Chapter 185 Zeng Guofan decides the case at the opportunity (4)
The two palaces took over and summoned Prince Gong Yixin for a secret discussion. Yixin said: Zeng Guofan planned to resolve the accidental killing of Russians and the accidental destruction of the British and American lecture halls first, and not to get involved with France. What he saw was true; the debt was repaid. Money kills people to pay for their lives, Zeng Guofan should arrest the criminal quickly to show his goodwill.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: Common people can be killed, but generals and officials cannot be touched. Zeng Guofan's memorial is full of evidence and seems feasible. That is to say, Tianjin's ministers and the four officials of Dao, Prefecture and County were dismissed to block the mouth of legal persons. Chonghou, the Minister of Trade and Industry of Sankou, was not alone in his efforts. He wrote the original article, Xiuzhi, and Mao Changxi, the imperial censor of Zuodu and Minister of Industry, went to Tianjin and temporarily appointed him as the Minister of Trade and Industry of Sankou.
Yi Xin said: "Chonghou Mizuo, Zeng Guofan is suffering from old illnesses and diarrhea, and his foreign affairs are complicated and unorganized. Zeng Guofan may be overwhelmed." The slaves thought that Ding Richang, the governor of Jiangsu, was familiar with foreign affairs and would be of great benefit to him if he went to Tianjin.
Empress Dowager Cixi said: I will not kill officials, but foreigners may be barbaric and return to Long to visit Shu. The defense of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai and Haikou must be strengthened. If Zuo Zongtang captures Jinji Fort, Li Hongzhang's Huai Yong can also move to Tianjin; Huang Yisheng's Yangtze River Navy will be stationed in the unoccupied area of Jinling, just to waste money; the Governor of Liangjiang, Ma Xinyi, petitioned Huang Bu to move to Shanghai, and effectively feasible.
Yi Xin said: "Queen Mother, Queen Mother, Queen Mother, Queen Mother, I think that Li Hongzhang's Huai Yong can be moved as much as possible, but Zeng Guofan's navy cannot be moved lightly."
Empress Dowager Cixi said: Ma Xinyi's five battalions of pacesetters have been trained for three years and have become an army. Zeng Xiang was at the end of the crossbow period, and when the two rivers moved and the sky changed, it was the time when the gold and silver in the reverse inventory came out.
Yi Xin said: "The empress dowager, the empress dowager, and the empress dowager of the Holy Mother, can move the whole body with one hair, and the silver for rebelliousness must not be mentioned again. Zeng Guofan's dismissal of 100,000 Xiang braves has already been worth tens of millions of silver."
Empress Dowager Cixi said: The late emperor had said that whoever conquered Jinling would be granted the title of king of the county. After the city of Jinling was destroyed, the Zeng brothers were given a title and an uncle. It was not because the imperial court was ashamed of the Zeng family, but in fact they secretly divided up the money and distributed the silver from the treasury first.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: In troubled times, it is not appropriate to settle old accounts. However, Zuo Zongtang's Chu army and Li Hongzhang's Huaiyong army can all be mobilized at will; the two rivers are the two rivers of the Qing Dynasty, and they are not a place outside the law of the Hunan people.
The Empress Dowager Cixi said: The friendship between people and ministers means that one mounts his horse and rides the battlefield with a gun, and dismounts his horse and writes to appease Li Shu. Zuo Zongtang is the same, Li Hongzhang is the same, and Ma Xinyi is the same. Ma Xinyi was originally under the command of Yuan Jiasan to suppress the war. In recent years, he has overseen Liangjiang and swept away the water transport. In addition to the bad administration of salt administration and river engineering, he properly handled the Anqing religious case last year. He is a truly capable minister. Zuo, Li, and Ma are rising slowly, which is the blessing of our great Qing Dynasty.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: Zeng Guofan's memorial about the Tianjin religious case is indeed not false. However, if we capture and kill our people to please the foreigners, how can we deal with the ministers in the court and the people in the market?
Yi Xin said: "I would like to report to the Empress Dowager Mother and the Empress Dowager Our Lady that there are no casualties in the Anqing mission case. It can be handled with a little concession." However, the Tianjin missionary case, in which more than 20 foreigners and missionaries each died, cannot be solved by giving in. The slave thought that one life was worth one life, so he should kill ten or twenty criminals quickly. Chen Guorui, Zhang Guangzao, Liu Jie and others were unable to control the people, so they were immediately dismissed from their posts and punished.
Empress Dowager Ci'an said: "Now that I have given in, just like the foreigners, they still threaten and yell. Zeng and others must insist on the right argument and refute it with reason. We can defeat the enemy and Zhang Guowei." In a word, peace should be preserved, especially the people's support. President Zeng Guofan should be aware of human sentiment and coordinate the overall situation; only by convincing the people can peace be achieved between China and foreign countries.
The Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Everyone talks for a long time, and the opinions are clear. The imperial edict is quickly transmitted, and the governors and generals of all provinces immediately coordinate Zeng Guofan's Tianjin religious case. Zeng Guofan, the governor of Zhili, immediately supervises the Ding Shouchang Department of the Ming Army to arrest the murderer. Ding Richang, the governor of Jiangsu, , flew into Tianjin, assisted Zeng Chen, and handled teaching plans; Huang Yisheng, the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy, led his headquarters and rushed to Shanghai to guard Wusong Haikou.
Yi Xin said: "To report to the Queen Mother, I think Huang Yisheng's Yangtze River Navy cannot move lightly."
Empress Dowager Cixi said: As the saying goes, striking the grass will scare the snake. If we don't strike the grass, how can the snake appear? Looking at his appearance, Zeng Guofan is indeed loyal; but on the inside, I wonder if he is broad-minded? Paying money to please and killing people to seek peace are all expedient measures. Don't publish all of Zeng's memorials. Five of them raise suspicions. The Military Aircraft Department must consider the court's intentions and intercept them as appropriate.
Zeng Guofan received the order and quickly arrested forty or fifty criminals. He also told the people of Tianjin: Since the third or fourth year of Xianfeng, the headquarters has heard that the people of Tianjin love justice, and everyone is upright and sincerely praises them.
A man who loves righteousness will save others in danger and be impatient of others' injustice. This is what the ancients called a chivalrous disciple. Those with a strong spirit will move forward without caring about anything else. They can go through water and fire, and can step on white blades.
He is certainly a rare person with valuable qualities and useful talents, but if he is not well cultivated, he may be fond of justice but not clear about reason, or he may be strong-willed but not far-sighted, which can lead to chaos.
That is to say, what happened yesterday on May 23rd, I heard that a child was abducted in the church, his eyes gouged out and his heart was dismembered. The people of Tianjin are angry at the foreigners, and this can be said to be inspired by righteous indignation.
However, it is necessary to investigate and confirm. If there are corpses without eyes and heart that were actually buried by the church, and if there are criminals who kidnapped children who were actually ordered by the church, then blaming foreigners would not be a false accusation.
Even if there is real evidence, it must be reported to the official, who will inform the consul, who will present it to the minister, and then severely punish the priests who abducted the informed priests and the foreigners who gouged out their eyes and hearts. It is reasonable.
Today, we have not searched for any concrete evidence of abduction or eye-gouging. We are just relying on rumors to vent our anger. He neither reported it to the Chinese officials, but informed the foreign officials, and punished them on his own; nor did he report it to the officials, and was good at killing many people and burning many places. This is why the people of your country are usually ignorant.
If I can kill, he can also kill in retribution; if I can burn, he can also burn in retribution. If anger is used to summon anger, chaos is used to provoke chaos, and revenge is endless, then the people and houses of Tianjin will be in danger. Internally, it will cause worries to the emperor, and externally, it will cause doubts and provocations among other countries. After ten years of peace talks, it was not enough to maintain many sides; once there was a radical change, it was more than enough to poison all surnames.
For example, if there are children in the family, but they show their anger and enter the family without caring about the disaster, is it okay to worry about the humiliation of their father and brothers? Is it okay for a country to have scholars and people to carry out their wrath and ignore the fact that war starts on the battlefield and worry about endangering the emperor? This is why the people of your country have no foresight.
Jin County has a good spirit and a strong spirit, and there are many talents that can be used. However, if you use them well, you will be able to prepare for the city; if you use them improperly, it will cause trouble.
I heard that when the church was burned down on the 23rd, local gangsters and bandits mingled among them, and they robbed the property and carried it back home. Starting with righteous indignation and ending with profit, not only are foreigners ridiculing them, but even local gentry are ashamed to associate with them!
