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After ordering people to send 100,000 dans of grain to Tianjing City, Vézé received an official document from Tianjing City on September 15th. The information was divided into three parts.
The first part was about the system. Yang Xiuqing used an official document to inform Vézé that all government affairs would be decided by the Military Counselor Yang Xiuqing. Then, Yang Xiuqing would lead Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai to present the decree to the Heavenly King.
This was a system that had been in place for a long time. Originally, Hong Xiuquan was a person recommended by Pope Feng Yunshan. Later, Vézé gradually found out through various information that Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui, the two most powerful people in Divinism at that time, had formed an alliance. Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui controlled all the military and political power. All the documents of the Taiping Rebellion were jointly issued by the King Of The East and the King Of The West.
As for Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan … After Feng Yunshan and Yang Xiuquan reached a compromise, he became a symbol called "Heavenly King".
The power was controlled by the King Of The East, which was the basic system of the Taiping Rebellion. Vézé felt that Yang Xiuqing was making a mountain out of a molehill by issuing such an official document. However, after reading it carefully, Vézé found something new.
This official document was an official document establishing the system of the Taiping Rebellion. It clearly stated at the end that "officials are not allowed to make memorials." In other words, only ceremonial matters such as greetings, congratulations, and gratitude, which had nothing to do with political affairs, could be submitted to the Heavenly King. Even these had to be stamped by Yang Xiuqing and approved before they could be submitted to Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan.
The system set by Yang Xiuqing publicly requested Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King, not to allow Hong Xiuquan to directly review the memorials related to the military and politics, as well as the ceremonial memorials that had not been reviewed by Yang Xiuqing.
Vézé had never thought of giving Hong Xiuquan any memorials, be it military or political, or ceremonial. Not to mention that the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, had completely overthrown Hong Xiuquan in terms of the system, even if Yang Xiuqing killed Hong Xiuquan, Vézé wouldn't be unhappy.
The second content was that the expedition to the west did not go smoothly. After nearly ninety days of siege, the Taiping army attacking Nanchang was relieved. Wing King Shi Dakai was now in charge of the western expedition. Yang Xiuqing, Vézé, did a good job collecting grain in Anhui. However, he hoped that Vézé could send troops to participate in the expedition, or at least attack Hanyang along Jiangbei.
The third content was more confidential. Yang Xiuqing introduced some matters about the Northern Expedition Army to Vézé. Vézé clearly felt that Yang Xiuqing was not optimistic about the outcome of the northern expedition. However, Yang Xiuqing still had a glimmer of hope for the northern expedition. Since the Taiping army could fight from Jintian to Tianjing, it was not impossible for the Northern Expedition Army to conquer Beijing.
Vézé could completely understand Yang Xiuqing's mentality. After all, it was twenty thousand Taiping army elites. Yang Xiuqing could not sit by and watch them be destroyed. Combining the three contents of Yang Xiuqing's content, Vézé guessed that Yang Xiuqing's thinking was that since Vézé was completely loyal to Yang Xiuqing, Yang Xiuqing would remind Vézé not to make unconscious mistakes because he did not pay attention to the Taiping Rebellion system.
As for telling Vézé about the expedition to the west and north, it was probably because he saw Vézé's contribution in transporting grain and didn't want to put too much pressure on Vézé. The other reason was that he hoped that Vézé could continue to advance north and shorten the distance between him and the Northern Expedition Army as much as possible.
Vézé had already confirmed the fate of the Northern Expedition Army. The Northern Expedition Army under his command was the closest, so there was no way he could run away from the rescue mission. After thinking about it, Vézé suddenly understood something. With Yang Xiuqing's imposing manner, the reason he sent such an official document to Vézé was probably because he wanted Vézé to enter Tianjing as soon as possible.
Fortunately, the collection of grain was on the right track. The army's training and defense system were also on track. Vézé was not afraid of any unexpected incidents. He led his guards and headed straight for Tianjing.
After reaching Chao Lake, there was a very smooth waterway. Hefei, which Vézé occupied, was also a place with a dense waterway network. Traveling by boat was much faster than traveling by land. On the 22nd of September, Vézé appeared outside the King Of The East's residence.
It was rather sad. The Taiping Rebellion had occupied Tianjing for almost half a year, and this was Vézé's first time stepping into Tianjing. Vézé heard that the King Of The East had even moved once. The King Of The East's residence was moved from the East Gate, Chaoyang Gate, to the Luolang Alley, east of the Hanxi Gate, and west of the Chaotian Palace.
None of this was important. What was important was that Vézé felt that he should come here personally to take a look. The King Of The East's trust in Vézé was definitely not unconditional. From this point of view, Vézé should have gone to the King Of The East's residence earlier to listen to Yang Xiuqing's orders.
After Vézé asked for an audience, Yang Xiuqing didn't let Vézé wait for too long. The King Of The East's residence did indeed look imposing. Of course, this was only relative. Vézé felt that the Forbidden Palace looked more majestic.
"How much more food can you deliver every month?" This was the first thing Yang Xiuqing asked when he saw Vézé.
Vézé bowed obediently before answering, "I can deliver ten to twenty thousand dans a month."
One dan was 120 catties. Ten to twenty thousand dans a month would be nearly two million catties of food. After hearing this number, Yang Xiuqing was finally relieved. He smiled and said, "Wayne Brothers, well done!"
Vézé didn't want to be arrogant because he was favored. He asked seriously, "King Of The East, I have something to ask you this time. If I go to another place to fight, I don't know who will take over the territory that I have conquered. "
Seeing that Yang Xiuqing wasn't surprised after hearing this, Vézé was sure that Yang Xiuqing already had a candidate in mind.
"Wayne Brothers, do you have a candidate in mind?" Yang Xiuqing asked.
"King Of The East, you must be joking. I don't even know all the high-ranking officials in the Taiping Rebellion. How would I know who will be sent to Anhui after I leave? I want to tell the King Of The East about the situation in Anhui, "Vézé answered.
The base in Anhui was second only to the base in Southern Anhui during the Taiping Rebellion. However, Vézé reckoned that the mobilization and tax collection in Anhui would be better than in Southern Anhui. No Taiping Rebellion army could disperse tens of thousands of people to the countryside to collect grain and tax. Only Vézé could make such a big decision and do so much work.
Vézé used no exaggeration to explain to Yang Xiuqing the basic strategic concept of establishing a base in Anhui, as well as the corresponding supporting measures. Yang Xiuqing and Vézé were both top talents in the Taiping Rebellion. The discussion between the two didn't involve any other nonsense. The content of the discussion revolved around the normal operation of the tax collection and conscription system in Anhui.
After the discussion, Yang Xiuqing said, "Wayne Brothers, if you go to another place to fight, I think Qin Rigang is the most suitable person to replace you."
"Oh?" Vézé's impression of Qin Rigang was that after breaking out of Yongan, they suffered a great defeat and lost thousands of Taiping army soldiers at Longliao Ridge. Since then, Qin Rigang had never been able to lead an army alone. It was a problem whether Qin Rigang, a defeated general, could manage such a complicated system.
However, since Yang Xiuqing had spoken, Vézé naturally couldn't deny it. Besides, if he really had to send one of his generals to take charge of Anhui, Vézé would feel heartache. In the current situation, if Vézé's trusted aide took charge of Anhui, it would be the same as handing over his trusted aide to Yang Xiuqing. Vézé's loyalty to Yang Xiuqing was built on Vézé's loyalty to Yang Xiuqing. It was far from the point where he would sell his liver and kidney to support Yang Xiuqing.
Therefore, Vézé answered calmly, "I solemnly obey the decree of the King Of The East. If the King Of The East has made arrangements for Qin Rigang, there's no harm in sending Qin Rigang to Anqing as soon as possible so that he can gradually familiarize himself with the situation in Anhui. "
"When Wayne Brothers return to Anqing, go back with Qin Rigang." Yang Xiuqing made a decision.
"King Of The East, since this matter is over, I would like to talk about the attack on Hubei. I might be able to send troops to Hanyang, but my current military strength is only this much. After all, I still have to continue fighting in the north. I still have to pay taxes and send food to Tianjing. If I were to attack Hubei or Wuchang, I really wouldn't be able to handle it. "Wei Ze began to talk about the issue of the Western Expedition.
Yang Xiuqing smiled. "You don't have to worry about this. I have already ordered King Yi to take charge of the western expedition. You just need to properly handle the matters in Anhui and hand them over to Qin Rigang as soon as possible. However, we cannot lack Tianjing's provisions."
"Oh!" Vézé let out a long sigh. Yang Xiuqing not letting Vézé attack everywhere had really relieved him of a great deal of pressure. "Many thanks, King Of The East!" Vézé thanked Yang Xiuqing.
"Hmph hmph!" Yang Xiuqing laughed and asked, "Wayne Brothers, did you forget anything?"
Vézé was stunned. He couldn't remember what he had forgotten. Vézé never pretended in front of Yang Xiuqing. He asked, "May I ask, King Of The East, what else did I forget?"
Yang Xiuqing said with a teasing smile, "Back then, you vowed to become the Prime Minister of the Heavenly Officials and were rather unhappy when you didn't become one. Fighting Tianjing didn't promote you. Now that you have sent so much food, you have made a great contribution. Regarding the promotion, don't you have any thoughts about it? "
"Don't tell me you can give me the title of King?" Vézé didn't know what was going through his mind and asked.
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