Xiong Bingguo's words made Zeng Guofan feel comfortable, and only at this time did he see his face slightly relaxed. Zeng Guofan asked Lin Mingguang, "What else do you have to say?" "
Lin Mingguang shouted, "Sir, Xiong Bingguo is a scoundrel, and the student is only suffering such shame today because he offended his father and son on weekdays. "
Zeng Guofan was quite surprised, and asked angrily: "What is the gap between you and the Xiong family, carefully speaking!" "
"It's only the students who don't understand the world on weekdays and are arrogant." Lin Mingguang said ruefully, "Xiong Bingguo is my tongli, and his father Xiong Guji is a rich man in Pingtang Town, who has money in his family and distant relatives who are officials abroad, and has always been domineering in the township. Adult, don't look at Xiong Bingguo wearing Sven, he is actually a swinger who eats, drinks and gambles. The poetry is not clear, but he prefers vassal elegance. The students were very annoyed in their hearts, and often taunted the Xiong father and son in the countryside, so they formed a grudge with his family. Today, Xiong Bingguo made a private announcement. As for Yan Luzi, he is just a leper dog in Pingtang Town, and the students never treat him as a person, so he also hates the students. "
"Sir," Xiong Bingguo said as he rushed below, "what Lin Mingguang said just now was all slander. "
After the trial here, Zeng Guofan, who had been an attendant in the Criminal Department for many years, already had a count in his heart. He ordered "Exit" and returned to the study.
Zeng Guofan carefully thought about the entire process of the trial of the case, as well as the identity, speech, expression, and demeanor of the plaintiff and defendant, and judging from the interrogation in court, Lin Mingguang said mostly the truth, while Xiong Bingguo was likely to retaliate. But Lin Mingguang accepted the token of the Kushi Club, and he himself confessed, it is difficult to ensure that he has no second mind. For the sake of prudence, Zeng Guofan asked Cao Keqin, a member of the trial bureau and an alternate county in Anhui, to go to Pingtang Town to learn about it on the spot.
Two days later, Cao Keqin came back and said that Lin Mingguang did have dealings with Kuzi, and handed Zeng Guofan a pamphlet, saying that it was copied from Lin Mingguang's study. Zeng Guofan looked at the inscription on the cover of the booklet entitled "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Heavenly King's Imperial System Awakening the World", and casually turned a page, only to see that it said: "There are many men in the world, all brothers, many women in the world, all sisters, how can we save the selfishness of this frontier and the other world, how can we have the idea of annexing me." He threw the book to the ground and scolded, "What a mess, it's ridiculous!" Could it be that father and son are brothers? Mother and daughter are also sisters? It seems that this Lin Mingguang is really a restless guy. "
Because Lin Mingguang was a show talent, Zeng Guofan thought about the case alone in the signing room that night. It is said that Lin Mingguang colluded with the String Society, and the only basis is Wei Kui's token. This booklet may also have been searched from his study, or it may have been deliberately planted by the Xiong family. Even if it is really copied from his study, it cannot be used as ironclad evidence of collusion with Long Hair. What Lin Mingguang said about Wei Kui's retribution of grace can be reasonably said. In this case, if it is light, Lin Mingguang can be blamed for dozens of boards, and after a lesson, he can be sent home. If it is heavy, he can also be sentenced to death by accepting the token of the Kunzi Society, and having two intentions. What about light? What about heaviness? He remembered reading the "History of Ming" and reading "Northern Strategy of the Ming Season" in the past, all of which said that since Niu Jinxing and Li Yan turned to Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng set up officials to divide and rule, guarded the land without flowing, and the weather was completely different from before, and as a result, he actually overthrew the Ming Dynasty, sacrificed the heavens to ascend the throne, and became the emperor of the Dashun Dynasty. "If a reader is attached to banditry, banditry may become a great thing."
Zeng Guofan is convinced that this view of his predecessors was correct. If Lin Mingguang is easily released, it will give other readers a chance to get a chance. Be heavy! Even if Lin Mingguang didn't really join the Kushi Club, he had to use his head to teach other readers who were restless to do their duty. For the consolidation of the emperor's rivers and mountains, for the tranquility of the entire territory of Hunan, it is better to kill a hundred Xiucai by mistake than to let go of a well-dressed scum among the bandits! Moreover, the activities of the Kushi Club are so rampant, it seems that they have the intention to practice with the group, why not use Lin Mingguang as bait to lure Wei Kui and others out, or catch them all in one fell swoop to eliminate a major harm for Hunan.
He thought that Liu Kun, a scholar of politics, would inevitably disagree with his approach, the old man was stubborn, and if he stood up to the ox, he would do everything possible to make things impossible, and then his overall plan would fail. Once the matter is decided, Zeng Guofan has to do it, and he hates it the most when someone comes out to interfere. Just don't tell Liu Kun! He picked up the Zhu Pen and drew a hook heavily on Lin Mingguang's name.
The next day, Lin Mingguang was put in a station cage and wandered around the streets of Changsha City. On the cage was a long wooden strip with a large inscription "Colluding with the String Will Rebel Crowned Scum Lin Mingguang" line on it. Followed by four tuan ding, they kept banging the gong, which attracted citizens to come and watch. On the main street where the cages passed, more than 700 regiments of Luoshan Camp and Pushan Camp were all mixed in plainclothes in the crowd, followed by a board car with knives and guns hidden in every thirty or forty people. Lin Mingguang was originally a respected talent, and He had suffered such a great shame. He was so angry that he only swam for half a day before he died in the standing cage, and Wei Kui's skewers did not come out, and Zeng Guofan was quite disappointed.
Lin Mingguang's death caused great shocks in Changsha City and the four townships in the southeast, southwest and northwest. A Xiucai, for the crime of colluding with the synagogue, was sentenced to standing in the streets of the cage, which is something that has never been seen in Changsha City. People talked about it, some scolded Lin Mingguang for being Shilin scum, some scolded Zeng for shaving his head cruelly, and more people did not believe that Lin Mingguang would collude with the Skewer Society. Those who kept the confession documents of the Taiping Army, the Heaven and Earth Society, the Kushi Society, the Incense Society, the Half Money Society, and other synagogues in their homes were burned down overnight. Lin Mingguang's younger brother Lin Mingming joined forces with ten Xiucai from Shanhua County to cry out for his brother's grievances. They wrote two petitions, one for the inspector and the other for the gray-haired Xuetai master in his fifties. After Liu Kun received Lin Mingming's form, he was so angry that his beard shook out. He broke through the door and cursed: "This is worth it!" Zeng Guofan still has me in his eyes, a scholar and political practitioner? Man said that Lin Mingguang did not collude with the hall, even if there was a real thing, a dignified talent, did not pass through my political school, so he was sentenced to death. Where is Zeng Guofan Sven? How could it be true! "
Liu Kun took the form and came to the inspector's gate in a sedan car. Luo Bingzhang is worried about Lin Xiucai's case. Seeing Liu Xuetai coming, he took his hand and said, "Old sir, let's go to the trial bureau together!" "
Liu Kun threw his hand and said, "I don't want to see him!" The case is entrusted to you. "
After saying that, he walked out of Futai Yamen angrily.
Luo Bingzhang had no choice but to come to the trial bureau in person. In the more than a month since taking over, Zeng Guofan has repeatedly asked Wang Qi to kill people, sometimes not even in this form, casually killing prisoners on the spot. The thirteen prisoners who killed and robbed the grain and rice company last time did not even invite Wang Qi. Later, Zeng Guofan personally went to explain the situation, and saw a threatening letter from the Kushi Society, although he also acquiesced, but Luo Bingzhang, who is an inspector, does not have a taste in his heart. This time to kill a Xiucai, he didn't even say hello to Xuezheng, because he was still from Hanlin and served as a waiter in the Ministry of Rites for many years. In his eyes, there is no place for Hunan officials!
"Brother Di Sheng, Lin Mingguang's case has been discussed by many people." Luo Bingzhang was determined to use this case to suppress Zeng Guofan's majesty, "Lin Mingguang is a show talent, how can he stand in a cage and parade the streets to show the public?" And there are too many killings, where is the benevolent government! "
Zeng Guofan glanced at the shape and threw it aside. I thought: During this period, there has been a lot of discussion in the officialdom and the city, and in order to block these criticisms, we must first convince the supreme governor of the province, and the attitude must be tough, you can only advance, you cannot retreat, if you take a step back, your previous achievements will be lost. Zeng Guofan said to Luo Bingzhang in a serious manner: "Brother Xumen, there are many murderers, and non-state clans naturally love to kill, this is a last resort. When it was investigated, it was the lack of strict rule by Hunan officials and the maintenance of carbuncles that caused today's situation. "
When Luo Bingzhang heard this, he was greatly unhappy in his heart. This Zeng shaved his head, instead of checking his own mistakes, he raked upside down, and wanted to settle my account! He interrupted Zeng Guofan: "You have to make it clear who is responsible for the lack of strict rule in Hunan." "
Zeng Guofan knew that Luo Bingzhang was strange, and in order to ease the atmosphere of the conversation, he wanted to stabilize this old man: "Luo Zhongcheng, I haven't finished speaking, the Hunan officials are not strictly governed, of course the responsibility is not yours; You have been in Hunan for just over two years. I am from Hunan, and I don't know that the Sanxiang Rebellion has been around for a long time. In the twenty-third year of Daoguang, Wugang robbed rice and killed Zhizhou. Twenty-four years, the sun resists grain. Twenty-six years, Ningyuan will hit the county town. Twenty-seven years later, Xinning started another club. In the twenty-ninth year, Li Yuanfa rebelled. None of this happened in Brother Qimen
This explanation made Luo Bingzhang's anger disappear: Zeng Guofan's spearhead was not aimed at him.
"Brother Di Sheng, I'm not afraid that you will blame you, your township is actually a mess. When I was originally transferred here, I resigned three times, but I had no choice but to take up the post with the encouragement of the Holy Lord. "
"Zhongcheng is telling the truth." Zeng Guofan said earnestly, "Why has Hunan not been peaceful for many years, mainly because the local culture and military forces are cowardly and soft, but they want to ensure that there is nothing to do during their term of office, so they cover up each other, scrupulously steal peace, accumulate cases that should not be handled for decades, let them delay, accumulate decades of people who should not be killed, and let them run rampant." In this way, the outlaws in the countryside are very arrogant, thinking that the official government is weak and deceived, and they are leading up rumors and troubles, demagogizing people, killing people and transgressing goods, and doing all kinds of evil. If Lu Feiquan, Feng Dexin, and others had been faithful to their duties and suppressed them earlier, why would Hunan be in such a situation today? "
Luo Bingzhang nodded and said, "Just because of their dereliction of duty, they caused today's disaster, and it is rare for Brother Ren to see clearly." Some people in the government and the public did not understand the matter, and thought that I Luo Bingzhang was incompetent. "
"It is precisely because Hunan has rotted to such an extent that the country is foolish and does not need to repeat the law and hoe rape, then the people will have no peace, and the province will not have peace." At present, the four sides are rioting, and treachery is swarming, what else is benevolent and not benevolent? The ancients said, 'Only the virtuous can be lenient to the people, and the second is not as fierce.' 'Those who are virtuous are like Zhuge Kongming, and they still rule Shu with might, let alone my generation? The national domain only wishes that there will be no unsolved case in the province, and the whole territory will be peaceful as soon as possible, and I will not hesitate to be cruel in my own name. Do today's momentum, do today's things. According to the foolish opinion of the national domain, he would rather kill by mistake than let it go. Wrongful killing only leads to the enmity of one person, and lightness is the scourge of the country. "
"What you said is indeed reasonable," Luo Bingzhang said, "However, just relying on a token to stand in the street is too heavy anyway." "
"In the case of Lin Mingguang," Zeng Guofan said, "Guofan believes that the most terrible thing about bandits is not the bandits, there are only one or three or five bandits, and even if they do evil, the harm is limited." The terrible thing is the synagogue, they gang up, form a dead party, and fight against the government, and they are very harmful. The large ones are like long hair, and the small ones are like skewers, which is proof of this. The treatment of synagogues should be particularly severe. Once a reader participates in its affairs, gives advice to it, and wins people's hearts, it will make the hall like a tiger with wings and add fuel to the fire, and its harm to the community will be immeasurable. I think that Brother Qianmen will not forget the lesson of Niu Jinxing and Li Yan in rebelling against thieves. I don't know Lin Mingguang's crime, and I can't kill it. However, punishment has always been difficult for those who govern the country. Killing Lin Mingguang will kill thousands of readers on the road to thieves. Even if it is too heavy, or even wronged, it is worth it to use his head to calm the world, there is no need to shout for Lin Mingguang, and mess with people's hearts and bad plans to suppress bandits. Brother Qimen, are you right? "
Seeing that Luo Bingzhang was silent, Zeng Guofan changed his sincere tone and said: "Brother Qianmen guards this territory for the emperor and is the parent official of tens of millions of people, naturally he will know that Hunan Mountains and Rivers and Yunyun Qianshi should be the first priority, and will not put the lives of a few people above this." The Guofan is a living man, and he was ordered by the dynasty to assist the inspector in the regimental training, and what he did was nothing more than for the sake of Sang Zi's father and elder, and for you, the inspector. Brother Qimen, the murder of the national domain, it is understandable for others to accuse me, why do you also follow others and accuse me? "
These words sounded dignified, righteous and strict, and Luo Bingzhang was speechless. After a long pause, he said, "Brother Di Sheng, I can understand your painstaking efforts, but others may not be able to understand it." For example, Lin Mingguang, he is a Xiucai who was admitted through the government examination, and Liu Xuetai is in charge, if you don't greet him and ask for his consent, can he understand? Aren't you afraid that he will complain to the imperial court? "
Zeng Guofan smiled faintly: "Lin Mingguang's matter, it stands to reason that Liu Xuetai should be notified first, and Liu Xuetai will be tortured after he removes his reputation as a showman." But the old master did things, and Brother Qimen did not know that this case was in his hands, and it would drag on for at least half a year, and in the end, it would not be resolved. Kunlao has good cultivation materials, and the national domain is deeply admired. But with all due respect, this matter of protecting the people in the realm, Elder Kun still lacks courage and strategy. Moreover, this case is a big case of banditry, which is different from the usual Xiucai breaking the law. In this extraordinary period, it can be dealt with at the right time. It should be said that I killed not Xiucai, but a bandit, a Shilin scum. Elder Kun insisted on suing the imperial court, let him sue, and I can't stop it. If the imperial court blames it, all responsibility will be borne by me, and it has nothing to do with Zhongcheng. "
Luo Bingzhang originally came to ask the master of sin, but he was left speechless by Zeng Guofan's sufficient reason and tough attitude, so he had to take his leave.
Zeng Guofan thought of how many accusations made by Hunan officials and people against his strict handling of bandits in the past few months, and that among them there were inevitably people who killed in vain, if they did not declare to the emperor first and seek the emperor's support, they might become a pretext for impeachment in the future. He pondered for a few days and gave the emperor a message of "Strictly Dealing with Bandits to Settle the Place." Soon, he handed it back by Zhu Ji: "In dealing with bandits, we must be strict, and the roots and plants must be cleaned up." Admire this. "Zeng Guofan sent this Zhu Approval all over the Hunan Wen Wu Yamen. Since then, public accusations in officialdom have disappeared.
One day half a month later, Kang Fu returned from his office in Pingtang Town and quietly told Zeng Guofan: Lin Mingguang's case was very serious, and the people reacted greatly. Cao Keqin was bribed by the Xiong family's father and son, and the long-haired pamphlet was planted by the Xiong family. The Xiong family took advantage of this incident to put Lin Mingguang to death in order to avenge personal vendetta. After hearing this, Zeng Guofan was not too surprised by Lin Mingguang's grievances, but he was very indignant at Cao Keqin's bribery, and he hated the official who took bribes the most in his life. Zeng Guofan gave Kang Fu a task, asking him, Peng Yucheng, and Jiang Yicheng to secretly inspect the bribery of the committee members and the group members who risked merit to receive rewards.
Soon, Zeng Guofan took advantage of the divine decree of "strictly dealing with bandits" to drastically lay off the members of the trial bureau, and selected a group of honest and ethical squires and gentlemen from his old friends and friends and the two academies of Yuelu and Chengnan to replace them; He also opened all the regimentals who risked merit to receive rewards, and recruited a group of honest farmers from the lotus leaf pond to replace them. Since then, he himself has been more cautious about the verdict.
One day, the Liuyang County Youth League Training Institute specially sent people to the trial bureau, saying that Zhou Guoyu's Zhengyi Hall had revived again, and that activities were rampant in the mountains and forests outside the city, and the county regiment could not deal with it, so he asked the provincial regiment to send people to suppress it. The inspector Yamen also received an urgent document from Liuyang County, and Luo Bingzhang asked Zeng Guofan to handle it.
Zeng Guofan learned the lesson of Lin Mingguang's case, and did not dare to easily believe the bandits reported below. He took Li Xubin, Zeng Guobao, Kang Fu, and Peng Yucheng, disguised as ordinary people, and personally went to Liuyang to make a secret visit to Zhou Guoyu and Zhengyitang.
It turned out that this Zhou Guoyu was a big household under the mountain of Liuyang Pagoda, and his ancestor was Zhou Tianci, a scholar of the Southern Ming Hongguang Dynasty and a personal bodyguard of Shangshu Shi Kefa. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Tianci went into seclusion in Liuyang, Hunan Province, with the mission of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Due to the strict rule of the Qing Dynasty, Zhou Tianci's grand wish could not be realized, but the descendants of the descendants scrupulously followed the ancestral precepts and never forgot the great cause of reviving the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Guoyu and his younger brothers Guocai and Guoxian studied and practiced martial arts since childhood, made friends and friends from all directions, and planned great things. By chance, Zhou Guoyu met Luo Daquan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society, and Luo Gang took the Zhou brothers to meet Hong Daquan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society. So the Zhou brothers participated in the Heaven and Earth Meeting, and set up a Zhengyi Church in Liuyang County, where they developed the congregation behind the scenes, advocating the anti-Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, and the congregation soon grew to thousands of people, with great momentum. Later, Jiang Zhongyuan led Chu Yong to suppress it, and Zhou Guoyu and Zhengyitang's brothers retreated to the Savage Mountain outside the city.
After Luo Cheng defected to the Taiping Army, he sent people to invite him several times, but Zhou Guoyu was unwilling to participate because he did not agree with the goals of the Taiping Army. A few days ago, they went down the mountain to kill Zhang Yishan, the deputy general general of Liuyang County Tuanlian, who was domineering and forcibly marrying people's wives, but when they didn't catch Zhang, they set fire to the county regimental training center, and the county commander Rao Fengping was so frightened that he hurriedly reported it to the provincial capital.
After understanding these circumstances, Zeng Guofan devised a plan to take Savage Mountain. Through the innkeeper, he bought a small leader of Zhengyi Hall, and the small leader took Li Xubin, Zeng Guobao, and Kang Fu into the inaccessible Savage Mountain. Li Xubin and others disguised themselves as the leaders of the Xiangxiang County Triad and deceived Zhou Guoyu's trust with the lie that they came to partner with 100,000 taels of silver. At this time, Wang Xin was ordered to rush from Changsha to Liuyang with 800 regiments. Wang Xin and Li Xubin led Yongding and kidnapped Zhang Yishan to attack Savage Mountain. In front of Zhengyi's cousins, Wang Xin declared the sins of Zhang Yishan's fish and meat people, and killed the vice president of this regiment training on the spot, encouraging the people of Zhengyitang to lay down their weapons and go down the mountain to be good citizens. Zeng Guofan's combination of hard and soft practices achieved results, Zhengyitang was defeated, and the Zhou Guoyu brothers had to evacuate Savage Mountain with a group of backbones.
Wang Xin, Li Xubin and others were full of hope to get praise from all the government in the province, but Changsha's reaction was very cold. Although Zeng Guofan was unhappy in his heart, he did not talk to Luo Bingzhang about it, not even in front of Zuo Zongtang, he still handled bandit cases every day, and turned his energy to training Yongding.
Zeng Guofan bitterly felt the lack of instructors. Although Wang Xin, Kang Fu, Li Xubin, Peng Yucheng and others were excellent in martial arts, they all had heavy tasks and could not train Tuan Ding with all their energy.