Behind the thorn horse case is confusing, what are the considerations behind Empress Dowager Cixi's third request to Zeng Guofan to handle this case? What is the hidden plot behind Zeng Guofan's delay in handling this case? What is the truth of the Thorn Horse case?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="48" > the ins and outs of the thorn horse case</h1>
First of all, let's briefly introduce the case of the horse stabbing, Ma Xinyi was the governor of Liangjiang at the time, one day Ma Xinyi went to the school yard to watch the exercises, he went in a palanquin, surrounded by eight big men, Zhang Wenxiang although the skill is strong, the dagger is sharp, but he can't help Ma Xinyi, so he has to find another opportunity.
The Thorn Horse Case
On this day, Ma Xinyi was in a good mood and insisted on walking home. When his subordinates saw that he insisted on doing so, it was not easy to obstruct him, and his attendants and accompanying officials had to stand on both sides of the road and send him home in a disciplined manner.
Ma Xinyi was fat and walked in front of him with a big belly, and just as he walked to the door of the Governor's Palace with a big wave, he did not want to suddenly come out of an official wearing a robe, so he immediately knelt down for Ma Xinyi, and immediately asked Ma Xinyi to be safe.
However, in less than a word, a sharp dagger stabbed into Ma Xinyi's belly, and the blood flowed non-stop. Ma Xinyi recognized Zhang Wenxiang at this time, shouted: "Catch the assassin", and fell down.
Ma Xinyi
Those accompanying officials lined up on both sides of the road, suddenly encountering such a change, had already been frightened to take the road and flee, and for a time they were in a mess. Although Ma Xinyi's eight guards were bold, they were also greedy for life and afraid of death, and they did not dare to come forward at all, and shouted along with the crowd: "Catch the assassins", but they were still the masters who could not contribute to the work.
Zhang Wenxiang was not in a hurry to escape, thinking that he had made preparations for death. He said calmly, "The assassin is here, he will never run away, you will arrest him." ”
Only then did the crowd rush forward and arrest Zhang Wenxiang and wait for treatment, while Ma Xinyi was also carried into the palace by his men. Ma Xinyi knew that he was seriously injured, and he was afraid that his life would soon be over, so he summoned his henchmen to confess: "Go to the upper room quickly, strangle the seventh aunt and the eighth aunt with a rope, put it in a box, and sink it to the heart of the river." Shi Xingbiao and his wife were also executed in time, and Hugh wanted others to know", and then he swallowed.
When the news reached the capital, Empress Dowager Cixi was greatly enraged, and in shock, she hurriedly lowered her will and demanded that lower-level officials strictly interrogate Zhang Wenxiang and be sure to find out. At the same time, he ordered Zeng Guofan, then the governor directly subordinate to him, to immediately go to Nanjing to supervise the case, and at the same time to take over Ma Xinyi's viceroy of Liangjiang.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="50" > Cixi's three orders</h1>
It is reasonable to say that after Zeng Guofan received Empress Dowager Cixi's will, he should have taken up his post, but why did he delay moving? What is the mystery behind this?
Empress Dowager Cixi
It turned out that after Receiving the order of Empress Dowager Cixi, Zeng Guofan wrote to say that he was ill, saying that he was in poor health and really could not afford such a big responsibility, and the subtext was: I am sick now, you please be smart in this matter, I will not go to this mixed water.
And there was no progress in Nanjing, Zhang Wenxiang gritted his teeth, and no useful information was revealed, so that Empress Dowager Cixi only knew that the assassin was called Zhang Wenxiang, and her family lived outside Henan, and she knew nothing.
Zeng Guofan said that the illness was delayed, Zhang Wenxiang could not escape useful information, and the horse stabbing case dragged on for more than 50 days without any progress.
Empress Dowager Cixi was very dissatisfied with Zeng Guofan, so she hurriedly invited Zeng Guofan into the palace and urged him to take over as the governor of Liangjiang and find out the truth about the thorn horse case.
On September 26, Empress Dowager Cixi met with Zeng Guofan at the Yangxin Temple, and after a moment of polite remarks, Zeng Guofan still resigned, saying that her illness was serious and had not yet healed, and that she could not see anything in her right eye as a reason to reject Empress Dowager Cixi again.
Empress Dowager Cixi, He Xuren, knew in her heart that Zeng Guofan was an excuse to resign, so she asked Zeng Guofan bluntly how he viewed the thorn horse case, Zeng Guofan's "tai chi" kung fu was really good, and it was not useful to say that the east said that the west was stunned, and Empress Cixi was also impatient, saying: "The new Yi work is excellent", and then she whisked away her sleeves.
Zeng Guofan understood that this time it was not good to be confused, so he had to pack his bags and prepare to leave at any time, but he also dragged his feet for more than ten days and did not leave.
Zeng Guofan
Empress Dowager Cixi's patience was worn out little by little, and on October 9, she summoned Zeng Guofan to the palace again and asked zeng guofan in front of him when he would be able to take office. Zeng Guofan originally thought that dragging on for a day was a day, dragging it until Empress Dowager Cixi would change the dispatch of others, but he did not expect that Empress Dowager Cixi had identified Zeng Guofan to handle this matter.
Empress Dowager Cixi's words were obviously much heavier: "The matter in Jiangnan is important, I hope you will go sooner", Zeng Guofan understood at this time, this time I am afraid that I will not be able to drag on, so I have to take office after five days.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" > the secret behind the stabbing horse case</h1>
Why did Zeng Guofan go against Empress Dowager Cixi's will and delay in handling the thorn horse case? He can also take over as the governor of Liangjiang, this is a big official, what is Zeng Guofan afraid of?
This matter is about to talk about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Zhang Wenxiang was originally a soldier in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was suppressed by Zeng Guofan, Zhang Wenxiang became entangled with pirates.
At that time, Ma Xinyi, who was the inspector of Zhejiang at that time, was responsible for pacifying the bandits on the sea, and many pirates were suppressed by Ma Xinyi, among which there were many of Zhang Wenxiang's henchmen, and Zhang Wenxiang had a grudge against Ma Xinyi.
Coincidentally, at this time, Zhang Wenxiang's wife hooked up with another man, this man is Ma Xinyi, but Zhang Wenxiang does not know.
Zhang Wenxiang was angry in his heart, so he went to Zhejiang Inspector Yamen, hoping that Inspector Ma Xinyi could uphold justice for him. After the case reached Ma Xinyi's hands, he did not pay attention to it, and he did not care about this idle matter at all.
Zhang Wenxiang sued unsuccessfully, and he had to make a living to eat, so he secretly opened a pawnshop, but he did not expect that this matter would make Ma Xinyi yellow again.
What's going on? At that time, Ma Xinyi was rectifying bad pawnshops, and those pawnshops that were not registered and recorded could not be opened, so that Zhang Wenxiang finally lost all his money, and he felt in his heart that Ma Xin was deliberately against himself, new hatred and old hatred, and Zhang Wenxiang was suddenly born.
Zhang Wenxiang failed in his many attempts to assassinate, but finally let him seize the opportunity of Ma Xinyi not to take the palanquin, ending Ma Xinyi's life.
But what does this have to do with Zeng Guofan?
Empress Dowager Cixi vaguely felt that there was a great secret hidden behind this case, otherwise why would Zeng Guofan repeatedly resign and refuse to take office?
Ma Xinyi was able to become the governor of Zhejiang and the governor of Liangjiang without any foundation, obviously behind it was a high-ranking person who was intentionally cultivated, and this person was naturally Empress Dowager Cixi, otherwise he would not have said that "Xinyi's work is excellent." Zhang Wenxiang committed such a major crime, he could not escape death, and finally was sentenced to rebellion and Execution.
It turned out that after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was put down, Empress Dowager Cixi saw that the amount of gold and silver handed over was far less than expected, and the value of the gold and silver looted by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was huge, and she immediately became suspicious. He then secretly received Ma Xinyi and ordered him to investigate the matter carefully, while investigating the financial situation of the Xiang Army.
And just when Ma Xinyi just found some clues, there was a horse stabbing case, which is too coincidental isn't it? The occurrence of the horse stabbing case intensified the contradiction between Empress Dowager Cixi and Zeng Guofan, so zeng guofan had to handle the horse stabbing case.
After that, Empress Dowager Cixi vigorously rectified the Xiang army, and with the disarmament of the Xiang army, the southeast coastal defense established by relying on the Xiang army became increasingly empty.
Li Hongzhang, who spent his life building coastal defense, sighed in his later years: "If it were not for the horse case, the layoffs would be tighter and tighter, and eventually the coastal defense would be abolished, and the great powers would flourish, and the fortunes of the country would decline day by day." ”
Li
The horse stabbing case has come to an end, and at the moment when Ma Xinyi and Zhang Wenxiang died, right and wrong were annihilated in the smoke and waves of history. What is right and wrong, left to posterity to comment.