It was still more than a day later, when Zeng Guofan's coffin arrived at the dock in Hubei Province, Wu Chaoyue was able to see Zeng Jijing again on the dock, but he didn't have any chance to talk to Zeng Jijing, Zeng Jijing, who had already cried enough, leaned on his father's coffin and burst into tears, and he didn't look at Wu Chaoyue from beginning to end, as if he had forgotten what happened the night before, and he also forgot the promise Wu Chaoyue gave outside the door yesterday morning. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

After accidentally welcoming back his father's body, Zeng Jize, who had been delayed in the provincial capital for many days, immediately submitted his farewell to help Ling return to his hometown to bury his father, but Wu Chaoyue couldn't keep it, so he had to promise to send someone to escort the Zeng brothers and sisters back to Xiangxiang the next day, and decided to send someone to Xiangxiang to help bury Zeng Guofan on his behalf. Then, after careful consideration, Wu Chaoyue handed over this errand to Guo Songtao, who was familiar with everyone in the Hunan army, and wanted to find out the current situation of the new Hunan army and Chu Yong by the way.

In addition, Wu Chaoyue also gave Guo Songtao a special task to test the personality of the new Wenge in Hunan for himself and understand his true attitude towards Xiangjun and Chu Yong. Fortunately, after Luo Bingzhang left office, Liu Rong, the old man of the Hunan army, accepted Wenge's retention, and still served as a staff member in the Hunan governor's yamen, this task is not difficult for Guo Songtao.

The next day, the brothers and sisters of the Zeng family came to Wu Chaoyue to resign, and it was at this time that Wu Chaoyue seized the opportunity to talk to Zeng Jijing, and said solemnly: "Senior sister, don't worry, take care." ”

Hearing Wu Chaoyue's pun, Zeng Jijing's face was slightly red, he nodded and didn't speak, but just glanced at Wu Chaoyue with a resentful look, and then left with Zeng Jize's farewell. Wu Chaoyue was left to sigh in the back hall of the governor's yamen, "Wronged, wronged, I can't imagine that I owe such a big debt after only seeing such a few faces, I am really not sure if I can pay it off!" ”

Sighing, Wu Chaoyue suddenly remembered the news from Yunnan he received a few days ago, saying that there was a female general of the rebel army named Du Fengyang some time ago, who was very capable of fighting, very beautiful, and only in her teens, which was the same age as herself. Wu Chaoyue, who had already taken Feng Wanzhen and Fu Shanxiang, two famous beauties in history, into the room, inevitably had such a thought again......

"It would be nice if I had the opportunity to meet each other, my brother is a little thinner, but his body can still bear it."

…………

The rear is important, let's take a look at the situation on Guo Songtao's side, from Hubei Province to Xiangxiang is navigable all the way, the road is too peaceful, and the awkward Kui Zhen has moved to Changsha as he wished, Guo Songtao led people to escort the Zeng brothers and sisters back to their hometown, of course, the road was smooth and speechless. The Hunan army, which is being rebuilt, is still training in Xiangtan, and it must pass on the way to Xiangxiang, so before Zeng Guofan is buried, Guo Songtao has already met with Hu Linyi, Yang Yuebin and other Hunan generals in advance.

I haven't seen him for a long time, Hu Linyi seems to have aged a lot, and his already not very good health has obviously declined a lot, and he has no spirit when he speaks sickly, and he still blames himself in tears when he mentions Luo Bingzhang, who has just left office, and said: "It was I who hurt Luo Futai, it was I who hurt Luo Futai, if it wasn't for me to instigate the construction of a Hunan Iron Factory, how could his old man make a mistake and be dismissed by the imperial court?" I hurt him! ”

"Zhensheng, the matter has passed, and this matter is not your responsibility alone, Wu Futai also asked Luo Futai for the guilt, admitting that it was his momentary negligence that caused Luo Futai to lose the evening, Luo Futai didn't blame Wu Futai, let alone blame you. Your original proposal was actually a good intention. ”

It took a lot of effort to persuade Hu Linyi to put away his tears, Guo Songtao cautiously asked about the details of the reconstruction of the Hunan army, as well as the attitude of the new governor Wenge towards the Hunan army, Hu Linyi wiped his tears and said: "Fortunately, the money and food promised by Luo Futai were sent by Wenfutai on time." But it's too difficult for us to bear half by ourselves, Yunxian, you also know that in order to support Zeng Butang to build the Hunan army, the rich families we know are almost empty, and the unfamiliar ones are worried about throwing the silver into the water, and they are unwilling to donate more, so the military salary can only be paid half, and the morale of the soldiers is not high. ”

"Where's the Mariner?" Guo Songtao turned to Yang Yuebin, the new commander of the Hunan Army's naval division, and asked, "Are the ships and artillery ready?" ”

"Not yet." Yang Yuebin said helplessly: "Originally, I wanted to pull out a hundred military sampans for us to train, but Luo Futai suddenly resigned, and the matter was delayed. ”

After that, Yang Yuebin couldn't help but add a sentence and said: "I heard that the shipyard in Hubei has made so many sampans that there is no place to put them, Yunxian, can you ask Wu Futai to lend us some for training first?" When we make it, send a new one back to him? ”

"That's fine." Guo Songtao agreed and said: "Hubei's military sampan inventory has more than twice the equipment of the sailors, and I will ask Wu Futai to lend you some when I go back." ”

Yang Yuebin happily agreed, but he couldn't help but regret a little in his heart that he insisted on going back to Hunan -- the disparity in financial resources was too great. And when Guo Songtao asked Hu Linyi, Yang Yuebin and others about Wenge, Hu Linyi shook his head and said: "I haven't seen it for the time being, but I heard that the official reputation is not bad, dare to use people, and there are no rumors of greed for money." ”

Silently recorded the words of Hu Linyi and others, Guo Songtao escorted the Zeng brothers back to Xiangxiang, and helped the weeping Zeng family bury Zeng Guofan, Guo Songtao immediately said goodbye and left, preparing to go to Changsha to carefully understand the situation before returning to Hubei. However, coincidentally, when passing by Xiangtan again, Hu Linyi happened to receive an official letter from Wenge, asking Hu Linyi to go to the provincial capital to discuss matters, Guo Songtao and Hu Linyi went on the same boat, and it only took one day to arrive in Changsha.

On the surface, there is almost no change in the provincial capital of Changsha, which has changed the governor, and the only thing that makes Guo Songtao feel different is that the door of the Hunan governor's yamen began to pay respects, but fortunately, Hu Linyi and Guo Songtao are both people who understand the rules.

Because he represented Wu Chaoyue, who was at the same level as Wenge, Guo Songtao was received very ceremoniously in the Hunan Governor's Yamen, and the handsome Wenjun also specially told Hu Linyi to wait, and he just talked to Guo Songtao first, and he also wanted to learn from Wu Chaoyue, a powerful minister of the Qing Dynasty. However, just when Guo Songtao felt that Wenge was qualified to succeed Luo Bingzhang, Wenge's topic began to turn to the financial side intentionally or unintentionally, constantly inquiring about Hankou's tariff revenue and the collection of centigold, and twice sighed about the difference between Hunan's finances and Hubei's finances. In the end, Wen Ge also asked casually very unintentionally: "Yunxian, last time the flower was made to ask for Hubei to mint two million Qing silver yuan, did the Hubei Minting Bureau finish minting?" ”

"Nope." Guo Songtao replied truthfully: "The silver that minted the silver of the Qing Dynasty was all collected on the spot in Hubei, and so much silver could not be raised for a while, so Wu Futai could only be minted in batches, so it was not finished yet." ”

"I see." Wenge nodded, and said more casually: "Please tell Wu Futai, if he needs, Hunan can also help him cast, Hunan's tea and raw silk are selling well in Hankou, and the people are gradually accepting the Qing silver yuan." If Wu Futai is willing, the Hunan Minting Bureau can also help him mint silver yuan and help him complete the mission assigned by the imperial court as soon as possible. ”

Guo Songtao first promised to tell him, and then he and Hu Linyi glanced at each other, and they both saw the horror and vigilance in each other's eyes - Guo Songtao and Hu Linyi also knew all kinds of drawbacks in the casting of silver yuan, and even knew that if the person in charge of casting silver yuan had a black heart, he could fish as much as he wanted! Therefore, Guo Songtao and Hu Linyi couldn't help but say to themselves in their hearts, "It's better to be famous than to meet, this Wen Futai is probably not as clean as rumored in terms of silver." ”

After chatting with Guo Songtao for a while, Wenge remembered to discuss the reconstruction of the Hunan army with Hu Linyi, although Guo Songtao was curious and concerned, he still knew the rules and said goodbye and left, and asked Liu Rong to meet at the pavilion. As a result, when the sky was slightly dark, Hu Linyi and Liu Rong came to the pavilion with their front feet and back feet, and their faces were a little unsightly.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Guo Songtao hurriedly asked about the situation, Hu Linyi replied with a gloomy face: "If you want me to send troops to Jiangxi now, send a part of the land division out first, and ask me if I can raise more military salaries by myself, and want to reduce half of the military salaries promised by Luo Futai to 30%. ”

Guo Songtao's mouth opened wide, but Liu Rong over there couldn't bear it, slammed his fist on the table, and roared: "Hypocrite! Just thinking about making money! As soon as he took office, he promoted the fool Zhang Zuoqing of Qianyang Governor County to Tongzhi, and the Changsha prefect Cang Jingyu was also in charge of minting money, and reduced the copper in the copper coin by half, and Xu Youren found out and didn't do it, and confiscated the silver of Cang Jingyu and Zhang Zuoqing behind his back, and the old man's Liu character was written upside down! ”

Guo Songtao was even more dumbfounded, but Hu Linyi sighed and said: "It's over, the Hunan army is really finished this time, and when you meet such a governor, the Hunan army will never come out this time." ”

"So what are you going to do?" Guo Songtao took a long time to remember to ask Hu Linyi and others about their attitudes.

"The old man is ready to leave." Liu Rong said with a pale face: "I will leave after urging the Hunan military ship to be built, if it weren't for this, the old man wouldn't want to stay in Changsha for a day!" ”

Guo Songtao turned to Hu Linyi, who was not as desperate as Liu Rong, coughed and said: "I'll take a look at it again, the increase in troops in Jiangxi is an order to make a platform of flowers, I can't help but listen, first send a part of the Hunan army out of the province, you can build a checkpoint in Jiangxi to collect money, solve the problem of military salaries by yourself, and relieve some pressure on the Hunan side." ”

"But Jiangxi Governor Wen Jun is not easy to say?" Guo Songtao cautiously reminded.

"Yuanzhou and Ji'an are far away, his hand is not so long, and the situation is slightly better." Hu Linyi replied with a gloomy face, sighed lightly, and replied helplessly: "It's just that in this way, I have to grab food with Brother Liu Changyou, and Chu Yong, who was newly recruited in Hunan, has also been sent to Jiangxi by Wenge's order." ”

He had a deep relationship with the Hunan army, and when he heard these words, Guo Songtao couldn't help but sigh helplessly, and then he strengthened his starting point and said: "Wu Futai wants me to bring you a message, if you want, the door of Hubei will always be open to you." ”

Hu Linyi and Liu Rong didn't speak, and after a long time, Hu Linyi said to himself in a low tone: "Do we still have the face to go to him again?" I only refused his solicitation for a few days, and immediately ran back to him, and I couldn't pull this face. ”

After that, the sick Hu Linyi couldn't help coughing again, spitting into the thick phlegm in the porcelain bowl, and there was a faint trace of blood.

…………

"The Hunan army is over, this time it's really over."

This was Wu Chaoyue's first reaction when he learned of Guo Songtao's mission, but for the sake of prudence and safety, Wu Chaoyue still kindly ran to the Yamen of the Governor of Huguang and reported to Hua Shana what Guo Songtao had seen and heard in Hunan.

After listening to Wu Chaoyue's recital, Hua Shana also had an ugly expression that he was owed eight hundred copper coins, and only after a while did he grit his teeth and say: "It's a pity Luo Ruzhai!" ”

After that, Hua Shana pondered for a while, and then said: "Weiting, the old man can't take action directly in this matter, and you can't make a public move, otherwise, the court will definitely think that we are deliberately squeezing out Wenge in order to be angry for Luo Bingzhang." Do you have any familiar Hunan generals? asked them to collect some evidence to impeach Wenge, and the old man forwarded it for him, and after the fact, the old man transferred him to Hubei to take up a post! ”

"The only Hunan military attaches that the younger generations are familiar with are Hu Linyi and Liu Changyou." Wu Chaoyue replied honestly: "The rest of the people I know don't have any deep friendships. ”

"Then forget it, you can't let Hu Linyi and Liu Changyou publicly offend Wenge." Hua Shana shook his head sensibly, and then said viciously: "The old man came to this matter by himself, and the old man gave a hint to the in-service general soldiers over there in Hunan and told them to break it!" Beat the arrogance of Wenge, let him know that don't think that the old man is sitting in Hubei, he can be lawless in Hunan! ”

"Do you want to find a way to deliberately let Wenge know about this?"

This thought flashed through Wu Chaoyue's mind, but he immediately completely denied it - the matter was not done secretly, and once Hua Shana, an old fox who just didn't bite, knew about it, it would be troublesome. At the same time, Wu Chaoyue didn't worry too much, because Wu Chaoyue knew very well that the more corrupt officials like Wenge were, the more sensitive they were to such things.

Sure enough, when Liu Jiangang, the deputy general of Changsha Mansion, who is famous for patting Sima Fart, understood Hua Shana's hint, and impeached Wenge for allegedly harboring money and stealing copper, and was directly transferred to the capital by Hua Shana, Wenge really immediately understood that Hua Shana was not waiting to see him. didn't dare to seek revenge from Hua Shana, Liu Jiangang was transferred to Hubei by Hua Shana for the first time, and he couldn't find anyone to be angry, so Wenge threw his anger on Xiang Jun and Chu Yong, who were trusted and valued by his predecessor Luo Bingzhang......

"The yurt raised by the son of a bitch is immortal, don't you like Luo Bingzhang? Do you still want to keep Luo Bingzhang? Lao Tzu can't fix you, can't fix your right-hand dogs Wu Chaoyue and Luo Bingzhang, and can't fix their lackeys?! ”

In the same month, Wenge temporarily stopped the payment of military salaries to the Hunan army and Chu Yong under the pretext of the shortage of money and grain in the Hunan Domain, and then Liu Changyou, who had already established some gold collection checkpoints in Jiangxi, was better, at least he could raise a little military salary on his own, and he could also quietly engage in small actions such as smuggling to make a living. However, Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin, who were training in the hinterland of Hunan, were completely out of action and lamented together......

"Why is the Xiangjiang River so big this year? It was the tears of my Hunan army that flowed into the Xiangjiang River, and the water rose. (To be continued.) )