Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 8 is shaking (asking for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and support, thank you)
After paying a visit to the Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a, he was escorted out by his staff member Fang Weishan.

Zheng Guohui calmly stuffed 500 taels of silver into Fang Weishan's pocket. Fang Weishan put it into his sleeve skillfully and said enthusiastically:
"Don't worry, Master Zheng. I will definitely speak well of you to the Governor. If there is any disturbance, I will send someone to inform you in advance. This is what we should do."

"Please, Mr. Fang. Sigh... You know how conscientious we subordinates are, treading on thin ice, fearing that if we do something wrong, our superiors will dislike us."

"Sir Zheng is too modest. Sir Zheng is now highly regarded by the Emperor and the Governor. He is young and promising, and his actions are steady and well-organized. His future is limitless!"

"Mr. Cheng, I am grateful for your kind words."

"No... no... It's not just our Lord Governor who is optimistic about Lord Zheng. Those two Lords do the same. When chatting with Lord Governor, there are many words of envy in their tone." The staff advisor Fang Weishan said to the two of them with a look that said "you know".

Zheng Guohui knew that the two were Jiangning General Xianghou and Provincial Governor Elong. They were Manchu ministers who came to Nanjing to take up their posts around the same time as Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a. They would also be important officials in Jiangnan Province in the future.

All the former court ministers were swept away by the Taiping Army.

Both of them are from royal families. Regardless of their abilities, they have very deep backgrounds, and are at least related to the yellow belt clan in the capital.

What a pity!

I am alone, how can I entrust myself to two husbands?

The worst thing to do when standing on the same side is to waver and try to please both sides. If you end up pleasing neither side, how can others dare to use you?

Zheng Guohui was sincere in joining the Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhu Hong'a, and this was also the biggest confidence that allowed him to be promoted four levels in a row. He did not give the other two any chance at all.

Everything has a cause and an effect

If the Minister of Rites Fuzhu Shoushan had not spoken well of him to the two Empress Dowagers, how could he have been "awarded with a yellow jacket"?
If it weren't for his network of connections in the capital, Zheng Guohui would not have been able to get the good job of the Jinling City Guard.

Is it difficult to arrange a guerrilla general of the third rank?

This is a prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River. It will recover from its injuries and regain its former prosperity in less than two years.

Just sweep around any corner in the city and you will find a lot of money. It's definitely a good job!

Zheng Guohui heard Master Fang Weishan's deliberate overtures and smiled knowingly. He didn't respond directly, but simply clasped his fists and said, "After sending you a thousand miles, we must finally say goodbye. Please stay, Mr. Fang."

"Master Zheng invites you."

The two said goodbye at the gate of the Governor's Mansion, and Zheng Guohui left with his personal guards.

Fang Weishan stood on the steps, watching the soldiers leave in a mighty procession. He touched the thick stack of banknotes in his sleeve and smiled with satisfaction.

Zheng Guohui rose to a high position at a young age, but he was not boastful. He behaved cautiously and thoughtfully, which is really rare.

It would be unjust if people like this don't stand up.

Fang Weishan secretly decided to make friends with Zheng Guohui, even if it meant betraying his benefactor Fu Zhuhong'a.

He had seen through the fool that was Fuzhu Hong'a. He only wanted to make a name for himself in Jiangnan Province and return to the capital as soon as possible to enjoy wealth and glory again. He had no interest in the affairs of the Governor's Office at all.

There is no future in following this master.

More than ten days later

After returning to the camp, Zheng Guohui began to dispatch personnel, taking over the prisons, other city gates and outer defenses of Jinling City in an orderly manner, and sent out more than a thousand elite troops to encircle and suppress the remnants of the Taiping Rebellion.

From beginning to end, there was no conflict with the Hunan Army.

They were waiting for the Hunan Army’s garrison to withdraw, and then the Du Biao Battalion arrived late to help clean up and take over the city gate defense and sort out some messed up things.

The Hunan Army was also reluctant to leave, but the court urged them to do so. After a final frantic and reluctant retreat, the various units of the Hunan Army's Ji Battalion withdrew one after another. The Hunan Army's "Ji Battalion" was not a single battalion. Each battalion consisted of 400 to 500 men. When they evacuated Nanjing, there were about battalions with a total strength of nearly .

Looking back
Zeng Guoquan led more than 8000 people from the Ji Camp, plus more than 4000 people from the navy and other Hunan Army camps, totaling about 1.5 people, and united with militia armed forces from various places, totaling more than 3 imperial troops to attack the city of Tianjing.

The Taiping defenders numbered nearly 30, outnumbering them ten to one. After two years of bloody fighting, the Hunan Army finally broke through Tianjing.

Zheng Guohui knew that the Hunan Army suffered a total of about 3.1 casualties, and the local militia suffered about casualties, but the Hunan Army's "Ji Battalion" had more and more troops. How was this game played?

It is impossible that all these casualties and additional troops are from Hunan and Xiangxi. There are some things that everyone knows and is doing, but no one talks about them.

With the complete withdrawal of the Hunan Army, it turned north to the Huaibei area.

After the Hunan Army left, Zheng Guohui's Du Biao Camp was really shaken. It sent soldiers ranging from two to three hundred people to various counties and towns under Jiangning Prefecture to take over the local defense.

By the way, he also gathered the defeated soldiers and bandits, appeased the people, and restored the court's ruling order. I won't go into details here.

August 3rd
The governor's office issued an order to the entire city to re-register house and land deeds, which would take three months. Those who missed the deadline would not be recognized and would be treated as having abandoned the deeds.

A separate announcement was issued, requiring all residents to clean up the debris on the streets in front of their homes to ensure the roads are clean and tidy. Labor was also organized to clean up the ruins of the war, abandoned corpses and debris, which was equivalent to a general cleaning.

The Governor's Office then issued another announcement, requiring the establishment of a public toilet every 500 to 600 meters along the street. These would be built by laborers using cleared bricks, stones, and wood. Urinating or defecating anywhere would be prohibited, and violators would be severely punished.

A vigorous city-wide cleanup began, which lasted for nearly a month. The remaining traces of war were quickly cleared away, and the city was given a brand new look.

It was not until September 9 that Zheng Guohui, who had been busy all the time, finally stopped working. His skin was much darker than it was two months ago.

nowadays

After two months of preparation, the Du Biao Battalion under Zheng Guohui rapidly expanded to nearly 8000 people. All of them were elite soldiers who had survived many battles. Except for the more than 700 people who came from his hometown of Tongzhou, there was no need to say where the others came from.

The Du Biaoying Camp took over all the city gates of Jinling and the eight county towns under the jurisdiction of Jiangning Prefecture, stabilized the local situation, and its political achievements were obvious.

During this period, the newly appointed prefects and county magistrates of Jiangning arrived in succession. Without exception, they were required to visit Zheng Guohui and were presented with gifts of varying sizes.

A fancy sedan is carried by everyone, there is no mistake about that.

In the past two months

The war situation in Jiangnan Province and northern Anhui underwent tremendous changes. After more than six months, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army finally broke through the Taiping Army's last stronghold in Jiangnan Province, Changzhou City, and achieved a decisive victory.

This also indicates that
The last heavily-trooped city in Jiangnan Province where the Taiping rebels were killed was cleared out. The imperial army's campaign to suppress the rebellion and the bandits is nearing completion, with the government now working to eliminate the remaining roaming bandits.

As the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, Jiangnan Province has experienced the devastation of war and finally sees the dawn of returning to its former peaceful days. It is really not easy.

The Hunan Army advancing into northern Anhui was a completely different story. They suffered a series of defeats in their efforts to suppress the Nian Army and lost many Hunan Army generals. Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, was impeached by many court officials and had to resign in disgrace.

Today, the imperial court has issued an edict ordering the Hunan Army to disband its militia and return to farming, and to significantly reduce the number of its barracks.

I saw him build a tall building, and then I saw it collapse.

The first time Zheng Guohui received the news, he couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

Fortunately, he was cautious at the beginning, secretly guarding his own piece of land, avoiding the attack of the Hunan Army everywhere, and did not confront Zeng Guoquan.

Otherwise, if you hit the knife, your death would be so unfair.

(End of this chapter)