Saving people is like fighting fire, Han Bo took Hu Linyi's letters, and together with Hu Linyi's family, he rushed from Yingshan Daying (now Huanggang, Hubei) to the capital in only 16 days. But he rushed to the capital in a hurry and presented the letter, but Han Xiufeng was not in a hurry at all, and he didn't even have the intention of helping to plead with the emperor.

Han Bo had no choice but to go to the Hubei Hall and wait with Hu Linyi's family for news from Guo Songtao, Long Zhanlin and other Hunan officials in Beijing.

During the Chinese New Year, fellow villagers didn't come to the door to help, and they didn't even call people to have dinner together.

Ren Yu'er felt very strange, and while adding charcoal to the stove, she asked cautiously: "Fourth brother, you really don't plan to care about what Master Hu entrusted you to do?" ”

Han Xiufeng, who was settling accounts with Wang Qianli and was worried about food, closed the account book, looked up and said, "This matter is not as urgent as Han Bo said, and it is not as scary as Han Bo said." If you guessed correctly, Hu Linyi didn't mean to drink because of the drunkard. ”

"The drunkard doesn't mean to drink, fourth brother, where did you start with this?" Ren Yu'er asked puzzled.

"Chisato, tell me." Han Xiufeng walked to the fireside, picked up the teacup and looked back and smiled.

Wang Qianli was stunned, and couldn't help laughing: "The emperor once secretly instructed Qian Baoqing to investigate and deal with Zuo Zongtang, and also said that if there is any illegal matter, you can immediately correct the law on the spot." But whether there is any illegal matter has not been investigated, and Zuo Zongtang will not worry about his life for a while. ”

"But what if it is verified?"

"What kind of place is Hunan, did Qian Baoqing go to Changsha to investigate, or did he send a messenger to Changsha to arrest Zuo Zongtang?" Wang Qianli asked rhetorically, and then said: "It's not that Qian Baoqing doesn't have the guts, even if he does, he can't kill Zuo Zongtang." Nowadays, not everyone can kill people by showing their decrees. ”

"What is the purpose of Lord Hu?"

"It's not simple," Wang Qianli sat down and said with a smile: "The reason why the emperor secretly ordered Qian Baoqing to investigate and deal with it should be that he doesn't know what kind of person Zuo Zongtang is, and he doesn't know how much Zuo Zongtang has made to the court in recent years. Because the concerts in Hunan are all from Luo Bingzhang, even if those recitals are all from Zuo Zongtang's hand, the final payment is also Luo Bingzhang's money, and the signature is also Luo Bingzhang's name.

If Guanwen and Fan Xie hadn't made a fuss, Zuo Zongtang would still be the 'assistant governor of Hunan', and Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan would neither have nor could say anything, after all, as long as the political situation in Hunan was stable, they could give them people and food as before.

As a result, Guan Wen and Fan Xie made things like this, they couldn't stand idly by in public or private, so they simply pushed the boat down the river to find out the matter, and took this opportunity to let the emperor know that Zuo Zongtang was a great talent, help Zuo Zongtang become famous, and even wanted to take this opportunity to help Zuo Zongtang find an official. ”

Ren Yu'er reacted, but after thinking about it, she asked again: "Fourth brother, they don't worry about the emperor's true punishment of Zuo Zongtang's crimes, after all, Luo Bingzhang is indeed obedient to Zuo Zongtang, and most of the decrees in Hunan in recent years have indeed come from Zuo Zongtang!" ”

"If it is as usual, not only Zuo Zongtang will lose his head, but even Luo Bingzhang, the governor, will not be able to do it. But now is different from the past, and the world is not big, and the bandits are not suppressed. Which is more important, the emperor's heart is like a mirror, so he can only obey the power. Han Xiufeng put down the teacup and continued: "What's more, Zuo Zongtang is not an ordinary master, let alone those officials who are in power. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"In the fifth year of Xianfeng, Yushi Zongjichen recommended Zuo Zongtang; In the sixth year of Xianfeng, the emperor rewarded Zuo Zongtang with a five-grade top belt because of Zuo Zongtang's meritorious service in helping the army of Zeng Guofan, and rewarded Zuo Zongtang with a five-grade top belt, which was used in the military department and rewarded with a flower feather; The year before last, Luo Bingzhang was promoted again, and he was rewarded with the title of fourth-grade secretary. In other words, he was originally an official of the imperial court, but because he was from Hunan, he could not be an official himself. ”

"The emperor doesn't know much about him?"

"The emperor only knew that there was such a person as him before, and he didn't know how important he was to Hunan. In fact, this matter can be big or small, in a big way, it is to get power, and in a small way, it is Luo Bingzhang who knows how to make good use of people. ”

"Does the emperor know now?" Ren Yu'er asked.

Han Xiufeng muttered: "If you don't know now, you can't do it, being an official is the same as being a person, you have to have a good reputation." Although Zuo Zongtang did not go to the capital, but after such a fuss between Guanwen and Fan Xie, coupled with Guo Songtao, Long Zhanlin, Deng Fulun, Gao Xinkui and other Huguang officials in Beijing and Hunan celebrities, his reputation has spread all over the capital. ”

"So the emperor will not cure his crimes, and sooner or later he will take back his life."

"It's natural, but there's no need to take it back. The emperor only ordered Qian Baoqing to investigate strictly, and the sentence 'no evidence' was done. Han Xiufeng picked up the teacup again, and muttered again: "But if you don't cure his crimes, it doesn't mean that you will reuse him, there are Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan in front of you, if there is another Zuo Zongtang, it is impossible for the emperor not to worry about the tail not to fall!" ”

Wang Qianli couldn't help but sigh: "Fortunately, Jiang Zhongyuan, Luo Zenan, and Li Xubin died early. If you want to be healthy, then the court's henchmen are not just long-haired, twisted bandits and Xiyi. ”

As he was talking, Xiao Shandong ran to the door, because his feet were full of mud, he didn't dare to go in, so he lifted the curtain, took out a letter from his arms and shouted: "Fourth master, I'm back, Master Jixiang asked me to bring you a letter, saying that you must take a look, and say that the ministries and courtyards will not mention how lively they are." ”

"For the New Year, it's not good to accompany your father and mother at home, what kind of fun!"

"I'm not worried, what if Master Jixiang looks for you." Xiao Shandong grinned, and asked again: "Fourth master, I will return to the city later, do you want to send a letter to Lord Wen, Master Ji and Master Fu?" ”

"No need, you should go back early, the road is slippery, be careful."

"Okay, then I'll be back first."

……

sent Xiaoshan away, returned to the fireside and took out the letter to take a look, Han Xiufeng was immediately happy.

Wang Qianli couldn't help but ask: "Fourth Master, what did Jixiang say?" ”

"Zuo Zongtang's matter," Han Xiufeng looked at the letter and said with a smile: "Guo Songtao can not perform the special performance, and it is not good to blatantly intercede for Zuo Zongtang, a fellow villager of the same year, and actually persuaded Pan Zuyin, who was walking in the south study, Pan Zuyin helped with a fold, which is worthy of being a flower exploration, this article is done with reasonable evidence, and it is loud, no wonder Luoyang paper is expensive, and it has been copied one after another." ”

"Fourth brother, what did he say?" Ren Yu'er asked curiously.

"You listen to this paragraph, the first army in southern Chu, meritorious service to the province, aid Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangxi, Guizhou, to Kejie, by Luo Bingzhang dispatched in a good way, in fact, by Zuo Zongtang to plan a decisive victory, this world has seen, and for a long time in my Shengming Cave also. Last year, the reverse chief Shida drove back to Hunan, claiming to be hundreds of thousands. With the salary of this province and the soldiers of this province, the four borders will be cleared in a few months. At that time, the thieves traveled thousands of miles, all in Zongtang's planning.

If you look at it from place to place, there will be those who are out of control. It is the country that cannot live without Hunan for a day, and Hunan cannot be without Zongtang for a day. Zong Tang is a person, negative and upright, jealous and hateful. Hunan's unscrupulous members do not follow their selfishness, and they think of slandering them for a long time. The governor of Huguang was confused by the floating rumors, and there was inevitably a place to criticize the roots. As soon as Zong Tang is in the register, it is insignificant to stay or go, and the situation in southern Chu is particularly important, so he has to cherish this talent for the country. ”

"It's really picky!" Ren Yu'er exclaimed.

Wang Qianli muttered: "A good 'country cannot be without Hunan for a day, and Hunan cannot be without Zongtang for a day'!" ”

Han Xiufeng was about to speak, when there was another sound of footsteps outside, and as soon as he raised his head to see who was coming, he heard the big head shouting outside: "Fourth brother, the emperor asked me to call you, hurry up and change into official clothes and enter the palace with me." ”

"Got it, it's cold outside, let's bake the fire first."

"No, my feet are full of mud, and I'll wait for you outside."

……

Han Xiufeng thought that it should be Zuo Zongtang's business, so he hurriedly changed into his official uniform, climbed into the carriage, and followed the big head into the city in a hurry.

I didn't want to rush to the East Warm Pavilion of the Qinzheng Palace, just after bowing to Sheng'an, the emperor handed over a 600-mile urgent report sent by He Guiqing, the governor of Liangjiang, and took a closer look, it turned out that it was the thief Li Xiucheng who led more than 20,000 people from Chen Kunshu, Tan Shaoguang, Lu Shunde and other troops through Yijiang Town (now Nanling, Anhui) and Matou Town (now Qinxi Town, Jing County, Anhui), bypassing Ningguofu (now Xuancheng, Anhui), and capturing Guangde, obviously wanting to invade Zhejiang from Guangdedong.

Zhejiang is a land of wealth, and it must not be lost.

Han Xiufeng didn't know what to say, so Xianfeng stared at him and said: "Han Si, this morning Wenxiang made an excerpt, saying that the Jiangbei official army was defeated, although I have ordered He Chun to supervise the military affairs of Jiangnan and Jiangbei as the minister of the Qincha, but across the river to plan the attack and suppression, it is inevitable to take care of one and lose the other, and I will promote you as the political envoy of Jiangning, and please send you to Jiangsu to help with military affairs." ”

Han Xiufeng was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "The emperor ordered the ministers to go, and the ministers immediately packed their luggage and went to Jiangsu to take office." ”

"I want to ask you what you think?"

"Your Majesty, if you put it aside last year or the year before last, the minister doesn't need Lord Wen to protect it, and the minister will take the initiative to ask Ying to go to Jiangsu, not to mention being a political envoy, even if you let the minister supervise the regimental training. But now the minister doesn't want to go anywhere, he doesn't dare to go anywhere, and I implore the emperor to let the minister continue to be the current Fengchen Yuanqing. ”

Xianfeng was silent for a moment, and asked in a low voice, "Are you worried about Xiyi?" ”

Han Xiufeng weighed it and said stubbornly: "The minister is worried about Xiyi, and he is even more worried about the emperor's safety. ”

Thinking that Lao Chongguang, the acting governor of Liangguang who had just arrived, reported that Yingyi was moving troops from India, and Foyi was also transferring troops, Xianfeng nodded slightly, and picked up another fold: "Look at this again." ”

"Obey." Han Xiufeng took the fold and looked at it, and found that it was the one that Pan Zuyin was on.

Seeing that he didn't say anything after reading it, and just presented it to the case so respectfully, Xianfeng couldn't help asking: "You have been to Hubei, you have dealt with Hu Linyi and them, although you have never seen Zuo Zongtang, but you must have heard of some, you want to hear what you have to say." ”

"Your Majesty, when the minister sees half of it, he wants to ask Zuo Zongtang to be punished, and he wants to ask for Pan Zuyin's crime!"

Han Xiufeng calmed down, and continued: "The country can't be without Hunan for a day, and Hunan can't be without Zuo Zongtang for a day, it's just arrogant!" If it was really as he said, wouldn't those fellow countrymen of the minister die in vain? My Sichuan has been helping so many provinces in these years, and the local officials can only levy grain and increase consumption, and the people are miserable.

What's more, the Eight Banners are the foundation of my Qing Dynasty, when is it the turn of Hunan, it's just a shame! But if you think about it carefully, the war in the two rivers has been so rotten that even Fujian and Zhejiang are in danger, and I feel that there is some reason. In the face of this crisis, if you want to protect the southeast half of the wall, you can only count on the Hubei army and the Hunan army. ”

Because of this matter, Xianfeng had already asked Prince Zheng Duanhua, Hubu Shangshu Sushun and Minister of Military Aircraft Wenxiang, and seeing that even Han Xiufeng said so, he thought that he could only be wronged. But thinking that it would be difficult to control Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan and other Huguang officials in the long run, he felt a little unwilling, and was silent for a while before saying with a gloomy face: "I have ordered Guiliang to handle the situation carefully, and when everything is over, I will let you go to Liangjiang or Huguang." ”

"The emperor is sage, but the ministers are afraid that it will be difficult for them to take on this great responsibility."

"You don't need to worry about that, I won't let you go to work alone when the time comes." Xianfeng thought for a while and said coldly: "Enjun should come back after two years of training in Xinjiang, and I will order him to return to Beijing to listen to it." ”

"Your Majesty, the ministers have the courage to speak, and Enjun's qualifications are still shallow, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to take on this big responsibility."

"What about sublime?"

"Not long after Chonghou was verified by Acting Chang Lu, Tianjin coastal defense was the top priority, and the minister thought that it was not appropriate to transfer him back to Beijing or release him to other provinces."

Xianfeng had never felt that there was no one available like now, and he racked his brains and thought for a while before muttering: "Then let Chongshi act as General Chengdu, and let him experience in General Chengdu first." ”