Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 60 The imperial edict arrives

In the study

Zheng Guohui had a very pleasant chat with the visiting Right Secretary of the Chancellery, Zhang Peilun, creating a harmonious atmosphere. He also learned a lot about the court's direction from her.

More than an hour later

Seeing that it was getting evening, Zhang Peilun thought it was not appropriate to stay long on his first visit, so he stood up and said goodbye.

Zheng Guohui enthusiastically pulled his arm and said;
"Since Brother Zhang is so insistent, I won't try to persuade you to stay. I'll be staying here for a while, so please be kind and give me some advice. Let's chat by candlelight."

"Since Your Excellency has shown such great kindness, I, a humble official, can only shamelessly come and ask for your help."

"That's great. I'll see Brother Zhang off."

"I'm sorry, sir, please stay."

Zheng Guohui politely escorted Zhang Peilun to the middle gate, clasped his hands together and bowed to say goodbye. He was then escorted out of the mansion by his aide Zheng Guotai before he left.

Zheng Guohui stood there, looking at the winter jujube tree that was sprouting tender buds in early May, but his mind was reviewing the conversation just now, and he was distracted for a moment.

Listening to Zhang Peilun's introduction
Zheng Guohui roughly understood that the court was now in a "one big and a small" structure. The "one big" referred to the current emperor's uncle, Prince Gong Yi, the minister in charge of the Grand Council. Behind him was one of the two Empress Dowagers, and his position was as stable as Mount Tai.

Prince Gong Yisu conspired with Empress Dowager Cixi to launch the "Qixiang Coup", killing Sushun, Duanhua and other eight ministers of state, and was awarded the title of Prince Regent and given control of the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen.

After the British and French allied forces captured the capital, Prince Gong Yisu, as the plenipotentiary minister, signed the "Treaty of Beijing" with Britain, France and Russia. With the help of the foreigners' sharp guns and cannons, he finally defeated the Taiping rebels who had swept across half of the southeastern part of the country and stabilized the political situation.

This was a move that turned the tide and won him more favor from the two Empress Dowagers. Not only did he have the final say in the Grand Council, he could also influence the Zongli Yamen.

"The small and the numerous" refers to the Manchu and Han forces in the court. Where there are people, there are conflicts. This is true for the Manchu royal family, and the Han court officials are not a monolithic group either.

The Minister of Rites, Fuzhu Hong'a, was one of them. He had woven a huge network of relationships based on his in-laws and his disciples, and had quietly developed a clan powerhouse by relying on his own position in the court.

It goes without saying that it is a pity that once the mountain collapsed and the house collapsed, there was no successor to lead the team.

Other small forces can be found in the Grand Council, and the problem lies in the infighting among the Grand Council ministers below.

The two Grand Councillors ranked after Yisu, Wenxiang and Baojun, were both Manchu relatives and each occupied a different position, so we will not mention them here.

The next two Grand Councillors were the Han Chinese Shen Guifen, from Wujiang, Jiangnan Province, and Li Hongzao, from Gaoyang, Zhili.

The two were from one south and one north. Li Hongzao was closer to Wenxiang, while Shen Guifen and Baojun were very close. They competed with each other openly and secretly, and made many small moves.

This led to the split of the Grand Council under Yisu into two factions, the north and the south, which engaged in fierce party struggles.

Factional strife was a major chronic disease of the dynasty. Not long after Emperor Kangxi entered the Pass, the "Southern Party Case" of Chen Mingxia broke out, followed by the famous Soetu and Mingzhu factional struggle.

The reason
The root cause of party strife is that officials form groups to fight for power. The pie is so big, if you eat one more bite, he will have to eat one less bite.

Simply put, party strife means that one party unites to attack the dissidents, and we are against people rather than issues. We oppose anything that the opposing faction supports, and we support anything that the opposing faction opposes.

The Grand Councilor Shen Guifen was from Jiangnan. He gathered officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other southern provinces to form the Southern Party.

The Grand Councilor Li Hongzao was from Zhili. He gathered officials from Hebei and other provinces in the Central Plains to form the Northern Party.

It is particularly important to note that

Li Hongzao and Li Hongzhang both have the surname Li and the character "Hong" in their generation, but they have no relationship at all. Li Hongzao is from Zhili, and Li Hongzhang is from northern Anhui. They have no relatives or friends.

Zheng Guohui was confused by this introduction. Zhang Peilun was vague and did not introduce himself. He decided not to think about which force was trying to win him over.

Time is the best way to test everything.

At this moment

He was not in a hurry to go to the Beizi Mansion to pay his respects to the Minister. The imperial court had already issued an order that his eldest son, Fuzhu Amin, would be demoted to inherit the Beizi Mansion and the title of the royal family.

Fuzhu Hong'a came all the way back to attend the funeral, but got nothing. The journey was so long that there was no idea when he would be able to come back.

All the condolence money that Zheng Guohui offered now went to his eldest son, Fuzhu Amin. It was like throwing it all into the water, without even a sound being heard.

He wouldn't do such a stupid thing, so he'd wait and see.

As for the 10 taels of regular silver that were escorted to Beijing, hehehe... maybe I can't spend it.

Zheng Guohui submitted many letters to the capital, but most of them were filled with vague and confusing words. This was a common practice in official circles, and no one could speak in plain language.

If the letter is lost or falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, wouldn’t that be clear evidence?

For example, in the secret letter

Tens of thousands of taels of silver can be expressed as "a few heads", "a few mountains", "a few neighbors", "a few waters", "a few books", "a few subjects", etc., and any explanation is acceptable.

"A few heads" means talking about livestock, "a few mountains" means talking about scenery, "a few neighbors" means talking about hometown feelings, and "a few books" means talking about academic progress. There will never be any mistake.

For example, this secret letter

"Your Excellency, the Minister has read this;
I am very fortunate to have received the favor of the Minister. I have received letters of examination and my knowledge has gradually increased through self-study. I am also supervised very strictly in my daily studies and I dare not slack off for even a moment.

In the intervals between daily military training and exercises, he never put down his books, and he read two new books every month, which greatly broadened his horizons.

As knowledge increases, students will benefit greatly..."

The supervision of academic studies by the ministers can be understood as concern for the private salt business. I "supervise my daily studies very strictly and dare not slack off for a moment." The latter is Zheng Guohui's positive attitude. He will definitely take good care of this business and not let anything go wrong.

"Two new books added each month" can be understood as an increase of 3 taels of silver each month. "Two books" is equivalent to "", and "three books and more" can be understood as more than taels of silver, and so on.

It's no big deal if these letters are discovered and made public, and they can all be explained.

Is it wrong for teachers to guide young students to read more, broaden their horizons, and remember to learn all the time?

If you read two more books every month, you will naturally become a learned person over time and be able to serve the court better.

If someone says that "two books" means "twenty thousand taels of silver per month", then we can only say that this person is too narrow-minded and it is really disgraceful.

Zheng Guohui was really tired after experiencing so many things today.

After dinner

With the help of the maid, she took a hot bath in a large wooden tub, changed into loose robes, and went to bed early to rest.

After a while, there was a lot of snoring sounds.

Two days after arriving in Beijing

The newly purchased mansion received many visiting cards. Zheng Guohui chose some officials to meet and greet in person, which expanded his network and gave him a deeper understanding of the court's trends.

His background had long been uncovered by various forces in the imperial court, and there were no more secrets about him.

Of course

This is only the surface situation that Zheng Guohui is willing to let outsiders know. He is a military officer from Tongzhou militia, attached to the Fuzhu family, young and talented.

Some people know more deeply

Zheng Guohui was a disciple of Fuzhu Hong'a, the governor of Jiangnan. He had no relationship with the relative who was holding the funeral in the Prince's Mansion, and they had never met.

It is not surprising that he is one of a large number of Han officials who have emerged and come to prominence during the frequent banditry in the past decade or so.

Early morning on the third day

Zheng Guohui had just finished his breakfast and was sitting in the middle hall sipping tea to digest his food when he heard a voice from afar: "The imperial edict has arrived. The masters of the palace are to receive it immediately. I decree this!"

Zheng Guohui was delighted that the person he had been waiting for had finally arrived, and he hurried to greet him.

The middle door is wide open at this moment
A big eunuch holding an imperial edict walked in front with an arrogant look on his face, followed by the accompanying eunuchs and attendants and guards, who all rushed into the yard.

Zheng Guotai was very tactful and took out two hundred-liang silver bills and put them in his sleeve. He walked straight to the eunuch, bowed deeply, stepped forward and stuffed the money into the eunuch's pocket, then retreated with a flattering smile.

Zheng Guohui immediately ordered, "Please come into the central hall and serve tea, set up the incense table and receive the emperor's order. Allow me to change my clothes and come back quickly."

"Go ahead, we'll be waiting." The eunuch who announced the decree had received benefits, so naturally he wouldn't use those little tricks to embarrass others. What's good for everyone is what's really good!

not long

Zheng Guohui changed into an official uniform and a hat with a peacock feather, and led the crowd to kneel in front of the incense table, his demeanor respectful and impeccable.

The eunuch announcing the decree stepped forward, unfolded the imperial edict and read:

"By the Providence of Heaven, the Emperor says:

Today, we have Zheng Guohui, the captain of the Jinling City Guard, who is brave in his duties, fierce and good at fighting. He has made many meritorious contributions in clearing out bandits in the south, making the country peaceful and the people live and work in peace and contentment. I am very pleased.

Therefore, I have promoted you to the second rank, crowned you with a flowered feather, promoted you to the rank of Deputy General of Jiangnan, awarded you with a double-eyed flowered feather, and allowed you to wear a yellow riding jacket. I hope you will work diligently and do not disappoint me. This is my decree!

"Thank you, my emperor, for your great grace. Long live my emperor, long live my emperor, long live my emperor!"

"General Zheng, please accept the order."

"Thank you, eunuch. Please use this small change to buy some wine." Zheng Guohui took out a few hundred-liang silver bills and handed them over with both hands.

The eunuch who announced the decree took a look, nodded with satisfaction and said, "He is a man of understanding and tact. Don't worry, we will say a few good words when we report the decree, so that your money will not be wasted."

The eunuch who announced the imperial edict still knew the rules. He had to do as much work as he was paid.

"Thank you, eunuch." Zheng Guohui responded with a smile and clasped his fists, then took the imperial edict with both hands, finally feeling relieved.

The people behind him took over the second-rank official uniform, the top hat with a peacock feather, the yellow riding jacket as a reward, and other items brought by the eunuch who announced the decree. All of these had to be offered up.

Recently

On the one hand, Zheng Guoyao was inquiring about the news in the court, on the other hand, he was waiting for the imperial edict, and on the third hand, he was waiting for news from Fuzhu Hong'a.

Once everything is confirmed, you can go to pay homage to the spirit of the Minister in heaven and offer funeral gifts.

This is not a lot of silver, only 300 taels of silver.

In the capital
There are certain rules for the marriages and funerals of officials appointed by the imperial court. You can't pay more just because you have money. Then where does that put you gentlemen?

You can have more students and old friends, but not too many.

300 taels of silver is already quite a generous amount. It is a sign of respect for the elders, and no one can object to it.

(End of this chapter)