? Jiang Zhongyuan rode his horse, dejectedly heading in the direction of the Huai army's camp.
Jiang Zhongyuan rode his horse and dejectedly headed in the direction of the Huai Army's camp. A few hours ago, when the two went to the Xiang Army's camp, Jiang Zhongyuan was filled with anger, Li Hongzhang was also extremely annoyed. Several hours ago, when the two of them went to the Xiang army's camp, Jiang Zhongyuan was filled with anger, and Li Hongzhang was also extremely annoyed. Seeing the Xiang Army wantonly slaughtering the people, Jiang Zhongyuan was enraged. Of course, Li Hongzhang was extremely unhappy when the Xiang Army carried out a massacre in Li Hongzhang's hometown, Luzhou.
But the two were finally persuaded by Ceng Guofan. Ceng Guofan's voice seemed to still be echoing in Jiang Zhongyuan's ears.
"Was it the unruly people who rebelled first, or the Xiang Army and the Huai army?"
"After the unruly people rebelled, the unruly people everywhere responded. Min Qiao, when you were fighting the Guangdong bandits, didn't you also want to eat their flesh and sleep with their skin? "
"If the unruly people don't accept the country officials, they will definitely rebel. Now, with the Guangdong bandits and Wei Ni as an example, the unruly people everywhere are rebelling. Thunderous methods show the heart of a Bodhisattva. If we are indecisive and cannot establish power for the court, then the unruly people will not fear the law! "
"If we want to punish the corrupt officials and evil gentry, then we must wait until the world is stable. If we blindly feel that the unruly people are pitiful and the corrupt officials are evil, then we are putting the cart before the horse. The corrupt officials and evil gentry can still be enlightened. They have only let down the court. From the bottom of their hearts, they still know to revere the court and the way of the saints. The Cantonese bandits have broken through so many cities, many of the local officials are lacking in morals, but they still know to commit suicide to show their loyalty to the country. The unruly people only know themselves, rebelling when they are a little poor. In their hearts, what about the court, what about the way of the saints who sacrifice themselves for justice? We must not let these unruly people go. "
"If there was no support from the unruly people of Huainan, how could the Cantonese bandits run rampant? The unruly people of Huainan pay taxes to the bandits, and many even seek refuge with them, becoming their claws and teeth. If the Cantonese bandits were compared to the trunk of a tree, the unruly people were the roots. Although we don't usually see them, the Cantonese bandits rely on the unruly locals of Huainan … "
Ceng Guofan was worthy of being a great Confucian scholar. His reasoning was extremely clear. Of course, Jiang Zhongyuan had no intention of letting the Cantonese bandits off. He just felt that the commoners were pitiful and there was no need to kill them. But after listening to Ceng Guofan's heartfelt words, Jiang Zhongyuan really couldn't find a reason to defend himself.
Yes, Jiang Zhongyuan could find thousands of reasons from the Sage's words, but Ceng Guofan's explanation might be more convincing. "As a high-ranking official of the imperial court, there are some things that must be done according to authority."
The people of Huainan had been under the rule of the Taiping Rebellion for eight years, and they were already used to the Taiping Rebellion's rule. When facing the army, they did not take the initiative to welcome the Imperial Army, but tried their best to hide from them. Fighting a war required money and rations. The commoners of Huainan were avoiding their responsibilities, and if the imperial army continued to placate them, they would starve to death before exterminating the Guangdong bandits.
Faced with Ceng Guofan's dignified reasoning and the cold reality, Jiang Zhongyuan could only accept the current situation. As for Li Hongzhang, he didn't say anything, but the indignant expression on his face had disappeared without a trace.
In the next few days, Jiang Zhongyuan didn't allow the Huai army to return to Luzhou. There weren't many people left in Luzhou City, so Jiang Zhongyuan ordered some commoners to be captured and had them clean up the tragic situation in Luzhou. Digging pits and burying people had to be done as soon as possible. It was already August, and the hottest period had begun. If they didn't bury the people quickly, a plague might break out in Luzhou soon. When that happened, the city would be completely uninhabitable.
At this time, many visitors arrived in Luzhou City who didn't know about the tragic situation in Luzhou City. Without exception, they were all landlords and gentry from the countryside. When they arrived, they all brought gifts for their first meeting. They were Taiping army officials who had been tied up with ropes. When these people saw Jiang Zhongyuan, they all expressed their willingness to form their own groups to help the imperial court placate the local areas and exterminate the remnants of the Taiping army in the countryside.
Jiang Zhongyuan was gratified that there were still landlords and gentry who were willing to support the imperial court. Jiang Zhongyuan sent someone to verify the identities of these people, while he himself ordered the landlords, "If you really want to serve the imperial court, then hurry up and donate your rations."
Faced with this problem, all the landlords and gentry had bitter expressions. Of course, all of them told Jiang Zhongyuan that the Taiping army had followed Vézé's policy of "paying taxes when there's no more rations" and led the impoverished commoners to suppress the landlords and gentry. Over the years, the landlords had shouldered most of the heavy responsibility of collecting rations under the oppression of the Taiping army. It was true that the landlords had no more rations left. The poor, on the other hand, were living better lives because they paid less taxes.
In addition to their complaints, the landlords and gentry also gave similar suggestions. If Jiang Zhongyuan really wanted to collect rations, they asked him to wait a little longer and let the landlords and gentry organize a group to collect rations first. If Jiang Zhongyuan couldn't wait, he could directly collect rations from the poor families. The landlords and gentry in Huainan strongly expressed that these poor people all had rations, and the imperial army would be able to eat their fill when they arrived.
Of course, Jiang Zhongyuan was unwilling to let his troops go door-to-door to collect rations. This was the most efficient method. Therefore, he unceremoniously ordered the landlords and gentry, "If you really want to serve the imperial court, then hurry up and collect rations. The deadline is one month, and the rations will be delivered in a month. If you refuse, then I will punish you for your crimes. "
After scaring away the landlords, Jiang Zhongyuan felt a little better. No matter what, the rations problem had finally come to an end. Jiang Zhongyuan didn't want to know what methods the landlords and gentry would use to collect rations.
On the 13th of August 1861, the Xiang Army finished resting and reorganizing and started to head south.
On the 16th of August 1861, the Huai army also started to head south.
The Xiang Army's goal was to attack the Taiping army's capital, Tianjing. The Huai army's goal was to completely occupy Huainan and prepare to attack Tianjing together with the Xiang Army.
Even if the Xiang Army's leaders didn't accept Jiang Zhongyuan's plan to share the spoils, they had no choice but to accept this. If they wanted to break through Tianjing in a short period of time, they could only rely on Jiang Zhongyuan's military strength.
At this time, Vézé was eyeing Tianjing like a tiger watching its prey. The sooner they broke through Tianjing, the sooner they could prepare for a decisive battle with Vézé.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
