Chapter 156 Zeng Guoquan retreats bravely from the rapids (1)
On August 1, 1864, Zeng Guofan arrived in Jinling by boat from Anqing.
As soon as Zeng Guoquan saw him, he immediately whispered: The southeastern half of the wall is ownerless, brother, is there anything you want?
Zeng Guofan said: You are uttering arrogant words, which is extremely ridiculous! Who is instigating?
Zeng Guoquan laughed and said: "We captured the leader of the thieves, Li Xiucheng. I ordered him to cut his arms and legs, and blood gushed out. The loyal chieftain did not feel any pain. He scolded: Everyone is his own master, so why bother?" He also said: If there is a chance, I am willing to recruit my old troops and join my subordinates to kill monsters and support the Han family's court.
Zeng Guofan said: Is my brother stupid? How can you be deceived by others and leave it so easily? Where are Hui Fu and Xiao Cen?
After a while, Zhao Liewen and Ouyang Zhaoxiong arrived.
Zeng Guofan was still angry and responded to Zeng Guoquan's words tactfully.
Zhao Liewen said: The loyal chief went back on his word just to escape! The Three Kingdoms of Shu were destroyed, and Jiang Wei restored the country. His achievements were more than a small loss, and the situation was set.
Ouyang Zhaoxiong said: "Jinling City has been conquered. It's a great success. It's what I wanted. It's gratifying." What will it do to the country if we take good care of others? How about Yu Min? How is the Yu family? How are you doing? The necessary preparations have been made, and the plans have been prepared.
Zeng Guofan said: "Brothers Huifu and Xiaocen have well-founded complaints and their words are reasonable. Brother Yuan must not have any more thoughts of annihilating the family and the clan." There are three most important things at the moment. First, is there a huge amount of gold and silver in Jinling City? 2. Is it confirmed that Hong Ni’s body is his true body? 3. The false child king really set himself on fire, has his body been found?
Zeng Guoquan said: After multiple identifications, it was indeed the body of Hong Ni. The false young king was not alive but dead, and his body was not seen. There was a mountain of gold and silver in the holy treasure of Fei Ni, but he was waiting for his brother's order.
Zeng Guofan sighed and said: If I have two palaces, I will definitely punish you for deceiving the emperor and neglecting your superiors. Brother Huifu has been talking to Chief Zhong for a long time. Is there any gain?
Zhao Liewen said: "I am reporting to Commander Di that the loyal chieftain is about to die. This is nothing more than an attempt to prolong his life. Commander Di will know after asking."
Zeng Guofan went to Xiucheng's detention place and saw his miserable condition. He felt pity and said: My brother is a martial artist, and I still hope to see Haihan.
Xiucheng's heart was naturally warm, and he said sadly: "Those who are in prison are the flesh of a swordsman, so why should the middle hall be covered by the sea?"
Zeng Guofan said: "The fate of mankind makes us incompatible with each other. However, each is his own master and has no choice but to do what he wants." You and I are both reasonable people, and I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Within ten days, your kingdom of heaven was destroyed, and you were parted from life and death. This two-layered world of ice and fire has been repeated over and over again for more than ten years, and you have no regrets. Huh?
Xiu Chengdao: In the past fifteen years, I will list and record the gains and losses of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the achievements and faults of the Kingdom of Heaven for future generations to observe. Looking at it in the middle hall, if I have the intention to drive away the Tatars, I will have no regrets in this life!
Zeng Guofan said: "The things in life are like a gray dog and white clouds, that's all. I will wait for you to pay tribute."
Xiuchengdao: The deep love in the middle hall, the benevolence and the moral heart, Li will never forget; he has made mistakes in this life, and he will repay them in the next life.
After leaving the cell, Zeng Guofan said: "What does Huifu mean?"
Zhao Liewen: It has been more than ten days since he was captured alive. Everyone has seen him and he has been questioned in the middle hall. No one doubts him again. This thief is very cunning and should not be allowed into the capital. After recording the confession, the Dharma was rectified on the spot.
Zeng Guofan said: The national law is difficult to enforce and cannot be excused; Li is a loyal man who has been astray for a long time! There is no need to be late, behead him in public, and give him a generous burial.
On August 5, the edicts from the two palaces finally arrived at Jinling.
Zeng Guoquan said: The Cantonese invaders were occupying Jinling, and Emperor Wenzongxian Jinkou promised that anyone who could conquer Jinling would be granted the title of county king. The two palaces broke their promises.
Zeng Guofan said: As expected, I have passed on my secret order to release the silver from the holy treasury. I will first pay for the officers and soldiers who died. If there is any surplus, it can be used as payment and silver to distribute to the armies. The fish cannot be killed by the net, nor can it be broken. I will go up and explain the song in detail.
On that day, Zeng Guofan reported: Li Xiucheng was captured, and the soldiers of each camp were surrendered. Everyone in the army and civilians in the attached city knew him, and the spectators were like a blockage. I arrived at Jinling on the 25th and had a personal interrogation. I was ordered to write a personal confession, which amounted to tens of thousands of words, describing the beginning and end of the rebellion, and describing the loyal chief's war in great detail. He also urged the officers and soldiers not to exclusively kill people from Guangdong and Guangxi, for fear that the Guangdong thieves would become more isolated, the rebels would become more entrenched, and the military would still be in ruins. His words are quite admirable.
In the coming days, all civil and military officials would ask Li Xiucheng to be sent to the capital. Even foreigners such as Gordon and others who came to congratulate him would also express their loyalty and defiance to the capital.
I use the power of the Holy Dynasty to destroy this clown. Except for the arrogant Hong Xiuquan, all others do not have to be sacrificed. Li Xiucheng knew that there was no way for him to be forgiven. He might die without food on the way, or he could escape by taking the road, or he might become a remaining thief. Robbery and calamity are all hidden dangers.
Asking Li Xiucheng about his political tactics was popular among the people. After the city was broken, he fled to the countryside, where the villagers took pity on him and hid him. After Xiao Fusi captured Li Ni alive, the villagers captured Wang Sanqing, his own soldier, killed him and threw him into the water as if he were avenging his personal grievances on Li Ni's behalf. Li Xiucheng was imprisoned, and the next day he captured the puppet king Chen Defeng and arrived at the camp. When he saw Li Ni, he knelt down to say hello.
When I heard these two facts, I felt that the people's feelings were not gone, and my party members were still strong, so I decided to implement the law on the spot, and implemented it on the sixth day of the lunar month.
Although the two brothers of the false heavenly king, according to Li Xiucheng's confession, were tyrannical and monopolistic among the thieves, they were so drunk that they said that the heavenly father was endless and had no confession to record. Because he was seriously ill, he was put to death on the fourth day of the lunar month.
He also issued an edict: After Hong Xiuquan's body was found, he filed the corpse to reveal it, and still passed it on to the place where he was killed to avenge the public's hatred. Admire this.
The minister took a closer look at Hong Ni's corpse. He found that the whole body was wrapped in yellow satin embroidered with dragons, and the feet were bound with dragon satin. The head was bald and hairless, and the beard was still there, which was already white. The flesh on the left thigh and right arm was still intact, but the corpse was slaughtered. They were burned with fierce fire; the remaining bones were mixed with gunpowder bullets and bombarded in the sky.
There was a fake palace maid, a woman named Huang from Daozhou, who buried the corpse with her hands. The ministers personally interrogated him, and according to the confession, Hong Xiuquan had not seen his ministers for many years before his death. On April 27, due to the emergency attack of the army, he took poison and died. No mourning was made secretly. The bandits in the city and the officers and soldiers outside the city have spread the propaganda, and the announcement will be made more than ten days later.
All the fake jade seals, one side and one gold seal, will be sent to the Military Aircraft Department as a special messenger so that they can be examined by the General Strategy Office.
Over the years, there have been rumors at home and abroad that the rebels were rich, with gold and silver like the sea, and returned to their old nest without any wealth. This was beyond the control of the officials and was a rare thing. At present, the money is urgently needed to prepare things, and the money is huge, such as providing relief to the victims, repairing the city walls, and garrisoning the entire camp, all of which are important for dealing with the aftermath. The rest of the threads are flourishing, and the left branch is dull and the right branch is dull. When I am happy, I am anxious.
Empress Dowager Cixi took up the memorial and said angrily: There is no wealth in Jinling. The Zeng brothers deceived the emperor and ignored the emperor. They spoke nonsense.
Prince Gong Yixin said: "It should not be delayed. We should send a secret edict to the officials as soon as possible. Seng Gelinqin, Fu Ming'a, Li Zhaoshou and others have already made preparations."
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: "It is absolutely impossible to influence the whole situation by affecting one thing!" Although Jinling has been conquered, the remaining evil has not been exhausted. The wealth is scattered and the people are gathered together. Let's look at Zeng's actions.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: First strike at someone's skin, and then strike at the point of death! Killing people must be punished, killing chickens is to frighten monkeys. It is not advisable to delay this matter, and send an edict immediately: the imperial court does not have to benefit from the gold and silver that has been stolen. According to the memorial, there is no thief's treasury in the city, and it is based on the actual situation. However, the money is empty, the military pay is exhausted, and there are still many things to be done to deal with the aftermath. How to make comprehensive plans, the minister should still pay attention to the scriptures.
