In the Governor's Mansion in Jiangning City, the Ninth Commander Zeng Guoquan met with Zuo Zongtang's men from the Western Regions. The Western Regions Reclamation Corps was entirely built on the basis of the more than 100,000 brothers Zuo Jigao had marched westward.
These 100,000 people are the core of the border guards and the key military force that controls the Western Regions!
The Western Regions were too far away from the Central Plains. After the war, Zuo Jigao returned to the capital, but these border-guarding army officials never had a chance to return to the capital to report on their duties.
The situation was finally stabilized, and Liu Jintang led a group of direct descendants on their way back to the Central Plains to report on their duties. Little did they expect that the news of the outbreak of civil war came as soon as they arrived in Xi'an.
The road back to the capital became increasingly difficult and slower. After reaching Henan, the road was completely blocked. No matter whether you took Handan or Shanxi, all roads leading to the capital were blocked by the rebels.
Unless you, Liu Jintang, go around the Hetao area, take the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and go around the capital from the north, you won't be able to get through at all!
And Wang Mian, the governor of Henan, the unfilial son of Wang Shizheng, had already taken refuge with Guiziliu. When he saw that this group of people was going to the capital to meet Emperor Tongzhi, how could he let them go?
He hinted several times that Liu Jintang and the others would show their loyalty to the Japanese and surrender, but they were rejected by Liu Jintang and the others.
What a joke, Marshal Zuo is loyal to Emperor Tongzhi in the capital right now. He didn't take refuge with Guiziliu, so how could his men dare to rebel?
Wang Mian and his son Wang Lin almost launched a mutiny and detained these people, but they never expected that these veterans from the Western Regions were very alert and left the post house in the middle of the night.
Wang Lin's men were preparing to hunt them down, but they received news from local Chinese companies. These Chinese companies were businessmen on the surface but also had Chinese infiltration forces behind their backs. They all had very powerful hands and eyes.
These people warned that Liu Jintang and his party included executives from the Western Region Investment Bank, which was established by the Chinese. Do you dare to try to kill a Chinese person?
The words frightened the Henan area so much that they no longer dared to do anything dirty. Liu Jintang and his group had no choice but to turn south and go to Jiangning to visit their old club, the Zeng family.
Just one day after arriving in Jiangning City, news of the fall came from the capital. Emperor Tongzhi was trapped in the industrial zone, and Guiziliu had occupied the Forbidden City!
Zuo Jigao was also a member of the Hunan Army. Basically, he was from the Hunan Army, and they all recognized Zeng Guofan as their teacher.
Now that Zeng Guofan is gone and the Ninth Commander's officials are still there, these people can only come and seek refuge with the Ninth Commander!
It was impossible for Zeng Guoquan to shut the door to these people and let them live in the Marshal's mansion. Today he had time to get them together to talk about the current situation.
There are piles and piles of telegraph newspapers on the desk of the Ninth Marshal. These are the latest intelligence sent by informants from all over the world, especially the intelligence from the Chinese and the capital.
Liu Jintang's hands itched and wanted to look through it, but he didn't dare to move. Zeng Guoquan saw what he meant and pushed a stack of telegrams over with a smile, "Look... they are all from the capital... Zuo Ji The news about Gao is also in it..."
"Ah! How are you, Marshal Zuo?" Liu Jintang and others quickly stood up to say hello.
The Ninth Commander shook his head, "Hey... what a great thing! The capital city has been conquered, Zuo Jigao has such a bad temper... He suffered a stroke in Chongwenmen because of anger... He is recovering from his illness!"
ah! Liu Jintang and the others' expressions changed greatly. They quickly took out the telegram and looked at it carefully. Zuo Zongtang was their biggest supporter in the court. They needed someone to help them obtain various military supplies and pay for the soldiers!
If the commander-in-chief falls, the hundreds of thousands of border guards in the Western Regions will become motherless children!
While Liu Jintang and the others were reading the telegram, Ninth Marshal smiled and said to the people from the Western Region Investment Bank, "Your name is Fan Jin? Haha... You are the same as the one written in the book... Are you the boss of the old shop?"
Fan Jin smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Haha... It's the Fan Jin written in the book... But I'm not as capable as Fan Jin. If someone can jump over a dragon gate, I'm just a businessman..."
"Hey... these days, what are you saying about merchants and not merchants? Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants have long since fallen behind, and merchants are already at the forefront!"
"Then Xiao Letian is where he is today thanks to mercantilism!"
After chatting for a while, Ninth Marshal began to ask about the current situation in the Western Region. Fan Jin and other senior bank officials became interested when he mentioned this.
"Come back to the Marshal... We used to think that the Western Region was a barren land full of deserts, but today we went and found out that it is as rich as Jiangnan!"
"There are many deserts, but there are good fields around the Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, and Altai Mountains. The snow on the high mountains never melts, and the collected streams rush down the valleys. It is really a place with rich water and grass..."
"The cattle and sheep there are so delicious when boiled...and there are countless kinds of fruits and vegetables. At present, the Western Region Investment Bank has built many dried meat processing plants and dried fruit workshops there. This year's first batch of products, the Chinese The military department purchased a batch, and the private sector also purchased a lot..."
"The best thing is cotton... The long-staple cotton grown over there is long-staple cotton from India. A spinning mill and weaving factory were built. The cotton produced is not comparable to that in the mainland. We brought some samples. , you will know it at a glance..."
The Ninth Commander listened and nodded, "Yeah...it seems like you are doing well! Then how did I hear that you came back to ask for help this time?"
"I heard that your place has abundant water and grass and is already self-sufficient. In addition to the lack of military pay, you are also not short of food and clothing?"
"Lack! There is no problem with the Western Region's self-sufficiency, but the most important thing is missing...that is people!" Liu Jintang said with a grimace as he put down the telegram.
"To be honest, why did we come to Beijing to report our work this time to see His Majesty... It was because we got the news about the catastrophe in Gyeonggi Province, and we were worried. We sent several telegrams to the court, but for some reason there was no reply!"
"We are short of people in the Western Region! We are too short of people to settle down in the country... Let me put it clearly, we have plenty of land, and we will give it to anyone who comes to the Central Plains for free!"
"Each person should first divide ten acres of land, irrigate the land, and plant it properly... There is too much wasteland in the Western Region, and the population is too sparse. Agubai has killed many people, and too many people have died..."
"There happens to be a big disaster here in the capital! The people can't even eat. After all, there are too many people... Then come to our Western Region! We will share your worries with His Majesty!"
"So we're here...but...but we didn't expect it to turn out like this? Wuwuwu..."
Liu Jintang, a group of men who licked blood from their knives, shed tears of grievance, "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
"Why did it become like this... Wuwuwu..."
