it will be impossible to pacify the world. But if it is divided, it will make the wealthy people in the world panic. If Shanghai is also the territory of King Luo Wu, who would dare to go there? Start an industry?"
Zuo Zongtang nodded slightly, looked slowly to the southeast with his eyes, and replied: "It's hard for King Luo Wu, but I don't know what King Luo Wu wants me to do?"
Wang Kui asked: "Brother Ji Gao, do you want to be the governor of Zhejiang in the Qing Dynasty?"
Zuo Zongtang raised his thick eyebrows: "I think so!"
Fengyang County.
The setting sun slanted down, illuminating the ancient city of Fengyang. A man with triangular eyes and raised eyebrows stood on the tower, looking at his Xiangyong camp in the empty Fengyang City. Huang Shijie and two men, one tall and one short, quickly They walked up to him and bowed together.
"Students pay homage to the Master."
"Brother Di Sheng is well."
"Late student Fengtai Miao Peilin pays homage to Mr. Zeng."
Zeng Guofan smiled and nodded towards the two of them, then pointed to a square table and a few chairs placed on the tower, and said softly: "Sit wherever you want."
"yes."
The three of them responded softly, then each found a chair and sat down by themselves. Huang Shijie was the most casual, with a smile on his fair face. The tall man was older and a little more reserved. He was Li Wenxuan, the father of Li Hongzhang. .There is also a short man, slightly stout, about forty years old, with short eyebrows, big eyes, and a mustache. He looks most reserved. He is an unsuccessful scholar from Fengtai County, Fengyang Prefecture. His name is My name is Miao Peilin.
"Yachuan, your son has gone abroad?" Zeng Guofan first asked with a smile to Li Wenxuan, who was the same year as him.
"I have already gone abroad," Li Wenxuan said with a little worry. "Two months ago, I followed Mr. Su and took a British warship to go abroad. I was also accompanied by the British consul in Shanghai, Wetoma. Now maybe All reached the Indian Ocean."
When Li Hongzhang went abroad, Luo Xueyan was "crusting" Su Sanniang in Kunshan, so he did not go to see him off.
"A good man has his ambitions in all directions. He goes out to gain experience and broaden his horizons. When he comes back, he will be a capable Westerner."
Zeng Guofan had always been very optimistic about Li Hongzhang, a student, and was quite confident in his future. He chuckled and continued: "Among my students, Shaoquan and Ziying are undoubtedly the most capable. Shaoquan has literary talent, Ziying is good at martial arts. Shaoquan After returning from overseas, he has become a talented person in foreign affairs, and Ziying's team training is also very impressive. In the future, the two of you will not be inferior to Luo Xueyan."
When Huang Shijie heard what the teacher said, he couldn't help but ask: "Teacher, do you know Luo Xueyan?"
Zeng Guofan shook his head: "I have never seen him, but I heard from Luo Ruzhai and Zuo Jigao that he is a rare talent!"
Huang Shijie sighed: "There are so many thousand-mile horses in the world, but it's hard to find a horse. Fortunately, in these troubled times, talents from all walks of life can finally come out to show off their magical powers."
As soon as he said this, Zeng Guofan's expression changed slightly. He was obviously thinking of some kind of yellow robe. He hesitated for a while, then he pointed at Miao Peilin and said, "Ziying, this Mr. Miao must be rare too." The horse of a thousand miles, right?"
After hearing this, Miao Peilin quickly stood up, cupped his hands towards Zeng Guofan, and said with a smile: "Miao doesn't dare. Miao has little talent and knowledge. He doesn't dare to compare with Mr. Huang, Mr. Li, and Mr. Luo. It's just that Miao, a hero in Huaixi since ancient times, is willing to be a hero." Recruit the brave men from Huaixi to achieve a great cause and bring peace to the world!"
Chapter completed!