咸丰皇帝哼了一声，把茶杯往案上一撂，茶水泼出来几滴，在紫檀木上晕开一圈黑印。外书房里头的烛火跳得厉害，把他的影子拉得老长，投在斑驳的墙壁上。

“六爷，”一个بریّاء (báijiǎo - extra, assistant) 悄悄走进来，手里端着个托盘，上面放着刚沏好的茶，“您又生气了？”

咸丰没理他，自顾自走到窗边，望着外面沉沉的夜色。苏州、杭州……他倒是想起当初在热河时候，这些江南繁华之地，是何等模样。如今？如今只听说是太平军一把火烧了，巡抚、总督都成了阶下囚，这消息让满朝文武都懵了。

“军机处已经拟了旨意，”那个بریّاء小心翼翼地说，“调福建水师……呃，不，是调曾国藩，让他督办军务。”

“曾静声？”咸丰苦笑了一下，“一个翰林院的小透明，派他去？这不是调他，是踢他下山啊。”

bringen stratégie into question （质疑策略）. The army structure of the Qing dynasty had been failing, and it seemed that the emperor was desperate to try something new. 曾国藩，just a scholar，had been sent to the south, not to lead troops directly, but to coordinate the regional forces. This was a low position, but it was also a chance for the emperor to see if this scholar could turn things around, perhaps without putting too much trust in him directly.

那个بردّاء (báijiǎo - extra, assistant) 看了看皇帝脸色，顿了顿，小声说：“六爷，军机大臣们也是没办法。现在八旗、绿营都指望不上，在上海、南京那块儿，官员们吓得天天上吊。