?
Despite the bloody battle on the 8th, on the morning of the 9th, the Taiping army still began to attack the Qing Army, Liu Zhangqing's troops. The troops did not fight head-on. Instead, they followed Yang Xiuqing's orders and sent troops to flank Liu Zhangqing's rear. After wiping out Ulan Tai and severely injuring Xiang Rong, the Taiping army occupied the battlefield. The Qing Army's weapons and supplies were seized by the Taiping army. In this attack, the Taiping army no longer lacked ammunition.
Liu Zhangqing was a slippery fellow. After discovering the Taiping army's movements, he made a prompt decision and abandoned his camp. He led the Qing Army and ran for more than 20 li. He hid in the camp in Nandong and did not dare to come out. He no longer confronted the Taiping army head-on.
After seizing Liu Zhangqing's camp, the Taiping army moved their main camp here. After a day of revision, Yang Xiuqing announced on the 10th that their future direction would be either Pingle in the north or Wuzhou in the south.
After hearing this news, Vézé immediately requested to see the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan. "Southern Prince, if we go south to Wuzhou, many of my subordinates are Tian Di Hui brothers from Wuzhou. I am willing to be the vanguard."
Now Vézé disliked Hong Xiuquan from the bottom of his heart. He also did not want to move with the Taiping army. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vézé prepared to further train the troops.
At this time, there was no one else in the Southern Prince's tent. The Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, smiled and said, "Wayne Brothers, this time we will not go to Pingle or Wuzhou. The King Of The East has decided that we will go to Guilin. "
"Attack the provincial capital of Guilin?" Vézé was stunned. In the previous month of military training, Vézé had set up the General Staff Department and started to make maps. The important work of the General Staff Department and the compulsory course for the staff officers was to draw maps. Although it was far from the advanced technology of contour lines, Vézé ordered his men from all over Guangxi to draw a map of the whole of Guangxi based on the geography they knew. Vézé was not completely unfamiliar with Guangxi. After all, there was a naval base here, and the large shipyards in the north also had a lot of business in Guangxi. Together with the framework drawn by Vézé, a rough map of Guangxi that was full of mistakes was finally completed.
If the Taiping army wanted to attack Guilin, they would first have to destroy the Qing Army in Lipu. Although they had defeated the Qing Army in Dadong, the Qing Army still had 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers in Guangxi. The Taiping army now had less than 20,000 soldiers, and the number of soldiers who could really fight was less than 10,000. And the number of Qing Army soldiers in Lipu must be more than ten thousand. These Qing Army were beaten until they were afraid; perhaps they would not go out of the city to fight the Taiping army in the field. With the strength of the Taiping army, it was not enough to conquer the city.
Thinking of this, Vézé said again, "King Nan, I have something to say to King Nan."
Although Vézé had not been with King Nan for long, Feng Yunshan thought highly of Vézé. Seeing Vézé's serious attitude, Feng Yunshan listened to Vézé's suggestion.
Vézé's suggestion was very simple. Since Wuzhou's Tiandi Hui was powerful, if they could reach Wuzhou, they would certainly be able to obtain a large number of soldiers. It was very necessary for the Taiping army to go to Wuzhou. Even if the Taiping army prepared to go to Guilin, they could send a detachment to Wuzhou. First, they could confuse the Qing Army. Second, as long as they reached Wuzhou, the Qing Army would have to divide their forces to deal with the Taiping army in Wuzhou.
Having made his suggestion, Vézé said very seriously, "King Nan! I am willing to go to Wuzhou. I do not need King Nan to give me new subordinates. I only need my current subordinates. "
Feng Yunshan had not thought that Vézé would voluntarily apply for such a dangerous mission. Although the Taiping army had repeatedly defeated the Qing Army, the upper echelons of the Qing Army were not idiots. They had not made any mistakes in the key troop movements. Based on the information they had received, the Qing Army had already moved all the boats on the Fuhe River so that the Taiping army would not have any boats to cross the river. After nearly a month of heavy rain, the Fuhe River had swollen and the current was rapid. The Taiping army could not cross.
If a capable general like Vézé could go straight to Wuzhou, that would naturally be for the best. However, they would have to fight the Qing Army along the way and there were all kinds of rivers blocking the way. Feng Yunshan was worried that Vézé would not be able to reach Wuzhou.
However, Vézé's attitude was very firm. The Qing Army had also formed a faint encirclement around the Taiping army. In the end, Feng Yunshan did not refuse Vézé. Instead, he said, "Allow me to discuss this matter with the King Of The East."
On the evening of the 10th, Feng Yunshan summoned Vézé. "Wayne Brothers, the King Of The East has already approved of your way of thinking. However, this trip is extremely dangerous. Wayne Brothers, are you sure you are willing to go to Wuzhou? "
Vézé replied with emotion, "I am willing to go to Wuzhou! If we can take Wuzhou, that would be for the best. Even if we cannot take Wuzhou, I can bring back some of the Wuzhou Tian Di Hui brothers. We have fought many bloody battles and are indeed short of people! "
Hearing Vézé say they were "short of people," Feng Yunshan had nothing else to say. The Taiping army was indeed short of troops. After a year of marching and fighting, the troops trained during the Jintian Uprising had suffered heavy casualties. Other than his contributions, Vézé was able to become the first patrol inspector. An important reason was that the Taiping army had no officers but no people. Adding a patrol inspector had no effect on the upper echelons of the Taiping army.
Feng Yunshan knew that Luo Dagang was hated by Hong Xiuquan because Luo Dagang had once said, "In such a small place, how can there be so many princes?" Although these words were not pleasant to hear, they vividly described the current situation of the Taiping army. Many officers sounded impressive, but in reality, they were short of troops.
Thinking of this, Feng Yunshan did not try to persuade Vézé any further. He finally agreed to Vézé's request.
Vézé was very happy about this. In the Taiping army, Yang Xiuqing was a man of great talent and bold vision. He was decisive and persistent. Vézé knew that his boldness was far inferior to that of Yang Xiuqing. Needless to say, Vézé could never have imagined the annihilation of Dadong, let alone make up his mind. Although the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, was not an outstanding military talent, he was quite capable in administration. Feng Yunshan's contributions could not go unnoticed for the orderly operation of the Sacred Treasury.
However, this was not enough for Vézé. After participating in such a peasant movement, Vézé liked some people in the Taiping Rebellion, such as Wei Changrong and Zhang Yingchen. He also respected some people, such as Yang Xiuqing and Feng Yunshan. However, Vézé finally realized one thing, and it was also the root cause of his incompatibility with this era. Vézé did not want to find himself a group of good officials, nor did he want to find himself a good ruler. The Qing Dynasty was a decadent system. More than 99% of the people in power were a group of beasts. Hong Xiuquan's actions made Vézé personally understand how evil the feudal system was.
Vézé now hoped to build his own team, a team armed with more modern ideas. If he wanted to build such a team, he had to temporarily leave the Taiping Rebellion. Even if he had to cooperate with the Taiping Rebellion in the future, Vézé still hoped to have more subordinates. Since the Taiping Rebellion was based on having soldiers for a general, it was a military system. What Vézé needed now was to have his own people and subordinates.
However, thinking of this, Vézé suddenly thought of another matter. "Southern Prince, I have another request."
"What is it?" Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, asked in a gentle tone. Since Vézé dared to take the task of going south to Wuzhou, Feng Yunshan decided to meet all of Vézé's requests within the scope of his authority.
Vézé scratched his head embarrassedly and said with a smile, "I taught my brothers that the earth is a sphere. The earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the earth. The brothers refused to believe the words of their subordinates. I hope Southern Prince can help me tell my brothers. "
Feng Yunshan was stunned after hearing this. It was not that Feng Yunshan thought that Vézé was talking about the army. Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan had really been in the church in Guangdong. The church in 1852 had long recognized that the earth was round. The missionaries had used this "new knowledge" to show off the church's ability. Feng Yunshan naturally knew that this was true. Feng Yunshan asked curiously, "Why did Wayne Brothers want to teach everyone this?"
Vézé continued to smile and said, "Southern Prince, my brothers come from everywhere. I think I'm good at martial arts, but there are many brothers who are good at martial arts. Although I haven't gotten any official titles, I also want to show that I'm good at both literature and martial arts through this. I've only heard that the earth is round, but I don't know what's going on. That's why I asked Southern Prince to help me. It seems that I know a lot. "
Vézé had also carefully taught this. If the model of the solar system could not be established, a lot of related knowledge could not be carried out at all. Vézé's subordinates admired Vézé very much. His personal fighting ability, marching and fighting, as well as being able to teach everyone how to write and learn mathematics. In everyone's eyes, Vézé was a very cultured person. Being cultured meant having a high status. This was the traditional concept in China.
However, when Vézé said that the earth was round, that the earth revolved around the sun, and that the moon revolved around the earth, everyone was shocked. This was no longer a matter of being cultured, but completely subverting the brothers' worldview. Everyone stood on a big ball, surrounded by boundless emptiness. What was even more frightening was that the big ball was still spinning. If the big ball didn't spin properly, wouldn't everyone fall down one day? All the brothers strongly objected to Vézé's knowledge.
Since Vézé could not solve this problem by himself, he could only rely on someone in a higher position to persuade him. For example, Pope Feng Yunshan, who was in charge of missionary work during the Taiping Rebellion, was undoubtedly the second most suitable candidate. The most suitable candidate was none other than the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan. However, Vézé did not want to look for Hong Xiuquan, and he also believed that Hong Xiuquan would never sincerely do this for Vézé.
Since Vézé wanted to establish his prestige among his subordinates, Feng Yunshan was naturally willing to help. He happily brought Vézé to Vézé's subordinates. When they saw that a big shot like the South King had arrived, they immediately saluted. Feng Yunshan was still as approachable as ever. After talking with his brothers for a while, Feng Yunshan said, "I heard that Vézé has told us about Earth. This is true!"
The brothers looked at each other. They did not know why the South King had specifically come up with this topic. However, the matter of Earth was too much of a shock to the brothers. Even in the face of the South King, Feng Yunshan, everyone mustered up their courage and began to ask about Earth.
Feng Yunshan had only heard about it from the Western priests, but he had not studied it in detail. Naturally, he could not answer their questions. Feng Yunshan wore a convincing smile that was unique to the Pope and said loudly, "As for the reason, the Wayne Brothers will tell the Zhu brothers. You are right to listen to the Wayne Brothers. "
Since the South King had said so, the brothers naturally did not dare to question the South King. They could only believe that Vézé was telling the truth.
Vézé found Feng Yunshan's behavior funny and admiring at the same time. He found it funny that Feng Yunshan would always shirk his responsibility. He also admired that Feng Yunshan had given the authority to explain to Vézé. Since Vézé was the commander of the troops, Vézé would naturally choose the explanation that was most beneficial to Vézé. This method actually created a lot of space for Vézé to move around. Of course, if Vézé messed things up, then Vézé could only reap what he sowed.
The preparations for departure were quick. Not only did Vézé have to hurry, but the Taiping army also began to make preparations to march into Guilin.
On the morning of April 12th, Vézé left the camp with his brothers and began to march south. Feng Yunshan sent Vézé out of the camp and repeatedly told Vézé not to put on a brave front. If the situation was not good, he should hurry back. With Feng Yunshan around, it did not matter even if they did not reach Wuzhou.
Vézé thanked Feng Yunshan and walked forward for a moment. Looking back, he saw that Feng Yunshan was still standing at the entrance of the camp. Vézé wanted to go back and thank Feng Yunshan for his care these days, but he also felt that it was too pretentious. Suddenly, hot blood rushed to his head. Vézé sang loudly to Feng Yunshan:
Sending off comrades, setting off on a journey.
Tears rolled down her cheeks silently.
The sound of camel bells rang in his ears.
The road was long and the fog was boundless.
Revolutionary careers often break up,
The same separation, two feelings.
Comrades, comrades,
Dear brothers,
Beware of the cold northern wind in the middle of the night,
Take care on your journey.
Feng Yunshan listened to the deep and melodious tune of the song, but he did not quite understand the pronunciation of the lyrics. But just this song alone was a perfect match for separation. He watched as Vézé finished singing and waved seriously to Feng Yunshan. He then led his subordinates south without looking back.
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