The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 165 "Exhortation to Suppress the Invaders and Revive Confucianism" (The Hunan Army's Arrangement Ends)

While Sushun and Shengbao were stunned by the scene before them, a few Hunanese people who had come over at some point started chatting in Mandarin with a Hunan accent that the two men from Beijing could understand.

They talked about the topics that Sushun and Shengbao were most interested in.

"Who is this Mr. Zeng? Why is he dressed like Confucius in the portrait?"

"Don't you know him? He is Zeng Wenfu, the brother of Zeng Disheng, the Minister of Hunan Militia!"

Zeng Guofan’s brother? No wonder they look so similar, neither of them seems like a good person!
Sushun and Shengbao despised the Zeng family's appearance in their hearts, while turning their heads to look at the two Hunanese people who were talking.

The two men looked like scholars, one tall and one short, one thin and one fat. They were both wearing elegant long gowns, holding folding fans in their hands, with some odds and ends hanging on their belts. They both had oversized hoods on their heads, tied with ropes under their chins. It was obvious that they were afraid that the hoods would be blown away by the wind and reveal their braids.

It seems that these two people are loyal to the Qing Dynasty!

Sushun and Shengbao determined the identities of the two men in their hearts, and they pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

The tall and thin scholar seemed to be unconvinced that Zeng Guofan's brother had come to Changsha. He asked in confusion, "Zeng Disheng's brother? Really?"

The short and fat scholar nodded and said with certainty, "Of course it's true. Brother Tan, don't you know that I am from Xiangxiang? My brother just came to Changsha from Xiangxiang County to sell rice a few days ago. He happened to be on the same road with Mr. Zeng San and followed Mr. Zeng San's fleet all the way. I saw what happened in Xiangxiang very clearly."

The tall and thin scholar asked in confusion, "Isn't Zeng Disheng the Minister of Hunan Tuanlian? What are his brothers doing in Changsha?"

The short and fat scholar said, "You don't know this, do you? Zeng Disheng is a descendant of Zengzi, and his family has been practicing Confucianism for generations. What do you think the descendants of Zengzi, who have been practicing Confucianism for generations, should do most in today's world?"

The tall and thin scholar said seriously: "Isn't it loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?"

Sushun and Shengbao both felt the same way, and their eyes towards the tall and thin scholar became much more friendly.

The short fat man shook his head and said, "No, Zengzi was the one Confucius entrusted with his care and he was one of the five great sages of Confucianism. A descendant of Zengzi, born today and in charge of a provincial militia, shouldn't the most important thing he should do be to restore the traditional Chinese clothing and practice Zhou rituals?"

Restore the traditional Chinese clothing and practice Zhou rituals?

Sushun and Shengbao were shocked when they heard this.

Did Zeng Guofan really want to rebel?
The tall and thin scholar said, "Restore your clothes and hats, and you will look like Confucius in the portrait! That is indeed what we should do. But how do we follow the Zhou Li?"

The short fat man sighed, looking worried: "Alas"

The tall and thin scholar asked, "Brother, why are you sighing?"

The short and fat scholar said, "How can I not sigh? The Zeng family has already implemented the well-field system in Xiangxiang County!"

The tall and thin scholar asked: "Well-field system? What is the well-field system?"

The short and fat scholar said, "The well-field system is to divide a well into nine equal parts, one for the public and eight for the people."

"I know that!" the tall and thin scholar asked, "Does the Zeng family plan to ask the farmers in Xiangxiang to cultivate the public land?"

The fat scholar waved his hand and said, "Oh, that's impossible. The so-called well-field is actually equal distribution of fields!"

"Equal distribution of land?" The tall and thin scholar's face changed. "Isn't this the same as the Taiping Army?"

"Ah," the fat scholar sighed again, "That's right!"

He went on to say, "The public land of the Zeng family is converted into tax grain, but it is not one-ninth, but 15% of the total. It is a flat tax, no fire consumption, no discount, and it does not need to be sent to the county. Now the area around Hetang Township has been built into a well field, so the tax grain can be directly paid to Hetang Township."

"Isn't this the same as the Taiping Army's territory?" the tall and thin scholar said, "If I remember correctly, the Zeng family is also a large landowner, right? If they do this, what will happen to their own land?" The fat scholar sighed, "Of course they will divide it all together! Zeng Disheng said, let's implement the well-field system, starting with the Zeng family's land!"

"What?" The tall and thin scholar was shocked. "Is Zeng Disheng crazy? In order to restore the clothes and practice Zhou rituals, he even gave up his own land?"

"It's not that he's crazy," the fat man said, "but Zeng Disheng knows that in today's world, there will be no peace unless we implement the well-field system."

"What do you mean?" The tall and thin scholar looked puzzled.

The fat scholar sighed and replied, "Zeng Disheng said that the root cause of the chaos in the world today is that there are too many people and not enough land. The 18 provinces in the Han area only have 100 million mu of land to support 400 million people. It is no longer a problem of 'not scarcity but inequality'. The scarcity of land will die of starvation sooner or later, and only equal distribution of land can keep them alive! If tens of millions of people in the world die of starvation sooner or later, and there are a group of strong-minded evil people who are unwilling to live in peace and starve to death, then the world will be in chaos!"

"This, this, this..." The tall and thin scholar shook his head repeatedly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Sushun and Shengbao turned pale and their lips trembled slightly when they heard this.

Zeng Guofan said it so clearly, it seems that he has made up his mind to rebel!
Before the two men recovered from their shock, the blockade of the intersection had ended.

Fatty Wu saw that the two men were still standing there like two pieces of wood, so he hurried forward and said, "You two, you two, stop being stunned. You can leave now!"

Sushun and Shengbao finally came out of their shock and followed Fatty Wu to the Angel Palace.

The streets outside the Angel Palace are full of beggars, all of them are old and weak, with few young and strong ones. These should be the ones that the Taiping Army doesn't want, because they are strong but have evil hearts and have gone to rebel!
There are several porridge factories on the street. Now is the time when porridge is served, and beggars are lining up to eat porridge - in fact, they are slowly starving to death!
The shops on both sides of the street are still deserted, most of them are closed, and only a few shops selling firewood, rice, oil and salt are doing good business.

There were many more Taiping troops patrolling the streets than in other places, and they all looked quite strong. When patrolling the streets, they formed a team that looked like a straight line. Every soldier's movements of waving their hands and raising their feet seemed to be uniform. At first glance, they looked in excellent spirits. Even the Imperial Guards in Beijing, who were just for show, could not compare to them.

Fatty Wu brought his men and drove the pigs and sheep to a side door of the Angel Palace. He took out a document and handed it to the soldier guarding the gate. A Taiping Army soldier who looked like a small leader took the document, glanced at it, and without asking Fatty Wu what kind of door package he wanted, he waved his hand and asked him to drive the pigs and sheep in.

Fatty Wu waved to his men, Sushun and Shengbao, and then drove the animals into the house together.

Inside the gate was a large courtyard with a lot of firewood piled in it and a dozen carts carrying vegetables and rice parked there. A female officer of the Taiping Army seemed to have received a notice from her subordinates, and came out from a room that seemed to be the kitchen, smiling, with a few female soldiers.

The female officer of the battalion was quite pretty. She looked good even without a face, and her figure was particularly graceful. She was quite familiar with Fatty Wu and chatted with him in Hunan dialect. Her subordinates went to count the number of pigs and sheep. After counting, they reported to the female officer in Hakka dialect, which neither Sushun nor Shengbao could understand.

The female official smiled and said to Fatty Wu in Hunan Mandarin: "Boss Wu, come with me to the accounting office to get the silver!"

Fatty Wu thanked them with a big smile on his face, but he didn't give them even a tael of silver as a thank you gift - Fatty Wu had told Sushun and Shengbao earlier that the Taiping Army of the Tianshi Mansion in Changsha City had strict discipline, and although there were cases of accepting bribes, it was extremely rare.

Before, Sushun and Shengbao didn’t quite believe it, but now they saw it with their own eyes.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has some of the meaning of a new dynasty and a new atmosphere.

Fatty Wu, Sushun and Shengbao now pretended to be Fatty Wu's legal advisor and accountant, and followed him to settle the bill, so they could follow the female official around in the Angel Palace.

The Angel's Mansion was the former governor's office, and it covered a large area! However, the security inside the mansion was also quite strict. If it weren't for the female official, Shengbao and Sushun would definitely not be able to move forward with their abilities.

Shengbao and Sushun followed for a while, and suddenly they arrived outside the lobby of the Angel Mansion. Some ceremony seemed to be held here, and the place was full of Taiping Army male and female officials in red scarves and red robes. Only one man in a green robe and hood stood outside the lobby door, facing everyone. Shengbao and Sushun looked at the man and saw a wicked face with drooping eyebrows, triangular eyes, and high cheekbones. It was Zeng Guohua.

Zeng Guohua was holding an unfolded scroll in his hand, and seemed to be reading something.

At this time, the female official stopped outside a room next to the lobby. The door of the room was closed and there seemed to be no one inside. It seemed that she would have to wait for a while.

At this time, Zeng Guohua opened his throat and began to read the article: "The Proclamation to Punish the Invaders and Revive Confucianism! It has been 230 years since the rebels Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, and Fulin started a rebellion. They have killed tens of millions of people, ravaged a hundred thousand miles of China, destroyed all the clothes and hats of the Chinese people, tampered with the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, changed the Chinese people into barbarians, distorted the classics, launched a literary inquisition, killed true Confucian scholars, promoted false Confucian scholars, and almost destroyed the orthodox teachings. Confucius and Mencius cried bitterly in their graves."

(End of this chapter)