Zeng Guofan has suffered a lot in the past few months. He claimed to be a loyal man, but recently he repeatedly opposed the orders. Emperor Xianfeng issued three imperial edicts to lead the Hunan Army to garrison Hebei, which were all delayed by him using the excuse of being reorganized.

Since Zeng Guofan led the main force of the Hunan Army to Hengzhou, Hunan to resist Zuo Zongtang, the Han army, the prefect of Hengzhou, was very sensible and gave up the government office. He wanted the Hunan Army to enter Hengzhou.

The masters understood that the Hunan Army was a tough guy, and the Han Army would not attack easily, and he also joined Zeng Guofan's aides.

News came from Hubei that the governor of Huguang, Guan Wen, was dismissed! Zeng Guofan was complicated and hurriedly summoned his aides to discuss countermeasures. Guan Wen recently got along with the Hunan Army. Hu Linyi was promoted to the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and the governor of Hubei was replaced. In the future, the Hunan Army would be in trouble again in Hubei.

After hearing Zeng Guofan’s complaint, Guo Songtao said: “The emperor is also anxious. If the official documents report good news or bad news, everyone knows that there must be something wrong with it.”

Guo Songtao was defeated in Jiangxi, which made him realize that he was not the material to lead the troops to fight. He felt very embarrassed, so he wrote a letter and asked someone to hand it to Zeng Guofan. He returned to his hometown to live in seclusion. Zeng Guofan happened to be in Changsha, so he "catched" him over and followed the army.

Chen Shijie looked at Zeng Guofan and asked, "Does Zeng Gong have a solution?"

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly: "This Xu Liang is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I had a close relationship with him when I was an official in Yanjing. However, Zeng experienced the incident of the Jiangxi Governor Chen Qimai, and he could not guarantee how Xu Liang would treat the Xiang army."

Liu Rong said straight to the point: "Everyone is worried. After the official texts, the Hunan Army has integrated into Huguang. Now the Hunan Army is in great power. It is the governor of Huguang that wants us, not that we are subject to the governor of Huguang. This is just that Xu Liang is tactful. If he wants to fight against the Hunan Army, he will have an accident. The imperial court is far away and there are short hairs blocking the way. The Hunan Army has no worries."

Everyone widened their eyes and looked at Liu Rong in surprise. They didn't understand why he said such a ruthless word. If it were the time when the Hunan Army was invented, they would have been swept out of the house.

Liu Rong also had a background in saying this. A few days ago, he received a letter from Wang Feng, saying that Li Xubin was not killed in battle, but was captured, and is now detained in Nanjing. Wang Feng deliberately or unintentionally advised him to wait and see the changes in the letter. This had a great impact on his ideological change. His mind became lively. The Hunan Army is a Hunan Army from Hunan, so why should he be buried with the court?

Zeng Guofan smiled and said, "Xiaxian is joking. The Governor of Huguang represents the face of the court. How can we harm us?"

He is still not used to bringing these conspiracies to the table to talk about. He is a Neo-Confucianist, how can he discuss these traitors in public? It will damage his face and prestige.

Liu Rong laughed in her heart. The Hunan Army also tacitly confronted the Han Army in Yongzhou, Guiyangzhou, and Baoqing Prefecture. Isn’t it just waiting for the result of the Han army’s northern expedition? The court won, and the Hunan Army immediately started a war and attacked the thieves! The Han army won, so we have to consider it carefully. The people led by Zeng Guofan advocated serving the death of the court, and the people led by Liu Rong and Li Xuyi advocated peace talks. What’s strange is that the generals who supported peace talks in the Hunan Army had the majority of their aides. Those who praised the death of the court were some of Zeng Guofan’s loyalists. They completely obeyed Zeng Guofan’s attitude. Even Hu Linyi’s attitude was ambiguous. He did not say that the peace talks had no intention of starting a war.

Zeng Guofan was secretly annoyed when he saw Liu Rong's smile-like expression. Liu Rong gathered Luo Zenan's old subordinates to fight him, which made him reluctant. Whenever he issued a combat order, there were always a few generals who offered opinions and asked him to drive short hair out of Hunan to repeatedly delay.

Seeing that the atmosphere was abnormal, Chen Shijie decided to start the conversation so that every meeting would not end in a bad mood. He organized a sentence in his heart and decided to start first, saying: "Since the establishment of the Hunan Army, the court has been suppressing it. Most of the military pay was raised by Mr. Zeng and Mr. Hu, so the generals below complained about the court. Now the Han army is stagnant on the border of Hunan, and there is also a contribution from Pushan. He could not bear to see the miserable people in the Hunan Province and urged Zuo Zongtang to disperse troops on the border. This also made a great contribution to our Hunan Army, saying that his rebellion in the Hunan Army was a bit unfair to Pushan."

Zeng Guofan was really angry. Wang Feng's rebellion for the Hunan Army was his conclusion. Unexpectedly, Chen Shijie dared to refute in public and swallowed his words back. He wanted to see how many people were contrary to him.

Guo Songtao looked at Zeng Guofan, then Liu Rong, and said, "No matter what, it is an indisputable fact that Wang Feng surrendered to the thief. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is rebellious just by this."

Guo Songtao was a Jinshi and had an official in the Hanlin Academy. His loyalty to the court was no different from that of Zeng Guofan.

Seeing Liu Rong's encouragement, a staff member Hu Daren looked at Zeng Guofan with guilt and whispered: "The Hunan Army is a Hunan Army of Hunan. It should protect the people of Hunan from the torture of war. Now the Han army is in great power, and hundreds of thousands of troops are eyeing the Hunan border alone. Governor Hu and the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou took away another Hunan army. It is best to maintain the status quo here in Hunan. The Hunan Army can no longer bear the defeat like Jinggang. We must be the overall situation first."

Liu Jintang felt much more at ease when someone took the lead and continued, "Just say that the emperor ordered us to serve the king. The Hunan Army was surrounded by the Han army on three sides. There was only one way out for Hubei to fight outside the province. Hubei was easy to attack and difficult to defend, and Wuchang was even more unsafe. It was captured by the enemy three times. In this way, our Hunan Army went north and was easily cut off its retreat, and it was rootless and floating under others' roofs, and fend for itself. This is not what everyone here expects."

"If you go north to serve the king, this situation will definitely happen!" Liu Rong emphasized in front of Zeng Guofan that he wanted to let Zeng Guofan recognize the reality and not to hold the illusory thought of loyalty and to take the Hunan Army to bury the Qing Dynasty.

Guo Songtao looked at it one by one, except for the master who was sitting in the corner with his head shrank, all his forehead was on his forehead. These bastards wanted to force the ward?

Zeng Guofan felt that this kind of thought appeared in the Hunan Army. He carefully considered the language and said with a stern face: "The Hunan Army formed an army with the words "loyalty" and "filial piety". You must not do anything rebellious. It is indeed inappropriate to go north to serve the king. I will not send troops without sufficient preparation. Don't worry, but no one is allowed to mention the surrender of the Han Dynasty."

Guo Songtao felt that Zeng Guofan was not saying it profound enough and added: "Zeng Gong is the commander of the Hunan Army. Everyone should say anything in public. You can't form small groups. What kind of words are like! You make one, I make one. What is the difference between this and the Green Camp soldiers? If this continues, how can the Hunan Army fight?"

After Guo Songtao finished speaking, he looked at Liu Rong. The meaning was very obvious. You, Liu Rong, are people who are in small groups.

Liu Rong decided to showdown. He had enough confidence to convince Zeng Guofan. He smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Zeng is right. I don't agree with surrendering to the Han Dynasty. After all, we still take the salary of the Qing Dynasty and become ministers of the Qing Dynasty. The Han army will fight north. Within half a year, the connection between Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan and Yanjing will be completely isolated. Therefore, I suggest that these provinces jointly protect each other and advance and retreat together. What is it that I have recognized?"

Guo Songtao was surprised and said, "Isn't this a reading power? What's the difference between this and a traitor!"

Liu Rong asked back: "Bochen has any better suggestions? Let's listen carefully! After all, everyone doesn't want to do this."

Guo Songtao looked at Zeng Guofan, hoping that he would come forward to teach Liu Rong a lesson.

Zeng Guofan's eyes flashed, he looked at Liu Rong, and after a while, he said to everyone: "Everyone is gone!"

Everyone was confused, but they still stood up and left, whispering.

Liu Rong and Guo Songtao sat in a tacit understanding and did not move, thinking about their thoughts.

Zeng Guofan breathed a sigh of relief and asked Liu Rong: "Runzhi knows about Southwest Mutual Protection, right?"

Liu Rong was shocked. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guofan guessed it. He nodded guiltily and added: "The Xiaguan just received the news. This time he came to report to Mr. Zeng."

Guo Songtao felt dizzy and felt dizzy. Hu Linyi had always been a model of loyal ministers in his heart. Unexpectedly, he did such a thing and asked anxiously: "Why is this? Should we be a traitor for our own honor and disgrace? What is the difference between this and surrendering to short-haired hair? Zeng Gong thought three times that we must not do it at this time, otherwise our reputation will be destroyed in one's life! We have become a laughing stock for the ages, and what are the faces we still have to survive in the world."

Seeing Guo Songtao's despair, Liu Rong advised: "This is the time and the time! Not to mention the Manchus entering the pass to steal China, everyone has a set of opinions. Now, the Southwest Mutual Protection is forced to do so. Short-haired soldiers are outside and long-haired lives in Sichuan. If we are still waiting for the orders of Yanjing, how can we manage Huguang? If the emperor is willing to hunt Huguang, we will naturally welcome the emperor and be loyal to the Qing Dynasty!"

Zeng Guofan hasn't encountered such a difficult thing for a long time. Although his thoughts have slowly changed, he still cannot accept the Southwest Mutual Protection. He believes that Liu Rong and Hu Linyi must have difficulties and are waiting for Liu Rong's explanation.

Guo Songtao advised earnestly: "Changmao civil strife, the elites were killed all. It was the time when we took the opportunity to eliminate rebellion. As long as Sichuan was pacified, the Qing Dynasty would be invincible. Sooner or later, the short hair would be destroyed, and the Qing Dynasty would be a bright world, Xiaxian, Disheng, you and I are the best friends. Since the founding of the Hunan Army, we have been loyal to each other and have been together day and night. I can't watch you walk on the evil path."

Liu Rong continued: "The two don't know that after the civil strife in Sichuan, people's hearts were in chaos. Many generals took the opportunity to leave Tianjing and surrender to the Han Dynasty. The Ji Wenyuan tribe in Guizhou has accepted the adaptation of the Han Dynasty. Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai are incompatible. I think it will be a matter of time before the separation of the family is completed. The general trend of the world has been achieved and can be saved by human resources."

When Zeng Guofan saw that he was talking very well, he was obviously clenching his fists and asked calmly: "Do you still have any contact with Wang Feng?"

Liu Rong admitted: "Yes, Wang Feng is already the new governor of Hunan, and was appointed by the Emperor Li Yunzhong of the Han Dynasty."

Zeng Guofan sarcastically said, "I wonder what official position Xia Xian got?"

Liu Rong's expression changed and she said angrily: "Although I, Liu Rong, is not that far. Even if I want to surrender, I will be with Mr. Zeng. I want to fight, and I am willing to die with Mr. Zeng!"

Guo Songtao snorted and asked, "Then why did you contact Mr. Zeng behind his back? Is your lifelong friendship not as good as your wealth?"

Liu Rong sighed: "The concepts are different, just like Bochen argues with Huating in Jiangxi."

When talking about the sad things, Guo Songtao was ashamed and angry, and defended himself: "Li Yundu is stubborn and I just disdain to argue with him, so I resigned and returned to Hunan. Besides, I didn't have the intention to surrender to the enemy."

Zeng Guofan was very pleased after hearing Liu Rong's heartfelt words, blocking the two of them from arguing and laughing: "Since the matter has been opened, we are still old friends. Now it is a time of crisis. We can't ridicule each other because of a moment of indifference and never interact with each other."

Guo Songtao had already forgiven Liu Rong when he heard that he was willing to live and die with them.

"What Mr. Zeng taught me is!" Guo Songtao and Liu Rong looked at each other and smiled. The two clasped their fists to each other to reveal the matter.

"Oh!" Zeng Guofan sighed, feeling moved: "Runzhi has become too fast. How could he bring up the issue of Southwest Mutual Protection?"

Liu Rong replied: "Yunnan is not peaceful. The French are in Myanmar and Vietnam are in trouble. Mr. Hu was worried and believed that the French would covet Yunnan sooner or later. There were long hairs in the north and Han troops attacked at any time in the east, and enemies on all sides. At that time, Yunnan alone would be unable to resist, so he proposed mutual protection in the southwest."

Guo Songtao nodded, laughed and angry, and replied: "Our Hunan Army is in trouble. Of course, I will send troops to help. Isn't this the Southwest mutual protection? Why do you need to mention it on the surface and make everyone ugly?"

Liu Rong leaned slightly and said, "Mr. Hu was worried that he would leave Yunnan and Guizhou. Since Mr. Hu was in bad health, he often lamented that his deadline had come. Maybe he was out of sight and had a little less worries than me."

Zeng Guofan was uneasy and asked anxiously: "How could Runzhi be like this? When we parted in Hubei, we were fine, why did we say that the deadline had arrived?"

Liu Rong said: "It's all diseases that arise in the military. Mr. Hu also asked us to consider the future of the Hunan Army."

Zeng Guofan was in powerless, like Hu Linyi, Zeng Guofan, has become a spiritual support for the Hunan Army and has many confidants in the Hunan Army. If Hu Linyi dies, it will be a blow to the morale of the Hunan Army. Can Zeng Guofan still wave his arms to the Hunan Army?

Guo Songtao was happy and worried. What was happy was that there was no Hu Linyi. The Hunan Army returned to Zeng Guofan's era. Guo Songtao was also a place to use his skills. What was worried was that Hubei officials dared not ignore the Hunan Army because of Hu Linyi's face. If Hu Linyi passed away, good fortune and disaster would be unpredictable.

Zeng Guofan said to Liu Rong: "I agree to the Southwest Mutual Protection. You ask Runzhi to take good care of her health."

Liu Rong thought to himself that Mr. Hu’s plan was indeed very effective!

Guo Songtao added: "Southwest Mutual Protection is already the bottom line, and it must not be spread."

Liu Rong nodded in agreement and added: "I can't help but say I'll go to Yunnan to visit Mr. Hu in person."

Zeng Guofan's heart flashed with suspicion and said, "I'll let Lao Jiu go with you. When you go to Yunnan, you should pay attention to the military spirit. I'm worried that Wang Feng has penetrated into Yunnan."
Chapter completed!