The possibility that the captured Xuan soldiers were executed by the Taiping army was within Guan Zhuofan's consideration. But even so, when he heard Zheng Guokui's report in the big tent, his heart was still full of anger.

This Gao Yongkuan, he doesn't leave a way back for himself at all! Guan Zhuofan's face was bruised, he clenched his fists, and forcibly suppressed himself not to have a seizure. There was a dead silence in the big tent, and everyone in the tent didn't dare to speak when they saw the handsome look, and Zheng Guokui, who was not afraid of knives and guns in Qingpu City just now, seemed to have done a bad errand at this moment, bowed his head, and did not dare to take a breath of air.

"Xuan Shuai," after a while, Liu Xun said tentatively, "Otherwise, I will order General Ding to take Qingpu and take it down." Even if we can't capture Gao Yongkuan alive, after all, Huang Wenjin is still in our hands, and it will probably be enough to exchange it for Forrest. ”

Guan Zhuofan breathed a sigh of relief and slowly shook his head. He refused to talk about attacking the city, not only in exchange for Forrestal, but for other reasons.

At that time, there was a trend in the army - they were particularly interested in capturing cities. Being able to make meritorious contributions is one thing, but what is more important is that we can take advantage of the chaos to plunder, regardless of whether we are the enemy or the enemy, and in the end, it is the common people who suffer, and every time a military disaster passes, it is a serious injury to the vitality. Although the military discipline of the Xuan army is strict and has been repeatedly admonished, it is much better at this point, but once the war starts, the Taiping army will fight the trapped beasts in a desperate situation, and it is inevitable that as Gao Yongkuan said, "the jade is burned". Qingpu is a famous city within the scope of its own shili, and these altars and jars can be preserved, or preserved.

"Qingpu is my own place, and it is the best to not break it." Guan Zhuofan pointed out this purpose, looked at Zheng Guokui and asked, "What did Gao Yongkuan say?" ”

Gao Yongkuan said. There is no way to undo what is done. Zheng Guokui looked at Guan Zhuofan's face. Said cautiously. He was willing to write to Suzhou. Please ask King Zhong to replace three foreigners, it all depends on whether the handsome man is willing to give him a way out. ”

"He's right. There is no way to undo what is done. Guan Zhuofan said thoughtfully, "Zheng Guokui, you work hard, go and tell Gao Yongkuan, I still give him a way out." But this time, he wanted to get his whole army out of the city. That's not going to be able to, in a word, let go of the generals and not let go of the troops. If he is willing, then ask him to open the city before noon tomorrow, if not, there is no need to wait for his reply, after noon, the Xuan army will open fire. ”

"Yes, I must persuade him well, but ...... He spent a long time in the long hair. If you don't dare to pack a ticket, you can be persuaded to move. Zheng Guokui thought about it, but he still carefully affirmed this concern.

"Zheng Guokui. Don't have any worries. You are alone, and you have entered Qingpu twice, and this courage is a great achievement in itself. Guan Zhuofan said gently, "Whether you succeed or not, I will still reward you." ”

"Xie Dashuai!" Zheng Guokui put his mind at ease.

"There is one more thing - Gao Yongkuan's letter to Li Xiucheng, asking him to add another sentence."

"Yes, please show me."

"Li Xiucheng's son-in-law Huang Wenjin, now in my hands, Gao Yongkuan knows." Guan Zhuofan said slowly, "I'm going to take him to Li Xiucheng and change another person." ”

"Yes, may I ask the commander, which one do you want to change?" Zheng Guokui couldn't help but wonder.

"Fujian Governor of Grain Road, Huzhou League Training Minister, Zhao Jingxian."

*

*

Zheng Guokui was escorted by a team of cavalry, and then went to Qingpu. Guan Zhuofan finished this matter and began to explain military affairs.

"Daniel Zhang, did the people who contacted Ixan send out?"

"Don't worry, boss, I sent it out yesterday." Daniel Zhang repeated the instructions given by Guan Zhuofan: "The Kezi regiment withdrew from Qiandeng Town to Dianshan Lake to stand by, avoiding the sharpness of the main force of long hair. ”

Li Xiucheng's Chinese army began to retreat in the direction of Suzhou yesterday. In this case, Guan Zhuofan specially instructed Ixan, who threatened Kunshan, to lead his troops to retreat sharply - although they were elite soldiers, there were only 2,500 people in the end, and they should not accidentally repeat the tragedy of Banqiao of the Huai army.

"Mr. Liu, what news is there from Jiading?"

"There has been a ceasefire. The long hair has to retreat, and the Huai army has to take a breather. Liu Xunzhi said with a smile, "But I heard that Huai Jun made a small fortune in Baoshan—"

Guarding Baoshan were the Huai army generals Zhang Shusheng and Wu Changqing. The Taiping army did not fight for a month, and when it was time to retreat, the Huai army waved the army to chase after it, and the Taiping army could not get rid of it for a while, so on the way to retreat, a large number of gold, silver, jewelry, silk and cloth were thrown behind. The Huai army picked up along the way, and they could no longer catch up, so Liu Xun said that they "made a small fortune".

Huai Jun is like this, so what about Xuan Jun? Guan Zhuofan couldn't help but care.

"Well, the soldiers have been poor for a long time, and it is not easy to restrain them when they see silver in their black eyes." Guan Zhuofan smiled and nodded, "Mr. Liu, is there any place on our Xuanjun's grain platform that can't be supported?" ”

"Xuan Shuai rest assured. Now surrounding Qingpu are the German character regiment, the Jianzi regiment, the foreign first regiment, and the horse team of Deputy General Zhang. In the direction of Jiading, it is Ding Ruchang's first word group. are all in such a close place, if there is a shortage of resupply, please ask Xuan Shuai to cut off Xun Xuan's head in the marching method. Liu Xunzhi said confidently.

"Daniel Zhang, let Ding Ruchang fight further north!" Guan Zhuofan said casually, "You might as well make the momentum lively, but you don't have to spend a lot of effort seriously." ”

Daniel Zhang and Liu Xianji both understood, and Guan Zhuofan's seemingly understated words had another deep meaning. Huang Wenjin on the south road was defeated by the Xuan army single-handedly, Tan Shaoguang on the middle road was defeated by the Xuan army alone, and although the north road was returned to the Huai army, Li Hongzhang was able to turn the tide of the battle only because of the liliang of the second regiment of foreign guns.

In other words, at least seventy percent of the credit for the victory in this battle of Shanghai is due to the Xuan army.

"As for your Mr. Liu's head, I'm reluctant to cut it off." Guan Zhuofan was in a good mood and made a joke, "Otherwise, where will I find a talent like Mr.?" ”

"Zhao Zhusheng's talent is a hundred times stronger than me." Liu Xunji put away his smile and said very seriously, "Xuan Shuai, you use Huang Wenjin to ransom him, it's really a good chess!" If it were me, I would never have imagined it. ”

This is talking about Zhao Jingxian. Guan Zhuofan saw that he was so serious, so he also smiled, nodded first, and then shook his head.

"Yu Liang is bright for a while, and he is good at winning, and it can't be said that he is better than Mr." Guan Zhuofan groaned and said, "But I took Huang Wenjin to exchange for him, it wasn't my own idea, it was just Hu Guangyong and Zhao Binglin who came to visit——"

The news that the Xuan army had broken through the Taiping army and captured Huang Wenjin had already spread among the streets and alleys of Shanghai, and the gentry and common people of Shanghai all believed that Guan Zhuofan was blessed by Qin Chenghuang and was destined to become Li Xiucheng's nemesis - first killed his second son, and then captured his son-in-law, isn't this a clear proof?

Zhao Binglin thought more than that. As soon as he received the news, he immediately took the car and went to the concession to find Hu Xueyan. He is a native of Huzhou, has lived in Shanghai for a long time, has done a lot of business, and has long been familiar with Hu Xueyan.

"Xue Yan, I heard that you and Guan Fantai are good friends?" Zhao Binglin had a pleading look on his face, "Now there is one thing, I must ask you to help me!" ”

"Good friends don't dare to say it, but a sentence or two may still be enough." Hu Xueyan rarely saw Zhao Binglin in a hurry like this, so he agreed very simply, "Brother's business is my business, please just ask." ”

"I heard that Li Xiucheng's son-in-law fell into the hands of the official army, I want to ask you to beg Guan Dashuai for me to see if you can exchange him for Zhusheng."

Zhao Binglin is Zhao Jingxian's own uncle, Zhao Jingxian guarded Huzhou and refused to go out of the city, Zuihou sent a letter to Zhao Binglin. After Zhao Jingxian was captured and imprisoned in Suzhou, Zhao Binglin was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, tried to rescue him in many ways, and promised to buy it at a heavy price, but in the end, because Zhao Jingxian was Li Xiucheng's key criminal, he could not succeed.

When Hu Xueyan heard that this was the case, he hesitated -- the matter was too big for him to intervene in.

Zhao Binglin saw that he hesitated and didn't speak, and said hurriedly: "Xueyan, Zhusheng is working hard for Zhejiang people, so he suffered from this!" ”

This sentence is very weighty, and Hu Xueyan, who is also from Zhejiang, can't shirk it, so he made up his mind and said: "Okay! I'll accompany you to the Sijing camp. ”

In this way, the two of them each rode a healthy mule, accompanied by several people, and rushed from Shanghai to Sijing.

Hu Xueyan came to visit, and Guan Zhuofan naturally met immediately. Hu Xueyan and Zhao Binglin are both people who donate official bodies, and entertainment in officialdom is also commonplace, but as soon as they entered the gate, the iron-blooded military camp, the forest was killed, and the terrifying chill came to their faces, and the two big businessmen were a little unbearable, especially Zhao Binglin, who trembled step by step, and when he saw Guan Zhuofan, his words were not good, so he knelt down with a plop and kowtowed first.

"What is this for? Get up, please! Guan Zhuofan was taken aback, and while supporting, he looked at Hu Xueyan on the side with inquiring eyes.

When Hu Xueyan said what he meant, Guan Zhuofan suddenly realized that he was here for Zhao Jingxian.

Liu Xunyan didn't know about this story, but now that he heard Guan Zhuofan say it, he nodded and said: "It turns out that there is this kneeling, and its feelings can be felt!" ”

"It's not for this kneeling." Guan Zhuofan said calmly, "I changed Forrestal, that is Xuanjun's own general, there is still something to say, in exchange for Zhao Zhusheng, he did not get the court's fate, in fact, it is somewhat presumptuous." However, Zhao Binglin brought this-"

He paused, and pulled out a slightly old white cloth from a box on the military case.

"This is Zhao Jingxian's blood letter from Huzhou City, giving him this uncle."

Daniel Zhang and Liu Xuan were shocked and gathered around to watch. I saw that on the white cloth, the dark brown handwriting was like sixteen big characters written in blood: The city is in the people, the city is dead, the father is still there, how dare you steal life?

"Zhao Jingxian is really a national soldier," Guan Zhuofan said with emotion, "I can't say it, I have to save him!" ”

*(To be continued......)