Chapter 2 Gone to Ashes

Wengzhou Mansion was the temporary capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and it was also the largest and most prosperous city within Gao Jinbao's sphere of influence.

There are many strange people and wonders in Wengzhou City, and the most famous character is one who is called the third master of the dish.

When he was young, Xiaocai's classmates were brave and ruthless, and he was a tyrant in Wengzhou, and he was a well-known ruffian. often leads a group of ruffians and another group of scoundrels to fight with weapons in order to grab territory, often white knives go in and red knives come out, and it is even more common for the head to break and bleed.

Later, Xiaocai's classmate got old and became the "third uncle of Cai". I finally had some savings in hand, so I washed my hands of money, bought a real estate, and started a small business as I should. In the first few years, the business was quite passable, and in addition to maintaining daily expenses, there was a small surplus.

The clinker was flat, the Taiping Road suddenly prevailed, and the wave of rebellion pushed the wave forward, wave after wave, wave after wave.

After the city of Wengzhou was captured by the Taiping army led by Gao Jinbao, the third uncle of Caisan, who had been out of business for a long time, saw that the overall situation had stabilized, so he reopened and started his small business. But the military discipline of the Taiping Army is really a little worse, and it sounds like bandits. Every day, a dozen or so soldiers of the Taiping Army poured into his small shop laughing, throwing a few ingots of broken silver and rolling away a bunch of things; Badly beat and scolded, directly grabbed something and slapped his ass and left, he dared to be angry and didn't dare to speak.

If he was twenty years younger, Uncle Cai would have already brought a kitchen knife to fight with them. But now that he has learned to be obedient, no matter how unreasonable the other party is, he always greets him with low eyebrows and a smile. Because he is dragging his family now, if he is still like when he was young, he can't help but be impulsive, and he is a small person on the street, what can this family do? !

But seeing that the small business is completely unsustainable, how to make ends meet for the family has become the biggest headache. Uncle Cai is worthy of being an old man, and after many investigations, he learned about the hobby of "Thor" Gao Jinbao. With a roll of his eyes, he led a passable-looking daughter to the door, and enthusiastically recommended to the "Holy Father" the "Holy Mother" that was self-produced and sold, did not contain any genetically modified ingredients and had no pesticide residues.

Gao Jinbao was overjoyed and accepted all the orders.

Uncle Cai San has also changed since then, standing up and being a man, and has become the "Third Master Cai" who is loved by everyone and sees flowers blooming.

Maybe it was because he had also walked the rivers and lakes, knowing that the world was warm and cold, and the world was sinister, Cai Sanye and Xu Tianshi hit it off at first sight, and they became inseparable friends.

And out of appreciation and encouragement for Cai Sanye's righteous behavior of killing relatives, Gao Jinbao trusted and respected him very much, and soon regarded him as his own family. Since ancient times, fertilizer and water do not flow into the fields of outsiders, and Cai Sanye still has many years of experience in business, Gao Jinbao handed over the financial power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom into his hands. Even Xu Tianshi's withdrawal of silver taels from the "treasury" must be approved by the third master of Cai, and he must sign and draw a pledge.

Cai Sanye not only completely solved the problem of food and clothing for the whole family since then, but also is inexorably advancing towards the goal of the "richest man" in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

As the saying goes: flowers are not red for a hundred days, and it is difficult for the weather to be sunny for ten days. With the invasion of the new army of the Great Qi Protectorate under the leadership of the white-bearded old man, and the succession of battles, the prosperous situation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom took a sharp turn for the worse.

The one-eyed dragon Gao Jinbao and the Taiping army have been in deep torment recently. The old man with the white beard, who acted frantically and was extremely unsophisticated, did not give him a chance to respite from the rout and regroup, and chased and fought all the way. Many states and counties that have been managed and fought hard for many years, and the city fortresses have been swept away in an instant, like paper lanterns that have cracked in the fierce autumn wind.

Recently, Gao Jinbao has led the Taiping army to do only one thing seriously: retreat, breathe, and escape; Retreat again, gasp for breath, and run away again. Gao Jinbao was extremely depressed, could it be that this white-bearded old man was his destined nemesis?

When Gao Jinbao reluctantly led the dusty and exhausted army to retreat into the city of Wengzhou, and ordered the four gates to be closed, the Taiping army had no way to retreat.

That night, Gao Jinbao tossed and turned in the palace, unable to sleep. Whether it was the concubines or the "Holy Mother", he completely lost interest in touching their fingers.

Two old friends, Cai Sanye and Xu Tianshi, who also couldn't sleep, quietly met secretly, set up dishes and wine, and were worried about the future of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Heavenly Master, this Great Qi thief is menacing, can Wengzhou defend it?" Cai Sanye rolled his two small eyes, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Xu Tianshi, and drank it slowly.

Xu Tianshi sighed, shook his head again and again, and bowed his head silently.

Raising his slender neck, after drinking it all, Xu Tianshi put down the wine glass and said: "Third Master, I won't tell you, it's better than I don't know, this comparison is shocking!" I thought that my Heavenly Majesty was strong enough to stand alone in the world. Unexpectedly, after fighting with the army of Daqi, we realized that compared with it, we were like chickens and dogs, completely vulnerable! It can be seen that the number of great qi is not exhausted! ”。

Cai Sanye sighed lightly and bowed slightly: "How is this good?" Has the Heavenly Master ever thought of persuading the Heavenly Father to negotiate peace with the Great Qi? ”。

Xu Tianshi laughed miserably: "The third master is going to laugh." I know my father's temper best that day, and now asking him for peace talks is equivalent to carrying his head to death, and he doesn't want to walk out of the palace gate alive. Besides, even if we want to negotiate peace, Daqi will not agree. When our Heavenly Kingdom was strong and prosperous, the Great Qi Imperial Court sent Qin to recruit An ...... several times."

Speaking of this, Xu Tianshi cautiously glanced around, and said in a mysterious whisper: "Do you think that the last time the residence of the Great Qi Qin Mission was really an accidental fire?" It was ordered by the Holy Father, and I did it myself. As he spoke, he bared his teeth and made a murderous gesture.

Cai Sanye opened his mouth and nodded as if he had suddenly realized. Then his eyebrows tightened, and he said in a low tone, "Is it only the dead end that we can only accompany the Heavenly Father Venerable to heaven together?" ”。

Xu Tianshi sighed and said, "Unless you really descend to the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals, I'm afraid there will be no other way!" ”。 As he spoke, he lowered his head and stretched out his right index finger to point weakly at the sky above him.

Cai Sanye picked up the cup and said, "Come on, come on, drink wine." If there is wine today and drunk today, who cares about drinking sewage tomorrow! ”。

The war horses neighed, the swords and guns were dazzling, and the brigade of the new army to protect the country finally pursued and killed under the city of Wengzhou.

Looking up at the banner of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom on the head of the city, General Yan twisted the heavy silver beard under his chin and smiled confidently: "Soldiers, since the beginning of the spring, we have been far away from the capital, attacking the city all the way, and fighting bloodily. Today, this Wengzhou City is the last lonely city of the Taiping bandits. After the destruction of this city, the Taiping bandits will be wiped out from now on, and our great military exploits will forever be recorded in the annals of the Great Qi! ”。

The crowd was excited, and the high-spirited soldiers of the New Army for the Protection of the Country raised their swords and guns in unison, shouting in unison: "Kill!" Kill! Kill! ”。 The dazzling black iron armor on everyone's body emitted a cold light of slaughter.

As the first shell landed on the head of the city and exploded, the offensive and defensive battle of Wengzhou began.

In the face of the frantic attack of the soldiers of the New Army of the Great Qi Protectorate, there was no way to retreat, and the defenders of the Taiping Army, who had been forced to a dead end, also broke out with amazing combat effectiveness. The two sides are like two crazy outlaws, gritting their teeth and fighting to the death without giving in to each other.

Three days have passed, the walls of Wengzhou are scarred, covered with black and dry blood, and the corpses under the city are piled up, but the flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is already hanging at the head of the city.

In the middle of the night, General Yan's tent was still brightly lit, and General Yan's armor had not been removed, and he was nervously discussing tomorrow's siege strategy with the generals.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, an affectionate and serious lieutenant strode in, clasped his fists at General Yan and saluted: "Report to the commander, we have caught a small worker, he keeps saying that he has a hundred thousand urgent military information, unless he sees you in person, he will not open his mouth if he dies." ”

Old General Yan frowned slightly and said, "Bring him in." ”

A thin man who looked like a small man in coarse linen clothes was escorted in, he looked up at the old general Yan with a fluttering silver beard behind the handsome case, walked a few steps and knelt down and said, "You are always Yan Dashuai, right?" The little one is entrusted by others, can the marshal temporarily retreat left and right, there are 100,000 urgent military situations that can only be said to you alone. ”

Although General Yan was very dissatisfied, he still held back his anger and waved his hand to order all the generals to retreat.

Seeing that there was no one else in the account, the little guy got up, took out a thin bamboo tube from his boots, pulled out the bamboo tube, took out the secret letter hidden inside, and presented it with both hands. He took two steps back and said, "My third master has exhausted his wealth and bought off the guards at the East Gate. Two hours later, the east gate of Wengzhou City opened the city gate, and the third master of my family was waiting for the king of Daqi to enter the city in the city, rescue the Li people who were enslaved by the Taiping bandits, and return them a bright future! ”。

General Yan stood up in surprise, unfolded the secret letter, and after reading it, he was overjoyed.

He shouted loudly outside the tent: "Come on, immediately order the soldiers and horses of the three armies, and prepare to attack Wengzhou City at night!" Take this man down, and there will be a reward! ”。

Taking advantage of the cover of the night, a large number of men and horses of the New Army for the Protector quietly gathered under the city of Wengzhou. Two hours later, the east gate opened as promised, and the drawbridge quietly fell.

With a "boom", countless torches were ignited almost at the same time, and under the reflection of the firelight, the spirited General Yan Lao waved his big gun, and the rumbling sound of horses' hooves accompanied by the earth-shattering shouts of killing poured into the city of Wengzhou.

By daylight, the Battle of the Four Gates was over. Gao's palace was also captured, and Gao Jinbao retreated to a high tower with hundreds of dead men who followed him, ready to make a final dying struggle.

Old General Yan immediately stood under the tower and raised his head and said, "Demon, if you don't kneel down quickly and ask for surrender, when will you wait?" ”。

The one-eyed dragon Gao Jinbao wears a golden crown on his head, wears a yellow robe, and his eyes are ...... One-eyed red shouted: "Old immortal, I have no grievances with you, why are you always struggling?!" Do you know that the deity is the true son of heaven, the reincarnation of the thunder god, blessed by the heavenly immortals, and supported by the people. I curse you in the name of the Taishang Laojun, the Jade Emperor: the horse is trapped in the quagmire, and ten thousand arrows are ready to die! Want Thor to give you and other ordinary people to surrender? It's just wishful thinking! ”。

Lang Zhendong, who was beside the old general, gritted his teeth and said: "Great marshal, the last general is willing to lead a team of men and horses, kill on the high platform, and take the head of this demon!" ”。

General Yan smiled and said: "This high platform passage is narrow, easy to defend and difficult to attack, not to mention that the overall situation has been decided, so the demon can't escape, why should he hurt the lives of the soldiers in vain?" The artillery bombarded him, and it was a hundred! ”。

After a loud "boom" sound, the high platform was filled with gunsmoke and miasma.

After the smoke cleared, there was silence on the high platform, and there was a dead silence. The yellow-headed, golden-eyepatched Thor could no longer be found, only two blackened, * feet hanging from the wall stomping.

The flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom hanging at the head of the city of Wengzhou fell, and at the same time, it also announced the destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.