Chapter 10

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Vézé did not believe that his proposal to the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, and the others would be approved. The strategic proposal made by a small officer who had just been promoted would not be taken seriously.

After Vézé left the King Of The East's residence, Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, and Shi Dakai continued to discuss the future strategy of the Taiping Rebellion. Vézé's seizure was a good thing for the Taiping army, which was short of ammunition and salt, but it was not a cause for celebration. Thousands of kilograms of supplies were not enough to reverse the current predicament of the Taiping Rebellion. Even if Vézé successfully attacked the Qing Army's supply team again, the supplies he stole would not be enough to solve the predicament the Taiping army was facing. Yang Xiuqing did not care what Vézé could achieve.

As for Vézé's proposal to break out of Yongan and deal with the Qing Army in the field, Yang Xiuqing did not think there was any need to discuss it. The Qing Army's encirclement grew tighter and tighter. The upper echelons of the Taiping Rebellion had reached a consensus on the future strategy. Defending Yongan to the death was out of the question. The Taiping army had beaten the Qing Army in the field many times last year. The commander of these battles was basically the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing. Since the upper echelons of the Taiping army had basically decided on this strategy, it did not matter whether Vézé agreed or not.

The problem at hand was, where should they go after breaking out of Yongan? The Qing Army had mobilized nearly 50,000 troops to besiege the Taiping army. The Taiping army's true core fighting force was only 10,000 troops, but there were more than 10,000 family members. Once they broke out of Yongan, the 10,000 Taiping army soldiers would have to fight the tens of thousands of Qing Army soldiers in a decisive field battle. There was no possibility of victory. Since that was the case, the Taiping army could only adopt the previous strategy and deal a decisive blow to the separated Qing Army in the field battle. Where to go and what route to take were the main points of discussion among the upper echelons of the Taiping army.

After much discussion, they still could not come up with a more detailed implementation strategy. The most feasible direction to break out of the encirclement was east. At the end of the meeting, Feng Yunshan said to Yang Xiuqing, "King Of The East, I want a person from you."

At the end of the meeting, Feng Yunshan said to Yang Xiuqing, "Dongwang, I want someone from you."

"Who do you want?" Yang Xiuqing could roughly guess who Feng Yunshan wanted. It was unforgettable that Feng Yunshan had laid the groundwork for a minor general like Vézé to express his views on strategy in front of the other kings.

"I want Vézé Wayne Brothers," Feng Yunshan said frankly. "Wayne Brothers are brave and good at fighting. Last time, he and seven other brothers seized eight artillery turrets. This time, with only 20 men, he defeated more than 200 Qing Yao's grain transport team. I lack such a fierce general under my command. I ask the King Of The East to transfer these brothers to me. I wonder if the King Of The East would agree? "

Feng Yunshan's words were very sincere, and his attitude was also very humble. Shi Dakai's face turned cold. The kings of the Taiping army had their own arrangements. Shi Dakai had no interest in or affection for the God Worshipping Sect, but he had been conferred the title of King of Wings. His position was far higher than many of the seniors who had contributed to the sect. The main reason was that Shi Dakai had led more than 4,000 men to join the Taiping army. Their numbers made up more than 20% of the Taiping army. Shi Dakai's subordinates naturally belonged to Shi Dakai, and Yang Xiuqing's subordinates were under Yang Xiuqing's full control. Under this traditional model, it was unsuitable for Feng Yunshan to directly ask Yang Xiuqing for subordinates.

Yang Xiuqing was silent. He could completely understand Feng Yunshan's thinking. Yang Xiuqing was a charcoal burner and had many friends. He had gathered heroes from all over the world. Xiao Chaogui was the leader of the miners, and his subordinates were resolute and decisive. The living conditions in Guangxi were harsh, and it was precisely this harsh environment that forced many outstanding people to emerge. As a Cantonese, most of Feng Yunshan's subordinates were gathered in various places when he was preaching. Whether it was in terms of fighting ability or commanding ability, Feng Yunshan's subordinates were the weakest in the Taiping army. In Yong An, the military system of the Taiping army stipulated that promotions depended on military achievements. A young officer like Vézé had 25 subordinates who were old brothers in the Taiping army in Guangxi. Getting Vézé would be of great help to Feng Yunshan.

Since he understood Feng Yunshan's intentions, Yang Xiuqing knew that he couldn't refuse. Since he couldn't refuse, Yang Xiuqing, who was good at making friends with heroes of the pugilistic world, laughed heartily. "King Nan, if that's the case, I'll make up for Vézé's subordinates tomorrow and give them to you."

Feng Yunshan didn't expect Yang Xiuqing to be so straightforward. He hurriedly replied, "Thank you very much, King Of The East."

Shi Dakai saw that Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan had completed the mobilization of his subordinates. Although he wasn't necessarily happy, he didn't say much. He got up and bid farewell. Yang Xiuqing asked Shi Dakai to stay for a meal. Shi Dakai replied, "I'll go back to eat with my subordinates."

Yang Xiuqing knew that this was Shi Dakai's style. Shi Dakai would never cook for himself alone. Every time, he would eat the same meal with his troops. Therefore, Yang Xiuqing didn't ask Shi Dakai to stay. Shi Dakai cupped his hands to Yang Xiuqing and left the King Of The East residence.

Feng Yunshan didn't stay at Yang Xiuqing's place for a meal either. Feng Yunshan was very happy to be able to get a strong general like Vézé from Yang Xiuqing. Among the kings of the Taiping Rebellion, Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East, was the most respected. He was conferred the title of 9,000 years old. More importantly, Yang Xiuqing was the military advisor of the Taiping Rebellion and the highest commander of all the Taiping Rebellion armies. Feng Yunshan also had to obey Yang Xiuqing's orders in military matters. Feng Yunshan had always been in charge of the actual missionary work of the God Worshipping Religion. Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King, believed that he was the second son of the Heavenly Father and the reincarnation of the brother of Jesus. Hong Xiuquan originally wanted to establish a new religion. It was Feng Yunshan who changed the God Worshipping Religion from a religious organization to a rebel organization. He established the rules of the God Worshipping Religion and united many believers under the same banner. This was Feng Yunshan's greatest contribution to the Taiping Rebellion.

Although Hong Xiuquan was obsessed with religion, it didn't mean that the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion really believed in Yahweh and Jesus Christ. In 1847, Yang Xiuqing called on the believers with the "possession of the Heavenly Father."

It was November 19, 1848. Xiao Chaogui, the King of the West, was also "possessed." It was an interesting China -style public "God Seance." On November 19, 1848, Xiao Chaogui pretended to be the descendant of the Heavenly Brother Jesus and had a conversation with Hong Xiuquan.

The Heavenly King said, "Brother Hong Xiuquan, do you know me?"

The Heavenly King said, "I do."

After confirming Xiao Chaogui's identity as the Heavenly Brother Jesus, a few days later, Hong Xiuquan talked to Xiao Chaogui again.

The Heavenly King said, "Brother Heaven, who was the military counselor during the Taiping Period?"

The Heavenly King said, "Feng Yunshan, Yang Xiuqing, and Xiao Chaogui are all military counselors! Hong Xiuquan's brother, the sun is you, and the moon is your wife. Feng Yunshan is born with three stars, Yang Xiuqing is born with three stars, and Xiao Chaogui is born with two stars. Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui are the twin phoenixes rising to the sun! "

No matter how the believers thought of the God Worshipping Religion, the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion were very clear about it. Even when Hong Xiuquan's father in heaven, "God Jehovah" and "Christ Jesus," appeared in the human world, the King of the West, Xiao Chaogui, who was possessed by Jesus, still said that the King of the South, Feng Yunshan, was still more reliable than the "Heavenly Father" Yang Xiuqing. Even in the establishment of Yongan, the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, was conferred the title of "Nine Thousand Years Old Age", the Military Counselor, and the important task of commanding the Taiping Rebellion. Feng Yunshan was also a person who could stand up to Yang Xiuqing in the Taiping Rebellion. The King of the South, Feng Yunshan, was in charge of the "Sacred Treasury" and had the power of the logistics of the Taiping Rebellion. This power alone could prevent the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, from monopolizing the power.

Feng Yunshan had noticed this young man when Vézé seized the battery. This time, after robbing Manchu Qing's grain transport team, Feng Yunshan learned that Vézé was able to open a path in the wilderness. In particular, Vézé's words, "Why do we have to care about the gains and losses of this city", completely moved Feng Yunshan. Of course, Vézé's words were not strange. These days, in order to break out of the encirclement, the kings had discussed this matter with many middle-level generals, in addition to their own meetings. The middle-level generals could not come up with any better suggestions. Compared with the suggestions of these generals, Vézé also could not come up with any good suggestions. But Vézé's perspective of the problem was quite pleasing to Feng Yunshan. Therefore, he had the idea of recruiting him.

Under Feng Yunshan's command, what he lacked the most was a general who could fight independently. Seeing that Yang Xiuqing was about to promote Vézé, Feng Yunshan had no choice but to immediately make a request to Yang Xiuqing. This was because Feng Yunshan believed that Vézé would definitely make more contributions. Right now, Vézé was only a soldier who had just been promoted. If Vézé was promoted to a Brigade Marshal or even a Division Marshal, Feng Yunshan would not be able to get him from Yang Xiuqing no matter what.

Now, Yang Xiuqing was willing to give it to someone and even promised to make up for Vézé's subordinates. Feng Yunshan was in a very good mood.

After leaving Yang Xiuqing's residence, Feng Yunshan wanted to summon Vézé. However, after some thought, Feng Yunshan gave up on this idea. After all, Vézé was King Of The East Yang Xiuqing's man. Even if he recruited Vézé now, there was no need to be in such a hurry to summon Vézé. If he did so, it would only make Vézé think that Feng Yunshan was not shrewd enough. In any case, the matter had already been decided. All he had to do was wait for Vézé to pay his respects.

Feng Yunshan was not completely unprepared. Although the troops under him were not strong enough, their numbers were not inferior to King Of The East Yang Xiuqing. Feng Yunshan had already calculated and was prepared to let Vézé lead a group of weaker soldiers. Since Vézé had volunteered to rob the Qing Army's rations, the more people he brought, the more things he could rob. Feng Yunshan recruited Vézé because Vézé had displayed the ability to lead troops into battle. If Vézé could not lead troops into battle, Feng Yunshan hoped that it was not because he did not have enough men. At least, he did not want Vézé to fail because he lacked sufficient troops.