? Di Gao was from Anhui's Jing County.
In 1857, he was promoted from Hunan's Chenyuan to Guangxi's Inspector. In 1857, he was promoted from Hunan's Chenyuan Yongjing Road to Guangxi's Inspector. In 1858, he became a substitute Inspector and remained in Hunan's Chenyuan Yongjing Road. In 1860, after Shi Dakai marched into Sichuan, Xianfeng urgently transferred Hunan's Inspector Luo Bingzhang to Sichuan to oversee military affairs. Di Gao temporarily took over Hunan's Inspector position.
At this time, he was facing his fellow villager, Di Xianfeng, who was also from Jing County. Hearing the familiar accent, Di Gao didn't have the teary eyes of a fellow villager. Instead, he felt wary and fearful.
Di Gao felt that Di Xianfeng was probably the most incongruous person he had ever seen who wore a long robe. Di Xianfeng was about 170 centimeters tall, which was considered tall in this era. He had a round face, and his muscles were firm. He looked very powerful. Whether he was walking or standing, he gave off the impression that he wanted to throw off his refined robe. If Di Xianfeng was wearing a short shirt, it would be perfect.
"Inspector Di, our army hopes to return the two thousand Xiang Army prisoners in Chenzhou and Guiyang Prefecture. Do you want it or not?" Di Xianfeng's words were not as overbearing as his appearance. His voice wasn't loud and his tone was calm.
"What do you mean?" Di Gao pretended to be unyielding.
Di Xianfeng smiled. "If you're talking about a year or two from now, then I'm afraid we'll be fighting to the death on the battlefield. But if you're talking about half a year or a year, then as long as the Xiang Army doesn't move south, we have no intention of moving north. Oh, of course, we'll take over Daozhou and other places. I personally suggest that you don't send troops to rescue them. "
Hearing such a calm reply, Di Gao cursed in his heart. "Do you really think you're a government official?"
Since he was angry, Di Gao replied bluntly. "You're quite bold. Aren't you afraid at all?"
"Haha! Hahaha! " Di Xianfeng laughed heartily. "Sir Di, let's put it this way. In the future, we will definitely march into Hunan. Therefore, during the war, the deaths are official matters. Killing captives is a private matter. It's not a problem if you kill me. If you kill me, we'll put up notices all over Hunan. The prisoners in Hunan will be executed because Di Gao killed our emissary. If the people of Hunan can kill you, then we will immediately release the captives. I can't kill you, but as long as someone can kill your family, they will pay with their life. We also free the prisoners. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to retaliate by shooting the officers inside. This blood feud will be placed on your head, Inspector Di. "
Di Gao listened to this opponent who came from the same hometown and had the same surname calmly narrate his threats. He slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Get out!"
Di Xianfeng slowly stood up, put on the skullcap with a fake braid inside, and calmly walked out of the back study. After Di Xianfeng went out, his personal attendant secretly led him out of the Imperial Inspector yamen through the back door. Di Gao went to the room next door to see Luo Bingzhang.
Although Luo Bingzhang had received the task of supervising military affairs in Sichuan, he had not yet taken up his post. After listening to Di Gao narrate the contents of this meeting, Luo Bingzhang frowned in silence. If the Liberation Army purely relied on their military superiority to make a simple threat, the Hunan Liberation Army could, of course, grit their teeth, stiffen their necks, and fight to the end. But now, the Liberation Army clearly stated that they wanted to contact the families of the captured Xiang Army officers.
In the battle of Fuzhou, the Liberation Army killed five thousand Xiang Army elites. In the battle of Sanhe, the Taiping army killed five thousand Xiang Army elites. All of Xiangxiang was covered in white mourning cloaks. There were more than three thousand Xiang Army troops in Chenzhou and Guiyang. The Liberation Army took down two cities in succession. Not a single Xiang Army soldier was able to escape. If the two thousand Xiang Army troops were slaughtered, the reason for the slaughter was that the government refused to redeem the captives. The Hunan gentry and literati would definitely not let the Hunan government off.
After pondering for a while, Luo Bingzhang gritted his teeth and said to his subordinate, "I'm going to Sichuan in two days. I'll leave the matters here to you!"
After hearing this, Di Gao cursed in his heart, "You old thing, you sure know how to run! You threw such a hot potato to me! "
No matter how he cursed in his heart, Di Gao knew that his position as Hunan's Inspector-General was only temporary. Even if he did not make any mistakes, he would not last more than a few days. That was why Luo Bingzhang dared to treat him like this.
"Duke Luo, I'm going to redeem the captives first!" Di Gao made it clear, forcing Luo Bingzhang to take a stand. Luo Bingzhang could not afford to offend the hundreds of Hunan gentry families, and Di Gao could not afford to offend them either. He had to make this clear.
Although Luo Bingzhang was a wily old fox, he was not completely irresponsible. After listening to Di Gao, he snorted, "Let's talk first!"
That night, Di Xianfeng left the back door of his residence and entered a small palanquin. The palanquin bearers carried him to the back door of a large mansion. There was no light on the door, so Di Xianfeng entered the back door, which was slightly ajar in the dark. Then the palanquin immediately left, and the back door was completely closed.
The one who came to greet him was Di Gao. At this time, his face no longer had the official air he had during the day. As a supervisor, Di Gao could be considered smooth and slick. After taking a seat in the back study, which was tightly surrounded by his entourage, Di Gao laughed and said, "I say, brother, it was official business during the day. I was only joking when I asked you if you were afraid of death. When two countries are at war, they don't kill the envoys. Do you think I'm really that ignorant? Besides, you and I are from the same hometown and have the same surname. There are no outsiders with the surname Di in Jing County. "
Di Xianfeng did not come here to argue. Since Di Gao had already softened his attitude, he also laughed and said, "Haha, since you and I are now in two different camps, it's only right that we test each other."
In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere between these two distant relatives seemed to have dissipated. Di Gao asked, "If we say that we don't do anything, you won't just let them go like this, right?"
Di Xianfeng also took out the Liberation Army's conditions. "We want to buy tea, not blackmail, but really buy it. Of course, you won't make much money in terms of price. "
After that, Di Xianfeng was afraid that Di Gao would misunderstand, so he said, "We will give you money. We won't default. If you tamper with the tea, then we can only write an announcement, post it all over Hunan, and then kill people. "
Di Gao never thought that the Liberation Army would put forward such a condition. He only found it extremely funny. But looking at Di Xianfeng's serious expression, he did not seem to be joking, so Di Gao also said seriously, "Isn't it a ransom?"
Di Xianfeng shook his head. "We are not kidnappers, so why do we need ransom? Besides, we are not doing this one business, but we want to do this tea business for a long time. War is war, and business is business. As the governor of Hunan, you have to do something that is good for the people. Now the flames of war are everywhere, and the tea can't be sold. If you sell the tea in Hunan to us, the tea sellers and you will at least have an income. If you can beat us, you will have made a contribution, and you will have made money. If you can't beat us, you will have made the money you deserve, and you can run home and become a rich man. Why not do such a good thing? "
Di Gao was stunned. He did not expect that such a big matter as war would be so easy for Di Xianfeng, a fellow villager. Why did it sound wrong? After thinking about it carefully, Di Gao finally understood. What Di Xianfeng said was based on one point: the Liberation Army would definitely be able to defeat the Manchu Qing, so it was better for Di Gao to prepare a way out for himself as early as possible.
This idea did not make Di Gao feel uneasy. On the contrary, it made him feel that it was a good thing. Di Gao had long been aware of his position as a "transitional governor." He asked, "How do we change the people?"
Di Xianfeng took out a document. Di Gao took it hesitantly. There was a plan written on it. The Liberation Army had provided a list of the captives. Some of the officers' families were in the tea business, and some of the soldiers also had tea trees in their homes. The Liberation Army had done some research. Based on the lowest price of tea, the Liberation Army had bought tea from Hunan. One soldier would be exchanged for at least one load of tea. If Hunan was willing to sell more, the Liberation Army would buy all of it.
Of course, there was also a very nonsensical condition. After receiving enough tea, the Liberation Army would let the captives go. Before that, the Liberation Army had to make sure that the families of every soldier and officer who provided tea in their homes had to know that the Liberation Army would hand over the money for the tea to the captives of the Xiang Army to bring back.
Di Gao asked, "I say, old brother, what do you mean by this?"
Di Xianfeng chuckled and said, "Let's not beat around the bush. As long as there is money involved, will your government just cut it a few times? Our Liberation Army is not willing to be the scapegoat. Whoever cuts it will bear the responsibility. "
"Haha!" Inspector Di Gao was so angry that he laughed. He didn't expect the vicious Liberation Army to pay so much attention to his credibility. Without waiting for Di Zeng to speak, Di Xianfeng continued, "As for you, brother, we will send someone to give you 1% of the total amount of this transaction. We use Yingyang to buy tea, so giving it to you is the same as giving it to Yingyang. "
Inspector Di Gao's eyes widened and he said in surprise, "You're not joking, are you?"
Di Xianfeng waved his hand and said, "Brothers should settle accounts clearly. Since you can help us with this transaction, we can't not give you some benefits. Also, I'll bring you the words of our Military Governor Vaize. We won't be able to go north within a year. Brother, I'm afraid you won't be the Inspector for more than a year. When you're no longer the Inspector, if we attack and you surrender, we'll guarantee the safety of your family. Of course, the premise is that you don't go to the battlefield. In war, weapons don't recognize people. "
Inspector Di Gao was completely speechless that he could get a business deal from fighting the Liberation Army.
After the secret meeting, Di Gao went to report this matter to Luo Bingzhang. After Luo Bingzhang finished reading the contents of the paper, he said hatefully, "These Guangdong bandits actually want to win the hearts of the aristocrats! What wishful thinking! Inspector Di … Inspector Di, have you questioned them? "
Di Gao answered, "Reporting to Lord Luo, I've said the same thing, but the Liberation Army said that if worst comes to worst, they can just write this into an announcement and spread it everywhere in Hunan. When the aristocratic families find out about this, even if they don't dare to make a fuss openly, they will sell tea to the Liberation Army in private. If they do that, the aristocrats' resentment will only be directed at the government. The Liberation Army has nothing to be afraid of! "
Hearing such shameless words from the Liberation Army, Luo Bingzhang closed his eyes and pursed his lips, as if he was worried that he would start cursing the moment he opened his mouth. After a while, Luo Bingzhang said, "I'll leave the day after tomorrow. You can handle this matter!"
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