Reading guide: Luo Di Xiucai was poor and destitute, and he rose up in desperation, but he claimed to be God; The squire promised his son, and Badou rushed to catch birds to play, but he failed again and again.

An oracle flew to Zeng's house, Foye? Woe to you?

Zeng Guofan has been a Beijing official for more than ten years, and whenever he takes a vacation or is promoted, he always likes to go to the Baoguo Temple outside the capital to live for a few days. The abbot of Baoguo Temple, Elder Yizhen, is from Hunan, and Zeng Guofan is in different counties in the same province. The book "Tingjing" in Zeng Guofan's hand is a true transmission. In Baoguo Temple, Zeng Guofan met this pickled old Taoist many times, but he neither talked nor had friendship.

Now, the pickled old way is uninvited, which is not only beyond the expectations of Zeng Guofan himself, but also surprises everyone in Zeng's mansion.

After dinner that day, Zeng Guofan made another pot of tea for the Taoist chief, and then sat down opposite.

The Taoist chief suddenly asked, "Lord Zeng, why don't you ask where the poor Dao comes from?" Where are you going? ”

Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "The Taoist chief lives the life of an immortal. There is no fixed place to eat, and there is no fixed place to live. Where did the Taoist come from, where did he go, and what could he do? ”

The Taoist chief stroked his beard and said, "Lord Zeng, the poor Dao is good. You are indeed one of the best people among our Han people! - Let's just say it. The poor road came from Guangxi, took Wuchang, and came to Hunan by water. ”

Zeng Guofan's heart moved, he hurriedly straightened up, and asked: "Dao Chang dare to come from the long-haired bandit's nest.?" ”

Lao Dao said with a smile: "The officers and soldiers call the Taiping Army long-haired bandits, but the Taiping Army calls the officers and soldiers Qing Demons." In fact, in the eyes of the poor road, they are all the same! ”

Zeng Guofan frowned and said, "Dao Chief, what did you want when your old man came to my Zeng family?" ”

Lao Dao said: "Master Zeng, you don't have to be suspicious, Poor Dao just wants to get acquainted with you." The poor road came to Baiyangping to send a good deal to the adults. This deal has been weighed for a long time, and I originally wanted to give it to Lord Lin Zexu Lin. I don't want Lord Lin's life to be thin, and before he can go to Guangxi, he has already returned to the west. This cheap trick had to be picked up by adults. ”

Zeng Guofan shook his head and said, "Dao Chief, don't play riddles. What does the Taoist want to be a junior? ”

Lao Dao lowered his voice and said: "Poor Dao traveled in Guangxi and got acquainted with a man named Yang Xiuqing who fired the kiln. This Yang Xiuqing is not only a good kiln, but also a god who can be counted in Fang Yuan. I think adults have heard of it. ”

Zeng Guofan asked: "What is the situation of the god Han that the Taoist chief is talking about?" - But the jumping foot woman who pretends to be a ghost in the Hunan Special Society? ”

Lao Dao said: "It seems to be about the same." Rely on dancing gods for people, being full of gods and immortals, and swindling some money to live. Poor Dao saw that although Yang Shenhan was not doing the right thing, he was also a man who was quite righteous, so he passed on some martial arts to him. Later, he became acquainted with a man named Hong Xiuquan.

As soon as he heard Hong Xiuquan's three words, Zeng Guofan's face changed suddenly, he stood up suddenly, and said: "Hong Xiuquan in the mouth of the Taoist chief, but Hong Xiuquan who is the leader of the long hair?" The man who proclaimed himself God? ”

Lao Dao suddenly reached out and patted Zeng Guofan's shoulder. Zeng Guofan was stunned, felt that his whole body was weak, and sat down again.

Lao Dao took a sip of tea and continued. Zeng Guofan has to listen to it if he wants to listen at this time, and he has to listen if he doesn't want to listen.

For the first time, Zeng Guofan had a comprehensive understanding of Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Hong Xiuquan is not from Guangxi, but from Huaxian County, Guangdong. Formerly known as Renkun, nicknamed Huoxiu. I have read a few books of "Four Books" and "Five Classics" in my stomach, and I can write a few words. At the beginning, Hong Xiuquan had no idea of rebellion, and he was bent on winning a reputation and being a wife and son. Who knows that the more he wants to be famous, the farther away his fame is, and he has played more than a dozen times, but he didn't even get a show. has become a hundred miles away, the oldest, the most miserable old boy. At that time, the Hong family was so poor that the family was surrounded by four walls in order to provide Xiuquan with education, and the mother-in-law earned pocket money by washing and scrubbing for large families. Xiuquan's mother is 80 years old, and she is so blind that she can't see anyone. The three children were bare-bottomed all day, and they couldn't afford to wear a single cloth. Hong Xiuquan saw that his fame was hopeless, and he was not diligent, and he did not distinguish between grains and grains, so he always regarded himself as a scholar, and he didn't want to do any coolies. When his mother-in-law said a few words to him, he scolded his mother-in-law indiscriminately, and sometimes beat his mother-in-law with a stick and ran all over the street. This Xiuquan is also smart, seeing that he can't eat when he reads, he changed his ways, found another way, and recognized the blind master of the same clan as his teacher. The blind man is the most famous fortune teller in Huaxian County, and he can measure words, and he can also show the dead people, which is very good.

Xiuquan followed the blind man, and soon he will be able to take "Zhou Yi" to tell people about the east and west. Although the donkey's lips are not the horse's mouth, because there are many ignorant people in the countryside, they can finally cheat a few pennies to fill the family.

It was also the luck of the show, but at this time, he got acquainted with a guy named Zhu Jiu who cooked for the church. Although Zhu Jiu is a husband, he became a religious citizen because he joined the church, and the government can't afford to provoke him. He also doesn't buy the accounts of the government, and he lives a very superior life.

At that time, ordinary people were very oppressed by the government. The miscellaneous taxes are collected all over the world, and there is no reason to talk about it, and the people dare not mess around. What impressed Hong Xiuquan the most was that once, the land guard brought the old man to Zhu Jiu's house to collect a miscellaneous tax. Zhu Jiu not only didn't give it, but also grabbed the collar of the ground guard and slapped him hard. Although the local security was stunned, he didn't dare to say a word. The old man lost his former majesty and fled outside the door. The matter was later closed.

Hong Xiuquan's eyes were hot, so he desperately stammered Zhu Jiu. Zhu Jiu's mother-in-law was pregnant and wanted to eat sour, so Xiuquan went to the street to give Zhu Jiu a pound of hawthorn on credit. And his own aunt and children didn't even have a hawthorn core to eat. After three months of such a relationship, he proposed to Zhu Jiu that he also wanted to join the church.

Zhu Jiuxian also refused on behalf of the priest, saying that the quota was full. Later, when he saw Xiuquan stalking and begging, he said: "If you want to join the church, without five taels of silver, the church will be difficult to collect." ”

As soon as Xiuquan heard that there was a way, he borrowed from east to west, and finally borrowed four taels or three dollars, and the remaining seven dollars could no longer be borrowed. Zhu Jiu had no choice but to lead Xiuquan into the church, and Xiuquan's silver fell into his pocket. Foreigners have always been resolute in doing things. On the same day, Hong Xiuquan was allowed to enter the church, and he was given several volumes of the Old and New Testaments for him to read. Hong Xiuquan took the book in his hand, and Sai seemed to take a baby, kowtowing and kneeling; But the priest went into the back room early to eat. Cast him alone before the cross.

When Hong Xiuquan returned home that day, he didn't need to eat, just picked up the book and read it.

Speaking of which, this Hong Xiuquan is also very strange, he originally had a headache as soon as he read the book, but the more he read the "Old and New Testaments", the more addicted he became.

Soon, Hong Xiuquan was inspired by "Advice to the World", invited a few poor people, conspired to initiate the establishment of the God Worship Association, and destroyed the Confucian tablet in the village school. In order to develop the party, he and Feng Yunshan and others lobbied in Guangzhou and nearby counties, as well as Guixian in Guangxi. During this period, Hong Xiuquan found chapters and excerpts from the "Old and New Testaments" and made up two articles, "The Song of the Salvation of the Original Dao" and "The Awakening of the World of the Original Dao", which were widely disseminated. He proposes that God the Father is the only true God and that everyone should worship God. Hong Xiuquan claimed to be God. Many foreign priests were puzzled and did not know when God became a citizen of the Qing Dynasty. Hong Xiuquan saw that there were few responders, and there were not many people in the party, so he staged a big drama of resurrection, creating nonsense about being punished by God's order, and fooling the people in a big way. In July of the 29th year of Daoguang, he still returned to the Bauhinia Mountain with Feng Yunshan, and formed brothers with different surnames with the Shenhan Yang Xiuqing, the charcoal-burning Han Xiao Chaogui, the squire Wei Changhui, and the Hakka gentry Shi Dakai, planning an uprising, and ordering the regimental camp about the following year. On January 11 of the first year of Xianfeng, he led the congregation to officially hang the flag in Jintian Village, Guiping, and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Hong proclaimed himself the king of heaven. In December of the same year, in Yong'an, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, and Shi Dakai became the five kings of the east, west, south, north, and wing. Obviously, Hong Xiuquan wanted to overthrow the Qing Emperor, become the emperor himself, enjoy the glory and wealth, and live a few days of superior life. In fact, when you open the history books, there are many such examples. The antagonists of the rulers of all dynasties are those who are impoverished. The poor are the most terrible.

Later, Hong Xiuquan's men gathered more and more. Hong Xiuquan himself not only no longer worries about food and clothing, but also quickly became rich. When he left Guangxi, the number of people and horses had gathered more than 100,000, and the silver in his hands had also been piled up into a mountain.

At the same time as Hong Xiuquan divided the five kings, he also divided the seventy-two emperors' mothers, which coincided with the number of seventy disciples of Confucius Sheng. Hong Xiuquan did this, but it was impeccable, he just wanted to live the emperor's erosive life in advance.

When he saw Hong Xiuquan, Xiuquan had just proclaimed himself the king of heaven, and had not yet crowned the other five kings, but he already had the style of the king of heaven, eating delicacies from the mountains and seas every day, hundreds of beauties took turns to fall asleep every night, and there were thousands of palace maidens for him to send.

From the very beginning, the people of the Pickled Daoist knew that this Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was built on the stage, and they never expected it to be so prosperous.

Hong Xiuquan was sitting alone at the table writing his edict at that time, and when he saw the Pickled Daoist, he was about to drive people out of the palace (at that time, Jinling had not yet been captured, and there was no Heavenly King's Mansion, just dozens of thatched houses where ordinary people lived), and the Pickled Daoist had jumped to his side, pointed his meridians with his hand, and said: "You are not annoyed by pretending to be a ghost and a poor man, and you don't care about him, you are a poor person after all." But you and the Yi people are fighting so hot, but the poor road can't help but ask! Today, Poor Dao first took your life, and then took the heads of Dakai, Xiuqing and others. ”

As soon as Xiuquan heard this, he knew that the pickled Daoist was a stranger, and he hurriedly said: "My Lao Hong was also forced to be like this by the Qing Demon. Originally, he just wanted to get a few taels of silver to make a living, but he killed the officers and soldiers if he missed. It's already hard to get up and down. Trouble is a dead end, not making trouble is also a dead end, which one do you let me choose? ”

"You won't lead the people to fight against the Manchurians in an upright manner? I want to learn from the Nayi people. You don't care about religion, how did you start to be God? - Even if you make a fuss, the people don't worship the emperor and the Bodhisattva, and worship you as a god all day long? You can figure it out! ”

Hong Xiuquan argued: "If not, who will listen to me?" - God is a new thing, after all, unlike ghosts and spirits. No one has really been to the Western Paradise, and the people can believe it whatever you say. ”

"To achieve great things, you must have the help of capable people." Like you now, those who pretend to be ghosts (referring to Yang's Xiuqing), those who burn kilns and sell charcoal (referring to Xiao's Chaogui), those who run rampant in the countryside (referring to Shi's Dakai), and those who swagger and deceive (referring to Wei's Changhui), which one is a serious goods? It's clearly a rabble, how can it get things done? ”

Xiuquan hurriedly said: "Listen to the gods, I want to trick a few capable people into using it in my dreams, but who is willing to come?" God is pitiful, I also know that I eat less ink, and Xiucai has never been one of them - you are the first capable person I have seen, how about I crown you as the king of pickles? Wherever I go in this kingdom of heaven, you can spend gold and silver in my camp, and you will rob it anyway. It doesn't cost money, and it doesn't have to be repaid. ”

Pickled Daodao: "Speaking of which, my Han people are really fed up with the anger of the Manchurians. If you want to make the kingdom of heaven bigger, you have to have someone join in to do it—but I don't know if you will? ”

Xiuquan said: "I swear to the gods, your words are my words." If you don't do what you say, you can take my life at any time! Who is this person you want to recommend? It can't be a showman, it's okay to be the first. ”

The Pickled Daoist said angrily: "With your knowledge, how can you achieve great things? The person who is recommended by the poor road is none other than Lin Zexu, who came to Guangxi to fight against you! ”

Xiuquan said: "This is a capable person, how can I not accept it?" I'm afraid that he won't come to meet me! He is a two-list jinshi, and I am a talent who has fallen behind, and the difference is too great. ”

Pickled Daodao: "This is wrapped in poor Dao. After Lin Zexu arrives, you must first crown him as the biggest king, who can control Yang Xiuqing and them. Will you say yes? ”

Xiuquan said: "This is natural, why do you need the old fairy to order!" ”

The pickled Taoist shot at Xiuquan's acupuncture points, and disappeared as soon as he turned around.

The pickled Taoist people began to swim out of Guangxi Yingna Lin Zexu, and met in the Chaozhou area of Guangdong. The pickled Taoist knew that Lin Zexu was a resolute minister, so he easily said that he could not move him, so he hid in the dark to observe. This Lin Zexu soon had two more cooks, saying that they were specially sent by the Yamen, the governor of Guangxi. After the two cooks arrived, Lin Zexu began to have diarrhea day and night, and finally fell ill, and went without leaving Chaozhou.

The pickled Taoist felt that something was wrong, so one night, he arrested a cook and forced him to ask. In order to save his life, the cook did not have time to ask deeply before he explained the reason. The cook's surname is Zhao Mingsan, who served as a servant in the Yamen of the Guangxi Governor's Yamen, and is a person who has long been bought by Hong Xiuquan. Lin Zexu left Fujian to supervise military affairs in Guangxi, and the cook made a statement to the minister: Although Lin Qinshuai has been dismissed, he is now coming to Guangxi to supervise military affairs. When the ministry heard this, it was very reasonable, so they appointed him and another person to go on the road to meet Lin Zexu. On the first night of the cook's departure, Hong Xiuquan sent someone into the city and stuffed a packet of medicine for him, so that after he saw Lin Zexu, he would put a little bit of food in his food every day, and it would be difficult for the government to find out. The pickled Taoist didn't allow Zhao San to finish speaking, so he waved a palm and killed that guy.

The pickled Taoist went to find that Hong Xiuquan overnight. As soon as Hong Xiuquan saw the pickled Taoist coming, he immediately repelled the maids, turned over and knelt down in front of the Taoist's feet, and said "spare life" in his mouth.

Seeing that Hong Xiuquan's face was full of remorse, the pickled Daoist said: "Let's go, people can't be resurrected after death, so Lin Zexu will put it aside, and Poor Dao will go and invite another capable person for you." If you dare to go back on your word, not only will you take your life, but also the lives of your dog son, dog sister, and dog brother! ”

Xiuquan's face changed suddenly, he was drenched in sweat, and he said, "Don't dare, don't dare!" ”

Pickled Daodao: "Zeng Guofan, the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites of the Qing Dynasty, is a rare incorruptible minister from ancient times to the present, who is thousands of times stronger than you stinky turtles, bastards, and bird soldiers!" Now that Lord Zeng is on his way to Jiangxi, Poor Dao will meet him. ”

Hong Xiuquan didn't finish his words before the Taoist said: "How about I make him the king of Lian?" Bigger than the king surnamed Lin! It's just that this Zeng Shilang is a two-list, how can he afford to look down on me, a talent who has fallen into the top? ”

Pickled Daodao: "You don't have to worry about the rest, you get a voucher overnight." ”

Xiuquan carved gold seals overnight, wrote oracles and edicts, and tinkered for half the night before it was done.

The pickled Taoist received the oracle of heaven, carried the golden seal, left the Tianwang Mansion, and embarked on the road to Jiangxi.

Zeng Guofan listened to the Taoist chief's narration for a long time before he spoke: "The younger generation is not confused, and it can be said that he has died without regrets." It's a pity for the younger generations to be the Taoist! How did an innocent person like the Taoist get mixed up with this group of fatherless and kingless people? The younger generation sighs for the Taoist! Shame on the Taoist! After finishing speaking, he closed his eyes, but what he thought in his heart was: "The ghost believes your bastard words!" ”

"Lord Zeng, I will take your life, only between breaths - you are upright, and you can go to heaven to perform, where can you find such a good deal?" China is the China of my Han people, you can't play for Mangou anymore! ”

Chief Zeng Guofan sighed and said: "Listen to the Taoist chief, the Taoist chief is a stranger, not a bandit, and it is not comparable to the flood and rebellion. Imagine that although the Qing Dynasty is weak, after all, it respects saints and sages, supports famous religions, and teaches people! There are kings, fathers and mothers, and they are respectful and orderly. Morality does not lead to mourning, people's hearts. And the kingdom of heaven proposed by Hong Xiuquan worships a God, but does not worship the world. They also colluded with foreign tribes in Yibang to buy guns and cannons to destroy our Chinese property. The sin is great! The Yiren have been spying on me for a long time, and they don't want to swallow my rivers and mountains for a long time. What if the rebellious kingdom of heaven replaced the Qing Dynasty, and God replaced the Son of Heaven? I, the people of Kyushu, do not want to forge ahead, and the scholars only read the Bible, and are immersed in heaven and phantoms all day long. The death of the country is only between breaths! ”

The pickled Taoist was blushed by Zeng Guofan's words, and he sighed for a long time before he said: "The Qing Dynasty has come to an end, and the kingdom of heaven cannot be established, when will the suffering days of thousands of people in the world end?" - Is this also a number of days? ”

Before he could finish speaking, he was already in tears. He wiped away his tears, stretched out his hand, and touched Zeng Guofan's chest a little—Zeng Guofan's whole body shook suddenly, as if he was shivering. When I opened my eyes again, there was no longer a pickled Taoist in the room.

Zeng Guofan seemed to have a nightmare, and it took a long time to wake up. He moved his body and stepped out of the study, but saw the moon in the sky and the stars twinkling; The night breeze gradually rose, and the trees swayed.

Zeng Guofan walked around the courtyard, but still did not see a figure. The pickled Taoist is obviously gone.

Zeng Guofan returned to the study and looked around, but there was still nothing unusual.

He sat down in front of the desk, turned on the oil lamp, and wanted to write down the events of this day into "The Shadow of the Gap", ready to play later, but at the bottom of the bookcase, he suddenly found a cloth pocket!

Zeng Guofan was taken aback, took it carefully, and saw that there were four bright and bright big characters "Heavenly Seal Bag" embroidered with gold thread on it.

He hurriedly stood up, pushed open the door and looked around, then hurriedly closed the door, returned to the front of the case, opened the printing bag, and a small gold seal and a piece of heavenly edict were displayed in front of Zeng Guofan's eyes.

Feng Lian Wang Zhao said; "The generals of the army, big and small, should take the truth and act in earnest. God the Father and the Emperor are the true God, and there is no God except the Father and the Emperor. God the Father is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and in everything, and there is no one who is not born and raised by him, he is the superior and the emperor. Except for the Heavenly Father, the Lord and the Emperor, no one may claim to be the Emperor or the Emperor. From now on, the soldiers will call me the Lord, and it is not appropriate to call me up, which will offend the Father. Heavenly Father is the Heavenly Father, Heavenly Brother is the Holy Lord of the World, and Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother are Holy Beings. From now on, all the soldiers will call me the Lord, and it is not appropriate to call me holy, which will offend the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother. Heavenly Father, the Lord Emperor God, is the god of the clouds, is the Lord of Yunyun, the former left auxiliary, right bi, leading, and rear protection of the military divisions are collectively called military divisions, from the mortal world, according to the current Taoism, some offense to the Heavenly Father, the Heavenly Father is the Lord. Today, the special praise of Zuo Zhengfu is the king of Lian, and the military divisions that have been sealed before are all controlled by the king of Lian. The harem is called Niangniang, and the concubine is called Wang Niang. And admire this. "The seal of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is stamped below, and behind the seal is the seal of the Heavenly King.

Zeng Guofan read the edict again, and suddenly found that the word Yunren in it was actually one word. Zeng Guofan lowered his head and thought about it for a long time, but he couldn't think of the pronunciation and meaning of this word.

The gold seal is engraved with; The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom King Lian was 9,500 years old.

Zeng Guofan was stunned, hurriedly put the seal and the edict into the bag again, thought about it, went outside to find a small shovel, dug a deep pit at the root of the east wall of the study, buried the seal bag in it, and compacted it carefully, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zeng Guofan took advantage of Xingtou, took the "Shuowen Jie Zi" and "Kangxi Dictionary" in his hand, and began to look for the word that Yunren put together. Neither of these books has this word. Obviously, this is a word made up by Hong Xiuquan himself.

He lit a pillar of incense, sat cross-legged on the bed in the study, closed his eyes and began to meditate.

On the night that Zeng Guofan crossed his legs, the situation of the battle had changed unexpectedly. The Taiping army has changed from being suppressed to taking the initiative to attack the Qing army, and its strength has also grown from the initial 100,000 to hundreds of thousands. What was particularly unexpected was that the Taiping army, which had withdrawn from Wuchang, suddenly attacked Wuchang for the second time. Not only did they surround Wuchang overnight, but the troops used were three times as many as before! By the time the Qing army defending the city found out, Wuchang had been so surrounded that even a bird could not even fly out.

Fortunately, Qinglin led his troops to garrison outside the city, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he immediately sent a fast horse to report to the imperial court.

Speaking of which, this Qinglin is also a bastard, Wuchang is besieged, he should go to help. He neither went to help, nor did he ask the nearby Qing army for help, but he complained to the imperial court. When the imperial court deploys troops to relieve the siege, can Wuchang still be the Wuchang of the Qing Dynasty? Qinglin doesn't care whether Wuchang can hold it or not, he was inexplicably dismissed by the imperial court, and he has nowhere to steam his anger.

On the morning of December 11 in the second year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan had just had breakfast, and was about to take Ji Ze and the third brother of the Nanjia to Badou to catch birds for the second time.

Zhu Sunyi and the alternate said to the sedan chair, and Zhu Sunyi first said to the porter Zhou Sheng: "Quickly let Lord Zeng come out to receive the order - eight hundred miles to the provincial capital!" ”

As soon as Zhou Sheng heard this, he didn't dare to slack off, and shouted while running to Zeng Guofan's study: "My lord takes the order, ride eight hundred miles quickly!" ”

Zhou Sheng's shouts alarmed the people in the room. The master and the subordinates stood all over the yard in a blink of an eye.

Zhu Sunyi walked into the courtyard with the alternate Dao who was holding the holy decree, and strode into the courtyard.

Zeng Guofan hurriedly walked out of the study, and when he saw Zhu Sunyi and Miansheng's alternate Dao, he knew that it was the person sent by Zhang Liangji, the governor of the yamen, so he hurriedly knelt down and said Sheng'an.

Zeng Linshu took a few Guohuang brothers and more than a dozen subordinates, and also hurriedly knelt behind Zeng Guofan.

The alternate Dao unfolded the holy decree and read: "The former Ding Wei Shilang Zeng Guofan, who was from Xiangxiang, heard that he was in his hometown, and he must be familiar with the local people in Hunan. The decree should be passed on: to order him to help the villagers in the province and search for bandits. Yibi will do his best and live up to the mandate. Chin this. ”

After reading the alternate Dao, he handed the holy decree to Zeng Guofan with both hands, and said, "Lord Zeng, you should get old." ”

Zhu Sunyi took a step forward, helped Zeng Guofan with both hands and said, "My lord, please get up." As far as the officials know, all the regimental exercises held by the provinces are handled by the Fuyuan Committee. Only you are old, and the emperor will issue a special decree. ”

Zhu Sunyi picked up Zeng Linshu again, and said, "Old lady, get up too." ”

Zeng Linshu got up and thanked him. Guo Huang and others were also helped up by Zhu Sunyi one by one.

Zeng Guofan took the holy decree and got up.

The alternate Dao hurriedly bowed to Zeng Guofan, and said: "Li Tianxiang of the Daoist gives your lord a greeting." ”

Zeng Guofan helped Li Tianxiang up and said: "Disheng is filial piety, and he doesn't dare to be courtesy." Adults, please get up. ”

Li Tianxiang got up and thanked him, and said: "My lord, I want to burn a pillar of incense for my old aunt to fulfill the filial piety of the younger generation." ”

Zeng Guofan had no choice but to take Li and Sun to his mother's spiritual seat.

When he said goodbye, Zhu Sunyi repeatedly told Zeng Guofan that when he left Changsha to take up his post, he must inform the county government in advance, and the yamen will send a tolerance to escort him all the way. Zeng Guofan smiled.

Seeing off Zhu Sunyi and Li Wenxiang, Zeng Guofan first enshrined the holy decree, and then helped his father into the study to rest, and then returned to his study with his four younger brothers.

As soon as he entered the study, Guo Huang poured a cup of tea for the eldest brother, held it in front of the eldest brother with both hands, and said, "Eldest brother, the emperor has not forgotten you!" Big brother, does the emperor's holy decree mean that the eldest brother was revived by the imperial court? ”

Guoquan hurriedly said: "Second brother, you are asking knowingly!" Ask the eldest brother to help the villagers in this province train the villagers, it is clear that it is to win the love and recover. ”

Guo Huang's face flushed with excitement, and he rubbed his hands and said, "Exceptional heavenly grace, really exceptional heavenly grace!" ”

Zeng Guofan was speechless and silently took a sip of tea.

Guohua said: "Big brother, when are you going to leave?" You need to prepare for it at home. ”

Zeng Guofan said to himself: "This Zhang Liangji, he shouldn't have pushed me into the fire pit!" Bao Qibao and Qingde's promotion and raising of the standard have stirred Changsha into a miasma, and it is not the same! What am I going to mix with? ”

Guoquan said: "There is a holy decree under the imperial court, and the eldest brother is to help the villagers in this province to train the villagers, what do they do!" ”

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly and said, "What do you know, cough!" - Let's all go out, big brother wants to be alone. ”

Guo Huang got up and said, "Big brother, it's okay for you to take a break." I'm going to take care of your trip to the provincial capital. ”

Zeng Guofan glared and said, "Chenghou, don't mess around!" The eldest brother keeps filial piety for his mother, and he can't help him with any group training. After a while, the eldest brother gave the court a resignation. ”

Guo Huang hurriedly said: "Big brother-"

Guoquan also said urgently: "Big brother, Ding Wei official was robbed of his love by the imperial court, how many people can't think of it!" Don't miss this opportunity! Think twice, big brother must think twice! ”

Zeng Guofan waved his hand and silently spread out the special dragon pattern paper used for folding.

Guohuang shook his head and sighed, and walked out with Guohua and the others helplessly.

What's going on here?

It turned out that this was Su Shun's idea for Xianfeng again.

The Taiping army has become more and more suppressed, and it has become a prairie fire. The Qing Dynasty's troops were insufficient, and Xianfeng did not dare to easily transfer troops from the border pass to replenish them. Su Shun thought about it and thought that there was really no better way than to advocate for militia groups in the provinces.

In order to convince the emperor, Su Shun fought for several nights and found many cases. The so-called group training, to put it bluntly, is the meaning of group training. It does not belong to the state system, and the state has no responsibility to provide food and pay. It is a kind of local armed force organized by local gentry to protect the villagers from bandits during the period of national turmoil. If the bandit comes, they will gather to resist it; If the bandits leave, they will scatter and farm. The group training is flexible and mobile, and it is all temporary.

Since the Taiping Army, the imperial court has long made it clear that local gentlemen can run their own regimental training to reassure the people. But with little success. The famous person who ran the group training hall was only one person in Hunan Xinning Wuju Jiang Zhongyuan at that time. In ancient times, there were many people who achieved their careers by running group training.

Su Shun found that Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty and Qi Jiguang in the Ming Dynasty both became famous for future generations by running a group practice.

Su Shun then suggested to Xianfeng that he might as well let Zeng Guofan also hold a group training in Hunan. If it is effective, it can make up for the lack of troops to suppress bandits; If you can keep Hunan, you can also involve a part of the Taiping Army, and you can also get it.

Xianfeng had been stirred up by the Taiping army at this time, no matter what the idea, he didn't smell the smell, and he didn't care whether it was useful or not, in his ears, it was all a good plan.

Before Su Shun finished speaking, he had already sent a message to the Military Aircraft Department: Quickly send an order to the Hunan Governor Yamen to transfer Zeng Guofan, and help him to handle the Hunan regiment training villagers.

Su Shun saw that Xianfeng's demeanor was abnormal, and his spirit was clearly on the verge of collapse, so he quickly shut his mouth.

In the eyes of Su Shun and Xianfeng, as long as the holy oracle arrived, Zeng Guofan could rush to Changsha on the same day and immediately start to handle the affairs of the villagers in Tuanlian.

What are the facts? (End of chapter)