Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 7: Leaning against a big tree to enjoy the shade

"What... Crazy Zheng got away with it so easily? What's the reputation of my Jizi Camp?"

"This official is furious. Please allow Lord Jiushuai to mobilize a troop from outside the city immediately. We will completely wipe out the Tongzhou militia and not spare a single one."

"Stop talking nonsense. Didn't you hear what Hu Lao Hu said? The Tongzhou militia has now been transformed into the Du Biao Battalion, a Green Camp directly under the command of Jiangnan Admiral Fu Zhu Hong'e. Doing this is tantamount to rebellion."

"Rebel if you want to, you bastard! Just lead your troops to Beiping City and pull that bastard emperor of the Qing Dynasty off the throne. Brothers, please elect us as the emperor. It wouldn't be bad for the Ninth Marshal to be the Ninth Thousand Years Old, hahahaha..."

"Don't be so stupid... You think our Hunan Army isn't in enough trouble already, right?"

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of anyone?"

In the governor's office, those arrogant and domineering Hunan Army generals were talking at once, but they went off topic after just a few words and became more and more outrageous.

"Silence! The Governor has arrived."

After a clear shout, Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, walked out from the back hall with a gloomy face. All the noisy generals in the hall fell silent and became well-behaved.

Such rebellious remarks that risk the wrath of the world are not uncommon in the military.

Even Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, had such ambitions in his heart. He once revealed them in private conversations, but they were suppressed without any room for maneuver by his elder brother Zeng Guofan.

Holding military power over several provinces will inevitably breed inner desires.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Governor Zeng Guoquan looked at everyone in the hall with a complicated look, then sat down at the top seat and said:
"Let today's events be forgotten. There is no need to mention them again. Otherwise, you will be punished by military law and there will be no leniency.

And keep your mouths shut and don't say anything nonsense. Don't you know that walls have ears?
You've made such a mess, there's nothing I, the governor, can do to help you clean up the mess.

You need to be careful with your words and actions from now on, do you understand?"

Although the Futai's voice was not loud, it was clearly heard by everyone. The military officers in the hall all bowed respectfully and said, "We will obey the orders of the Ninth Marshal. No one dares to disobey."

Although these people were having a lot of fun, under the majestic suppression of Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, no one dared to make trouble.

Although most of these Hunan Army military officers were rough men, none of them was stupid.

Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, sighed inwardly. He had just received a stern telegram from his elder brother Zeng Guofan.
He was strictly ordered to restrain his subordinates, hand over the defense of Nanjing City as soon as possible, withdraw the Hunan Army from the city, and not act recklessly.

Zeng Guoquan certainly understood his elder brother Zeng Guofan's intention of "steady progress" but he was just a little unwilling to accept it.

But no matter what

The strict orders of his elder brother Zeng Guofan must be carried out without any deviation. In his heart, the words of the man sitting on the dragon throne in Peking are not as effective as those of his elder brother.

Jiangnan Governor's Office

This is the temporary governor's office, originally the palace of a Taiping rebel king, with a front yard and backyard. It was relatively well-preserved during the war, which did not damage the dignity of the governor's office.

The front yard is used for official business, and the back yard is used for family residence.

After Zheng Guohui led his troops to arrive, he was guided by Fang Weishan, the staff advisor of Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhu Hong'a, through the front yard and came to the large study in the backyard.

Under a plum tree
The portly Jiangnan governor, Fuzhu Hong'a, was holding bird food in his hand and teasing the birds in the cage. These were all treasures brought from the capital.

There are more than a dozen bird cages in a row, mostly filled with colorful thrushes and larks. The birds' singing is crisp and melodious, which is very pleasant to hear.

The birds are happily flying up and down in the cage, chirping and chirping.

Two servants stood under the eaves on one side, each with an eagle on his arm.

"I pay my respects to the Governor, may your Majesty be blessed!" Zheng Guohui walked forward and bowed, greeting him as a subordinate.

His movements were slow, and Jiangnan Admiral Fu Zhuhong'a turned around and gave him a light support, saying, "Oh, it's Lord Zheng who has arrived. No need to be so polite."

Zheng Guohui hadn't completely knelt down yet, but he stood up and said humbly;

"I am deeply grateful to the Governor for his special care. I will do my utmost to serve you, but I cannot repay you even a fraction of your kindness.

Our general battalion has been uniformed and looks brand new.

All the officers and soldiers are grateful for the Governor's special favor. The morale of the army is high and they are ready to obey orders at any time.

But if there is an order, there must be no disobedience."

This unequivocal statement made Jiangnan Governor Fu Zhuhong'a very satisfied. He smiled and said, "Haha, that's great. Thank you for your hard work, Lord Zheng.

As servants receiving salaries from the imperial court, we should share the emperor's worries, work diligently, and be loyal to the country. This is the right way.

The country is in a difficult situation now. There are still tens of thousands of Taiping rebels gathered in Changzhou Prefecture. Banditry has broken out in northern Jiangsu and Huaibei areas. There is unrest in the city of Nanjing. Every place is making it difficult for people to move forward.

In such a difficult situation, I have tried my best to squeeze out a batch of equipment for the Dubiao Battalion. I hope Lord Zheng will take care of himself.

I have something to say to you.

"To live without possession, to act without reliance, to achieve success without dwelling on it."

"I am grateful for your advice and will take it as a lesson." Zheng Guohui saluted solemnly with his fists clasped.

In fact, he was particularly disgusted with this kind of know-it-all behavior, but in order to please his superiors, he had to do his best.

The governor of Jiangnan, Fuzhu Hong'a, was a typical descendant of the Eight Banners royal family. His father, Fuzhu Shoushan, was a Gushan Beizi and served as the Minister of Rites, and was extremely noble.

Coupled with the incessant and complicated intermarriages among the Eight Banners royal family, a huge and complex network of relationships has been woven in the capital, which is a complete mess.

This is also the main reason why Zheng Guohui chose to join the Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhu Long'a. This relationship is very strong.

The secondary reason is simple

Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Long'a is a typical dandy son of the royal family. Although he is nearly forty years old, he still carries a cage to ride hawks, fights crickets, trains hawks and releases dogs for autumn hunting. There is almost nothing he dislikes about these things. In fact, he is full of nonsense.

As long as he can fool people, not to mention the Jiangnan region, at least in the Jinling region and its surrounding areas including northern Jiangsu and Huaibei, Zheng Guohui has a lot of say and can act as he pleases.

After all, the Hunan Army had to withdraw, and time was running out.

Zheng Guohui knew that the capital had sent two urgent letters of 600 miles each, demanding that the Hunan Army withdraw from Nanjing, fully hand over the defense, and dispatch heavy troops to Huaibei to suppress the Nian Army.

They definitely couldn't go to Gusu Prefecture, because that was where Li Hongzhang's Huai Army was heavily concentrated, and they were encircling and suppressing tens of thousands of Taiping rebels entrenched in Changzhou City. They would never allow the Hunan Army to interfere.

During the siege of Tianjing City, although the Hunan Army leader Zeng Guoquan fought very hard, he still refused the reinforcements of the Huai Army for fear of diluting his great military achievement of "being the first to break through Tianjing City."

On the other hand, the Huai Army would not allow the Xiang Army to share its military merits.

If things go wrong, they might start fighting among themselves.

This was not uncommon in the Qing army, especially when mobilizing foreign troops to suppress bandits, and the Sichuan Army, Hunan Army, Shaanxi Army, Fujian Army and other joint forces fought. If there were no powerful generals in charge, internal conflicts would easily break out.

The reasons were varied, including dislike for each other, aggressiveness, fighting for food and supplies in the garrison, fighting for military merits, picking and choosing, etc. It was not uncommon for all kinds of strange things to happen in the imperial army.

Overall
The Hunan Army will not be able to stay in Nanjing City for long and will soon have to pack up and leave.

Zheng Guohui presented 10,000 taels of silver and four selected carts of toys, which really won the favor of Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhulong'a.

These four carts of toys don't have to be valuable; the key is that they are novel and interesting. For example, two of the bird cages made of ivory are so attractive to Fuzhulonga.

Born into a royal family, what kind of treasures has Fuzhu Long'a not seen?

In addition to imported items such as Western clocks and sunglasses, there are also eight sets of exquisite cowhide arm and shoulder guards made by foreign craftsmen.

This thing is a great tool for training eagles. It is made of double-layer North American cowhide and is stamped with exquisite floral and text logos. Even the sharp eagle claws can't scratch it.

The price is not high, but it is novel enough.

As for Zheng Guohui's request to increase the staff by 4000 people, Fuzhu Long'a waved his hand and doubled it to people.

Anyway, the son does not feel bad about selling his father's land, and Fu Zhulong'a doesn't care how much vacancies Zheng Guohui eats or how much blood he drinks from the soldiers?

Fuzhulong'a is a person who understands the rules and is very particular about things.

If his generals were to starve to death, he, as a superior, would lose face and would be gossiped about for being unsympathetic to his subordinates and being heartless.

How is this possible?

The royal family members value their face more than anything else. As for the difficult state affairs of the court, well... ahem, who wouldn't desperately try to get money into their own arms?

Just keep it in mind, don't say it out loud.

from start to finish
The Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a did not ask when the Du Biao Battalion under Zheng Guohui would take over the defense of Jinling City?

This is serious business. Isn't this what the Jinling City Guard does?

But if they want to take over the defense of Nanjing now, they will inevitably clash with the Hunan Army stationed in the city.

This was something Zheng Guohui was trying his best to avoid. He planned to stay in Xuanwu Gate and play the turtle in hiding during this period of time.

When the Hunan Army withdraws, we can come out and take over the defense of the entire city. Now is not the right time, otherwise it will really kill people.

Fortunately, Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a did not urge us and did not set any deadline. This is like leaning on a big tree to enjoy the shade.

Once the court comes to question, Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a will naturally be there to ease the situation.

Among Jiangning General Xianghou, Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhuhong'a, and Provincial Governor Elong, the one who surrenders to Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhuhong'a is the least troublesome and has the strongest background.

If possible
Zheng Guohui also wanted to be a lone minister, but that was unrealistic. He would be killed by these Manchu and Han ministers at any moment, and this was no exaggeration.

If he did not surrender to the Jiangnan Governor Fu Zhuhong'a, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Governor Zeng Guoquan would have the right to mobilize the Tongzhou militia and go to Huaibei with the army to strangle the Nian Army, which would definitely be a death sentence.

Isn't it reasonable that the Tongzhou militia was completely wiped out and died on the battlefield?

Today, the Tongzhou militia has transformed itself into the Du Biao Battalion, which is the Green Camp soldiers stationed in Jinling City, shouldering the heavy responsibility of defending Jinling City.

If you want to dispatch troops, you have to issue military orders directly through the Ministry of War.

(End of this chapter)