Usurping the Qing Dynasty: My first love was Cixi

Chapter 114 Great victory in Yangzhou! The court was shocked!

The next day's court meeting was held in a gloomy atmosphere.

There is only one issue, what should Jiangbei Daying do? What should Jiangnan Daying do?

Both camps have been destroyed, the number of casualties is unknown, and the extent to which the situation has collapsed is also unknown.

If the worst happens, then no army in the entire northern Jiangsu can withstand the rebellious front, and neither southern Jiangsu nor even Zhejiang can stop the rebellion.

What will happen then.

Since the fall of Wuchang last year, the rebellious and puppet king Shi Dakai has been fighting more and more fiercely. Jiangxi has been shocked three times a day. The Jiujiang Hunan Army has not captured it yet, and other prefectures and counties in Jiangxi have continued to fall.

Because of Zhang Yuzhao's death, the Hunan Army could not get an explanation, which made several Hunan Army bosses angry and very passive in fighting, making the entire southern war situation even more corrupt.

If this situation continues, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei, and even Zhejiang will be in danger.

The Lianghuai salt tax is gone, and so is the Jiangnan fiscal tax.

How much will the entire imperial court's fiscal revenue decrease? Thirty percent? Forty percent?

We are already stretched every year now. What will happen if the fiscal and tax rates are reduced to 30 to 40%?

Totally unimaginable.

The most important thing is that when facing the Hunan Army before, the imperial court still had some confidence. After all, there were tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Jiangbei Camp and Jiangnan Camp.

Now that both camps have been destroyed, the entire southern war situation is completely dependent on the Hunan Army.

The emperor became even more passive.

"Let's talk about it and discuss it. What should we do about the current war situation in the south?" the emperor said.

The whole place was silent.

What else can be done? The imperial court no longer has an army, so it can't send Seng Gelinqin's army south, right?

This is the strongest armed force in the Qing Dynasty. It is to defend the capital and must not go south.

But should we just let the war situation in the south continue to fester?

Wen Qing, the foreman of the military aircraft, said: "Your Majesty, Hunan Governor Luo Bingzhang is loyal to the court and has high talents. It is better to let him continue to recruit troops in Hunan to help defend Jiangnan."

The emperor couldn't help but frown.

Luo Bingzhang, isn’t that the Hunan Army again?

The Hunan Army now has tens of thousands of troops on hand, and they are all equipped with foreign guns and artillery. The soldiers and horses are so strong that they are already too big to lose, so they still need to recruit soldiers and horses?

Wen Qing said: "Luo Bingzhang's staff Zuo Zongtang is a man of great talent. I heard that some time ago, there was some unhappiness between him and Zeng Guofan."

It's not unpleasant either.

Zuo Zongtang was arrogant and always regarded himself as the Zhuge Liang of this world, and no one looked down upon him, including Zeng Guofan.

However, the relationship between the two is still in the honeymoon stage at this time. They help each other and are friends.

It's just that during this period, Zeng Guofan's army was in hand, and his momentum was a bit domineering, which offended many people, and many people couldn't stand him.

Zuo Zongtang felt something was wrong, so he wrote a letter to advise Zeng Guofan to calm down.

Zeng Guofan was unhappy and did not reply, which made Zuo Zongtang very angry. Well, Zeng Disheng, you are leading an army of tens of thousands in a majestic manner outside, buying guns and cannons, building ships and recruiting troops. Who helped you do these things?

I, Zuo Zongtang, did it all. I worked hard for you in the rear area of ​​Hunan, and now the airs are being put on me?

So, he felt disgusted and criticized Zeng Guofan in front of others. As a result, it was reported by outsiders that they were at odds with each other.

In fact, Zeng Guofan would not put on airs in front of Zuo Zongtang, but now he is at odds with everyone.

This has been the case in history, but in this world, after Zhang Yuzhao's death, his temperament became even more intense.

Military aircraft foreman Wen Qing understood very clearly that the Hunan Army could also be divided.

Zuo Zongtang was arrogant and unwilling to be the heir to others, so he was asked to train troops. Although he was from the Hunan faction, he might not be aligned with Zeng Guofan.

The emperor had already heard about Zuo Zongtang's reputation.

This person started working as Zhang Liangji's staff and was already famous.

Later, after becoming Luo Bingzhang's staff, he became famous all over the world. Because everyone knows that on the surface Luo Bingzhang is the governor of Hunan, but in fact Zuo Zongtang is doing all policies and everything.

The Hunan Army has tens of thousands of troops, and most of its military pay and food are supplied by Hunan Province. This shows how talented Zuo Zongtang is?

It is precisely with the stable rear area of ​​Hunan that the Hunan Army can recover quickly every time even if it suffers a heavy blow.

The emperor began to weigh Wen Qing's options.

This is much earlier than in history. Historically, it was not until a few years later that the second Jiangnan camp was broken that Zuo Zongtang was allowed to train troops to assist in the defense of Jiangnan.

In this world, the Jiangnan Camp and the Jiangbei Camp were broken later, but they were much more fierce. In an instant, they were defeated like a mountain, frightening the court and the emperor.

However, the emperor still needed to hesitate whether to let Zuo Zongtang train his troops.

He really didn't want the Hunan Army to increase its strength.

Apart from that, is there no other way? And even if Zuo Zongtang is allowed to train troops, how long will it take?

Far water cannot dissolve near fire.

We can't let foreigners help defend Sunan, right?

Because of the fierce rebellion and rampant pirates, the Qing government handed over customs to foreigners.

At this moment, there was another shouting outside.

"Six hundred miles to expedite, six hundred miles to expedite..."

Suddenly, the emperor's face turned pale.

All the civil and military officials in the court held their breath.

Again, again?

Is it over?

What's the bad news this time?

After the messenger came in, the emperor first looked to see if there was a red band tied on his arm, but there was none!

Oops, another defeat.

The emperor closed his eyes painfully, ready to accept another critical hit.

"Imperial envoy, Xiang Rong, the commander of the Jiangnan camp, led his troops to retreat to Danyang when the Jiangnan camp was broken, and was pursued by the rebel army. He was defeated again, suffered heavy casualties, and Xiang Rong vomited blood and died!"

The emperor's body shook, and severe pain hit again.

I knew it was bad news, but it was such a bad news.

Xiang Rong died.

It was reported that Jierhang'a died before, and now Xiang Rong died again.

This is a person who is more important in the emperor's mind. This person is not very talented, but he is loyal and courageous, and dares to fight.

It is said that Zeng Guofan fought again and again after repeated defeats, but Xiang Rong is the real one who fought again and again after repeated defeats.

Moreover, this person was the first to fight against the Taiping Army. He started fighting with the Taiping Army in Guangxi. Wherever the Taiping Army went, Xiang Rong would chase and fight.

Regardless of whether they won or not, this kind of resilience is still good.

To some extent, Xiang Rong has become a symbol of the fight against the Taiping Army.

Now this man is dead, and the emperor has lost an arm in the south.

The emperor fell into great grief and also fell into great silence.

The court was silent.

What should be done about the war in the south? Should Zuo Zongtang be allowed to train troops?

I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to discuss it.

At least at this moment, let the endless pain sweep over my body.

The emperor closed his eyes again and asked the heavens, why?

Before, there were frequent reports of victory, but in less than a month, it was reversed instantly.

The good news that came were all small good news.

And the bad news that came were all big bad news.

Am I unkind? God wants to punish me like this?

He couldn’t help but echo Su Ye’s words in his mind again, from now on, let the emperor only listen to the good news, and no longer listen to the bad news of defeat.

What was the result?

At the critical moment, where are you, Su Ye? Where is your new army?

At this moment, there was another loud shout from outside: "Six hundred miles of urgent, six hundred miles of urgent!"

At this time!

The faces of all the officials in the court changed drastically.

Some people even jumped up.

Again, again, again?

Is it endless?

Now many people were so scared that they dared not breathe.

What happened? Is this the end?

In just a few days, four bad news-level war reports have been received.

One is bigger than the other.

Now, another one is coming?

But at this time, the emperor was numb, as if he had reached his limit.

Still closed his eyes.

No matter, no matter.

What bad news can there be? What bad news can there be?

I will take it all.

It doesn't matter.

It's broken.

Even if you tell me now that Suzhou has been captured, I won't be surprised.

So, in this environment, many people didn't even realize that this messenger was helping Hongbu.

The few people who saw Hongbu were slightly stunned.

Good news? In this situation, what good news can there be?

No good news is of any use, and the situation cannot be saved.

The messenger clearly felt a repressive atmosphere in the court, and was immediately uneasy.

But when Lord Tuo Ming'a's order sounded, he brewed his emotions and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, Yangzhou won a great victory, Yangzhou won a great victory!"

"Su Ye, the wing commander of the new army, led the new army to recapture Yangzhou City before ten days!"

"Tuo Ming'a, the commander of the Jiangbei camp, led the army to leave the Jiuhuashan camp, crossed the river to the north, and has entered Yangzhou City."

"Your Majesty, Su Ye has recaptured Yangzhou, and the Jiangbei camp has been restored!"

Suddenly, the whole audience was still silent, as if they had not reacted.

Including the emperor, he just opened his eyes.

The previous few bad news were too big, and the critical blow they brought was too severe.

Now hearing the good news, it is hard to recover all of a sudden.

Yangzhou has been recaptured? This... This is a great joy.

Is this good news so big?

After a long while, the emperor trembled and said, "Is this true?"

The messenger said, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. Lord Tuo Ming'a has led his army to station in Yangzhou City. Now Yangzhou is safe and sound, and the entire Jiangbei defense line is once again as stable as Mount Tai."

The emperor stretched out his hand and said, "Take it, take it, bring it up!"

The eunuch Zenglu hurried forward, took the victory report, opened the box, and took out the secret report inside.

At this time, the emperor's hands were even shaking.

Opened the secret report and read it over and over again.

Tuo Ming'a's secret report was still magnificent and brilliant.

It is said that at that time, Yangzhou City had a full two or three thousand Fa Ni defending, and Su Ye had only 1,500 new troops, and there were no artillery, but it still took less than two hours to capture Yangzhou City.

That's not all. Then the Fa Ni launched an army of 16,000 and attacked Yangzhou frantically.

Su Ye's new army was only 1,500, and the difference in strength between the two sides was ten times.

Although he, Tuo Ming'a, led the army to leave the Jiuhua Mountain camp and rush to rescue, it was too late.

He thought that with such a huge disparity in military strength, Yangzhou City would definitely fall, and he was even ready to collect Su Ye's body.

He never thought that when he, Tuo Ming'a, led the army to Yangzhou City, the war was over.

Su Ye's new army fought for a whole day with less than one-tenth of the troops, repelled countless attacks from the rebel army, and wiped out three or four thousand rebels. The rebel pseudo-king Qin Rigang was filled with hatred, but could only retreat in anger.

For some reason, the emperor felt like he was reading a heavenly book when he saw this secret report.

He read it again and again.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Mian Yu asked.

The emperor said, "You, you should also take a look."

Zenglu handed Tuo Ming'a's secret report to Mian Yu again.

After reading it, Mian Yu also opened his eyes wide and trembled, "This, this is impossible."

This secret report is indeed like a heavenly book.

First of all, Yangzhou City was defended by two or three thousand rebels at the beginning, and Su Ye's 1,500 new troops broke through it in less than two hours.

The next battle was even more bizarre.

The rebels had 16,000 people attacking the city, and Su Ye had 1,500 people defending the city, but they still won.

And they wiped out three or four thousand rebels?

This... How is this possible?

Next, Mian Yu passed on Tuo Ming'a's secret report one by one.

Everyone saw it, and they had only one thought in their mind, this is impossible.

Including Ruilin, they also felt... too much.

Tuo Ming'a, you are a first-rank official, but you are so licking Su Ye? Shameless.

And the emperor is now in a very uneasy state.

In a pile of bad news, such a big victory suddenly came.

In fact, the weight of this victory exceeded the sum of all the previous victory reports.

What recaptured Xincheng, recaptured Liuhe, and repelled the main force of the rebels, all added up to Yangzhou.

The recapture of Yangzhou means that the Jiangbei camp is stable, which means that the Lianghuai salt tax and the grain transport are stable, and it also means that the entire northern Jiangsu is stable.

But he was hit too hard before, and now he dared not believe the battle report in this secret report.

However, he hoped very much in his heart that this was true.

"Everyone, tell me, this... this secret report, this victory report." The emperor suppressed his anxiety and said.

Wen Qing prepared his words for a while and said, "Your Majesty, it is probably true that Su Ye recaptured Yangzhou, and it should also be true that Tuo Ming'a's army entered Yangzhou."

Everyone nodded.

For such a big thing, no one should dare to lie.

The emperor was relieved and overjoyed.

As long as this matter is true, Yangzhou City has been recaptured, which at least means that the Jiangbei camp is stable.

Then, Wen Qing said, "But, the things in Tuo Ming'a's secret report are probably not true."

Many people present nodded again.

"Before, Boyan Nemohu captured Liuhe and Xincheng, and Tuo Ming Ami reported that he attacked the empty city by surprise. What he said about destroying 4,000 or 5,000 rebels was completely a false report of military exploits."

"And this time, Su Ye led 1,500 people to capture Yangzhou, and then defended Yangzhou, repelling 16,000 rebels. This... this is actually more exaggerated."

Everyone nodded vigorously.

You guys on the front line are playing too much.

"According to my judgment, probably the rebels wanted to attack the Jiangnan camp, but they were seriously short of troops, so they gave up Jiangbei and transferred the Yangzhou garrison to attack the Jiangnan camp. Su Ye's new army seized the opportunity and captured the empty city of Yangzhou."

"But no matter what, Yangzhou City has finally returned to the hands of the Qing Dynasty. Congratulations to the emperor, congratulations to the emperor!"

"But in this case, Su Ye's military exploits are not as great as in the secret report."

Originally, everyone was not so sure, but Boyan Nemohu's previous experience made everyone understand and determine the routine of the front-line generals to report victory.

"Your Majesty, this trend cannot be allowed to grow! The generals on the front line colluded with each other, fought for power, slandered each other at every turn, and falsely reported ten times the military achievements at every turn."

"After finding out the truth, please punish them severely!"

The emperor said: "The imperial envoy Weiren has gone to investigate, and I believe the truth will be revealed soon."

But now, the emperor just wants to be happy.

Yangzhou was recaptured, the Jiangbei camp was restored, and the desperate and depressing war situation in the whole south was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally, there is a glimmer of hope.

As for the merits and faults of Su Ye and Boyan, they will be discussed after Weiren investigates them clearly.

………………………………………………

A few days later!

The imperial envoy Weiren arrived at the territory of Yangzhou Prefecture.

The captain of the imperial envoy's guard immediately sent scouts to investigate.

After all, this is an enemy area, because Weiren has been on the boat all the way, he didn't know that Yangzhou had been recovered.

So in their concept, the entire Jiangbei camp area and the entire Yangfu had already fallen, and there were enemies everywhere, and dangers were everywhere.

The first thing they did after landing was to find the Qing army's camp.

Find Su Ye's new army camp, and then find Boyan's cavalry camp.

Therefore, the group dared only dress up as ordinary merchants, carefully hiding during the day and traveling at night.

Wo Ren was still not afraid of death. No one dared to come for this mission, only he dared to come.

He first sent people to the Shaobo Town camp.

The result was empty.

Then he sent people to the Fairy Temple camp, and the result was... still empty.

Su Ye's new army was not there at all.

The whole imperial guard felt weird, what... what was going on?

Could it be that Su Ye's new army had been completely destroyed, and even the Fairy Temple camp and the Shaobo Town camp were lost.

However, there was no trace of the rebellion.

During the whole process, the entire imperial guard did not want to go to Yangzhou City to investigate.

Because in their perception, Yangzhou City must have fallen and is the most dangerous place.

After all, Wo Ren sent a few people to Yangzhou quietly to investigate.

Half a day later, the person who went to inquire came back, his voice stammering.

"Minister of the Imperial Envoy, Yangzhou City is no longer in the hands of rebels. It has been recaptured by us."

Woren was stunned.

A few hours later, they stood at the foot of Yangzhou City and were surprised to find.

real……

Yangzhou City has really been recaptured, and now the imperial flag is flying, and it is densely packed with soldiers from the Jiangbei Camp.

What's going on? When was it taken back? This Tomin'a suddenly became so brave?

The imperial guards suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief, and then they changed their shirts, set up a guard of honor, and entered the city in a big way.

However, he was stopped by the imperial minister Wo Ren.

"If you act like an imperial envoy, you won't be able to find out the truth, and you will be deceived. Divide yourself into several teams, pretend to be merchants, and ask the common people and ordinary soldiers. You will definitely hear the truth."

"Send another group of people to look for Boyanna Mohu's Xiaoqi camp."

"Send another team to Xincheng and Liuhe!"

The entire imperial guard suddenly had a headache. Other imperial ministers came to show off their prestige and make a fortune.

As a result, once the Lord came, it became a complete chore.

But there was no other way. The Imperial Envoy gave the order and they had no choice but to follow it.

Even Wo Ren, the imperial minister, disguised himself as an old Juren. After entering Yangzhou City with a business introduction, he took the initiative to talk to Toming'a soldiers.

These low-level soldiers don't even need to use formulas, and they don't have any concept of keeping military information confidential. As long as you ask, he will talk endlessly.

"What? The battle at the Fairy Temple Camp? The battle on the south bank of the river in Shaobo Town. Su Yi's new army wiped out one or two thousand enemies. Old sir, who did you listen to? It's all nonsense." The soldier said disdainfully.

Woren sighed in his heart, it turned out that he was falsely claiming credit.

The soldier changed his tone and said, "Are you kidding me? Brother Su Yi's new army has wiped out at least four to five thousand Fa Ni."

ah? !

Woren was almost knocked out of his reach.

Then the soldier spat.

"Old sir, you are asking the right person when you ask me. I saw it clearly at the time."

"At that time, we rebelled against an army of more than 20,000 people and attacked our camp in Shaobo Town. We had already broken through several lines of defense. We were about to lose. The coach Tominga was about to wipe his neck. Guess what?"

Damn, why don’t you answer it? Your praise is unqualified.

"Reinforcements are coming! Brother Su Yi's new army just won the battle at the Fairy Temple Camp and defeated three or four thousand counterattack divisions. They immediately ran for ten miles and directly attacked the counterattack army in Shao Bo Town and the South Bank."

"You didn't see that scene. It was so beautiful. I will never forget it in my life."

"The more than a thousand new troops stood neatly and raised their foreign guns and fired wildly at the rebellious army."

"The rebellious army sent people to rush across the stone bridge in waves, but they couldn't move forward. As many people were sent as many people died."

"Then he rebelled and deployed dozens of artillery pieces to bombard Brother Su Yi's new army indiscriminately. As a result... the formation of the more than a thousand new troops was not in disorder. Everyone remained motionless and held up the artillery pieces. "Indiscriminate bombing and crazy shooting."

"I was stunned when I saw this scene. Many of our brothers in the Jiangbei camp were almost crying. I have never seen such a fierce and fearless army. Is this still our Qing army?"

"In that battle, countless rebels were killed and injured, and the main force of the rebels fled, which saved our Shao Bo Town camp in one fell swoop."

"Otherwise, I tell you, in just one battle, the main force of our Jiangbei camp will be completely destroyed!"

Wo Ren was frightened, his scalp was numb, and his blood was boiling.

But... he also felt that the words of the soldier in front of him were too exaggerated.

So, I had to find someone else to talk to.

The soldier grabbed him and said, "Old sir, why are you leaving? I haven't finished talking yet. There are many more stories to come."

story?

Woren left quickly.

The soldier immediately clicked his tongue and complained in his heart. This kind of person is really annoying. He makes people unable to get up or down. Don't ask in the first place.

Next, Wo Ren worked tirelessly and chatted with several people in succession.

There are businessmen, soldiers, and ordinary people here.

Then, the more we talked, the more frightened I became.

The more we talked, the more silent we became.

The more we talked, the more shocked I became.

Through conversations with more than a dozen people, he was able to piece together the facts.

Even... to some extent it is no longer needed.

Because, he saw densely packed and countless corpses.

They were all rebellious corpses, arranged neatly.

This cannot be faked, because the characteristics of inverse hair are too obvious, with thick and long hair without braids.

After gathering together, they must all be cremated, firstly to respect their opponents, and secondly to avoid the plague.

……………………………………………………

In a certain inn.

Several teams sent by the Imperial Envoy Wo Ren have returned.

Everyone was silent.

"Sir, now Xincheng and Liuhe have been taken back by us again."

"We also found out clearly that Boyan was indeed falsely reporting his military exploits. He was completely opportunistic. He took advantage of the rebellious main force to attack Shaobo Town, Daying and Fairy Temple Camp. He refused to save him. Instead, he took a detour to the back and captured Liuhe and The new city was completely empty when we captured it.”

"And after that, his cavalry battalion suffered consecutive defeats, unable to defeat the rebellious cavalry."

"Not only that, when Brother Su Yi attacked Yangzhou, Boyan also wanted to take advantage of Yangzhou, but he was blocked by the rebellious troops and one or two hundred more were wiped out!"

"He was completely defeated again and again. Finally, in Liuhe, he was pursued by the rebel army and completely lost his trace. There may be less than a hundred elite knights around him."

Where is Boyannamohu now? Don't know at all.

Imperial Envoy Minister Wo Ren said: "What about Su Yi's military exploits? How did you find out?"

The groups present were silent for a while.

After a long while, someone said: "I think Brother Su Yi also falsely reported his military exploits."

“However, it’s not that it’s falsely reporting higher, it’s that it’s falsely reporting lower.”

"His military exploits are not just what is shown in the battle report."

"Especially the battle to capture Yangzhou and the battle to defend Yangzhou were even more thrilling and unbelievable."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present nodded.

"I thought so too. Although I couldn't believe it at the time, I asked many people and they all said the same thing. Some people exaggerated, but the general facts are still there."

"So, Brother Su Yi's military exploits are not overestimated, but underestimated!"

"Sir, this brother Su Yi is truly a national scholar!"

Woren closed his eyes and nodded vigorously.

And for the past two or three days, he had been observing Su Yi's new army.

Then he wavered.

He had previously firmly opposed the training of the new army because he was also a conservative.

He couldn't see the combat power for the time being, but he could clearly see the mental outlook and discipline.

The main forces of Su Yi's new army and Tuoming'a's Jiangbei camp were completely different armies.

He even discovered that the troops in Tuoming'a Jiangbei Camp were infected by Su Yi's new army and were learning from them, so military discipline was much better than before.

Now the truth is out.

The result was completely different from what was expected.

Lord Woren was shocked like never before.

The captain of the Imperial Guard asked: "Sir, are we going to see Su Yi and Tominga next?"

This is also the norm. Imperial envoys always have to meet with local officials and receive reports when they come on missions.

However, Wo Ren shook his head and said: "It's gone, go back to Beijing directly!"

The followers couldn't help but be shocked?

Wo Ren said: "No meeting, no handover, no communication, it seems fair and just. And now that the capital is full of controversy, the emperor is also extremely urgent for the truth. Returning to the capital as soon as possible to face the saint is the right way!"

The followers said bitterly: "Yes!"

Originally, this trip would definitely make a fortune. Even if Su Yi didn't give it, Toming'a would definitely give it to him.

As a result...this small windfall was wasted.

The next day, Imperial Envoy Minister Wo Ren directly led his team to board the ship heading north and returned to the capital.

He had a lot of things on his mind that he wanted to tell the emperor.

…………………………

Note: The second update is here. Thank you for your monthly votes and support.