1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 289 A Perfect Match, Leaning In to Interact
With the land redistribution in Jiangxia County on track, Zuo Zongtang, taking a break from his busy schedule, brought his family and a wild turtle weighing over ten kilograms and a bucket of fat mandarin fish to visit Liu Rong and others who were confined to Dachao Street in the south of Wuchang City.

Liu Rong and his brother Liu Fan, along with a group of captured students from Xiangxiang County, were placed together in a mansion belonging to a wealthy local merchant surnamed Hu on Dachao Street in the south of the city, and were kept under guard.

Because Peng Gang valued Liu Rong highly, the place was heavily guarded, with guards from the North Palace stationed both inside and outside the courtyard. Ordinary people were not allowed to approach without permission.

Even though Zuo Zongtang was visiting, the guards at the gate recognized him. They still asked Zuo Zongtang about his purpose before letting him in and allowing him to enter the hospital.

Zuo Zongtang entered the courtyard, walked around the screen wall, and saw Liu Rong sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, glancing at her pipe while engrossed in reading a book on the stone table, completely unaware of Zuo Zongtang's visit.

Zuo Zongtang tiptoed to Liu Rong's side and discovered that Liu Rong was not reading any book, but rather a newly printed edition of the "Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters" from the Wuchang Printing House.

The Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters has been revised and published several times, and its quality is much higher than that of the earlier versions.

The "Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters" was compiled by Peng Gang and his students, who were not very well-educated, in Honglian Village. It is inevitable that there are omissions and the quality is not very high. Moreover, they are all handwritten copies.

After occupying the three towns of Wuhan, the material and human resources conditions of the Northern Palace were greatly improved. Both the weapons it manufactured and the books it published were of much better quality than in the early days.

The latest version of the "Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters" was compiled by Peng Gang's teacher, Liu Bingwen, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from Guixian County, Guangxi, and his students, based on the original version.

All the dictionaries were printed and published by printing houses in Wuchang or Hanyang. They were well-printed and could be considered high-quality dictionaries.

However, to learn how to use this "Commonly Used Characters Dictionary", you must first learn pinyin.

At present, the dictionary has not been widely promoted in the North Hall, and there are relatively few people who have mastered pinyin, so this dictionary has not yet caused much of a stir.

Only intellectuals like Zuo Zongtang, who had already mastered pinyin, found this dictionary useful.

To Liu Rong's right was a stack of books, mostly textbooks and geography writings compiled by Peng Gang.

Zuo Zongtang knew that these things were sent by Peng Gang to cheer Liu Rong up, and that Peng Gang also intended to cultivate Liu Rong into a lecturer at the academy.

"Meng Rong is living a carefree and leisurely life." Zuo Zongtang suddenly said in Liu Rong's ear, startling her.

Liu Rong turned her head and saw that the person who came was Zuo Zongtang. She patted her chest and said, "So it's Ji Gao. You scared me to death."

"Meng Rong is someone who has been on the battlefield and heard the sound of gunfire. Does she think she can't withstand such a light scare from me?" Zuo Zongtang teased.

"You scared me quite a bit. Did Ji Gao come here specifically to make fun of me?" Liu Rong shook her head helplessly and said with a wry smile.

“I am not Zhongyue (Luo Zenan), and military affairs are not my forte. I have only been on the battlefield once, and I was captured alive by the short-haired Mao. My luck is not as good as Zhongyue’s. Zhongyue was able to escape from the short-haired Mao, but I am trapped in Wuchang.”

"A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Being captured alive by the short-haired thugs may not necessarily be a disaster. Zhongyue has escaped for now, but he and Minqiao are likely to suffer greatly in the future," Zuo Zongtang said frankly, while also expressing his regret for Luo Zenan and Jiang Zhongyuan.

“Meng Rong is too modest. Cleaning up the bureaucracy is also a battlefield. Back then, everyone in Hunan knew that you were the one who cleaned up the bureaucracy in Xiangxiang County. Magistrate Zhu Sunyi was just benefiting from your efforts.”

Zuo Zongtang felt that it was not a good thing that Luo Zenan had escaped death in Xiangxiang County.

He acknowledged that both Luo Zenan and Jiang Zhongyuan were skilled in training brave soldiers and were proficient in military affairs.

However, training troops requires time and money.

Jiang Zhongyuan received the support of the entire Xinning County in suppressing the notorious bandit Li Yuanfa of the Tiandihui in southern Hunan. During his campaign in Guangxi, he followed Wulantai and amassed considerable wealth. When the Taiping Army entered Hunan, wealthy families in the prefectures and counties that Jiang Zhongyuan passed through donated money and grain to him.

Even so, it has been nearly five years since Chu Yong was formed in 1847 by Lei Zaihao, the leader of the Yao people of the Qinglian Sect.

Jiang Zhongyuan used battles as training, but he only expanded the original size of the Chu army from 500 men to around 4,000, training 4,000 fierce soldiers.

Luo Zenan doesn't have five years, nor does he have the same opportunity as Jiang Zhongyuan to practice against weaker opponents like Lei Zaihao and Li Yuanfa.

The newly formed Xiangxiang Braves had to face a formidable enemy like the Northern Palace.

Furthermore, the Xiangxiang Warriors had already suffered heavy losses in the battle of Xiangxiang County, and Wang Xin, the most skilled warrior under Luo Zenan, had been captured by Peng Gang.

The situation Luo Zenan faces is far more difficult than when Jiang Zhongyuan first established Chu Yong.

Without a powerful backer and financial backer, Luo Zenan will find it difficult to succeed. Even if he did, Peng Gang would probably not give Luo Zenan the opportunity to rise to prominence.

Furthermore, Zuo Zongtang did not believe that Yang Xiuqing and his group would settle down after occupying Jiangning.

Yang Xiuqing was a very ambitious man who aspired to rule the world. After establishing his rule in Jiangnan, the Taiping Army would not restrain its military might and would definitely launch an expedition to conquer the world and seek to unify the country.

At that time, the Qing government would be in a state of chaos, unable to attend to all matters, and would have limited resources to allocate to Hunan.

As the leader of the local militia, Luo Zenan probably wouldn't get much of the resources the Qing government was allocating to Hunan.

Liu Rong had no intention of delving into the topic. She glanced at the wild turtle in Zuo Zongtang's attendant's hand, pointed at it, and said, "The turtles in Hubei are wilder and fiercer than those in Hunan."

"The river goods from Hubei are even more fierce, but the people of Hunan are more straightforward and stubborn. The elders of Hunan often say that I, Zuo Zongtang, am a donkey. You, Liu Rong, are no less than me, Zuo Zongtang," Zuo Zongtang said.

"It's not that I'm stubborn, it's just that the religious bandits in western Guangdong are not the rightful masters," Liu Rong frankly stated. "Throughout history, no one has ever succeeded by using foreign religions."

"The term 'religious bandits in western Guangdong' is outdated," Zuo Zongtang said as he sat down.

"The Qing government's official documents have changed the name to 'bandits in western Guangdong.' The long-haired rebels are not the real leaders; the short-haired rebels are. The Northern King does not believe in religion and does not need to be taught."

The Northern Palace intercepted Qing Dynasty couriers several times and seized official Qing Dynasty documents.

Zuo Zongtang, one of only two prime ministers and the chief advisor to the Northern Palace, had read all of these official Qing Dynasty documents.

Perhaps the Qing court had already noticed something amiss and knew that the Northern Palace did not believe in religion.

In official Qing government documents, the Taiping Army was no longer referred to as the "Western Guangdong Religious Bandits," but instead as the "Western Guangdong Rebellion Bandits."

After all, whether it was Peng Gang, Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, or others, they all made a fuss about their hair.

Moreover, hairstyle was always a very serious political issue in the Qing Dynasty, involving life and death, so the term "hair bandit" was quite fitting.

"Ji Gao possesses extraordinary talent, so why would he be willing to serve the traitor, the Northern King?" Liu Rong turned her head to look at Zuo Zongtang and asked.

"We hit it off immediately, and I became close friends with him." Zuo Zongtang answered Liu Rong's question directly and clearly.

"That's more like your personality," Liu Rong said, taking a puff of her pipe and nodding slightly.

Zuo Zongtang and Lin Zexu were only acquainted for one night during a conversation on the Xiang River. When news of Lin Zexu's death reached Xiangyin, Zuo Zongtang wept for several days and paid his respects to Lin Zexu in the direction of Guangxi. This was known to everyone in Changsha.

That's just how Zuo Zongtang was. He would treat people he didn't click with coldly, regardless of their status, without any pretense. But if they clicked, he would befriend them for life.

"How are your younger brother and your students injured?" Zuo Zongtang asked with concern.

"Ji Xia (Liu Fan) lost her eyes and had a brush with death. She survived, but her body is still weak and she cannot move around often."

Pu Shan (Wang Xin) lost his hand, but he was in good health and was fine. However, he was depressed all day long and often took his anger out on the stone lock.

The others' injuries were not serious to begin with, and they have almost fully recovered.

Liu Rong tapped the bowl of her dry tobacco pipe against the stone bench to knock out the ash, then took off her pipe and started filling the bowl with tobacco as she spoke.

"Please trouble Ji Gao to convey my gratitude to the Northern King. I, Liu Rong, will forever remember the Northern King's life-saving grace."

Liu Rong and his third brother Liu Fan grew up together. Among all the brothers in the Liu family, Liu Rong and Liu Fan were the most compatible, had the best relationship, and the deepest affection.

Despite Liu Rong's prejudice against the Taiping Army and her disapproval of them.

However, Peng Gang sent people to find renowned doctors and used the best medicines, thus saving Liu Fan's life. Liu Rong remembered this favor.

As for whether or not to repay it, Liu Rong was in a dilemma at this moment.

(End of this chapter)