Zeng Guofan has suffered a lot in the past few months, he claims to be a loyal man, but recently he has repeatedly resisted the decree, and Emperor Xianfeng issued three holy decrees to let him lead the Hunan army into the Hebei region, which were delayed by him under the pretext that he was reorganizing the army.

Since Zeng Guofan led the main force of the Hunan army into Hengzhou, Hunan to resist Zuo Zongtang's Han army, the prefect of Hengzhou, Gao Renjian, was very interested in letting the government out, and he wished that the Hunan army would enter Hengzhou.

Gao Renjian understood that the Hunan army was a hard bone, and the Han army would not attack easily, and he also joined Zeng Guofan's staff.

News came from Hubei that the official Wen of the Governor of Huguang was deposed! Zeng Guofan's mind was complicated, and he hurriedly summoned his staff to discuss countermeasures, and the official document recently got along with the Hunan army tacitly, Hu Linyi was promoted to the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and the governor of Hubei was replaced, and the Hunan army was in trouble in Hubei in the future.

Listening to Zeng Guofan's complaints, Guo Songtao said: "The emperor is also in a hurry, the official document reports the good news or not the bad news, everyone knows that there must be something greasy in it." ”

Guo Songtao lost the battle in Jiangxi, which made him understand that he was not the material to lead the troops to fight, and felt very embarrassed, so he wrote a letter, asked someone to hand it to Zeng Guofan, and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion.

Chen Shijie looked at Zeng Guofan and asked, "Does Zeng Gong have a way to deal with it?" ”

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly: "This Xu Liang is a household servant, I had a great friendship with him when I was an official in Beijing, but Zeng experienced the incident of Chen Qimai, the governor of Jiangxi, and I dare not guarantee how this Xu Liang will treat the Hunan army." ”

Liu Rong said straight to the point: "Everyone is worried, after the acquiescence of the official document, the Hunan army has been integrated into Huguang. Now the Hunan army is strong, and it is the governor of Huguang who asks for us. It's not that we are subject to the governor of Huguang, this Xu Liang is just interested. If you want to fight against the Hunan army, let him have an accident, the court is far away, and there are short hairs blocking the way, and the Hunan army is worry-free. ”

Everyone stared at Liu Rong in amazement, and they didn't understand why he said such a rebellious thing, if it was when the Hunan army was created, he would have been swept out of the house a long time ago.

Liu Rong also has a bottom line when he said this. A few days ago, he received a letter from Wang Zhu, saying that Li Xubin was not killed in battle, but was captured, and is now imprisoned in Nanjing.

Zeng Guofan smiled and said, "Xia Xian said that he was laughing. The Governor of Huguang represents the face of the imperial court, and we can only do harm. ”

He was still not accustomed to bringing these intrigues to the table, and he was a physicist, how could he discuss these great perverse things in public! Damage his face and prestige.

Liu Rong smiled secretly in her heart. The Hunan army and the Han army tacitly confronted each other in Yongzhou, Guiyangzhou, and Baoqingfu, didn't they just wait for the results of the Han army's northern expedition, and the imperial court won. The Hunan army immediately went to war and attacked the thieves! Han army wins. This has to be carefully considered, and the people led by Zeng Guofan advocate serving the imperial court. The people headed by Liu Rong and Li Xuyi advocated peace talks, but the strange thing is that the majority of the generals and staff members in the Hunan army were in favor of peace talks, and those who were in favor of serving the imperial court were some die-hard elements of Zeng Guofan, who completely obeyed Zeng Guofan's attitude, and even Hu Linyi's attitude was ambiguous, and he did not say anything about peace talks and did not express his stance on starting a war.

Zeng Guofan saw Liu Rong's smiling look, and was secretly annoyed in his heart, Liu Rong gathered Luo Zenan's old troops to fight against him, which made him restrain his hands, whenever a combat order was issued, there were always so many generals who put forward opinions and asked him to drive the short hair out of Hunan's plan, which was repeatedly delayed.

Chen Shijie saw that he felt abnormal, and decided to say it, so as not to break up unhappily at every meeting, organized sentences in his heart, and decided to start first, saying: "Since the formation of the Hunan army, the imperial court has been suppressed, and most of the military salary is raised by Zeng Gong and Hu Gong, so the generals at the bottom have a lot of complaints about the imperial court, and now the Han army is stagnant on the Hunan border, which also has a credit to Pushan, he can't bear to see the lives of Sanxiang in misery, and strongly persuade Zuo Zongtang Chen to soldiers at the border, which also makes a great contribution to our Hunan army, saying that his Hunan army is rebellious, It's a bit wronged to Pushan. ”

Zeng Guofan was really angry, Wang Ju rebelled against the Hunan army, it was his personal conclusion, but he didn't expect Chen Shijie to dare to refute in public, and swallowed the words back to his mouth, he wanted to see how many people were against him.

Guo Songtao looked at Zeng Guofan, then at Liu Rong, and said: "In any case, it is an indisputable fact that Wang Zhu surrendered to a thief, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a rebel based on this alone." ”

Guo Songtao was a jinshi and had served as an official in the Hanlin Academy, and his loyalty to the imperial court was no different from that of Zeng Guofan.

Staff member Hu Daren glanced at Liu Rong's encouraging voice, glanced at Zeng Guofan with a weak heart, and whispered: "The Hunan army is the Hunan army of the Hunan people, and it should protect the people of Hunan from the torture of war, now the Han army is powerful, and there are hundreds of thousands of troops on the Hunan border alone, Hu Gong supervised Yungui and took away a Hunan army, it is better to maintain the status quo here in Hunan, the Hunan army can no longer withstand a defeat like Jinggang, we must focus on the overall situation." ”

Someone took the lead, Liu Jintang was much more relieved, and then said: "Let's talk about the emperor's order for us to be the king of Qin, the Hunan army is surrounded by the Han army on three sides, and there is only one way out of Hubei to fight out of the province, and Hubei is easy to attack and difficult to defend, Wuchang is not in any danger, and has been captured by the enemy three times. ”

"If you go north to King Qin, this situation will definitely happen!" Liu Rong emphasized in front of Zeng Guofan that he just wanted Zeng Guofan to recognize the reality, not to hold the illusory idea of loyalty, and pull the Hunan army to accompany the funeral of the Qing Dynasty.

Guo Songtao looked at them one by one, except for the master who was sitting in the corner and shrunk his head, he turned out to be all foreheads, these bastards want to force the palace?

Zeng Guofan felt that it was very dangerous for the Hunan army to have this kind of thinking, so he considered the language and said with a straight face: "The Hunan army is formed with the words 'loyalty' and 'filial piety', and it is absolutely impossible to do anything rebellious. ”

Guo Songtao felt that Zeng Guofan's words were not profound enough, and added: "Zeng Gong is the commander of the Hunan army, and everyone can say it in public. You can't make small groups, what is this like! You engage in one. I'll get one, what's the difference between this and the Green Battalion. In the long run, how will the Hunan army still fight. ”

After Guo Songtao finished speaking, he looked at Liu Rong, the meaning is obvious, you Liu Rong is a person who runs a small group.

Liu Rong decided to have a showdown, he had enough confidence to persuade Zeng Guofan, smiled slightly, and said: "Zeng Gong is right, I don't approve of surrendering to the Han Dynasty, after all, we still have the Qing Dynasty's Yulu." As a courtier of the Qing Dynasty, the Han Army's Northern Expedition, within half a year, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan and Beijing will be completely cut off, so I propose that these provinces jointly protect each other, advance and retreat together, what did you think? ”

Guo Songtao exclaimed: "Isn't this independence? What is the difference between this and a rebel thief! ”

Liu Rong asked rhetorically: "Bochen has a better suggestion?" We're listening! After all, people don't want to do that. ”

Guo Songtao looked at Zeng Guofan, hoping that he would come forward to teach Liu Rong a lesson.

Zeng Guofan's eyes flashed. looked at Liu Rong, and said to everyone after a while: "Everyone disperse!" ”

Everyone was confused, but they still got up and left, whispering.

Liu Rong and Guo Songtao sat very tacitly and did not move. Think about what's on your mind.

Chief Zeng Guofan breathed a sigh of relief and asked Liu Rong: "Runzhi knows everything about the Southwest Mutual Insurance, right?" ”

Liu Rong was taken aback. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guofan guessed it, and nodded weakly. added: "Xia Guan also just received the news, and this time he came to tell Zeng Gong. ”

Guo Songtao's heart was empty. Feeling dizzy, Hu Linyi has always been a model of loyal courtiers in his heart, but he didn't expect to do such a thing, and asked urgently: "What is this for?" Should you be a traitor for the sake of your own honor and disgrace, what is the difference between this and surrendering shorthair? Zeng Gong thought twice, he must not do it at this time, otherwise his reputation will be ruined! Reduced to the laughing stock of the ages, what face do we have to survive in the world? ”

Looking at Guo Songtao's depressed appearance, Liu Rong persuaded: "This time and that time!" Manchu people enter the customs to steal China not to mention for the time being, everyone has a set of opinions, now the southwest mutual insurance is also a last resort, short-haired Chen soldiers outside, long-haired living in Sichuan, if we are still waiting for Beijing's orders to act, how to govern Huguang, if the emperor is willing to hunt Huguang, we will naturally welcome the emperor, loyal to the Qing Dynasty! ”

Zeng Guofan hadn't encountered such a tricky thing for a long time, although his thinking had slowly changed, but he still couldn't accept the matter of mutual protection in the southwest, he thought that Liu Rong and Hu Linyi must have a hard time, waiting for Liu Rong's explanation.

Guo Songtao persuaded bitterly: "Long-haired civil strife, elite slaughter, it is when we take the opportunity to eliminate the rebellion, as long as Sichuan is pacified, the Qing Dynasty will be invincible, sooner or later one day to destroy the short hair, but also the Qing Dynasty a Lang Lang Qiankun, Xia Xian, Disheng, you and I are close friends, since the creation of the Hunan Army has been treating each other with all sincerity, getting along day and night, I can't watch you go down the evil road." ”

Liu Rong continued: "The two of them don't know, Sichuan has gone through civil strife, people's hearts are in turmoil, many generals have taken the opportunity to leave Tianjing to join the Han, Guizhou Jiwen Yuan has accepted the adaptation of the Han, Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai are not in agreement, I think it is a matter of time before the family is separated, the general trend of the world has been achieved, and non-human power can be recovered." ”

Zeng Guofan saw that what he said was the Tao, obviously deeply about the internal affairs of the Han army, his fists were clenched, and he asked calmly: "Do you still have dealings with Wang Zhu?" ”

Liu Rong admitted: "Yes, Wang Ju is already the new governor of Hunan, and the Han Emperor Li Yunzhong personally appointed him. ”

Zeng Guofan sneered: "I don't know what official position Xia Xian has got? ”

Liu Rong's face changed, and she said angrily: "Although I, Liu Rong, am not filial, but it has not yet reached that point, even if I want to surrender, I will fight with Zeng Gong, and I am willing to die with Zeng Gong!" ”

Guo Songtao snorted and asked, "Then why did you contact Shorthair behind Zeng Gong's back?" Isn't a lifelong friendship as good as half a body of glory and wealth? ”

Liu Rong sighed: "The concept is different, just like Bochen arguing with Wat Ting in Jiangxi." ”

Speaking of sadness, Guo Songtao was ashamed and angry, and defended: "Li Yundu is stubborn and self-serving, I just don't bother to argue with him, so I resigned and returned to Hunan, and besides, the two of us have no intention of surrendering to the enemy." ”

Zeng Guofan listened to Liu Rong's heartfelt words, was pleased, stopped the two from arguing, and said with a smile: "Since the matter has been said, everyone is still old friends, now is a time of crisis, everyone works together to overcome difficulties, but you can't ridicule each other because of a momentary mood, so that you don't get along with each other." ”

Guo Songtao heard that Liu Rong was willing to live and die with them, and he had already forgiven him.

"Zeng Gong taught a lesson!" Guo Songtao and Liu Rong looked at each other and smiled, and the two hugged each other and revealed the matter.

"Alas!" Zeng Guofan sighed, and felt it: "Runzhi has become too fast, how can he bring up the matter of Southwest Mutual Insurance?" ”

Liu Rong replied: "Yunnan is not very peaceful, the French in Burma, Vietnam, Hu Gong is worried, thinking that sooner or later the French will covet Yunnan, there is a long-haired tiger in the north, and the Han army in the east is attacking at any time, and there are enemies on all sides, and it will be difficult to resist Yunnan alone, so he proposed mutual protection in the southwest." ”

Guo Songtao nodded, smiled and angry, and replied: "Our Hunan army is a family, Hu Gong is in trouble, of course I will send troops to help, isn't this already mutual protection in the southwest!" Why mention it on the bright side, so that everyone is ugly. ”

Liu Rong leaned slightly and said: "Hu Gong was worried that when he left Yungui, since Hu Gong Ding was worried, his health has been bad, and he often sighs that his limit has come, maybe he has seen it and has less worries than me." ”

Zeng Guofan was uneasy in his heart, and asked urgently: "How could Runzhi be like this, when they were separated in Hubei, how can they say that the time limit has come?" ”

Liu Rong said: "They are all diseases in the army, and Hu Gong also asked us to think about the future of the Hunan army." ”

Zeng Guofan's six gods have no master, Hu Linyi Zeng Guofan, has become the spiritual snuggle of the Hunan army, and has many henchmen in the Hunan army, if Hu Linyi dies, it will be a blow to the morale of the Hunan army, can Zeng Guofan still wave his arms to the Hunan army?

Guo Songtao has joy and sorrow, the joy is that there is no Hu Linyi, the Hunan army has returned to the era of Zeng Guofan, he Guo Songtao has a place to use, and the worry is that the Hubei officials look at Hu Linyi's face, and dare not ignore the Hunan army, if Hu Linyi dies, the blessing and misfortune are unpredictable.

Zeng Guofan said to Liu Rong: "I promised to protect each other in the southwest, you let Runzhi take good care of her body." ”

Liu Rong said secretly, Hu Gong's strategy is really good!

Guo Songtao added: "Southwest mutual insurance is already the bottom line, and it must not be spread out. ”

Liu Rong nodded in agreement, and added: "I have to save it, I will personally go to Yunnan to visit Hu Gong tomorrow." ”

Zeng Guofan's suspicion flashed in his heart, and he said: "I asked Lao Jiu to go with you, you go to Yunnan to pay attention to the movement of the army, I am worried that Wang Zhu has infiltrated Yunnan." ”

Liu Rong replied solemnly: "Please rest assured!" (To be continued......)