Zuo Zongtang was stunned for a moment. Looking at the worn oil paper bag, he did not reach out his hand, but asked in surprise, "Is this... the military expenses that Long live the Lord gave me to fight the war?"
"Yes, Commander...Long Live Lord has no personal power, and cannot give orders to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has no right to transfer money and food..."
"Fortunately, Lord Long Live went out to study in the palace, so he was forced to have a certain amount of financial power. Otherwise, he would still be in the palace, let alone 600,000, even if it is 60 taels of silver, Lord Long Live would not be able to get it... …”
"Commander, don't be too little. Long live the money. It's just what he wants... It's really embarrassing to let the Western Expedition army raise funds for the war by itself..."
"This is a reassurance for the Western Expedition army before His Majesty takes charge... In the future, after Your Majesty takes charge, he will definitely not let the commander-in-chief and the brothers in the army have any worries!"
A warm current surged from Zuo Zongtang's heart. Thousands of years of loyalty to the emperor are no joke. Confucian officials raised by these traditional knowledge have a natural respect for the monarchy.
No matter how much he complained about the decadence of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in private, the emperor showed the slightest kindness to his subjects, and all his subjects would shed tears of gratitude.
Zuo Zongtang held the shabby oil paper bag and slowly knelt down towards Beijing, his eyes filled with tears.
Suddenly he shouted, "Brothers... open your eyes and look, this is the military expenditure that Long Live has rewarded us with. It was saved by His Majesty from his own ration expenses!"
"I thank Tianen...Long live my emperor...Long live...Long live..." Zuo Zongtang faced the direction of Beijing and bowed his head heavily, his forehead slammed to the ground, and tears fell down.
The commander-in-chief of the three armies is already like this, and the leading soldiers are even more excited... The ancients are so simple, and the human heart is so pure and pure. If you treat him a little better, he will pay for it with his life.
"Long live... long live... long live..."
Kill the Xingxing Gorge...recover the entire Western Region...wipe out the rebels...
Outside Guazhou City, the shouts of one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians were like thunder, and the killing sounds were loud!
The British people in Gordon all had solemn faces, especially those who came to Asia for the first time were shocked by this scene, Samuel Baker murmured to himself.
"Wrong, all wrong... All European propaganda is wrong, they are misleading our people and our politicians!"
"Where are these people who are heavy smokers who have smoked enough opium? How are they the sick men of East Asia? Those cartoons in European newspapers that vilify the Chinese are all wrong..."
"This nation is simply a group of tigers and wolves. They all have the same loyalty in their hearts, the same passion, and the same spirit of risking their lives!"
"But our politicians and people are still swayed by those unrealistic caricatures. We still think that this nation is a backward barbarian..."
"Such arrogance will make us make mistakes and serious strategic mistakes... We can't do this. I must remind the country!"
The total number of soldiers and civilians transporting supplies outside Guazhou City was more than 100,000. When the news spread that Emperor Tongzhi spent his personal money to reward the troops, a fire was lit in everyone's heart during this bitter cold winter.
Only Doluo and Guan Lu had serious expressions. They looked at each other and sighed silently in their hearts, "Thanks to His Majesty for leaving Sijiu City and being taken out by Xiao Letian to meet the market..."
"Otherwise, Long Live Lord would never have imagined that being pro-military and pro-people has such a great effect!"
That's right, Emperor Tongzhi learned from Xiao Letian's imperial skills, and Xiao Letian, a time traveler, was extremely good at inspiring people's hearts and was also very good at publicity.
In terms of controlling public opinion and shaping his image, he is a well-deserved commander-in-chief in this era.
Not to mention Asia, there are countless fans who admire Xiao Letian in Europe at the moment. The most typical one is Princess Sissi who is crazy about Xiao Letian.
A strong politician who is good at shaping his own image, but also has a warm and close-knit side. Such a perfect image will of course make people like him.
Zai Chun naturally learned to be superficial by being around Xiao Letian!
But don’t underestimate this superficiality. You must know that the end of the 19th century was not an era of information explosion. People did not have much knowledge at all, and there were not many routines they could encounter in their lives.
Do you think Emperor Tongzhi’s six hundred thousand taels was just a show? Well, even if the people know that His Majesty is just acting like this, what will happen?
At that time, no emperor, general or minister was willing to act like this, and those fat-headed nobles were not even willing to act like this.
They lead beasts and cannibals without even bothering to lay a clean tablecloth. When people are exploited, they just knock their bones and suck their marrow right in front of them!
Under such a background of the times, Emperor Tongzhi was able to put on a show and act like he was close to the people, which already made the people burst into tears of gratitude!
It’s not about how clever the routine is, it’s about how bad other people’s hearts are. In such an evil era, as long as you show a little bit of kindness, you can gain hundreds of millions of people’s hearts.
Guan Lu looked at the exciting scene in front of him and secretly walked to Zuo Zongtang and whispered, "Commander...Xiaguan...Xiaguan has one more thing to say..."
"This package contains not 600,000 taels of silver... When we were fleeing from Yili, in order to get rid of the entanglement of the Rakshasa ghost cavalry, we spent 300,000 yuan to buy the herdsmen's cattle and horses..."
"There are only three hundred thousand here... This subordinate is guilty of death, please be punished by the commander..."
"Silence!" Zuo Zongtang stretched out his hand to stop him. "Don't say anything. Don't say anything now... No one cares how much silver is in this bag, even if it's only six taels of silver, it doesn't matter..."
"What Long Live Lord wants is to boost the morale of the military and civilians. If you dare to hold back, be careful of my military conduct!"
Guan Lu was so frightened that he stuck out his tongue and did not dare to speak, and quickly retreated to the back.
The celebration ceremony at the East City Gate lasted until dark, and the Marshal's Mansion in Guazhou City had already prepared a banquet to entertain the expedition team members who had traveled thousands of miles to come.
While changing cups, listening to the thrilling stories of these expedition members, the officers accompanying them all provoked their thumbs to praise them as "good guys".
During the banquet, these people also forgot about the gap between Manchu and Han, and couldn't help but praise these Manchu guards. They are all hot-blooded warriors with their heads tied to their belts, and there are not so many twists and turns. .
When you mean respect, no matter what your status is, I will definitely respect you. If you are not that thing, no matter how noble your bloodline is, you still have to be careful with cold shots on the battlefield!
"Do it! For the sake of your brothers' ninety-nine and eighty-one difficulties, we give the expedition team a bowl... Let's exchange them for bigger bowls!"
Liu Jintang was so excited that he stood up and put one foot on the chair, holding Gordon's collar and raising his glass to drink!
Gordon's eyes were blurred from drinking, and his tongue was shortened when he spoke. "Cheers... cheers..." With a bang, Gordon's big head hit the wine table, and he fell asleep drunk.
Hahaha... After a brief silence, the entire lobby burst into laughter!
