Lee House. in the hall.

After Li Zhen returned to the house, he summoned Huang Shihai, Huang Qiang, Li Xiucheng, Zhang Zhiping, Zheng Zaoru and others. Li Zhen's gaze fell on Huang Shihai and asked, "Shihai, tell me what happened during the time I left Nanjing." ”

Huang Shihai said: "There are no major things, but there are some small things in the palace." ”

"Oh, about the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces." Li Zhen asked.

Huang Shihai nodded and said: "After the marshal left Nanjing, the empress dowager of the two palaces did not do anything out of the ordinary, but frequently summoned officials from other places to Nanjing, and sometimes rewarded them. At present, Xu Naizhao, governor of Jiangsu, He Guiqing, governor of Zhejiang, and Li Xuyi, governor of Anhui, have all remained in Nanjing, while Hu Linyi, governor of Hubei, and Luo Bingzhang, governor of Hunan, have remained in their posts and have not moved for the time being. According to the information inquired, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces has already sent people to contact these officials. ”

Li Zhen asked, "Are they all at the governor level?" ”

Huang Shihai said: "At present, only officials who serve as governors, such as the governor of Huguang and the governor of Liangjiang, are not in the situation. However, these people have also made it clear that they are willing to honor us as orthodox. Dashuai, the queen mother of the two palaces is unwilling to be trapped in the palace, and she definitely wants to go from behind the scenes to the front desk to take charge. If the two succeed, the situation of the handsome will be difficult. ”

Li Zhen said: "I know! ”

Huang Shihai was stunned, this is a threat, but Li Zhen didn't care.

Li Zhen continued: "The army has expanded, and you are already a figure at the level of a military commander, controlling tens of thousands of troops. However, my plan is to go far beyond one army, to form several major military regions, and to have hundreds of thousands of troops, and this is our next goal. At present, your main focus is still on the army, supervising the training and recruitment of troops. ”

After a pause, Li Zhen continued: "Yang Banhou and Qi Zhenhai have both begun to expand their armies and work towards their respective 10,000 people, and Smith and Zhou Xiuying will do the same. If you are in control of the overall situation, you must adjust the situation of each division well, and you must look at the overall situation as a whole, so that there can be no situation in which you have the number of people but you have no combat effectiveness. ”

Huang Shihai said: "Yes! ”

Li Zhen continued: "The palace gate guards must be in our hands. It is necessary to know which people entered the palace to meet the queen mother of the two palaces, and they must be recorded every day. I need an impregnable place, not a palace with low control. ”

Huang Shihai said: "Please rest assured, they are all recorded one by one." ”

Li Zhen changed his words and asked, "How did Li Xiucheng perform during this period?" ”

Huang Shihai said: "Since the defeat of Hong Xiuquan, Li Xiucheng has been training without distractions, and the soldiers in the battalion under his command are extremely strong. This kid is a talent, and it is worth working hard to cultivate. ”

Li Xiucheng heard Huang Shihai's words and looked grateful. He is just a general, and what he is most afraid of is being hostile to the generals in the army. Huang Shihai supported him and made him extremely grateful.

Li Zhen said: "Li Xiucheng, you are temporarily the commander of the Third Division. ”

"Thank you, Dashuai!"

Li Xiucheng raised his hand and saluted, with an excited look in his eyes.

Although he is the commander of the Third Division for the time being, being able to preside over the affairs of Lu Shaochuan's Third Division means that he has won Li Zhen's trust and has the opportunity to go to the core of Li Zhen's army.

Li Zhen's eyes fell on Zhang Zhiping and said: "Zhang Zhiping, our army pays attention to fairness and will not bury any talents. When you first entered the barracks, I hope you will work hard and become a member of the top echelons of our army as soon as possible. ”

"Yes!"

Zhang Zhiping nodded, also very excited.

Li Zhen looked at Zheng Zaoru and said, "Mr. Zheng, you have been in the military camp for a while, and you also have a detailed understanding of the situation in the army. Now that he is a staff officer by my side, he has no official position, is Mr. Zheng willing to give in? ”

Zheng Zaoru immediately said: "Dashuai, I am willing." ”

Of course he was willing, because Zheng Zaoru got the news from the south. Ye Chengxin, who followed Li Zhen, became the governor of Wuzhou Prefecture, Liu Taiping became the governor of Guangxi, and Wang Xiaoyang also became the governor of Guangdong. A series of personnel transfers are all confidants around Li Zhen. Now that he is following Li Zhen, as long as he does well, he will definitely be able to be released as an official.

Li Zhen looked at everyone, waved his hand and said, "Everyone do their own duties and do their own things." ”

……

On the eighth day of the ninth month, Emperor Tongzhi, who was less than a year old, came to the court, and Cixi and Ci'an listened to the government.

At the court meeting, Li Zhen stood first on the left side.

He was neatly dressed, he was already a first-class official uniform, and with the breath on his lips, he looked majestic. At the same time, He Guiqing, the governor of Zhejiang, Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu, and Li Xuyi, the governor of Anhui, were also impressively listed, plus some officials in the court, they already had a certain scale and no longer seemed empty.

When I first arrived in Nanjing, there were eunuchs and palace maids, and there were very few officials.

Now, with the arrangement of Cixi and Ci'an, the officials in the court are gradually plumping.

"The emperor has arrived!"

The eunuch's shout came, and Ci'an walked with the little emperor and Cixi in his arms.

The two sat on top, and immediately the people of the temple bowed. After the salute, Ci'an said, "Calling all Aiqing, there are two things. One is that Lord Li waved his army to exterminate the rebels in Guangxi, and the mourning family celebrated Lord Li; The second is to read out some decrees, hoping that all of you Aiqing can do your best and be loyal to the country. ”

After a pause, Ci'an said: "Xiao Anzi, proclaim!" ”

When the words fell, Ci'an bowed her head slightly, and so did Cixi, who seemed to be very helpless. An Dehai immediately stood up, spread out the holy decree, and read out: "Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said,......, Li Zhen to destroy the bandits and kill Hong Xiuquan; quelled the rebellion and swept away Xi Yinglong; Loyal and brave, Tejia Feng Zhennan Wang, Yongzhen Guangdong, Qin this! ”

A decree to crown Li Zhenjia as the king of Zhennan.

"Wow!!"

In the main hall, the sound of everyone's discussion immediately sounded.

He Guiqing, Xu Naizhao and others talked a lot, and they all looked at Li Zhen in horror.

Since the fight against Kangxi, except for the prince of the clan, there is absolutely no king with a foreign surname in the court. What's more, Li Zhen is still a Han Chinese, and it is impossible to be crowned king, which makes the ministers of the court and the central government feel incredible. They looked at Li Zhen, and then at the two women sitting above and looking helpless, it seemed that Li Zhen had coerced the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces to have today's will.

"Queen Mother, no!"

He Guiqing made a straight face and stood up.

He Guiqing is a native of Yunnan and a jinshi during the Daoguang period.

In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), He Guiqing was appointed as the governor of Zhejiang, and during his tenure he was committed to exterminating the Taiping army, until Li Zhen captured Nanjing and exterminated Hong Xiuquan, He Guiqing was relieved.

Historically, He Guiqing became the governor of Liangjiang in 1857, and because of Li Zhen, Xianfeng died in 1856, and he is still the governor of Zhejiang. In November 1858, this man left a heavy mark, together with the university scholar Guiliang and the official Shangshu Hua Shana, and the United Kingdom, France, and the United States to revise the tariff and trade regulations: to recognize the opium trade as a legal trade; Import and export goods will be subject to a 5% tariff at the current price, and foreign goods exported to the mainland will be subject to a 2.5% sub-export tax at the current price; The taxes of each port are handled uniformly, and the British are "invited" to help with customs and taxation.

As soon as this move came out, it pushed China into the abyss.

Because of Li Zhen, these things didn't happen at all. He Guiqing stood up, staring at Li Zhen fiercely, but facing Cixi and Ci'an head-on, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, even if Li Zhen has made great contributions, he cannot be crowned the king of Zhennan. It is enough to ask the emperor to retract his will and give Lord Li an additional official and knighthood. ”

He kept talking about the emperor, but he said it to Cixi and Ci'an.