It has been less than a year since Daoguang's death, and Mu Zhang'a was extremely impressed by the scene of summoning the ministers before his death, and Lin Zexu, who listened to this, couldn't help but appear in front of Daoguang's last advice before his death-"For Yuan Qi, we must be good at appeasing and encompassing more, unless it is openly chaotic, it is not appropriate to eradicate it, and the imperial court must continue to implement military system innovation and train new troops in case of accidents." Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"

After a slight sigh, he said: "If the navy prepares to build the Yangtze River Naval Division, Yuan Qi's forces will be able to penetrate deep into Huguang, and they can also openly expand the army by preparing for the Yangtze River Naval Division. ”

"Will it be difficult to check and balance in the future?" Lin Zexu laughed and said: "The imperial court has no legal balance now!" Yuan Qi is now a big tail! Moreover, the imperial court is now not only unable to check and balance, but also to appease well, after all, the encirclement and suppression of bandits still rely on Yuanqi, let alone force anti-Yuanqi at this juncture.

As for the expansion of the army with the help of the Yangtze River Water Division, Yuanqi wants to expand the army, where can it not be expanded? The two provinces of Nanyang, Annan and Dinghai can justifiably expand their armies, and the imperial court interfered? Furthermore, the lesser of two evils, Yuanqi's forces went deep into Huguang and sent bandits down the river to cause trouble in the two rivers, which is more important? ”

Mu Zhang'a twisted his long beard under his chin and was speechless for a long time, and then sighed lightly for a long time, "If this kind of blatant coercion is this, the emperor is afraid that he will not be able to swallow this breath ......" ”

Xianfeng is only twenty years old, and he is the first time to ascend to the great treasure, it is the time to consolidate the imperial power and establish the prestige, if it is a blatant provocation, Lin Zexu thought about it, and only brought out the first emperor to suppress it, and sighed slightly, he said: "The first emperor also has a testament, Mu Xiang should remember, 'The rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty is tied to Yuanqi, and the rise and fall of Yuanqi is tied to Yi Zhizhi's body." ’

The emperor ascended the throne for a year, and there was no appeasement for Yi Guocheng, nor did he have the heart to envelop him, but he just blindly took precautions. Trying to appease the envelope is the best policy. After a pause, he continued: "Mu Xiang should enter the palace alone, so it is convenient to admonish." ”

Is there any point in guarding against Yuanqi now? Mu Zhang'a was stunned when he heard this, this was to the point, the Taiping army was in trouble in the three provinces, the power swelled sharply, and the strength was known as millions, it is difficult to say when it will be wiped out.

The cold wind was howling outside, but it was as warm as spring in the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and when he entered the room, Mu Zhang'a felt a warm air rushing towards him, taking the opportunity to ask for peace, he quickly glanced at Xianfeng, who was sitting on the kang to review the folds, and sighed secretly in his heart, no one expected the Taiping Army to develop so fast, perhaps, Daoguang passed the throne to Xianfeng, it was a mistake.

Bowing down to present Qi Shan's fold, Mu Zhang'a trembled and knelt on the white felt carpet and bowed down slightly, he knew that this master would not hide it in front of him at all, sure enough, he heard a "bang", a teacup was thrown and smashed in front of him, his heart jumped, and he quickly kowtowed: "The emperor is angry...... ”

"I don't want to be angry, but do you courtiers still have me as the emperor in your eyes?" Xianfeng gritted his teeth and said coldly: "If you don't follow the order, you dare to withdraw your troops without authorization, where is the imperial court?" Where do I go? He was furious, and when he raised his eyes and saw the two little eunuchs coming in, he was even more angry, and shouted loudly: "Get out!" ”

The two little eunuchs who were about to come in to clean up were frightened, and hurriedly withdrew and closed the door, Xianfeng asked angrily, "Did he reply to Lin Zexu?" ”

"Back to the emperor." Mu Zhang'a bowed down and said: "When I returned, he proposed to control the military and political affairs of nine provinces, including Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Guangxi, and asked for 30 million taels of military spending. ”

Xianfeng sneered: "Controlling the military and political power of the nine provinces, the military expenditure is 30 million taels, he has such a big appetite!" ”

"The emperor is angry." Mu Zhang'a kowtowed and said: "The old slave has a word, I don't know if I should say it or not..... ”

Xianfeng stared at him for a long time before he said in a deep voice: "Say-." ”

"Hong Yang's rebellion is engulfed by millions of people across the lake, if you want to completely encircle and suppress, you really need to control the military and political affairs of the adjacent provinces, if you can completely exterminate it, 30 million, is not much, since Hong Yang's rebellion in Guangxi has been in turmoil, the imperial court has spent 20 million taels of silver." Mu Zhang'a said boldly: "This requirement...... It's not too much. ”

"Huh?" Xianfeng's eyes suddenly became fierce, "It's not too much?" Don't you know what it means to control the military and political affairs of the nine provinces? Yi Zhicontent is now the king of Nanyang, and the officials of Nanyang are all easy to elect officials, what's the matter, it's not enough, do you want two lakes and two rivers to become officials in Fujian, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Henan? ”

"The old slave deserves death." Mu Zhang'a kowtowed a few times, but he didn't dare to say anything more.

vented, Xianfeng gradually calmed down, Yi Zhixin was unscrupulous, there was no court in his eyes at all, without him as an emperor, in an inland province like Hubei, the navy could go if he wanted to, and he could go if he wanted, what could he do? Is there nothing to do about it?

He really didn't dare to do this, Yi Zhixiang took the initiative to resign no problem, if he ordered him to be cut down and dismissed, it would be tantamount to a complete rebellion, not to mention that the guns and ammunition of the Eight Banners New Army that surrounded and suppressed the Taiping Army depended on Yuan Qi's supply, at this juncture, he didn't dare to make extraneous branches, and if he really forced Yi Zhicontentment, it would definitely be a nightmare.

After being silent for a long time, he looked at Mu Zhang'a who was lying on the ground, and said in a slow tone: "What do you care about?" ”

What do you care about? Mu Zhang'a paused for a moment before he said: "Back to the emperor, there should be three things that Yi Zhixiang currently attaches importance to, the expansion of the army in the northwest, the immigration of Nanyang, and the construction of the railway. After a pause, he continued: "The expansion of the army in the northwest and the reform of border politics are aimed at the continuous encroachment of Tsarist Russia on the northwest, with the intention of taking advantage of the outbreak of war in Western countries to expand abroad.

The purpose of Nanyang immigration is to immigrate to Shibian, enrich the population of the two new provinces in Nanyang, assimilate and integrate the indigenous people of Nanyang, and permanently incorporate Nanyang into the territory of the Qing Dynasty. As for the construction of railways, there are four main ones -- the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway from Beijing to Hangzhou, the Guangzhou-Changsha Railway from Guangzhou to Changsha, the Shangjiang Railway from Shanghai to Jiangning, and the Zhengtai Railway from Taiyuan to Zhengdingfu. ”

"The railway from Guangzhou to Changsha?" Xianfeng glanced at him, he really didn't know about it.

"Back to the emperor." Mu Zhang'a hurriedly said: "This railway should still be in the stage of surveying the line...... ”

After thinking for a moment, Xianfeng sighed secretly, these three things can't be coerced by Yi Zhi, as for the mother and son of Zaitong who were forcibly left in Jingshi, Yi Zhi's main room and sister-in-law, he didn't dare to use it as a last resort.

Seeing Xianfeng's heart calmed down, Mu Zhang'a said boldly: "Although Yi Zhishu is bold and reckless, but after all, it is different from Hong Yang's rebellion, the old slave feels that the top priority is to appease Yuanqi, first exterminate Hong Yang's rebels, and then free up his hands to deal with Yuanqi." ”

is so lawless, and has to appease the cage, Xianfeng felt uncomfortable in his heart, but he had to endure it and said, "How to appease the cage?" ”

Hearing his calm tone, Mu Zhang'a secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "The old slave feels that the reward that should be given is still a reward, this is for the people of the world to see, and the current encirclement and suppression of bandits is in full swing, and the soldiers need to serve ......" ”

Xianfeng nodded and said, "The amount of my weapon is not so small, what else?" ”

"Give what you shouldn't give." Mu Zhang'a said in a deep voice: "The Yangtze River Naval Division was handed over to the navy for preparation, and Chen Hongming was appointed as the commander of the Yangtze River Naval Division. ”

Hearing this, Xianfeng's face became gloomy, and Mu Zhang'a hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, although the navy is preparing to build the Yangtze River Naval Division, although the disadvantages are not small, but it is also a last resort, without the naval fleet, the thousands of miles of the Yangtze River will be left to the bandits and sailors, the situation of the two rivers is precarious, Huguang has been eroded, if the two rivers are troubled by bandits again, the imperial court will face a serious financial crisis..... ”

Xianfeng said in a sullen voice: "Yuan Qi dares to let the bandits cause trouble in the two rivers? ”

"Your Majesty, most of Yuanqi's machine silk reeling factories are in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and it is really difficult to say whether they will protect Jiangxi and Anhui provinces." Mu Zhang'a said slowly: "Moreover, the construction of the Yangtze River Naval Division by the Navy can not only ensure the safety of the two rivers, but also quickly stabilize the war situation in Hubei, and save a lot of money for the imperial court...... ”

Xianfeng said coldly: "In the future, how will the imperial court deal with Yuanqi's chaos?" ”

"The old slave dared to say a word." Mu Zhang'a glanced at Xianfeng cautiously, and then said: "If Yi Zhixiang really had the intention of rebellion, he would not have galloped to Jingshan to rescue the trapped monk and king's department, nor would he agree to purchase guns and ammunition for the new army." Now that the bandits are known as a million troops, eroding the land of the three provinces, if he has the intention to rebel, he will definitely not miss this opportunity.

Moreover, without the support of Yuan Qi, it would be difficult for the Yangtze River Naval Division to be built in a short period of time, and without steam gunboats, it would be difficult for the Yangtze River Naval Division to compete with the huge scale of the bandits. ”

This is also true, Xianfeng secretly agreed, Yi Zhishu really wanted to rebel, he would not save the 20,000 soldiers and horses of Monk Greenqin, once the Taiping army annihilated the 20,000 soldiers and horses of Monk Greenqin and obtained 6,000 new muskets, it would not be the current situation, at that time, Yuan Qi would easily control the southeast half of the wall in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, and with the ability of Yi Zhifen, he would not fail to see this.

"Kneel down first." Xianfeng said softly, Mu Zhang'a bowed down and retreated, he also got up and walked out of the Xinuan Pavilion, and only then did he find that it was snowing outside the hall, and large snowflakes were sprinkled down from the dark sky, looking up at the gloomy sky, he lost his mind for a while, and if he didn't have the intention of rebellion, what was he plotting?

Ordinary people are plotting fame and fortune, Yuanqi wealth is the world, easy to know that as the long-sleeved treasurer of Yuanqi, he is good at dancing, and he has a way to make money, and he will not seek profit, what about fame? He doesn't seem to care, until now, the list of meritorious service has not been submitted, duke, this is the title that many courtiers dream of, and he doesn't seem to take it to heart at all? What exactly is he after?

Judging from the rapid rise of Yuanqi and the external expansion of the navy, Yi Zhizhi is clearly an ambitious person, but he did not take advantage of the Nanyang rebellion, nor did he take advantage of the situation of Hongyang's rebellion, but assisted the imperial court to encircle and suppress, what kind of medicine is he selling in this gourd?

The naval fleet did not follow the order, and traced the west of the river without authorization, clearly to prevent the bandits from going down the east of the river, and to regain the name of the righteous entry into Wuchang to encircle and suppress the bandits, but did not follow the order and withdrew the troops without authorization, just because of dissatisfaction with the imperial court? Or is there another mystery? To say that he colluded with the Taiping Army, it seems impossible, after all, it is not fake that he galloped through Jingshan in the starry night to rescue the 20,000 army of Seng Lingqin.

Or is it that the troops were withdrawn without authorization for the sake of the Yangtze River Naval Division? Is it worried that the imperial court has taken control of the Yangtze River Naval Division and poses a threat to the navy? Or does Yuan Qi want to use the Yangtze River to infiltrate his power into Liangjiang, Lake, Guangzhou, and even Sichuan? The latter is extremely likely, after all, the Yangtze River Naval Division poses a limited threat to the navy, but what does he do if he does not rebel and infiltrate inland provinces? If you want to rebel, why infiltrate? Take this opportunity to raise troops directly!

Thinking about it, he finally couldn't figure it out, and then thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in just two years, the Taiping army increased from 120,000 to hundreds of thousands or even millions, and moved to three provinces, even the provincial capital Changsha, Wuchang and the military town of Jingzhou were captured one after another, and the green battalions in several provinces lost more than half of the soldiers, and even the 10,000 new army of the Eight Banners was also lost more than half, which he could not even dream.

If he doesn't know too much about the combat power of the local green battalion, but he still knows a little about the Eight Banners New Army, and the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing are far from being the opponents of the Eight Banners New Army, and this new army is used to defend the Beijing Division against the Nanyang Navy, but judging from the situation of the first battle to recover Wuchang, there is still a big gap between the Eight Banners New Army and the Nanyang Navy.

Just when he was thinking about it, the eunuch came to report, "Mr. Du handed over a sign and asked to see." "Mr. Du is Du Shoutian, the book of the Criminal Department, Du Shoutian is Xianfeng's teacher, in order to show respect and respect, Xianfeng generally does not call him by his name, but Mr., the eunuch naturally does not dare to call him by his name.

"Ask him to come in." Xianfeng said and turned around and entered the Xinuan Pavilion and sat cross-legged on the kang, and after Du Shoutian, who was waiting, walked in quickly to ask for a salute, he said: "No courtesy, flat body." ”

Xie En got up, and Du Shoutian spoke: "Your Majesty, Hong Yang has made a rebellion, causing disasters to the three provinces, the lake is eroded, not only the land and grain have been sharply reduced, but the salt tax and tariffs are also only in vain, and on the other hand, the military expenditure has risen sharply, and the Beijing division and local finances can be said to be exhausted at the same time. Wei Chen secretly believes that at present, the only way to maintain it is to borrow capital and people's power. ”

Xianfeng frowned and said, "Borrowing people's power? ”

"Collect cents, levy taxes, salt, and donate." Du Shoutian said in a deep voice: "Among them, the main thing is to collect centigold, that is, to set up checkpoints on the main water and land transportation roads in various provinces, and to levy additional commercial taxes to make up for the losses caused by the chaos of Hongyang and the paralysis of Changguan. As he spoke, he bowed down and presented a fold.

Li Jin system, Xianfeng looked at it carefully, and said: "This is to make up for the losses caused by Hong Yang's rebellion and Changguan's paralysis?" ”

"Your Majesty." Du Shoutian bowed and said: "This is to avoid touching the ancestral system of 'never adding endowment'. ”

To put it bluntly, it's just an excuse, but Xianfeng now even has the intention of grabbing money, and naturally he can't take care of the ancestral system that will never be endowed, so he immediately said: "Tomorrow morning, the court will propose it for discussion." ”