? Text Online Reading Site Domain Mobile Phone Reading Please Visit
Jiangxi, Yi Palace. May 8th.
"With the Wing King leading over a hundred thousand of our brothers, we will definitely be able to conquer Zhejiang and Shanghai. At that time, what do we have to fear? " During the strategy meeting at the Yi Residence, Zhu Yi Dian, Wang Haiyang, and the other generals who had decided to follow Shi Dakai shouted loudly.
Compared to Tianjing City's conference, Jiangxi's Yi Manor seemed more natural. There were no palaces or mansions. Due to the large number of people, everyone gathered in a courtyard. The Zhu Clan's brothers were all in high spirits, almost as if they had been in the early stages of the Taiping Rebellion seven or eight years ago.
In mid-April, Shi Dakai, who had gone to "rescue Jiujiang," "recommended" the generals who refused to leave the Heavenly State to the Heavenly King. He also told Hong Xiuquan that these people were loyal to the Heavenly King. In the Taiping army, apart from those loyal to the Heavenly King, the rest were all loyal to Shi Dakai.
For the better part of a year, Shi Dakai kept in close contact with the generals of the Western Expedition. He had posted notices everywhere, indicating that he was suspected by the Heavenly Kings and could no longer establish himself. He could only leave Tianjing City. He also extended an invitation to the Taiping army. Those who were willing to follow him could join. These brothers were still fighting against Qing Yao. These brothers were also part of the Taiping Rebellion.
The generals were originally very dissatisfied with Hong Xiuquan. Now that there was Shi Dakai's announcement, coupled with the fact that many generals who had long been on good terms with Shi Dakai were fanning the flames. In the end, nearly a hundred high-ranking military officers in the Jiangxi region made up their minds to follow Shi Dakai and carve out a territory for themselves. In a very short period of time, he had gathered more than a hundred thousand people.
Seeing that his brothers were in high spirits, Shi Dakai also felt that the morale of the troops could be used. This 26-year-old young prince even felt a little emotional. After experiencing Yang Xiuqing's domineering attitude and Hong Xiuquan's extravagance, this situation where all the brothers became sworn brothers in the Mountain God Temple was what it looked like to conquer the world. When one person called for a hundred people, they patted their chests and swore with glowing faces. Everyone's words and actions came from the bottom of their hearts. There was no trembling in the face of power, and there was no threat of death on the verge of internal strife. Everything was so natural and unrestrained.
"Brothers, follow me, and we will definitely forge a new world! If we take down Zhejiang, we will be in a stalemate with the Heavenly State. Qing Yao is nothing to be afraid of! "Shi Dakai said confidently. The gloom of the past half a year was swept away, and he seemed to have become the young God of War who had defeated the Xiang Army in the Battle of Hukou.
"We all trust King Yi!" Zhu Yi took the lead and shouted. The other brothers followed suit. Even if it couldn't be said to be earth-shattering, it was at least a boiling cauldron of life.
A satisfied smile appeared on Shi Dakai's face. This was an encouragement to his brothers. However, he was not as calm as he appeared on the surface. Shi Dakai was Shi Dakai after all. He sighed because it was a matter of timing. He could only act now. If only he could see Hong Xiuquan's true colors earlier and act earlier.
Over the past few days, Shi Dakai had reflected on his past experiences. He now felt that the best time for him to leave the Kingdom of Heaven was when Vézé was heading south. That expedition to the south showed Vézé's strength as a general. He led his troops to travel thousands of miles in a hurry, passing through dozens of towns controlled by the Manchu Qing army. Even when he reached Guangdong, he still had to fight with the Guangdong Qing Army, who were waiting for him. Anyone would feel that this expedition was too unplanned and arbitrary.
However, it turned out that Vézé had chosen the best direction at the best time. The Jiangxi Qing Army was fighting a bloody battle with the Taiping army. The Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks didn't dare to fight with Vézé. Vézé had left so casually, and the soldiers of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks were probably burning incense. As for the Qing Army in Guangdong, it turned out that they were the same as the Qing Army guarding the key cities on the road in Jiangxi. They couldn't withstand a single blow from Vézé's powerful military force.
Looking at it now, if Shi Dakai had led his troops east while Vézé was heading south, it would have been a heaven-sent opportunity. However, Shi Dakai had thought that if he had sent his troops to Suzhou and Hangzhou, he would have attracted the attention of the Qing Army attacking Vézé, so he hadn't thought about this. Now, Shi Dakai couldn't help but feel regret. If he had led his troops east while Vézé was heading south, Shi Dakai would have led his troops east. At that time, the Qing Army had just suffered a great defeat. Shi Dakai's troops disguised themselves as Vézé's troops and would have taken Suzhou all the way, then marched on to Hangzhou. With the territory in Zhejiang in his hands, many of his brothers would naturally follow Shi Dakai.
He had missed it last time, so he couldn't miss it this time. Shi Dakai had given up all hope on Hong Xiuquan. Hong Xiuquan was petty, incompetent, and unwilling to give up the power in his hands. If Lin Fengxiang hadn't tried his best to mediate, who knew if Hong Xiuquan would have caused a second change in Tianjing because he was worried about Shi Dakai.
When he was in Tianjing City, Hong Xiuquan did not honestly admit his incompetence. Not only did he not obediently hand over his power to Shi Dakai, but he also thought of ways to weaken and attack Shi Dakai's power. Hong Xiuquan had done everything he could to give his two brothers the title of King, and then let them deal with Shi Dakai. This kind of perverse action didn't even need Shi Dakai to openly oppose it. Lin Fengxiang and the other Heavenly State bigwigs jumped out to oppose it.
Shi Dakai had long lost all feelings for Hong Xiuquan. He had even given up on the Taiping Rebellion. At this time, it was time to cut all ties. Shi Dakai had no reason to sacrifice his life for Hong Xiuquan's selfish interests. It wasn't the first time Shi Dakai had wanted to leave. The reason he chose to leave now instead of parting ways earlier was because Lin Fengxiang had asked Vézé for the technology and equipment to make fire hats and modify the guns. In order to gather the weapons in his hands, Shi Dakai could only pinch his nose and pretend to be courteous to Hong Xiuquan in Tianjing.
However, things went smoothly. In order to defend against the Huai army's attack, Lin Fengxiang left Tianjing for Anhui. Shi Dakai happened to take over Lin Fengxiang's task of equipping the troops of the Jiangxi Western Punitive Expedition who were clearly following Shi Dakai. He also took advantage of the opportunity to save Jiujiang in Jiangxi to take away more than half of the guns and fire hats in Tianjing. At this time, he had finally gathered enough weapons and equipment for his hundreds of thousands of subordinates. The opportunity to show his ambition had arrived.
Shi Dakai stood up and waved his hand, indicating for the generals to quiet down. The dozens of generals shut their mouths. Everyone's gazes fell on Shi Dakai. "Brothers, Zhejiang is a rich land. This time, we will march into Zhejiang and drive away the Qing Yao. Then, we will march into Fujian. Do you have the confidence to conquer your own riches? "
When the generals heard Shi Dakai's order, they cheered at almost the same time. They shouted in unison, "We obey Yi Wang's orders!"
Shi Dakai looked around at the generals. This young general, who had just turned 26 this year, said emotionally, "Good! Since you are all willing to follow me, Yang Fuqing has already sent someone to invite us to march. We will start moving the day after tomorrow. "
"Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh!" The generals of Yi Wang's residence cheered. Most of them didn't have the confidence to overthrow Manchu Qing. Most of them had full confidence in the ideals of establishing a new dynasty. From the moment they raised their troops, they had no way out. They could only fight to the death. However, after experiencing the coup in Tianjing, these people were completely disappointed in Hong Xiuquan. These brothers in Jiangxi had to face the fierce attacks of the Xiang Army. Moreover, Hong Xiuquan kept giving them all kinds of difficult orders. In the eyes of these generals, joining the Taiping Rebellion wasn't a mistake. The mistake was following Hong Xiuquan. Now, this group of people had made a choice to follow Yi Wang, Shi Dakai, who clearly had a better future. They all firmly believed that following Shi Dakai was the path to victory.
"We will follow the Wing Monarch without any regrets!" Zhu Yidian took the lead to shout again.
"We will follow the Wing Monarch without any regrets!"
"We will follow the Wing Monarch without any regrets!"
The other generals also followed suit and shouted. Shi Dakai was surrounded by the generals. His expression was grave and stern. At this moment, he looked elegant, as if he was a refined military god who had descended from the heavens.
Although Vézé had become independent after leaving the Taiping Rebellion, the various factions in the Taiping Rebellion didn't have any ill feelings towards Vézé. Vézé was also one of the victims in the coup in Tianjing. Vézé didn't kill any of his brothers in the Taiping Army. More importantly, Vézé had successfully established himself in Guangdong and Guangxi. He had managed to do so in a short period of time. His brilliant achievements proved that Vézé had not relied on his relationship with Yang Xiuqing to be conferred the title of "Prince Of Qi" and become an important figure in the Taiping Rebellion, second only to the Six Princes. Even without the King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, Vézé was still invincible in the world.
Therefore, the intelligence network of the Restored Commandery had infiltrated the Taiping Army much deeper than expected. On the surface, those loyal to the Taiping Rebellion had a good relationship with Vézé. No matter what, Vézé was "still the Prince Of Qi of the Taiping Rebellion." Many of his subordinates were willing to provide information to Vézé. Among those who had given up hope on Heavenly King Hong, some of them were willing to play both sides. They followed Shi Dakai while maintaining a "good relationship" with Vézé.
Therefore, before Lin Fengxiang's request for help from Vézé had left Jiangxi, the intelligence department of the Restored Commandery had already received a detailed report. Shi Dakai's troops had just set out and were still on their way to Zhejiang. By this time, Vézé had already figured out Shi Dakai's arrangements.
On the 15th day of May, Lei Hu came to report to Vézé. His troops had just returned from Ganzhou. Ganzhou had originally been in the hands of Chen Xianliang's troops from Guangdong's Tian Di Hui. Later, Chen Xianliang joined Shi Dakai's troops and left Ganzhou. The Qing Army had then retaken it.
Vézé had no intention of controlling Ganzhou, but he also had no intention of letting the Qing Army move around as they pleased. In the past year, Vézé had already sent troops to attack Ganzhou three times, then abandoned it again. Each time, the troops attacking Ganzhou were different. Vézé had adopted a rotation system and carried out an annihilating attack on the Qing Army in Ganzhou.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
