"Secretary Zuo, did His Majesty encounter any problems today?" Li Yifang asked Zuo Zongtang politely.
Her Mandarin with a Hangzhou accent was refreshing. Zuo Zongtang, who had been the governor of Zhejiang Province, felt quite familiar with her. However, a secretary could not reveal party affairs and government affairs. Not to mention that Zuo Zongtang was such a high-ranking official that he naturally knew what would happen if he spoke carelessly. So Zuo Zongtang asked, "Is His Majesty in a bad mood?"
Li Yifang just smiled and didn't answer. That was the end of the conversation.
Zuo Zongtang went to deliver the documents to Vézé and saw Vézé sitting comfortably on the sofa in the dining room. There were some jerky and canned fruits on the table next to him. A quarter of an opened bottle of rum had been drunk. Was he relaxing or was there something on his mind? Zuo Zongtang did not know. He said, "Your Majesty, this is the latest document."
Vézé waved his hand and gestured for Zuo Zongtang to sit down. He asked, "Old Zuo, do you want to have a drink or two now?"
Zuo Zongtang replied, "Me... one glass at most."
"I think drinking is good as long as you are comfortable. One or two glasses is up to you," Vézé said as he sat up and went to get a glass and chopsticks for Zuo Zongtang.
When Vézé came back to sit down, Zuo Zongtang had already moved a soft sofa stool to the table and sat down steadily. Zuo Zongtang smiled and said, "You can sit down so steadily when talking to your superior. I have a bad temper. The other people in Manchu Qing really don't dare to do that. "
Vézé was not in the mood to joke. He poured a glass of rum for Zuo Zongtang, picked up his own and sat cross-legged on the sofa. "Old Zuo, have you ever simply wanted to kill someone? I don't mean that you're angry, but that you can't find a reason not to kill him? "
When Zuo Zongtang heard this question, his hand holding the glass paused. After thinking for a while, Zuo Zongtang took a sip of wine and asked tentatively, "Commander in Chief, do you feel that you can't bear to do it?"
Vézé took a sip and replied slowly: "Yes. I really couldn't bear to do it, but sometimes, I couldn't find a reason not to kill. If he was a Han, he would at most do it for his own benefit or the benefit of his clan. The Zhuang people, the Dai people, the Miao people, the Yao people, all of them were just trying to make a living. As long as society accepted them, they would be happy to integrate into society. However, some people were different. In this era where killing was like cutting grass, the cost of killing was actually very low, so I couldn't help but want to kill. But it's still a human life, so I naturally can't bear to do it. "
Zuo Zongtang did not know why Vézé was upset, but his words sounded calm, but there was another kind of thrill in them. As a minister of the Manchu Qing, killing people would never make Zuo Zongtang hesitate. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang could not understand Vézé. He did not know whether he should praise Vézé's benevolence, or criticize Vézé's indecisiveness.
After thinking for a while, Zuo Zongtang followed up on Vézé's words. "When you enter a foreign country, you become a foreign country. This is the truth. Commander in Chief has repeatedly promoted China, believing that we should build a nation-state. Then we should kill anyone who opposes China. "
When Vézé heard this, he suddenly laughed. "That makes sense. I just don't want future generations to be troubled, so I wanted to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. But now it seems that I was thinking too much. "
"Commander in Chief, are you still benevolent?" Zuo Zongtang asked.
Vézé laughed. "Those who oppose China will be killed without mercy."
Zuo Zongtang was puzzled by the answer, but Vézé did not give him a chance to continue talking. He filled Zuo Zongtang's cup with wine again. Vézé asked, "Old Zuo, what do you think of Li Hongzhang?"
"Your Majesty, are you going to recruit him?" Zuo Zongtang asked keenly.
Vézé looked down on Li Hongzhang's character. He could cultivate people without ability, but it was basically impossible to change his character. The thing that Vézé despised the most about Li Zhongtang was that he had no backbone. During the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Li Hongzhang was assassinated, but that fellow could endure it. At that time, Li Hongzhang was on the verge of death. So what if he resigned and refused to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki? Would He Cixi dare to kill Li Hongzhang? If He Cixi really killed Li Hongzhang, it would instead increase the evaluation of Li Hongzhang by future generations.
So, Vézé replied, "I don't have that intention. It's not like I'm collecting trash. I can bring in any Tom, Dick, or Harry. It's not a bad thing that the Huai army can continue to exist in the short term. "
Zuo Zongtang did not like Li Hongzhang either. He smiled and said, "This man is smart."
Wei Ze sneered and said, "Being smart is useless. There are many smart people, but for those who have truly made contributions, what everyone remembers is not their intelligence, but their tenacity and indomitable character."
"Achoo!" Li Hongzhang sneezed in the night wind. The autumn air in the Huai River was damp and cool. After autumn, the little bugs might have felt that their death was coming and flew around without a care. An unknown bug flew into Li Hongzhang's nose, and he couldn't help but sneeze. Wiping the liquid from his nose with his hand, Li Hongzhang felt that his palm was wet. He didn't know if it was snot or cold sweat.
The people holding torches in the distance stopped in their tracks. Li Hongzhang covered his mouth and nose tightly, praying that his voice just now was not heard by the people over there. However, Li Hongzhang's nose was so sour that he couldn't help but tear up.
During the day, the 5,000 Huai army were ready to cross the river. Boats were built into pontoon bridges, and the Huai army began to cross the river along the pontoon bridge. Li Hongzhang stood by the river and watched the army cross the river calmly. He was quite proud of himself. The boats were fixed with iron chains and laid with wooden planks. The long pontoon bridge looked as stable as flat ground.
When more than half of the Huai army had crossed the river, the silhouette of a boat appeared downstream. It was a large boat, and its chimney was spraying smoke. The Huai army immediately became nervous. The Liberation Army had patrol boats on the Huai River, and they didn't expect this boat to come so quickly.
Li Hongzhang ordered the Huai army to quickly set up formations on both sides of the river, and at the same time, he ordered the troops to hurry across the river. Since they were going to fight this battle with the Liberation Army, the Huai army had to cross the river no matter what. Moreover, Huainan was so big, and there were many places to cross the Huai River. As long as the Huai army moved quickly, they could always find a chance to return.
But after an hour, the Liberation Army's large boat approached, and Li Hongzhang was really dumbfounded. The boat went against the current, and its speed didn't decrease at all. After approaching, the Huai army was shocked to find that other than the ship's tower, the boat was made of iron. At this time, the Huai army's formations had already begun to fire fiercely at the boat.
The Huai army had also placed troops on the pontoon bridge. When the lead hit the boat, it was all bounced off by the iron shell, and the cannonballs couldn't directly hit the boat. Under the Huai army's shocked gazes, the boat didn't stop at all and crashed head-on into the pontoon bridge. The bow of the iron boat tilted up slightly, and then came crashing down. Amidst the screeching sounds, the Huai army on the pontoon bridge either lost their balance and fell into the water, or jumped into the water to escape.
Although it slowed down a little after hitting the pontoon bridge, the iron-hulled ship was still moving forward. The wooden boat and planks were broken like wheat stalks, and the thick and solid wooden stakes on both sides of the river were uprooted from the ground. The entire pontoon bridge was destroyed in a very short period of time.
Seeing this nightmarish scene, Li Hongzhang was dumbfounded. But the nightmare clearly wasn't over. The boat stopped, and the cannons on the boat began to roar. Amidst the rumbling of the cannons, there was also a strange sound. The sound was extremely crisp, like the sound of metal colliding violently.
But Li Hongzhang, who wasn't far from the riverbank, couldn't be sure if he really heard this sound. His attention was completely attracted by the terrifying cannons on the boat.
The Huai army already felt that their cannons were very powerful, but compared to the cannons on the big boat, they were nothing. It was unknown how many cannons the boat had, but Li Hongzhang knew that the boat hadn't stopped firing for a quarter of an hour.
The first to suffer were the cannons of the Huai army. The big iron boat's cannons were fast and accurate. Li Hongzhang saw with his own eyes that one of the cannons of the Huai army was hit by a cannonball. The cannon carriage was blown to pieces, and the cannons and gunners were sent flying by the shockwave from the explosion.
A few minutes later, perhaps because the cannons on the big iron boat saw that the cannons of the Huai army were all muted, they turned their target to the infantry. As long as the Xiang Army could be seen in sight, they were all fiercely shot by the cannons without exception. Seeing that the formation of the Huai army had been blown to pieces, Li Hongzhang suddenly understood. He didn't have time to give orders to his troops, and he turned around and ran with his bodyguards. Before Li Hongzhang could escape, the entire Huai army scattered like a flock of frightened sheep in the sound of thunder. Right now, they only wanted to quickly get out of the firing range of the terrifying cannons on the big Liberation Army ship.
Li Hongzhang also started running. He rode his horse for four to five li in one breath, and the sound of the cannons was getting further and further away. Li Hongzhang felt that he was finally safe. If he went back with his face covered in dirt, Li Hongzhang knew that he wouldn't be able to explain it to Jiang Zhongyuan. Mustering up his courage, Li Hongzhang began to gather the Huai army. Just as Li Hongzhang had gathered four to five hundred people of the Huai army, who were still in a state of shock. Intense gunshots suddenly rang out not far away. The troops of the Liberation Army had already closed in at some point.
Seeing that the Huai army around them were being knocked down one by one, although they could vaguely see the figures of the Liberation Army, they couldn't see how many enemies there were. The Huai army was completely scared out of their wits. They wailed and cried, but they were knocked down one by one by the merciless bullets.
The Huai army continued to flee, but the Liberation Army had no intention of letting the Huai army go. They fired and chased at the same time. In such a death chase, the Huai army kept kneeling on the ground and obediently surrendered to the Liberation Army according to the method of surrender that had been circulated among the Huai army.
Li Hongzhang was originally riding a horse and was about to escape the pursuit of the Liberation Army. However, his horse's body suddenly shook and then it fell. Li Hongzhang was caught off guard and rolled down from the horse. The bodyguard was still loyal and brave. He immediately picked up Li Hongzhang and continued to escape.
Li Hongzhang no longer knew where he was running with the help of his bodyguard, nor did he know how far he had run. All he knew was to run and run! After the sky turned dark, Li Hongzhang and his bodyguard hid in a field. At this time, the field had already been harvested. They could only hide by the edge of the field and hope that they wouldn't be discovered.
However, the Liberation Army was searching with torches and had no intention of letting Li Hongzhang go. Looking at the people in front of him holding torches walking further and further away, Li Hongzhang could finally put down the big stone in his heart.
However, at this moment, a loud shout suddenly came from behind them. "People over there, we've already seen you! Raise your hands! "
The moonlight was not bright, but it was not so dark that one could not see their fingers in front of them. After staying in the capital for so long, Li Hongzhang first shivered when he heard that strange northern accent. He turned his head and looked at the dozen or so black shadows behind him. Li Hongzhang could not resist and raised his hands high.
On the third day, when Vézé arrived at the office early in the morning, his secretary sent him a briefing. "Annihilate the 5,000 Huai army and capture the commander, Li Hongzhang."
Wei Ze was very surprised by this. Speak of the devil, and the devil will appear.
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.
