In Marshal Jiangning's Mansion, Zeng Guofan, who was wearing a wolfskin cloak, opened the window of the study room. A cold wind blew in his face and stimulated him to start coughing violently.
A figure flashed behind the commander, and the farmer who had driven away the eagle quickly closed the window with a nervous look on his face. "Commander, you are not in good health. Don't let the cold wind blow. There will be a meeting later..."
"Ahem...Old farmer, please leave me alone. I need to calm down! The situation in Jiangnan is so chaotic now. Even I have a headache. I have to make sure my mind is clear!"
Zeng Guofan squeezed the old farmer's hand and opened the window firmly, and cold wind filled the room again. The old farmer's hands, which could frighten an eagle, would not dare to move, but were pinched by Zeng Guofan, who was currently weak and unable to move.
"Hey... Commander, you don't owe Xiao Letian anything, so why should you help him? Why don't we just live our own lives?"
"You don't understand, you don't understand. I'm not helping Xiao Letian, I'm helping China's national destiny! Have you arranged all the things I asked you to arrange?"
The old farmer frowned and said, "You still don't trust me when I do something great? It's just that I don't think it's necessary..."
Zeng Guofan did not answer his words and just stared blankly at the sky outside the window. "Do you know why this place is called Jiangning? Do you know why this place was called Nanjing or Jinling in the past?"
The old farmer shook his head. He would not take up the subject of the commander-in-chief.
"There were no cities in this land at first. After King Chu Wei destroyed the Yue Kingdom, he built a castle on Zhongshan Mountain, which was also known as Jinling Mountain in ancient times, and named it Jinling after the place... Later, the First Emperor of China visited the south and discovered that there was an imperial aura in the southeast. , so the Qinhuai River was dug to vent the king's anger..."
"Not only that, the First Emperor also falsely claimed that there was countless gold buried in Jinling Mountain to lure future generations to explore. As a result, countless people drilled holes in the mountain to look for gold. In the end, the gold was not found, but the earth energy of Jinling Mountain was vented..."
"Hey... From now on, this city only has the appearance of a king, but no kingly spirit! In history, all the dynasties that established their capitals here were short-lived. Isn't Changmao an example?"
"Jinling later had other names such as Nanjing, Moling, Jianye, Jianye, Jiankang, Baixia, Shengzhou, Jiqing, Yingtian, etc. Later, when the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, in order to suppress the imperial atmosphere of the southern capital of the Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Jiangning. Now do you understand why the imperial court has kept me stationed here for the past few years?"
The old farmer suddenly realized, "That's it. Changmao changed Jiangning to Tianjing. After we broke through, the name Jiangning was restored. I thought this place had always been called Jiangning. It turns out there is such an allusion... Looking at it like this, the imperial court magistrate Are you here just to let this city, which has lost its royal spirit, suppress the commander-in-chief's luck?"
"Haha..." Zeng Guofan laughed, "There should be such considerations, but I don't believe in this. Since ancient times, it has been emphasized that blessed people live in blessed places, and blessed lands are blessed to live in! When people are blessed, the destiny of the land will also change accordingly. Feng Shui You can’t suppress a person of great merit!”
"Actually, letting me stay in Jiangning is also a warning. Let me look at this war-torn city every day, and let me think about the declining kingship here every day... It is also a warning to me, you Han people's king My anger has long gone, and Changmao’s fate has proven it, so I’m told not to think too hard!”
"Damn it..." The old farmer clenched his fists tightly and made a loud banging sound.
Zeng Guofan let out a long sigh, "After this meeting, I will go north to be the Governor-General of Zhili! I have a hunch that I don't have long to live, and I am going to die... So before I die, I have to make all kinds of arrangements! Cough cough cough..."
"Commander..." The old farmer burst into tears.
"Don't cry, don't cry! There is no immortal person in the world. I am already very old at this age. Isn't it good if I can finish all my things and go away happily?"
"Look at this telegram, it was sent to me by Xiao Letian. He asked me to do something. As long as it is done, he will promise me three things. What a deal! I must do this deal! I have to promise him..."
The old farmer's eyes widened after reading the top-secret telegram, "This, this, this... if we do this, how many people will we offend? Commander, have you thought about it? Will others listen to you?"
"That's why I asked you to make arrangements! Sometimes I, the sick tiger, have to show off my power!"
The old farmer gritted his teeth and stamped his feet cruelly, and the three bricks suddenly cracked. "Okay! I will listen to the commander in my life. I will do whatever you ask me to do!"
At this point, Zeng Guofan suddenly started coughing violently. His hollow voice made his face turn unhealthy and flushed. He blocked his mouth with a handkerchief, but he couldn't stop the coughing.
The old farmer's face turned pale with fright. He quickly helped Zeng Guofan sit down, and then used his internal strength to gently caress the acupuncture points on the commander's back, forcibly suppressing the coughing. "Commander, please take a rest...is your health okay?"
When the handkerchief was taken away, the old farmer's eyes shrank from the shocking bright red color. He was so distressed that tears flowed down his face. "Commander, we won't have the meeting anymore. We won't act like horses to Xiao Letian. We don't owe anything." His!"
"But I owe it to the world! I owe it to everyone in the world!" Zeng Guofan suddenly roared, "I have to atone! My Zeng family has been fighting for many years and has committed too many crimes. I have to atone! I risked my life. I have to atone for my sins too! Let me save as much as I can!"
"Bring me that thing..."
"What?" the old farmer asked puzzledly.
"Trash, I'm talking about the big smoking gun. Bring me the big smoking gun and let me take a few puffs..."
With a pop, the old farmer knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, "My commander, don't you hate this thing the most? How can you smoke big cigarettes? I beg you not to do this..."
Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly and said, "You, you! Look at how energetic I am. Can I hold a meeting without relying on smoking to refresh myself? Can I shock those people? I am a person who is about to die, and I still pay attention to it. What are those for?"
"If I go out and let those people see a sickly commander and let them know that I only have one or two years to live at most, do you think they will be careful? Do you really think I can shock everyone? Are you here?"
"The tiger has to hide from the wolf even when he is old! Even the emperor has to be bullied by villains when he is old, let alone me! Be obedient and bring me the big smoking gun. I will take a few puffs to keep my spirits up. At least let me I’ll take this meeting down!”
After coaxing and persuading, the old farmer couldn't win over the commander, so he could only order a pot of Indian water chestnut soil for the commander with tears in his eyes, and wait for the commander to anesthetize his sick body with drugs.
At this moment, in the meeting hall ahead, Ninth Commander Zeng Guoquan walked into the hall with a gloomy face. The generals of the Hunan Army who had arrived early quickly stood up and saluted.
"Hello, Ninth Commander! Good luck to Ninth Commander! Ninth Commander, please give us some information. Why did the Commander urgently summon us?"
