I can't die

Anqing Nei Ordnance Institute, also known as "Anqing Ordnance Institute", was founded by Zeng Guofan in 1861 in Huangshiji, Huaining, Anhui, and Daguanting, Anqing. workshop.Make bullets, gunpowder, guns, and various military weapons.

Because of the 300 million taels of snow-patterned silver issued by Zai Chun, the Anqing Nei Ordnance Institute was quite proud in recruiting talents. The most famous scientific and technological experts in China at that time, such as Hua Hengfang, Xu Shou, Gong Yuntang, Xu Jianyin, Zhang Sigui , Li Shanlan, Wu Jialian, etc. were all hired by Zeng Guofan with high salaries to conduct military research here and made great contributions to China's earliest modern industry.

(Who said that there are no people in China? Everyone can do these names on Baidu, and their casual achievements are astonishing.)

When Zeng Guofan received the secret letter from Zaichun's Ministry of War, he was discussing with his subordinates Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang in the Hunan Army barracks about the military deployment to march into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom after the spring of next year.

Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang are all outstanding talents. After a half-day meeting, they decided on a strategy to divide the three armies. Zuo Zongtang led the army from Jiangxi to Zhejiang, and Li Hongzhang led the army to attack from Shanghai. In Jiangsu, Zeng Guofan and Peng Yulin's navy took Tianjing (Nanjing, the name of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom) directly from the Yangtze River waterway.Outflanked by three routes, it is planned to break through Nanjing within two years and strangle the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Now that Zeng Guofan has won 300 million taels of snow-patterned silver, and the Anqing Ordnance Institute has been opened again, it was the time when he was in high spirits. After he made this plan, he felt that the extermination of the rebels was close at hand. Said: "Although the emperor is young, he is very talented. Now the military department in Beijing is being cultivated vigorously by the emperor, so we don't have to worry about the future."

Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang heard the words, although there were some suspicions among the three of them, they were also emotional about this matter. They never thought that this little emperor is really powerful, and he has the virtue of the holy ancestor Kangxi. If he thinks about it, God bless the Qing Dynasty and give me back the Qing Dynasty. Yihaihe Yanqing. (Although Zeng, Li, and Zuo are colleagues, there are actually many rifts in them, which will be discussed later.)

"God bless the Qing Dynasty, send down the Ming Lord, we will do our best, so that we will not be responsible for the good fortune of the world."

So the three of them laughed loudly together and raised their glasses to drink happily.

At this moment, a messenger hurriedly brought a letter to the outside of the main camp, begging to see Zeng Guofan, saying that it was urgent in the capital.Zeng Guofan heard the news from Kuai Matt from the Military Aircraft Department, so he didn't dare to be negligent, so he hurriedly called the messenger to come in, took the secret letter, opened the seal and read it.

This secret letter is not long, and the content is the matter of Pachari mentioned in the previous chapter.The more Zeng Guofan looked at it, the more displeased his face became, and finally it was almost black to the point of dripping water.

Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan have worked together for many years, and they know Zeng Guofan's character quite well.Zeng Guofan has a typical phlegmatic personality. This kind of person is more gentle, observes and thinks more carefully than ordinary people, and makes judgments slower than ordinary people.The shortcomings are also obvious, that is, slow response, rigid actions, cautious and introverted, and only willing to talk about everything.

Now that Zeng Guofan is so emotionally exposed, it can be seen how annoying the things in the letter are.

"Why is it so bad, teacher?" Li Hongzhang asked proactively because he had a better relationship with Zeng Guofan than Zuo Zongtang. (Li Hongzhang has always regarded himself as a disciple of Zeng Guofan.)

Zeng Guofan glanced at the two of them immediately, and without speaking, he just passed the secret letter to Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang.When the two received the secret letter and looked at it, they were also taken aback.

"This foreign devil is too deceitful!"

Zuo Zongtang is a typical type 0 blood, with a blunt personality, daring to speak and act. After reading this letter, he was already extremely unhappy and cursed.

Compared with Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang had a more eclectic personality. He first glanced at his teacher Zeng Guofan, then roughly figured out Zeng Guofan's thoughts in his heart, and asked, "Who does the teacher want to send?"

The Military Aircraft Department ordered craftsmen to go to Dagukou to learn how to imitate warships. This matter is also a good thing for the country and the people. Naturally, Zeng Guofan has no reason to object, but now the Ordnance Department in Anqing has just entered the right track. Craftsmen have their own exclusive positions, and they cannot be transferred easily, which has become a problem.

Hearing Li Hongzhang's question, Zeng Guofan didn't answer right away. He went to the chair in the tent and sat down, his eyes glanced between Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang: "Tell Hua Hengfang and Xu Shou to take their apprentices. After all, it is the emperor's order, so don't be careless."

Hua Hengfang (1833-1902), courtesy name Ruoting, was born in Dangkou Town, Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province.Born in a family of eunuchs, he loved mathematics when he was young. He read all kinds of mathematics books at that time, and he also studied western algebra and calculus.

Xu Shou (February 1818, 2-September 26, 1884), born Yuan and nicknamed Xuecun, was a close friend of Hua Hengfang. He had studied hundreds of schools of thought, dabbled in astronomy, calendar, and arithmetic, and was a famous scholar in the south of the Yangtze River. A well-known craftsman.

Hearing these two names, Li Hongzhang went through their experiences in his heart, knowing that Zeng Guofan's proposal was correct, so he nodded in agreement.But Zuo Zongtang seemed to think of something at this time, and suddenly said: "The British took money for nothing, and I didn't get a warship in the Qing Dynasty. This lucrative deal is too cheap for them. If I can call these foreign devils someday It’s okay to bleed.”

Isn't it?Prince Gong said that he bought a warship with 100 million taels, but he got nothing in the end, and he had to take in another 15 taels, which was tantamount to robbery.

On the contrary, Li Hongzhang heard Zuo Zongtang's words, and his mind suddenly lit up: "What brother Ji Gao said is very true, but it reminds me of someone." (Ji Gao is Zuo Zongtang's nickname.)

Zeng Guofan is Li Hongzhang's teacher, and he knows Li Hongzhang very well, so he immediately remembered a name: "You mean Hua Er?"

Zuo Zongtang had a quarrel with Zeng Guofan in his early years, so he didn't know much about Zeng Li's information, so he asked curiously:

"Who is this Huaer?"

"Wall was originally a desperado from the United States. He recruited many foreign devils in Shanghai to work as mercenaries. They were all ruthless characters with foreign guns. As long as they were willing to give money, the sky would dare to poke a hole. Thank you, brother Ji Gao, for reminding me, I will write a letter to the emperor, so that those foreigners can bite the dog with the rebels."

Therefore, under Zeng Guofan's instruction, Li Hongzhang immediately wrote a secret letter, handed it to the small official who came to deliver the letter, and asked him to straddle the horse and send it back to the capital, so that Zai Chunneng could give an immediate reply.

The author has something to say: The first quarrel between Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan was due to Zeng Guofan's "seizure".In February of the seventh year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan's father passed away. According to the feudal Dingyou system, Zeng Guofan should go home for the funeral. If the important officials in the body are not allowed to leave their posts by imperial order, they are not allowed to leave their posts without authorization.Zeng Guofan was on the battlefield in Jiangxi at this time. The imperial court wanted the horses to run without feeding the horses, and wanted Zeng Guofan to go to various parts of the country to fight, but did not allow him to mobilize power from all parts of the country. He was full of resentment, and wanted to shake off the burden a long time ago. Going to the funeral for his father was the best opportunity. So, on the one hand, he wrote to the court asking for funeral leave; on the other hand, without waiting for the court's reply, he returned to his hometown in Hunan.

Zeng Guofan felt obliged and necessary to introduce the situation of refusing to seize love to his friends.So, not long after he went back, he wrote a letter to Zuo Zongtang, saying, there are three reasons for refusing to seize love. First, of course, the deep love between father and son. I am back, this is the way of the Son of Man.Second, since I came out of the mountain, I have made few achievements and made many mistakes. My ability is not enough to change the situation in Jiangxi.Third, the current overall situation is better than when I was in Jiangxi. Even if I don't return to Jiangxi, my friends and colleagues can still do things successfully.

Zuo Zongtang didn't sympathize with Zeng Guofan's intentions and difficulties, and replied a severely worded letter condemning Zeng Guofan: "A loyal minister is to the king, not to retire because of what he can't do, and not to take responsibility for what he does. He can't blame him...but he said rushing to the funeral; not waiting for the order of the court, it seems indecent and unrighteous." Said that Zeng Guofan's running away from the battle was an act of disloyalty, an act of disrespect, and an act of injustice, and Zeng Guofan was scolded A dog blood sprinkler.In this letter, Zuo Zongtang also said: "I don't know whether the old man came out or not." It means, in the end, you will listen to my advice and return to Jiangxi, or you will not listen to my advice and stay in Hunan. Know, I don't care either.I didn't expect you to really listen to me, but I'll tell you the truth.Next, he said: "Whether it will be helpful or not is not something I dare to know."It means that if you really listen to my words, it would be a good thing for you to return to Jiangxi. However, after returning, I don’t know whether things can be done well or the situation will turn around. "I don't dare to know" has a stronger and more negative tone than "I don't know".Zeng Guofan was naturally furious after reading the letter, so he ignored Zuo Zongtang and protested strongly without words.A year later, the two were "as happy as before, without thinking about old bad things".