Ren Yuer was about to go out, and Wang Qianli, who was supposed to work in the government office, ran in in a panic with a letter.

Han Xiufeng was about to ask what was going on, but Wang Qianli said eagerly: "Fourth Master, Dean Gu sent a letter, Dean Gu said...... Dean Gu said......"

"What did Dean Gu say, is Yangzhou falling again?" Han Xiufeng stood up and asked.

"Yangzhou is okay for the time being, his old man said that Master Guo was martyred!" Seeing that Han Xiufeng was stunned, Wang Qianli handed over the letter and said cautiously: "Last month, the ministers of the Qin Mission, Dexing'a and Shengbao, reported that the Dingyuan camp was broken by more than 100,000 soldiers of the bandit Zhang Yibu and the long-haired Chen Yucheng department, and the county town of Dingyuan fell, and I didn't mention the matter of Lord Guo, so I didn't pay attention to it, until I saw the letter sent by Dean Gu's ticket number, I didn't know that Lord Guo was martyred." ”

Han Xiufeng couldn't believe that this was true, so he just stood there in a daze, and didn't answer the letter.

Ren Yu'er was startled, and couldn't help asking: "Master Wang, is the Dingyuan you are talking about, is it Dingyuan County in Fengyang Mansion, Anhui?" ”

"Exactly."

"Isn't Master Guo in Yangzhou, how could he go to Anhui?"

"It's a long story." Wang Qianli calmed down and explained: "In August last year, Chen Yucheng, the king of long-haired Ying, led his troops to capture Pukou, Tianchang and Yizhen fell one after another. Fortunately, Admiral Zhang Guoliang was ordered to cross the river to help, and Lord Guo led the brave to help and recovered Yangzhou in one go.

After losing several cities in a row, Dexing'a, the minister of the Qincha, who was in charge of Jiangbei's military affairs, was worried that the emperor would blame him, so he sued the wicked people first, impeached Guo Daren for evading in advance, and asked Guo Daren to be dismissed from his post and investigated. But Lord Guo is neither the prefect of Yangzhou, nor the commander of the army, there are few soldiers under him, and Yang Nengge, the political envoy of Jiangning, was also in Yangzhou at the time, so it can be said that Lord Guo did not have the responsibility to defend the land, because Lord Sushun also helped to intercede with the emperor in this matter. ”

"And then?" Ren Yu'er asked in a low voice.

Later, Dexing Ah also said that Guo Daren specialized in Yangzhou to deal with the aftermath, which is different from ordinary jurisdiction, and Guo Daren is to blame for the fall of Yangzhou. The emperor may feel that he should 'employ people without doubt', after all, he Dexinga is the commander of the Jiangbei camp after all, so he ordered Guo Daren to be dismissed from his post and handed over to the criminal department. Sheng Bao and Weng Tongshu not only know the inside story, but also have some friendship with Guo Daren, and jointly ask Guo Daren to send Anhui to atone for his sin, and fill the general copywriting of the Yuanda camp. ”

"As a result, they did the wrong thing with good intentions, but they harmed Lord Guo?"

Wang Qianli's friendship with Guo Peilin was not ordinary, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became, he took out Dean Gu's letter from the envelope, and said in a choked voice while reading it: "The twisted bandits and long-haired stormed the Dingyuan camp, and the general soldier Huicheng was unfavorable in the battle, and was defeated by the thieves in one fell swoop. Lord Guo could only lead more than 300 remnants of the defeated army to retreat to Dingyuan County, guard the small east gate, and personally climbed the city tower to supervise the people and held it for eight days and nights.

On the morning of June 18, due to exhaustion, he was helped down the city wall by Liang Liu and other personal soldiers, and returned to the apartment to rest for a while. The city was breached, and the thieves rushed into the city and set fire to it everywhere, killing anyone they saw. Lord Guo fought with him in the street, Liang Liu desperately guarded, and was killed by more than a dozen knives in his body, and Lord Guo was also stabbed in the back by bandits, injured and martyred. ”

Ren Yu'er couldn't believe that this was true, and asked: "Master Wang, the imperial court doesn't know about Lord Guo's martyrdom, how did Dean Gu know?" ”

"Lord Guo's personal guards, all of our Hai'an's children, one of them was stabbed twice, escaped with nine deaths, saw that the bandits were frantically burning and looting, and even collected the property of the officers and soldiers who died in the battle, they didn't dare to stay in Dingyuan for a long time, so they fled all the way back to their hometown." Wang Qianli wiped away his tears, and said with a twisted heart: "The war situation in Jiangbei is erosive, and many civil and military officials are uncertain about their life and death, so the imperial court has confiscated the report of Lord Guo's martyrdom to this day. ”

Guo Peilin died in battle like this, Han Xiufeng felt more sad than Wang Qianli, thinking back to the past, and then thinking that Guo Peilin was unjustly wronged and sent to the Dingyuan camp in Anhui, he took a few deep breaths, raised his head and said solemnly: "Lord Guo, this is to seek benevolence and gain benevolence." ”

Wang Qianli didn't expect Han Xiufeng to say this, and just as he didn't know how to pick it up, Han Xiufeng took the letter in his hand, turned around and looked at the south, and muttered: "He was martyred by his old man, who dares to say that he is greedy for life and afraid of death, and who dares to say that he is cowering in battle!" ”

"But ......"

"If you can't come back from the dead, what's the use of anything else?" Han Xiufeng sat down, read the letter carefully, then got up and walked to the bookcase and turned out a map, spread it out with the help of Ren Yu'er, and said with a gloomy face while watching: "Doesn't Dexinga always put the basin on other people's heads, I see how long he can be proud!" ”

"Fourth master, where did you start with this?"

"Last month, Dexing A Song reported that the thief Li Xiucheng led his troops from Quanjiao to invade Jiangpu Daliu Village, and he led more than 10,000 soldiers to attack bravely, killing more than 3,000 thieves, and even destroyed 13 new and old camps of Changmao, and called it a great victory in Jiangpu without shame. But as far as I know, those Qiu Ba under his command are okay to defend the city, and it is another matter to fight with Changmao in the field, maybe he really repelled Li Xiucheng, but more than 3,000 thieves must be a false report. ”

"Fourth master, the lower officials are stupid, and the lower officials still don't understand."

"It's not that you're stupid, it's that I didn't make it clear." Han Xiufeng raised his head and changed his words: "According to Han Bo, who played under Hu Linyi, and Yu Qinghuai, who played under Zeng Guofan, this Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng are both rising stars in the long hair, brave and good at fighting, and they should not be repelled by Dexinga so easily." Come to think of it, there are only two possibilities? ”

"Which two?" Wang Qianli asked eagerly.

"One is the haste of preparation, and the other is the lack of troops." Han Xiufeng pointed to the map, and continued: "If you guess correctly, as the Hunan army attacks the city in Anhui, it is pressing forward step by step. The official armies of Jiangbei and Jiangnan have surrounded Jiangning more and more tightly, Banqiao and Dashengguan in the southern suburbs have been recovered by the officers and soldiers, and Qiqiao Urn, Yinzi Mountain, and Yuhuatai are also under the front of the officers and soldiers, so they have to hurry up to fight! ”

"Fourth Master, are you saying that Li Xiucheng's crime of Jiangpu is just the beginning?"

"If it were you, would you sit still?" Han Xiufeng asked rhetorically and said in an affirmative tone: "Hong Xiuquan has been the king of heaven for so many years, and he must be reluctant to leave Jiangning like Shi Dakai." And we can't wait for the Hunan army to kill under the city of Jiangning, and encircle Jiangning with the officials and armies of Jiangnan and Jiangbei, so there will definitely be a big move next. ”

Wang Qianli blurted out: "It's not the Jiangnan camp, it's the Jiangbei camp!" ”

"You have to pick soft persimmons to eat, compared to the Jiangnan camp, it is much easier to defeat the Jiangbei camp, otherwise Yizhen and Yangzhou will not be trapped so many times over the years, I want to see if he can defend Dexinga and Yang Nengge without the help of Lord Guo!"

"Fourth master, according to what you say, isn't Taizhou in danger?"

"Taizhou should be fine, after all, Changmao's top priority is to break the siege, in other words, to clear the officers and troops in Jiangpu, Pukou, Yizhen, Guazhou and Yangzhou that directly threaten Jiangning. And Taizhou is too far away from Jiangning, if you send troops to attack Taizhou, it is easy to be cut off by the returning official army. ”

Han Xiufeng thought for a while, and then said: "The long-haired sailor has long existed in name only, and Yang Zaifu, the fierce general of the Hunan army, has led the Hunan army's sailor to the rivers around Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, so I don't think the long-haired sailor dares to go too far, Taizhou will be fine, and Hai'an will be fine." ”

"It's good that Taizhou will be fine," Wang Qianli let out a sigh of relief, thought about it and asked solemnly: "Fourth master, Lord Guo has already been martyred, but until today, the emperor has confiscated the report, Lord Guo is as kind to us as a mountain, we can't let Lord Guo die in vain." ”

"This is natural," Han Xiufeng weighed it and turned around and said, "Yu'er, go and talk to Xiao Shandong, let him hurry into the city to find Jixiang, and let Jixiang help ask Datou if he is free in the past two days, and if he is free, he will come back." ”

Thinking of Datou's current words, sometimes they are more effective than those Shangshu waiters, Ren Yu'er suddenly reacted, and hurriedly said: "Okay, I'll go find Xiaoshandong." ”

Han Xiufeng pondered for a moment, and then said: "Qianli, help me draft a letter to Zeng Guofan, Lord Guo's martyrdom is such a big event, and his sons and daughters can't always be kept in the dark." ”

"Understood, the lower officials will go and plan it." Wang Qianli walked to the door, thought about it and couldn't help but turn around and ask: "Fourth master, do you want to tell Master Zeng about Lord Guo being framed by Dexing'a?" ”

"No," Han Xiufeng sat down and said coldly: "When Lord Guo was dismissed last year, the emperor issued a clear decree, and Zeng Guofan should have heard of it. What's more, Dexing A Sheng's family is thick, and the officials have done a lot more than Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guofan can't help him, and this account can only be remembered first. ”

"A gentleman takes revenge, ten years is not too late, if he has the ability, don't fall into our hands."

"Just talk about these angry words here, if the big head comes back, don't say it in front of the big head."

"You can rest assured that I know what to tell him and what not to tell him."

"Well," Han Xiufeng nodded, and then instructed: "Send someone to buy some yellow paper incense candles, find a quiet courtyard to decorate a mourning hall, and wait for the big head to come back and go to worship Lord Guo together." ”

"Obey the order, the next official will go to Zhang Luo."

Du San is dead, Zhang Yiguo is dead, Wu Wenming is dead, He Heng is dead, Ren Yaen is dead, and Qian Junchen is dead...... Now even Guo Peilin and Liang Liu are dead!

Seeing Wang Qianli away, Han Xiufeng couldn't control it anymore, two lines of tears burst out of his eyes, his mind was full of Guo Peilin's appearance, and he couldn't help but think of the scene when he met for the first time in the guild hall, and remembered that he was seriously injured in Taizhou and was seen by Guo Peilin, Guo Peilin's hatred of iron is not steel. remembered that Guo Peilin made an exception to protect him as the deputy of the two Huaiyun, and also remembered Liang Liu, who carried a shotgun to the Yamen of the Hai'an Inspection Department to help investigate the smugglers......