In a few days, Zeng Guofan was sparse again: since he entered Hubei, he has beneficialized the widows and interviewed public opinion. According to the officials, generals, and gentry, they all said: The reason why Wuhan fell again was because of the poor handling of Chonglun and Taiyong, and the mishandling of many parties, and the hatred of the people; And it is extremely said that the former governor Wu Wenrong was loyal and diligent and worried about the country, and the martyrdom was very fierce, and the officials and the people still think about it. Even in the former Fu minister Qinglin, there are still many words of pity, no words of resentment.

Gaiyuan Wu Wenrong arrived in Hubei on September 15 of the previous year, and he engraved the seal, and immediately heard the letter of the defeat of Tianjia Town. The city fled empty, the officials were in a hurry, and the hearts of the people were scattered. Wu Wenrong gathered his subordinates and swore to defend it. On the same day, he moved to the tower of the security gate, with only one servant and one horse, no scribes, no relatives and soldiers, day and night to rule the papers, and those who could not untie their clothes for two months. Since the people's hearts were a little settled, the rout troops were slightly gathered, and the thieves still retreated downstream, not daring to offend the Eyuan. If you persevere, you can't turn the crisis into safety before you start.

Nai Chonglun had a personal grudge and impeached Wu Wenrong to sit in the yazhai and close the city. In fact, the former governor stayed in the city tower day and night, and did not stay in Yazhai for a short time. The thieves and bandits are terrified by the number of ships, thousands of sails, and thousands of cannons and thunders. If the officers and soldiers do not have a boat division, although there are tens of thousands of land soldiers, they are familiar with it and have nothing to do.

Since the loss of Tianjiazhen last year, Wu Wenrong and Jiang Zhongyuan have exchanged letters with their ministers, and they have all taken the preparation of the sailor as the first priority. The minister tried to build a warship in Hengzhou, and Wu Wenrong repeatedly wrote to the businessman, saying that shipbuilding, artillery, selection of generals, and the method of learning warfare, and thinking and researching, each letter was more than 1,000 words, and the loyalty was overflowing between the lines. The ministers are foolish, and they sigh that they are unattainable. He said that Hubei is now only employing small rows, swinging rivers and the like, which is unbearable for the battle array, and must wait for the ministers to handle the boat division, sail to central Hubei, and start to fight together, which is also a real situation.

Nai Chonglun was at a loss, and said that the ship's cannons were ready, and the governors were afraid to come out. Wu Wenrong was rigid and ashamed of his fear, so he went out to the enemy in a hurry. The discord between the dwellers and the outers hindered everything, so that the whole army was defeated in the battle of blocking the city, and Hubei Prefecture and counties fell one after another. Especially strange, after the impeachment, Wu Wenrong resolutely went out, and Chonglun Fu led his subordinates to stop him.

My emperor once strictly contradicted himself. The city was defeated, Wu Wenrong was martyred, and everyone in the province knew about it, and Chonglun entered the music with no knowing his whereabouts, not only squeezed out before his death, but also suffered after his death.

On the nineteenth day of the first month, Chonglun sent the garrison Xiong Zhengxi to the area of Hengzhou, urging the ministers to go to Hubei to rescue, forging Wu Wenrong's message, borrowing the seal of the political secretary, but saying that the thieves in Huangzhou were rampant, and did not say that the blockade of the city had been defeated and the governor had died. All kinds of fraud, pretending to be suspicious, nothing more than Wu Wenrong failed to be martyred, slandered people, and was always jealous, I don't know what kind of lungs and intestines he is!

On September 21st, the vassal went to Huangzhou, and on the 22nd, he bowed down to block the city to inspect the topography of the camp that day, and offered sacrifices to the spirit of Wu Wenrong, and inquired about the residents of the place, saying that since the governor of Wu arrived at the camp, the rain and mud were several feet deep, and he patrolled the camps every day to excite the soldiers. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he saw the thieves stepping on the camp four seats, and the governor could not do anything, but kowtowed to the north in the slush and kowtowed to the nine, wept bitterly and shouted that he could not look up to the holy pilgrimage, so he threw himself into the pond and died, and the pond went to the camp gate only six or seven feet. The natives say that their daily diligence and dying loyalty and indignation have been snotted so far, which can also be seen that justice is not bad.

Wu Wenrong received the grace of the three dynasties, for the supervision of 20 years, before the collapse of this sea pond, but still generous and fierce, throwing himself into the sea to sacrifice his life, how can the whole army be annihilated, anti-willing to endure and steal life? Fortunately, thanks to the Shengming's example, the merciful code is given to the good. Wu Wenrong was ashamed of Xuesi, and he was forever honored in Jiuquan. Otherwise, the name will be slandered, and although he dies, he will still be angry.

Wu Wenrong didn't, Qinglin helped with military affairs, and Chonglun had a disagreement with him: he begged the soldiers to protect him but not with him; Please make weapons with silver taels and not with them; or military affairs are not known, or they do not travel back and forth for ten years. When Qinglin was in Changsha, he was constrained by the ministers and Chonglun, and Tai Yongzhi sat back and watched without help, and he hated it for it, and his eyes were torn apart, and he didn't know whether he had been played.

Generally speaking, governing the army is like governing the family, if the brothers are not in harmony, the family will be defeated, and if the generals are not in harmony, the army will be defeated. Whoever complains against his brothers alone will not be a son; Whoever excludes all the generals by one person will not be a good minister. Last year, Zhang Liangji wanted to use all his strength to prevent Tianjia Town, Chonglun both obstructed and obstructed, and then squeezed Wu Wenrong, and then tabooed Qinglin, all of which made the title hated underground. In all fairness, the reason for the defeat and rupture of Hubei Province before and after cannot but be hated by Chonglun.

Since the thieves were in Hanyang and Hankou as their old nests, from the west to Yichang, the north to De'an, and the south to Hunan Province, they captured Yue, Chang and Lizhou three times, crisscrossing more than 100 prefectures and counties, ravaging all over the country, and leaving no grass behind. Chonglun sat in a closed city, ignoring the knowledge of the bandits, and ignoring the bandits' captivity, and the lost national land was not detailed one by one. The words of the people all said: The Qing Governor is here, there are still soldiers who bravely drive away the thieves' captivity, and there are still people who show mercy to the people's suffering; Chong Governor and proclamation but nothing, all of them do not care for us as the children of the Qing Dynasty! So the grudge is.

My emperor is kind to his subordinates, and he is only dismissed. Chonglun has a little conscience, and he should also repay him with death. On the second day of June, the city of Wuchang fell, and Chonglun escaped with the army, and Zhan turned to steal his life. He claimed that he had returned to Beijing after his dismissal, and had left Hubei the day before to petition for a transfer. As a feudal official, no matter whether he is in the official or the official, it is his duty to die, even if he does not die, he may as well say it clearly, why bother to fill in the sun and the moon and hide the crime of escaping from the city? Isn't it shameless to impeach others even if they die, and to punish themselves is to live and keep them secret!

Since the ministers entered Hubei, they have witnessed the devastation and visited public opinion, all of which are blamed on Chonglun. The success or failure of the rest of the year is related to the overall situation of the southeast, and I dare not tell the truth. How it should be punished severely, the Holy Lord has a certain trade-off, and Wei Chen does not dare to propose it. All the public opinions, the former governor of Chen and Hubei provinces, the reasons for the good and the bad, the respectful fold attached to the post, and the emperor Fu begged to make a holy decision. Sincerely.

When Emperor Xianfeng heard this, he angrily reprimanded Chonglun for stealing his life and taking refuge, Gu Grace and Kindness, and ordered him to be arrested. He also said: Zeng Guofan, a scholar, can build this miraculous feat, and he is still so low-key, a pillar of the country!

Prince Gong Yixin said: "There are wars in various places, but the Hubei region is smooth. Luzhou, Zhenjiang, Pukou, Jinling, Lianzhen, Gaotang, etc., have not made much progress. ”

Qi Junzao, the chief minister of military aircraft, said: "In this dynasty's family law, there is no dedicated Han superintendent. Zeng Guofan is registered as a squire, and he is like a husband. If the puppet lives in the Lu, a call, more than 10,000 people who jump up from it, if he is granted the territory again, and the chief teacher is reinstated, the authority is too heavy, and I am afraid that it will not be a blessing for the country. ”

Imperial history Shen Baozhen Shangshu: Jiujiang of Jiangxi, Anqing of Anhui, and Jinling of Su are all occupied by thieves. The squire Zeng Guofan, Wuchang, who is directly under the jaw, is in high spirits, and it is advisable to go east immediately, overcome the southeast half of the wall, unify the country, and the blessing of all the people.

Wen Qingzuo, Minister of the Interior and head of the Hanlin Academy, said: At this time of peril, we should reuse Hanchen, and Peter came from the field, knowing the people's weal and woe, and being familiar with the situation and hypocrisy. If our generation has not gone abroad, and is ignorant of the big plan?

Emperor Xianfeng pondered for a long time, and then told Zeng Guofan: I expected you to resign, and remembered that the whole division went east, and the department Fukong had its name, rewarded the rank of squire of the military department, and issued a decree ordering you to act as the governor of Hubei. Although your performance is not all stubborn, but the official title is not written, the fault of a good name is still small, and the crime of violating the will is very great. Strictly apply for punishment.

Zeng Guofan received the order, panicked, and begged to say: Under kneeling and listening, it is difficult to be named. The former minister did not dare to attach the current official because of his mother's unsatisfactory service, because he did not sign a new title, and he did not know that he had committed the crime of violating the will. Fortunately, he Hongci instructed, and was forgiven by the grace of God, only to add a repetition, in the tear in the meaning of forgiveness, five in the confusion, victory and fear.