Zeng Guofan repeatedly approached Hu Linyi to ask for help, but without comment, he went to Emperor Xianfeng and said: If thieves capture countless civilian ships in the upper reaches, seize the newly built warships in Han Town, and block the area between Jiang and Han, then the river will be thousands of miles long and will be robbed by thieves up and down the river. I and other naval forces have been cut off, and the source of money, food, medicine, and medicine has been cut off. The brave heart of the water has been cut off and it is difficult to consolidate. If we were to stay in Wuhan again, with Jingxiang to the west and Hunan Province to the south, we would be unable to defend against it, so we could only worry about it. If the envoys and other troops returned to Wuhan, they would have to fight a hundred battles to clear the river. Once they were appointed, they would be abandoned. What a pity. Moreover, if I and other naval forces rotate westward, the bandits from Jiujiang and Hukou will inevitably invade Jiangxi. From now on, it will be even more difficult for me and others to rely on military pay to Jiang Province. There are more than a hundred battle boats and two thousand elites trapped in the inner lake. From then on, it is difficult to break out and join the outer river navy. I have been practicing this essence for more than a year. Once it is left in a useless place, it will be difficult to revive in the future. It can be considered. Two. After repeated victories, the army's morale was extremely high. From the attack on Jiujiang and Hukou, hundreds of healthy soldiers were killed and wounded, and their morale was dampened. If you move forward with a single mind, it will not be difficult to regain your spirit after winning several battles and keep up the good work. If the army is sent back to Wuhan, the ambition of military bravery will be reduced first, and the energy will be wasted by traveling long distances. Even if it is serious and vigorous, it will be difficult to cultivate a new spirit. There are three things to worry about.
Chen Shijie said: "Luo Zenan is interested. Wuchang's gains and losses are related to the overall situation. Lin Yuan'en is brave and worthy of the army. He ordered his two commanders to manage the grain station, which was a waste of their talents! After fighting hard for half a year, they gained very little. The soldiers were tired and were about to leave, so they urgently needed to respond. Find another way out. Marching westward and attacking Wuchang is the right way."
Zeng Guofan said: "I regard Yuan En's appearance as suitable for managing the grain station. Since he is talented, he is appointed as the navy battalion officer. At the beginning of the year, the navy was burned by thieves, so I went to Nanchang to recruit brave men to build ships. Then I went to Wucheng, and then to Nankang. , together with Li Yuandu, Ping Jiangyong and Xiao Jie's three naval divisions, together with Huang Wenjin, Hu Dingwen and Li Yuanji, rebelled against the traitors, they fought fiercely for more than ten battles, and the surface of Poyang Lake was finally cleared. The army is marching westward. Is this all going to happen? "
Chen Shijie said: "It is not conducive to the overall situation to settle on the lake. If Wuchang is defeated, it will go down in a mighty way."
Zeng Guofan said: "We are stationed in Jiujiang to cut off the waist of the Yangtze River. There are Jinkou troops above to hit its head; below there are red warships to hit its tail. The river surface of more than 2,000 miles is divided into three sections. , there may be a period of purge. I order: Luo Zenan will continue his efforts to purge the hinterland of Jiangxi; Li Yuandu and Xiao Jie's three water divisions will attack Hukou in the north; Taqibu will sharpen his will, postpone the capture of Xun, and attack Hukou; the three armies will join forces to attack Hukou. Attacked from both inside and outside, the mouth of the lake could be broken with a snap of a finger."
Chen Shijie said: "The governor of Gansu Province, Chen Qimai, has become more and more constrained, and the food and salary are not provided. Peng Shouyi, a man from Wanzai County, was used by the Marshal Commission, but Chen was imprisoned. The Jiangxi gentry is afraid of Chen's power and will no longer support me."
Zeng Guofan said: "This is adding insult to injury and hates people forever. Who can endure it any longer!"
That night, the vassal of the country reported: The thieves were only in several southeastern provinces, and the thieves were spreading. It all depended on the governors to recruit people, and the common people maintained the remedy and turned the crisis into safety. I have been in Jiangxi for several months and have carefully observed Chen Qimai's deliberate actions and confirmed them to public opinion. I am really afraid that he will cause trouble to Jiang Province and mislead the overall situation, and I have to report it to the Holy Lord.
Zhao Rusheng, the commander-in-chief who has been dismissed, was sent to Xinjiang by order. Last year, as a result of Liujiang Province, Chen Qimai sent an order to take charge of 100 warships, more than 4,000 water braves, and more than 700 large and small artillery positions. On the fifth day of the eleventh month, he stopped in Wucheng Town. When he heard that the thieves were coming, Zhao Rusheng ran away first. All the brave soldiers dispersed and the whole army was wiped out. All the ships, artillery and equipment were owned by the thieves. In fact, there are not many thieves. According to folk legend, he only has hair that is more than 90 years old. It would be a pity to run away first upon hearing the news.
This is Chen Qimai's poem, which says that Zhao Rusheng fought hard all day long regardless of his own safety. He lost more than hundreds of ships and 700 cannons. He did not report them one by one, but was vague and deceptive, and was indifferent to others. He also sent Zhao Rusheng to defend and block Raozhou and other places. In the first month of the year, he was defeated and fled three times. When the thieves broke into Raozhou, Chen Qimai vaguely entered the memorial. Not only did he not accuse Zhao Rusheng of the crime, but he also ignored his original crime of Xinjiang. He always refused to protect him and ignored the rules of rewards and punishments.
Wu Xiguang, the guard who has been dismissed, was impeached by He Chun and ordered to rectify the law. Wu Xiguang fled to Jiangxi and appealed for help. Chen Qimai wrote a memorial to stay in Jiangxi, filling in the sun and the moon, saying that the memorial to retain was in front, and the purpose of rectification was behind. Many parties sought favoritism and falsely reported military exploits. He not only petitioned to absolve him of the crime, but also petitioned to protect him from being reborn many times, and petitioned to reward him with a title of courage.
Wu Xiguang has a strong temperament, and he can be regarded as a talented person who can fight with him if he controls it. To the extent that he was greedy and lustful, and sent troops to disturb the people. In Nankang, there were more than a hundred women in the army; But Chen Qimai tried his best to protect him and confuse right and wrong.
On the 29th of the first lunar month, Wu Xiguang allowed his subordinate Guizhou Yong to kill 187 Longquan Yong without any reason. The soldiers and civilians of the whole province were aggrieved. Chen Qimai neither reported nor punished, but instead took brave men from other provinces in Wuning County who had committed crimes, pretended to be brave, bound and killed them, so as to hide them from everyone. And everyone became more and more angry at Wu Xiguang, and the road was blocked!
The thieves in Raozhou gathered in Shishili Street. On March 28, Wu Xiguang attacked Raozhou and killed only dozens of thieves. This was seen and heard by everyone. Then Chen Qimai announced his victory over Rao County, killing three thousand thieves and burning more than a hundred ships. Wu Xiguang and his son and nephew all secured their promotions; even Hu Yingkui, who had always been in charge of accounts in the governor's office, also followed suit.
The fall of Yining Prefecture was actually due to the fact that most of the bandits from Xingguo, Chong, and Tong had few long hair. Wu Xiguang was arrogant and undisciplined, and he was defeated in a hurry. It was not that there were large groups of bandits fighting against him. Then Chen Qimai decorated and entered the memorial, and then they fought fiercely all day long, killing more than a thousand thieves.
Wu Xiguang's salary and rations were higher than those of other camps. He also led 700 brave men and received pay for 800 people. This was the person Chen Qimai met to instruct the General Administration of Road and Highways. When he entered the memorial, he said that he had prepared his own axe. All kinds of deception are beyond reason.
Since the rise of the army, various reports have been reported, praising victory and concealing defeat. Many of them are untrue and incomplete, and have been recognized by sages for a long time. However, there is nothing like Chen Qimai's report on the military situation, which is almost as true as every word. If the wind does not change, then there will be no real or false safety in the outside world above the ninth level. This is especially a serious concern.
Since the army entered Jiangxi, it has been ashamed and useless in the overall situation, but it has not been in vain in Jiangxi. Taqi was stationed in Jiujiang to defend against the bulk of the land route; the Chenguo vassal was stationed in Nankang to defend against the thieves; Luo Zenan conquered one prefecture and two counties and preserved the east road. Why did this army lose to Jiangxi? Chen Qimai was restrained in many ways and even refused to pay.
Those who were sent to the front and rear of the army donated more than 400,000 taels of silver using the gunboats of Huang Zantang, and sent out tens of thousands of silver in the form of memorials. These were all the wages that the army deserved for their duties, and they were not multiple taels of silver from the vassal treasury. All the funds from the Jiangxi treasury are taken immediately, and all the wages are the wages of the Tian family. How can Chen Qimai keep it privately? Chen Qimai took advantage of this to threaten him. He sent three speeches and sent many letters, all of which said that he refused to pay him, in order to use this to control others and use his own kindness. The ministers were afraid that the army would be defeated without pay, and they were also afraid that discord would cause trouble, so they had no choice but to submit.
After Luo Zenan conquered Guangxin, I wanted to transfer him back to Raozhou and Duchang so that he could meet with the navy to attack Hukou. Chen Qimai transferred it to defend Jingdezhen and protect the provincial capital, and all his officials obeyed. Xuan then transferred the troops to the west to suppress Yining, and the minister replied with a letter agreeing to be transferred to Hukou. The minister replied again with a letter agreeing to be transferred to Hukou, but Chen Qimai suddenly received a letter agreeing to be transferred to Yining. Orders are changed in the morning and night, and they are capricious. Although they want to adapt to the twists and turns, they can't do anything.
In February, I met with Chen Qimai to discuss that Jiangxi also had to reorganize the navy, build dozens of ships, and recruit more than a thousand brave men to consolidate the gateway to Pohu in this province and support the Chu army's retreat. The report is consistent with the report. Chen Qimai was convinced, and he met with his ministers and appointed Liu Yuchun, the alternate magistrate of Henan, to take charge of the matter. Construction and construction had already been started, but Chen Qimai suddenly received advice that there was no need to establish a navy in Jiangxi Province and stop shipbuilding and other reasons. Since I obeyed, I asked Liu Yuchun to set up a shipyard in the city branch, specializing in the use of my army. Suddenly, he received a request from Chen Qimai that he wanted to take the ships in the factory and hand them over to Wu Xiguang's newly recruited navy. He ordered the factory to continue building No. 15. The shipyard committee members also obeyed. After the ship was built, Chen Qimai ordered it to be no longer needed. You want boats, you don't want boats, you build a naval army, you don't build a naval army, there are no orders that will not be changed for three days, and there are no consistent advice and letters. It is difficult to work with ministers who do not specialize in military affairs, and even those who are subordinates are at a loss.
For several years, the emperor's edicts have been instructing all provinces to hold team training, but all of them have a false name but little actual effect. What I have seen is that Pingjiang County in Hunan and Yining Prefecture in Jiangxi have each achieved success in organizing missions, and the two provinces also often mention this in their memorials. Local donations were used to train local strong men, and they frequently engaged in battles with Cantonese bandits, killing many bandits. Therefore, these two prefectures and counties were deeply hated by thieves and also deeply feared by thieves.
Last year, Yi Ning Prefecture won many battles and donated huge amounts of money. In hindsight, Chen Qimai issued a guarantee, but those who contributed were not guaranteed, and those who donated were not guaranteed. Those who were insured were mostly relatives and friends of various officials. Chen Xinzhai, a close friend of Chen Qimai's agency, was also promoted to county magistrate. The gentry and people of Yining Prefecture were filled with complaints. They posted notices in the provincial capital, saying that the recommendation was unfair and the regiment was disbanded. If the thieves came again, the people of the prefecture would never donate money or stop the thieves.
Chen Qimai didn't know how to regret it, and was totally reckless. In April, bandits attacked and besieged the prefecture city. Ye Jiying, the governor of the prefecture, repeatedly asked for rescue, but Chen Qimai did not send troops to rescue him. After being trapped for more than 20 days, the city was captured. The rebel bandits always hated the regiment and killed tens of thousands of people. All kinds of people were gnashing their teeth at the unfairness of the governor's recommendation, which caused the regiment to break up and suffer this tragic disaster.
In April last year, Taqibu won the battle in Xiangtan. The remaining thieves fled from Jinggang to Yuezhou. The defeated ones fled from Liling to Jiangxi. Pingxiang, Wanzai and other counties were also lost. Li Gao, the magistrate of Wanzai County, abandoned the city and fled. Villagers Peng Caisan and others either sent horses to the thieves or gave rice to the thieves in the hope of avoiding their plunder.
After the thieves passed, Peng Shouyi, the leader of the army, advocated the first group training, gathered the six districts into one group, published the regulations, and submitted them to the county magistrate Li Gong for approval. But Peng Cai was foolish and deceitful. He thought that giving money to the thieves would avoid disaster, and that he would disobey the thieves by practicing in the regiment. language. The county magistrate Li Gao accepted Peng Caisan's bribe, but also protected Peng Caisan and falsely accused Peng Shouyi.
The person in charge, Peng Shouyi, resented that he had been framed for being upright and had been offended for running a regiment. Although he angrily accused Li Gao of abandoning the city and escaping, Peng Cai fed the thieves three times to stop the regiment and accused various yamen. Shaode, the prefect of Yuanzhou, deeply believed that Peng Shouyi's regiment training was right, and Peng Caisan's feeding of thieves was wrong, so he severely criticized General Li Gong and issued orders. Governor Chen Qimai's comments were vague and did not distinguish right from wrong. He initiated litigation for half a year and the case remains pending.
In the first month of this year, when I went to the capital of Jiangxi Province, Peng Shouyi came to complain. Because the military affairs are so important, I have no time to deal with the lawsuits at the same time, and I don't want to wholesale them. However, the regimental training regulations he published are precise and practical. It is said that he is a man of outstanding talent and knowledge, generous and willing to kill thieves. Because of the meeting with Chen Qimai, it was said that Peng Shouyi's talent was available, and his lawsuit was of no importance, so he planned to bring it to the military camp for use. After two consultations, Chen Qimai refused to understand. Not only did he not redress Peng Shouyi's grievances, but he was blamed for running a group training. Not only was he blamed for running a group training, but he also wanted to eliminate the case of the county magistrate abandoning the city and escaping, so Peng Shouyi was charged with false accusations, confusing right and wrong. Point out.
Since the Guangdong bandits have been raging, the roads have been ruined, and the prefectures, counties and cities have fallen frequently. The local officials cannot express their righteousness and have no bearing on the survival of the city. There is no mercy for punishing crimes according to the law. Because they lost too many places, the governors of various provinces were lenient and lenient in punishment, and they often invited decrees to grant permission. That is to say, taking Jiangxi as an example this year, the two prefectures of Raozhou and Guangxin fell, and the counties of Poyang and Xing'an fell. Chen Qimai integrated the memorial and relaxed the regulations of each prefecture and county, all of which were approved by the imperial edict. This was a temporary expedient, and the imperial court was responsible for it outside the law. It does not mean that the defenders of the land had no responsibility to die for the city. The county ordered Li Gao to abandon the city and flee. Chen Qimai was able to participate in the memorial and punish the crime, which was a serious matter. Even if he wanted to reduce his punishment, it was not impossible to pass the memorial. Because he had the heart to like his subordinates at first sight, he showed favoritism in many ways, but he wanted to be punished by Peng Shouyi for falsely accusing him. This was a sign of great ambition, and the ministers and vassals thought over and over again what they had done, and they could not get rid of it.
The villagers were afraid of the ferocity of the Cantonese bandits, and some did not dare to shave their heads, or did not dare to practice in groups, or gave away property in order to avoid being plundered, which was called paying tribute. This was also common in all provinces and villages. Those who are willing to be thieves can be dealt with harshly; those who are ignorant and ignorant can be dealt with lightly or not dealt with at all. Peng Caisan gave property to the thief. After being reported, Chen Qimai should punish him at his own discretion. Why should Peng Shouyi accuse Peng Shouyi of falsely accusing him, so that the traitors will succeed and the martyrs will be discouraged.
On May 29th, Chen Qimai ordered Yun Guangchen, the commander-in-chief, to interrogate him severely, and ordered the general Peng Shouyi to issue a statement of regret for the false accusation. If a person disobeys his duties, he will be severely punished, imprisoned in the heat of the summer, tortured in all kinds of ways, and will be dismissed or dismissed in half. In Chen Qimai's mind, it was just to prevent his subordinate Li Gong from falling. As for causing unjust imprisonment, torture of gentlemen, and shocking public opinion, this was Chen Qimai's original intention, and he did not know that he had reached this point. At that time, Yun Guangchen, the minister, did not ask about the merits of the matter, and arbitrarily blamed the gentry who ran the regiment to serve the mood of his superiors. He was also flattering and shameless.
Nowadays, the atmosphere of thieves is still raging. It all depends on the method of regiment training. The gentry assists the officials and the people kill the thieves. The common people can assist the soldiers. Now that Yining's regiment has been destroyed by unfair promotion, and Wanzai's regiment has been destroyed by lawsuits and jails, can the Jiangxi regiment improve again? As for the broken prefectures and counties, even if they cannot supervise the regiment training, they must still have guardians to come and take charge of them to provide comfort to the refugees and to track down the bandits. Naichen was stationed in Nankang for two months, but Chen Qimai did not send anyone to the city to take charge of the Nankang Prefecture and County. This is also the end of the lax discipline.
I have no quarrel with Chen Qimai from the same hometown, the same year, and the same official rank in the Imperial Academy. When I was in the capital, I saw that he was diligent and cautious in his work. After working together for several months, I observed that he was making mistakes and changing his daily routine, which led to chaos in military affairs and boiling material discussions. Unexpected by Wei Chen.
At present, Jiangxi and Hunan are the most affected by the rebel forces in the southeast. The relationship between the feudal officials and the border officials is not light. Since I have indeed seen what I have seen, I am deeply afraid that it will mess up the overall situation, so I dare not describe everything in detail and tell it in front of the Holy Lord. Fu Weichen is determined and decisive, and he weighs it appropriately, which is not what I dare to predict. Chen Qimai, the governor of Jiangxi Province, had many misdeeds. He was afraid of mistaking the overall situation, so he respectfully made a clear statement and begged the emperor for guidance and instructions for implementation. I would like to play.
