Zhangzhou Prefecture, Nanjing City.
The Governor of Minzhe, Zuo Zongtang, had just led the Chu army's main force of fifty thousand troops into Nanjing.
Zhangzhou Prefecture Magistrate Ma Zhen led the officials of the city out of the city for ten miles to welcome the arrival of his superior outside the city.
"Lord Governor, you and the army have worked hard. This lowly official has already prepared a banquet for Lord Governor to welcome you and the generals!”
Zuo Zongtang was different from other governors. He was a man of both civil and military skills, so he attached great importance to his army and took good care of his soldiers.
Hearing the Zhangzhou magistrate's words, he waved his hand."There's no need for a welcome party. The army has crossed mountains and ridges all the way, and the soldiers are extremely tired. They need to settle down and recuperate as soon as possible.”
Hearing Zuo Zongtang's words, Ma Zhen started to sweat.
"I, I have already sent someone to, to…" he stammered.
"What's wrong? Not ready yet? Could it be that Lord Ma is prepared to let me and my army camp in the wilderness today?”
"This subordinate does not dare!"
Hearing Zuo Zongtang's anger, Ma Zhen immediately knelt on the ground and said with a trembling voice,"
"This subordinate does not dare to let the governor sleep in the wild. The accommodation of the governor and the generals has already been arranged…"
"Oh? After arranging for us officials, you don't care about the soldiers under us, right?”
Hearing Ma Zhen's words, Zuo Zongtang laughed in anger.
At a time like this, this group of dog officials still treated the soldiers as soldiers!
Didn't they know that they were able to stand here and talk to him now because the soldiers under his command risked their lives to block the Taiping Army on the battlefield and protect their safety?
If it weren't for the 50,000 soldiers of the Chu army who were fighting a bloody battle, their dog heads would have been chopped off by the Taiping Country Army and hung on the city walls!
In the end, this was how they treated their savior?
"I…I…"
Ma Zhen was so frightened that her entire body was trembling, and she could not even speak properly.
He had been an official for so many years, so he was very familiar with the workings of the government.
In the past, the governors he had met all used their soldiers as tools. Many of them even used them as a means to accumulate wealth, drinking the blood of the soldiers and earning money. They did not care about these soldiers at all.
Instead of preparing military funds for these soldiers, it was better to give them to these officials and then get a share of the profits. This had always been an unspoken rule in officialdom.
Why did it not work with Zuo Zongtang?
Ma Zhen was carrying a few large banknotes in his arms. He planned to secretly present them to Zuo Zongtang after the welcoming banquet.
In the end, he did not expect the other party to not give him this opportunity at all. They started to make trouble outside the city.
"S-Sir, can we talk in private?”
Ma Zhen didn't know if Zuo Zongtang really cared about these people, or if he wanted to extort more from her on purpose.
Therefore, he gritted his teeth and decided to give up on the profits this time and give all the money allocated by the imperial court to Zuo Zongtang.
In that case, the other party would not hold on to him anymore, right?
Therefore, he took out all the silver notes and planned to find an opportunity to give them to Zuo Zongtang.
Zuo Zongtang saw his little action and sneered,""Is there something that can't be said here? Lord Ma!"
Ma Zhen gritted her teeth and took out the silver notes.
In any case, everyone knew this kind of unspoken rule. It was good that everyone saw it. It was a good opportunity for everyone to see how the Governor Zuo Zongtang asked for bribes from his subordinates.
However, Ma Zhen's cultivation was clearly a little shallow!
When Zuo Zongtang saw him take out the banknotes, he pulled out his sword and placed it on his neck. He asked sternly,"
"Lord Ma, what do you mean?”
" This, this is the, fee, fee, allocated by the imperial court to, to, settle, the army…"
After feeling the cold light from the sword on her neck, Ma Zhen almost peed her pants in fear. She confessed everything in one go!
"Ha, as expected!"
A cold light flashed in Zuo Zongtang's eyes as he sneered. He raised his hand and slashed down. Ma Zhen's head had already been separated from his body!
Zuo Zongtang killed Ma Zhen in front of everyone, then threw the sword in his hand on the ground. He looked around. Everyone avoided his eyes and did not dare to look at him.
Killing people to establish his prestige, Zuo Zongtang's prestige had clearly been completely established!
What he needed to do next was to buy the hearts of the people!
Picking up the banknotes from Ma Zhen's corpse, Zuo Zongtang did not even look at them. He said to the general beside him,"
"Use this money to invite the people in the city to help the army build camps and barracks. You must settle the army down before nightfall!”
"In addition, I'll take out a sum of money from my own pocket. Together with the remaining money, I'll buy some pork and ingredients to reward the soldiers.”
"I accept your orders! I and the soldiers swear to die for the marshal!”
"I'm willing to sacrifice my life for the marshal!”
The 50,000 soldiers of the Chu army shouted in unison to express their love and loyalty to their commander!
Seeing this scene, all the officials of Zhangzhou Prefecture were stunned!
Their new governor was completely different from the previous governors!
With Ma Zhen as an example, the officials of Zhangzhou Prefecture no longer dared to act in secret.
As long as it involved Zuo Zongtang and his Chu army, these officials would definitely be on high alert and not dare to slack off.
With their cooperation, the Chu army's camp was quickly built, and supplies were quickly in place.
After solving these problems, the morale of the Chu army recovered quite a bit.
After five days of recuperation, the Chu army had recharged and their morale had reached its peak.
The entire army's fighting spirit was high. They were only waiting to go south to wipe out the rebel army and repay their commander's love for them!
Zuo Zongtang nodded in satisfaction.
The morale of the army could be used. They had a 90% chance of winning this battle!
On August 10th, 1864, Zuo Zongtang led 50,000 troops south after the Chu army had rested and prepared to attack the Han army.
Not long after they set off, the imperial edict issued by the Qing court arrived.
"The Governor of Min-Zhe Province, Zuo Zongtang, will be conferred the title of Crown Prince's Junior Guardian and given a yellow vest!”
"Governor-General Zuo, the two Empress Dowager are watching you in the capital. Don't disappoint them!”
After the eunuch read the imperial edict, he said to Zuo Zongtang with a smile.
Zuo Zongtang took out a banknote from his pocket and secretly stuffed it into the other party's hand. He asked,"
"Thank you for your reminder, Eunuch. May I know your name?”
The young eunuch accepted the silver notes with a smile and said in a sharp voice,"
"My name is Li Lianying!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。