The Taiping army occupied Kaifeng and stabbed the Qing army's hornet's nest, and the Qing army immediately transferred troops from Nanyang, Northwest and Beijing to prepare for the attack on Kaifeng, and the entire Central Plains war situation was chaotic.

The next day, Zhao Qiangtong led the Taiping army to Hulao Mountain, and set up a position on the mountain, preparing to engage in a field battle with the Qing army from Nanyang. Zhao Qiang, under the escort of the personal guards, set up camp on the main slope of Hugao Mountain, and a few hundred meters in front of him was an artillery position, which was transported from Kaifeng. In front of the mountain, the Taiping Army, the Shanxi battalion, and the newly incorporated Shandong battalion lined up one after another. It was Li Gang's business to arrange the troops, and Zhao Qiang was just watching the battle condescendingly, considering that what was about to be a large-scale field battle, Zhao Qiang was both excited and nervous.

Just after lunch, a soldier ran over and said, "Sect Master, the Qing army is here!" ”

"Oh!" When Zhao Qiang heard this, he rode up to the top of the slope, only to see dust and smoke rising in the distance, and the Qing army's brigade of men and horses approached here as quickly as a rolling torrent, and the horses' hooves hit the ground, making a rumbling sound, which became clearer and clearer. The dust and smoke gradually dissipated, the Qing army had already set up a fan-shaped formation in front of the mountain, the two armies confronted each other, the battle flags fluttered in the sassy autumn wind, the swords and guns flashed in the bleak sun, and the strong murderous aura permeated the wilderness.

Joining the army reported to Zhao Qiang that the Qing army on the opposite side was a total of 40,000 horses, all of which were Manchu and Han Eight Banners, and the officer leading the troops was Suke Saha, who was also a brave general in the Qing army. Zhao Qiang thought in his heart, there are many Qing soldiers, the Taiping army has a good terrain, and the two sides can be said to be evenly matched, and today will be a bitter battle.

Woo, woo, woo, a horn blows, the Qing army 10,000 cavalry divided into three groups, to the Taiping army to charge, the archers behind follow up with archery cover, Li Gang waved the flag, the Taiping crossbowmen on the slope appeared together condescending to shoot a fierce shot, rushed in front of the Qing army have been hit by arrows and fallen off the horse, in a blink of an eye, Li Gang ordered the flag to wave again, the Taiping army forward battalion soldiers suddenly had an extra javelin in their hands, the first row of soldiers threw the javelin to the Qing army, and then bowed down, the second row continued to throw, Four rows of javelins flew locusts in succession, and the Qing army was caught off guard, and suddenly people turned on their backs. With the sound of artillery, 10,000 iron horsemen of the forward battalion of the Taiping Army rushed forward with a shout and fought with the Qing army. The forward battalion of the Taiping Army was formed on the basis of the militia regiment of the Special Administrative Region at the beginning, after Li Gang built in the past few years, the formation was skillful, the combat effectiveness was extremely strong, and after a fierce battle for half an hour, it had already gained the upper hand, Su Ke Saha saw this and gave an order, and another 10,000 Qing troops howled to kill, Li Gang waved the flag, and Yanlong and Yanhu each led 5,000 Taiping troops to attack from both flanks to resist the attack of the Qing army, disrupting the offensive formation of the Qing army. Nasuke Saha relied on his large number of people, commanded 10,000 troops on the left and right and 10,000 troops to kill into the battle group, and the Taiping soldiers were few, and began to feel struggling, and gradually retreated by the Qing army.

Zhao Qiang looked a little anxious on the hillside, and asked the soldier: "We seem to be a little unbearable, why don't we let the Shanxi camp or the Shandong camp go up?" ”

The soldier also frowned and said: "It may not be time yet, the Shanxi battalion is a reserve, and it can't go up until the most critical time, and the Shandong battalion can't fight well, and it won't play much role if it goes up." But don't worry, Sect Master, I think our troops seem to be deliberately retreating alternately, and the formation is not chaotic, not a rout. ”

At this time, the Taiping army had withdrawn to its own position, and the Taiping army on the slope blocked the Qing army with bows and crossbows, and the cavalry of the Qing army brigade pressed up like a tide. Li Gang waved the flag, and the artillery on the slope suddenly opened fire together, which was designed by Li Gang when he was arranging the formation, first deceitful defeat to lead the main force of the Qing army into the range of artillery, and use the power of artillery to kill and injure the enemy.

The Qing army was attacked by artillery suddenly, only to know the plan, because the front of the mountain is narrow, the formation is dense, the power of the artillery is even greater, the people trample on the horse and the heavy losses, the Qing army formation is in chaos, and began to retreat. Li Gang shouted on his horse: "Brothers, repel the Qing army and make another move, rush!" ”

"Kill the Tartars! Kill! Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Taiping Army, Shanxi Battalion, and Shandong Battalion shouted and counterattacked together. Seeing this, Suke Saha also led the reserves of the Qing army to kill, and the two sides were entangled again, and the killing was inseparable.

Zhao Qiang stood on the hillside and looked itchy, and shouted, "Come on!" The Sect Master is going to kill it for a while! ”

Zhao Qiang's Chinese army guards consisted of only 500 people, led by Yan Leopard, all of whom were carefully selected and sturdy soldiers, including 200 musketeers. The Yan Leopard was already eager to kill the enemy, and when he saw Zhao Qiang's order, he immediately escorted Zhao Qiang downhill with the whole army.

"The Sect Master is here!"

"The sect leader personally went into battle to kill the enemy, brothers killed the Tartars!"

When the soldiers of the Taiping Army saw Zhao Qiang personally go into battle to kill the enemy, their morale was greatly boosted, and the Qing army's original formation was already chaotic, and this time it was even more inferior.

Zhao Qiang will not use weapons, only take a fan in his hand and kill into the formation, but his Chinese army guards are very strong, and there are firearms, everyone will guard Zhao Qiang in the core, Zhao Qiang's fan pointed, everyone will kill, where to go is a burst of muskets, and then go up to the knife and chop the axe to kill a fierce kill, the Qing army is frightened and flee, Zhao Qiang is majestic, pointing to the east and west, enjoying the general's eight-sided majesty, but can not personally go up to kill a few enemies, it is a bit of a fly in the ointment.

The two armies are killing in full swing, only to hear the sound of cannons on the east and west sides of Hujiao Mountain, Zhao Qiang flashed his eyes, only to see the dust on both sides, each with a team of cavalry rushed over, it was the reinforcements of the Taiping Army arrived, Shang Dayong on the left, and Lu Xiangsheng on the right led 10,000 horses to kill each other.

It turned out that Li Gang informed Shang Dayong and Lu Xiangsheng of the battle plan of Hugao Mountain yesterday, and the two of them felt that this move was dangerous, and they were even more afraid that Zhao Qiang would make a mistake, so they mobilized troops and horses to rush to Hugao Mountain overnight for reinforcements.

Shang Dayong and Lu Xiangsheng outflanked and killed from the two wings of the Qing army, these two new forces joined the battle group, the Qing army suddenly collapsed on the whole front, Suke Saha saw that the general trend had gone, and fled under the escort of his own soldiers, tens of thousands of Qing troops were divided and surrounded by several groups of Taiping army, half of them were annihilated, and the Taiping army won a complete victory.

Zhao Qiang led the troops back to Xiangyang, at this time the Qing army in Nanyang had withdrawn north, Zhao Qiang considered that the general rudder had a lot of affairs to deal with, and after discussing with Lu Xiangsheng and others, he led the Chinese army back to Wuchang.

The first battle of Tiger Prison Mountain, Taiping

The army defeated 40,000 people of the Eight Banners of the Qing Army in the field battle, which was the first time in the history of the Ming Army and the Qing Army, and this battle played the momentum and prestige of the Taiping Army and established the status of the main force of the Taiping Army to resist the Qing Dynasty. The news of the Taiping army's victory spread quickly, and the prestige of the Taiping army and Zhao Qiang among the people also rose sharply. Wherever the Taiping army went, they were warmly welcomed by the local people.

On this day, Zhao Qiang led the troops back to Wuchang, and Zhang Xiaodong, the governor of Hubei, rushed to greet him with civil and military officials. Zhao Qiang and his entourage arrived in front of the welcoming crowd, and just got off the horse, they suddenly heard someone in the crowd shouting: "Long live the sect leader!" Banzai! Hooray! Before the words fell, the congregants who came to greet him and the 10,000 Taiping soldiers behind him knelt down together and shouted: "Long live the sect leader!" Banzai! Hooray! Nearly 10,000 people shouted in unison, and the sound spread all over the world, and the momentum was amazing.

When Zhao Qiang heard this, he was taken aback, the sect members saluted like this, completely exceeded the rules of the sect, and performed the courtesy of his subordinates, so wouldn't he become the emperor, and the people who came to greet him were infected, and they also knelt down, and shouted unevenly: "Long live!" Banzai! Hooray! ”

In the roar of the crowd, the Hubei officials around Zhang Xiaodong also involuntarily knelt down, Zhang Xiaodong stood in front of everyone like a flock, standing not, kneeling, his expression was embarrassed, his face was pale, his legs were weak, and he had to kneel down. Zhao Qiang hurriedly stepped forward to support Zhang Xiaodong and said, "Brother Zhang, thank you for coming to greet you." Then he shouted to the people behind Zhang Xiaodong: "Everyone, please get up, Zhao Qiang has not done the work of size, and he deserves to be so loved by everyone." The brothers of the Taiping Sect also hurry up, there is no rule of kneeling in our sect. ”

Everyone got up one after another, and Zhang Xiaodong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered: "Lord Zhao broke the Qing army and won the popularity of the people, no wonder the people love it so much." ”

Zhao Qiang said embarrassedly: "Eh, this is my subordinate messing around, I will deal with it when I go back." Brother Zhang, please go back to the government first, and I will come to visit tomorrow. ”

"How dare you, how dare you, please Lord Zhao go back to the helm first, and tomorrow I will go to the helm to be taught." Zhang Xiaodong said respectfully.

"Alas! Brother Zhang, don't get me wrong, if you have something to say, we'll talk about it again tomorrow. Zhao Qiang sighed and said.

Zhao Qiang returned to the helm with a calm face, he was annoyed in his heart, the news just now spread, all forces would think that he Zhao Qiang had the ambition to be the emperor, Nanjing Small Imperial Court, Lu Xiangsheng, Li Zicheng They will be a little more wary of themselves, and the anti-Qing front that was a little eyebrow just now will be divided and disintegrated in a blink of an eye, and the consequences are extremely serious. Zhao Qiang went straight back to the study, Xiao Shanzi followed behind him, Zhao Qiang shouted angrily: "Xiao Shanzi, go and check out, who took the lead in kneeling and saluting me just now, this is obviously to trap me in injustice." ”

Xiao Shanzi was ordered to go out.

Zhao Qiang had just sat down, Li'er came in from outside, she saw that Zhao Qiang's expression was not good, and she didn't say much, she silently made tea for Zhao Qiang, held it in front of Zhao Qiang with both hands, and said softly: "Master, who are you angry with?" Let's have a cup of tea to quench the fire. ”

Zhao Qiang saw the well-behaved and docile Li'er, his anger was completely gone, he pulled Li'er over and said with a wicked smile: "Where did a cup of tea quench my fire, master, I have been gone for many days, do you miss me?" ”

Li'er blushed and nodded. Zhao Qiang has been leading the troops outside for many days, he has already been depressed and uncomfortable, he stretched out his hand to hold Li'er in his arms, Li'er obediently snuggled in Zhao Qiang's arms, closed his eyes slightly, and looked obsessed, Zhao Qiang was itchy, stretched out his hand and kneaded Li'er's body, Li'er struggled, and said softly: "Master, you went for so long this time to come back, the slave and maid naturally miss it, but if you want to say that you miss you, Li'er is not the only one." ”

"Oh, who else?" Zhao Qiang stopped and asked.

"Who else, round girl! Since the old man left, she has to play a lovesick tune every day, isn't she thinking about you? I think you should go and see the round girl first, doesn't the master want her? Li'er stared at Zhao Qiang's eyes and said.

As soon as Li'er said it, Zhao Qiang's longing for Yuanyuan was aroused, he sighed lightly, stroked Li'er's face with his hand and said: "Yes, I do want to be Yuanyuan girl, Li'er, you won't blame me if I say that, right?" ”

Li'er looked away and said softly: "What kind of person am I, where do I dare to blame the master, and besides, the round girl is a human being, how dare I compare, Li'er is the master's person, as long as the master allows me to be by my side, I will be content." That being said, there was still a hint of grief in his tone.

Zhao Qiang was moved in his heart, and hugged Li'er in his arms and said: "Li'er, you are so good, I will live up to you, master." After speaking, regardless of Li'er's shyness and struggle, he picked up Li'er with both hands and entered the inner room.

Zhao Qiang relieved his fatigue in the inner room, and his mood was much better, Li'er helped him tidy up his clothes and went out of the inner room, and Xiao Shanzi was already waiting outside the study.

Xiao Shanzi entered the study and reported to Zhao Qiang: "Sect Leader Qiqi, my subordinates have found out that it is Wang Jin, the chief helmsman, who took the lead in shouting long live in the crowd today. Now I'm waiting outside the study. ”

"Wang Jin!" Zhao Qiang repeated, this Wang Jin is a cadet of the Tashan Military Academy, and because of his literary talent, he was appointed as the chief of the secretary office of the general helm, responsible for the correspondence between the general helm and various localities and the issuance and transmission of the general helm's will.

Zhao Qiang said: "Tell Wang to come in." ”

"Yes." Xiao Shanzi should go out of the study. After a while, Xiao Shanzi brought Wang Jin in, Wang Jin looked calm, and bowed to Zhao to forcibly salute.

Zhao Qiang calmed his face and asked angrily: "Wang Jin, today you took everyone to give me a courtesy in public, for what?" But will you trap me in unrighteousness? ”

Wang Jin said calmly: "The sect leader is angry, please listen to the subordinates." What his subordinates did today was personally ordered by General Shang. ”

"Oh? Shang Dayong! ”

"Exactly. Now there are rumors in the world that you are the true son of heaven and bear the heavy responsibility of saving all the people in the world, and all the brothers in the sect also think that you are ordered by heaven and should be crowned emperor, so that we can justifiably rule the whole country

Faction forces to resist the Qing army and create a peaceful and prosperous era. General Shang knew that the Sect Master was humble and unwilling to transgress, so he wrote to us to do so, in order to test the prestige of the Sect Master in the hearts of the people. He did this in order to achieve our goal and accomplish the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and reunification. Now the Southern Ming court is unpopular, Li Zicheng can not bear the burden of resisting the Qing Dynasty, only the head of the sect has the prestige and ability to lead the country's anti-Qing forces, just in the past few days, the rudder of all over the country has written a chapter, hoping that the leader of the sect will be called the emperor, and several governors from all over the country have also secretly sent people, saying that they are willing to support the leader of the sect to be the emperor. Today you have also seen that so many people have surrendered to you, and now is your best chance to become emperor. As long as you ascend to the heights at this time, the world will follow, then the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty can be achieved, and the balance of the world can come! ”

Zhao Qiang stared at Wang Jin and pondered, he didn't expect that all this was arranged by Shang Dayong behind his back, he knew that Wang Jin would not dare to lie to him, let alone do such an outrageous thing without authorization. He said in a deep voice, "Okay, you go down first!" ”

Zhao Qiang sat on the chair and looked at the stack of documents that Wang Jin had sorted out and sent, all of which were concerts from various places and rudders, which naturally listed all kinds of benefits after he became emperor, and he occasionally heard rumors in the world during this time that he wanted to be emperor, but he didn't expect that things had come to this point, and he had to think about this matter seriously.

The idea of being the emperor Zhao Qiang is not nothing, this kind of ambition and ** has actually been lurking in his heart, not to mention the various benefits of calling himself the emperor against the Qing Dynasty, that is, ascending the throne as an emperor and enjoying the supreme honor and power This is enough to make him feel excited, but he has always felt that his strength is not enough, and he feels that this goes against the original intention of establishing the Taiping Sect at that time, and will make the brothers in the sect disgusted and centrifuged. Now that the brothers in the church, the governors of various places, and the vast number of people have all supported themselves, today's things are a bit of a royal robe, is the time really ripe? Zhao Qiang pondered, hesitated, and felt a little flustered.

In the evening, Zhao Qiang went to the back mountain alone to find Yuanyuan, and Yuanyuan was playing in the house, which was the song "Acacia Tune". Zhao Qiang entered the courtyard and stood in front of the window and listened quietly, the sound of the piano in the house stopped, and Yuan Yuan said in the house: "Is Zhao Gongzi here, please come in." ”

Zhao Qiang stepped into the house and said with a smile: "Why don't you play?" I'm listening. ”

Yuan Yuan said: "This song is graceful, it is played for the sustenance, once the acacia is solved, the song will not be able to play the charm." Just now I felt that the sound of the piano was chaotic, and I couldn't play anymore. ”

Zhao Qiang smiled: "So, as soon as I came, your lovesickness was solved, so you can't play it, right?" ”

Yuanyuan blushed and lowered his head, but he didn't refute.

Zhao Qiang stepped forward and grabbed Yuanyuan's hand and said: "Yuanyuan, after a long time, I also miss you tightly, but the responsibility is on your shoulders, so you are lonely and lonely, and I have wronged you." ”

Yuan Yuan said softly: "Gongzi has the heavy responsibility of helping Tianda, how can he be so childlike. Yuan Yuan Meng Gongzi rescued him, he has never been so free and free as today, besides, these days when you are not there, I have Li'er and Lan Ting by my side, and we have talked very together, but it is not lonely. ”

"Yes, you are all about the same age, and you are all friends, so naturally we are talking. What do you usually talk about? Zhao Qiang said.

Yuan Yuan said: "It's always the trivial things of the girl's family, but we often talk about the son, compared to the two of them, I know too little about your affairs, and they are all unspeakable, not like they can accompany you to fight, do things, and have the opportunity to see your heroism." ”

"Hehe, it's just that the places are different when we meet, and there is not much difference." Zhao Qiang said.

Yuan Yuan asked curiously: "By the way, I heard them say that now it is rumored that you are going to be the emperor, but is there such a thing?" ”

Zhao Qiang didn't answer directly, and said with a smile: "Then do you think it's good for me to be the emperor?" ”

Yuanyuan's face darkened, and he shook his head lightly and said: "Yuanyuan is lonely and unheard, and he doesn't think there is anything good or bad about being the emperor." ”

Zhao stressed and said with a smile: "If I become the emperor, I will marry you and let you be my concubine?" ”

Yuanyuan lowered his head and said: "Yuanyuan's life was saved by Childe, and his heart has already followed Childe." But I was born in the dust, and I was abandoned by others, so marrying my son will not stain my son's reputation and miss my son's future, but there is no need to mention the matter of marriage. ”

Zhao Qiang wanted to be funny and adjust the atmosphere, but he didn't think about it, but he caused Yuanyuan's sorrow, and sighed in his heart: "It seems that Yuanyuan's heart knot has not been finally untied, and it will take time for me to get my wish." ”

Because of the mention of being the emperor, Zhao Qiang couldn't help but feel upset again, Yuan Yuan saw it, and played the song "Pure Heart Mantra", and Zhao Qiang slowly calmed down.

Night had fallen, and the two of them went out for a walk, and unconsciously walked to the slope where Yuanyuan had jumped off the cliff last time, when the clouds had receded, and a crescent moon hung in the sky, and the cold and fresh air was mixed with the fragrance of dead grass. The two stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the lights in the distance, recalling the events of that day, they couldn't help but fluctuate, they were silent for a long time, and Yuan Yuan hesitated and asked softly: "Zhao Gongzi, if the slave family has a word, I don't know whether to say it or not?" ”

"Oh? But it doesn't hurt to say that. Zhao Qiang said.

Yuan Yuan said: "Although the slave family doesn't ask about the world, they also know some ancient books and regulations. 'Qin lost his deer, and the heroes rose up to fight for it. Just like the example of Baoyu that Gongzi told me about at the beginning, the reason is the same. Childe is a person of the most affectionate and sexual, but to be an emperor, he must be ruthless and have no distractions, so where to go, I hope that Childe will think twice. ”

Zhao Qiang understood the meaning of Yuanyuan, although being an emperor is noble and glorious, it is not a child's play, he looked up at the sky, and said in a deep voice: "Being an emperor can't do what you want, but whether you want to be an emperor or not sometimes can't help yourself, in short, if you want to do big things, you can't live that kind of relaxed, elegant and comfortable life, this is all fate, God has already arranged it." ”