I can't die

Today's situation in Shanghai is quite bad. The territory of Jiangsu to the west of the Liuhe River is completely occupied by the Taiping Army. Even though the troops of the Great Qing Route Army have the support of the British Army, they can only rule by rowing the river. They are trapped in Jiading and cannot move forward. , fell into a stalemate again.

Li Hongzhang’s secret letter to his teacher Zeng Guofan was extremely urgent. In addition to explaining the current form of Shanghai in the letter, of course, it also proposed that the main force of the Hunan Army should implement the three-army and three-party attack plan as soon as possible.

But, now the Spring Festival is coming soon.

In the traditional Chinese military history, there has been a tradition since ancient times. The two armies will avoid fighting around the Spring Festival by convention, so that the two sides can at least have a good year in peace. ", but the probability of the implementation of the former is much higher than that of the latter.

When Zeng Guofan saw Li Hongzhang's secret letter, he was also a little hesitant.After all, it is now the end of December in the lunar calendar. Starting a war at this time will definitely lead to instability in the army, and it will also cause many homesick soldiers to lose their fighting spirit.What's more, this year is the emperor's first Spring Festival after he ascended the throne. It would be fine if he wins, but if he loses, I'm afraid that the emperor and the two empress dowagers will have a very frustrating year, and they may even commit serious crimes.

But think about the current form. .

This is not easy to deal with. Although the attack on Nanjing of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at this time can play a role in encircling Wei and saving Zhao for Shanghai, this military spirit is also an aspect that has to be considered. . .There is nothing more worrying about mutiny in the army than the leader.

Zeng Guofan was extremely hesitant about this, and did not dare to make a decision without authorization. After deliberation, he summoned his staff, and wrote a letter to Zhejiang Governor Zuo Zongtang to find a way, in an attempt to pool their wisdom and efforts.After Zuo Zongtang learned about this matter, he also knew the seriousness of this matter. After thinking about it, he wrote back and said: "Let's go to the heaven to listen, and ask the holy judge."

So, this matter went on and on, and finally came to Zai Chun again.

Naturally, Zeng Guofan's memorial contained side discussions between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, and all of them went through the channel of the Ministry of War. The people in the Military Aircraft Department didn't know about it yet, so it fell into Zai Chun's hands.

After reading this memorial, Zai Chun also found it very difficult. It has to be said that the three governors analyzed the pros and cons in the memorial to the end, but it was precisely because of this that Zai Chun found it even more difficult. judge.This is where decision makers are at a loss.

How about asking Cixi Ci'an and Prince Gong for instructions?

As soon as this idea came up, Zai Chun immediately suppressed it.In fact, it goes without saying that although the queen dowagers and Prince Gong of the two palaces are now pro-foreign, their nature as aboriginals determines that they will definitely not approve of this dispatch of troops, because they all feel that it is extremely unlucky to use force during the Spring Festival- This bit of feudal superstitious thinking alone is enough.

It was precisely because of this that Zai Chun felt that there was no point in asking them for advice.

Thinking in this way, Zai Chun felt that he could only discuss this matter with his teacher Jiao Youying.

Jiao Youying is now the emperor's teacher, not assuming real power, and his family wealth was also wiped out in the previous Xinyou coup. Now he can be regarded as a breeze, jumping out of court battles, and speaking much more honestly than others.

So Zai Chun led a group of palace people to the upper study room.

It was the afternoon at this time, because Zai Chun wanted to read the memorial, so he made an exception. The accompanying reader, Yi Xing and Yi Xun, was learning the content of riding and archery. Since there were not many people in the study room.

When Zai Chun came to the upper study room, he saw his teacher Jiao Youying reviewing his books. He glanced at Li Lianying, and Li Lianying understood, so he stepped forward and said loudly, "The emperor is here."

Hearing that Zai Chun was coming, Jiao Youying hurriedly put down the book in his hand and came out to greet him. The two of them greeted each other and asked doubtfully, "Why is the emperor here at such a time?"

Zai Chun gave Li Lianying a wink, Li Lianying understood, and then withdrew from the room, and sent his followers to stand guard everywhere to prevent anyone from approaching.

"Teacher, this is an expedited [-]-mile trip by the governors of the three provinces. After seeing it, I don't know what to do?"

Eight hundred miles in a hurry?

When Jiao Youying heard it, he hurriedly took the memorial with both hands and looked at it, and his expression quickly became serious.

That's right, although the emperor has experienced a coup d'état now, and although he has some experience in balancing the party struggle between the court and the harem, he is still not very familiar with the specific military.

"Your Majesty, although the old minister doesn't know much about military affairs, the old minister can see the meaning of the three governors. They are actually more inclined to send troops. Otherwise, with the cautious temperament of Zeng Bohan, Minister of the Ministry of War, it is absolutely impossible for him to listen to the heaven."

Before, I gave a rough account of the personalities of Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zuo Zongtang.Naturally, with Zeng Guofan's phlegmatic personality, if he prefers not to send troops, he might have withheld Li Hongzhang's secret letter and refused to report it to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Zaichun knows that he doesn't know much about the military, but he also knows that the spirit of the army is important. If the troops are sent out during the Spring Festival, although they can catch the bandits by surprise, will it make the soldiers feel resentful? Please ask the teacher for advice."

In today's troubled times, soldiers live with their heads on their waistbands. They practice every day for fear of dying on the battlefield. The only time of the year is the Spring Festival, which is a time for them to relax. Let them go to war at this time , but it is a bit difficult.

Hearing the words, Jiao Youying walked around the room a few times with the secret letter in his hand, and began to meditate. After a while, he looked at Zai Chun and said, "It's not impossible to stabilize the morale of the army."

"Oh?" Zai Chunyi said happily, "Teacher, please teach me."

"Encourage the army."

Encourage the army?Literally, it means motivating officers and soldiers, but how to mobilize and how to motivate has become another problem.

In ancient China, the highest standard for encouraging the army was the personal conquest by the emperor. The emperor personally took command and charged, and took the lead in order to motivate the army generals and soldiers and boost morale.Naturally, besides this, there are many other methods, such as rewarding official positions, allocating military pay, increasing military rewards, and so on.

Let’s listen to Jiao Youying continue to say: “If the emperor is in charge of the government and holds great power, it is not a problem to reward officials before the war, but now among the six ministries, the household department in charge of money and the official department who control the promotion of officials all listen to the military aircraft. More. So this trick won’t work.”

That's right, only those who win are rewarded, and those who have not heard of rewards without victory, the Military Aircraft Department will definitely obstruct them when they learn about it.It also loses the usefulness of taking the lead in inspiring soldiers' morale.

"So we can only make a fuss about our attitude."

"manner?"

Zai Chun was puzzled.

"Naturally, the imperial conquest can best express the emperor's emphasis on the battle and the general's soldiers, but the emperor's current form is definitely impossible. Therefore, we need to send someone who can represent the emperor in the eyes of outsiders to go to the front to boost morale."

"If this person is the emperor's confidant, he must have sufficient status and good eloquence. A bit of blood is better, but the official position should not be too high, otherwise it may shake the command of the three governors. It is a taboo for military strategists to change commanders just before the battle. .”

Hearing Jiao Youying's words, Zai Chun felt suddenly enlightened, and this was indeed a good strategy.Just who to send?

"Is there a teacher to choose?"

"What does the emperor think of Yixun? He is the son of the noble relative, the old Prince Hui, and he is also the emperor's companion. As long as the emperor rewards him with a high enough illustrious title, his status is enough. Besides, he went to school with the emperor and got along with him." It’s been a while, and there’s still some understanding.”

The author has something to say: woo woo woo. .You don't need to be strong to do it. . .

Haha just kidding.It’s just that my writing power is really limited, and I have worked hard to maintain the daily update. . .

Also, I lost my collection, and fell into the toilet crying.