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After the victory in the east of Changsha, Vézé swept through the Qing Army's outer encampments and set up his own main camp. The main force of the Taiping army expanded the camp that Xiao Chaogui had set up before he ascended to heaven, forming a pincer attack on Changsha from the east and south of the city.
Wei Ze didn't think that after the war, the scholars in Changsha City would scramble out of the city and join the Taiping Army just because they picked out two banners with Confucius's words on them. He even suspected that with the Manchu Qing's cultural level, no one would pay attention to this in this smoke-filled battlefield, let alone reflect on the anti-Qing. But in war, one should try their best to weaken the enemy's will to fight from all angles. This was a matter of attitude.
After confirming the communication line between the camps in the east and south of the city, Vézé rushed back to the main tent to attend a military meeting. During the meeting, Yi King Shi Dakai proposed, "We don't have enough rations. The rice to the west of the Xiangjiang River is ripe. I want to cross the Xiangjiang River and gather rations from the west. "
"That's great!" King Of The East Yang Xiuqing immediately agreed. The Taiping army had rushed all the way from Chenzhou to Changsha. Along the way, Xiao Chaogui had already taken away part of the rations. It was quite difficult to gather rations for this march. It was all thanks to Vézé's plan. After occupying the city, he could purchase rations and arrange the marching route. The forty to fifty thousand Taiping army didn't have to squeeze on the main road. Instead, they could divide into several teams and march on multiple roads, which greatly increased their marching speed.
Even so, the army rations were still the main problem. Yi King Shi Dakai's suggestion to cross the Xiangjiang River and gather rations from the west was very timely.
After discussing rations, they discussed the issue of attacking the city. Vézé's idea was still the same, which was to mobilize the Qing Army and annihilate the Qing Army's strength. After probing and preparing during the siege, they would finally take Changsha City.
Even the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, and the other generals were not very supportive of this plan. Vézé himself knew that there was something wrong with this plan. It was a plagiarism and a half-baked plan that Vézé came up with by mixing other situations together.
Since they wanted to annihilate the enemy while they were moving, they first had to mobilize the enemy. After mobilizing the enemy, they still had to be able to fight a sure-win battle. Both were not easily satisfied at the same time. Although Vézé was confident in his own combat prowess, he could not think of a way to mobilize the Qing Army. If Vézé could not come up with something feasible, the other generals would not accept it.
Although they did not support Vézé's military proposal, they had no other opinions. From Chenzhou to Changsha, Vézé's troops fought on the periphery of the main force, driving away the Qing Army that approached. They also had to take care of the food, clothing, housing, and transportation for the 40,000 troops. Vézé's troops set up camp in the front, while Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan's "front army" was actually the middle army. Because the troops were all elites, they did not have to worry about food and housing, so they marched very quickly. The rear army, which was made up of the old, weak, women, and children, was thrown to Vézé to manage.
After painstakingly reaching Changsha, Vézé led his troops to attack the Qing Army east of the city and won a great victory. Yang Xiuqing praised Vézé and continued: "Prime Minister Wei, lead your troops to set up camp east of the city. Defend the east and attack the north. Wait for news from the middle army. "
This was a relatively easy task for Vézé. After the bloody battle in the east of the city during the day, the Qing Army would not dare to come out and fight with Vézé. Yang Xiuqing and his troops were preparing to attack the city, which meant that Vézé's troops could have a good rest.
How could Wei Ze not understand this point? He replied, "I will solemnly obey Dong Wang's decree."
"What are the Wayne Brothers going to do when they are in the east of the city?" Hong Xiuquan asked.
After talking with Xiao Chaogui, Vézé gradually accepted the fact that Hong Xiuquan was the King of the Taiping Rebellion. Especially after Xiao Chaogui's death, Vézé no longer cared about Hong Xiuquan. Even when he heard Hong Xiuquan's words, he did not like or hate him. In response to Hong Xiuquan's question, Vézé replied: "Reporting to the King, in addition to attacking Qing Yao, I will also write some banners to announce to Changsha that they will recognize the situation, rebel against Manchu Qing, and surrender."
Vézé told Hong Xiuquan the contents of the banners he had written today. After listening to Vézé's introduction, Hong Xiuquan frowned. "Little Guan Zhong, my hair draped over my shoulders! These are Kong Yao's words. Kong Yao did not believe in God and went to hell after his death. Why use his words? "
Vézé was stunned. He had little contact with Hong Xiuquan. Even when they met, they only talked about military affairs. They did not talk about the ideology of the Taiping Rebellion at all. He did not expect Hong Xiuquan to fly into a rage like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. This surprised Vézé.
Seeing that Hong Xiuquan was angry, Yang Xiuqing quickly tried to smooth things over. "King, Wayne Brothers only wanted to shake the hearts of the people in the city. Just don't let him write these things next time. Wayne Brothers, do you hear me? "
"Your subordinate obeys!" Vézé naturally did not want to get into a conflict with Hong Xiuquan just to defend Confucius.
Although Hong Xiuquan wanted to pursue Vézé's use of Confucius' words, his anger was not appeased. After cursing Confucius a few more times, Hong Xiuquan said to Wing King Shi Dakai, "Mount Yuelu is west of the Xiang River. After you cross the Xiang River, go smash Kong Yao's ranking in the Yuelu Mountain Academy. Burn that Yuelu Mountain Academy! "
"Yes, sir!" Shi Dakai had no intention of going against Hong Xiuquan on this matter. His reply was swift and decisive.
Seeing that both Vézé and Shi Dakai had expressed their obedience, Hong Xiuquan cursed them a few more times. He did not mention the matter again.
After the meeting was over, Yang Xiuqing invited Vézé to stay for a meal before going back. At the dining table, Vézé asked Hong Xiuquan why he was so generous to Confucius. Yang Xiuqing smiled bitterly. "Wayne Brothers, when the Heavenly King was teaching in the countryside, he smashed Confucius's memorial tablet. Wherever our Taiping army went, Confucius's ranking tablet and temple would definitely be smashed and demolished. Later, the Heavenly King wanted me to burn all of Confucius's books along the way. I found the Western King and barely stopped this matter. "
"Oh?" Vézé was very interested. He did not expect that the Taiping army's higher-ups would have such a difference in their attitude towards Confucius.
Yang Xiuqing was very dissatisfied with Hong Xiuquan's actions. Now that Vézé asked, he began to explain.
Hong Xiuquan hated Confucianism to the extreme. He was prepared to burn all of the Taiping army's books and destroy Confucius's holy statue. But it was obvious that no one in the Taiping army was educated. They did not understand the meaning of this. They only felt that it was too troublesome and a waste of time. And those in the Taiping army who were educated were against Hong Xiuquan's actions. In the end, when Hong Xiuquan saw that the other kings and generals did not support him, he went to find Yang Xiuqing and asked Yang Xiuqing to announce this to the army in the form of a decree from the Heavenly Father.
Yang Xiuqing was not very educated, but he respected Confucius and Mencius very much. He did not want to do something that would destroy culture. But Yang Xiuqing could not openly oppose Hong Xiuquan either. So he kicked the ball to Xiao Chaogui. Xiao Chaogui then announced the destruction of Confucius in his capacity as the Heavenly Brother.
Yang Xiuqing remembered this conversation very clearly. He told Vézé about it.
Hong: "Heavenly Brother, how was Confucius in the Heavens?"
Xiao: "When you ascended to the Heavens, Confucius was tied up and whipped by the Heavenly Father. Did he not kneel in front of the Heavenly Father and me? When he descended to the Heavens, he taught people. Although there were some teachings, there were many mistakes. In times of peace, all of them must be burned. Confucius was also a good person. Today he is allowed to enjoy happiness in the Heavens. Never let him descend to the Heavens. "
Hong: "Is Guanyin a good person?"
Xiao: "She is. Today she is enjoying happiness in the Heavens. Never let her descend to the Heavens."
Hong: "Guanyin is enjoying happiness in the Heavens. Why does Heavenly Brother call her?"
Xiao: "I call her younger sister."
Hong: "Why do I call her that?"
Xiao: "You also call her younger sister."
… …..
After listening to the narration, Wei Ze really wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. He had always thought that Xiao Chaogui was a carefree and candid person. He did not expect this carefree and candid person to be quick-witted and humorous when dealing with problems. Thinking of Xiao Chaogui, who died young, Vézé could not help but sigh. "If only the Western Prince did not ascend to the Heavens."
Yang Xiuqing also sighed. "Some people say that I do not accept the Southern Prince and the Western Prince. This is all the blind guesses of those lowly people. If the Western Prince and the Southern Prince were here, they would definitely not let the Heavenly King give an order on this matter. "
Hearing Yang Xiuqing's complaints, Vézé hurriedly said, "King Of The East, the Southern Prince and the Western Prince ascended to the Heavens. There is nothing we can do about it. But King Of The East, you must take care of yourself. Our Taiping Rebellion can lose anyone, but without you, King Of The East, we will definitely not be able to survive. "
"Hehe." Yang Xiuqing laughed bitterly but did not reply.
Vézé tried to sound him out again. "King Of The East, Yi Wang only volunteered to go to the West to collect grain. Collecting grain is a serious matter. The Yuelu Mountain Academy is just a small matter. It is fine even if you don't burn it."
"Wayne Brothers, you are still childish. Wherever our Taiping army goes, although we did not find all the books among the people and burn them, everywhere we went, the Heavenly King would give the order to smash Confucius' memorial tablet and destroy Confucius' temple. If you want me to persuade you, that's absolutely impossible. "
Before Vézé could mention this matter, King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, had cleanly rejected him. Yang Xiuqing had also made it clear that this was a "major matter" personally supervised by Hong Xiuquan. No matter how many objections he had, Vézé could only accept it. He knew that the scholars in Hunan hated the Taiping army. He also knew the status of the Yuelu Mountain Academy among the scholars in Hunan. After attending today's meeting, Vézé finally understood how this enmity was formed.
It was easy to imagine. Even though Vézé was dissatisfied with his university, if anyone shouted, "Everyone from XX University is a b * stard!" and burned down Vézé's alma mater, then Vézé would remember that person for the rest of his life. If there was a chance for revenge, Vézé would not be lenient.
After discussing this "trivial matter," Vézé and Yang Xiuqing talked about the future battles. Yang Xiuqing requested Vézé to occupy the east of the city and try his best to defeat the Qing Army in the north of the city. However, Vézé only had five thousand men. It was unrealistic for him to control these two large areas. The Taiping army only had thirty thousand strong men. It was unrealistic to besiege Changsha City with only thirty thousand men. Therefore, Yang Xiuqing's bottom line was that Vézé could not be defeated by the Qing Army from the east of the city. The Taiping army's main attack direction was still the south of the city. It would be best if Vézé could break through the east of the city. If he could not, Yang Xiuqing would not be dissatisfied.
After confirming this bottom line, Vézé felt reassured. If he really had to fight with his life on the line, he would have to rush to the top of the city wall. It was not that Vézé had no confidence, but it meant that Vézé's troops would suffer heavy casualties. If he had to pay such a heavy price, Vézé would rather pay it in the field. After all, if Vézé's troops suffered heavy casualties in the field, the Qing Army would have to pay ten times the price.
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