Each has a purpose and is not a fuel-efficient lamp, Wu Chaoyue and Huguang Governor Guanwen between the open and secret struggle finally unfolded, made up his mind to use the expansion of the army to pull Luo Bingzhang into the water to share the pressure for himself, even knowing that the money and grain burden plan proposed by the official document was unfair, Wu Chaoyue still agreed to accept the plan proposed by the official document, promising that as long as the official text's expansion plan was approved by the Manchu court, the Hubei Domain Treasury would bear the money and grain. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The official document praised Wu Chaoyue's loyalty to the country very graciously, and also decided to summon Luo Bingzhang to come to the Hubei provincial capital to convene a meeting on the expansion of the army in Huguang to discuss specific matters such as the sharing of military expenses, the formation of the new army, and the distribution of troops, and then discuss the specific plan and submit it to the Manchu court for approval. Wu Chaoyue, who was eager to discuss the joint plan directly with Luo Bingzhang, was overjoyed when he heard it, and immediately agreed, and the two of them, who were pregnant with ghosts, laughed and dispersed, and the official document also asked his confidant Tang Shixu to send Wu Chaoyue out on behalf of him, and treated Wu Chaoyue as if as always.

After sending Wu Chaoyue away for the official text, when Tang Shixi returned to the front of the official text, our official platform showed its true face, and asked Tang Shixi with a sneering face: "What do you think?" ”

"Forced to back down." Tang Shixi replied: "It is the intention of the imperial court to expand the Huguang army, and unless Wu Chaoyue wants to resist the order, he can only follow your orders." Hubei's current money and grain situation is slightly better than Hunan's, and the master of Taiwan wants him to bear sixty percent of it, and he is also famous, and he doesn't want to cause more trouble, so he agreed. ”

"If that's how you see it, then you're underestimating this little brute." Guan Wen sneered and said: "This little barbarian didn't have any good intentions, he wanted to go up to the house to draw a ladder and pull Luo Bingzhang into the water to join forces with him to fight the old man." ”

"Pull Luo Bingzhang into the water?" Tang Shixi was a little dumbfounded.

"Yes, he agreed to the old man's army expansion plan, which is to pull Luo Bingzhang into the water."

Guan Wen nodded, his smile became more hideous, and said: "He holds the Hankou Customs in his hand, and the money and grain situation is much better than Luo Bingzhang's, he can take out sixty percent of the money and grain, but Luo Bingzhang may not be able to bear the remaining forty percent, he expected that Luo Bingzhang would inevitably oppose the old man's army expansion plan, so he agreed, went up to the house and asked the old man to force Luo Bingzhang to hand over the forty percent of the money and grain, and also forced Luo Bingzhang and the old man to turn their faces and join forces with him to fight against the old man. ”

Tang Shixi was dumbfounded, and after thinking for a long time, he realized that there was indeed this possibility, and hurriedly praised the old traitor of the official text, Tang Shixu hurriedly asked: "Production, how to deal with it?" ”

"It's not hard to deal with." Guan Wen smiled and said: "The little barbarian is treacherous, but unfortunately he is still a little tender, forgetting the old saying that if people do not do it for themselves, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed." He also underestimated Luo Bingzhang too much, and wishfully thought that Luo Bingzhang would be forced to choose to join forces with him, but forgot that Luo Bingzhang had a better choice to fall to the old man. ”

"What do you mean by the Lord of Taiwan, to win over Luo Bingzhang and clean up Wu Chaoyue?" Tang Shixi asked tentatively.

Guan Wen smiled and nodded, and said: "As a king, if the courtiers don't fight, the king can't sleep peacefully." If the governor does not fight, the governor's position will not last long. The little man was well-behaved and obedient before, of course the old man suppressed Luo Bingzhang towards him, but now the little man kicked his nose and dared to bark his teeth at the old man, of course the old man had to win over Luo Bingzhang to suppress him. ”

"Adults are clever, and the art of weighing is simply the pinnacle." Tang Shixi hurriedly slapped another sycophant, and then asked: "Master Producer, how should you do it?" ”

"When I went to Wenxuan to summon Luo Bingzhang to come to the Hubei provincial capital to discuss matters, I brought him a letter by the way." The official quietly ordered: "Tell him the old man's specific army expansion plan, as well as the old man's decision on the supply and distribution plan of money and grain, and ask him if it is too heavy to let Hunan bear forty percent of the money and grain?" If he feels too heavy, how much can he carry. ”

"Your Excellency is clever." Tang Shixi hurriedly raised his thumb and praised: "With Luo Yumen's cleverness, when I see your letter, I will definitely understand it, knowing that my lord just wants Wu Chaoyue to bleed heavily this time, and he will inevitably stand on your side and force Wu Chaoyue to bear more military salaries and food." ”

Guan Wen smiled proudly, but after thinking about it for a while, Guan Wen still felt that it was not enough to relieve his anger and insurance, and ordered: "Write another letter to ......." ”

…………

Although in order to avoid the vigilance of the Manchu court, there was no hasty expansion of the army, but it imitated the tricks of the Devil's Self-Defense Force, training the soldiers as commanders, and training the commanders as sentinels, and the sentinels asked to receive the education of the battalion officers, so as to expand the army in large numbers and quickly at the critical moment.

In order to facilitate the command and dispatch and cultivate talents who can stand alone, Wu Chaoyue also slightly changed the military system and set up four corps, and the three battalions of the water division were organized separately and handed over to Wang Fu to lead the independent corps of the water division; The four battalions at Xiangyuankou were under the unified command of Huang Dasha, who had been renamed Huang Yuanlong, supplemented by Feng Sanbao, as the second corps; another three battalions were handed over to Cao Yanzhong to form the Third Corps, supplemented by Liu Mingchuan; The cavalry battalion, artillery battalion and three directly subordinate battalions were assigned to the First Corps, which was led by Wu Chaoyue himself. The establishment of the four legions is Hubei Fubiao, and all of them are only under the orders of Wu Chaoyue.

In addition, Liu Kunyi's Zhuangzi battalion was also directly commanded by Wu Chaoyue, and it was the Fifth Corps outside the establishment of Fubiao, Hubei. As a result, to Wu Chaoyue's both relief and secretly annoyance, Liu Kun secretly reported several times that Zeng Guofan was trying to buy and win him over, and wanted to pull the Zhuangzi battalion with the same equipment as the Hubei New Army into the Hunan army, but he was repeatedly rejected but still had a thief's heart.

Wuchang General Soldier Wang Guocai is also Wu Chaoyue's target, and what makes Wu Chaoyue quite satisfied is that Wang Guocai, who was supported by himself in the position of General Soldier, is also quite conscientious, not only also rejected Zeng Guofan's wooing and bribery, but also secretly reported to the official document to let him secretly monitor the matter of the Second Corps of Wu Army, Wu Chaoyue repaid a lot of money, and secretly promised that as long as he was still in Hubei for a day, he would never let anyone move Wang Guocai's position.

Rice to eat bite by bite, before the real army against the Qing Dynasty, Wu Chaoyue has a lot to do, consolidating the interior and completely controlling the entire Hubei is Wu Chaoyue's primary goal, and in order to do this, first of all, you have to bring down the official text, which seems to be harmless to humans and animals. In this case, even if he understands that Luo Bingzhang will be his opponent and hidden danger in the future, Wu Chaoyue still has to win him over to stand on the same line as himself against the official text, so when he received the news that Luo Bingzhang had arrived in the Hubei provincial capital, Wu Chaoyue personally went to the dock to greet Luo Bingzhang, and finally met Luo Bingzhang, the real leader of the Hunan army.

As imagined, Luo Bingzhang, who was full of smiles, was really an old treacherous character, and then he talked and laughed with Wu Chaoyue and refused to take the initiative to mention the Huguang army expansion plan that Guanwen was preparing, Wu Chaoyue also calmed down and did not talk about this topic, but just adopted Zhao Liewen's suggestion, and let Luo Bingzhang know that he had turned his face with Guanwen in private, Luo Bingzhang was noncommittal, and in turn persuaded Wu Chaoyue to keep a good match with Guanwen, and not to make a contradiction in vain Cheap long-haired bandits.

Although it is not clear what Luo Bingzhang's plan is for a while, Wu Chaoyue is still very confident that Luo Bingzhang will not obey the official words, and he is ready to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and send Luo Bingzhang to stay with a smile, and have a very happy conversation with Luo Bingzhang.

On the morning of the second day when Luo Bingzhang arrived in the Hubei provincial capital, the official document officially summoned Wu Chaoyue and Luo Bingzhang to the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters, Wu Chaoyue began to take Zhao Liewen happily on time, but when he arrived at the Governor's Palace, Wu Chaoyue finally found that the situation was wrong - Luo Bingzhang had already arrived at the Yamen of the Governor's Palace, and he was already talking and laughing with the official in the lobby.

What made Wu Chaoyue feel that the situation was not good was still to come, after the two governors and the governor were gathered, the official document did not announce the start of the meeting, and said with a smile: "Door, comfort pavilion, wait a little longer, there is still someone who has not arrived, wait for him to come and start." ”

"Lord Maker, who else?" Wu Chaoyue asked suspiciously.

"Your teacher, Zeng Guofan." Guan Wen smiled and said: "His troops and horses are from Huguang, and they are currently stationed in Huguang, this time, since the imperial court let Huguang expand the army in order to transfer, the old man wants to take this opportunity to bring his soldiers and horses under Huguang to the establishment of Huguang, so he wrote a letter asking him to also come to this meeting and participate in the discussion of this matter." ”

Although the words of the official text were understated, it was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Wu Chaoyue, peeking at Luo Bingzhang, who was still talking and laughing freely, and then looking back at Zhao Liewen, whose face was a little pale, Wu Chaoyue's face was also a little pale, and he said secretly: "Oh no, it's a trick!" My white-eyed wolf teacher has long wished that he could get stable money, food, and military salary, and he will definitely stand on the side of the official text, looking at Luo Bingzhang's appearance, he has secretly colluded with the official text, and I am a pair of three in this meeting. ”

Seeing Wu Chaoyue's pale face, of course Guan Wen was very happy, and the smug little barbarian also dared to fight, this time see how you die. As a result, at this time, someone happened to arrive outside the door to report to Zeng Butang, the squire of the military department, and the official wen hurriedly got up and beckoned Wu Chaoyue and Luo Bingzhang to go with him to meet Zeng Guofan.

When he went out to greet Zeng Guofan, Wu Chaoyue and Zhao Liewen of course went to the end, and seized the time to discuss in a low voice, Wu Chaoyue quickly asked, "What should I do?" ”

"There's nothing to be done." Zhao Liewen whispered with a sad face: "Zeng Butang has long been eager to get rid of your control over his money, food, and military salary, and it is a great opportunity to take the opportunity to expand the army, so he will definitely stand on the opposite side of you." Luo Futai's appearance seems to have been secretly trading with the official platform for a long time. ”

"A bunch of old foxes!"

Wu Chaoyue suddenly found that he was actually very pathetic, all the old foxes he was facing were treacherous, and they were all old and sophisticated, and he couldn't think of any way to face the extremely passive situation he was about to face for a while. But fortunately, Wu Chaoyue's biggest advantage is that he is young and energetic, and after a little calculation, Wu Chaoyue came up with a very risky method, and whispered to Zhao Liewen: "Send someone to Hankou immediately and ...... it." ”

"Comfort Ting, do you really want to do this? Think about it, do it, you're going to have to be a pair of threes! ”

"Am I not a pair of threes now? Anyway, it is bound to lose, rather than sit and wait to die, it is better to break the kettle, fight a fish to die and break the net, and there is still a glimmer of life! ”

Unable to resist Wu Chaoyue's insistence, Zhao Liewen hurriedly obeyed the order and urgently sent someone across the river to act according to the plan. After Wu Chaoyue relieved his heart a little, he strode to catch up with Guan Wen and the others, and once again saw the white-eyed wolf Teacher Zeng, who was definitely ungrateful.

The scene of the meeting between teachers and students is still touching, bowing down in front of the teacher, Wu Chaoyue burst into tears, and Mr. Zeng was also in tears, while holding up the proud protégé with his own hands while comforting him, and finally under the repeated persuasion of the official text and Luo Bingzhang, Wu Chaoyue and Zeng Guofan ended the performance and entered the yamen of the governor's mansion hand in hand.

The harmonious performance of teachers and students ended with the official beginning of the meeting, and after talking about the situation of pacifying the bandits, and officially announcing the expansion of the Huguang army to 70,000, Luo Bingzhang and Zeng Guofan both agreed with the official text's plan to expand the army, but they also unanimously opposed the plan for the distribution of money, food, and military salaries proposed by the official document, and also unanimously demanded that Wu Chaoyue's Hubei Domain Treasury bear more money, food, and military salaries, and demanded that it be supplied on time and on schedule.

"Weiting, it's not the teacher's elbow that turns out, it's the situation in Hunan, you know, in the past few years, in order to handle the regimental training and send troops to fight for thieves, Hunan's treasury has long been empty, not only does it not have a little surplus, but on the contrary, it still owes hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to the household department and the local government treasury, and it is really impossible to take out money and grain to support the expansion of the official Taiwan army."

"Wu Futai, the old man is not prevaricating, but the situation on your side is much better than Hunan, Hubei has nine provinces, developed water and land commerce, you can collect countless silver just by pumping Luli, and there are tariffs in Hankou that can intercept the flow, the situation is much better than Hunan, this time Huguang expands the army, Hubei should have more money and grain."

When Luo Bingzhang and Zeng Guofan sang and forced Wu Chaoyue to give more money and food, Wu Chaoyue never said anything - it was useless, Luo Bingzhang was unwilling to give any more money and food, Zeng Guofan got ten battalions of water divisions and twelve battalions of land divisions in the army expansion plan, and he could also use this to obtain a stable source of money, food, and military salaries.

Wu Chaoyue didn't lose his temper, let alone be annoyed, he just kept smiling and looking at the official text, waiting for the official document to speak, but the official document did not disappoint Wu Chaoyue, and after Luo Bingzhang and Zeng Guofan fell into a large number of requests to force Hubei to pay more money and grain, the official Wen really smiled and asked: "Weiting, what do you think?" ”

"Lord Huitai, only sixty percent of the lower officials are out." Wu Chaoyue replied with a smile: "The Lord of Taiwan asked the lower officials to bear sixty percent of the cost of expanding the army, and the lower officials also agreed. ”

"Comfort Ting, how do you speak?" Zeng Guofan scolded: "How can you speak to the official system like this? Is there any politeness? ”

"It's okay, it's okay." Guan Wen smiled and waved his hand, and said with a smile: "Weiting is right, the old man is a bit of a change of order, but the old man didn't know the specific money and grain of Huguang Province at that time, so he asked Weiting you about the amount of food that Hubei can bear, and it was not an official decree, and now we have agreed, and it really counts." ”

"But the lower officials really can't take out more money, money, and food?"

Wu Chaoyue spread his hands helplessly, but before he finished speaking, the official text smiled and said: "Weiting, let's say it, the old man has already asked the Hubei political envoy Ma Xiuru Ma Fantai, after Hubei bears sixty percent of the money and grain, it seems that there is still a little surplus, Weiting, you can find some way to open up sources and reduce expenditure, and it's no problem to bear eighty or ninety percent, right?" ”

"Eighty or ninety? There is still so much surplus in the Hubei Domain? Luo Bingzhang asked in surprise.

Glancing at Luo Bingzhang's seemingly gentle but ill-intentioned smiling face, Wu Chaoyue wanted to argue with reason, but when the words came to his lips, another good idea of anti-guest suddenly appeared in Wu Chaoyue's mind, making Wu Chaoyue blurt out without thinking about it: "Even if there is barely a little surplus, those silver have a special provenance." ”

"What's the provenance? Weiting, don't say that you want to expand the standard again, right? Guan Wen asked with a sneer.

"Repay the grain owed to the imperial court in Hubei at a discount."

Wu Chaoyue only used one sentence to change the face of the official text, Wu Chaoyue smiled and said: "You also know that since the third year of Xianfeng, because of the blockade of bandits and the lack of luck, Hubei has been in arrears with the imperial court for three years, and now the imperial court is using troops in Jiangnan and is in urgent need of military salaries, so the lower officials want to go to the imperial court and ask the imperial court to approve the Hubei Domain Treasury to exchange the arrears of the cao grain into cash, and escort the silver two into Beijing for delivery, so as to help the emperor and the imperial court solve their urgent needs." ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue turned to Luo Bingzhang again, and asked with a smile: "Luo Futai, what do you think?" ”

Luo Bingzhang couldn't laugh anymore, and his face became whiter than before Wu Chaoyue, because once Wu Chaoyue did this, the Manchu court would definitely force Hunan to do this, forcing Luo Bingzhang to exchange the Hunan Cao grain, which had also been owed for three years, into cash and escort it to Beijing for delivery! If that were the case, Luo Bingzhang, who had long been empty, would really not be able to find any way to deal with it except for hanging himself.

What makes Wu Chaoyue's move even more ruthless is that not only will the Manchu court not refuse to loot the people's wealth by casting iron and lead money, but Emperor Xianfeng will definitely praise Wu Chaoyue as the number one loyal minister in the world! Guan Wen and Luo Bingzhang dared to say half a word against it, Emperor Xianfeng could still skin them!

The scene was finally Wu Chaoyue's turn to take the initiative, smiling and looking at Luo Bingzhang, whose face was as pale as paper, and then looking at Teacher Zeng, who didn't even dare to say a word, Wu Chaoyue turned his gaze to the official text, and asked with a smile: "The official system, the move of the lower officials is considered to be anxious for the imperial court, and it is not a mistake to think about what the imperial court thinks, right?" ”

The official document was silent, although Wu Chaoyue took the initiative to ask for the repayment of the grain owed to the Manchu court, which was silver from the Hubei Domain, and had nothing to do with the official document, but Wu Chaoyue really would rather give the silver to the Manchu court than the official document, and the official document would be completely helpless - neither could he compete with the gang of green-eyed jackals and hungry tigers in the household department, let alone dare to fight! At the end, I have to end the short honeymoon period with Luo Bingzhang immediately!

After severely suppressing the arrogance of Guan Wen and Luo Bingzhang and others, Wu Chaoyue stood up and arched his hand and said: "Official Tai, Luo Futai, Teacher, if you need to reconsider, then I have something very important to do, so I will leave first, and we will discuss it carefully when you discuss the results." ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue didn't ramble with Guanwen and others, and hurriedly walked out of the lobby after taking Zhao Liewen, and left the Yamen of Huguang Governor of Guanwen directly, Guanwen, Luo Bingzhang and Zeng Guofan had different expressions, Guanwen's face was gloomy and gritted his teeth, Luo Bingzhang was silent on the surface but turned over in his heart, looking at Wu Chaoyue's departing back, his eyes were full of murderous energy, only Zeng Guofan's expression was as usual, and he said in his heart: "It's good, the more stiff it is with Luo Bingzhang and Guanwen, the better!" It's really pushing them to be anxious, and your days in Hubei should come to an end. But don't worry, teachers and students, you left in Hubei soldiers, horses, warships, ironworks, guns and artillery bureaus, etc., for the division will take care of you. (To be continued.) )