Nanjing Dynasty Conference

Today's court meeting is unusual. The generals and officers are all energetic and focused on the battle formation, and their listless appearances in the past are wiped out.

Li Yun was excited and gave an opening remark as usual: "It has been four or five years since the onslaught of Guangxi. Compared with Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's destruction of Qin in the third year, it is a great disadvantage. When I was in Yong'an, I proposed to capture Jiangnan, then send troops to the northern expedition, and restore the Han family's clothing. These are my original ideas, but the plan will never keep up with the changes. When our army captured Nanjing, Xiang Rong dared to establish a Jiangnan camp under the city. Our army broke through Jiangnan camp, and the Hunan army rose in the west. Now our Han Dynasty has a stable foundation in Jiangnan, and it is time to fight the Qing army with a decisive battle!"

The civil and military officials in the court held their breath and listened quietly. Everyone realized that it was time to determine the fate of the Han Dynasty. In recent years, the Han Dynasty won many victories on various battlefields, but the old soldiers suffered heavy casualties and the new soldiers had not yet returned to their hearts. From time to time, a small group of troops defected and defected to the Qing army.

Although the emperor planned to annihilate the Hunan Army first and then carry out the Northern Expedition, Lu Jianying and others always believed that the Northern Expedition was in line with the current situation. Moreover, their mainstream opinion was to surrender Zeng Guofan and expand the power of the civil servant group. These ideas have been unified within the Hunan system, so they planned to argue at today's court meeting.

Chang Dachun took the lead in attacking: "Strike the snake and hit seven inches. Now the emperor of the Northern Abductor is still in Yanjing to control the whole country. Why don't the emperor send elite troops to the north to attack? Reappear the story of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun in the past, and drive the Northern Abductor outside the Great Wall. In this way, China will be safe. The Hunan Army has no leader, and the morale of the army will inevitably be in chaos. The Han Dynasty will send people to surrender again, and the unification of the country is just around the corner!"

Lin Daji looked ugly. These scholars were really ignorant of the current affairs. The Ministry of War had already conveyed the strategies and tactics and was waiting to go on the verge. They were still singing a counter-tune here. Seeing many civil servants' foreheads, they immediately retorted: "Our army has been preparing for the Western Expedition for three months. How can we just say it? The front-line generals have cooperated to complete the dispatch. Just wait for a thunder strike to the Hunan Army. The Han Dynasty has no worries. How can we give up halfway!"

Lu Jianying: "This is a bad statement..."

"Bang! Stop talking!" Li Yunzhong didn't want the joyful court meeting to turn into a meaningless quarrel, and said resolutely: "This time I send troops to Hunan, I have decided. If anyone dares to disrupt our morale, I will definitely be killed."

Lu Jianying was the first to be a turtle with his head shrinking face and returned to the queue without changing his face.

Standing in the last row, Li Hongzhang watched Lu Jianying's funny performance with a sarcastic look on his face. These civil servants were really confused. The emperor had already decided on something and dared to refute it again and again. If it weren't for their use, they would have been idle.

Zhang Suimu stepped out and bowed and said, "General Zuo Zongtang, the Great General of the Southern Expedition, came to report that Guangzhou has been captured by our army and will attack Hunan according to the agreement. Now Nanchang is an isolated city and surrounded by our army for half a year. The Hunan army is blocked on the front line of Tongcheng. Will our army take the lead in launching an attack? Several large armies attacked Hunan at the same time, making the Hunan army exhausted."

Yang Kailin advised: "No, Commander Zeng is attacking Nanchang. How can he divide his troops to attack Hunan at this time? I am foolish in my opinion, I should wait until Nanchang is captured before the Hunan Army will fight to the decisive battle."

Li Yunzhong has been traveling through time for several years and still can't figure out what these people think. Why do they like to change their original combat plan so much? If it is only tactical, Li Yunzhong doesn't care, but can this strategic direction change at will!

"The Zhejiang militia armed forces have been established, and the First Army is still doing nothing if they stay in Zhejiang. I will immediately transfer the First Army to Jiangxi to participate in the war. I will use static measures to prevent the situation. When the time is right, I will attack Xiangxiang County, Hunan. The foundation of the Hunan Army must be pulled out!" Li Yunzhong added: "From today, the Western Expedition will be the top priority of the Han Dynasty, and the food and salary of the Ministry of Revenue should be given priority to Jiangxi."

Meng Xing lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue still has 3 million taels of silver. Last month, it allocated 1.5 million taels of military expenditure to Zuo Zongtang's army, and the arsenal and the military academy to allocate 500,000 taels of silver. At the end of the month, it would send 500,000 taels of military salary to Xuzhou and the northern Anhui War Zone, which may only support the Western Expedition Army for three months."

"Can the Ministry of Revenue have a response plan?" Li Yunzhong could not accuse Meng of rising, because these expenses were all ordered by him personally.

Meng Xing replied: "Weichen suggested paying the commercial tax and salt tax in advance, so that he could get five million taels of silver, which was enough to cope with the expenses of the Western Expedition Army."

Chang Dachun used to work in the Ministry of Revenue and felt that collecting commercial tax is better than collecting land taxes. He agreed: "Weichen agreed that the Han Dynasty collected commercial taxes every year for 8 million taels, and there was no loss in the early collection. As for the salt tax, it would be fined normally."

The lack of money in the war reminded Li Yunzhong of bonds and secretly scolded himself for being confused. If he came up with this trick earlier, industrialization should have been on the right track. It seems that he has to collect talents and establish a central bank.

"This attack on Hunan has attracted attention from the whole country. I am not afraid that the Hunan Army will get news in advance. I will immediately convene several vice presidents of the chamber of commerce to solve the problem of insufficient military expenditure." Li Yunzhong was impatient and immediately wanted to put the bonds into practice: "Retreat the court!"

Wanbao Building Chamber of Commerce

"Brother Wang, the emperor recently launched a thing called bonds. I heard that you bought 300,000 taels. Is this true?" Yang Wei hurried to Wanbaolou, grabbed Wang Shilie's collar and scolded: "You are confused! You don't know what bonds are, so you bought 300,000 taels of silver. What if the water is wasted, what will happen to your cement factory!"

Wang Shilie opened Yang Wei's hand, sorted out his suit, and replied casually: "Brother Yang, don't worry, I can't figure out what the bond is, will I buy it?"

Yang Wei blinked his eyes cunningly, holding his breath and waiting for Wang Shilie to continue talking. He had known that Wang Shilie would not have to get up early, and this time he took the risk of investing in bonds with all his savings, which would have been profitable.

Wang Shilie caught a glimpse of many merchants gathering towards him with intention, and became more and more proud, and shouted: "In Western countries, bonds are as common as silver notes. For example, this time the bonds issued by the emperor because he wanted to fight the Hunan Army. If I win, I can take the bonds to the Ministry of Revenue to exchange for 400,000 taels of silver."

Yang Wei asked subconsciously: "What if I lose the beating?" After saying that, he felt it was impossible and lowered his head in shame.

"Haha..." The nearby businessman indeed made a mocking voice.

"The Han army won every battle. I have not heard of the Han army defeated. Have you heard of it?"

"I haven't heard of it!"

"So this bond is a good thing, I'll buy 10,000 taels, too."

"I'll buy one hundred thousand taels."

A mustache went downstairs and passed by here, smiling and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, the emperor only issued five million taels this time. I just bought 4.5 million taels on behalf of the Thirteenth Line, which means that all the bonds have been packaged by the Thirteenth Line. I will be smart next time, otherwise I won't even be able to drink the soup."

Yang Wei's intestines were all green. He heard the news yesterday and was hesitant. Unexpectedly, he was the first to come to inquire about the situation today: "This kid is so rampant, Shisanxing is so domineering. He eats meat himself and doesn't even let us take a sip of the soup."

Seeing the merchants around him look like their parents were dead, Wang Shilie became even more proud: "Although I missed this time, there will be a next time."

Yang Wei shivered and felt relieved all over, and asked hurriedly: "What does Brother Wang mean? Is there any place to buy bonds?"

Wang Shilie touched the shiny little parting, picked up the civilized stick, pointed to the sky outside Nanjing and said: "Since the emperor can issue war bonds, he can naturally issue railway bonds, industrial bonds, agricultural bonds, etc. Some of these bonds have big profits and some have small profits, and they all rely on you to voluntarily!"

Yang Wei also subconsciously touched his hair and smiled foolishly: "Of course I am willing to buy a big profit!"

"There is a big profit, the risk is a big one; the profit is a small one, the risk is a small one. How can there be so many advantages in the world to take advantage of!" Wang Shilie walked out of Wanbao Tower with a civilized stick and held the bond of 100,000 taels tightly in his arms.

Hunan Xiangxiang

Since Zeng Guofan returned from the front line, he has been uneasy. On the one hand, he is afraid that the emperor will blame him, and on the other hand, he is afraid that he will be ridiculed. Fortunately, Xianfeng was compassionate. Considering that Zeng Guofan was the minister of the Ministry of Rites, it was his duty to value filial piety, so he not only did not have it, but also gave Zeng Guofan a three-month holiday.

While idle, Zeng Guofan summarized his experience in running the Hunan Army in Xiangxiang for the past three years. He did not expect that as the commander-in-chief, he left the Hunan Army. Not only did he not disband, but he became more and more popular by Hu Linyi. His old subordinates had fewer letters than the other, which made him very disappointed, as if his son had been taken away by others. The experience he summed up was that his biggest mistake was that he did not bring his brothers to the army for training.

"Guo Quan, Guohua, Guobao, I plan to let you go to the army to experience. What do you think?"

Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guohua, and Zeng Guobao expressed their willingness in unison. They had already made this wish, but they were worried that others would say that their elder brother was nepotism, so they were idle at home.

Zeng Guofan took out three letters and handed them to the three of them: "Guoquan, go to Hunan to find Governor Luo, and give him this letter to his attention. He will authorize you to recruit 4,000 brave men. Guohua, go to Hubei to find Governor Hu, and he will also give you four,000 brave men in charge. As for Guobao, you will stay in Xiangxiang to recruit 2,000 brave men. After one month, everyone will meet in Hubei!"

Zeng Guohua asked, "Brother, has the imperial court allowed you to come out?"

Zeng Guofan took out an imperial edict and said, "The court ordered me to be the governor of Anhui. I have already finished my mother's funeral at home. I will go to Hubei to take charge of the battle tomorrow."

"Where are you going to fight with your brother?" the three brothers asked in unison.

"Jiujiang, Jiangxi!" Zeng Guofan added: "War is not a joke, you must act carefully!"

Zeng Guohua heard that he was going to attack Jiujiang and said worriedly: "Why do you need to attack short hair? Long hair has captured the entire Sichuan. Why not calm the long hair and attack Jiangnan again?"

Zeng Guofan sighed and looked lonely: "The news came from the south that Guangzhou was captured, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Ye Mingchen was captured, and the entire territory of Guangdong changed its flags and surrendered overnight. The emperor issued a strict order and sent troops to Jiangnan within one month to attack Jiangning!"

Zeng Guoquan said in surprise: "That's not a death sentence. The short-haired soldier is sharp. Last time my brother attacked Jiujiang and Hukou... I will attack again, and the result will be different? Why not wait and see for a year and make plans."

"If it is beneficial to the country's life and death, how can we avoid it because of misfortune and good fortune? Mr. Lin said it well! I only now understand Mr. Lin's mood at that time. You don't have to persuade him anymore. This time the Hunan Army attacked Jiujiang, short-haired will not sit idly by. Once the two fights, it will eventually turn into a decisive battle. Either the Hunan Army dies or the pseudo-Han dies." Zeng Guofan has always cared for these three younger brothers and analyzed the interests of them.

Zeng Guohua was young and energetic. He only heard the news that the Hunan Army had won the battle. He had already trusted the Hunan Army a hundred times. He clenched his fists and said, "Don't worry, brother, I will definitely return to a great victory this time. How can the small Jiujiang stop the elite troops of the Hunan Army?"

Zeng Guofan closed his eyes and waved his hand, "I won't say much, let's say goodbye to my father quickly, go my separate ways tomorrow, and the family will become deserted again."

The next day, Zeng Guofan and his brothers went their separate ways. Zeng Guofan first visited Hu Linyi in Hunan. The two of them had been discussing for a long time. After a period of silence, Zeng Guofan's aura had long been wiped out. He had no resentment to Luo Bingzhang. His intentional or unintentional flattery made Hu Linyi both surprised and happy, and repeatedly praised Zeng Guofan's progress in his demeanor.

Farewell to Hu Linyi, Zeng Guofan went straight to Hubei.

Nanchang, Jiangxi

He Jiangou stood on the wall of Nanchang and felt deeply moved. Governor Jiao, who was salivating, would open the city to surrender! Poor Governor Jiao wanted to take the credit that he dreamed of.

"Teacher Commander, look at a group of soldiers and horses coming down from the city, it seems to be from the Nanjing Imperial Guards!"

He Jiangou walked down the city wall and ordered: "Go and report to the governor and the army commander!"

Zheng Ermao smiled proudly. He was still very disappointed when he was assigned to the Imperial Guards and felt that he had no chance to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions. Unexpectedly, the emperor ascended the throne and all the meritorious personnel of the Imperial Guards were granted a first-level title. He participated in the "kidnapping of the Emperor", so he was naturally promoted to battalion commander. Because he knew a few big words, he was appreciated by Shangguan. He was not long after the worry of being announced, and he could be promoted to another level when he went back.

"The imperial edict is here!" Zheng Ermao came to the governor's office under He Jiangou's guidance, and learned from the flower singers on the stage.

"I have received the order" and the main officials of Jiangxi Province and generals of the Third Army bowed.

Zheng Ermao coughed and sang loudly: "The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun ordered: Zeng Shuiyuan founded the country and recommended sincerity, advised military affairs, and made many military achievements. He specially awarded the first-class viscount to commend his merits. I hope he will continue to work hard, but I am not very happy."

Zeng Shuiyuan suppressed his manic and excited mood, lowered his head and took the imperial edict with his hands, and said, "I received the edict and thanked me!"

Zheng Ermao rubbed his hands and comforted Zhao Liewen: "Mr. Zhao, the emperor has an oral order!"

Seeing Zhao Liewen step forward, Zeng Shuiyuan and others quickly took a few steps back.

Zheng Ermao whispered: "This time, only generals who have made great achievements can be awarded the title. Although Lord Zhao has made outstanding contributions, it still does not meet the conditions, so this time..."
Chapter completed!