C149

Chapter 149 - Ceng Guofan and Xiang Army

"Where does Shao Quan think our Xiang Army should go in the future?" Jiu Shuai did not directly answer Li Hongzhang's question. Instead, he changed the topic, and asked a question that caused Li Hongzhang to be stunned, "Where should I go from here? "My Xiang Army kills long hair and is the strongest army in our Great Qing Province. If there are any disobedient people in the future, we will kill them. If there are no disobedient people …"

Li Hongzhang's voice became softer and softer as he spoke, and in the end, he was unable to continue speaking. Li Hongzhang was not an idiot, furthermore, he was already forty years old, and was not some hot-blooded youth. He was just unwilling to think about some things, but that did not mean that he did not understand.

The Great Marshal, who had fought with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for more than ten years, could be said to have gone through hundreds of battles. Was it true that the marshal's blade was old? The answer was definitely no, Twisted Army might have gathered hundreds of thousands of people, but one without food, two without weapons, and three without a base, was just a group of bandits that could take the lives of ordinary people, which was completely incomparable to the heaven.

However, this group of bandits had roamed the north for more than ten years, and this year, even the famous Monk King Seng Gelinqin of the Eight Banners had died in the hands of the Twisted Army.

Li Hongzhang had already guessed more than once that teachers would always use ways to take care of bandits, but due to his respect for his teachers, the moment he thought about this, it would be fiercely dispelled. In Li Hongzhang's eyes, his teacher was the Great Qing Dynasty's white jade pillar and the sea purple gold pillar.

But today, the strange atmosphere in the study made Li Hongzhang think of the conjecture that he had been denying all along. Ceng Guofan stroked his beard, as if he had seen through his disciple's heart, and said calmly.

"The Xiang Army already has 500,000 soldiers, and the entire southern part of the country is under their control. Even the foreigners who want to do business on the two sides of the Yangtze River have to be polite with us. Such a huge force no longer belongs to me alone …"

"Shao Quan, do you really think that I, Ceng Guofan, can do whatever I want in the Xiang Army? Do you really think that I am the Overlord of this land? "To use the common saying of the people of Beijing, you're just like an oil shuttle, white in colour and short in build."

Ceng Guofan took a small sip of the top-quality Da Hong Pao that had been covered in a bowl. This was a sprout personally stepped into the Wuyishan from the half plant that had been struck by lightning. This was a top-grade Da Hong Pao that not even the emperor and empress dowager of the Forbidden City could taste.

"Five hundred thousand Xiang Army s, what does this mean? This meant that tens of thousands of civil and military officials and half a million families were dependent on this group for support. If you, Shao Quan, wanted meat, beauties, and brothers wanted meat, they also wanted to get married, so where would the money come from? To the imperial court? Looking forward to the war? "Let's stop dreaming …"

"Oh Shao Quan, everyone says that it is difficult to reach the top, but do you know how difficult it is to reach the bottom of the mountain? With so many of my brothers gathered together with me, at least they're living well now. I'd really like to take a step back, but I've already taken back the money from the Wan Cheng Family. How can I protect these brothers' jobs? Shao Quan, do you have any brilliant plans to teach me … "

At this time, Li Hongzhang's undergarments had already collapsed from the perspiration. This was the first time his master had spoken to him so heartlessly in the past three years, and so straightforwardly at that.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the official position given to me by the imperial government should be that of the Viceroy. Furthermore, I will have to sit in Beijing for a long time. To put it bluntly, I am being watched over. I don't care, all these years, I have made countless good lands and tens of thousands of acres of gold and silver, three generations of children need not worry, but what about you? "

"Five hundred thousand Xiang Army s will be slowly torn apart by the imperial government and stuffed into every corner. The wind blades and snow swords that are stuck in the sides will gradually wear down the spirit of our brothers, allowing time to slowly drain away the lives of good men. If only there are a few more battles, then it would be even better. How many more times can our Xiang Army s wear it down? "

At this time, Li Hongzhang's eyes were completely red, as big drops of tears flowed down his face. Five hundred thousand Xiang Army s gathered together after more than ten years, and brothers were filling a pot with food, battling in a camp.

Although there were contradictions between them, although there had been violent conflicts between them over the sharing of the loot, when they encountered outside threats, their first thought was still to their collective interests. After being suppressed by the Manchu for two hundred years, the Han Chinese finally had the chance to obtain this piece of equipment. This was the foundation of the Balanced Temple, the lifeline for the revival of the Han Chinese! How could he lose it?

Li Hongzhang kneeled on the ground. Please teach me, Master! " Jiu Shuai saw and quickly helped him up. "Shao Quan, didn't you hear what the marshal said? If there wasn't an accident, our Xiang Army would really be in danger, but now an accident happened?"

"Is it Xiao Letian? Could it be Xiao Letian? " Li Hongzhang never thought that his teacher would have such a high opinion of this Xiao Letian.

"That's right, this is Xiao Letian. The three thousand Japanese troops and a hundred thousand Japanese thugs were completely annihilated by him. He even took the lead to charge into the Shouli City and control the entire Ryukyu. "A talent, and he is really vicious …"

"What surprises me the most is that he actually got the foreigners to attack him for support. This is truly thought-provoking, what kind of collusion does this Xiao Letian have with the foreign devils? "This is something that even I don't understand …" Saying that, Ceng Guofan excitedly went around the room.

"Xiao Letian is very smart, he has already controlled the Ryukyu's imperial court through the new army, I believe that Ryukyu will definitely follow Xiao Letian's instructions on the letter in the future, and this conflict will definitely become smaller and smaller. That sneaky guy knows how to act cocky in front of Qing Dynasty … "

"Take a look at the various responses the empress dowager and General Xie had made during this period of time. They sent women and called out 'Young Master Ba Qi'. They really gave away quite a bit of brainless things." This means that the people in the Imperial City do not know what is going on in the Ryukyu at all.

"Shao Quan, ah, this is a good opportunity given to us by the heavens. With such a rash youth standing right in front of us, how much trouble do you think the imperial court will have to deal with us?"

This time, even Li Hongzhang understood and bellowed, "Teacher is truly clever, using Xiao Letian to steadily pull the attention of the imperial court, from time to time he would reveal some of the secrets on Xiao Letian's body, forever grabbing onto the hearts of the Beijing's silkpants, so that they have no energy to think about us?"

As long as the secrets on Xiao Letian's body remain unbroken, as long as his threat level gets higher and higher, he will naturally help our Xiang Army block the bullet … "Hehe, as long as we are given another ten years to manage the business, the north and south of the Yangtze River will become our Iron Bucket's backyard, and even the Emperor won't be able to interfere!"

Ceng Guofan looked at Li Hongzhang with gratitude. This was his most beloved disciple, the one he had been waiting for in his heart. In the entire Xiang Army, other than Shao Quan, no other person was able to take over.

But when he thought of the word talented, Xiao Letian's name suddenly popped out in his mind, this man who was like a comet suddenly appearing out of nowhere was too mysterious, the so called abnormal objects were considered demons, this Xiao Letian was truly like a sun monkey monster, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and using all sorts of evil techniques, he simply had no way to find his way out.

"Guo Quan, no matter what, I have to stay in the capital for this year's Spring Festival, you have to make some arrangements, I want to meet this Xiao Letian, he is not an ordinary person!" Ceng Guofan looked at Li Hongzhang who was slowly walking away, and suddenly said to his brother in a low voice.

At this time, Jiu Shuai's face turned strange, he hesitated for a while before replying, "Big brother, we Chinese have been suppressed by the Manchu for 200 years, and finally made our stand, why be so cautious? I have seen this Xiao Letian a few times. Although I do not know the origin, but it's a good thing that the Han people are not at fault in this matter … "

"A Han Chinese who has returned from overseas can already be considered a genius amongst geniuses. It would be a waste if he were to lose to the Manchu … Brother, can we try to subdue him? If there is such a talent in Xiang Army … "

"Enough, don't say anymore!" Ceng Guofan was suddenly angered, "Didn't you repeatedly say that you wanted me to take another step up? Capture and control Xiao Letian? Don't you think that if you were to accept him, the Beijing will collapse. Do you still want another ten years of civil war or twenty years of civil war? "

Seeing his brother's unconvinced expression, Ceng Guofan heaved a long sigh and said, "Guo Quan, Guo Quan, you still can't see through this world. This is not a one-time affair. Have you ever heard such a small story? "

"When the Eight Flags entered the pass, a cruel rule of not leaving a hair on one's head was carried out. All men had to leave their money behind, and did not follow in the footsteps of those who wanted to kill them. It was only after the Shaving Order was forcefully promoted that the Ten Day War of the River Yin began. People everywhere had been killed more than a million for the sake of this pigtail. At that time, the ambassadors of Korea and the Ryukyu entered the capital to pay their respects. When the elders on the streets saw the clothes of their country, they all cried.

"Later on, just a hundred years later, when the dryad's Emperor reigned, Wild History had already recorded that North Korea and the Ryukyu had sent their envoys to the capital. Until now, you and I have already become accustomed to this long braid, let alone those foolish civilians. "

Ceng Guofan pulled the braid on his back and said self-deprecatingly, "Don't look at how small this braid is, he represents the hearts of tens of thousands of people. If I did take that step up, how many people would you guess would follow me? "

Jiu Shuai was already stunned when he heard it, but this was the first time his big brother had replied to the matter of the rebellion head on.

"My good brother, if I were to rebel, I'm sure that 30% of the five hundred thousand would rebel. Furthermore, the entire world would not view me as a hero, but instead as an enemy. The people who have ruled the Manchu dynasty for two hundred years are already used to the existence of the Manchu dynasty.

"You and I include all the Han Chinese who lived in the Qing Dynasty. From the moment they were born, they saw the clear sky, the clear land, the clean clothes, and they praised the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. "Everything doesn't matter. It's just a habit. But don't forget, the power of habit is incredibly strong …"

"Unless you have the ruthlessness of the Manchu, killing all those who disobey you, turning the Central Plains into a piece of white paper, and then painting a new painting. Otherwise, you will have to lower your head to the habit, and the power of this habit is actually destiny, is the luck of Qing Dynasty really gone? "

The two old brothers went silent. Jiu Shuai was digesting his brother's words, and his brother was drinking his top-notch Da Hong Pao to ease his mood. But just when Ceng Guofan thought his brother was convinced, Jiu Shuai suddenly raised his head and stared at his brother with his bright eyes.

"Big brother, you said I can't refute you, but you seem to have left out an exception?" That was Xiao Letian … When this guy was young, he had never seen the clear skies and clear lands, nor did he get used to clear clothes. He also wasn't used to having a Manchu above his head as the emperor, and in the year that he appeared out of thin air, I didn't notice the slightest bit of him trying to submit to me. "

"Hahaha, big brother, you've missed out on such a lonely chess game!"

Jiu Shuai's laughter made Ceng Guofan's hands tremble, and as the bowl of Da Hong Pao fell on the table, the scalding tea on his hand didn't even hurt him. Yes, what brother said was not wrong, Xiao Letian did not have a ponytail, he did not have a ponytail in his heart either. In the chess game in East Asia, this loner had already affected the national fortunes of Japan and the Ryukyu.

"Could it be?" Could it be that this Xiao Letian has some sort of powerful method to change his fate? " Ceng Guofan did not dare think further, and just at that moment, a powerful northwest wind suddenly rose up outside the window, the cold air current pushed open the door of the study, and the room was completely cold.