"What? The teacher was surrounded by Long Hair on the west bank of Poyang Lake, and the mouth of the lake was also captured by Long Hair's sneak attack?! ”

Anyway, no matter what, I can't immediately send troops to rescue the teacher who is in a desperate situation, of course, our Wu Xiaocomprador is not stingy to show his acting skills, after receiving the news that Zeng Guofan was trapped in Gray Mountain in Jingzhou City, Wu Chaoyue was so shocked that he screamed directly, regardless of the Han-Manchurian contradictions in Jingzhou, which had not yet made General Mianxun Mian completely satisfied, he hurriedly said goodbye to a group of Zihui party leaders and ethnic minority leaders he knew in Jingzhou on the same day, and boarded the Loyalty and returned to the provincial capital early the next morning with Renyi. was so anxious that he didn't even have time to bring the guard of honor and the red-clad governor's boat with him. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

In this regard, the leaders of the Thirteen Gangs of Jingzhou and the leaders of ethnic minorities who had a good impression of Wu Chaoyue naturally gave a thumbs up, praising Wu Chaoyue for being friendly and righteous, and being a hero worthy of deep friendship. Tang Jisheng, the prefect of Jingzhou, who is very good at sycophancy, was moved to tears, and even called Lord Futai worthy of being a model of loyalty and filial piety, a sincere gentleman, and swore that he must learn from Wu Chaoyue. Only the Jingzhou general Mianxun complained a little, and he was very dissatisfied with Wu Chaoyue's delay in investigating the murder of the Manchurian master in Jingzhou in order to save a Han elder.

There are enough reasons to get out, of course Wu Chaoyue doesn't have to care about what Mianxun thinks, on the way back to the provincial capital by the main warship, Wu Chaoyue pinched his fingers and calculated, all of which were deliberately hiding in Jingzhou to buy the Taiping army a few days of combat time, and after returning to the provincial capital, how much time can be wasted by mobilizing and assembling troops and preparing to go out for food, grass and ordnance - but fortunately, Wuhan is quite far away from Jingzhou, and Huashana sent someone to send a letter to Wu Chaoyue is against the wind and water, and the messenger who has nothing to do with himself is a little lazy and timid, Afraid of the wind and waves hitting the reef, there was no day and night rush, which alone helped Wu Chaoyue to buy nearly five days.

On the afternoon after leaving Jingzhou, Wu Chaoyue received a letter from Yang Wending forwarded by Hua Shana, letting Wu Chaoyue know the 'bad' news that Jiangxi Governor Wenjun refused to send troops to rescue Zeng Guofan. And after knowing this, Wu Chaoyue was of course secretly happy in his stomach, but his mouth roared like thunder, "Wen Jun, you son of a bitch!" If you don't save yourself and take revenge when you see death, Lao Tzu wants to join you! Join you! ”

As he said, Wu Chaoyue really asked Zhao Liewen to ghostwrite an impeachment of Wen Jun on the way, and sent someone to the capital to find Emperor Xianfeng to complain - and explained by the way that he could not immediately lead the army to save the teacher.

Perhaps it was really the fate of poor teacher Zeng, who originally went down the river from Jingzhou, and in the case of smooth sailing, Wu Chaoyue could return to the provincial capital in more than two days to preside over the overall situation, but even Wu Chaoyue himself did not expect that in the afternoon of the next day, the Yangtze River suddenly blew violently, the waves were monstrous, and the climate and environment were so bad that even the Loyalty and Renyi did not dare to venture at night. As a last resort, Wu Chaoyue, who didn't want to give up his life for acting, could only order the warship to move to the nearby Linxiang Port to avoid the storm, and as a result, he happened to run into Xiao Qijiang's reinforcement sent by Luo Bingzhang to Teacher Zeng, giving Wu Chaoyue the opportunity to win over the Hunan general Xiao Qijiang in advance.

Delayed by the strong wind for more than a night, and when Wu Chaoyue returned to the Hubei provincial capital, poor Teacher Zeng had been surrounded in the gray mountain for ten days, and at the same time, the Taiping army had already established a strong defense line in the area of Hukou, firmly blocking the water road for Wu's sailors to go deep into Poyang Lake to rescue Teacher Zeng. Wu Chaoyue was so anxious that he stomped his feet in public, and hurriedly organized troops and horses and arranged the expedition, preparing to rush to Poyang Lake as soon as possible to rescue the teacher Zeng Guofan.

The officers and men of the Hubei New Army, who had been training at high intensity, had just stopped training to recover their strength, the grain, grass and ammunition had not yet had time to be loaded onto the ship, the Loyalty and Renyi, which had suffered some damage in the strong winds, had not yet had time to complete their overhauls, and the two newly equipped steam gunboats, the Daode and the Brave, had not yet had enough coal. From the Jiujiang side, another military report on the retreat of Poyang Lake was sent -- Zeng Guofan resolutely gave up the opportunity to escape from the gray mountain on a troop transport ship, and the seriously insufficient troop transport fleet only rescued the Hunan army officers and men of just over 1,000 people to the west bank of Poyang Lake!

"Teacher, why are you so stupid? How can you be so stupid? You have a chance to escape, why don't you run away? ”

In front of Huashana and Huguangzhong, Wu Chaoyue shed tears, crying and crying only to complain about Teacher Zeng's stupid offense, and had the opportunity to escape but not escape, but wanted to stay in the gray mountain to die with the Hunan soldiers who could not cross the lake, Hua Shana and others tried their best to comfort Wu Chaoyue, saying that Teacher Zeng was auspicious, and he loved soldiers like a son and volunteered to survive the disaster with the soldiers, and he would definitely be able to turn evil into good fortune, and insisted until Wu Chaoyue personally led the troops to the gray mountain to rescue him.

Although Mr. Zeng was able to hold on until the arrival of his reinforcements was the last thing Wu Chaoyue wanted to see, but there was no way, he was bound by the face of a hypocrite, Wu Chaoyue still decided to send troops to rescue Mr. Zeng as soon as possible, and at the same time took the opportunity to ask Hua Shana to personally lead the army to rescue Mr. Zeng, explaining that the matter was too hasty to obtain the consent of the Manchu court, and asked Hua Shana, the governor of Huguang, to allow him to lead his troops to fight across the province.

"Weiting, you can go with confidence, the old man will explain to you at the imperial court."

Hua Shana still agreed to Wu Chaoyue's request, and then Hua Shana warned Wu Chaoyue again: "But Weiting, without the permission of the imperial court and without the emperor's will, the governor led the army out of the province to fight, after all, it is not a trivial matter. You also proposed to set up a Jiangxi Governor to deprive Wen Jun of the power of the Green Battalion, and with Wen Jun's villain character, he will inevitably seize this point and make a big fuss, and impeach you for all kinds of crimes. You need to be prepared for this. ”

"Thank you for the reminder of the flower making table, and the younger generation will keep it in mind." Wu Chaoyue thanked him, gritted his teeth and said: "But I don't believe it, the emperor and the court can still favor Wenjun like the monk Greenqin, and if they don't punish Wenjun who can't be saved when he sees death, he will come to take off my one-eyed flower feather again!" ”

Hua Shana glanced at Wu Chaoyue, and wanted to say something, but he couldn't help himself, and after sighing lightly, Hua Shana said again: "In short, Weiting, be careful, you are Han after all, and Wen Jun is a banner man after all." Even if you take advantage of it again, the court will ....... ”

Although Hua Shana didn't finish his heart-digging words, Wu Chaoyue also understood what he meant, and knew that no matter how he was in charge, it would be impossible for the Manchu court to easily kill Wen Jun, who also belonged to the same beast group, to vent his anger and seek justice for Zeng Guofan. The reason why Wu Chaoyue impeached Wen Jun with righteous indignation was never to bring down Wen Jun, what Wu Chaoyue wanted was just to hope that the Manchu court would further favor and shield Wen Jun, so that the soldiers in Hubei and Hunan could see the true face of the Manchu court more clearly.

Wen Jun did not disappoint Wu Chaoyue, and Teacher Zeng did not disappoint Wu Chaoyue, when Wu Chaoyue was in a hurry to prepare for the army, and was about to personally lead the army to set off, the news of Zeng Guofan's sacrifice on the Gray Mountain battlefield finally came from Jiujiang. And after hearing the news, Wu Chaoyue immediately exerted his acting skills to the limit - he fainted on the spot and fell into the arms of Wu Dayuan, Zhao Liewen and others.

More exquisite acting skills are still to come, after being rescued and woken up, Wu Chaoyue did not cry and did not make trouble, and the third did not hang the martyr, but put on filial piety clothes and filial piety clothes with a blue face, built a mourning hall in the governor's yamen, performed the gift of filial piety, and swore to avenge Zeng Guofan.

Although it was contrived, but when it was really time to personally guard the spirit of Zeng Guofan and wear filial piety, Wu Chaoyue couldn't help but think of Zeng Guofan's various benefits to himself, and tried his best to shelter himself from the wind and rain when he was in the capital; When holding group exercises, he covered up his edge and attracted the suspicion and jealousy of the Manchu court; After raising the army, he tried his best to protect the governor and govern, helped himself completely expel the Taiping Army from Hubei, and charged for himself in Jiangxi, pinning down the main force of the Taiping Army on the Western Front, and helping himself to safely pass the most dangerous stage after patrolling Hubei, so that he could sit in Hubei with peace of mind and become stronger and gain a firm foothold.

Even if he paid a lot of money for this, Wu Chaoyue asked himself and still felt that he owed his teacher Zeng Guofan more. So when he got to a place where there was no one behind him, Wu Chaoyue still shed a few sincere tears, and he was willing to wear filial piety for Zeng Guofan, and really regarded Zeng Guofan as his teacher.

"Teacher, don't worry, I will definitely avenge you, and I will definitely complete your unfinished business for you, and I will definitely do better than you." This is Wu Chaoyue's heartfelt words.

It stands to reason that since the rescue target Zeng Guofan has died, whether Wu Chaoyue still needs to personally conquer Jiangxi is already between the two, but he was deceived by Wu Chaoyue's false appearance of respecting teachers and righteousness, including the old and serious Hua Shana did not persuade Wu Chaoyue to give up the personal expedition to Jiangxi, and the soldiers of the Wu army, who had not been able to prepare for a long time, were even more gearing up and competing to be the first to fight. However, Zhao Liewen, who was familiar with Wu Chaoyue's bad temperament, rarely put forward a different opinion, and when he and Wu Chaoyue jointly kept a vigil for Zeng Guofan's spirit, Zhao Liewen also took the opportunity to talk to Wu Chaoyue alone about whether he would continue to conquer Jiangxi.

"Weiting, I understand and don't object to your intention to personally avenge Zeng Butang, but before you personally lead the army to set off, I must first figure out, if you must personally lead the army to the east to conquer Jiangxi, then what kind of situation are you prepared to fight? Is he only going to avenge Zeng Butang and kill Qin Rigang, the culprit who killed Zeng Butang? Or do you plan to only recover Jiujiang, or take Jiujiang and then capture Hukou, and follow your teacher Zeng Butang to attack Anqing? If you don't get the right balance in this, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to end up in the future. ”

"It's hard to end? What do you mean? Wu Chaoyue asked suspiciously.

"It's just that I'm worried that you are playing too beautifully, and the court will take the opportunity to adjust your position."

Zhao Liewen said gloomily: "Not to mention that Jiangxi now needs a great officer who can fight well, even the position of the governor of Liangjiang is still vacant, if you fight too beautifully and smoothly, the imperial court will make you reappointed as the governor of Jiangxi, and even let you take office as the governor of Liangjiang, who has almost lost all the provinces in charge, what should you do?" What about the foundation you worked so hard to build in Hubei? ”

Wu Chaoyue was stunned for a moment, and his heart sank suddenly, only then did he realize that he had neglected such a major event, if he fought too beautifully and too smoothly in Jiangxi, it was possible for the Manchu court to transfer himself out of Hubei, put himself in Jiangxi and Anhui, and continue to fight life and death with the Taiping army, burying the basic layout that he had finally established in Hubei, and being forced to start again and continue to start from scratch.

Knowing that Wu Chaoyue is very deep, without looking at Wu Chaoyue's face, Zhao Liewen knows that his words will definitely be able to impress Wu Chaoyue, who is good at listening to correct opinions, looking at Zeng Guofan's spiritual position, Zhao Liewen said lightly: "I know, with the strength in your current hands, personally lead the army to defeat the main force of the Changmao Water Division and take Jiujiang, the problem is definitely not big, but what about after this?" How did the court reward you? Do you think it's possible for you to replace the flower table? No matter how good the flower system is for you, I'm afraid it won't be so good that you voluntarily vacate the position of the governor of Huguang for you to sit, right? ”

"Of course, sealing you with a bunch of false titles and rewarding you with dazzling eyes is also a choice for the imperial court. But I think that seeing that you are so capable of fighting, and the war in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is so critical, even if the court and the emperor do not mean it, they will definitely have the idea of transferring you to Jiangxi, Anhui or Jiangsu. ”

"Comfort Ting, you can't add enough to draw snakes, and you can't do everything yourself, no matter how strong your ability is, without the doppelganger technique, how many aspects can you take into account?"

After listening to Zhao Liewen's words, Wu Chaoyue was silent for a long time before asking, "Then what do you think I should do?" ”

"I think it's time for you to delegate power, and it's time to train and support a few helpers who can take charge of themselves."

Zhao Liewen replied calmly: "At present, the battle at the mouth of Jiujiang Lake is not difficult to fight, Changmao has a certain advantage on the water, but our land strength occupies an absolute advantage, and firmly surrounds the important town of Jiujiang, which is equivalent to pinching the root of Changmao's eggs in Jiangxi, once the Jiujiang battlefield is urgent, the Changmao at the mouth of the lake is unwilling to save and has to be rescued. ”

"This is a battle that is sure to be won, and since you can't take the credit for it, why can't you give it to someone you trust and deserve support? When the time comes, the people you support will be promoted and rewarded, and you will indirectly grasp more power for you, you will have a good plan and use people properly, not to mention the same credit, and you can also make the court and the emperor feel that you are in Hubei to transfer troops and send generals, and you can still pacify the long-haired support community, and your position in Hubei can be more stable. Wouldn't it be wonderful to kill two birds with one stone? ”

Wu Chaoyue also looked up at Zeng Guofan's spiritual seat, and said after a while: "Listening to your words, it is better to read a book for ten years, Huifu, you are really a peerless national warrior given to me by God, a priceless treasure!" ”

Zhao Liewen smiled slightly, and hurriedly expressed his modesty, but Wu Chaoyue didn't bother to be hypocritical with Zhao Liewen, but said again: "Huifu, I want to give this great credit to Yang Wending, what do you think?" ”

"The best candidate." Zhao Liewen replied without thinking about it: "Lord Yang and you have an in-law relationship, and it is difficult for flesh and blood relatives to be separated from outsiders, so you can entrust you with military power." He also served as the governor of Jiangsu, has qualifications and experience, and has his own connections in the officialdom, and it is far easier to help him to a high position in a place where he holds real power than to support others, and he can get twice the result with half the effort. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Liewen smiled slightly, and added: "What's even better is that there is also a Zuo Zongtang by his side, and Zuo Zongtang's talent in civil affairs and finance is needless to say, which is comparable to you; In terms of military affairs, the retreat of the Hunan army at Poyang Lake this time, you and I may not be able to do a better job than him if you and I take command. With his help, Boss Yang's weakness of not being good at military affairs no longer exists. ”

"Then do it!" Wu Chaoyue's strongest point over Zeng Guofan is that he is very good at making decisions on the spot, and after listening to Zhao Liewen's analysis and feeling reasonable, Wu Chaoyue immediately overturned his previous plan of personally leading the army to fight, and changed his words and said: "Tomorrow I will go to see Hua Zhitai, tell him that I don't want to give someone a handle, and I won't go to Jiangxi in person, and ask him to agree to officially transfer the front-line command of Jiujiang to Yang Wending." ”

It is not very easy to implore Huashana to hand over the front-line command to Yang Wending, the key reason is that Yang Wending's current official status is only an alternate prefect, and his official rank is slightly insufficient. But fortunately, Hua Shana himself is not good at military affairs, and Wu Chaoyue made it clear that since Zeng Guofan is dead, he does not want to go to Jiangxi in person to give the famous and harsh Wen Jun to grasp the handle, in the case that no one is available and does not want to refute Wu Chaoyue's face, Hua Shana thought about it, and finally agreed to officially hand over the front-line command of the Jiujiang battlefield to Yang Wending.

At this time, the officialdom veteran Hua Shana also taught Wu Chaoyue a lesson by the way, in order to block the mouths of outsiders and strengthen the legitimacy of Yang Wending's front-line commander-in-chief, Hua Shana pulled Wu Chaoyue to the joint table, helped Yang Wending hack Zuo Zongtang's credit, and decorated Yang Wending's rescue of friendly troops in commanding the retreat of Poyang Lake, and took the opportunity to recommend Yang Wending to the Manchu court as the governor of Hubei, so that Yang Wending could justifiably command the front-line soldiers and horses.

At the same time, Huashana also ordered the six battalions of Eyong recruits sent to Jiujiang to be transferred back to Tianjia Town to prevent the Taiping army from taking the opportunity to advance westward, and placed them under the command of Zhang Ruying, the Han Huangdao of Hubei. ――To be honest, even Wu Chaoyue and Zhao Liewen couldn't think of this hand beforehand.

Thanks to Hua Shana's help and guidance, Wu Chaoyue did not hesitate, and immediately sent three battalions of Wu Jun's naval division and the third corps of Wu led by Cao Yanzhong to Yang Wending, so that they could temporarily obey Yang Wending's command and strengthen the strength of the front line. At the same time, Wu Chaoyue naturally had to write a letter to his wife's grandfather, letting Yang Wending know the good news, and also instructing him to adopt the tactics of encircling and sending reinforcements to break the enemy.

After receiving the letter from his grandson-in-law, Yang Wending, who knew that he had hope of resurrection, was of course how happy he was to laugh and how happy, and he was extremely glad that he had a good eye and a good eye, and he married his beautiful granddaughter to a thin and ugly man.

Zuo Zongtang's mouth is still the same vicious and mean, after reading Wu Chaoyue's letter to Yang Wending, Zuo Zongtang pouted, and immediately opened his mouth to spit out, "It's different to have a beautiful granddaughter, it's really easy to get promoted and make a fortune." However, what kind of reputation did Yang Daotai, Huazhitai and Wu Futai use to recommend you to supplement the Hubei Governor's Grain Road? Could it be that the credit for rescuing more than 1,000 Hunan soldiers was placed on you by them? ”

After all, he was the governor of Jiangsu, Yang Wending's face thickness was by no means thinner than that of his unscrupulous grandson-in-law, and after listening to Zuo Zongtang's sarcasm and questioning, he not only did not blush, but patted Zuo Zongtang's shoulder and just smiled, and said: "Ji Gao is not in a hurry, if the heavens fulfill people's wishes, the old man can really make up for the real lack of the Hubei Governor's grain road, then the old man will regain the right to fold and seal the report, and when the time comes, your merits and merits, the old man will definitely truthfully show to the court and the emperor, ask for merit and reward for you, and will never let you suffer any more grievances." ”

Zuo Zongtang snorted disdainfully, and then said angrily: "Didn't Wu Chaoyue want to surround and send reinforcements?" Then call his Hubei New Army to come quickly, don't Hubei New Army didn't arrive, Jiujiang Changmao ran away first under the response of Changmao's superior water division, then you still fight a bird?! (To be continued.) )