Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume One: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 403: The Big Case Begins to Reveal

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    It was already the middle of winter, and the inside and outside of the Forbidden City were thickly covered with snow, which seemed to cover up all the dirty things here. Everything was as pure and beautiful as the white snow.  After reading the secret letter that Ronglu sent to the palace, Xingzhen raised a smile and murmured to herself: "In peacetime, the king kills the king. We Chinese people have always had bad roots and cannot be wiped away. A Chinese is  A group of Chinese are like worms. If there are too many people, they will always fight among themselves. It seems that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has not come out with Chou Yinmao, so there will be no major offensive for the time being. Taking this opportunity, it is time to formally organize and train the new army.  .¡±

    After Xingzhen gave birth to her son, she won the favor of Xianfeng and quickly resumed her previous job of accompanying her to review memorials.  After forming an alliance with Guiziliu, Xingzhen and Princess Jing took turns whispering in Xianfeng's ears, and Guiziliu also started working hard on errands, so Xianfeng began to reuse his younger brother.

    Last month at the court meeting, Guiziliu proposed strategies such as establishing Westernization, organizing and training new armies, and borrowing teachers to assist in suppression. Although the establishment of Westernization still encountered great resistance, strategies such as organizing and training a new army, and borrowing teachers to assist in suppression were still won by the courtiers.  their recognition.

    Prince Gong suggested reorganizing the Shenji Battalion in the capital, selecting recruits from the Eight Banners of the Mongolian, Manchu and Han armies, purchasing new foreign muskets and artillery to equip the new army, and creating a pure firearms unit responsible for defending the capital.

    Prince Gong's plan to train the new army was somewhat influenced by Xingzhen. At the same time, Xianfeng also felt the tremendous pressure from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the great powers. He also felt deeply that although the regiments in various places were doing well in training and suppressing bandits, most of those regiments training troops were local governors.  Xianfeng was also deeply worried that after the bandits were suppressed in the future, the local governor would be in great difficulty, so he felt at ease having his own troops at hand.  So Xianfeng issued an edict to let Prince Gong handle the affairs of the new army. However, now that the Ministry of Household Affairs was short of silver, all the expenses needed for the new army were raised by Prince Gong himself.

    In Xingzhen's eyes, this army should be managed by Guiziliu and Ronglu together. Ronglu also made a lot of money from doing business in Guangzhou, and Guiziliu was quite popular in the capital.  Under financing.  I also got more than 300,000 taels of silver and started recruiting soldiers first.  Ronglu continued to discuss with the great powers in Guangzhou about purchasing new muskets and artillery.

    Today I received a letter from Ronglu. In addition to talking about the internal strife between the Eastern and Western Kings of the Taiping Rebellion, Ronglu also mentioned that Britain, France, the United States and other countries had agreed to sell weapons to the Manchu Qing.  Xingzhen only agreed to sell weapons to the Qing Dynasty because Britain and France had just finished the Crimean War. After the war, many weapons needed to be disposed of, but she did not expect that this was only one of the reasons.  The bigger reason was that the great powers wanted to put pressure on the King of the West by selling weapons.

    Ronglu's letter stated that the first batch of weapons could be transported to Dagokou in one month. However, since the imperial court did not open the northern port as a trading port, Prince Gong needed to request the imperial court to temporarily open a port for the fleet.  Unloading at the shore.

    Xingzhen wrote a reply to Ronglu, telling him to finish the matter in Guangzhou as soon as possible, if it was delayed for a long time.  You can leave the affairs of Guangdong to Ye Mingchen. Here, Prince Gong will report to Xianfeng and ask Ronglu to go to Beijing to help organize and train the new army.

    Although Ronglu was young at this time, he was a Manchu. He came from a general family and was a loyal and loyal man.  He was able to gain Xianfeng's trust. At the same time, he helped organize the Hunan regiment training in Hunan. In just one and a half years, the Hunan army was completely transformed, with more than 70,000 land and water soldiers. He also had considerable experience in organizing and training the new army, and he had the title of admiral.  , it is appropriate to fill the vacancy in Jingzhong, and Ronglu's military exploits cannot be underestimated.  Therefore, both Xingzhen and Prince Gong felt that it was very possible for Ronglu to enter the capital.

    Finish writing the letter.  After collecting them, Xingzhen stretched, got up and went to the front hall, where she saw Ande Hai shouting at his little eunuch to sweep the floor and wipe the table.  Xingzhen watched for a while and saw that An Dehai was now in full swing and could no longer look like the timid little eunuch she had been when she first entered the palace.  Then he smiled and said, "Mr. An, you are quite impressive."

    An Dehai didn't notice that Xingzhen came out of Nuange's house. Hearing her voice, he quickly turned around and saluted.  He said in fear: "Master, don't be a shabby slave. Just call me Xiao Anzi. I really can't afford the responsibility of Mr. An."

    Xingzhen hummed and said with a straight face: "It's good to know. Don't be too ostentatious, don't be too domineering, and don't use your power to bully others. Otherwise, you will make a big mistake one day, and I won't even be able to save you."  your."

    Andehai quickly nodded and agreed: "No, master, this slave will definitely keep his duty."

    ?? After all, he had been with him for almost three years, and he couldn't bear to see Andehai end up like the one in history, so he often reminded him.

    An Dehai saw Xingzhen laughing and knew that his master was not angry. He also smiled and said: "Master, it's time to go see the eldest brother again. The slave has made arrangements. Shall we leave now?"?

    Xingzhen still laughed from the bottom of her heart when she mentioned Zai Chun. The child will be one year old in a few days, and Zai Chun has already learned to call her "E Niang" and "E Niang". Every time she sees her going in, her eyes pop.  She kept spinning, looking at herself with a smile, and raised her little hands and waved them constantly, asking herself to hug her.  Although Xingzhen doesn't like Xianfeng, this child is a piece of flesh that has fallen from her body after all, and the maternal nature deep in her heart still makes her unable to let go of her longing for the child.

    Thinking of this, Xingzhen smiled and hummed, and said, "Ask Aunt Kang and Li Lianying to go with them and bring two sets of small clothes that I have sewn." Ande Hai responded.

    After a while, when everything was ready, Xingzhen took Kang Qi, An Dehai and Li Lianying out of the Chuxiu Palace and went to her elder brother's house.  It was no secret in the palace that Xingzhen didn't like riding in a sedan chair. Along the way, the maids, eunuchs, and guards saw her coming out with people from Chuxiu Palace, and they all bowed according to the rules.  Xingzhen has an easy-going nature and a good memory. She already knows most of the people in the palace. She can call out the names of those who salute her along the way, which makes these palace maids and eunuchs very happy. Unexpectedly, Concubine Yi also knows her  His name, and Concubine Yi's actions were not shabby and she often rewarded her. They all felt that Xingzhen was easier to get along with than other masters.

    When I arrived at my brother¡¯s house, I saw Zai Chun taking a bath. Xingzhen walked into the house with a smile, stood by the tub, and watched the child bathe.  But looking at the child's innocent smile, Xingzhen's face was full of joy, but thinking that in the future this child would be Emperor Tongzhi who would die before he was twenty years old, she couldn't help but smile.  But now that he is still young, it is better to let them have a carefree childhood.

    I teased the child for a while.  It was already past the hour, and Xingzhen was still a little reluctant to leave. It wasn't until the children fell asleep in her arms that she handed them over to her grandma and Shuda, who walked out with Kang Qi, Ande Hai and Li Lianying.  On the corridor next to the Ming and Qing Palace, I suddenly saw Sushun walking over in a hurry, following the eunuch who had gone to the study.

    The eunuch¡¯s surname is Jiang.  Xingzhen recognized her. He was surprised when he saw Xingzhen and gave a big salute.  Sushun from behind had no choice but to bow his head and salute and said, "Greetings to Concubine Yi."

    Xingzhen hummed and said, "Master Su, there is no need to be formal. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

    Sushun smiled slightly and said: "I have something important to report to the emperor. I saw that the imperial concubine came out of my elder brother's house. She must have gone to visit the eldest brother again. This is also true. This woman should take care of the children more and play with them.  It's better to have less involvement in things like needlework and political affairs, so as not to make people in the palace jealous." Sushun was arrogant and spoke unabashedly.  There were many complaints about Xingzhen who often accompanied her to review memorials. Now that they met, Sushun, armed with a gun and a stick, was not afraid of Xingzhen at all.  Su Shun had this temper by the way. He once criticized him in front of many Manchus: "We Manchus are a lot of bastards!" "Manchus are ignorant and cannot contribute to the country. They only know how to get money!" Su Shun was offended.  There were also many people, and when he was overthrown and killed, both the Manchus and Han people in the capital actually clapped their hands and cheered.

    Xingzhen is not worried either.  He just smiled lightly and said: "It is mediocre to not attract people's jealousy. Lord Su is also hated by many people."

    Sushun snorted and said, "I am loyal to the emperor, so why should I fear the hatred of others? It's getting late, so I'm leaving."

    Xingzhen smiled and nodded, watching Sushun walk away, wondering why Sushun had done anything to go to see Xianfeng in such a hurry.  Just as he was wondering, he saw Prince Gong hurried over in the distance.

    An Dehai looked at it and said in a low voice: "What day is it today? Lord Sushun and Prince Gong from the Ministry of Revenue are here. Could something big happen?" Xingzhen frowned and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

    Before, Prince Gong completed disaster relief in several provinces in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.  He transferred to Henan to survey water conservancy in various places, and also sent a detailed memorial to Xianfeng. It mentioned that the embankment of the Yellow River in Henan was in urgent need of reinforcement, otherwise there would be a catastrophic breach and diversion. Of course, this was what Xingzhen reminded Prince Gong, and she still remembered it.  Regarding the great diversion of the Yellow River in 1856, some things should be done as best as possible.

    Xianfeng agreed and asked Prince Gong to first calculate the remaining silver in the household department, and then submit a detailed report on the regulations for strengthening the river embankment. At the same time, the new army also needed money to purchase guns and cannons. Prince Gong went to the household department these days when he had nothing to do, hoping to  Squeeze out some money to do things.  Prince Gong has been busy with this matter these days. Is there any change in this matter?

    Prince Gong trotted over, and when he saw Xingzhen, he hurriedly bowed and said in a low voice: "The emperor's sister-in-law can take a step to speak."

    Xingzhen knew that something serious had happened, otherwise he would not have said this in front of Kang Qi and others without avoiding suspicion. She walked lightly, walked a few steps, and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?"

    Prince Gong gasped and said: "These days, Sushun and I have been counting the silver deposits in the household department and found that the number of silver in the household account book and the actual amount of silver in the bank treasury."The difference is huge, more than five million taels of silver are missing in total!  "

    Xingzhen was shocked and asked: "How come there is such a big difference? Doesn't the Ministry of Finance do not check it every day?"

    Prince Gong said: "My younger brother was ordered to provide disaster relief. When he came back, he went to the Ministry of Households to conduct inventory due to flood control and the new army. This is what he found. Sushun also served as the minister of the Ministry of Households recently, and he was ordered to join me.  After counting, we found something wrong. At first, Sushun and I complained about the silver hidden in Gudao, just like during the Daoguang period. But last night, we secretly interrogated several soldiers guarding the silver warehouse.  None of the soldiers refused to confess. Later, Sushun ordered officials Zhonglin and Wang Xizhen to be locked up. Under strict interrogation, they confessed that someone had misappropriated more than five million taels of silver and deposited them in major banks in Beijing.  No., get interest in the form of short-term share deposits to enrich yourself!"
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report