August 25, Tongzhi 7th year (September 30, 1868), Beijing, Xianliang Temple. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Zuo Zongtang, who had just returned to the resting place after the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces had been summoned, was sulking there.

The thought of the edict that had been given to him made him angry.

“…… The order is that the troops must be marched from east to west, and they should take care of the Jin defense, and do not let the internal ...... "This is simply pointing at his nose and scolding!"

However, it is no wonder that the queen mother of the two palaces was furious, and the twisted bandits dared to enter the Beijing Division, how could the two palaces not be angry?

Thinking of this, Zuo Zongtang's heart couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

I was humiliated by the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces, but it was really because of "ineffective twisting".

But he can't be blamed for this, only the twist bandit is too cunning.

Since he arrived in Shaanxi, the twisted bandits and the long-haired remnants were "intimidated" by their prestige, and they crossed the river to the east without realizing it, jumped into Zhili, and went straight to Beijing!

The twist bandits are pressing, the Beijing division is shaken, the imperial court urgently ordered all the military horses to rescue, and even Prince Gong went into battle shirtless, bringing a team of soldiers and horses out to suppress the twist, fortunately Li Hongzhang led the Huai army to arrive in time, and wiped out the twist bandits near Wuqiao, and the government and the opposition breathed a sigh of relief.

And until that time, Zuo Zongtang, who was far away in Shaanxi, didn't know where the twisted bandits in his jurisdiction had gone to Zhili!

This time, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces summoned her, and although she didn't say anything about Zuo Zongtang, she still ordered him to return to the northwest to defend against the northwest, and specifically pointed out that the suppression of bandits should be "from the east to the west", which is very revealing.

Does the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces want to let herself stay in the northwest forever?

Just as Zuo Zongtang was thinking about the gains and losses there, a relative came in to report and presented Hu Xueyan's letter.

Zuo Zongtang waved his hand and retreated with him, he couldn't wait to open the letter and read it.

Zuo Zongtang's eyes swam on the letter, the more he looked at it, the more ugly his face became, and when he saw that at the end, the green tendons on his forehead had jumped suddenly. He slammed the letter on the table, and paced in circles around the room.

"What does this little ruler surnamed Lin want to do? Do you have to get along with the old man? Zuo Zongtang said to himself angrily, "Shen Baozhen is negligent in discipline, and he even listens to and believes in him!" It's dizzy! The old man's shipmaster will be ruined in their hands sooner or later! ”

Just as Zuo Zongtang was angry there, his entourage hurriedly came in again, this time, with two letters in his hands.

Zuo Zongtang took the letter from his own hand, looked at the envelope, and found that one of the two letters was written by Zhou Kaixi and the other was written by Shen Baozhen, and he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Zuo Zongtang finally settled down, retreated and followed, he first opened Zhou Kaixi's letter and read it.

After reading Zhou Kaixi's letter, Zuo Zongtang's face softened slightly, and then he opened Shen Baozhen's letter and read it. After reading it, the original anger on Zuo Zongtang's face dissipated. He returned to the table and sat down, took Hu Xueyan's letter and looked at it again, his brows furrowed again.

"It's getting worse and worse! In order to play with women, it caused such a big storm! It doesn't matter which is more important! ”

Zuo Zongtang thought about it, got up and shouted: "Come on, pen and ink are waiting!" ”

When the servants heard the sound, they quickly arranged the four treasures of the study, Zuo Zongtang picked up the brush, thought for a while, and began to write a reply to Hu Xueyan.

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Hangzhou City, Yuanbao Street, Hu Xueyan private.

Hu Xueyan, who had just arrived at home, had not yet sat on the hot buttocks, Zuo Zongtang's reply arrived, Hu Xueyan took the letter, and before he could hold back, he hurriedly opened the letter and looked at it.

“…… Twist the atmosphere and calm, and Jin palace title, travel to Tianjin, obey the order to enter the pilgrimage, worship the favor of horseback riding in the forbidden city, and give preferential treatment to Lao Chen, which can be described as the best. However, in the face of the urgency of the western affairs, I asked when it would be decided, and when it was difficult to move into the army, it was not something that could be done in two or three years, but a period of five years. And the saint is still surprised, and the world is proud, the power of heaven is close at hand, how dare to face the bullying, take advantage of the situation, and respond to the voice, but it is really spontaneous and unconscious, I am afraid that five years will not dare to do what I want. The West is difficult and dangerous, for the ancient and modern thorny end, I am deeply gracious, and I dare not dare to be as Zhao Zhuanghou boasts that there is no more than the old minister. Check "The Biography of Zhao Chongguo" and read it carefully, and you will know that it is not easy to go west. Now I also ask Liu Shouqing to lead the troops to join the expedition, I have recently been dissatisfied with the Digong, and I am unique in rewarding Shouqing, the most insightful, which can be said to be the wisdom of knowing people and the loyalty of seeking the country. Xi Shouqing moved from Anhui and Henan to the provinces, and Di Gong tasted enough of his military food to wait for him, and his salary was as much as 1 million and hundreds of thousands of taels, so that he could be a thief, not worried about poverty, and used his energy to protect Qin to save Jin, quickly defend Jinggi, and take the horse as a step, which is the first in the world. This time, Shou Qing is the leader, and it cannot but be attributed to Hai Gong's ability to be a personnel king. Although there is a slight suspicion of personal relations, Yu Gongyi is deeply respected, so he specially invited the award to encourage Xinjiang officials. The husband is bright and fair, the righteousness of "Spring and Autumn", the pen is the pen, the cutting is sharpening, Wu can harm the public friendship with private suspicion, all of them are wiped out, similar to the contempt of the virtuous and jealous! People think that I and those who have had a discord, look at this and know that I am black and white, and I am not a person who is dedicated to making trouble. ”

"It is difficult to pay for Shaanxi, so it is different from the provinces, the place is barren, and there is not much property. The boat is impassable, and it is inconvenient to move, and the two are also. Although the provinces were attacked by soldiers, they were soon pacified, Shaanxi, Gansu and Han returned to the miscellaneous places, and killed each other, and there was no tranquility in the past six or seven years, the new domain has been abolished, the old Tibet is empty, the raids are frequent, and there is nowhere to avoid migration. Since the turmoil, most of the Han Hui people have died, livestock are scarce, there is a lack of farming, there are few cattle and horses, there is no capital for the grain to grow, and the source of profit is stopped. Although the number of soldiers paid by each province varied to some extent, the price of grain was reduced, and it was difficult to procure. Shaanxi and Gansu food is expensive, several times the other side, the soldiers bravely eat two catties of fine grain, that is, the silver is needed, that is, the real silver is given on a daily basis, except for a full, there is no retention, salt and vegetables clothes and shoes, and the resumption will be out? Five also. In addition to the money and grain in the provinces, there are miscellaneous taxes and donations, and the supply is injected, Shaanxi can still get 100,000 taels a year, and there is no such thing, and the two provinces are difficult to prepare for donations. Although the provinces are extremely troublesome to transport, there are carts and horses on land, boats on water, and people are enough for hired transportation, Shaanxi and Gansu are full of mountain trails, and the sand moraine is desolate. The way of using soldiers, suppressing and appeasing, it is difficult to soothe, especially in suppression, suppression, after victory, there is no other plan, and after the surrender, it is more difficult to take precautions. The provinces were surrendered, but they were only discharged by financing and returning to their native places. Shaanxi and Gansu provoked from within, and the Han Hui were all indigenous, scattered and had no return, so they had to plan the place for planting first, and they had to give livestock seeds. Before it is placed, it is necessary to leave rations behind. The number is huge, it is difficult to count, and eight is also. I have used these eight difficulties to show that the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu is very different from the situation in various provinces, and it is comparable to bandits and bandits. If you want to lay the foundation of the west, you must not seek the effect of the night, and what Wang Zishou said is indeed insightful. ”

"Thou hast been resigned from his post because of his servants, and thou hast been very unjust. However, you have also passed this time. You are not only an example of all businessmen, but also an official figure, and you are the ultimate businessman, so you must not be complacent, you must know that this is your duty, not a proud tool. I say that children should not be hakama. All evil and fornication are the source, and if you have evil and lustful thoughts together, you will not be difficult to do if you don't want to do anything in your life. Wen Ru has a lot of beautiful women in his house, and he still goes out to fish and hunt for beauty, so he is tired. In the long run, it will be a big mistake! Don't help but take this as a warning sign! It is advisable to abstain from it! Be careful! ……”

After reading the letter, Hu Xueyan was stunned for a while.

Zuo Zongtang's letter, at the beginning, talked about his own promotion, then talked about the difficulties of the Western Expedition, and then the Shaanxi-Gansu salary affair and grain transportation, which was completely a gesture of reaching out to himself, and when the letter mentioned his own affairs at the end, not only did he not comfort himself, but did not talk about how to help him reinstate his official position, but put on the style of an elder and severely disciplined himself!

Hu Xueyan easily suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, quietly put away Zuo Zongtang's reply, locked it in the wooden box, and then walked into the inner hall.

At this time, the servants of the Hu Mansion were busy unloading the car, and Hu Xueyan's wives and concubines also got out of the carriage.

In the courtyard, small buildings are decorated with lights, looking joyful.

On the street in the distance, there was a faint sound of silk and bamboo.

“…… The Jinling Yushu warbler is dawning, and the Qinhuai Water Pavilion flowers bloom early, who knows that it is easy to ice away! Seeing him raise the Zhu Tower, seeing him feasting guests, seeing his building collapse......"

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Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is the New Year, in the hall of the Harbour Master's Office, Lin Yizhe, who is standing in front of the window, looks at the new steamship that has gradually taken shape on the slipway, and his heart is full of excitement and excitement like everyone in the Harbour Administration.

Since a large number of materials are ready-made from overseas, the construction process of the shipyard's "No. 1 Steamship" is more similar to the assembly learning process under the guidance of French shipbuilders, who skillfully skilled Chinese shipbuilders through assembly. On February 7, 1869, Shen Baozhen went to the imperial court to report that the hull of the "No. 1 Steamer" had been completed. In the report, Shen Baozhen used a lot of detailed technical language to explain the hard-won results.

“…… The ship materials are sufficient, add the craftsmen outside the province, step up the work, all the bottom of the ship ash filament joints, are completed, the inner bone is completed, the outer plate is sealed, the inlay is inlayed, the scales are on the top, increasing day by day, but the tail wedge, the bone joints are high, a few feet apart, the nail is easy, so the foreign craftsman and others created a wooden gas cylinder, about three zhang long and strange, bearing the lying frame, the head and tail of the tube, each carrying an iron hat, next to the board shed, placing a soup stove, the side of the soup pot, decorated with a copper pipe, through the gas cylinder, into the giant plate in the tube, curium iron hat, closed air and steamed, lasted two hours, It is flexible as cowhide, and then with the nail tail wedge, twists and turns, do not bother the rope cutting, the outer plate under the Chenxia is sealed, the inner plate is also together, the hull carpentry, the plan has been gathered, and then divide the iron leaves, settle the iron beam, must add a month's work, arrange the engine, wrap the copper sheet, and paint and makeup, etc., must add two or three months of work, and then get another month, trial driving, you can show the wheel to go to sea. ……”

—————— Dividing Line——————

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