?
Under the lord's umbrella was Xiao Chaogui, the Western Prince. Although this thirty-two year old prince was not tall, he was a strong man. His round face wore a mocking smile. He did not look like someone who had been fighting for hundreds of miles in a dozen days.
Although he had little contact with Xiao Chaogui, Vézé could recognize this important figure in the Taiping Rebellion. "Greetings, Western Prince!" Vézé bowed to Xiao Chaogui.
Xiao Chaogui walked down from the umbrella in a straightforward manner. After pulling Wei Ze up, Xiao Chaogui said with a smile, "Brother Wei walked really fast. Unknowingly, you actually ran ahead of us."
Vézé was stunned. He did not expect Xiao Chaogui to say that. Xiao Chaogui was famous for his humor in the army, and this sentence alone made Wei Ze feel that it was not easy to deal with him. However, Vézé had prepared for this. He said seriously, "Western Prince, you are joking too much. I could not catch up with them no matter how hard I tried. I even had to ask them to turn back to pick me up."
Xiao Chaogui could not help but laugh when he heard Vézé's words. After laughing for a while, Xiao Chaogui patted Vézé's shoulder again. "Wayne Brothers, I knew you were a young hero when you caught Wulan Tai. It is really amazing that you could chase them all the way from Wuzhou to here."
Vézé only smiled at this praise and did not say anything. Then he heard Xiao Chaogui say, "Since we have arrived in Wuzhou, Wayne Brothers, please lead the way. Let's hurry into the city."
Vézé replied, "Western Prince, I only left the guards at the gate. The other brothers have left the city. Please make arrangements for us to enter the city. "
"Oh?" Xiao Chaogui looked at Vézé but did not reply immediately.
Vézé continued, "How to set up camp is still up to the lords. I will send my brothers out of the city first. This way, we don't have to run back and forth."
"Yes." Xiao Chaogui understood what Vézé was trying to say. Without saying anything else, he led the way into the city.
Vézé heaved a sigh of relief. When there was someone above him, handing over the power to make arrangements was the smartest thing to do. If Vézé's troops occupied the best positions first, they would have to give up in the end. Rather than that, it was better to get everything done in one go, which would save a lot of meaningless conflicts.
There was indeed not a single soldier left in the city. Xiao Chaogui knew this as soon as he entered the city. He first entered the Dao Prefecture Governor's yamen to take a look, then walked out of the city. As he walked, he said, "Wayne Brothers, I don't know if you'd like to work for me."
"Prince of the West, I'm a subordinate of the Prince of the South," Vézé replied.
Xiao Chaogui sighed. "The South King has already ascended to heaven."
"What?" Vézé was stunned.
Seeing that Vézé was frozen in place, Xiao Chaogui also stopped in his tracks. His expression was somewhat gloomy. "Wayne Brothers, the Prince of the South was injured at the Straits Raincoat Crossing and ascended to heaven in less than two days."
"Then who did it?" Vézé couldn't help but ask.
"I think it was a Qing Yao named Jiang Zhongyuan," Xiao Chaogui replied.
"Jiang Zhongyuan?" Vézé repeated the name.
Xiao Chaogui saw that Vézé seemed to be deep in thought. He asked, "Does the Wayne Brothers know this person?"
"Huh? I've captured Qing Yao captives and heard them talk about Qing Yao's leader. I've heard of this person. " Vézé hurriedly explained to Xiao Chaogui. After that, Vézé said hatefully, "If I meet this Qing Yao leader again, I'll definitely kill him to avenge the Prince of the South!"
Although he spoke passionately, Vézé didn't think so at all. After transmigrating to this era of the Taiping Rebellion, Vézé wasn't completely "unconnected". Jiang Zhongyuan and Vézé had a bit of an "old friend".
In 2005, four migrant workers from Hunan wrapped the body of a deceased fellow villager in a woven bag and wanted to take a train back to their hometown for burial. This incident caused a lot of discussion on the Internet. Many people were very appreciative of this heroic act of transporting a corpse thousands of miles away. Some corresponding articles mentioned a man named "Jiang Zhongyuan" from the Qing Dynasty.
Jiang Zhongyuan was from Xinning, Hunan, and was the first person to pass the provincial examination in Xinning. Like other ordinary people, Jiang Zhongyuan also went to the capital several times to take the examination. The public bus to the capital could be said to be a family of hardships drifting in the north. Many people's fate was not good, and they often gambled for their future with their lives. Many people died in the capital.
Deng Heling, a student from Xiangxiang, used to be Jiang Zhongyuan's teacher. He coughed up blood due to illness and was dying. Jiang Zhongyuan escorted Mr. Deng back to the south. The patient died on the way. Jiang Zhongyuan bought a coffin for him and sent it back to Xiangxiang.
When Jiang Zhongyuan went to the capital again, Ceng Ru died in the capital. After he passed away in the capital, Jiang Zhongyuan sent his body back to his hometown, Wugang.
Because the inn didn't allow Jiang Zhongyuan to stay in when the body was being moved, Jiang Zhongyuan even beat up the innkeeper. When the local officials received the report, they personally came to see what Jiang Zhongyuan had done. They were very impressed. They actually didn't punish Jiang Zhongyuan.
Jiang Zhongyuan traveled thousands of miles to send his friend's coffin back to his hometown, and he didn't hesitate to miss the examination. Such a warm-hearted person made his name known in the capital. Not only was it a good story among the people of Hunan, but people from other provinces also felt honored to know him.
This was not enough for Vézé to remember this person from the Qing Dynasty. Vézé had a good friend on the Internet, and his maternal grandfather turned out to be Jiang Zhongyuan. Everyone started with the topic of sending a friend off, and then they talked about many things about Jiang Zhongyuan. Of course, this descendant of Jiang Zhongyuan didn't have the consciousness of the descendants of the outstanding landlords of Hunan and Hunan. Instead, he had a high opinion of the Taiping Rebellion. Moreover, he also mentioned that even though Jiang Zhongyuan was prominent when he was alive, his great-granddaughter was still married to someone else as a concubine. Because she encountered a disaster and became disabled, she was still driven back to her mother's home by her husband's family with her child. In the end, it was the new society that saved this poor woman.
Vézé admired the Southern Prince very much, but that was his attitude when it came to official business. When he learned that the Southern Prince, Feng Yunshan, died in the hands of Jiang Zhongyuan, Vézé suddenly felt that fate was playing tricks on people. However, these things couldn't be mentioned to anyone. Vézé could only firmly declare that he must kill Jiang Zhongyuan.
The West King, Xiao Chaogui, was the vanguard. Not long after, the East King, Yang Xiuqing, escorted the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan, as well as Hong Xiuquan's harem in palanquins, arrived at the Dao Province. Vézé hadn't seen King Of The East, Yang Xiuqing, for a long time. In the blink of an eye, they had been separated for two months. Not only did Yang Xiuqing not look tired, but he was like a sharpened sword that had been sharpened. Just by standing there, his sharp gaze swept across the surroundings, giving people a sense of awe.
Without any nonsense, Yang Xiuqing directly entered Daozhou City. As the supreme commander of the Taiping Rebellion, the moment he entered Daozhou City, Yang Xiuqing immediately called for a high-level military meeting. The remaining four kings of the Taiping Rebellion, East, West, North, and Wing, as well as the Prime Minister of the Armed Forces, were all present.
"Everyone is to find a place outside the city to set up camp," Yang Xiuqing said. It seemed that he already had a plan in mind.
After that, Yang Xiuqing turned to look at Vézé. "Wei Jiandian, how many men do you have under your command?" Yang Xiuqing's tone was very calm, as if Vézé had never left the main force of the Taiping army. He was neither distant nor enthusiastic.
"I have over 3,500 men," Vézé answered.
After Vézé finished speaking, most of the high-ranking members of the Taiping army looked at Vézé strangely. Vézé could understand the jealousy in their eyes. Although he did not dare to ask, he roughly observed. The number of Taiping army troops that arrived in Daozhou was no more than 14,000. In just two months, the 20,000 Taiping army that came out of Yongan City had lost 30% of its strength. When Vézé went south to Wuzhou, there were only 300 people. Now, it had expanded by more than 10 times. The change in strength was very obvious. It could be said that Vézé's current military strength occupied 60% of the Taiping Rebellion. If one did not talk about military quality and only counted the young and strong, Vézé's subordinates could reach about a quarter.
"Well done!" Yang Xiuqing said calmly. There was neither jealousy nor surprise in his voice. Yang Xiuqing said in a completely business-like tone, "Then I will promote you to Winter Official and Deputy Prime Minister. Choose a key place to be stationed."
"As the King Of The East commands!" Vézé stood up and answered. Regardless of what others thought, Vézé felt that there was another meaning in Yang Xiuqing's statement. Yang Xiuqing was expressing his ownership of Vézé's subordinates.
He stole a glance at Yang Xiuqing and then at Hong Xiuquan sitting in the main seat. Yang Xiuqing looked full of energy, while Hong Xiuquan and the Heavenly King seemed somewhat listless. Seeing Hong Xiuquan, Vézé couldn't help but think of that rainy night when they broke out of Yongan. Hong Xiuquan had forced Vézé to hand over the straw raincoats of an entire battalion of soldiers. His sedan bearers, guards, and sedan bearers wore straw raincoats while Vézé and his subordinates were drenched in the rain.
Vézé thought maliciously that perhaps Hong Xiuquan had not forgotten to be intimate with the 36 imperial concubines during the march, which was why he was so tired.
After assigning tasks, Yang Xiuqing asked Vézé, "Have the warehouses in the city been sealed?"
"They have all been sealed. It's just that when I first entered Daozhou City, there was no more food, so I took some from the granary, "Vézé answered.
"Mm!" Yang Xiuqing responded, but didn't say anything else. "Heavenly King and I will guard Daozhou City. The rest of you, quickly find a place to camp. Prime Minister Wei, you stay here first! "
What's to come will come! Vézé sighed in his heart. Yang Xiuqing was the last person he wanted to face, but if he wanted to survive in the Taiping Rebellion, Vézé had to get past Yang Xiuqing. Yang Xiuqing wasn't a kind person. When the Qing Army had just besieged Yongan City, a commander had privately contacted the Qing Army with the intention of betraying the Taiping Rebellion. Yang Xiuqing didn't have much evidence on hand, so he used the method of "Heavenly Father Possession" to order the commander to be beheaded for the crime of colluding with Qing Yao. With this, all the troops were shocked. Those who had their own plans were now well-behaved.
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