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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 71: Ji Gao¡¯s Family History

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    Zuo Zongtang and Hong Yun'er left one after another, and only Xiao Yungui and his personal swordsman were left in the lobby. Xiao Yungui sat in the main seat in the lobby, with his feet on the table, thinking secretly in his heart.  , Four-eyed girl, if you don¡¯t help me, I¡¯ll do it myself.

    At this time, Li Yiwen suddenly came to ask for an audience. Xiao Yungui was about to send someone to get Zuo Zongtang's family members. Hearing that Li Yiwen was coming, he was even more happy. This Li Yiwen was Li Xiucheng. He was very reliable in doing things, so he sent him there.  It will definitely work, so he immediately ordered someone to call him in.

    Li Yiwen came to the hall and clasped his fists in greeting. Xiao Yungui waved his hand and asked him to sit down and talk with a smile. Li Yiwen just came to report some trivial matters after the battle in Liuyang today.  In the Battle of Liuyang, the Taiping Army suffered little loss, but the Qing army lost more than 800 people. They lost food, firearms, and red powder, all of which were captured by the Taiping Army.

    He also mentioned that according to the confessions of captured soldiers of the Qing army, this robbery was only because most of the food from the official warehouses near Changsha had been transported to Changsha to help the defense. Wang Jialin and Taqibu's troops arrived in Liuyang County and suffered from lack of food. Big households in the city donated money.  The supply was limited, and Qing troops were not allowed to go out of the city to eat in the countryside.  Originally they only wanted food, but as soon as Qiu Bayi was released, these Qing troops were like wild horses running wild, and finally turned into a large-scale burning, killing and looting.

    This looting by the Qing army aroused great public indignation in Liuyang. Originally, Luo Raodian helped organize regiment training in Changsha, and most of the recruits were Liuyang local warriors. However, Wang Jialin's Qing army and Taqibu's defeated Hubei troops ravaged them.  In the countryside, all the Liuyang Xiangyong in Changsha City defected to the Taiping Army. For a time, the number of new Taiping Army soldiers in the city increased by nearly a thousand.

    Now that there are plenty of Taiping troops in the city, Li Yiwen becomes happier as he talks. Xiao Yungui patiently listened to his words with a smile and said: "Brother Li, I want to send you to do something."

    Li Yiwen immediately stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Whatever the King of the West sends you, my subordinates will definitely do it."

    Xiao Yungui waved his hand and said: "You are also an old brother. From now on, we will become brothers. Sit down and we will talk slowly."

    Li Yiwen's face was full of joy and he sat down upright. Xiao Yungui coughed and said, "I want to send you to bring Mr. Zuo's family to Changsha. Mr. Zuo is the teacher who is leaving the city during the day."

    Li Yiwen raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "I know about Mr. Zuo, but where will my little brother go to pick up his family?"

    Xiao Yungui was stunned, yes, where is Zuo Zongtang¡¯s home?  He only knew that Zuo Zongtang called himself Xiangyin Jinliang, and he should be from Xiangyin County, but Xiangyin is so big, where would this guy's nest be?

    Xiao Yungui frowned, stood up and took a few steps. Do you want to ask Hong Yun'er again?  Hum, I will do it myself this time!  After walking a few more steps, I remembered that Deng Yi, Li Shourong, and Wang Kaiyun were still in jail, weren't they all acquaintances of Zuo Zongtang?  Maybe they'll know.

    Thinking of this, Xiao Yungui's eyebrows danced with joy, and he immediately ordered Li Shourong to be brought to the court by the swordsman, saying that he wanted to interrogate the demon spies at night, and asked Li Yiwen to listen to the interrogation together.

    Not long after, Li Shourong came in and saw him looking haggard and panicked. Xiao Yungui was overjoyed when he saw it. He saw that Li Shourong was the more bookish and weak among the three. He usually looked for such people when asking for confessions.  It is best to start with people.

    After searching for a long time, he still couldn¡¯t find where the gavel tree was. Xiao Yungui had no choice but to slam the table with his big hand like a cattail leaf fan and shouted angrily: "Is this prisoner a spy from the Qing Yao?"

    Li Shourong's face was pale. Although he was still standing, his feet were trembling slightly. But he pressed his lips tightly. It took him a long time to muster up the courage to say: "I, I, Xiaosheng, am not a spy of the army, I am just a student."

    Xiao Yungui shouted coldly: "Nonsense! This morning, you and Deng Yi and others used knives to attack our Taiping soldiers, and you still say that you are not a spy?!" He followed him and glanced at Li Yiwen.

    What kind of vision does Li Yiwen have?  He immediately stood up with a roar, pulled out the long knife from his waist and shouted angrily: "What a traitor! How dare you point your sword at my holy weapon?! I'll cut you down!" After saying that, he raised the long knife high and made a gesture.  To behead.

    Li Shourong was finally frightened and sat on the ground, his face even paler.  Xiao Yungui secretly praised Li Yiwen for being really capable and knowing his own intentions, then he waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute!"

    Li Yiwen slowly put down the knife, and Xiao Yungui said calmly: "Li Shourong, if you want to say that you are not a Qingyao spy, then I will ask you and you answer me. If there is anything that is not completely true, humph, don't blame you.  You¡¯re welcome to use Li Yiwen¡¯s sharp knife next to you!¡±

    Li Shourong hurriedly said in a trembling voice: "What Xiaosheng said is true."

    Xiao Yungui snorted and asked, "Let me ask you, how long have you known Zuo Zongtang?"

    Li Shourong didn't understand why Xiao Yungui asked about this, so he replied smoothly: "About ten years."

    Xiao Yungui hummed and asked again: "Where is Zuo Zongtang's family?"

    Li Shourong said blankly: "Originally in Xiangtan, brother Ji Gao returned to his hometown in the countryside, Liujiachong, Dongxiang, Xiangyin nine years ago. He spent 900 taels of silver to buy 70 acres of paddy fields and 80 acres of mountainous land. He planned to retire and become Tao Yuanming.  Brother Ji Gao was very talented. He built his own farm and wrote a personal letter about Liuzhuang on his forehead.  There are rice fields, paddy fields, and tea gardens in front of Liuzhuang, and a bamboo forest in the back. Brother Ji Gao calls himself a farmer from Xiangshang.  Every day, farmers around him could see Brother Ji Gao plowing fields, building walls, trenches, and forts, raising pigs and cattle, planting mulberry trees, and planting willows and plum blossoms. He was very busy every day.  "

    Li Shourong seemed to have started a conversation. Xiao Yungui asked strangely: "Have you been to Zuo Zongtang's Liuzhuang?"

    Li Shourong was simple-minded and did not doubt that he was there. He nodded and said: "Brother Ji Gao's eldest son Xiaowei and second son Xiaokuan were both born in Liuzhuang. We went to congratulate him, so we have been to Liuzhuang. There is indeed something Tao Yuanming said there.  Writing about the paradise-like scenery, it is just like the saying goes that the sun is close to mediocrity, the seedlings are beginning to grow, the fields are singing, the birds are singing, the grass is new and the soil is moist, there is a special joy."

    When Li Shourong talked about this, his fear gradually disappeared, he no longer trembled when he spoke, and he still described the scenery in Wen Zou Zou's way.

    Xiao Yungui smiled slightly. It seemed that Li Shourong was an honest gentleman, but he couldn't control his mouth. It was obvious that he liked gossip. He immediately ordered someone to bring him a piece of tea and asked him to sit down and talk. Then he continued  Asked: "Who is in Zuo Zongtang's family?"

    Li Shourong thanked him, straightened his appearance for a while and sat upright before replying: "Brother Ji Gao's family background is a bit pitiful. Starting from Brother Ji Gao's great-grandfather, three generations of the Zuo family have made a living by teaching and renting crops from the land left by their ancestors.  His father, Zuo Gongtao, was a well-known teacher in Xiangyin. There were two brothers in the family, the eldest brother Zuo Zongfang, the second brother Zuo Zongzhi, and brother Ji Gao, who were the third sons in the family. That year, brother Ji Gao's  The eldest brother died of illness, leaving Zuo's mother depressed and passed away within a few years. A few years later, Zuo Gong Guanlan also died of illness, and Brother Ji Gao's parents were no longer alive."

    Xiao Yungui sighed softly and said: "It turns out that his parents also died in his early years. What about his second brother?"

    Li Shourong replied: "Zuo Zongzhi, the second brother of Brother Ji Gao, is very talented. He passed the provincial examination that year, but he failed in many subsequent tests. In the first year of Xianfeng, he was ordered to go to Beijing and was selected as a cabinet secretary. Now he is Taiping  He started the army, but because he was worried about his family, he took a vacancy and returned home this summer. Since then, he has given up his intention to become an official. He is now a lecturer at Shigu Academy in Hengyang and has not become an official."

    Xiao Yungui hesitated and said: "It will be easier if no one in the family is an official in the court." Then he asked: "What about Zuo Zongtang's wife?"

    Li Shourong said with a look of envy on his face: "Speaking of Brother Ji Gao's marriage, I really envy others. Brother Ji Gao's wife is not only well-educated, virtuous and dignified in appearance, but what's even more rare is that her natal family is well off.  It is the leading wealthy family in Xiangtan, and it is indeed the blessing of our ancestors that Brother Ji Gao can marry into the Zhou family."

    Speaking of this, Xiao Yungui let out a light sigh, is Zuo Zongtang the son-in-law of his wife?  Li Shourong continued: "When we talk about Brother Ji Gao's marriage, it became a good story at that time"

    It turns out that Zuo Zongtang¡¯s wife was named Zhou Yiduan, and her natal family, the Zhou family, was the largest household in Xiangtan County.  The Zhou family had a strong family background and built a large courtyard in Zishan Residence at the east foot of Yinshan Mountain in Xiangtan, named it "Guizaitang", commonly known as "Guizitang".  The courtyard covers an area of ??fifteen acres and has forty-eight patios arranged according to Bagua patterns.  The courtyard is winding and winding, like a maze. People who don't understand the Book of Changes will definitely not be able to get in or out.  There is a piece of bluestone erected at the gate, which was given by the emperor.  All civil servants and military officers who came to Guizi Hall and saw this stone tablet had to get off their sedans, dismount their horses, and kowtow in obeisance.

    Zhou Yiduan was well-educated, virtuous, and dignified in appearance.  But she was already 20 years old at the time, the same age as Zuo Zongtang, and she was considered an older daughter at the time.  Just because she had a high self-esteem and refused to marry casually, she delayed her exit from the cabinet.  Zhou's mother had no choice but to open the door to recruit a son-in-law and choose a good son-in-law for her.  Zhou's mother also came from a scholarly family, and the way she came up with was to compare poems to attract a bride.

    At that time, Zuo Zongtang had just finished taking the provincial examination, so he went to recruit a son-in-law at the instigation of a group of friends.  Of course, Zuo Zongtang's poetry and talent were unparalleled. At the end of the journey, Zhou's mother saw that he was a handsome man, so she recruited him as her son-in-law.

    But any poor son-in-law who steps in to marry into his daughter's family is always looked down upon. I'm afraid he has the sadness in his heart. For Zuo Zongtang, who is arrogant and arrogant, he does not have the financial resources to bring his wife back to his family.  And having to stay at my mother-in-law's house makes me feel even more emotional about my life.  Fortunately, his wife was gentle and virtuous, and often comforted him, asking him to study hard and take the imperial examination, hoping that one day he would be in high school and feel proud.

    Unfortunately, things went against expectations. Zuo Zongtang failed to pass the high school exam three times. The Zhou family originally thought that their eldest son-in-law would be able to go to high school. Unexpectedly, Zuo Zongtang seemed to have no luck in becoming an official. In addition, he was a poor boy, so they could not help but treat him coldly.  Look, there are more gossips.  There is a Xiangtan folk song, which is clearly a satire on Zuo Zongtang. The ballad sings: Xiangyin Zuo ZongtangTang came to Guizitang, ate five loads of grain and slept on a bed.

    After the imperial examination, Zuo Zongtang was depressed for a long time, and he also suffered from the cold eyes of the Zhou family. Therefore, he felt "shameful and unable to feed himself." When Zuo Zongtang was at the lowest point in his life, Zhou Yiduan did not consider his own honor or disgrace at all, and remained consistent  Stand by your husband.  In order to take care of Zuo Zongtang's face, she persuaded her husband to set up a separate business, go out to find a job, and take care of the children at home.  Zuo Zongtang borrowed a house from his widowed mother-in-law, which was a courtyard with only one entrance and one exit. He was considered to have established his own business. The place was called the West Tower in Chenshan, Xiangtan, and he even started teaching to make a living.

    Zuo Zongtang was not interested in eight-legged essay. He failed in the examination twice in a row, so he focused more on practical knowledge.  For a while, he shut himself up in the west building and concentrated on reading, writing, and studying geography.  Later, he saved some money from teaching, and then returned to his hometown in Xiangyin to purchase farmland property.

    Zhou Yiduan was willing to be his assistant for the sake of his husband's studies.  Ever since she married Zuo Zongtang, a poor man, she had never regarded herself as the daughter of a wealthy family, nor did she think it was a disgrace to herself.  She always maintained a quiet and gentle attitude.  In fact, she can not only write lyric poems, but is also familiar with history. She has written dozens of epic poems and commented on ancient figures, from Qin Shihuang's criticism to Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty, which shows that she is not an ordinary woman.

    Hearing this, Xiao Yungui sighed that Zuo Zongtang was really a lucky man. No wonder Li Shourong said that his marriage was enviable to others.  During the long years when Zuo Zongtang had little talent, having such a confidante and such a virtuous wife was a blessing that most people never get.

    At this time, it sounded like Xiao Yungui was more determined to bring Zuo Zongtang's family members, but he also had some scruples. After all, Zuo Zongtang's wife was a lady from a famous family. If a group of big men were sent to "invite"  , if there is any disrespect at that time, I am afraid that Zuo Zongtang may fight against him with a knife, let alone surrender to him.

    If you want to invite Mrs. Zuo, now it seems that the most suitable candidate is naturally your nominal wife, but do you want to ask her for help again?  After Xiao Yungui touched his chin and pondered for a moment, he unprincipledly threw the idea he had just made out of the sky, and thought shamelessly: "It's better to let that four-eyed girl do this kind of thing, let her  It is easier for women to communicate with women when they run errands for me. The most important thing is to coax her. That kind of four-eyed girl with low emotional intelligence can be coaxed by me with ease"

    ;

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