When the news that Yang Wending was acting governor of Sichuan and was appointed to preside over the Sichuan counterinsurgency reached Hunan, Hu Linyi's hands and feet were cold on the spot, his face was like ashes, and he couldn't say a word for a long time. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info other Hunan army generals led by Yang Yuebin beat their chests one by one, and screamed with regret, "I followed the wrong person!" With the wrong person! I knew that I could have this opportunity, and I should have accepted Wu Futai's kindness and merged the Hunan army into Xiangyong! The Hunan army should be merged into Xiangyong! ”

In addition to regretting that he was able to grab the land, Yang Yuebin, who had always been embarrassed by himself, refused to give up, and said to Hu Linyi: "Zhensheng, why don't you hurry up and write a letter to Yang Zhitai, begging him to take us to Sichuan to fight the thieves?" Yang Zhitai once fought side by side with us, although he didn't have a deep friendship, but he could be regarded as an old friend, maybe a little hopeful. ”

"This ......." Hu Linyi was in a dilemma, coughed and said: "We have been incorporated by Chongfutai's Fubiao, and legally we can only obey the command of Chongfutai alone, so it seems a little inappropriate to take the initiative to ask Yang Zhitai to take us to Sichuan." ”

"What's wrong?" Yang Yuebin said with some anger: "What is Chong'en worthy of us? Not to mention the arrears of military salaries, the military salaries promised to be paid on time were not only half paid in the first month? There are also the two dog mongrels of Acton and Ling Fang, and he doesn't care about looking for us all day long! Why should we work for such a person? ”

is really poor and crazy, and considering that if he can really ask Yang Wending to open his mouth to secondment the Hunan army to Chong'en, it may also be a relief for Chong'en, who has always been incompatible with the old and the new, Hu Linyi finally took up the pen and wrote a book with a cheeky face, and wrote a letter to Yang Wending, who had become the acting governor of Sichuan, begging Yang Wending to secondment the Hunan army into Sichuan to participate in the battle, and make a handful of money in the fat Sichuan salt field, so as to alleviate the urgent need for the Hunan army's serious salary arrears.

Hu Linyi's letter posed a big problem to Yang Wending, of course, it was too ruthless to refuse, and it was too bad to give Hu Linyi face, and if he agreed, he was not only suspected of digging the corner of Chongen's wall, but also afraid that his grandson-in-law would be unhappy - Yang Wending knew that the Xiang army refused to be absorbed by Feng Sanbao. In the end, it was Zuo Zongtang who helped Yang Wen make up his mind and scolded: "What are you hesitating about? refused, there was no need to give Hu Linyi face! ”

"You don't want to think about it? You took the army to Sichuan to take office this time, you want to go to Jinwowo, Sichuan Yanchang to kill thieves and quell the rebellion. Such a beauty difference, if you don't give it to the old department that has been accompanying you in Jiujiang for the past few years to blow the river wind and kill the long hair, pick it up and distribute it to outsiders, who will be willing to work for you in the future? ! ”

"Immediately refuse, and then ask your grandson-in-law to strengthen the army on this side of Jiujiang, and pull your old department in Jiujiang to Sichuan as much as possible to make a fortune and enjoy happiness, and your words will have more weight in the army in the future, and you will have a firm foothold in Sichuan!"

Yang Wending thought about it carefully and found that Cao Yanzhong, Xiao Qijiang and Bao Chao had been in Jiujiang for several years, and they confronted the Taiping army every day. Therefore, Yang Wending did not hesitate, and immediately wrote a reply to Hu Linyi, under the pretext that the Hunan army had been absorbed by Hunan Fubiao, and he could only obey Yu Chongen's order, and it was inconvenient for him to be seconded, so he categorically refused Hu Linyi's cheeky request.

Let's take a look at the reactions of Hu Linyi, Yang Yuebin and others, after being categorically rejected by Yang Wending, Hu Linyi was just disappointed, and he had a fever on his face. However, Yang Yuebin and several generals of the Hunan army were hateful, saying that Yang Wending did not give face, and also believed that Wu Chaoyue behind Yang Wending had completely abandoned the Hunan army, and it was impossible to give the Hunan army any chance.

At the end, Yang Yuebin sighed and said: "It seems that we can only talk to Chongfutai, I hope that Chongfutai will compete for some energy, and find a good messenger like Wu Chaoyue and Yang Wending as soon as possible, so that we can have hope of making a comeback." Otherwise, our Hunan army is probably destined to never come out. ”

From then on, the rest of the Hunan army really followed the Hunan governor Chong'en, and did not have any contact with Wu Chaoyue until another major event happened. This is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

Let's take a look at Wu Chaoyue's arrangements here, in fact, there is no need for Yang Wending's request, Wu Chaoyue has already decided to use the Jiujiang garrison as the main force to enter Sichuan, the first is of course to compensate for the Jiujiang army that has been at the forefront of the struggle and crime in the past few years, and the second is that Wu Chaoyue wants to send the loyal old lackey Cao Yanzhong and his corps into Sichuan, so as to ensure his indirect control of Sichuan. As for the vacancy left by Cao Yanzhong's corps, Wu Chaoyue is ready to fill it with Liu Kun's army.

In addition, in view of Du Xing'a's previous initiative to change the Lu Division's request, Wu Chaoyue would just push the boat down the river, and immediately ordered Du Xing'a to accompany Yang Wending into Sichuan to quell the rebellion, and at the same time let Bao Chao, who had abandoned the darkness and surrender to the light, be promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Hubei Naval Division. - As for Tang Zhong's official position, Wu Chaoyue of course wants to say hello to his old subordinate Ma Xiuru, but it must not be a big problem, first, Ma Xiuru will definitely not sell this face, and second, Ma Xiuru really dares not to give this face, Wu Chaoyue only needs to be transferred back to the Jiujiang garrison the first day, and the next day the Taiping Army can make Ma Xiuru know how to write dead words.

After a series of personnel adjustments and army changes, in the middle of the month of Xianfeng's old year, Yang Wending led Cao Yanzhong's corps and Xiao Qijiang's deputy Tian Xingshu's subordinate Chu Yong back to Hubei Province, preparing to replenish ammunition, weapons and strengthen the army in Hubei, and then went to Hunan to meet with Chu Yongjiang's Zhongji Division, and gathered more than 12,000 troops into Sichuan.

During this period, relying on the persuasion of Yang Wending, Guo Songtao and others, as well as Wu Chaoyue's three visits with great sincerity, Zuo Zongtang finally reluctantly agreed to meet with Wu Chaoyue and have a separate conversation. However, when talking alone, Zuo Zongtang's first question made Wu Chaoyue squirt out of the tea in his mouth - Zuo Zongtang asked, "Wu Futai, when are you going to do something?" What are you going to do with me Zuo Zongtang when the time comes? ”

Coughing and before he wiped the tea from the corner of his mouth, Wu Chaoyue was already trembling and asked, "Mr. Ji Gao, what do you mean by this?" What am I going to do? That's no joke. ”

"Wu Futai, you can deceive others with your words, but you can't deceive me Zuo Zongtang." Zuo Zongtang sneered and said: "Don't think that the old man can't see it, if you really want to extinguish the long hair, with your military strength, even if you can't hit Jiangning City, you will have already taken Anqing." You raise thieves while supporting soldiers, don't you want to do great things? ”

"Mr. Ji Gao, you're making too much of a joke." Wu Chaoyue said with a wry smile: "Saying that I raise thieves and self-respect, that is simply a great injustice, Changmao has the southeast half of the wall, millions of soldiers, and sufficient money and food, and I can only control the soldiers of Hubei Province, and the payment of money and grain taxes and personnel appointments must be restricted by the imperial court, I really can't beat Changmao so I have to choose to take the defensive." ”

Zuo Zongtang laughed when he heard it, his smile was full of ridicule, and he said in a sarcastic tone: "It's better than not being able to beat Changmao, when I was in Shanghai, the money and grain all relied on the handouts of the rich businessmen and gentry, and I still rescued Jiangning from thieves, and went north to Qinwang to recover the state, and in Hubei I held a province of money and grain to control the armies of the two provinces, and also started the Daye Iron Factory Gun Factory, and the wrought iron output in one month exceeded the annual wrought iron output of the three provinces of Hunan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and then I could produce foreign guns and foreign cannons by myself, but I couldn't beat the long hair?" ”

"Mr. Ji Gao, haven't you heard of sharpening knives and not cutting wood?" Wu Chaoyue stubbornly said: "I have accumulated strength so much, isn't it for the sake of going straight to the thieves' nest in the future and recovering Jiang Ningsheng and capturing Hong Yang Erwei in one fell swoop?" ”

"I'm afraid I want to go straight to the capital and sit on the dragon chair, right?"

Zuo Zongtang's mouth was still the same vicious, Wu Chaoyue continued to shout grievances, Zuo Zongtang didn't bother to quibble with Wu Chaoyue, just said: "Wu Futai, if you really want to run Sichuan as your rear of money and grain, then you have to let Sichuan suffer a little bit first, you have to let Li Lan's thief army flow north, flow to Hanzhong and then completely exterminate it, and then take advantage of the situation to control Hanzhong, so that the hinterland of Sichuan can ensure that nothing goes wrong." Well, do you want me to do it for you? ”

"Absolutely." Wu Chaoyue replied in his heart, but he was silent.

"I wish I could do that, right?" Zuo Zongtang smiled even more meanly, and said: "I'll do my best, it's up to people to do things, it's up to heaven to make things happen, don't blame me if you can't do it." ”

"And." Zuo Zongtang added: "When you get into trouble, don't forget to take care of my family in Xiangyin, don't let Chongen take the lead." ”

"That's certainly, such an important hostage, I'll let Chongen strike first?" Wu Chaoyue agreed in his heart, but said with a smile: "Mr. Ji Gao, what you said is getting more and more joking, as if I really want to do something." ”

Zuo Zongtang didn't laugh at Wu Chaoyue anymore, but also sighed, and said: "The Qing Dynasty is unfortunate, out of you such a chaotic minister and thief, obviously you have the means and strength to pacify the long hair, but you want to raise thieves to respect themselves, watching the long hair sweep across the southeast, the army into Shandong, the Qing Dynasty is in danger, the court doesn't know what medicine you have taken wrong, and you have actually let you get the rich land of money and grain in Sichuan, the king is so mediocre, it is really the Qing Dynasty that is going to die!" ”

Worried that Zuo Zongtang was testing himself, Wu Chaoyue didn't dare to talk, Zuo Zongtang didn't pay attention to Wu Chaoyue, just continued to talk to himself: "I just pity me Zuo Zongtang, I have nowhere to hide because of my reputation, the whole family is a fish on the anvil, there is no door, no faction and no real job, I have the heart to get rid of traitors for the country but there is no way to serve the country, and I am even forced to stoop to the thief's account, and I am destined to be forced to rebel from the thief in the future, otherwise it will be difficult to protect my head, and I am ashamed of my ancestors." ”

"Mr. Ji Gao, are you really ashamed of your ancestors?" After confirming that no one else was eavesdropping, Wu Chaoyue whispered, "Do you have braids on the heads of your Han and Tang ancestors?" ”

It was Zuo Zongtang's turn to be silent, and Wu Yue said in a low voice, "Mr. Ji Gao, don't worry, I will never fail you, and I will definitely make you a famous minister in the world, and I will be able to live through the ages, so that every Chinese will always remember your name and always thank you for your great achievements." ”

Zuo Zongtang still didn't speak, and only replied lightly after a while: "That's all for today, and after you really do something, we'll take the time to talk for a long time." ”

Wu Chaoyue nodded silently, but Zuo Zongtang suddenly sighed again, "Maybe it's the will of heaven, the Qing Dynasty began in Wu, and finally in Wu, the reincarnation of heaven, retribution is not happy!" ”

…………

Zuo Zongtang's sigh may be a little premature and too pessimistic, in fact, within the Manchu court, there are also many Manchu officials who are worried that once Sichuan is controlled by Wu Chaoyue, then Wu Chaoyue is likely to be in a big trouble and become a Han warlord on one side, and a few people directly wrote to the table, urging Emperor Xianfeng to withdraw his order and not to put Yang Wending, Wu Chaoyue's agent, into Sichuan.

Devil Six is one of the leaders, when he learned that Emperor Xianfeng actually asked Yang Wending to act as the governor of Sichuan to preside over the counterinsurgency, Devil Six immediately wrote a letter to oppose the matter. However, what made the devil 60,000 points angry was that whether it was him or Peng Yunzhang and Wen Xiang who stayed in the capital, the excerpts were like mud cows entering the sea, and there was no return - and there was no need to guess that it was Su Shun and Zaiyuan and others who were doing ghosts in it.

As a last resort, the devil six could only return to the court as soon as possible on the table of the Emperor Xianfeng, but he was categorically rejected by the Emperor Xianfeng, and the excerpt that asked to meet Rehe was also rejected, and at the same time, the news that the Emperor Xianfeng was seriously ill kept coming from the side of Rehe, and the devil six was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

At the same time, although the winter of the ninth year of Xianfeng, which was too cold, temporarily blocked the footsteps of the Taiping army to the north, in the case that Shengbao had rushed to Shandong in advance to be tightly fortified, and was also constrained by the lack of winter clothing, Shi Dakai, who had learned the lessons of Li Kaifang's Northern Expedition, chose to spend the winter in northern Jiangsu, preparing to go north again in the spring of the next year, giving the Manchu court a chance to breathe.

However, the excessively cold weather accelerated and aggravated the condition of the Xianfeng Emperor, and finally survived to the middle of the first half of the tenth year of Xianfeng, the Xianfeng Emperor, who was becoming more and more ill, finally couldn't survive, knowing that his life was not long, and he also knew that he had to quickly arrange the things after his death, so he took advantage of the fact that his mind was still sober, and the Xianfeng Emperor first summoned the queen Niu Hulu and Yi Guifei, and explained some secrets to them, and asked Yi Guifei to leave with her only son Zaichun first, leaving the queen Niu Hulu alone, confessed two secret edicts to Niu Hulu and told her to be careful.

Then on the morning of the next day, Emperor Xianfeng issued an order to summon eight ministers, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sushun, Jingshou, Muyin, Kuangyuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying, to meet with him, and let Niu Hulu and Yi Guifei accompany him. When everyone arrived, Emperor Xianfeng, who was no longer able to stand, first flattened everyone, and then said in a weak voice: "I can't do it." ”

"Your Majesty, why do you say such an unlucky thing?" Su Shun and the others asked with tears in their eyes.

"I have self-knowledge, it's not an unlucky word, it's not okay, it's not good." Emperor Xianfeng shook his head the pillow, and said with difficulty: "I summoned you here today to announce the three edicts. ”

"First, after I return to heaven, the eldest son of the emperor Jae-chun is now the crown prince."

Emperor Xianfeng pointed to his son Zaichun who was held in the arms of Concubine Yi with difficulty, and said: "You eight Aiqing, serve as ministers of life, assist Zaichun to inherit the throne and govern the Qing Dynasty. ”

Su Shun, Zaiyuan and others cried bitterly on the ground, but there was no sadness in their hearts, and they were all happy in their hearts, and said secretly: "Daqing Jiangshan, we will have the final say in the future." ”

Su Shun and Zaiyuan were too happy, and after appointing the ministers of Gu Ming, Emperor Xianfeng actually asked the eunuch to take out two more seals, and handed over the seal engraved with the word 'Imperial Reward' to the Empress Niu Hulu, and handed over the seal engraved with the three words 'Tongdaotang' to Concubine Yi, and gasped and said to Su Shun and the others: "Immediately draft an edict to the world, and after I return to heaven, the holy decree you draw up needs to be stamped with these two seals to take effect." Therefore, in the future, whenever you encounter major events, you must consult with my queen and Concubine Yi. ”

Unexpectedly, Emperor Xianfeng would use this hand to restrain the eight ministers, Su Shun and Zaiyuan and others were surprised and hurried to see Niu Hulu and Yi Guifei, but saw that the second daughter just looked sad, but there was no surprise, Su Shun and Zaiyuan and others also suddenly understood in their hearts, and said secretly: "They have long known that the emperor will have this arrangement!" It's troublesome, and we'll have to fight openly and secretly with these two girls in the future. ”

Emperor Xianfeng, who was lying on the pseudo-dragon bed on his back, of course couldn't see the nervous looks of several ministers who took care of his life, looking at the yellow silk tent above his head, Emperor Xianfeng couldn't help but shed two muddy tears, choked up and said: "Ancestors and ancestors, Yi Su is incompetent, Yi Su is incompetent, and he failed to guard the rivers and mountains you left behind, resulting in rampant long hair, Yangyi is rampant, the Qing Dynasty is stormy, Yi Su is incompetent, Yi Su damn it!" ”

"Long hair and Yangyi are trivial! The most damn place for you is that you raised and fattened a white-eyed wolf in the Central Plains! That white-eyed wolf is the biggest threat to my country! "It's a roar coming from the deepest recesses of Netherworld. (To be continued.) )