Chapter 44 Zuo Zongtang Introduces the Origin of the Xiang Army

  Everyone saw King Han leave in a flurry, but when he returned, his face was gloomy and they couldn't understand what had happened. They all stopped whispering to each other and looked up with wide eyes.

  Li Yunzhong took a deep breath, pushing out the jumbled thoughts in his mind, and continued to instruct: "The Fifth Army will capture Zhenjiang, Changzhou, and Suzhou. Jiangxi will definitely send reinforcements to Jiangnan and Zhejiang. The Third Army will immediately attack Jiangxi. Commander-in-Chief Jiao will follow the army's actions and must open up a situation in Jiangxi, coordinating with the Seventh Army in Anhui to block the Qing army in the two lakes region."

  Jiao Liang and Zeng Shuiyuan said in unison: "Obey orders."

  "The remaining water army, the first army and the fourth army defended Nanjing, closely watching the Qing army in Jiangnan Dazhen outside the city, strengthening the defense of the east gate, waiting for the fifth army to arrive at Jiangnan Station, immediately launching a pincer attack on Jiangnan Dazhen with the fifth army."

  "Obey orders"

  That day, Hong Xuanjiao found Li Yunzhong with great enthusiasm and smiled: "Now that Nanjing has been taken down, when do you plan to take Su's sister over?"

  Li Yunzhong walked over, stroking her cheek and smiling: "You want me to marry San Niang? I think you have an ulterior motive, let me think about what your motive is... Ah, I know..."

  Hong Xuanjiao forcefully patted Li Yunzhong's shoulder, saying with a blush: "Who has the heart to do that? It's all your fault, making Sister Su unhappy every day, and sighing alone for no reason."

  Li Yunzhong exclaimed: "What, San Niang... Ah, it's all my fault. These past few days I've been busy with military preparations and neglected you all. I'll start making arrangements for the wedding right away and welcome you into our family immediately."

  Hong Xuanjiao lowered her head, her small face flushing red: "Who said I wanted...wanted...you?"

  Li Yunzhong pulled Hong Xuanjiao into his arms, smiling gently: "This is called 'taking advantage of the situation to win over a beauty', you two used to call each other sisters in Wuchang, why do you want to go back on your words now?"

  "No, it's..."

  "What's wrong?" Li Yunzhong asked, holding Hong Xuanjiao and swaying back and forth.

  "You... you're so bad!" Hong Xuanjiao was being held in a tight embrace, unable to move.

  Li Yunzhong said with self-deprecation: "It's all because my mom gave birth to me as a jade tree in the wind, extraordinary and elegant."

  Zuo Zongtang hastily arrived at the Wang Mansion with a letter, saw Han Wang teasing Hong Xuanjiao, his old face turned red, and he hurriedly cleared his throat several times. Li Yunzhong thickened his skin and kissed Hong Xuanjiao, who pushed him away and ran off.

  "Sir, why are you in such a hurry? Is it that the Qing army is making another move?" Li Yunzhong asked.

  Zuo Zongtang hastily said: "What a disaster! Zeng Guofan has established the militia in Changsha, and Luo Zexu and several of his students have also joined in!"

  Li Yunzhong exclaimed: "Zeng Guofan has appeared? How come I couldn't find him last time in Hunan, I originally planned to get rid of him ahead of time."

  Zuo Zongtang replied: "At that time, he was still an official in Beijing. Last month, he was dismissed and returned to his hometown. I don't know how he openly recruited troops in Changsha and trained the local militia."

  Li Yunzhong knew that the Xiang Army was powerful in later generations, but he didn't understand how Zuo Zongtang also knew. Was he also a time-traveler? He shook his head vigorously, pretending to be nonchalant and fearless, asking: "It's just a local militia, what's the big deal? My Great Han Empire has conquered several provinces, and the government army has eliminated countless of them. Why should I care about a few thousand local militiamen?"

  Zuo Zongtang hastily said, "These are not ordinary village braves. Even if it were Zeng Guofan, that would be one thing, but Luo Zexu and Guo Songtao each have countless students, and those students in turn have countless relatives and friends. Pull out one and you'll bring out a whole nest."

  Li Yunzhong continued to probe, saying in a strange tone: "There's no need to be afraid of that either. Scholars rebelling, it won't succeed in three years. If they dare to go onto the battlefield, there's no need for us to send troops to attack them, they'll just scare themselves into wetting their pants."

  Zuo Zongtang calmed down and smiled at Li Yunzhong: "Your Highness still remembers Jiang Zhongyuan?"

  "Jiang Zhongyuan?" Li Yunzhong couldn't recall, it was this person who ambushed the Taiping Army and killed Feng Yunshan. Every time Li Yunzhong saw Feng Yunshan, he had a special feeling, like a younger brother's dependence on an older brother. This must be the memory that remained in Li Yunzhong's mind after his death, never fading away.

  Li Yunzhong always felt guilty about the incident at Zhugejin Du. If he hadn't taken the rear army away from Yong'an City, Feng Yunsan wouldn't have been ambushed and killed by thousands of Chu soldiers after his defeat, with no troops to protect him.

  Zuo Zongtang saw Li Yunzhong's slowly clenched fist and hastily explained: "Jiang Zhongyuan is just a member of the Hunan official gentry, his influence far from reaching that of Zeng Guofan, and he even calls himself a student in front of Zeng Guofan."

  Li Yunzhong recalled the information Jiao Liang had provided about the Hunan officials and asked incredulously, "Hunan scholars can't really be both civil and martial, able to fight on horseback and govern the people when they dismount, can they?"

  Zuo Zongtang nodded solemnly and said, "Although it's not the case, it's not far from it. Hunan scholars take the academy as their base, with close connections between each other, often gathering to discuss national affairs, and in groups of three or five, they pay homage to those great Confucians as their teachers. Offending one person is offending all, and befriending one person is equivalent to befriending a whole group."

  After finishing, seeing Li Yunzhong still didn't understand, he gave an example and said: "There was a county magistrate in Xiangxiang who particularly disliked Luo Zhenan. Several times he targeted him, and logically speaking, it should be easy for a county magistrate to deal with a scholar like Luo who didn't even have any official titles. However, this county magistrate ended up being repeatedly outsmarted by Luo, and ultimately was impeached and removed from office by Luo's student Wang Dang. Wang Dang stood up for his teacher and filed complaints multiple times in the Baqing Prefecture and the provincial capital of Changsha, but they were protected by their fellow officials. They even planned to go to Beijing, but later it was Zeng Guofan who was active in the capital and had this county magistrate dismissed from office, so they didn't end up going. The first thing the new county magistrate did after taking office was to recommend Luo Zhenan as a filial and incorruptible official, and only then did they gain their trust."

  Li Yunzhong really looked at Hunan scholars and asked: "Are officials in Hunan always so fierce?"

  Zuo Zongtang shook his head and denied, "To say that, the scholars in Hunan before Jiaqing did not attach much importance to official rank. They thought that the Qing court was always a barbarian regime, although they dared not resist, but also would not become officials, and could only devote themselves to learning..."

  Li Yunzhong interrupted: "This is what we Han people should do, how did it become like this later? As soon as the common people rise up, they go crazy and suppress them."

  Zuo Zongtang continued: "To say that this was still a matter of the Jiaqing period, at that time the White Lotus Rebellion had been going on for nine years. The gentry in Hunan witnessed the devastation in Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan, with ten houses out of nine empty, and countless landlords and officials' families were ruined. Even Longshan County in Hunan was affected. From then on, they deeply hated the peasants' violent uprisings. Many people thought that they had already formed an alliance with the Qing court, forming a situation where they would rise and fall together. Scholars should not only focus on their studies but also assist the imperial court."

  Li Yunzhong finally understood and continued to ask: "How come the Hunan Green Camp Eight Banners were not worth fighting, but the village militia was even better than the elite troops?"

  Zuo Zongtang said: "The militia is organized by the gentry who donate money, and all participants are selected from people with a good reputation and a clear background. Moreover, the leaders appointed are all brothers or teachers and students who help each other."

  Li Yunzhong nodded to show that he understood, his expression serious as he asked: "Is there a way to restrain him? We can't let Zeng Guofan's militia get bigger and bigger, or it will eventually become a thorn in the side of our great Han dynasty."

  Zuo Zongtang said: "Unless troops are sent to occupy Hunan, there is no other way."