Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 6: Trouble (Please give me monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and support. Thank you very much.)
The post-war city of Jinling has gone through its bloodiest moments. The rubble-covered city streets are slowly recovering, but have yet to regain the prosperity of the Qinhuai River.

Whenever

In the turbulent war, the lower-class people are the group that suffers the most and can only survive as tenaciously as weeds.

Zheng Guohui saw that many restaurants and shops had opened on both sides of the road, and people were spontaneously clearing away rubble, bricks and broken wood, taking any that were slightly useful back to repair their houses.

Even broken and burnt wood can be put into the furnace to cook a pot of porridge.

Soldiers holding flags led the way ahead. When the team reached the vicinity of Jiming Temple, suddenly a brutal team rushed out from the side road and blocked their way.

Looking at the other party's black flag fluttering in the wind, with a big "Ji" character embroidered on it, a frosty look appeared on Zheng Guohui's face.

Here comes the troublemaker.

Although he had expected this, when the moment came, Zheng Guohui still felt a surge of anger in his heart.

"Move aside, move aside, I'm talking to you... Do you hear me?"

"My general's carriage is here, and you lowly officials won't move aside. Do you want to have a taste of the final meal before being executed?"

"Get out of here! You have no right to talk to Master Benqian."

The arrogant voice of the military officer leading the way from the Ji Camp was heard, and Zheng Guohui gave a cold look to Zheng Shun, the captain of the personal guards beside him.

Zheng Shun had followed the general for many years and understood what Zheng Guohui meant at a glance.

Zheng Shun, also a former sergeant, parted the crowd, spurred his horse over, glanced at the other man, and sneered, "Who am I supposed to be so arrogant? Turns out he's just a mere sergeant in the militia. He's like a toad yawning... What a boast!"

The other party was looking for trouble, so he must not lose the limelight. Zheng Shun did not give the other party a good look when he spoke.

The men of the Ji Battalion were used to being overbearing. Upon hearing this, they flew into a rage and shouted, "Shut up! Who are you? My general is Liu Lianjie, the deputy commander of the Ji Battalion. Who are you? State your title and name."

"Listen carefully, my general is the commander of the Jinling City Guard, so why don't you retreat immediately?"

"Is the Jinling City Guard a high-ranking official? My general is Liu Lianjie, the second-rank deputy commander of the Ji Camp. If I remember correctly, the City Guard should be a third-rank official. Why don't you all come and pay your respects to him?"

"Hahahaha... Did you eat too much whole-grain steamed bread and get all confused? My general is the commander of the battalion, and you are just a few civilians, and you are not under the same command. How can you ask for an audience?"

"How dare you! I think these lunatics are the remnants of the Taiping rebels. They sneaked into the city to hide from the public. Capture them!"

The Ji Camp had about five or six hundred soldiers who had been prepared in advance. After hearing the military order, they deployed quickly and rushed forward with knives and guns.

Zheng Shun was furious upon seeing this. He waved his hand and ordered, "Brothers, grab your weapons and form a defensive formation. I've heard for a long time that the Ji Camp is always arrogant and domineering, but today I've seen it firsthand."

This side was not unprepared. Among the 60 personal soldiers brought by Zheng Guohui, 60 were equipped with advanced foreign rifles, another 60 were sword and shield soldiers, and were spearmen.

Upon hearing the military order, they acted quickly. In a blink of an eye, they formed a turtle formation with swordsmen and shieldmen on the outside, followed by spearmen. The musketeers immediately began to load ammunition and prepare to engage in a firefight with the enemy.

Surrounding them were 20 mounted personal soldiers, guarding the Jinling City Defense Captain Zheng Guohui. They also drew their weapons, ready for battle.

Both sides are elite soldiers who have experienced war for a long time. Each of them is a brave soldier who has crawled out of the pile of corpses. It is hard to say who is stronger or weaker.

The officers and soldiers of the Ji Battalion were determined to regain ground for their commander Zeng Guoquan. They had the advantage in terms of numbers and were in the majority.

The Green Camp soldiers under Zheng Guohui (note: after the court incorporated them, they could no longer be called the Tongzhou militia, but the Du Biao Camp) were well-equipped, especially the 60 muskets that could cause serious damage within a distance of more than ten meters when facing each other.

For a moment, the atmosphere became tense.

The people around were panicking and fleeing, and the merchants and shops hurriedly closed their doors, fearing that they would be affected by the fighting between the two armies.

In the court sequence
There are four categories: soldiers, brave men, men, and soldiers.

The so-called "soldiers" are the regular army of the imperial court. They are organized into units under the Ministry of War, receive monthly salaries, and receive regular military training.

The Eight Banners Army and the Green Camp Army were both regular armies of the imperial court. The Eight Banners Army had a garrison general as its highest commander, while the Green Camp Army had an admiral as its highest commander.

Zheng Guohui's troops were under the command of Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a, so they were called "Du Biaoying".

The Green Camp soldiers were under the command of the Eight Banners garrison general and were called the "Military Standard Camp."

The troops under the command of the Governor of the Rivers were called "He Biaoying", the troops under the command of the Governor of the Grain Transport were called "Cao Biaoying", and so on.

"Yong" refers to local militia. The Tongzhou militia led by Zheng Guohui before was local militia, and the famous "Ji Ziying" was also local militia.

The imperial court did not pay for the salaries of the local militia. Local governments and wealthy landlords raised money themselves, recruited them during wartime, and dismissed them after the war.

The fact that militia groups like the "Ji Ziying" were brave enough to challenge the regular army shows how arrogant they were in their daily lives.

"Wait a minute..."

Zheng Guohui saw that the two sides were about to start fighting after a disagreement and had to speak out to stop them.

Riding his horse to the front, he led the Du Biao Battalion, which was well prepared, otherwise he would not have brought so many people and so many foreign guns.

Even if a fight breaks out, there is no point in being at a disadvantage.

Zheng Guohui sat high on his horse, his eyes glaring ahead, and he said in a loud voice;
"Since Lord Liu had a plan in mind, he has led his troops to block me here, and keeps asking me to come and pay my respects.

Then don't hide your head and tail, otherwise you will be ridiculed.

I am here, Lord Liu, why would you be so reluctant to see me?"

Although we are not afraid of fighting, we should try our best to avoid it so as to avoid criticism from officials in the court.

It is certainly bad for the reputation of Ji Ziying, but will it be good for Zheng Guohui's official reputation?
He also hoped to accumulate enough wealth in Jinling City, which would take at least two or three years or even longer, to gradually develop his strength and develop an ocean-going fleet before he could embark on an expedition to Southeast Asia.

When considering major issues, one should not act rashly.

He had long heard of Liu Lianjie, a fierce general from the Ji Camp. He was a Li Kui-like figure. During the Battle of Yuhuatai, he led his troops in a bloody battle for 47 days against the Taiping Army, an enemy ten times his size, and managed to push back over Taiping troops.

In another time and place, Zheng Guohui would give him a thumbs up and say "he is a good man."

There is basically no possibility of Liu Lianjie giving in and retreating.

As expected, a gruff voice from the other side shouted, "Bullshit! When did I ever show my true colors? Get out of my way! I want to have a word with this crazy Zheng."

The other person's figure moved away, and a big man like a black iron tower came up on horseback. This man was Liu Lianjie. He had a full beard and a fierce look on his face. He stared at Zheng Guohui with a pair of fierce eyes.

After sizing him up and down, he sneered, "I thought Crazy Zheng was a genius, but he's just a pretty boy. He's so bold as to dare to contradict Marshal Jiu. Do you even know how to write the word 'death'?"

"Liu Lianjie, don't act foolishly in front of me. You must know that my military achievements were also earned one by one, and they are all given by the emperor's great grace."

"Don't talk nonsense. It's useless to tell me all that. I only have eyes for Jiu Shuai. Why don't you get off your horse and die."

"Bullshit!" Zheng Guohui was so angry that he laughed at this reckless guy.

Just based on what Liu Changjie said just now, "It's useless for you to mention those things to me, I only have eyes for Jiu Shuai", he can be charged with "great disrespect".

In Liu Changjie's eyes, "the emperor's grace" was all nonsense.

The two sides were a Hunan-Xiang militia and a Jinling Du Biao Battalion, and they were not under the same jurisdiction. There was no reason for Zheng Guohui to dismount and pay his respects to him.

The Green Camp Army has its own pride and it is impossible for them to watch the local militia humiliate their superiors, especially the guest army.

How can I be bullied by you in my own home court?

After Zheng Guohui cursed, he stretched out his hand and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to wear a yellow jacket."

As soon as he said this, Liu Lianjie on the opposite side was obviously stunned. He watched his personal guard open the brocade package and present the yellow jacket with both hands.

Zheng Guohui put on his yellow jacket slowly and leisurely, sitting high on his horse with an arrogant air.

It means; how do you want to be?

This made Liu Lianjie so angry that his eyes turned red, but he didn't dare to be stubborn anymore.

He dismounted obediently, clasped his hands together in greeting, and said, "Liu Lianjie, the deputy commander of the Ji Camp, greets Lord Zheng. I wish you every success, a swift victory, and new achievements."

What is a yellow jacket?
It is a symbol of imperial power, the emperor's favor, and the supreme honor bestowed by the court.

Since Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, wars have been frequent, with the Taiping Rebellion, the Nian Rebellion, and the Northwest Uprising Army rising one after another, and the number of yellow jackets awarded for military merit has increased.

Zeng Guofan had one, Li Hongzhang had one, Zeng Guoquan had one, and I didn’t expect that the mere guerrilla general Zheng Guohui also had one.

This made Liu Changjie very frustrated, as he didn't even have a second-rank deputy general.

But this is not something that comes with a high official position. When the emperor goes hunting in autumn, the Mongolian nobles will reward the civil and military officials who have caught a lot of prey with yellow jackets as a sign of the emperor's favor.

Even a rough man like Liu Changjie would not be awarded a yellow jacket even if he became a general.

Seeing that Liu Changjie was suppressed, Zheng Guohui did not want to offend him to death, so he turned over and got off the horse, walked forward, clasped his fists and saluted, and said;
“Thank you for your good words, Master Liu is invited.

You and I both serve the court, so we shouldn't be fighting each other. What happened today was purely a misunderstanding.

The road is so wide, you can walk on it, and I can walk on it too, there is no need to fight to the death.

I don't think Lord Liu is a rebellious person, I only have one word of good advice for you.

Seeing that the Taiping rebels are doomed, and that I can enjoy a life of wealth and prosperity after they are pacified, why would I bother being a knife-wielding person?

Finished
Zheng Guohui turned back, jumped on his horse, waved and said, "Sir Liu, goodbye."

"set off!"

The first sentence was said to Liu Changjie, whose face was gloomy and uncertain, and the second sentence was said to his personal guards.

The soldiers from the Ji Camp who were blocking the way on the opposite side retreated one after another, leaving a path in the middle.

The personal guards passed through cautiously, with sword and shield soldiers still defending both sides, followed by spearmen, who surrounded the musketeers in the innermost circle and escorted Zheng Guohui and 20 mounted personal guards away.

No soldier in the Ji Camp dared to act rashly. Attacking an imperial officer wearing a yellow jacket was tantamount to open rebellion, which was extremely serious.

Even though the Ninth Marshal Zeng Guoquan had made great contributions, he could not bear such a heavy responsibility.

After leaving the dangerous area, Zheng Guohui's back was covered in cold sweat.

If a fight had broken out just now, both sides would have paid a heavy price and no one would have ended up well.

The Ji Camp used a reckless man to sacrifice himself and vent the anger of the Ninth Marshal. It was worth it no matter how you look at it.

As the saying goes; it is easy to be an official if you have someone in the court.

With the support of powerful court officials such as Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan, Liu Changjie would be reinstated within two years. After all, his military achievements were well-known and well-known.

He was in a miserable situation. After his title and official title were stripped away, he became an ordinary person. He was just a country landlord family and was at the mercy of the Zeng brothers.

That's really like crying out to heaven and earth but no one will answer!

Apart from moving the whole family to Southeast Asia, there is probably no other way to survive, which is a situation Zheng Guohui does not want to see.

Fortunately, fortunately, thanks to sufficient preparation, I finally scared this bastard off.

(End of this chapter)