Within ten months, Zeng Guofan received another war report, saying that the Jingshi was in danger, and the saint moved to Rehe. The national vassal was uneasy, and wrote to Zeng Guoquan and said: Regarding the matter of King Qin, I don't know if the emperor sent the national vassal to the north, or did he send the faction to run Shuai to the north? Zuo Zongtang has not arrived for a long time, if the family sends me north, is Brother Yuan willing to go with him? If you are an official of the world, you must avoid the brothers in the same province; For the soldiers of King Qin, the brothers feel more and more decent. Brother Wangyuan made a plan on the same day, and replied to me to tell me that no matter whether he sent me or sent Runshuai, he must bring 10,000 people to do it. The overall situation on both sides of the northern and southern Anhui Strait is bound to be greatly twitched, please ask my brother how to draw the method, how to arrange the bill. Everything is secretly arranged, confident, once the order is given, it can be done in ten days.

Zeng Guoquan received the letter and immediately told the national domain: I have been fighting for half a year, and I am waiting for Chen Thief; When the thief arrives, he will personally cut his head to sacrifice Brother Wen Fu! Today's saints, if they don't pay attention to the monk Greenqin, it will become a big disaster; Not worth saving. Prince Gong Yixin, his wisdom and strength far surpass it. The holy car is about to collapse, and the Jingshi is not subverted; We will no longer be in trouble, and the eradication of the rebellion of Guangdong will be just around the corner.

Zeng Guofan looked at Zeng Guoquan's letter, sweating, afraid and evil, quickly burned his letter, and then sent a letter to the book: The letter received by his brother on the ninth night of the first month was full of arrogance and many paradoxical words. Things in the world are changeable, righteousness is also profound, human feelings are difficult to know, and the way of heaven is also unpredictable.

Prince Gong's sage, I have often seen and heard of it. However, his demeanor is frivolous, his intelligence is too revealing, and he is resourceful and changeable. If you stay in Beijing for too long, the holy car will be far away, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to enjoy people's hearts for a long time.

The Mongolian tribes led by the monk king fought in Tianjin and Tongzhou, and Gai had already fought to the death with all his strength, so how could he still have more than enough and refused to do his best? How could the emperor prohibit it and make him not do his best? The strength has been exhausted, and the emperor and the monk's residence are sighing and nothing can be done. And the younger brother has repeatedly written to him, all of whom have said that he will reuse the monk's residence, and I don't know where the brother will receive the news.

Dividing troops to the north to respond to the edict is the duty of the courtiers. Therefore, our generation steals a false name, and those who are attached to the public rely on the word loyalty. Don't forget the king, it is said to be loyal; Not to be trustworthy is to say righteousness. Today, Luan's public opinion is moving, and the courtiers ignore it, can it be described as loyal? In case there may be negligence in the capital, Rehe has no silver rice, and it is difficult for the soldiers to ensure that it will not collapse. If it is pulled out at all, how can the southern service such as Jiangxi, two lakes and three provinces support the undefeated? Will the common people finish their food? How can business travel take a penny? How can the state and county soldiers listen to orders? Rather than not coming to the aid and dying together, it has only been a few months, who is going to come to the aid and always be loyal to the righteousness? Even if there is nothing to achieve, and after death, he will not regret it in Jiuquan, and he will not ridicule it in Baishi. The younger brother must not listen to the scholar's discussion, and what the brother sees is the pedantic opinion of the scholar.

The siege of Anqing is irrevocable, and the meaning of brother and Xi'an is the same. The younger brother only cares about the affairs of Anqing's war and defense, and he can't talk about things outside without fear. Confucius said: Hear more and be suspicious, and be cautious about the rest. The younger brother has not heard much, but he is not suspicious, and his words are especially careless. Chasing the wind and catching shadows, deducting candles, and then wanting to break the world's affairs. Is it so easy to do things in the world?

Those who want to talk about military affairs must silently understand the talents of their own army, how many people can hold on, and how many people can fall into battle; If you want to talk about the economy, you must have the talents of the world, and you can guarantee a few people who can be the governor and a few people who can be guaranteed to be the commanders. Try to order my brother to open an insurance policy, it may not be embarrassing.

The younger brother is so arrogant, he is afraid that the thieves will come to fight or have mistakes. This reply to the letter is very serious. If the younger brother has a ridiculous belief like the first five, the brother will not believe it!

When the saint left Beijing, Yixin urgently summoned Guiliang, Seng Greenqin, Wenxiang, Shengbao, etc., to plan the current situation.

Yi Xin said: Bali Bridge defeated, I have no way to fight, my emperor's edict Fu Yi to negotiate peace, what do you mean?

Monk Greenqin and Shengbao repelled each other and retreated first, and the two chattered endlessly, almost wanting to do something.

Gui Liang said: The soldiers are coming to the city, we must not build the wall inside!

Yixin Dao: Yiren has copied to the two gates of Desheng and Anding, the second brother of the monk and Sheng, the rate of the headquarters, the army of the king of Heqin, and the battle and retreat to the important place of Gyeonggi, and the remote aid of the Beijing division. It's not too late to make amends; I immediately went out of the city, and sent a note to the Yi people, and promised to return the chieftains of the Pasha. Where is the Pashali? Release! Good life to appease!

Wen Xiang Dao: Ba Chieftain is still in charge of the Old Summer Palace Prison.

Yixin ignored everyone's dissuasion and bowed down to look, but when he saw Pasha Li and others, they were all ragged and withered; There were thirty-nine people in the line, and only eighteen people remained; The rest of the corpses were scattered, and one of them was unloaded into eight pieces and scattered in the dirt.

Yixin lamented: The Qing Dynasty is in danger! The Qing Dynasty is in danger!

Shengbao Road: Don't worry, the prince is not worried, Miao Peilin is in the king's army, and he is galloping to Beijing; At that time, we will fight to the death with the Yi people.

Yixin said: The fire has burned the eyebrows, and the thirst cannot be quenched by far water!

That night, Yixin and Wenxiang went out of the city, picked up the people of Qiayi, sent a meeting and a note, and promised to return Pashali and others.

Ergin ignored it, and said that the commander of the coalition army, Grant, said: Pasha Li and others are peace envoys, and they must be returned! But it's too late! Our troops arrived in the Forbidden City, and then discussed the matter of peace and compensation.

On the afternoon of October 6, the British and French troops entered the city of Deshengtu, secretly attacked the monk Lingqin cavalry, the monk king had no intention of fighting, the Qing army was defeated again, the defeated army retreated to the Old Summer Palace, and the British and French troops also came at the end.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the coalition army attacked the Old Summer Palace, and more than 20 eunuchs guarding the garden were not afraid, and they struggled forward, but they were outnumbered and collapsed at the first touch.

Ergin watched the garden of ten thousand gardens at night, and was overwhelmed with emotion, that is, three members of the British and French committees were sent to discuss and distribute the treasures in the garden.

The commander of the French army, Mentoban, secretly instructed the French commissioners: after entering the garden, they should first take the most valuable objects in art and archaeology, dedicate them to His Majesty the Emperor, and hide them in the French Museum.

The commander of the British army, Grant, also ordered his subordinates: after entering the park, they tried their best to collect the objects that should belong to the British.

The next day, the French army went first, followed by the British army, and they poured into the Old Summer Palace, smashing and looting, and acting recklessly.

A Times reporter said to Ergin: My honorable sir, I have just returned from the Old Summer Palace, and it is a wonderful place, like an English park. Countless beautiful rooms filled with antiques, bronzes, and fine clocks. But they were robbed and smashed by your soldiers, and their wagons were full of all sorts of treasures, and I don't know where they were going. The more you look at it, the more annoying it becomes.

Erjin Dao: The emperor of the Qing State has no faith and detains my envoys for peace talks; This move is only for revenge! After two days, this will be banned.

Russian Minister Ignatiev said: Your Excellency wants to annex the Qing Dynasty?

Erjin Dao: If the Qing Emperor is blindly stubborn, everything is possible.

Ignatiev said: Your Excellency's ammunition and food reserves are about to run out; And the teachers of the Qing Dynasty, the kings of Qin, are coming. If you insist on going your own way, you may be unable to ride a tiger; I'm going to the Forbidden City right now, and I'll find out for you first.

The arrival of the Yi soldiers and the robbery of the Old Summer Palace made Prince Gong Yixin palpitate, and when he heard that the Russian minister asked to see him, he said: Please.

Ignatiev said: The Anglo-French coalition will attack the Forbidden City in a few days, can Mr. Prince stop it?

Yixin said: My emperor Mulan is in autumn, and he will return in a few days; The teachers of King Wuqin also arrived in Beijing recently; However, the Jingshi soldiers are not fortunate in the end, so please ask Mr. to mediate.

Ignatiev said: Four years ago, the British and French countries fought a bloody war in Crimea for four years, and our enmity with Britain and France was as deep as the sea; If Mr. Prince agrees to Aihui's agreement, our country will not only be willing to mediate, but can even send troops to help.

Yixin said: Although I am the minister of the Qin Mission, but the act of printing and painting is related to the general situation, I must immediately ask my emperor, please ask Mr. to mediate first, after the matter is completed, it will not be bad! Half of the negotiation envoys such as Pashali died unexpectedly; Please have a lot of kind words, my country is willing to spend a lot of money to deal with the aftermath.

Erjin looked at the miserable situation of the envoys of the peace talks, and said angrily: The people of the Qing country, the crime is so bad, how can it be redeemed by money! I can't propose that the people who framed our country and those who broke the truce be handed over for punishment, but these are all the instigations of the Qing Emperor, and the Qing Emperor can kill them? Can it be killed? Burn the Old Summer Palace immediately as a punishment!

The French envoy objected strenuously, saying: "It is ridiculous for us to set fire to the garden after we have plundered countless things!"

Erjin Dao: Although I have a lot of resentment, I will never kill innocents indiscriminately! and put a fire to talk about grievances; In addition, the lost things in the Old Summer Palace can also be lost with the fire. Lieutenant General Michel, led 3,000 troops to burn the Old Summer Palace.

Before the burning, the British army made a big announcement, saying: "In the universe, no matter how noble the emperor is, if he commits hypocrisy and fraud, he cannot escape the responsibility and punishment he deserves." In order to punish the Qing Emperor for not keeping the previous covenant and violating the peace treaty, he decided to burn the Old Summer Palace on the 18th.

The notice of burning the garden was posted for three days, Erjin ordered the fire, the fire spread to the Anyou Palace, the steward eunuch actually locked the palace door, more than 300 eunuchs, palace maids, and craftsmen told that the earth should not be called every day, and all died in the fire.

The fire burned for three days and three nights, and in the sound of the fire, Erjin was angry and said: This move will shock the Qing Kingdom and Europe, and its effect is far beyond the imagination of people thousands of miles away; If the Qing Emperor has more twists and turns, I will burn the Forbidden City again!

Yixin was surprised, and immediately sent a note to Erjin, all matters can be negotiated. In his busy schedule, Gui Liang urged Yixin to ask for help; He also said: "Gong Zizhen's son Gong Cheng begs for foreign countries and acts for the tiger; My situation is all sued by outsiders. ”

Yixin sighed: "The country is ruined, and the erector will wag his tail and beg for mercy, but it is just a dog's ear!" ”