Qing-Russian coalition forces, the Russian army was in the front and the Qing army was behind.
However, Zhang Zhidong did not let the soldiers march ten miles a day. After all, he and Muravyov were just quarreling and had no real falling out. It would not be feasible to really be left far behind by the Russian army.
The army advanced, and Zhang Zhidong and Yishan hurried together.
In one day's journey, the Qing army maintained a distance of thirty miles from the Russian army.
In the evening, the army stopped to rest.
In the Chinese army's tent, Yishan and Zhang Zhidong were sitting opposite each other, talking about the next arrangements. At this time, a loud voice came from outside the tent: "General, Temuzhe wants to see you." Temuzhe is a Mongolian warrior. He is also a heroic general under Yishan.
Zhang Zhidong avoided suspicion, stood up and said goodbye: "Your Majesty, I take my leave."
Yishan waved his hand and said: "Mr. Zhang is a confidant of the general. He advises me. He must participate in military affairs. There is no need to avoid it." After that, Yishan said loudly: "Come in and talk."
The tent door curtain was lifted, and Temuzi strode in.
There were as many as eleven generals following Temuje.
After these people came in, they knelt down. When Yishan saw this, he was stunned. A strange expression appeared on his face. What kind of thing did this happen? For a moment, Yishan was in a state of confusion. It was very strange. Taste, Zhang Zhidong sat aside, and when he saw this scene, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
"Please make the decision, General."
Temuje knocked his head to the ground and repeatedly begged for help.
Zhang Zhidong said: "My lords, please get up and speak first. Okay. Suddenly you all knelt down and asked the general to make the decision. The general didn't know what was going on. Anyway, let's explain the reasons clearly first. You guys said, Isn't it?" Zhang Zhidong observed the changes in the army every day. When these people came, he had already guessed what was going on.
Yishan returned to normal, waved his hand and said: "Get up, a group of grown men, and they are all military commanders. How can they kneel on the ground in a decent manner, and they are not afraid of being laughed at. Temuche, please explain the matter clearly."
"yes."
Everyone stood up and stood respectfully.
Temuje said: "General, in the past two days, soldiers have left the military camp privately every day. People in the army are not stable, and the soldiers are all panic-stricken."
"What's going on?" Hearing this, Yishan became even more confused. He couldn't figure out what Temuje was talking about. Yishan was also a little annoyed. He stared at Temuje, his eyes as sharp as daggers, and said in a deep voice: "What on earth is it?" What's going on? Why did the soldiers leave the military camp? Tell me carefully, otherwise I will punish you."
Temuje's expression was serious and he said in a clear tone: "The general issued an order to borrow money in the army. Each soldier has to borrow forty taels of silver. The generals in the army have to borrow more than a hundred taels of silver. General Qian will borrow more than 100 taels of silver." The soldiers can't afford to borrow money like this... even if they take out all their salaries, they won't be able to get it all."
"Forty taels of silver per person is too much. If it were ten taels less or twenty taels less, the brothers could still find a way to get it together, but now it has become forty taels, and no one can bear it. .”
Temuzhe said loudly: "Zhang Bu is extremely greedy. The brothers were forced by Zhang Bu, which made some soldiers choose to escape. Now, people in the army are panic-stricken. If this trend is not stopped, the army will If it is going to fall apart, there will even be soldiers rebelling. General, please think again."
"General, please think again."
The generals in the camp all looked sad and seemed very lost.
After Zhang Zhidong heard this, his face showed surprise.
The original plan was to borrow thirty taels of silver from each soldier. According to Zhang Zhidong's understanding, thirty taels of silver was enough to cause a commotion and cause the soldiers in the army to resist, so Zhang Zhidong handed the hot potato to Zhang Bu. , Unexpectedly, it suddenly became forty taels of silver, and the increase was too large.
Of course, Zhang Zhidong is naturally willing to see this scene, because the more severe the increase, the greater the pressure on the soldiers, and the more beneficial it is to him. Zhang Zhidong looked at Yishan's expression, and Yishan clearly knew the situation.
It seems that Zhang Bu and Yi Shan have other discussions.
Yi Shan did not speak, but Zhang Zhidong took over the words and said: "My lords, don't be impatient. Give the general some time to think about it. Please go back and wait. After half an hour, the general will give you a result. Do you think it's OK?" good."
Yishan was in a mess. After hearing Zhang Zhidong's words, he immediately said: "You go back for now. I will give you an answer in half an hour."
Temuje led the people away, and Zhang Zhidong said: "General, we settled on thirty taels of silver, how come it became forty taels."
Yishan had a bitter expression on his face and said helplessly: "Sir, it's all my fault for being greedy. After Zhang Bu went to implement it, he collected a lot of money, but later he came to me alone and said that it could be raised to forty taels of silver. Even if If the soldiers can't get it, they can borrow it temporarily from the military salary. I thought about it and agreed. Who knew there might be problems? Alas, I made a mistake."
Zhang Zhidong said to himself that this was not only a stupid move, but also the kind of thing only a fool would do.
Yishan looked solemn and asked: "Sir, the morale of the army is in turmoil. What do you think we should do?"
Zhang Zhidong already had a solution in his mind and said in a leisurely manner: "First of all, the money must be reduced. I think it is most appropriate to halve it and turn it into twenty taels of silver. Although the collected money is less, But at least it can be collected. However, just reducing the money may be difficult, because Zhang Bu is still there. As long as Zhang Bu is alive, it will be difficult to stabilize the morale of the army, and the generals in the army will be unconvinced. Look at the eyes of each general. , I wish I could swallow Zhang Bu, this matter is not easy to handle."
Yishan sat slumped on the ground, his expression uncertain.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhidong continued: "General, I'm sorry for being rude. The only way now is to kill Zhang Bu and then announce to the soldiers in the army that Zhang Bu has tampered with the general's order without authorization. This shows that the general's order is We temporarily borrow twenty taels of silver, not forty taels of silver. In this way, Zhang Bu will bear the blame, so that the anger in the hearts of the soldiers can have a place to vent. Otherwise, the soldiers in the army will not be stable and will be unhappy with what we are going to do next. It’s not good for fighting.”
Yishan kept scratching his head, feeling irritable.
Unexpectedly, it turned into something like this in an instant.
"Let me think about it, let me think about it." Yi Shan murmured to himself, his brows furrowed into the character "Chuan".
Zhang Zhidong said solemnly: "General, we must continue to resist the chaos. The general is a person who does big things. If we stick to this small thing, I am afraid this battle will be difficult. In order to win over the soldiers, in order to stabilize the army, The general first killed Zhang Bu, and the second was to tell the soldiers that they had borrowed twenty taels of silver and would pay them back thirty taels of silver in the future. As for those who had previously borrowed forty taels of silver, after winning the battle, they would be given six Ten taels of silver."
Under Zhang Zhidong's persuasion, Yishan began to change his mind. In the end, Yishan chose to protect himself and chose the blueprint Zhang Zhidong drew for him. He nodded and said, "Zhang Bu, you have to go in person."
Zhang Zhidong left the camp with a smile on his lips.