The Liberation Army was very benevolent. They sent a large ship to transport the group of Bannermen back to the Liaodong Peninsula. Because they were worried that this group of people would rob the ship, a considerable number of troops were guarding this group of people. Seeing so many soldiers on the ship, the Bannermen and the Bannermen were also very worried, so when they received the money, they brought the Bannermen who had come to put the raft with them to strengthen their prestige.
Ingots of silver and stacks of Yingyang were placed on the ship. The eyes of the Bannermen who came to receive the money reflected the light of the silver. They had never seen so much money before. Some of them threw themselves on the pile of money and just hugged it. Some were simply scared silly. They stared at the money in a daze and did not move at all.
Tairan Sea was also shocked by so much money. Thinking that he could let his family live a good life after returning home, he could not help but think of his younger brother who had fallen into the water while putting the raft, and his older brother who had accidentally been hit when putting the tree, causing his right arm to be disabled. This money could indeed completely change the life of Tairan Sea's family, but for this money, his family had paid a great price. Thinking of these relatives, Tairan Sea suddenly burst into tears and choked with sobs.
It was actually not far from the Bohai Sea to the Liaodong Peninsula. They were transported in several batches. They left in the morning and arrived at night. When they got off the ship, the "foreign devil" recommended a new logging axe to the Bannermen. This axe was really good. At this time, there was still some wood on the coast. When the axe went down, it cut deeply into the wood, and it took a lot of strength to pull it out. The price of this axe was indeed nothing compared to the money everyone had earned, but the price of five taels of silver was still shocking.
Tairan Sea's Bannerman did not want to buy it at first, but when he saw other Bannermen buying this axe, he immediately paid for it. Tairan Sea did not understand at first, but when he saw the other Bannermen carrying this murderous thing in their hands and thought of the money in his pouch, he also felt that he needed to buy these things. He had to buy these sharp things.
Liberation Army Navy's clipper ship quickly arrived at its destination. When it arrived at the seaside and delivered the news to the telegraph station, the clipper ship began to rush to Shanghai. If a large fleet were to gather, they would need a ship to lead the way.
When Zuo Zongtang handed the report to Vézé, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, is there any problem with the price of the wood? This price is simply too low. "
Vézé looked at the price of the wood and smiled, "This is the problem of productivity. In the past, putting wooden rafts on the sea was dangerous. Since everyone's lives were on the line, they naturally had to make a profit. Right now, we're just picking up the logs not far from the sea, so the price is only this low. "
After listening to this explanation, Zuo Zongtang understood the logic behind it. He continued to ask, "Are we really fine?"
Vézé looked at the confused expression on Zuo Zongtang's face and smiled. "Hmm … If you want to broaden your horizons, why don't you follow the fleet to pick up the rafts? After seeing our boats, you'll know why our cost is so low. "
Zuo Zongtang was stunned. He didn't understand what Vézé meant. Was this considered an assignment? But there was no such thing as an assignment in the Liberation Army. The civil servants were all under the same system. The Organization Department, which was equivalent to the Ministry of Personnel in Manchu Qing, was in charge of personnel deployment. So after thinking for a while, Zuo Zongtang asked, "Do I have to go through the Organization Department to arrange this?"
"This is my personal arrangement," Vézé replied.
"Your Majesty, then forget it," Zuo Zongtang replied. At this time, he was also considering whether he should officially join the new government, but he was, after all, the former governor of Zhejiang and the minister who trained the army to suppress bandits. No matter who was in the Restoration Party, they had to start from scratch, so Zuo Zongtang felt that he couldn't bring himself to start from the bottom. If he could be assigned a rank this time, it would be equivalent to having his own position when he entered the ranks. Personal arrangement would only allow Zuo Zongtang to leave Vézé's side. Even if he could broaden his horizons after the tour, it wouldn't be of any help to his promotion. Comparing the two sides, Zuo Zongtang would rather walk the path of stability.
Vézé didn't force it. He smiled and said, "Comrade Zuo Zongtang, do you know the biggest difference between the new government and Manchu Qing?"
"The new government is more capable?" Zuo Zongtang replied with uncertainty.
"No, if we're talking about capability, we're not necessarily more capable than those people. But our system says that everyone has to work, not sit on his high horse and be a master. Do you understand what I'm saying? "Vézé asked.
Zuo Zongtang thought for a while, but still shook his head to show that he couldn't understand.
"If the navy were to drag logs, no one would say that the navy exists to fight on the sea. It won't do for me to do the job of dragging logs. Moreover, the navy won't ask for extra allowances or ask for a share of the profits. The reason is very simple. If other units were to drag logs, other units wouldn't have the equipment and ability. The work done by the navy is part of the overall operation of society. The navy isn't establishing a territory and starting a feudalism of power. Our Liberation Party Liberation Army is all laborers. This has nothing to do with the level of status. The level of status refers to the level of responsibility, not the level of privilege. "Vézé explained patiently.
Zuo Zongtang felt that he understood something, but he also felt that he didn't understand anything. Zuo Zongtang was a very proud person, so he refused to pretend to understand what he didn't understand. He also saw that Vézé was very earnest in teaching, and hoped that what he said could be understood. Zuo Zongtang said, "Your Majesty, let me think about this. Maybe I'll understand in the future."
Ceng Guofan sighed in his heart when he saw the fleet of "foreign devils" from afar. Those huge ships were several times larger than the largest ships Ceng Guofan had ever seen. Around the huge ships, various smaller ships without sails were cruising around the periphery, ignoring the direction of the wind. Ceng Guofan frowned when he saw that there was no light wheel. He had heard of such ships. They were the ships of the Liberation Army. In the Battle of Chao Lake, such warships swept away the ships of the Xiang Army Navy.
When they got closer, Ceng Guofan became even more uneasy. Except for some foreign devils on the ships that came to negotiate, he couldn't see any foreign devils on the other ships through the binoculars. And even if it was a negotiation, the number of Chinese people on these ships far exceeded the number of foreign devils. Moreover, the translators all spoke in a strange official language with a strong southern accent. All of this gave Ceng Guofan an inexplicable feeling.
It was even stranger when the goods were being traded. There was really no problem with the goods of this group of people. Those rifles had all the accessories on them, and each gun was brand new. They were coated with oil, and it seemed that they had been well maintained. The body of the gun, the accessories, and the bayonet were all complete. This was completely different from when the Xiang army did business with the foreign devils. The foreign devils had broken and broken second-hand guns, and there were still parts missing here and there. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem right that the foreign devils were so benevolent and righteous in doing business. But Ceng Guofan couldn't use this as a reason to accuse him of something fishy.
The prince on this trip was Prince Rui. A large amount of rice was transported from the big ship to the Manchu Qing merchant ship that had come to pick up the goods. Moreover, some small boxes with unknown contents were constantly being hoisted onto Manchu Qing's ships. Ceng Guofan felt that there must be some huge conspiracy behind this, but he couldn't figure out what the conspiracy was, and he didn't dare to try to expose it. Now, the Xiang Army had become a thorn in the side of the Eight Banners Army. If Ceng Guofan didn't know what was good for him, he wouldn't end up well.
When Ceng Guofan returned to Beijing, he would congratulate Wang Yixin. As promised, another batch of canned food was sent to Ceng Guofan's residence. In addition to the canned food, there were also supplies such as soap and scented soap. But Ceng Guofan didn't feel happy at all. The behavior of the princes and the behavior of those who traded with them made Ceng Guofan feel uneasy. The words "Liberation Army" hovered in Ceng Guofan's mind, but Ceng Guofan didn't dare to say it. Ceng Guofan couldn't see what was wrong with such a deal. But it was precisely because of this that Ceng Guofan felt particularly uneasy.
After thinking about it, Ceng Guofan roughly sorted out an idea. The Liberation Army hoped that the Qing Army could perish together with the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Army, so they used the name of the foreign devils to sell weapons and food to the imperial court. When these forces were drained of their own blood, the Recovery Army could easily pick the final fruit of victory.
But even if he figured it out, what could he do? Ceng Guofan knew very well that the Liberation Army didn't necessarily care who the final enemy was. But if the final winner was the Taiping Rebellion or the Nian Army, the Qing Dynasty would inevitably perish. Thinking about it carefully, the only thing he could do now was to quickly let the imperial court prepare to withdraw from the border. But this was something that Ceng Guofan was not qualified to interrupt.
After thinking about it, Ceng Guofan realized that the only thing he could count on at this time was the Mongolian cavalry of Sengrinchen. If this Manchu Qing elite could destroy the Nian Army, there was still a chance.
"Marshal, there's a eunuch." A bodyguard came to report.
Ceng Guofan hurried to greet him. The eunuch who came was summoned by Empress Dowager Ci 'an to see Ceng Guofan. Ceng Guofan followed the eunuch into the imperial city. After receiving Ceng Guofan, Ci 'an calmly said, "Ceng Guofan, I've made things difficult for you in the past few months."
The Empress Dowager's words touched Ceng Guofan's heart. Feeling the Empress Dowager's care, Ceng Guofan knelt down and thanked the Empress Dowager. Tears couldn't help but flow out.
"Ceng Guofan, the imperial court has ordered you to be the Henan Inspector-General. You can take up the post immediately." Ci 'an ordered.
Ceng Guofan was overjoyed. In the capital, he didn't have a chance to display his skills. If he could become the Henan Inspector-General, the Xiang Army would be able to fight the Nian Army to the death. With such an opportunity to serve the imperial court, Ceng Guofan felt very happy. Heavily kowtowing, Ceng Guofan resolutely said, "Please rest assured, Empress Dowager. I will do my best to destroy the bandits in Henan."
Ci 'an asked, "Before I leave the capital, do you have any suggestions?"
Ceng Guofan was very embarrassed, but Empress Dowager Ci 'an had shown considerable insight. If she didn't trust Ceng Guofan and see the situation Ceng Guofan was facing, she wouldn't have let Ceng Guofan be the Henan Inspector-General. Thinking of this, Ceng Guofan could no longer care about his own favor. In a trembling voice, he said, "Empress Dowager, the current situation is critical. I ask the imperial court to prepare to move the capital. If I can live up to the imperial court's expectations and eliminate the bandits in Henan, the world can still be stable. If I am incompetent and eventually die in the hands of the bandits, Shengjing outside the Great Wall can still be the capital. "
Ci 'an was silent. She was born in a family of officials. Since she was a child, she had seen her father deal with government affairs. She was very familiar with the bureaucracy. Therefore, for Ceng Guofan to say such words that should not have been said in the bureaucracy, it was enough to prove how critical the situation was. Ceng Guofan could say these words regardless of his life, but Ci 'an couldn't respond at all. If Ci 'an dared to respond, there would immediately be a great turmoil in the imperial court.
Thinking of this, Ci 'an said, "Ceng Guofan, you work hard and are extremely loyal to the imperial court. The imperial court let you be the Henan Inspector-General because they trust you to eliminate the bandits. Do a good job and don't let the imperial court down! "
Hearing this, Ceng Guofan could only kowtow. "Please rest assured, Empress Dowager. I will destroy the bandits even if I have to die!"
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.
