Chapter 146 The Heroes of the World Are in My Arms
Chapter 146 The Heroes of the World Are in My Arms
During the period when Yuan Jiasan, the Governor of the Grand Canal, was in charge of Anhui military affairs, he appointed capable people to important posts, commanded the troops well, wiped out the Miao bandits, expelled the Nian bandits, and wiped out the Guangdong bandits and the pseudo-King of England Chen Yucheng, thus eliminating the bandit problem in Anhui and making outstanding contributions.
He has worked tirelessly for the court and has become ill due to overwork. Now he is allowed to retire and return to his hometown to enjoy his retirement, and is granted the title of first-class baron.
The Huai Army led by Anhui Governor Qiao Songnian was invincible in the fight against bandits and achieved fruitful results. He was promoted to Governor-General of the Grain Transport System and was still in charge of the grain stations in the south and north of the Yangtze River.
Shao Quanzhong, the prefect of Fengyang, was promoted to the post of deputy general of the Fengying Liusi Dao and the Central Army of the Grain Transport Army for his meritorious service in suppressing the Guangdong bandit Chen Yucheng's troops.
The foreign general Grant was promoted to Fengyang Dusi and awarded a yellow riding jacket, Shao Hengzhong was promoted to Shouzhou garrison commander, and Wu Ziyi was awarded the status of a juren and promoted to Fengtai County magistrate.
Duolong'a was granted the title of first-class light cavalry commander, and Li Xuyi was actually appointed as the governor of Anhui.
Anhui had been pacified and there was no longer a need for an imperial envoy to be in charge of military affairs. Shengbao led his 7,000 troops into Shaanxi on orders to pursue and suppress the Taiping Army led by Chen Decai, which was on its westward expedition.
Eunuch An Dehai, who came to convey the imperial edict, waited for a whole day before Shao Quanzhong returned to Fengyang to announce the edict, giving Shao Quanzhong enough face.
After announcing the decree, he congratulated Shao Quanzhong on his promotion to the position of Taotai and on the birth of his son. He was fawning on him and acting like a complete servile person.
Then he whispered in Shao Quanzhong's ear, "That bastard Li Xuyi accused you of being greedy for credit and robbing your allies. I said a few bad things about him and argued for you in front of the two Empress Dowagers. His memorial was kept. But now he has been appointed as the governor of Anhui. You have to be careful that he might trip you up."
Shao Quanzhong couldn't understand why he, a eunuch who was very popular in front of the two Empress Dowagers, needed to flatter himself.
Could it be that the history I had heard was inaccurate, and that this legendary eunuch An, who was known to be greedy, short-sighted and unscrupulous, actually had a pair of wise eyes and could see that a hero like me had a bright future?
Shao Quanzhong was embarrassed by the flattery. He was helped again, so he gave him two thousand taels of silver. Unexpectedly, Eunuch An refused to accept it. He just took one thousand taels according to the rules and bowed his head to leave.
An Dehai is not greedy, and he even speaks well of me for free! It's not that I don't understand, but the world is changing fast and it's getting a little weird.
This time, Grant, who had rushed back from Shouzhou, knelt very smoothly without any hesitation. He put on the official uniform and hat of a fourth-rank military officer on the spot, and also put on a yellow jacket, which was quite funny.
Being a Dusi brings in more than 400 taels of silver a year, which is a great supplement for a middle-aged cowherd who has to support a family of eleven.
Wu Ziyi became the magistrate of Fengtai County, which made him very powerful.
It turned out that he was just an eighth-rank civil servant in the Hailing Education Department.
The change from the eighth grade to the seventh grade is a qualitative change.
What, a seventh-rank official? This is a civil servant, is it that easy to be one?
Let’s compare it with Grant, a fourth-rank military general. The fourth-rank military commander received 260 taels of silver for his salary, while the seventh-rank county magistrate received 1,200 taels of silver for his salary. This also reflects the actual authority comparison between the two officials.
The fabricated merits of Wu Ziyi in the victory report were not as great as Grant's. The reason he was promoted higher than Grant was because he was originally an eighth-rank official.
But the original eighth-rank teacher was nothing but a rank, with no salary for maintaining integrity. His annual salary was equivalent to 21,000 yuan in modern times, which was not enough for him to drink with his friends all day long. He had to rely on gambling to win money to maintain his face...
Now more than half of the Huai Army is stationed in Shouzhou, and Fengtai County is a subordinate county of Shouzhou. It is just right for Wu Ziyi to be appointed as the magistrate of Fengtai County. If he is happy, he can sit in court and act like a big master.
Of course, local officials who were awarded titles for military merit did not actually have to work. If they were transferred to fight in other places one day, they would not lose their official positions. The superiors would send someone else to "act as the Fengtai County Magistrate". Acting as the county magistrate was also a qualification in the officialdom, and there were many people willing to do it.
Our Qing Dynasty is a mature feudal dynasty with a fairly complete administrative organization, and the people in the Ministry of Personnel are not there to sit around and do nothing all day.
Shao Quanzhong, the governor of Fengyingliusi Circuit, was basically in charge of most of northern Anhui. He was not required to go to work, but he could be in charge if he wanted to. He had power but no responsibility.
For this reward, Yuan Jiasan retired and gave up the highest position of governor, and everyone was promoted in turn and gained something.
After seeing off Eunuch An, Shao Quanzhong began to think about the new situation in his territory.
Yuan Jiasan was awarded the title of Baron and retired honorably due to illness. Lord Qiao took over the position of Governor of the Grand Canal that he had left behind.
Generally speaking, military generals who charged into battle, killed generals and captured flags would be immediately granted titles, reflecting the importance that the Qing Dynasty attached to military merit. Civil officials like Mr. Qiao were generally only promoted but not granted titles. Only retired officials like Yuan Jiasan were given titles based on their life's merits.
Godfather Qiao Songnian became the governor, and was already a second-rank official.
However, without additional titles such as Grand Secretary, Minister of War, and Right Censor-in-Chief, there is still a big gap between him and Zeng Guofan, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.
Lord Qiao, the governor of Anhui, was promoted before he even set foot in Anhui. This was the rich reward he received for forming the Huai Army and protecting Shao Quanzhong.
Lord Qiao no longer serves as the governor of Jiangning and the governor of Anhui, but he can serve as the governor-general of the grain transport system and be in charge of these two places.
Although I am Li Xuyi's subordinate in theory, I can completely ignore him - my godfather is your boss...
It is a very proper cooperation for the Governor of Grand Canal to be in charge of the granary as well. Yuan Jiasan's role as the Governor of Grand Canal to be in charge of military affairs is actually a matter of personal decision.
The Governor-General of the Grand Canal was already entitled to a detachment of soldiers to guard the grand canal. The deputy general promoted by Shao Quanzhong was theoretically in charge of a detachment, but in fact it was far from being enough for him to command a town of soldiers.
But being promoted from a Dusi to a Lieutenant General was already three levels in a row, which was the limit of the reward for outstanding meritorious service. Being promoted directly to the general in charge of an entire town and promoted four levels in a row was too shocking.
An Dehai said that Li Xuyi was planning to trip me up. What a petty person! He just robbed you of the credit for capturing Chen Yucheng alive. You yourself were not hit by a landmine.
Ahem, Shao Quanzhong is talking without any pain in his waist, but Li Xuyi certainly doesn't think so. The imperial court appointed him as the governor of the grain transport for the merit of capturing Chen Yucheng alive, which is definitely not a small amount.
Shao Quanzhong was just thinking with his head down when Yuan Jiasan came over trembling.
"Ahem, Yuting, I have to go back to my hometown to recuperate. Thanks to you, I was able to retire and get the title of baron. I have to repay you in kind."
Shao Quanzhong waved his hands quickly, "My Lord Baron has been very kind to me, how can I ask for anything in return?"
Yuan Jiasan shook his head. "I am going back to my hometown to recuperate. When Anhui is pacified, my son will also go back to my hometown to serve me. He can only return to Beijing to serve as an official after sending me away."
"Don't be discouraged, Master Yuan. You will surely recover soon."
"I know my body. It's only a matter of one or two years. You don't need to comfort me. Baoheng is coming back to my hometown with me. The Linhuai Army he led will be disbanded. Baoheng has put a lot of effort into the Linhuai Army. It would be a pity to disband all the elite soldiers he trained. He organized three battalions of 1,500 elite soldiers and left them to you. It's just right for the Huai Army to add another reinforced battalion."
Well, this is a favor. Shao Quanzhong remembered that in history, these three battalions of elite soldiers belonged to the Yi Army. It was the foundation of the Yi Army that had always been in power, and it was still very strong. This had to be taken.
"Thank you for your kindness, old commander."
"Yuting, Baoheng has left you a talented general. He is a military student and a good candidate for the new battalion commander. Don't miss this opportunity."
Shao Quanzhong was a little dissatisfied. Sir Yuan, you are too nosy.
I will definitely split these 1,500 men into different battalions and reorganize them, and promote a battalion commander myself. There are many people under my command who need to be promoted, so why are you still recommending a battalion commander? Can I trust someone from outside to be promoted?
Yuan Jiasan saw through Shao Quanzhong's little thoughts at a glance, but without saying anything, he just waved his hand.
"Come on, Gongting, meet your new commander."
A sturdy man in his early twenties came in front of Shao Quanzhong and knelt down on one leg.
Shao Quanzhong saw that the big man had a tiger head and a swallow forehead, was extremely strong and sturdy, and was wearing a fifth-grade military merit hat.
"Nie Shicheng, the commander of the Linhuai Army, pays respect to the Taotai."
Who?
Shao Quanzhong was in a trance for a moment, his eyes lit up, he stepped forward and helped him up, then turned back to Yuan Jiasan with a big smile on his face, "Thank you, old sir, I want this battalion commander!"
(End of this chapter)