?
"Wayne Brothers, where are you going to attack?" Yang Xiuqing asked. Hearing Vézé's idea of a strategic decisive battle with Qing Yao, Yang Xiuqing was pleasantly surprised.
However, Vézé's answer was far beyond Yang Xiuqing's imagination. "King Of The East, I don't want to attack anywhere. I want to eliminate Qing Yao in the northern part of Jiangsu. I have been fighting in the central Anhui area and have slowly realized that there is a pattern. There are two forces that dare to oppose our Taiping army. One is Qing Yao, and the other is the landlord regiment. If we let the two sides gather, then it will be very troublesome. If we can kill all of Qing Yao's troops, even if the regiment commanders rise up and fight with us, they will only be a small force that is scattered in various places. Their numbers are at most a few hundred, and the place they can go is less than a hundred miles. With our tens of thousands of troops in the central Anhui area and the territory of hundreds of miles, killing them is like killing an ant. Moreover, after killing the regiment commanders, we can confiscate their property and land. Even if this land is a military garrison, it can still produce a lot of food. At least the brothers stationed in the area don't have to transfer food from other places. Therefore, I feel that Qing Yao's troops are the roots, and the landlord regiment commanders are the poles. If we dig out these roots, the poles will die. Then, we will establish the government and quickly control the area. Collecting food, collecting taxes, and recruiting soldiers. These things are very easy to do. "
Vézé had long wanted to tell Yang Xiuqing about this, but the purpose of doing so was not entirely to take credit. Vézé knew that his actions in the central Anhui area were very different from Yang Xiuqing's actions in Nanjing. Although Yang Xiuqing was broad-minded and only cared about whether Vézé could lead troops to war and whether the territory he controlled could deliver food to Tianjing on time, he did not interfere in other matters. But Yang Xiuqing not interfering in the central Anhui area and Yang Xiuqing not knowing anything about the situation in the central Anhui area were two completely different things. The information that Yang Xiuqing obtained and the information that Vézé introduced to Yang Xiuqing were two completely different things.
After hearing Vézé's words, Yang Xiuqing fell into deep thought. After a while, Yang Xiuqing said, "Does the Wayne Brothers really want to fight with Qing Yao and not mainly seize territory?"
Wei Ze immediately replied, "Yes, East King. That's exactly what I plan to do. That's why I want to attack the east and cut off the canal. Qing Yao's Jiangbei Camp's food is mostly supplied by Xuzhou. Once the canal is cut off, Jiangbei Camp will have no food to eat, at least the original food route will be greatly affected. If they are really willing to be a coward, I will occupy the surrounding territory step by step, implement the food tax, and gather troops. Step by step, I will surround the Jiangbei Camp. If Qing Yao is not willing to end up like this, they can only come out and fight with us. At that time, we will fight with Qing Yao. After killing Qing Yao, the world will belong to the King Of The East. "
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yang Xiuqing sneered, but it was just a sneer. Then, Yang Xiuqing asked, "Since you said you want to kill Qing Yao, I think you can kill anyone?"
Wei Ze knew what Yang Xiuqing was referring to, so he immediately went with the flow and answered, "In any case, it should be near central Anhui. This subordinate's troops have just returned from the north and need to rest for a while."
"Then the time limit is half a year. Kill He Chun!" Yang Xiuqing ordered.
Vézé immediately replied, "I can kill He Chun's troops, but if He Chun sees that the situation is not right, he will run away. The world is so big, and I can't guarantee that I can kill He Chun."
Yang Xiuqing sneered, "Hmph, you talk nonsense. Now you know that you can't do something?"
"I know." Vézé replied.
"Vézé, you are so childish!" Yang Xiuqing sighed, "So, you do two things for me in half a year. The first is to collect all the provisions. This year, we need 50% more than last year. The second thing is what you said yourself. If you can take down the Jiangbei Barracks, then you can take it down. I will let Yangzhou try to support, and it depends on how far you can go, Vézé. "
Hearing Yang Xiuqing mention the Taiping army in Yangzhou, Lin Fengxiang immediately asked, "King Of The East, let me lead the troops back to Yangzhou first."
When Lin Fengxiang went on the Northern Expedition, he sent his troops from Yangzhou. Many of his subordinates were recruited from Yangzhou. Naturally, they were very concerned about Yangzhou.
Vézé suggested, "It doesn't matter if it's a few days earlier or a few days later. It's better to finish reorganizing in Central Anhui. At that time, Prime Minister Lin's four armies of 20,000 people will attack Yangzhou in one fell swoop."
"With 20,000 people, do we still need to attack Yangzhou? Wouldn't it be better to directly besiege Jiangbei Camp from the outside? "Li Kaifang said straightforwardly.
With Vézé's guarantee of collecting provisions, dispatching troops, and helping the three Prime Ministers replenish the troops, everyone talked more easily about the future military development. Moreover, Vézé repeatedly suggested not to replace training with war, but to train and nurture the troops, and fight on a certain basis.
Yang Xiuqing and the others agreed with this model that required a longer period of time. Before the Jintian Uprising, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and the others had trained their troops in the Jintian area. But the current situation was more critical. Jiangbei Camp, Jiangnan Camp, as well as the two lakes and Jiangxi upstream were all fighting. Only the Central Anhui region, where Vézé was located, was relatively stable.
Vézé had always been low-key about the superior conditions he enjoyed. He always said that it was the other generals who fought hard, allowing Vézé to enjoy such a status quo. At this time, Vézé naturally said so again. Yang Xiuqing, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang, Yoshibuwon, and the others knew Vézé's attitude, so they didn't say anything more. From their words and actions, it could be seen that these people deeply agreed with Vézé's point of view.
When the official business was almost over, Yang Xiuqing invited everyone to dinner. Although there was a huge gap in status between Yang Xiuqing and Vézé and the others, after a few glasses of wine at the banquet, they became closer. Yang Xiuqing sighed. "Fengxiang, I was really worried when you were surrounded in Tianjin. Fortunately, the Wayne Brothers were there. I was relieved to have him help you. "
The northern expedition this time was more daunting than dangerous, and from a military point of view, the losses were relatively limited. But if Vézé hadn't gone to rescue them, the result would have been hard to say. The Northern Expedition Army had a large number of old brothers from Guangxi. If they had been lost in the north, it would have been very unfortunate for the Taiping army.
Vézé didn't want to brag about himself, so he could only keep quiet about this matter that he had contributed a lot to. Listening on the side, Vézé gradually got some clues. The old brothers from Guangxi were also divided into ranks. Before the Jintian Uprising, Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, and the others began to train their troops. Although there were Cantonese and Guangxi people among those who participated in the training, these old brothers were the "Guangxi old brothers" recognized by the higher-ups. In other words, those brothers who left Guangxi were called "Guangxi old brothers", while those who trained in Jintian Village were the real old brothers. Vézé, who had joined the Taiping army halfway through, was not the real core of the Taiping army.
However, the good thing about Yang Xiuqing was that he was very broad-minded. He was able to treat his subordinates with respect. Otherwise, Vézé would not have been the first to be conferred the title of King after the establishment of Yong 'an. After everyone drank for a while, Lin Fengxiang suddenly asked a question. Was Vézé married?
In the system of the Taiping Rebellion, only the Prince and the Prime Minister could live with their wives. When Yong 'an was established, the three Princes, the Heavenly King, the King Of The East, and the Prince of Yi, all had many wives and concubines. The King Of The East and the Prince of Yi kept their wives within a normal range, while the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan, had 88 wives and hundreds of palace maids and female officials.
When Vézé joined the Taiping army, he didn't get married. In the past two years, he had been fighting every day, so he didn't get married at all. As soon as Lin Fengxiang said this, Yang Xiuqing immediately expressed his support for Vézé's marriage. According to the system of the Taiping Rebellion, it was abnormal that Vézé didn't have a wife.
If it was someone else in the Taiping army in 1854, it would be a problem. But for Vézé, it was not a problem at all. He smiled and said, "These three Prime Ministers are older than me. Your marriage hasn't been settled yet, so my marriage can't be arranged before my brothers'. Moreover, I've been in Anhui and haven't traveled much. My brothers have fought their way to many places in the north. Even if it's hard work, I'll have to let my brothers settle the marriage issue first. "
As soon as this was said, Yang Xiuqing immediately agreed with Vézé's point of view. He felt that it was more important to settle the wives and concubines of the three real brothers in the Taiping army who participated in the northern expedition.
Of course, Lin Fengxiang and the others knew that Vézé was being polite, but they were all men. When it came to getting a bunch of women, they all bragged and joked about it. Everyone laughed at the fact that Vézé was still a roommate. They were afraid that he didn't understand the matters between men and women.
Vézé thought to himself, I've played the "apian" before. Although most of the time I just watched it, I have a lot of experience in theory and observation. But this kind of thing naturally couldn't be said out loud. He could only joke about how he didn't have time to take care of his wives after having so many wives.
Everyone continued to talk about this topic. Yang Xiuqing believed that the main purpose of having a wife was to have children. For example, Yang Xiuqing had several wives, not including daughters, but they had at least given him six or seven sons. Moreover, his wives would be pregnant for a year, so he didn't have to take care of them every day.
The one with the most wives in Tianjing City was undoubtedly Hong Xiuquan. Lin Fengxiang was one of the forty sworn brothers in Jintian Village. He couldn't help but mention that he hadn't heard that Hong Xiuquan had so many children. Hearing this, Yang Xiuqing sneered. At this time, he had also drunk more than ten cups of wine. Yang Xiuqing was obviously a little tipsy. This snort represented Yang Xiuqing's great dissatisfaction with Hong Xiuquan.
Vézé didn't dare to continue asking. Instead, Yang Xiuqing began to speak, "The Heavenly King said that he didn't like women, but his palace maids and female officials were pregnant. The Heavenly King said that the child wasn't his, so he beat the palace maids and female officials until they miscarried. Even if the child really wasn't his, he could have just kicked the palace maids out. Why did he have to go to such an extent? After I found out, I tried to persuade him several times, but he didn't listen. Fortunately, the Heavenly Father arrived and punished the Heavenly King. The Heavenly King finally realized his mistake. He swore that he would never do it again. He didn't have many children, but he did it himself. "
After hearing this, Vézé felt a wave of fear in his heart. Beating a pregnant woman until she miscarried was already scary enough. But the struggle that occurred around this matter made Vézé even more afraid. The Heavenly King demanded that the Confucian books be completely destroyed, so the "Heavenly Father arrived and punished the Heavenly King" happened. Now that he beat a pregnant woman and caused her to miscarry, the "Heavenly Father arrived and punished the Heavenly King" happened again.
Vézé didn't think that there was anything wrong with Yang Xiuqing's actions. But if the only way for the two sides to resolve the conflict was "Heavenly Father arrived and punished the Heavenly King", then the hidden conflict was too deep.
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