I want to ruin the country

You Zongtang was confused. Is the emperor joking about training a new army?

He quickly stood up and bowed, saying,

"Your Majesty, did I misunderstand you?"

Yining smiled and said,

"You are not on a mission, you are going to train the new army!"

You Zongtang stood there in a daze, his brain a little overwhelmed.

Yining Road,

"Nowadays, Western armies mainly rely on firearms. They no longer fight with swords and spears. If we don't catch up, we will eventually suffer a great loss!"

You Zongtang said,

"It's understandable that the Emperor wants to reform the army, but I've never led a soldier before, let alone trained a new army!"

Yining Road,

"I have training methods and have prepared instructors for you. You are only responsible for organization and management. Do you dare?"

You Zongtang's mind was in turmoil. It seemed that the emperor had prepared everything and was just waiting for his words!

If I retreat, the emperor can't say anything, after all, I am just a scholar!

But a huge opportunity is right in front of him, how can he let it go? Looking at the emperor's expectant eyes, he made up his mind. Since ancient times, everyone is mortal, but he should leave his loyalty to shine in history. Now that he has a chance to serve his country, why is he so hesitant?

He rolled over and knelt,

"I have no other strength than the fact that I am not afraid of death for my country and my people. If the emperor orders me to do something, I will not be afraid of being torn to pieces!"

Yining laughed loudly.

"Hahahaha, I spend my days singing and dancing, and for whom am I acting so arrogantly? What a hero!"

Lin Zexu said,

"Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"

Yining Road,

"Master Yuanfu, please speak!"

Lin Zexu asked,

"Why did the Emperor send him to Hunan to train the new army instead of near the capital?"

Yining recounted the events of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Guangxi and the subsequent rebellion of the Nian Army.

"Governor Zeng Zhenfan of Guangdong and Guangxi has also trained a new army in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas. With You Zongtang in Hunan, if there is trouble in Guangxi, we can attack from both north and south, and we can also take care of Anhui!"

When Lin Zexu heard this, his blood boiled and he said,

"There really is an undercurrent. Your Majesty must not take it lightly. If you need me, I will die for you!"

Yining laughed and said,

"Master Yuanfu, I have already made some arrangements to deal with these petty thieves and bandits. You are so old, you can just sit back and take charge. If I really use you to charge into battle, wouldn't they be ashamed?"

As he spoke, he pointed at You Zongtang.

You Zongtang's blood boiled.

"Your Majesty, please just issue the order. If I fail in my mission, I will never see Your Majesty alive!"

Yining smiled and said,

"Okay, okay, I know you won't say anything.

I appoint you as a third-rank guerrilla general. You may choose your own location in Hunan, and you may select the soldiers from the Jiangbei camp as you wish."

You Zongtang asked,

"Your Majesty, how many new troops do you want to train?"

Yining Road,

"Ten thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, thirty thousand, let's say, ten thousand naval forces. If anything happens in Guangxi, you and Lord Zeng Zhenfan will coordinate remotely to nip the banditry in the bud!"

"Students obey orders!"

Yining Road,

"I will first give you three million taels of silver to spend. Food and fodder will be allocated nearby, and all military supplies will be provided to you!"

You Zongtang's eyes were filled with tears of excitement. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from a commoner to a general of the third rank. He couldn't believe it was true! What merit had he taken to deserve such trust from the emperor?

After the story was told, Yining felt relieved.

"Okay, now that we've finished talking, let's start eating!"

Before he finished speaking, someone came in to report.

"Lord Wang Jindou, the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, requests an audience!"

Yining knew that Wang Jindou must have come for something important, so he said,

"Speak of the devil, call him in!"

Wang Jindou is not a fool after all. He won the battle of wits and courage with Qi Ying. He came to report the good news to Yining.

After bowing to the emperor, Yining said,

"Master Wang, please don't say anything yet. Come and meet Master Lin Zexu, the Grand Secretary of Baohe Hall, the President of the Hanlin Academy, the Minister of Justice and the Chief Censorate!"

Wang Jindou had long admired Lin Zexu and hurried over to greet him.

"This humble servant greets Master Lin!"

Yining said again,

"The person next to him is the new militia guerrilla general, You Zongtang!"

The two men greeted each other, Yining offered him a seat, and Wang Jindou sat down. Yining asked,

"Look at the excitement on Lord Wang's face. Do you have good news for me?"

Wang Jindou smiled brightly,

"Your Majesty, I have finally fulfilled my mission. Qi Ying has confessed!"

Yining laughed loudly.

"Hahahaha, you're confessing so quickly? Qi Ying is no match for our Lord Wang after all!"

Wang Jindou did not get carried away, and said with a smile,

"Your Majesty, you are making fun of me. It has been so long. I feel guilty!"

Yining Road.

"There's been so much going on lately, it's hard to get him to talk now. I heard you stay up until one or two o'clock every night!"

Wang Jindou said,

"Everything else is minor, treason is the real deal. I won't be able to eat until this case is fully resolved!"

Yining Wendao,

"He just listens to you and says whatever you ask him to say?"

Wang Jindou said,

"It's not that simple. I borrowed your Majesty's ideas to successfully obtain the confession!"

Yining was happy.

"Oh, and about me? Tell me what happened!"

Wang Jindou said,

"I interrogate him every two days, but Qi Ying is so stubborn and stubborn, he refuses to answer my questions!"

Yining smiled and said,

"This isn't surprising. If he tells it, he'll die. If he doesn't, he can probably linger for a few more days. How can he possibly tell it?"

Wang Jindou said,

"Your Majesty is right. Each time I gave him a beating of thirty lashes and imprisoned him.

After repeated injuries like this, he finally couldn't hold on any longer. He lost his appetite, had a fever, and was half asleep and half awake every day. The guards reported that he was showing signs of suicide!

Yining Road,

"It's to be expected. After all, humans are not made of steel!"

"I've been thinking this over, and suddenly I remembered the story of Kou Zhun's night trial of Pan Renmei. I also remembered that Your Majesty had recently met with the Holy Ancestor. Why don't I use the Holy Ancestor's name to get him to talk?"

Yining was delighted when he heard this. This Wang Jindou was indeed very smart and could use all the strategies he heard from the opera.

"Haha, you, you really lived up to my expectations. Tell me what happened!"

"I took advantage of his feverish confusion and had someone disguised as the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons bring him to the Fengdu City I had arranged."

Yining smiled and said,

"It seems you put a lot of effort into it!"

Wang Jindou said,

"Yes, this old fellow is very cunning. I'm afraid if he finds any flaw, all my efforts will be wasted!"

Yining became interested and asked,

"What preparations have you made?"

Wang Jindou laughed and said,

"I had someone borrow some costumes from a troupe, dressed up as the Ten Kings of Hell, and prepared a copper pen and an iron inkstone, and set up a frying pan. I made it so loud that ghosts were howling and wolves were howling that I almost believed it!"

Yining Road,

"He's still not very good at it, otherwise he would have asked you a stupid question!"

"What?"

"Since they are the Ten Kings of Hell, is there any need to ask? Don't they know everything about the living world?"