"Without Sengrinchen's Mongolian Eight Banners, how can we deal with the eight officials?" If we go to Cheng De now, who do we have? "Cixi stared at her brother-in-law, Prince Yi Xiang, without a care in the world. With a calm tone, he said.
This firm attitude made Prince Gong Yiqian Wang Yiqian feel uncomfortable. He could not help but recall that five years ago, before the Xinyou coup was launched, the three of them also had such a frank and straightforward conversation. Thinking of the situation at that time, Prince Gong Yi? His tone softened. "What should we do then?"
Empress Dowager Cixi had a strong desire for power and was even more ambitious. Although she lacked the ability to decide the state affairs in an aboveboard manner, when it came to scheming and scheming, her views were unique. Dear Prince Yi? He decided to listen to Cixi's opinion.
Cixi blinked her triangular eyes and said in a rather fierce voice, "Order Wenxiang to bring troops back from Shandong. At the same time, secretly order Ceng Guofan to bring his trusted Xiang Army back to the capital. Once they reach the capital, we will head to Chengde. If anyone objects, let them stay in the capital! "
Although there was nothing special about this plan, the main task was to seize military power. Wen Xiang, the commander of the infantry, and Sengrinchen were both capable generals of the Xinyou coup, so it was even more impossible for them to betray Ci An and the others at this time. Ceng Guofan of the Xiang Army was a time-tested and loyal official. At this time, it was rare to find a Han official who could still work for the imperial court. With these two armies as the foundation, Ci An, Ci Xi, Prince Gong, Prince Yi Xiu, and Prince Yi Xiu Together with the little emperor, the four of them could represent the core of power. At that time, those who could not follow the imperial court could stay in Beijing and let the Liberation Army deal with them.
Perhaps losing some Manchurian princes and important ministers was a loss, but having these unreliable princes and important ministers by his side was even more dangerous. Cixi's first consideration was naturally her own interests. Other unreliable people were part of the group that could be abandoned. Not to mention how many of these people had no choice but to submit to the Empress Dowager of the two palaces after the Xinyou coup d'état. After they escaped from Beijing, there was no guarantee that they would bring up old scores again.
After the Xinyou Coup d'état, the Empress Dowager of the two palaces and Prince Gong's forces were wiped out. Perhaps they had been soft-hearted before, but the bloody facts had taught them to be decisive people. He sent a secret envoy to contact Wen Xiang and Ceng Guofan and began to pack up the necessary supplies. Now was not the time to go to great lengths to make it known to everyone in the capital. The ruler did not bury his country in secret, and the officials did not bury their bodies in secret. Empress Dowager and Prince Gong? They were all very, very clear about this.
Of course, Manchu Qing did not let go of Li Hongzhang, who was in Luoyang. They issued a decree to Duke Li Hongzhang, asking Li Hongzhang to lead his troops eastward and attack the Liberation Army north of the Yellow River. No one believed that Li Hongzhang could win. In the consideration of the Manchu Qing higher-ups, if Li Hongzhang could really lead the troops to attack, it would take the Liberation Army two or three days to annihilate Duke Li, who was quite capable of fighting. It was very important to gain two or three days of time at a critical moment.
What kind of ruler had what kind of subjects. Duke Li Hongzhang had sold his master, who was good at scheming, earlier. Li Hongzhang also had a clear judgment of his future master. The Liberation Army would not tolerate a single grain of sand in their eyes. Since this valiant army had reached an invincible level, they would not be lenient towards the weak who surrendered. At this time, what Li Hongzhang had to do was to prove that he could also fight. If he could not do this, Li Hongzhang could at most survive by surrendering. His life would be limited to surviving.
Even if Chen Yucheng, who was attacking Luoyang, did not know what Li Hongzhang was thinking in the city, he could clearly feel Li Hongzhang's determination to fight to the death through the resistance of the Qing Army in the city. This surprised Chen Yucheng and made him feel that it was quite tricky.
The Taiping army summoned Chen Yucheng back to Chang'an in Tianjing City to hold a military conference. The purpose was to discuss countermeasures against the Liberation Army. Cult Leader Hong even put aside his work of compiling books for the past few years and discussed this matter with the generals of the Taiping Rebellion for several days in a row. Of course, Cult Leader Hong was mostly cursing Vézé to be punished by the heavens. After his violent death, he would go to hell and become a stinky bug. The generals did not take this to heart at all. Wasn't it Cult Leader Hong himself who destroyed the God Worshipping Religion?
When Hong Xiuquan was captured in Guangxi, there were dozens of people involved in a similar operation. "Heavenly Father" Yang Xiuqing was the final decision made by the leaders of the early Taiping Rebellion. When Hong Xiuquan killed Yang Xiuqing in Tianjing City, the legitimacy of the religion would be completely ruined. Since "Heavenly Father" could be killed, what would happen to the mastermind Hong Xiuquan after his death? Even Hong Xiuquan would go to hell according to the teachings. Would anyone believe his words?
Everyone naturally began to turn to Wing King Shi Dakai. This early core general of the Taiping Rebellion was the only one capable of fighting against Vézé's Liberation Army. Moreover, there were only two choices left. Should they fight earlier or later?
If they fought late, they would have to wait for the Liberation Army to come knocking. Based on the Liberation Army's actions, they still prioritized fighting Manchu Qing. But Manchu Qing's territory was so small that it would be completely taken care of in three to five years at most. When the Liberation Army, which had the absolute advantage, attacked, no one thought that the Taiping army would really be able to resist.
It would be easier to fight early. The Taiping army would once again border the Liberation Army. They would attack Sichuan and drive the Liberation Army out of Sichuan. It would be easy to do this. After that, the Taiping army and the Liberation Army would have an all-out war. Even if the Liberation Army didn't seize all of Manchu Qing's territory, the Liberation Army wasn't a force that the current Taiping army could defeat.
This kind of discussion was really depressing. Chen Yucheng felt especially depressed. As a famous general in the Taiping army, he had to go into battle early or late. So Chen Yucheng simply suggested trying to negotiate peace with Vézé. If the Taiping Rebellion submitted to Vézé but had actual power in the northwest, this would undoubtedly be the best outcome.
Chen Yucheng was angrily rebuked by Hong Xiuquan before he could say the rest. It seemed that Cult Leader Hong still held the idea that there were no two suns in the sky and no two rulers in the country. He would never submit to anyone. If it weren't for the generals blocking him, Cult Leader Hong would have killed Chen Yucheng.
There was a court meeting in the day and a small meeting in the evening. This time, Chen Yucheng was able to completely tell everyone his idea. The generals, including Lord Yi, were more inclined to this suggestion. Heavenly King Hong could feel that he was the only true ruler in the world, but the generals of the Taiping army were all subordinates of others. Their current boss was not reliable. If there was a reliable boss who could tolerate them, they wouldn't have the intention to become the emperor.
Before the discussion of this plan could continue, Chen Yucheng received the news that Luoyang had been lost. The brothers in charge of spying reported that there was no longer any Taiping army in Luoyang. They also didn't see any large Taiping army that had escaped. If they guessed correctly, Chen Yucheng's residence and his subordinates had probably all been killed.
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