The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 108 Zuo Zongtang

The middle-aged man called "Ji Gao" by Luo Bingzhang was named Zuo Zongtang, and called himself Jinliang. He was Zuo Zongtang, one of the three great heroes of the late Qing Dynasty in history!

Zuo Zongtang was now a juren, and it seemed that he had no hope of becoming a jinshi, but he had learned a lot of skills from the jingshi school, especially the art of war, so he called himself "Jinliang", which means the modern Zhuge Liang. Moreover, he was appreciated by the world-famous Lin Zexu Wenzhonggong a few years ago, and he is now one of the most famous people in Hunan. There are also several important officials who recommended him to be an official, but unfortunately, the tyrant emperor was in power.
Therefore, Zuo Zongtang always sighed in his heart: I have the "brightness now", but where is the "preparation now"?
Luo Bingzhang was definitely not the "current reserve" in Zuo Zongtang's mind. After the death of Lin Zexu, whom Zuo Zongtang admired the most, he really couldn't think of anyone who could be the "current reserve" who could save the late Qing Dynasty.

However, when Changsha faced a crisis and Luo Bingzhang sincerely invited him, Zuo Zongtang, who he felt could not wait for, agreed to come out of retirement to assist him. He entered the court with his academic achievements and rose to become the chief advisor above all other advisors in Shaoxing.

Don't underestimate the chief advisor of the provincial governor. Although this position is not in the establishment of the Qing court, according to the Qing system, in a governor's office, if you don't count the military officers of the governor's flag, there is only one official with an establishment! That is the governor of Hunan and other places, the admiral of military affairs, the control of various towns and the management of food and wages!
A government office like a provincial government with only one official inside will definitely not be able to get things done.

Therefore, the governor had to pay out of his own pocket to set up a team to manage the affairs. This team had at least 200 to 300 people, and at most thousands. The most important of them was of course a large group of legal advisors! The legal advisors under the governor were roughly equivalent to the directors of various departments under the provincial government in later generations.

The governor's office also had various "rooms", ranging from a dozen to more than 20, and the head of each room was a legal advisor. All the legal advisors under Luo Bingzhang were under the jurisdiction of Zuo Zongtang, the chief legal advisor!

Luo Bingzhang's official seal was kept by Zuo Zongtang, and Zuo Zongtang could issue letters of credit in Luo Bingzhang's name at any time.

Therefore, Zuo Zongtang’s current position category is lower than that of Director of the Provincial Government Office, and can even be compared to that of an “Executive Vice Governor”!
What a high and powerful position!

However, Zuo Zongtang's power was not his own. He relied on Luo Bingzhang's trust to gain his current power, which was equivalent to "borrowing" the position of "Executive Vice Governor". Once Luo Bingzhang left his post, his tenure as Executive Vice Governor would come to an end.

For someone who had enjoyed the power of executive vice-governor, it is really not a pleasant feeling to become an ordinary gentleman again!
Besides, this is a time of chaos!
As the Anti-Classic says, in today's world, the people are numerous and the land is scarce, the rent is high and the interest is heavy, the common people have little food, the people are confused, and the Taiping Rebellion is rising, and the Western barbarians are knocking on the gates. The Qing Dynasty has no famous emperor or hero, and under internal and external troubles, the country is bound to decline, and there is no possibility of revival. The chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty has arrived!
Even if Zuo Zongtang wanted to preserve his life in the chaotic times, could the Qing Dynasty in the north, the Taiping Dynasty in the south, and the heroes who emerged in all directions accommodate him, the famous "Jin Liang"?

Zuo Zongtang thought to himself, "Forget it, forget it. I am afraid that I will never meet that kind of person. I have no choice but to be the person myself!"

Retracting his thoughts, Zuo Zongtang finally took up Luo Bingzhang's question: "Dongweng, the Guangdong bandits are already in a state of rebellion. I'm afraid they will take over Hunan. So Changsha is doomed!"

"You want to make Hunan your home?" Luo Bingzhang's brows tightened. "Why do you think so?"

Zuo Zongtang thought for a while and replied: "When the Guangdong bandits rebelled and occupied Yong'an Prefecture, I heard that they worshipped the Western God's religion, and they divided the city into many kings, and they were greedy for pleasure. They also lingered in Yong'an Prefecture and did not seize the surrounding areas. I thought their leader had no grand ambitions.

Unexpectedly, after entering Hunan, they changed their previous normal practices, distributed land, saved the poor, and beat the gentry. Recently, they even used the name of "Haotian Emperor", which made them seem like they had converted to another religion. That's why Daozhou, Guiyangzhou, and Chenzhou were defeated, why the Xianghu Tiandihui followed them, and why the poor and helpless farmers and miners were willing to be their minions and cornerstones.

Now, Daozhou, Ningyuan, Jianghua, Yongming, Xintian and other places are all occupied by the bandits. According to the spies, there are no government troops or gentry there!

As for the counties under the jurisdiction of Guiyang Prefecture and Chenzhou Prefecture, half of them were owned by the bandits. The county towns and towns crowded with merchants were mostly firmly occupied by the rebels. There were still some gentry in the countryside who tried to fight against the rebels, but I am afraid they would not be able to last long.

In short, judging from what the Guangdong bandits have done, they must be working hard in Hunan. If the Guangdong bandits want to make Hunan their home, they must take Changsha as their base! "

After listening to Zuo Zongtang's analysis, Luo Bingzhang's face turned pale.

He had been hoping that he could get through this crisis safely - the only area he was responsible for was Changsha, the provincial capital, and if the Taiping Army could bypass Changsha, he would be fine. If they could still make a few attacks on Changsha, he might be able to submit a report "multiplying by ten".

With the military merit of defending Changsha, the Military Affairs Office is now short of people! There are only four military affairs in total, which is too few, and they can't handle it at all!

But in the current situation, Luo Bingzhang not only has no chance of joining the Grand Council, but he might even have to become a martyr in Changsha City!
This time, I was really tricked by Emperor Xianfeng!
Fortunately, Luo Bingzhang still had a "Jinliang" Zuo Zongtang under his command. As soon as his thoughts turned, Luo Bingzhang no longer cared about the dignity of a famous official, and asked Zuo Zongtang for help: "Ji Gao, save me!"

The only difficulty in life is death!

Zuo Zongtang nodded and said, "I have an eight-character method that can help you solve your problem!"

"Which eight characters?"

"Organize a large-scale militia and defend Changsha to the death!" Zuo Zongtang said, "As long as Changsha is defended, you, Ruweng, will be a famous minister and a pillar of the country. You are always right! There are ways to defend it, but it's a bit ugly. Rong Zongtang will talk about it later. So from now on, Ruweng, you must use all means and do everything you can to defend the city!"

"But the Emperor has already issued an imperial decree ordering Zeng Disheng to reinstate his post and take charge of the Hunan militia. Who will listen to me, the acting governor of Hunan?"

While saying this, Luo Bingzhang once again complained about Xianfeng in his heart.

If you want to organize militia in Hunan, you should authorize the current governor!

You asked Zeng Guofan to do it, but he refuses to come out now, and no one listens to me.

What can I do? By the time Zeng Guofan realized his mistake and stopped being "filial", I would have had the Taiping Rebellion killed!
Zuo Zongtang sneered: "Zeng Disheng is a loyal minister, and a loyal minister will definitely obey the emperor's order. So since the emperor has ordered him to take away his love, we will spread the news that he has agreed to come out of retirement, and then use his name to call on the gentry in Changsha to donate money and manpower, and then use the gentry's manpower and money to organize militia training!"

"Will the gentry in Changsha be willing?" Luo Bingzhang was still a little skeptical.

"Of course!" Zuo Zongtang said with a smile, "Let's say Zeng Disheng and you have jointly submitted a petition to the emperor, requesting that a donation be made to a Juren or Fusheng in Hunan, 5,000 taels for a Juren and 300 taels for a Fusheng. We can give you a 40% discount on the money you pay now, and we will redeem it immediately once the emperor approves it."

"This, isn't this a lie?" Luo Bingzhang was a little amused when he heard Zuo Zongtang's plan.

"How can this be considered cheating?" Zuo Zongtang said with a smile, "What we have done to organize the militia and defend Changsha cannot be considered cheating. As long as we organize the militia well and defend Changsha, a few more juren and xiucai will not be a big deal.

The emperor is so wise, he will definitely grant your approval!"

"What if the emperor allows it?" Luo Bingzhang asked.

Zuo Zongtang spread his hands and said: "Then there will be no Hunan in the Qing Dynasty!"

"Brother Jiao, Sister Xianggui, Sister Yuegui, Brother Zhang San, our Antang has two targets this time, one is Changsha, the other is Xiangxiang! How is it? Are you sure?"

In the temporary Angel Palace in Chenzhou City, the Archangel, God's adopted son, and Chief Lecturer of the God Worshipping Society Luo Yaoguo was in a very ordinary hall with furnishings, holding a meeting with several secret hall leaders under his command to discuss how to take Changsha and Xiangxiang!
"Xiangxiang?" Xu Xianggui was stunned. "Why did you choose that small county town of Xiangxiang?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled: "Although Xiangxiang's county town is small, there is a Qing demon official in it, an official who can be exchanged for your Hong Daquan!"

(End of this chapter)