Li Hongzhang frowned and asked, "Teacher, what's going on with this imperial court?" Even if Guo Ye marches fast, if he wants to attack the hinterland of the Taiping army, it will take two months later, if he encounters a strong resistance, I am afraid that it will be difficult to reach the hinterland of the Taiping army in three months......

Zeng Guofan glanced at Li Hongzhang, his proud protégé, he is smart to the extreme, but in this overall situation, there are still some deficiencies, to preserve strength, where is this distressing us, but the court is not worried about Guo Ye, everyone knows that although Guo Ye's troops are not much, but they are brave and good at fighting, whether it is Baoding Town or Shandong Three Towns, they are controlled by Guo Ye's henchmen, but in terms of combat power, they have surpassed the Hunan army at their peak, and in the early month of a month, they defeated the main force of the twisted bandits and the Northern Taiping Army. Annihilating more than 100,000 people, such combat power is too strong, and it is already so strong that it is difficult for the Hunan army to match.

The current Guo Ye has undoubtedly begun to arouse the worries of the court, maybe Prince Gong and the two palaces still support him as always, but those Qingliu will definitely not think like that, Prince Gong's desk is only afraid that it is already full of relevant chapters.

You must know that the current Guo Ye is not the original chief soldier or governor of Shandong, but the high-ranking Jingguo Gong, the governor of Liangjiang, once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is pacified, how can he be rewarded? Then there will only be a different surname to be crowned king! With a different surname, in addition to the three feudal kings who founded the country, and the Mongolian feudal kings, where is there half a feudal king?

If Guo Ye really pulls the flag and rebels, even if the court will not change its banner, it will be greatly damaged, and it will be even more harmful than this red-haired rebellion!

Now let the three armies of Xianghuai, Chu and preserve their strength, in fact, in order to contain Guo Ye in the future and prevent him from being the only one with a certain amount of combat power in the imperial court, and the other green battalions, eight banners and even other training armies cannot pose the slightest threat to Guo Ye.

Zeng Guofan sighed and replied, "Shaoquan, I'm afraid it's not that simple this time!" However, this is also a good thing, even if your Huai army is wiped out this time, I dare to guarantee that you can still sit as a high-ranking official, and your power will not be weakened by half a point? ”

Li Hongzhang was stunned for a moment, and asked: "Teacher, at the very least, we lost our army, then the responsibility is not small, and the imperial court can still use us again?" This is not the time when you were alone in the long hair, at that time, no one in the court was available, so you could only continue to give you power, let you do it, now Guo Ye is rising rapidly, and his name is important, it can be said that even if the court does not use us, it can still pacify the Quartet! How can our master and apprentice still be entrusted with the same heavy responsibilities as before? ”

Zeng Guofan shook his head and replied: "Shaoquan, you are smart, but you are not smart, your vision is still a little smaller, what did you rely on to strengthen the Huai Army in the first place?" Although he is only a governor, this governor is more happy than the governor of Liangguang, including Ji Gao, and he is promoted more quickly, why? It's not that you really have to be favored by the court, they have deeper intentions! ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "Teacher, is this still intentional?" ”

Zeng Guofan smiled: "Of course, if I don't see this intention, why bother so much effort to support you?" At the beginning of the Huai Army, there was a shortage of people there, I gave you elite soldiers, a shortage of generals, and I assigned you good generals, these are the elites I have cultivated over the years, why? Because, my Hunan army is too strong, and the court is not at ease, so I must fully support the Huai army and the Chu army, since the court is not at ease, of course I have to cooperate with the court; and Ji Gao, although I didn't give her many talents, but you know very well that my praise and recommendation for him is far above you, why, I need someone to sing against me now, and now Zuo Jigao is against me everywhere, just for the heart of the court, you, me and him, three-legged, check and balance each other, is the situation that the court is most willing to see. Now Guo Ye's birth has destroyed this situation, although there are not many troops under his command, but all of them are equipped with foreign guns and cannons, and their combat power is extraordinary, in Baoding Town, only six or seven thousand people, they can defeat tens of thousands of bandit cavalry, such strength can already match my Hunan army, and there are three towns in Shandong behind him, which should not be underestimated. Once Guo Ye pacifies Jiangnan, whether it is power or fame, it will be even closer, and none of us can match him. “

Li Hongzhang is like an initiation, and he understands it when he arrives!

"Teacher, do you mean that the imperial court wants to support us against Guo Ye in the future?"

Zeng Guofan nodded and replied: "This is the only reason why the enemy is still asking us to preserve our strength when Shi Dakai is sharp, you know the importance of this area in the south of the Yangtze River to the imperial court's taxes!" ”

Li Hongzhang's face was slightly red, it seemed that he was still a master of chess, and he saw the situation so thoroughly that he still lacked some experience.

Zeng Guofan sighed and replied: "You and Ji Gao can be said to be good at winning, you are good at it, you are good at it, you are good at it, you are not able to compare with Ji Gao, but Ji Gao is ambitious, and his mind is definitely not what you can compare, Ji Gao must have seen this matter, in fact, what you need most is not the experience of the place, but the best to enter the center of the court, where can you hone your strategic vision, always stay below, obsessed with the position, for your future development, it is not the best ......"

"Teacher, you say, can Guo Ye see it?"

"Guo Ye? Hehe......"

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly: "Shaoquan, you also underestimate him too much, how can you hide this little trick from him?" However, what if you can hide it, what if you can't hide it? Maybe he's not talking about these things anymore......"

Li Hongzhang's heart was shocked, not to mention this, what Zeng Guofan meant was that the current Guo Ye already had the strength to ignore the three major forces of Zeng Zuo and Li! Has this Guo Ye really grown to such a point? Impossible!

Zeng Guofan looked at Li Hongzhang's expression, and he already knew what he was thinking in his heart.

"Shaoquan, I am preparing to build the Anqing Ordnance Institute in Anqing, and you are preparing to build the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and the Steamship Merchants Bureau in Shanghai, the action is not small, but compared with Guo Ye's handwriting in Shandong, it is too far behind, he is only a Qilu bank, and his annual profits can top a Zhejiang Province, and then look at his arsenal in Jinan, which produces foreign guns and cannons every year, which can arm 20,000 people! Together, the two of us are able to produce less than a thousand guns per year, and that's the gap! Not to mention anything else......? (To be continued.) )