Chapter 163 Zuo Zongtang cleanses the Kingdom of Heaven (4)
Empress Dowager Cixi responded and said angrily: Wang Ni is really a thug! The Guangdong army was timid, who was at fault?
Prince Gong Yi Xin said: Guo Songtao reported that the Guangdong officers would extort pay and passively avoid the war; he impeached the Guangdong governor Ruilin for selling shortcomings and taking bribes to enrich himself, for shielding and protecting the Guangdong army, and for committing fraud and delaying the military aircraft. Ruilin, Li Futai and others counter-impeached Guo Songtao because they knew nothing about the military and were bent on restraining him.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: Guo Chen and Song Tao reported that Ruilin will not inquire about the illegal affairs of Zhuo Xing, Fang Zhaoxuan and others. Changle was lost and Huizhou was under martial law. Guo wanted to garrison Huizhou, so he sent troops to myopia. General Ruilin denounced Shang's department and Tao, and declared to everyone: The governor wants to rectify the situation, but Zhuo Xing and Fang Zhaoxuan will rebel. The feud between governors and governors is vividly reflected on the paper.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: The governors of Guangdong are criticizing each other, how can they concentrate on suppressing the bandits?
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: Sun Changfu, the former minister of Jiangxi Province, requested that the military affairs of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces need to be controlled by capable and capable personnel in order to completely annihilate the rebel bandits. Zuo Chen Zongtang seems to be able to do this.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: Only by concentrating on matters of authority can we eradicate the remnants of the Cantonese bandits. According to the imperial edict, Zuo Chen Zongtang had the right to control and dispatch the armies of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces during the period of his campaign to suppress Wang Ni. In addition to supervising the military affairs of the three provinces, Zuo Chen also visited and inspected the various departments where Guo Songtao was involved. Why did the governor of the department refuse to cooperate? Is it public or private?
Zuo Zongtang accepted the order and sighed: In the past, Guo Yunxian and I were in the Baishui Cave, building houses with thatch and talking about the past and the present. It was so unpleasant. To this day, Unzen has been appointed to Xinjiang Qi. Although he is diligent and conscientious, he is more than honest and sincere. He claims that he has the same value in times of hardship and hopes to help each other through hardships. However, things are becoming increasingly difficult, people's hearts are unpredictable, and we cannot share honor or disgrace.
Liu Diandao: Commander Zuo and Guo Zhongcheng are also close friends of the general. It would be nice to get together for a drink after the war.
Zuo Zongtang said: National affairs should not be mixed with personal friendship. During the Battle of Huangpiwei, the Guangdong army stood by and watched. If Gao Liansheng and Kang Guoqi's armies were completely destroyed, the war between Guangdong and Fujian would be endless. Di Lao Zeng said that Guo Yunxian was good at studying and discussing Taoism, and gaining worldly fame was indeed not his specialty. If there were one or two Ming Dynasty talents in Guangdong, the remnants of Wang Ni would have been wiped out long ago.
Liu Diandao: Could Commander Zuo still want to impeach Guo Yunxian?
Zuo Zongtang said: Bao Chunting's powerful army will soon enter Guangdong. I ask Guo Yunxian to provide military pay. Guo Yunxian said that Ting's army was destroyed like Xiang Yu, but he failed. The burning eyebrows are burning, and there is still leisure to argue. If I am not willing to impeach, Guo Songtao was a little ignorant and pedantic, and it was really his own fault.
Liu Diandao: Reporting to Commander Zuo, after the battle at Huangpiwei, the morale of the army was in great decline. Over the past few days, epidemics have been raging, with more than half of the people in each department suffering from the disease. There were many deaths among the brave men. Taoist Zhang Hengxiang and deputy general She Youmin also fell ill and died. The situation in the Qi Department of Kang State was particularly serious. Kang Yong was too sick and so he withdrew temporarily.
Zuo Zongtang said: "Wang Ni is also in dire straits, and the Kang Ministry cannot temporarily withdraw. He quickly seeks famous doctors from Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, and quickly comes to the military camp to treat the sick and injured." Wang Haiyang, the rebel bandit, where is he now?
Liu Diandao: Report to Commander Zuo that after the battle at Huangpiwei, Wang Thief was intercepted by the Gan army and his back was injured. Liu Kun, the governor of Jiangxi, reported to the police that the number of thieves was only thirty thousand, and the number of capable warriors was less than ten thousand. They were defeated from Jiangxi and returned to eastern Guangdong. They were transferred to Heping and Lianping, and their power was exhausted.
Zuo Zongtang said: It is rare for Liu Kun to be stationed in Ganzhou. Immediately pass on my order, the armies of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong, as well as Bao Chaoting's troops, must use suppression as a defense, step by step towards the borders of Lianping and Heping counties, and gradually form a long encirclement, in the hope of gathering and annihilating them.
