Qianqing Palace, the place where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty lived in the Forbidden City and dealt with ordinary political affairs, the solemnity of the past seems to have long ceased to exist, and the eunuchs and palace maids who could hold the posture and take small steps even if they were on fire in the past were extremely frightened, and even the guards who were known as copper and iron were a little absent-minded, and some people were even quietly asking for something?

Yixin, who was full of gloom and gloom, glanced at the Qianqing Palace in front of him, and knew that this was the head of the three palaces, located in the Qianqing Gate. The second is to symbolize that the emperor's actions are as open as the clear sky, and he has not done any shady deeds.

But it seems that this place has changed today? After Yixin waited in place for a while, Zeng Guofan also came anxiously, and the governor of Beiyang, the minister of Beiyang, seemed to not even care about the dust on his body, and the two nodded to each other in a hurry.

Yi Xin glanced at the ridged beast at the corner of the eaves of the Qianqing Palace, the upper layer of the eaves is single-warped and double-ang and seven steps on the bucket, and the lower layer is single-warped and single-ang and five-step on the bucket, decorated with golden dragons and seals, and the doors and windows of the three-handed six-linghua partition, even the through-flower reliefs that he never gets tired of looking at now seem to be so anxious and annoying.

Zeng Guofan walked briskly and glanced at the copper turtles, bronze cranes, sundials, and Jialiang on the spacious platform in front of the palace, as well as the gilded incense burner and those absent-minded inner guards, an inexplicable atmosphere seemed to be spreading sharply, could it be that the two palaces were going to continue the first emperor to take refuge in Chengde or Xi'an?

At present, people everywhere are panicking, Lin Rebell's bandit army has not yet come, but the position here seems to have been completely chaotic, even in the Forbidden City, not to mention the local, unconsciously, Zeng Guofan has already left Prince Gong Yixin far behind, and he said that he would let half of his body to show modesty and respect, but now he was in a hurry and the waves were much fiercer, and in desperation, Zeng Guofan had to stop and wait for Prince Gong Yixin, who was surpassed by Zeng Guofan, Yixin didn't take this as a thing. At present, he and Zeng Guofan can be said to have their own hearts.

Zeng Guofan is very dissatisfied with this state of rumors, and now 60,000 of his 100,000 new troops are training near Tianjin, and the Russians' munitions are unloaded twice in three days, so he didn't let his Beiyang new army train with burning sticks, but Yanjing's panic has now spread to Tianjin, even if the two palaces are not summoned, Zeng Guofan is also ready to meet the two palaces, folk rumors have always been uncredible, but the palace is still chaotic like this, it is very unsafe.

Zeng Guofan and Yixin came to the top of the main hall under the guidance of An Dehai, and only after shouting long live did they find that the little emperor was not there? The monk with a helmet and armor was sitting in the hall, Zeng Guofan looked up and saw the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque written by the Shunzhi Emperor above the throne of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, Zeng Guofan knew that behind this plaque was hidden the secret building of the crown prince's storage box.

In order to alleviate this contradiction, the method of secretly establishing a reserve was adopted since the Yongzheng Dynasty, that is, the emperor did not openly establish the crown prince during his lifetime, but secretly wrote the document of the chosen heir to the throne, and put a copy by the emperor's side.

One copy was sealed in the "building storage box" and placed behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque. After the death of the emperor, the ministers of Gu Ming jointly took down the "building storage box", and the emperor secretly hid a comparison with the side of the inspection, after verification announced that the heirs to the throne, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng four emperors, are all according to this system on the throne.

But now said that Zeng Guofan's eyes are bright and bright four words are very unpleasant, from the new to the two palaces after the queen mother, Zeng Guofan and Yixin were given to sit, the atmosphere in the hall seems to be very tense and depressing, Zeng Guofan is very clear about the purpose of the two palaces to summon himself, so without waiting for the two palaces to speak, he first got up and arched his hand to the two palaces and said: "Qi the queen mother of the two palaces, the minister's 60,000 new army is ready to go, the imperial court will be ready, the grain and grass are sufficient, and my army can immediately go to the front line of the two lakes." ”

As soon as Monk Greenqin saw Zeng Guofan's statement, he was an old military officer, so he naturally knew that Zeng Guofan wanted to play a trick, this was for benefits, Lin Rebellion's attack on the two lakes was Zeng Guofan's hometown! Can Zeng Guofan not be in a hurry? Monk Lingqin believes that the more impatient Zeng Guofan is on the surface, the more impatient he is!

Ci'an knew very little about marching battles, but Cixi was generally clear, and she heard that Zeng Guofan's words seemed to have the meaning of words, so she smiled and said to Zeng Guofan: "The mourning family also understands a little bit about the principle of grain and grass first in this marching battle, such as the silver that is pulled, the color head before the battle, etc., how much does Lord Zeng need to be enough?" ”

Zeng Guofan hesitated for a moment and said expressionlessly: "Two million taels!" ”

"What?" Ci'an and Cixi didn't say anything, but Monk Greenqin, who was sitting on the side, quit, and Monk Greenqin stared at Zeng Guofan with big eyes and asked, "Are your soldiers all gold?" Your new army spends money like water, and now you are asked to serve the court, and you should be allowed to make a fortune? If you don't have 60,000 people, you will need a 2 million taels of opening fee? There has never been such a new thing in the Qing Dynasty! Old man, my army of 300,000 is only 1.5 million taels! ”

Zeng Guofan can be said to be indifferent to Monk Greenqin's roar, in his opinion, Monk Greenqin from all over the country to draw 200,000 Lian Yong, in addition to Shengjing and the Mongolian banners Qin Wang more than 40,000 people, the rest can be described as a group of rabble, known as 300,000 troops, in fact, more than 120,000 points, relying on the courage to shout 200,000 and the side, this old thing is obviously cheating money.

It can be said that these Russian instructors were very serious under his silver bullet offensive, and explained the new tactics and new tactics embodied in the American Civil War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the current Franco-Prussian War, and also analyzed in detail the main problems of the defeat of the Russian army in the Crimean War.

Elite soldiers naturally have to be raised at a high price, which Zeng Guofan knows better than anyone else, his 60,000 heads are sufficient, not half of the old, weak, sick, disabled and full, even the baggage soldiers are all stick guys who can carry big guns and push cannons.

Cixi hesitated slightly and said to Zeng Guofan: "Now the household department is already full of holes, most of the silver is used to buy warships for Britain and Russia, and the Beiyang side has been training for a long time, and there should still be some various materials, so try to reduce it as little as possible this time!" When Lin Yi is repulsed, can he make up for it as appropriate? Otherwise, it would be too hard to take out another two million taels at once, and the mourning family has already let the shopkeepers of Shanxi's major ticket numbers enter Beijing, but it also takes time, and the front-line war is like fighting fires! ”

Zeng Guofan sighed slightly, this is a typical example of not wanting the horses to eat grass, but also to the horses to run quickly, a big battle can not be fought in a few years? The military expenditure of tens of millions of taels is just a trivial matter, and this battle has only just begun, and the money is still in arrears, so it will be paid later?

However, Zeng Guofan believed that Lin Haijiang did not have the determination and preparation to directly hit Yanjing, Zeng Guofan analyzed that Lin Haijiang's attack is likely to have a very obvious stage of the surname, and the goal is likely to be to rest and digest the stage surname after taking the two rivers and two lakes.

Because Lin Haijiang is facing two opponents, the group of bandits and long-haired thieves in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are much more difficult to deal with than Lian Yong on the side of the imperial court, and there is a hidden pile he laid before in Shanghai, Li Hongzhang's Huaizi camp is there, there are many forces in Shanghai, such as the English, the French, the Americans, the Russians, etc., Lin Haijiang may not dare to go down in one go, Hong Kong is so close to Guangzhou, didn't Lin Haijiang also move the British?

drove away the relatively weak Portuguese, Lin Haijiang was also watching people put down dishes and buy persimmons to pick soft pinch! Since Lin Haijiang has scruples, it is easy to do, Zeng Guofan is anxious to save the two lakes, he is not very concerned about the death of the two rivers, he must come up with an attitude at this critical juncture, he started by relying on the township party, at this critical juncture, he must give people a kind of momentum that will not give up, Hunan must be protected!

Zeng Guofan also understood that there was basically no railway on the imperial court's side, and he didn't even think about using the railway to transport troops quickly, even the telegraph line was still a few sections pulled by Lin Haijiang when he was the governor of Nanyang, and it is said that now the railways in the two Guangxi are basically laid with their troops, and the steady and steady fight of Lin Rei's troops is really very scary, and Lin Rei's army does not disturb the people and takes over the local power. What surprised him the most was that the supply of a large number of materials with the army and the subsequent construction corps actually stabilized the local food price? A large number of migrant workers were hired to participate in the construction, which was absolutely unexpected by Zeng Guofan.

But Zeng Guofan knows what can and can't be said in this hall, Prince Gong Yixin has been watching Zeng Guofan's expression, Yixin thought of the two palaces to let Zeng Guofan send troops, but he never expected that even the silver that was pulled out would be temporarily suppressed? Whether there is silver in the household department, Yixin knows better than anyone else, and in Yixin's opinion, it is likely that it is because Monk Greenqin said something to the two palaces before he came, which made the two palaces suddenly change their minds.

Could it be that the two palaces are afraid that the North Ocean will be strong? Excuse to knock knock on the North Ocean? Give Zeng Guofan a heads-up? Or do you want to grasp Beiyang in the palm of your hand and use this silver to adjust Beiyang's appetite?

Yixin can't guess how the two palaces plan now, but in his opinion, that kind of plan is tantamount to a stinky move, since ancient times, there is no doubt about employing people, and no suspicion is needed! The army sent troops to battle in battle, and the army questioned the commander with troops on his own side before he marched? What kind of trick is this?

Yixin knows very well that Monk Greenqin is very good at jealousy is famous, today's troubled waters are planned by Monk Greenqin, and another person can't stir up the mind of the two palaces, this is not a simple battle of authority, you must know that Monk Greenqin is the prince, Zeng Guofan is the governor of Beiyang Minister Zhili, and the two have no subordinate relationship with each other, which is a big taboo in itself, and the struggle for power is mixed with the dispute between the Manchu and Han Dynasty, Monk Greenqin is for the military power in the hands of Zeng Guofan and the Beiyang that he sees in his eyes but can't eat in his mouth, So what seems to be a simple thing in front of you is actually almost so complicated that it is difficult to explain.

However, Yixin can be sure of one thing, that is, the two palaces did not snub and alienate Zeng Guofan, this time it was just a response by Monk Greenqin, worried that Beiyang would become the second Nanyang in the future, but using military spending as a means can only intensify the contradictions, without any effective effect, but Zeng Guofan never opened his mouth, nor did he ask for help from himself, I don't know what attention was paid?

Yixin hesitated for a while and said to the two palaces sitting steadily: "The queen mother of the two palaces, the courtiers think that this matter has a priority, the court is indeed difficult at the moment, but the court is not hungry!" That Lin Yi is a hero's talent! Don't let the soldiers below fight with a cold heart, if the favoritism is used by some unscrupulous people below, it will be a big mess! Especially Lin Wei is very good at demagoguery! ”

Yixin's words made Ci'an and Cixi suddenly realize, and after they had listened to Monk Greenqin's alarmist words, they temporarily decided to withhold the two million taels of silver that were originally given to the Beiyang army, and the one million taels to Monk Greenqin was increased by 500,000 taels, all as a disguised reward.

The new army is all Han people from Qingyishui, and the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners of Seng Lingqin and the new army are also fighting, and there will definitely be chaos under the favor of one over the other.

But Cixi was thinking about how to redeem the words, Cixi glanced at Yixin meaningfully, Yixin immediately understood Cixi's intentions, so she pretended to be very painful and said: "Please let me go for half a day with the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces and Lord Zeng, even if I demolish the house and sell the land, I will make up the two million taels of silver for Lord Zeng to take away, the new army is for the court to fight Lin Rebellion, and my prince is naturally duty-bound!" ”

Zeng Guofan heard this and hurriedly thanked Yixin gratefully, and Monk Greenqin snorted disdainfully on the side, but after Zeng Guofan was grateful to Prince Gong Yixin, the expression on his face returned to his previous appearance.

However, Zeng Guofan did not stop in Yanjing and waited for Yixin to give him the promised money, along the way, Zeng Guofan even suspected that this was a good show sung by Yixin, Seng Greenqin and the two palaces, no matter when good and evil people are needed, there is no doubt that Monk Greenqin is the big villain in front of him, and Prince Gong Yixin has undoubtedly become a good person!

The main reason why Zeng Guofan was in a hurry to leave Yanjing was because the Russian consul general, Duke Gomochelov, suddenly arrived at Dagukou on the Golokiv ironclad ship, and was now waiting for him at his Beiyang Yamen.

When Zeng Guofan saw Duke Gomocherov with a smile on his face, he realized that his worries on the way were unfounded!

Duke Gomocherov said to Zeng Guofan very excitedly: "His Majesty the noble Tsar Alexander II, the ruler of the great Russian Empire, has made a prudent decision to mobilize the Far Eastern Fleet to arrive at Dagukou to defend the Qing Empire's Gyeonggi under the premise that the Qing Empire needs it!" ”

Zeng Guofan was completely shocked by the so-called news of Duke Gomocherov, and after a while, he suddenly asked: "Has this news been notified to the imperial court?" ”

Duke Gomochlov smiled: "There is no official note yet, because we have to make sure if you need our sincere help?" And I think it would be good for you to have your words forwarded! ”

Duke Gomocherov is like a cunning fox trying to lure Zeng Guofan into the trap he has laid for a long time, Duke Gomocherov has always thought that Zeng Guofan is a difficult opponent to deal with, he does not like such an opponent full of wisdom, although such an opponent will make him enjoy the joy of success even more, but in the same way, he has not yet succeeded in dealing with Zeng Guofan, a powerful minister of the Qing Empire.

For what Duke Gomocherov said, Zeng Guofan thought a lot for a moment, the most important thing is that this Duke Gomocherov is probably uneasy and kind to himself this time, and he should have reported to the court first. And it's Baba who has been waiting for a day, when will it be his turn to be in charge of this kind of matter between the two countries? If it is deliberately used by some people in the court, then it may be difficult to say clearly even if you are full of mouths.

The greed of the Russians, especially the persistent greed in the land, made Zeng Guofan feel a little incredible, and he swore to himself in the previous paragraph that even if he pulled out the entire Russian Empire's navy to fight with the Chinese Empire, he would not be able to take any advantage, so why is he not afraid now?

It is necessary to use the fleet and the army, just a secret agreement is nothing, the Russians have no consciousness and no obligation to help the imperial court quell the rebellion out of their own pockets, and Lin Haijiang is not so easy to deal with as Hong Xiuquan, and he put a Huaizi battalion of Li Hongzhang in Shanghai and involved tens of thousands of bandits.

Zeng Guofan, who has always disliked the form, just smiled faintly and said: "I, the governor of Beiyang Minister Zhili, just looks more beautiful, but in fact, I am far from being able to act happily and easily than the governors below. ”

Duke Gomocherov, who had touched a soft nail, was slightly stunned, he couldn't understand why Zeng Guofan would refuse his kindness?

After Duke Gomocherov left, Zeng Guofan smiled helplessly and said: "If you use their way to do China's affairs, there can only be one result, that is, ten heads are not enough to cut off!" ”

(To be continued)