After reading the emergency military report from Xinjiang, the expression on the emperor's face changed unpredictably, he thought about it and told Zeng Guofan, who was sitting in front of him, "What does Governor Zeng think?" The Northwest and the Russians clashed. ”

Chen Shengwen handed the fold to Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guofan got up and took the fold, flipped it over and took a closer look, the telegram was very short, few numbers, it seemed to be an understatement, but it was destined to set off a lot of waves at this time.

Zeng Guofan thought for a while and handed the fold back, "The position of the governor was originally for military purposes, the left governor suppressed Xinjiang, Xinjiang does not need the interior, and there is no grass-roots system to be built. ”

The Emperor asked displeasedly, "What about this Russian matter?" ”

"The Russians are cunning and ferocious, but they can't go beyond Xinjiang, so the emperor can rest assured." Zeng Guofan replied, "Although it is not appropriate for the dynasty to send a large army to fight against the Russians, but it is necessary to show its own attitude and show favor to the vassals of the world, which is originally a difficult thing to do both, but now the left governor has solved this problem for the emperor." ”

"How do you say that?" The emperor came interested.

"The Russians raised troops in the Central Asian khanates, not with the power of the whole country, but with the general of Turkestan Governor leading the Cossack cavalry to fight, the Kokand Khanate had ten soldiers in vain and the reputation of one Kokand man, so they almost lost the country, the Russians are not the strength of the country, and China does not need to do so, the minister also heard in Beijing, many people went to the fold, asked the twelve towns to go out of the Yumen Pass again, and confront the Russians, not to mention the problem of the cost of money, just say that the twelve towns have been established. The northwest has been entrenched for several years, and the army is afraid that it is extremely disgusted with the northwest, and if it is like this, the army will inevitably complain, which will affect the battle record. ”

"You have a point," said Emperor Tongzhi. "I'm also worried, so I don't know what to do."

"The Sacred Heart has already been decided," Zeng Guofan said with a smile, "Why do you need to come and ask the ministers, the emperor has seen the excerpt of the Zuo Governor, and if he doesn't say a word, isn't it conclusive?" Since it is a local matter, it is up to the local government to do it, Zuo Zongtang. The minister understands very well, he never avoids things as an official, and he will definitely deal with this matter well, not to mention whether he can help Kokand restore the country, if he can make the Russians unstable in the area of Yibohai, this is excellent, not to mention. It has been able to improve the training of troops in Tuntian and promote the development of Xinjiang. ”

The Emperor nodded. thoughtfully, "That's to let Zuo Zongtang deal with it?" It's okay to make some small disturbances, and it doesn't seem appropriate to make a big move, diplomatically Prime Minister Yamen sent people to negotiate, and Zuo Zongtang made something happen from time to time. Presumably, the Russians will not feel that there is no one in China, which is very good. ”

"Yes, Shengming has no past the emperor."

"Where is my Shengming, it is Zeng Du who can see you thoroughly," Emperor Tongzhi said with a smile. "What do you think of the Kokand lord saying that he would ask China to help him restore his country?"

"Since the lord of Kokand is in the country, this Russian will never be able to occupy Kokand justifiably," Zeng Guofan said, "The minister thinks that if the lord of Kokand is allowed to enter Beijing and treat him well, when he sees the grand scenery of the Central Plains and lives in Beijing, I am afraid that he will be happy, and if China has a plot against Central Asia in the future, this person will not be beautiful if he is abolished, and the minister thinks that it is also excellent to put it in Xinjiang and let Zuo Zongtang take care of it, so that Russia will be disgusted." ”

"You're right," the emperor nodded approvingly and smiled, Chen Shengwen came in and called a thousand, "The king of parliament and the minister of military aircraft have arrived." ”

"Let them wait outside," the emperor instructed, Chen Shengwen responded with a slight embarrassment, Zeng Guofan's eyebrows moved slightly, and the emperor asked him about the governor of Zhili, Zeng Guofan dealt with the Tianjin teaching case in the past, and then transferred to the governor of Zhili, known as the head of the Xinjiang ministers, "to avoid the shame of the official's life" This is his consistent criterion, after arriving in Zhili, persuade agriculture and mulberry, prosper foreign affairs, and rely on the convenience of Tianjin port, in the Haihe River and the coastal area to develop handicrafts and light industry, the wool outside the mouth is transported to these places for processing, and then sold in China along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to the south, sold abroad on the spot packaged and sent to Tianjin to the sea. It also vigorously opened up the Luanping coal mine, and took advantage of the east wind of the new railway of the Ministry of Communications to train Luanping, Tianjin, Baoding, and Beijing into a railway network.

"I heard that you have built a new research institute in Baoding, what is this for?"

"In the past, in Jinling, there were Chinese scholars and craftsmen, independently developed internal combustion ships, and then with reference to the latest technology in the West, successively built a lot of styles of ironclad ships, which is the source of ships of Jiangning Steamship Merchants Bureau, although this ship can not be used for military purposes, but across the Yangtze River, transporting freight people, are extremely convenient, Chen thought, the Central Plains is not incompetent, if it is a person who is proficient in foreign affairs, there is time, and there is no worry about life, there will inevitably be a technology that is not inferior to the West."

"This is very good, the Empress Dowager has also collected many scholars from the West, and the same as Zeng Du's meaning, this institute must be run well in Zhili, if there is a shortage of silver, take it from my inner treasury," the emperor said boldly.

"Now there is no shortage of money, but this closed-door car is not a wise move, the scholars brought back by the Queen Mother, if the emperor can even a few to Baoding, this Zhili technology must be worry-free."

The emperor waved his hand, "Don't count on it, those scholars and the queen mother regard them as treasures, just brought to the capital, they put them in the imperial village in the western suburbs, and they are entertained with delicious food and drink, and the imperial village will be used as their residence and teaching place in the future, and those who study science in the same library will go to school, and the opinions they put forward, the queen mother has nothing to disagree, and a eunuch in the internal affairs office deducted a little silver and was sent out." There can also be Baoding for you, don't mention it as soon as possible. However, since you are interested in studying, you might as well send someone to Beijing to study, and the two Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shanghai have all known the good news and are ready to send someone to Beijing. Baoding is close to Gyeonggi, so you can't lag behind. ”

After a while, Zeng Guofan was afraid that Prince Gong and other important ministers were waiting outside, so he asked to retreat, and the emperor nodded, "You will rest in Beijing for a few days, and it is also excellent to meet Hunan villagers, the queen mother has got the chili sauce you entered, but I think it is good, maybe when I want to see you, you wait first." ”

Zeng Guofan retreated, Prince Gong and others came in, except for Prince Gong, the rest of the people bowed and worshipped, and the emperor waved his hand, "Get up, it's for Xinjiang?" (To be continued.) )