Chapter 50

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"Wayne Brothers, I wonder what kind of hardships you've encountered on your way south," Yang Xiuqing chatted with Vézé in his new King Of The East residence.

Vézé imagined that there would be a meeting attended by all the kings. However, Hong Xiuquan and Heavenly King Hong looked dispirited and listless. West King Xiao Chaogui hurried out to command the defense. Wing King Shi Dakai left with Hong Xiuquan. North King Wei Changhui received Yang Xiuqing's orders and went out to arrange the defense of the city. In the end, only Yang Xiuqing spoke to Vézé.

In response to Yang Xiuqing's question, Vézé answered respectfully, "Thanks to the King Of The East, Qing Yao was led by the nose by the King Of The East. He didn't notice my small group at all. I only walked a few roads and didn't encounter any hardships."

"Led Qing Yao by the nose? Haha! " Yang Xiuqing laughed but didn't take it seriously. He continued to ask, "Even if you walked a few roads, you should at least tell me which roads you took."

Yang Xiuqing insisted on asking, so Vézé told Yang Xiuqing about his journey. Of course, he didn't dare to say that he had used a paraglider to attack Wu Jiazhen. However, after thinking about it, he had to say it. He simply told him a little bit. Vézé originally wanted to keep a low profile, but he couldn't help but get excited when he talked about the hardships he had gone through. The originally simple narration gradually became vivid and vivid.

Yang Xiuqing listened attentively and occasionally asked questions. He didn't make a fuss about using a paraglider. He just frowned slightly and asked Vézé to explain in more detail. Vézé didn't dare talk about aerodynamics. He just said that when he was young, he used an umbrella to jump down from a high place. He felt that the umbrella slowed down his fall, so he tried it a few more times. In the end, he broke the umbrella and was beaten by his father. He remembered this very clearly. Wu Jiazhen's defense was tight. Vézé had no choice but to use this method. He was lucky and succeeded in the end.

Yang Xiuqing laughed. "Wayne Brothers, you seem so calm now. I didn't expect you to be so mischievous when you were young. Your father must have beaten you hard for breaking your umbrella. "

Vézé also laughed. "If my father hadn't beaten me hard, I'm afraid I wouldn't have remembered this."

Then, Vézé said that he had crossed Li River with great difficulty and met Lin Fengxiang. Only then did he know that Yang Xiuqing had led the Taiping army north. Because he didn't have the ability to defeat the Qing Army, Vézé could only take a detour and rush to Yongzhou. He first sent scouts to Yongzhou and met Yang Xiuqing's troops. Then, he learned that Yang Xiuqing was going south, so Vézé stopped in Daozhou.

"It wasn't hard, but Wayne Brothers suffered a lot along the way." Yang Xiuqing laughed. "Wayne Brothers, your position of Winter Official and Deputy Prime Minister is still too low."

"Your subordinate is wholeheartedly focused on defeating Qing Yao. The size of the official position is all up to the King Of The East." Vézé's answer was quite straightforward.

Yang Xiuqing didn't express his opinion on Vézé's words. Instead, he said, "I wonder who Wayne Brothers's subordinates made the most contributions. Is there anyone you want to recommend?"

Vézé told him about the contributions of Wei Changrong, Hu Chenghe, and several other key subordinates, believing that they could be promoted.

"Among these people, who made the most contributions?" Yang Xiuqing asked.

"Wei Changrong made the most contributions," Vézé replied.

Yang Xiuqing thought for a while before saying, "Wayne Brothers, when the South King ordered you to go south, I was actually not very willing. But the South King was very determined, and I couldn't disrespect him. The three hundred men you brought with you are not a lot, but it's not a small number either. When I attacked Guilin, I thought of you many times. I felt that if you were still in the army, with your ability, Guilin would have been conquered. I regret letting you go south. But now, it seems that the South King was right to let you go south. This time, the South King is ascending to heaven. If he was still here, he would be very happy to see Wayne Brothers make such a great contribution. "

Speaking of Feng Yunshan's death, Vézé also felt that it was quite a pity. Feng Yunshan was a steady and meticulous person. He didn't fight for credit or power, and he was deeply loved and respected by everyone. His death was indeed a great loss to the Taiping army. Since Yang Xiuqing mentioned Feng Yunshan, Vézé said, "King Of The East, I am also very sad to know that the South King has ascended to heaven. I heard that a Qing Yao leader named Jiang Zhongyuan killed the South King. If I meet him in the future, I will definitely kill him to avenge the South King. But King Of The East, you are the leader of our Taiping Rebellion. Even if the South King ascends to heaven, as long as you are here, our Taiping Rebellion will not fall. I am really happy to know that the King Of The East is safe and sound. "

His flattery was unbridled, and his loyalty was extremely obvious. Yang Xiuqing was stunned after hearing this, and then he smiled helplessly. He asked, "Wayne Brothers, do you want to come back to me?"

"Yes!" Vézé immediately replied.

"This matter is not up to you!" Yang Xiuqing put away his bitter smile and said seriously, "When the South King ascends to heaven, I will take over the rear and the Holy Treasury. A fierce general like you cannot be placed in the middle army. You said that you have 3,500 men under you, right? "

"Yes!" Vézé already felt that things were not going well.

"How many old, weak, and women are there?" Yang Xiuqing continued to ask.

"Six hundred."

Yang Xiuqing said seriously, "First, put these six hundred men into the middle army and the women's battalion. Among the remaining two thousand nine hundred men, Wei Changrong is the Brigade Commander, and he leads more than five hundred men. Since you strongly recommend Wei Changrong, I will promote Wei Changrong to the Brigade Commander and put him into my middle army. You have a lot of soldiers now, so transfer another five hundred to the middle army. "

With this arrangement, Vézé's direct subordinates increased from three thousand five hundred to one thousand nine hundred in the blink of an eye. While Vézé was still in shock, he heard Yang Xiuqing continue, "Wayne Brothers, the West King thinks highly of you. On the way from Yongzhou to Dao Prefecture, he mentioned several times that he wanted you to be under his command. A fierce general like you should be the vanguard, and it would be best for you to be under the West King. I promised him that when we reached Dao Prefecture, I would put you under his command. "

"King Of The East!" Vézé didn't want to be kicked around like a ball, so he hurriedly said.

Yang Xiuqing interrupted Vézé's words, "Wayne Brothers, you are my subordinate, so of course I know. When you were transferred to Prince Nan, I was the one who ordered you to go to Prince Nan. Now, I order you to go to the West King. You are my subordinate, and the West King is also my subordinate. If you are going to tell me that you don't want to go to the North King, then shut up now. "

Seeing Yang Xiuqing's unyielding attitude, Vézé knew that it was useless to say anything else. He stood up gloomily and said, "I will obey the orders of the King Of The East."

Looking at Vézé's aggrieved expression, Yang Xiuqing couldn't help but laugh again. "Wayne Brothers, you are only nineteen this year, right?"

"Yes," Vézé answered unhappily.

Yang Xiuqing continued, "You are nineteen years old, and you are already the Prime Minister of the Taiping Rebellion. Wait until we conquer Little Tianjing and build a Little Heavenly Kingdom. By then, not only will you be the Prime Minister, but you will also be conferred the title of King. "

Yang Xiuqing's tone was very persuasive. Vézé didn't care about being conferred the title of King in the Taiping Rebellion. What he cared about was overthrowing Manchu Qing. Although the Taiping Rebellion was vigorous, it ultimately failed to complete this mission. Vézé didn't care whether he could be conferred the title of King or not. What he cared about was whether he could fight independently. When he was working under the South King, Feng Yunshan, Vézé basically fought independently, which was why he was able to gather such a large army. Moreover, they were given preliminary training in modern military techniques. If he went to the West King, Xiao Chaogui, Vézé didn't believe that he would have such a chance to develop freely.

Seeing that Vézé was still unhappy, Yang Xiuqing also stood up and walked to Vézé's side. He patted Vézé's shoulder. Yang Xiuqing lowered his voice and said, "Wayne Brothers, you are my subordinate, and the West King is also my subordinate. Even if you are assigned to the West King, if I ask you to do something, the West King can't stop me. But if you don't go to the West King now, how can I explain it to the West King? You are now the Prime Minister, so don't be like a child! "

Since Yang Xiuqing was so sincere, Vézé couldn't be embarrassed anymore. He said with an unhappy expression, "I will obey the decree of the King Of The East!"

It was natural that he was unhappy because he couldn't fight independently, but Vézé's expression was completely different from his heart at this time. Yang Xiuqing just said that Xiao Chaogui and Vézé were both Yang Xiuqing's subordinates. This was actually a clear statement of his attitude. As far as Vézé knew, Yang Xiuqing's position in the God Worshipping Religion was below that of Feng Yunshan and Xiao Chaogui before the rebellion. In the following war, Yang Xiuqing relied on his own ability to climb to the position of the political and military leader of the Taiping Rebellion step by step. And Yang Xiuqing regarded the West King Xiao Chaogui as his subordinate, which showed that Yang Xiuqing had established his position.

Vézé was very optimistic about Yang Xiuqing, the King Of The East, who didn't believe in the God Worshipping Religion at all. Although Feng Yunshan and Xiao Chaogui didn't really believe in the God Worshipping Religion, they both preached with Hong Xiuquan, so they had a common position with the God Worshipping Religion. But Yang Xiuqing had little to do with the God Worshipping Religion. If the Taiping Rebellion was seen as a company, Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, and Xiao Chaogui were the shareholders who insisted on the company's "cultural philosophy". But because the company was short of staff, they had to participate in the company's operation. And Yang Xiuqing was undoubtedly the general manager of the company, the CEO with great power. Since Vézé's purpose was to overthrow Manchu Qing, he had to support Yang Xiuqing to the greatest extent.

Yang Xiuqing was busy with work. Seeing that Vézé had accepted the order, he drove Vézé away. Vézé's troops were stationed outside Yongzhou City at this time, so Vézé walked slowly to the camp. While walking, he thought about Yang Xiuqing's action just now. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Yang Xiuqing's action was very ingenious.

First, he assigned a part of Vézé's troops to Yang Xiuqing's side, which naturally strengthened Yang Xiuqing's direct subordinates. Then, he assigned Vézé's most capable subordinate, Wei Changrong, as well as Wei Changrong's direct subordinates, to Yang Xiuqing's middle army. At the same time, he achieved the goal of balancing the main and the subordinate. Then, he assigned Vézé to Xiao Chaogui, the West Prince, to better balance the overall situation of the Taiping Rebellion.

Although he didn't dare to tell others, Vézé also tried his best to analyze the system of the Taiping Rebellion. Although Yang Xiuqing was in charge of the kings, it strengthened Yang Xiuqing's position, but the kings were also keeping Yang Xiuqing's power in check. And the biggest beneficiary of this system was undoubtedly Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King. From this point of view, Hong Xiuquan must maintain the normal operation of this system.