?
The standard for a sedan chair was based on the number of people carrying it. For example, Hong Xiuquan's sedan chair in Tianjing City required 64 people to carry. It was said that he had used it once. After Yang Xiuqing fell ill, Hong Xiuquan took a sedan chair carried by 64 people to visit Yang Xiuqing. As the most powerful figure in the Taiping Rebellion, the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, usually took a sedan chair carried by 48 people. Vézé had never seen this sedan chair with his own eyes, but he had heard many times about its magnificence. It was like a palace, bright and fragrant, exuding an oppressive aura of nobility.
According to the news that Qi Hongyi brought to Vézé, Yang Xiuqing was making a sedan chair carried by 100 people. The number of sedan chair bearers was taken from the Rites of Zhou. One sedan chair meant eight sedan chairs, while eight sedan chairs meant 64 sedan chairs. According to the rules of the Rites of Zhou, only the Emperor could use eight sedan chairs, the nobles could use six sedan chairs, the officials could use four sedan chairs, and the scholars could use two sedan chairs. The sedan chair carried by Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan used a lot of the Rites of Zhou. Therefore, Hong Xiuquan could use 64 sedan chair bearers, and Yang Xiuqing, as the most powerful nobleman, could use 48 sedan chair bearers. The sedan chair carried by 100 sedan chairs was a clear indication of Yang Xiuqing's attitude.
Qi Hongyi was married to Vézé, so she naturally had to consider Vézé's interests. Since Vézé was the King Of The East's top general, he was the fifth most powerful figure in the Taiping Rebellion. Now that Yang Xiuqing had made his attitude clear, Vézé had to be prepared.
Vézé only sneered after hearing the news. "This is the reincarnation of Zhibo!"
Qi Hongyi was stunned. As the daughter of a bibliophile, she had enjoyed reading since she was a child. Uncle Zhi was the most powerful of the six ministers in Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period. However, according to the Records of the Grand Historian, after Uncle Zhi eliminated the other two ministers, he threatened the Han and Wei families to attack the Zhao family. Zhi Bo could navigate the water, Wei Huanzi could control it, and Han Kangzi could ride it. Zhi Bo said, "Now I know that the water is going to destroy the country." Heng Zi kicked Kang Zi, Kang Zi kicked Huan Zi. Then, the Han and Wei clans joined forces with the Zhao clan to annihilate Uncle Zhi.
Vézé regarded Yang Xiuqing as the reincarnation of Zhi Bo, which was already a very insidious curse. Hearing this, Qi Hongyi was stunned. She had always heard from her father, Qi Yuchang, that Vézé was a general under Yang Xiuqing and the most loyal to Yang Xiuqing. But now she saw that not only did Vézé not have the slightest loyalty to Yang Xiuqing, he didn't even have the least bit of respect. This kind of behavior completely subverted Qi Hongyi's impression of Vézé.
In order to confirm Vézé's position, Qi Hongyi said, "Official! Although the King Of The East doesn't have self-respect, Official has always been valued by the King Of The East. Why don't you go and persuade him? "
Vézé smiled coldly and said, "If I go and persuade the King Of The East, the King Of The East won't think that he doesn't have self-respect, but he will think that we are not on the same side. I believe father-in-law has already told you what happens to those who are not on the same side as the King Of The East, right? "
Qi Hongyi was quite smart. After Vézé finished speaking, she said in a trembling voice, "Is the King Of The East going to usurp the throne?"
Vézé hugged Qi Hongyi's shoulder and tried his best to comfort his wife. "Those who stand on the Heavenly King's side will think that the King Of The East is usurping the throne. From the King Of The East's point of view, everything in the Kingdom of Tianping is now fought for by him. He just wants to be rewarded for his hard work. How can this be called usurping the throne? This is the will of the heavens! "
After a moment of silence, Qi Hongyi asked, "Then why do you think that the King Of The East is the reincarnation of Zhibo?"
Vézé had already calmed down. He said slowly, "Because although the King Of The East is a great hero, he didn't come up with a trust system that would allow everyone to find their place in the Taiping Rebellion. He just followed the old path of attacking the four kings and suppressing the generals. Hongyi, you've read the history books. You know that Zhibo did this back then! "
By now, Vézé had already figured out many things in the past. Not only did he understand what he had seen in this era, but his very limited knowledge of history was also strung together.
Why was there no record of the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, when the Taiping Rebellion was finally destroyed? Such a great figure did not seem to exist in history books at all. On the other hand, guys like Hong Xiuquan, Shi Dakai, and even Hong Renxuan were heavily written down.
Because Yang Xiuqing died, and he died in the Tianjing Rebellion.
The Yang Xiuqing that Vézé saw in this era was really a great figure. Not only was he powerful, but he also had great influence. He completely overthrew Hong Xiuquan in terms of the system. Vézé didn't understand why Yang Xiuqing was killed. Even if there was a fight, it was inevitable that Yang Xiuqing would win.
Now Vézé understood that Yang Xiuqing had offended all the important figures in the Taiping Rebellion. As long as there was one person who could unite this group of people, then Yang Xiuqing was doomed. Even if history had changed, Vézé believed that Yang Xiuqing's fate couldn't be changed. Because Vézé had made up his mind to abandon Yang Xiuqing.
This wasn't because Vézé hated Yang Xiuqing, nor was it because Vézé wanted to turn to the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan. He made this choice because Vézé was no longer willing to be under someone else.
"Will my father be implicated?" Qi Hongyi decided to believe in Vézé, so he began to worry about his family.
Vézé comforted his wife. "Don't worry. Even if something big happens, it won't happen now. I will definitely protect father-in-law's safety. "
Half a month after the Hukou Campaign, Vézé received orders to change direction from Wuhu to Changzhou. It seemed that Yang Xiuqing was going to continue with the plan to march into Suzhou and Zhejiang.
Before they set off, the General Staff Headquarters held a meeting. Before they could discuss the specific marching and battle plans, Hu Chenghe spoke. "I'm a little worried now. Will the King Of The East change his mind again? If he transfers us here and there again, the troops won't be able to take it! "
Wei Changrong's patience with Yang Xiuqing had reached its limit. As soon as Hu Chenghe finished speaking, he immediately said, "If you're worried about this, then why aren't you setting off? Are you waiting for the King Of The East to change his mind again? At least wait until we reach Changzhou. The King Of The East will have to put in a lot of effort to change his mind! "
With these two people setting the tone, the General Staff Headquarters began to show signs of distrust towards Yang Xiuqing. If it was in the past, Vézé would have to appease them. But now, he no longer said a good word for Yang Xiuqing.
When the doubts towards Yang Xiuqing reached a certain level, Vézé waved his hand to stop everyone from talking nonsense. He said, "No matter what, the King Of The East is the most reliable one. If the Heavenly King were to personally command us, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to break into Tianjing City. Everyone, let's not talk nonsense. Just prepare for the march. "
Hu Chenghe and Wei Changrong, who started the conversation, immediately shut up. The two of them were secretly ordered by Vézé to make such a doubtful speech. The purpose was, of course, to incite dissatisfaction towards Yang Xiuqing in the General Staff Headquarters. This was, of course, risky. It was very likely that Yang Xiuqing would get wind of it. But Vézé couldn't care less. If they didn't incite now, Vézé wouldn't be able to fully mobilize the troops if there was a major change in the situation.
Of course, Vézé's public stance was the same as before. As long as he insisted that "the King Of The East is much stronger than the useless Heavenly King," Vézé wasn't afraid that someone would tip off the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing. Because he had confirmed that he was going to break away from the comfort of the Taiping Rebellion, Vézé felt a burning sensation in his heart. He really wished that there would be a major change so that he could immediately spread his wings and soar to his heart's content!
On the 10th of December, Vézé led his army to Tianjing City. He only brought a few guards into Tianjing City. The majority of the army didn't stay outside Tianjing City and went straight to Changzhou.
There was a long queue outside Yang Xiuqing's main hall. They were all waiting to be summoned by Yang Xiuqing. When Vézé walked out of the crowd and entered the main hall, all sorts of envious, jealous, and even hostile gazes fell on Vézé's back. However, Vézé didn't care at all.
Yang Xiuqing seemed to be very busy. He went straight to the point and asked, "Vézé, what do you think of Chen Delong's work?"
"Very well done!" Vézé naturally didn't have any criticism for Yang Xiuqing's nephew.
Yang Xiuqing continued, "I know that your army has established a General Staff Department, so I sent him to your army to learn how the General Staff Department works."
"Your subordinate understands!" Vézé still used his usual method of dealing with official matters.
"He's far inferior to you in battle. You have to teach him well!" Yang Xiuqing said with narrowed eyes.
Vézé immediately replied, "Your subordinate has arranged for Chen Delong to be the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In this position, he can learn all the ways of the General Staff Department. In less than half a year, Chen Delong will definitely be able to hold his own! "
When saying this, Vézé was trying to guess Yang Xiuqing's thoughts. At this point, it was inevitable that Yang Xiuqing would place people in Vézé's core command structure. What he needed to pay attention to now wasn't whether or not to let Chen Delong join Vézé's army, but to let Yang Xiuqing understand how long it would take for Chen Delong to theoretically take over Vézé's command.
As expected, Yang Xiuqing was very satisfied with Vézé's reply. He smiled and said, "I'll have to trouble you with this nephew of mine, Vézé. Let Chen Delong bring you to see Chen Cheng. Take care of the transfer. "
"As you command!" Vézé answered without hesitation.
Chen Cheng? He was the Marquis of the Taiping Rebellion. Although his status wasn't as high as Vézé's, his authority was greater than Vézé's. Yang Xiuqing's King Of The East's Six Ministers had completely replaced the Princes of the Taiping Rebellion. Chen Cheng? As the Marquis, he was the true leader of the Six Ministers. If Yang Xiuqing was the President of the country, then Chen Cheng? He was undoubtedly the Premier of the State Council.
Wei Ze felt that Chen Delong was Yang Xiuqing's nephew. That was why he had to look for Chen Cheng. That was why he had to find Chen Cheng. That was why he had to find Chen Cheng? On the way, Vézé smiled. "Brother Chen, I want to appoint you as the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. You've just arrived here, so why don't you take care of the logistics first? You don't need to do anything else. We need rations for our eastward march, and you are the most suitable person to get them from Tianjing! Once the rations arrive, I will immediately arrange for Brother Chen to come back and take care of military affairs! "
Of course, Chen Delong knew how powerful his identity was. He smiled proudly and said, "I know!"
Seeing that Chen Delong had agreed, Vézé immediately said happily, "Then when you see Marquis Zuo, I hope that Brother Chen can directly tell him about the rations. Your words will be more useful than mine! "
"Got it!" Chen Delong agreed readily. He also knew that if he wanted to have a say in Vézé's army, being in charge of getting rations was a very important bargaining chip.
The two of them met Chen Cheng? Then, Chen Cheng? He invited the two of them into the inner room, then had his bodyguards leave the room and stand guard outside the door. There was no small talk after that. Chen Cheng? He went straight to the point. "Prince Of The Qi, I have something to ask you. The King Of The East is 9,000 years old. Do you think it's appropriate to add another 1,000 years to the King Of The East's achievements? "
Finally, it was time for the main event! Vézé's heart couldn't help but pound violently. He had always been thinking about how Yang Xiuqing should seize the highest position in the Taiping Rebellion. He couldn't think of any other way besides a direct mutiny.
All the troops in Tianjing were in the hands of Yang Xiuqing's relatives. Lu Xianba was Yang Xiuqing's cousin, and Li Junliang was Yang Xiuqing's "personal doctor". The two of them had held less than 20 Marquises in the early stages, and their positions were even higher than generals like Luo Dagang and Ceng Tianyang. Among the Marquises were his brother-in-law, Huang Weijiang, and his trusted aides, Fu Xuexian, Liu Shaoting, and Ji Chengzi.
Yang Xiuqing's "Generals of the Yang Family" rarely went to war during his reign, and none of them became high-ranking officials. However, rather than saying that he was "strict with his family", it was more accurate to say that Yang Xiuqing was worried about his own safety, so he arranged for these "Generals of the Yang Family" to guard the house.
The guards in the inner city of Tianjing City were all controlled by the "Generals of the Yang Family". After destroying the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks, Yang Xiuqing cleverly deprived the North Prince, Wei Changhui, of his military power. Since then, all the troops in Tianjing City were under the command of the "Generals of the Yang Family".
According to the information provided by Vézé's father-in-law, Qi Yuchang, to Vézé, Yang Xiuqing had beaten Zhang Yingchen 300 times and seized Zhang Yingchen's troops. He then ordered his nephew, Chen Degui, to take over the command. Yang Xiuqing's other nephew, Chen Delong, was now placed under Vézé's command.
If the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, had adopted a mutiny, there was no way they couldn't kill the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan, who was in the Heavenly King's Residence. However, the loser in history was Yang Xiuqing, not Hong Xiuquan.
After learning that Yang Xiuqing wanted to first proclaim "Long live the Emperor" and then think of a way to take down Hong Xiuquan. Vézé snickered in his heart, and he couldn't help but reveal a happy expression on his face. Yang Xiuqing was a hero, but compared to Tang Taizong, Li Shimin, he was a far cry. Li Shimin was facing his biological brother, not Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan, who fought together with him. However, Li Shimin had no qualms and killed his biological brother without hesitation. Yang Xiuqing wanted to seize the highest power in the Taiping Rebellion, but he was so hesitant. No wonder he was killed.
Vézé smiled happily. His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of joy and strength. "Of course, the King Of The East should proclaim" Long live the Emperor "! In my opinion, not only should the King Of The East be proclaimed "Long live the Emperor", but he should have done so a long time ago! Brother Chen, don't you agree? "
Chen Cheng? He didn't expect Vézé to be so excited that he even asked in front of Yang Xiuqing's nephew, Chen Delong. He quickly laughed dryly and said, "I also think that the King Of The East should have been proclaimed" Long live the Emperor "long ago!"
Chen Cheng? As soon as he finished speaking, Vézé asked eagerly, "When will the King Of The East be proclaimed" Long live the Emperor "? I, on the other hand, must personally congratulate Dong Wang! "
"This … This will be arranged by the King Of The East!" He answered.
"I'm really happy to hear this news. I really want the King Of The East to be conferred the title of Long Live! "Vézé said anxiously.
"Wayne Brothers, don't worry, don't worry!" Chen Cheng was trying his best to appease Vézé. He was flustered by Vézé. After comforting Vézé, Chen Chengguo went to the bathroom. After calming himself down a little, he continued to ask, "Wayne Brothers, if the King Of The East is bestowed the title of Long Live, the Heavenly Kings will also be bestowed the title of Long Live, and so will the King Of The East. How do you think these two should get along? "
"Big Brother Chen, you just said that you want the King Of The East to be conferred the title of Long Live, right?" Vézé asked.
Chen Cheng? Nodded. "Yes. I do want the King Of The East to be conferred the title of Long Live. "
Vézé sighed, then said in a hopeful tone, "I've heard stories since I was a child about how glorious the founding heroes, such as Liu Bowen and Chang Yuchun, were. I'm very envious of them. Now that the King Of The East is conferred the title of Long Live, I can also be a founding hero. That's what I'm actually thinking. "
"Oh!" Chen Cheng? Chen Cheng had already understood Vézé's meaning, so he nodded and stopped talking.
Chen Delong was obviously not as smart as Chen Cheng. He didn't understand what Vézé meant at all. However, seeing how Vézé was so supportive of the King Of The East and Yang Xiuqing, Chen Delong was grinning from ear to ear.
Chen Cheng? After asking the question, Vézé hurriedly tugged at Chen Delong. After a few tugs, Chen Delong remembered Wei Ze's prior arrangements. He hurriedly asked Chen Chengyu He hurriedly asked Chen Cheng for provisions. Chen Cheng? Readily agreed, but didn't mention the specifics. This bureaucratic way of handling things couldn't fool Vézé. Vézé followed closely behind. Chen Cheng had to finalize the specific procedures.
With a wily old fox like Vézé as an opponent, Chen Cheng finally gave in. He brought Vézé to the Ministry of War of the Six Ministries and asked the Ministry of War to help Vézé arrange the provisions.
"Brother Chen, go and say goodbye to the King Of The East first. I'll also go back to the Prince Of The Qi's residence to make arrangements, "Vézé said to Chen Delong. He had to give Chen Delong enough time to report to Yang Xiuqing. If he couldn't let Yang Xiuqing know Vézé's attitude, then Vézé's excitement would be in vain.
Seeing Chen Delong excitedly run into the King Of The East's residence, Vézé's heart was in turmoil. The matter of Yang Xiuqing being conferred the title of Emperor Of The East was like a starting gun. All the people who had the ability to participate in this matter began to take action actively or passively. The river of history, which had begun to shake violently, was undoubtedly approaching the mouth of the waterfall. After the violent changes, Vézé wasn't absolutely sure who could survive and successfully enter the next stage. However, he already understood that he no longer had any path of retreat!
Turning his head, Vézé waved his horsewhip in the direction of the Prince Of Qi's residence and said to the brothers beside him, "Let's go, advance!"
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