The Taiping army started in Guangxi, and then fought in Hunan and Hubei, the imperial court dispatched several provinces to concentrate tens of thousands of troops to surround and intercept, but repeatedly failed, in just two years, the Taiping army has developed into hundreds of thousands of soldiers, which makes people talk about the huge momentum, as a Hunan gentry and celebrity, advocating and committed to the application of the world, and concentrating on the study of public opinion, the art of war Zuo Zongtang is naturally extremely concerned about this. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

He keenly felt that the Taiping Army was very likely to cause disaster to the world like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in the former Ming Dynasty, and it was not something that the Eight Banners Green Battalion could quickly suppress at all.

At this time, his friend, Hu Linyi, the prefect of Liping in Guizhou, tried his best to persuade him to join the shogunate of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, and Bao Shichen also sent a letter inviting him to come to Wuchang for a meeting.

Hearing Bao Shichen's opinion on Long Hair, Zuo Zongtang was even more firm in his judgment, he knew very well that as Yi Zhi's chief staff Bao Shichen's opinion was Yi Zhi's opinion, and he smiled reservedly, and he said: "The hero sees the same thing, and he also thinks that the Long Hair Rebellion is difficult to quickly extinguish, and he thinks that Long Hair will inevitably cause trouble in Hunan." ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen was slightly surprised, slowed down and said, "How can you see it?" ”

"The rampant Hunan Hui Party is only inferior to Guangxi, Changmao has entered Hunan, and the provincial and county party has been attached, and there are many Hunan people in the backbone of the Changmao land camp, water camp, and soil camp, which is one of them." Zuo Zongtang said slowly: "Second, the prosperity of the Long-haired Water Camp is not comparable to the Eight Banners Green Battalion, but the Long-haired Water Camp is blocked by the naval fleet on the way to the east, and it can only occupy Dongting Lake and the upstream river. These two points alone are enough to judge that the long hair is very likely to entrench in Hunan or repeatedly flow in Hunan. ”

Talking all the way, the two walked into the courtyard, entered the house and sat down, and Bao Shichen said tentatively: "Ji Gao is planning to recruit and form a group training in Hunan?" ”

Zuo Zongtang is indeed this plan, one is that Jiang Zhongyuan formed a regiment to practice encircling and suppressing the Taiping Army, and he has made many achievements, and he has been ranked in the feudal territory from the county governor in three or four years, which makes his eyes hot, and second, he also has the heart to form a regiment to practice defending Sangzi, and in his opinion, the various evil deeds of the Taiping Army are undoubtedly the indignation of people and gods, and he does not want his hometown to be poisoned by the Taiping Army.

was broken by Bao Shichen, Zuo Zongtang did not hide it, and said straightforwardly: "Yes, I really want to form a group to defend Sangzi." ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen was speechless, he wrote to invite Zuo Zongtang to come to meet because Yi Zhixiang wanted to use Zuo Zongtang's talents to govern the northwest, but the other party wanted to form a regiment to defend Sangzi, what did he say? Obviously, the other party wanted to take the road of Jiang Zhongyuan, for a while, he was a little shaken, the other party was so eager for quick success, is he the best candidate to govern the northwest?

He knew very well that Yi Zhi's layout in the northwest could be called a big deal, both for the imperial court and for Yuan Qi, it was extremely important, and if it was not used properly, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After a slight sigh, he said slowly: "Ji Gao has worked hard all the way, take a rest first, and the Hou Ye estimates that he will return to Wuchang in these two days." ”

Zuo Zongtang was already arrogant, so he immediately got up and said, "Then I will say goodbye first, and come back to visit another day." ”

This kid still has the stinky temper of the year, Bao Shichen secretly slandered himself, and then said: "Now that the army is in chaos, Ji Gao should stay in the Misty Garden." ”

"Don't bother with tiredness, I still have old friends in Wuchang." After Zuo Zongtang finished speaking, he turned around and left.

Looking at his back, Bao Shichen couldn't help but shake his head, hesitating in his heart, whether it is necessary to recommend it to Yi Zhicontent, although this Zuo Zongtang is talented, but it is far worse than Yi Zhicontent, but this temperament is ....., I don't know if Yi Zhicontent can tolerate it.

For six days, Yi Zhifen led the troops to slowly return to Wuchang, he entered the Ai Garden with his front foot, and Qi Shan, the governor of Huguang, rushed over on the back foot, and heard the report, Yi Zhifen realized that there must be an emergency military situation, and immediately turned back to greet him, as soon as the two met, Qi Shan even waived the greetings, and said straightly: "Jingzhou is lost." ”

Jingzhou fell so quickly? Yi Zhixin couldn't help but be stunned, and hurriedly asked, "How about the casualties?" ”

Qi Shan said in a deep voice: "More than 10,000 officers and soldiers defending the city have all died ....... ”

"What about the monk king and Xiang Junmen?"

"We have joined forces and headed to Xiangyang." Qi Shan said with a long sigh, "Hubei is finished......." ”

"The Taiping army is only temporarily gaining the upper hand." Yi Zhishu said and stretched out his hand and said, "Let's go in and talk about it." ”

In just a few days, Jingzhou was lost, easy to be content and really unexpected, Jingzhou has always been an important military town, and it is also one of the important places where the eight banners of the inland province are not many garrisoned, there are four thousand Manchurian eight banners and Mongolian eight banners, and there are a large number of green camps around, the city is tall and strong, and the perfection of the defense system is definitely more than the general provincial capital, and there is no reinforcement in connivance, and it will not be captured by the Taiping army so quickly.

The two of them entered the house and sat down, and Yi Zhizhi asked the question in his heart, "Why was Jingzhou captured so quickly?" ”

"It is said that the bandits pretended to be reinforcements of the officers and soldiers to win the city gate, and there is still an internal response in the city, 200,000 bandits broke into the city in one day, and there was no chance of reinforcements." Qi Shan shook his head helplessly, "After the city was broken, all the civil and military officials and soldiers in the city, as well as all the men, women, and children in the city, were slaughtered. ”

It seems that the officers and soldiers of Jingzhou have been comfortable for too long, and even the basic vigilance has been lost, Yi Zhishu was speechless for a while, the Taiping army had pretended to be officers and soldiers when besieging Guilin and tried to open the city gate, but the Guilin defenders saw through it and did not succeed, and did not want to succeed in Jingzhou, he sighed secretly, and thought about it, so it is good, at least the two soldiers and horses of Seng Lingqin and Xiang Rong were able to preserve their strength and retreat to Xiangyang, and there is no need to worry about the safety of Xiangyang.

After a slight groan, he asked, "What about the Taiping Army Sailors?" ”

Qi Shan said without thinking: "Tracing the river, I have already passed the mouth of Luxi." ”

After the mouth of Luxi, not far from Dongting Lake, it seems that the Taiping Army Navy is planning to camp in Dongting Lake, Yi Zhixiang pondered for a moment, and then comforted him: "The Taiping Army is in full swing, with the current strength of Hubei, it is not suitable to go head-to-head, hold Xiangyang and Wuchang for the time being, wait for reinforcements, and encircle and suppress the Taiping Army. ”

Qi Shan glanced at him and said: "The Taiping army occupies Hubei, and it will inevitably covet the two rivers, and now in this situation, even if the 20,000 new army of the Banner goes south, it will not be able to compete with it, and the national city will not consider sending the Nanyang Navy into Chu?" ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhixiang laughed secretly in his heart, he was not afraid of god-like opponents, he was afraid of pig-like teammates, even if he wanted to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army, the navy would not cooperate with the Eight Banners Green Battalion, besides, the imperial court was on guard against Yuan Qi and the navy everywhere, and the navy entered Chu in a big way, and he was still worried that the imperial court would stab him in the back, thankless things, he was not interested.

Thinking so, but unable to say so, Yi Zhishu took out a cigarette and lit one, and said slowly: "The navy conquered the South Seas, snatched Luzon and Java from Spain and the Netherlands, and had to prevent them from sending troops on an expedition, and it was already the limit to transfer these 10,000 troops into Chu, once the reinforcements arrived, the 10,000 navy would return to the South Seas as soon as possible." ”

Although he said it was high-sounding, Qi Shan didn't believe it, he knew Yi Zhicontent very well, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "How about the Benjue Pavilion writing to the imperial court to invite the Nanyang Navy to prepare for the construction of the Yangtze River Naval Division?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, flicked the cigarette ash, and said: "I'm not interested in the Yangtze River, and there is no need for the people of Taiwan to touch the mold for this, the inland provinces, the navy will try to interfere as little as possible in the future, so as not to be suspicious of the imperial court." ”

Seeing that he was unmoved, Qi Shan was really a little anxious, and said: "The naval fleet is withdrawn, isn't it the Yangtze River that sends bandit sailors?" ”

"Isn't the imperial court preparing to build the Yangtze River Water Division?"

Yangtze River Water Division? With the current financial situation of the imperial court, God knows if it can be built in the Year of the Monkey? Qi Shan glanced at him and said, "Isn't the country worried about the bandits going down the east side of the river to cause trouble in the two rivers?" ”

"The imperial court is not afraid, why should Yuan Qi be afraid?" Yi Zhi's face is light and light.

"Isn't this a cheap ...... for nothing?" Qi Shan sighed lightly, his heart was full of helplessness, the situation in Hubei was so erosive, the root was in Yuanqi and the imperial court, if they could work together, Monk Greenqin would not be surrounded, and the bandits would be so rampant!

Yi Zhi was lazy to pay attention to him, the old god was smoking silently, if the Taiping army dared to invade Liangjiang, he would naturally not stand idly by, but he would not say this clearly, let out the wind first, and see what the reaction of the imperial court was.

Seeing off Qi Shan, Yi Zhishu took a comfortable bath, and was about to go to Meimei to sleep, but Lin Meilian came in and reported: "Mr. Bao is here." ”

As soon as Bao Shichen came in, he smiled and said, "Congratulations to the Hou Ye on his triumphant return." ”

"No congratulations." Yi Zhizu waved his hand and said: "I ran back and forth without firing a shot, it was simply a long-distance cross-country training." ”

"That also relieves the siege of the monk king." Bao Shichen said with a smile: "Assisting in the recovery of Wuchang and galloping in the starry night to relieve the siege of the monk king, with these two credits, the court should always express something to the Hou Ye." ”

Yi Zhizu became interested, and after stretching out his hand to give up his seat, he said, "What does Mr. want the court to say?" ”

After sitting down, Bao Shichen said unhurriedly: "Madame and the little marquis." ”

Hearing him mention Zaittong's mother and son, Yi Zhi's contented expression darkened, sighed lightly, shook his head slowly, and said: "The court clearly wants to take their mother and son as hostages, how can it be easy to let them go." ”

"You should always give it a try." Bao Shichen said: "This is a rare opportunity, the further it is delayed, the slimmer the chance, the old man pondered for a while, and it may be better to let the monk come forward to intercede." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "I'll send a letter to the monk king." ”

"One more thing." Bao Shichen said: "Zuo Zongtang has come to Wuchang ...... ”

"He's finally willing to go out of the mountain?" Yi Zhizhi smiled, Zuo Zongtang is the most ideal candidate to govern the northwest, but although that guy is just a lifter, the shelf is not small, and he has not been invited to move after a few invitations.

"It's true to go out of the mountains, but he doesn't seem to have any intention of going to the northwest, and wants to form a regiment to defend Sangzi." Bao Shi said with a smile, "Nearly forty years old, his temperament doesn't seem to have changed at all, and he is still a crazy person with empty eyes." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, and said disapprerovitly: "Zuo Jigao is known as a Hunan barbarian, his heart is arrogant, and his eyes are empty, which is his nature, and the so-called nature of the country is easy to change, and it is really necessary to grind off the edges and corners, so it is not his Zuo Jigao." ”

Hearing him say this, Bao Shichen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Master Hou is planning to meet this madman?" ”

"See, why not?" Yi Zhicontent said casually: "Tomorrow morning, I will have a banquet for him at the Yellow Crane Tower." ”

Governor's Office, backyard.

Hearing that Zuo Zongtang came to Wuchang, Jiang Zhongyuan specially set up a table of banquets for him to pick up the wind and wash the dust, of course, Zeng Guofan, who stayed in Wuchang to help with military affairs, the three of them are of the same age, they are all close friends, and they are very happy to meet in Wuchang.

After three rounds of drinking, Jiang Zhongyuan drained the wine in the cup in one gulp, and said with a smile: "We have written several times to invite Ji Gao to go out of the mountain, but we have shirked it in every possible way, how could we suddenly come to Wuchang this time?" ”

Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "Minqiao doesn't know, Ji Gao came to Wuchang at the invitation of Mr. An Wu. ”

"It's still Yi Guocheng's big face." Jiang Zhongyuan quipped: "A letter, Ji Gao rushed to Shanghai. ”

"What are these words?" Zuo Zongtang's chin was the same, "A few years ago, Mr. An Wu invited me to Shanghai, but I ignored it, this time, Mr. An Wu specially rushed to Wuchang, and if he didn't come, he was a little unreasonable." ”

"Yi Guocheng is now known as the 'King of Nanyang'." Jiang Zhongyuan looked at him and said, "But do you recommend Ji Gao Nanyang as an official?" ”

"Who's going to the South Seas?" Zuo Zongtang poured himself a drink, and then said slowly: "You asked me to govern the northwest." ”

Going to the Northwest? Zeng Guofan's eyes lit up, and he said: "Yuan Qi is a big deal in the northwest, and he is ambitious, not only to resist Tsarist Russia, but also to actively expand the ..... outward. ”

"I didn't say I was going to the Northwest." Zuo Zongtang said: "Now that the long hair is in turmoil, there is a great tendency to sweep the world, whether it is the imperial court or Yuanqi, it is difficult to take care of the northwest ....... ”

Before he finished speaking, a long entourage walked to the door and bowed down and said, "Master, Aiyuan has sent an invitation." ”

Invitation? Jiang Zhongyuan stretched out his hand and said, "Bring it." After taking the invitation, he smiled and said: "Ji Gao has a big face, Yi Guocheng actually set up a banquet in the Yellow Crane Tower to catch the wind and wash the dust for you, and we will all follow it." As he spoke, he handed the invitation to Zuo Zongtang.

Zeng Guofan stroked his long beard under his chin and said: "Yi Guocheng has never liked to welcome and send off, and rarely goes to banquets and rarely banquets, and once he returns to Wuchang, he will send invitations, it seems that Ji Gao is not generally valued." ”

"I'm not interested in the Northwest." Zuo Zongtang said lightly, poured himself a glass of wine, and took a sip.

Jiang Zhongyuan glanced at him and said, "What is Ji Gao interested in?" ”

"I'm interested in encircling and suppressing longhair." Zuo Zongtang did not hide his thoughts and opinions, "As I said, Long Hair has the potential to sweep the world, and it cannot be exterminated by relying on the Eight Banners Green Battalion, and the world is in chaos, where can you not make contributions, why go to the northwest for thousands of miles?" ”