"I have to start from history …"
In this quiet midnight, in a temporary tent, Yang Xiuqing learned from the soldiers about the magnificent scenes that had happened in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom since the beginning of the Jintian Uprising.
Yang Xiuqing had mixed feelings when he heard about the incident in Tianjing. In history, Yang Xiuqing finally met his end because of his growing ambition.
After listening to the soldier's story, Yang Xiuqing's heart was in turmoil.
All the previous mysteries had been explained.
At this moment, Yang Xiuqing was extremely confused and even a little desperate.
Would Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King, forgive him if he led his troops back to Tianjing City?
His chances were slim.
The soldier looked at Yang Xiuqing with an inexplicable expression.
This soldier was a high-level secret agent from the Military Intelligence Department who had been lurking around Yang Xiuqing. His mission was to drive a wedge between Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing at the critical moment and win Yang Xiuqing over.
"I have a plan that can help you break out of your cocoon and become a butterfly. Are you willing to follow me?"
Yang Xiuqing looked at the soldier cautiously and asked, "You have spent so much effort to get close to me. I'm afraid you have ulterior motives, right? What, you still can't tell me who your master is? "
"With your intelligence, I'm afraid you have already guessed it!"
The soldier smiled and seemed to have a card up his sleeve.
Yang Xiuqing was shocked and said, "Could it be Shan …?"
"That's right!"
"Heh, I didn't expect that."
"My master has admired you for a long time. If you succeed in the future, you will be put in an important position. "The soldier took out a secret letter and handed it to Yang Xiuqing.
This secret letter was specially sent by Ouyang Shuo through the Military Intelligence Department. Of course, this secret letter had actually been written two months ago.
The contents of the letter were nothing more than some promises.
Not only this secret agent, but the other secret agents also had similar secret letters. When the time was right, they could use this secret letter to instigate the enemy to rebel.
After reading it, Yang Xiuqing was shocked.
To Yang Xiuqing, Ouyang Shuo promised the position of a county governor.
Whether in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or in Shanhai City, a county governor was an extremely important official.
Such a promise could not be said to be insincere.
Although there were only a few words in the letter, Yang Xiuqing could feel that the Marquis of Lian Province was broad-minded and broad-minded. Compared to Hong Xiuquan, who had failed many times, the two of them could not be mentioned in the same breath.
It was truly a blessing to be able to serve under such a ruler.
It had to be said that the characteristics of Ouyang Shuo's personal title [Hero Lord] was displayed to its fullest at this moment. This kind of influence was imperceptible to historical figures.
If it was someone else, Yang Xiuqing would not be so easily convinced.
What Yang Xiuqing didn't expect was that Marquis Lian Zhou's plan was so far-reaching. The other party had long laid down so many foreshadowing in the Kingdom of Heaven.
From this, it could be seen that the interior of Heavenly State had definitely been infiltrated by the other party. What a joke, Hong Xiuquan still thought that his Kingdom of Heaven was impregnable.
Thinking of this, the future of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom became increasingly bleak.
As the saying goes, a fine bird chooses a tree to nest in.
Since Hong Xiuquan could no longer trust him, Yang Xiuqing could only find a new master.
"Forget it, forget it!"
In the end, Yang Xiuqing let out a long sigh, put the secret letter into his bosom, and said lightly, "From today on, you will be transferred here to be my personal guard!"
When people were in the most desperate situation, they couldn't refuse the life-saving straw extended by others.
Naturally, Yang Xiuqing was no exception.
"General is wise!"
The secret agent was overjoyed and quietly left.
As for the specific arrangement, naturally, it would be discussed later.
After all, in the dead of night, it was easy to cause unnecessary trouble if the two talked for too long.
The soldier was not worried that Yang Xiuqing would go to report him. The smarter a person was, the more he knew how to weigh the pros and cons. For Yang Xiuqing, going forward was an abyss, but taking a step back was a vast sea and the sky.
It was too easy to choose.
Yang Xiuqing was not so foolishly loyal to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Outside the tent, the night was getting darker and darker, like thick ink, and one couldn't see his fingers in front of him. After tonight, the fate of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would become darker and darker, just like the night.
October 28th, Mulan Fortress.
When the sun rose again, it was already a busy scene outside Mulan Fortress. When the battle last night ended, it was already night time, and there was no time to clean up the battlefield.
When the battlefield reappeared under the sunlight, people couldn't help but be moved.
On the battlefield that stretched for more than ten miles, corpses were everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers. After a night of flowing, the gurgling blood had completely seeped into the soil.
According to preliminary estimates, just last night, at least 50,000 soldiers were completely buried on the battlefield.
There were still many soldiers in the Taiping Army who sighed with sorrow.
Bai Qi and Han Xin, the two Immortal Generals, stood side by side on the city wall, watching the battlefield outside the city, speechless for a while.
The two armies had successfully met and jointly wiped out the Southern Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. As for what to do next, the two were still waiting for the order from the Military Administration, or the Marquis.
Last night's battle report had been sent to Chiyou City overnight.
According to the calculation, there should be news by this morning at the latest.
According to the preliminary statistics after the battle, more than 120,000 soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were captured in this battle, and countless supplies, more than 20,000 warhorses, four cannons, and some other supplies were seized.
In addition, of the four generals of the Southern Army, one died in battle, and the other two were captured.
This battle could be said to be a complete victory for Shanhai City.
Of course, in the last bloody battle, the two armies also paid a price. A total of more than 10,000 soldiers were completely buried on the ground outside the fortress.
Han Xin turned his head and inadvertently glanced at Bai Qi.
Han Xin admired this God of Slaughter, but he was also not convinced. He really wanted to wrestle with Bai Qi. Han Xin was not willing to give up the title of the number one Immortal General of Shanhai City.
What about Bai Qi?
No matter when and where, Bai Qi always had a serious look on his face, making it impossible to see through his emotions.
In this battle, both of them had made great contributions.
In contrast, Han Xin's long-distance raid and decisive attack were the key to this great victory. Therefore, in this battle, Han Xin could be said to have won by a small margin.
How could the name of the Immortal Soldier be ordinary?
"General, a letter from the Marquis!"
At this moment, the intelligence officer of the Military Intelligence Department stationed in Mulan Fortress hurried over.
Both of them turned around at the same time, and their eyes lit up.
The Marquis's reply was so fast that it was indeed somewhat unexpected.
As the commander of Mulan Fortress, Bai Qi received the letter first, quickly read it, and then handed it to Han Xin.
Han Xin was a little silent after reading it.
The Marquis's instructions in the letter made both of them a little puzzled.
After skipping the congratulatory words, the letter mainly explained the arrangements for the two armies.
"The Marquis has decreed that after the two armies meet at Mulan Fortress, they will rest on the spot for a few days. When the First Division of the Dragon Xiang Legion led by Jiang Kai arrives at Mulan Fortress, they will then attack.
The surrendered soldiers of the Taiping Army will be handed over to the City Guard Division.
The two armies set off from Mulan Fortress and split into two routes, one east and one west, slowly advancing toward Tianjing City. Along the way, they will attack cities and pull out fortresses, and do not leave any survivors.
The Administrative Office will send officials to cooperate with the army along the way to take over the captured cities.
As for the capture of Tianjing City, it can be delayed, not rushed. "
It was this last sentence that made Bai Qi and Han Xin somewhat puzzled.
Logically speaking, the Southern Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had already been destroyed, and the Western Punitive Expedition Army was far away in Kunming Prefecture, out of their reach. This was the best time to advance quickly and capture Tianjing City in one fell swoop.
Unexpectedly, the Marquis did not want to capture Tianjing City so early.
The reason was really puzzling.
However, the Marquis's orders could not be disobeyed, so the two of them could only sigh helplessly.
After a brief discussion, it was finally decided that Bai Qi would lead the Dragon Xiang Legion from the east and advance all the way north, while Han Xin would lead the Leopard Tao Legion from the west and also advance all the way north.
The two armies agreed to meet again outside Tianjing City.
According to the battle report sent by Jiang Kai, the First Division of the Dragon Xiang Legion would walk out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains in a few days. Therefore, the specific date of departure was set at November 4th, which was five days later.
Why did Ouyang Shuo make such a decision?
Let's go back to last night, when Ouyang Shuo received the battle report.
Knowing that the two armies had met in advance and had successfully destroyed the Southern Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Ouyang Shuo was naturally happy. After this battle, the southwest war situation was basically irreversible.
As for why they did not directly attack Tianjing City, it had to go back to the matter of the cannons.
In history, Hong Xiuquan had defended Tianjing City to the death and was unwilling to retreat, resulting in his eventual defeat. Having been reborn, Ouyang Shuo did not believe that Hong Xiuquan would still be so stubborn.
Therefore, once the army advanced, Hong Xiuquan was very likely to abandon the city and flee. In this way, the cannons' technical manual would naturally disappear along with it.
This was something that Ouyang Shuo could not accept no matter what.
Therefore, the only way was to stabilize Hong Xiuquan.
The two armies reorganized themselves and slowly advanced towards Tianjing City, giving Hong Xiuquan hope. In this way, Hong Xiuquan could order Shi Dakai and the other generals to lead the Western Expedition Army back to defend Tianjing City.
Naturally, there was no way to talk about abandoning the city.
In this way, it could be considered as helping Lingxi City out of its predicament.
In addition, there was another factor — Yang Xiuqing.
Although Ouyang Shuo had already planted chess pieces around Yang Xiuqing. To be effective, he had to at least wait until Yang Xiuqing arrived at Tianjing City.
Therefore, no matter what, the two armies could not advance lightly.
After all, Bai Qi and Han Xin were only generals and did not know much about these secret plans. Therefore, they were puzzled by Ouyang Shuo's military order.
For the sake of the cannons, Ouyang Shuo had put in a lot of effort.
He could only hope that the two intelligence agencies would not disappoint him. (To be continued.)
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