The four prefectures of Changsha, Changde, Yuezhou, Hengzhou, and Wuchang, Hanyang, Huangzhou and De'an in Hubei Province were still occupied by the Qing army. Therefore, the division and ownership of Huguang were only paper operations, but whether it was Zhou Shixiang or Liu Tichun, they were all confident in the restoration of Huguang's entire province. After all, the main force of the Qing army in Huguang was only a third-rate green camp. Under the attacks of the Taiping Army and Zhongzhen Camp, half of the main force of the Qing army in Huguang were annihilated, and Wuchang was even more in danger. After the Tang Dynasty's King of Supervision Ceremony, the Taiping Army will immediately start to attack the southern capital in the north, and Huguang, the Zhongzhen Camp and the Yaohuang Thirteen families will also join forces to seize Wuchang. It can be foreseen that soon, the two main battlefields of the Ming army will be near Nanjing and Wuchang.

After Huguang was split into two provinces, Zhou Shi was in line with the eunuch of Sili, Pan Yinglong, who came to negotiate together, and Hong Yuao, the Grand Secretary, clearly stated that all Hubei provinces could belong to the Zhongzhen Camp and the Yahuang Shisanjia, but all Hunan provinces were owned by the Taiping Army. Hubei Province could have a governor, the three officials, and the appointments of all officials were determined by the Zhongzhen Camp and the Yaohuang Shisanjia, and the personnel appointed by the court were recognized by the court.

The price that Zhou Shixiang paid was to hand over Baojingzhou, which was actually controlled by the Taiping Army, to Zhongzhen Camp. The more than 20,000 chieftain armed forces that surrendered to the Taiping Army were also taken over by Hubei. At the same time, Zhou Shixiang promised to send the Taiping Army to assist Hubei in attacking Wuchang, Hanyang and other places. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue allocated military salaries to Hubei based on 30,000 soldiers every year. After the Zhongzhen Camp and Yaohuang Shisanjia obtained the entire province of Hubei, the Hubei side sent troops to conquer the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, and the Taiping Army provided certain money, grain and military support, and could also send troops to fight together when necessary. At that time, it will be decided depending on the specific situation.

These conditions are further compared to the previous agreement between Zhou Shixiang and Hubei. Whether it is political, military, or money and food, Hubei has gained a lot of advantages. The more than 20,000 yuan of the chieftains in Xiangxi who surrendered to the Taiping Army, turned over to Hubei to take over, which was the most fascinating thing for Liu Tichun and He Zhen. They knew very well that Zhongzhen Camp had not had a good life in Kuidong in recent years. The two attacks on Chongqing almost lost half of the veterans in the camp. Before the Taiping Army broke through the gap in Hubei to clear their siege, most of the armed forces of each battalion were broken, and many new recruits could only use sharp wooden sticks to fight the enemy. There was a shortage of food. The adults were so hungry that their faces were yellow and hungry, and the children were even thin and skinny. The bones were so painful that they looked at them.

After entering Hubei, the life of Zhongzhen Camp became better. In just a few months, the snowballed people expanded from less than 30,000 to 120,000, and captured more than 70 prefectures and counties. However, the territory of the army sounded like a lot, but the old foundation for fighting in the middle was still the previous 30,000. If you really meet the main force of the Qing army, if you are trapped in Yunnan and Guizhou, Zhongzhen Camp is still unbeatable. Therefore, Zhou Shixiang handed over the more than 20,000 chieftain armed forces who surrendered to Xiangxi to their command, which undoubtedly made them more foundation in Hubei and more straightforward.

He Zhen initially proposed to allocate money and grain based on 100,000 people. Dong Changqing, who represented Zhou Shixiang in the first negotiation, refused and agreed to allocate money and grain based on 15,000 people. The gap between the two sides was too big. In the end, Hong Yuao consulted Zhou Shixiang and set a quota of 30,000 people. The remaining soldiers' money and grain expenses will be resolved by Hubei.

Many generals and staff in the military commander's office disagreed with the military pay to Zhongzhen Camp, which was decided by Zhou Shixiang against all the differences. Since Zhongzhen Camp and Yaohuang Thirteen families have supported the support of the Tang King's Supervisory Kingdom, they are the troops under the Tang King's regime. Like the Taiping Army, they are the Ming army under the banner of the Tang King. Zhou Shixiang, Liu Tichun, Li Laiheng, He Zhen, and Hao Yaoqi are ministers in the same palace, so there is no reason for the court not to pay military pay to their own army. If it were still like Yongli in the past, and if there was no money for Zhongzhen Camp, why would Zhou Shixiang need Zhongzhen Camp to respond to the Tang Dynasty? It would be better for them to live on their own.

Distributing military pay is the best way for the Tang Dynasty regime to express its attitude towards the anti-Qing forces such as the Zhongzhen Camp, or Zhou Shixiang's attitude. Only when military pay is paid, the anti-Qing forces such as the Zhongzhen Camp will truly have a sense of belonging to the Tang Dynasty regime, rather than being away from home and still regard themselves as the remaining troops of the Shun Army. More importantly, although they cannot actually control the Zhongzhen Camp, Zhou Shixiang can also indirectly have a certain influence on the various departments of the Zhongzhen Camp through the means of issuing military pay. Zhou Shixiang is uncertain how much influence is, but at least, it will make the people of the Zhongzhen Camp have no disgust towards him. The name of the military pay is paid by the court, but who will build the court and who will take out the military pay. There are no fools in the Zhongzhen Camp.

Guangdong's economy is very difficult, but no matter how difficult it is, Zhou Shixiang will not be like He Tengjiao back then. Yongli usually only regards the Zhongzhen Camp as an available tool. When used, it is used as a cattle and horse, and throws it aside without any care. In any case, these men who have been persisting in resisting the Qing Dynasty until the end are worthy of respect and support from Zhou Shixiang. Moreover, he will soon lead the Northern Expedition Army to attack Jiangxi, and after the split, Huguang also needs the Zhongzhen Camp and they will play a greater role. Even if they only operate in Hubei Province, they can always restrain part of the energy of the Qing court, making Shunzhi unable to deal with the Taiping Army.

The 30,000 military pay for Hubei was paid according to the standard of the Taiping Army's regular soldiers of Zhou Shixiang. As for how to solve the financial pressure in Guangdong after the extra 30,000 words, Zhou Shixiang put the solution on the people of Annan. Calculate the time, Zhao Ziqiang also thought there was news.

Zhou Shixiang was so righteous that Liu Tichun and He Zhen could not say anything. They would feel that it was too much if they made any requests. Wang Guangxing also made an act, and the agreement was finally written but it was not reported to the King of Tang. After all, this matter was handled by Zhou Shixiang and Liu Tichun and others. The official positions, territory, money and grain involved had nothing to do with His Highness the King of Tang. Even if Zhou Shixiang wanted to submit the agreement to the King of Tang for review, Liu Tichun and others refused.

Guo Zhiqi had no objection to the cooperation terms set by the Zhongzhen Camp and Zhou Shixiang, and he did not blame him. He was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but he was more sensible and knew the overall situation. He could help the King of Tang to preside over the cabinet, stabilize the government, establish the authority of the King of Tang, and weaken the influence of Zhou Shi with respect to the court, but he would never stumbling behind the scenes behind the scenes, nor would he cause any trouble when the Taiping Army was about to enter the Northern Expedition. The lessons learned from the four dynasties of Hongguang are at the moment. How dare you commit the crime again with the lessons of the 46-year-old Grand Secretary Lili.

Lian Chengbi, the second assistant, didn't know that the Zhongzhen Camp was negotiating with Zhou Shi, but even if he knew, he was unable to stop the matter.

Under the leadership of Guo Zhiqi, Song Xianggong and others, the cabinet passed Zhou Shixiang's proposal to split the province of Huguang into Hunan and Hubei. Guo Zhiqi, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, requested the King of Tang to appoint Yuan Zongdi as the governor of Hubei and Zhao Sihai as the governor of Hunan. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!