After receiving Wu Chaoyue's order for the Xinxiang army to attack Kaifeng and break through the Yellow River, Zeng Guoquan immediately asked Wu Chaoyue a question by letter - how to deal with Yinglanpo, who had sent someone to assassinate Wu Chaoyue? Is it a thousand cuts to take revenge? Or did he deliberately leave him alive to buy people's hearts?

Wu Chaoyue's handwritten reply was just one sentence - Yinglanpo's original surname was Zheng, his name was Yinggui, and he was a person from the White Flag of the Han Army, and he changed his surname in order to be more like Manchurian. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Wu Chaoyue's reply seemed a little clueless, but Zeng Guoquan understood Wu Chaoyue's hints. However, just when Zeng Guoquan was ready to kill Yinglanpo to avenge his future niece and son-in-law, the Qing army in Henan took the lead in making a very important adjustment in army deployment - the Chong'an Department of the Qing army, which was originally responsible for confronting the Wu army in Luoyang, suddenly took the initiative to abandon Bishui and retreated east to Zhengzhou, as if it was preparing to join forces with the Kaifeng Qing army to deal with Zeng Guoquan's army.

If other Wu generals were to be responsible for carrying out the tasks undertaken by Zeng Guoquan, they would definitely not take it seriously when they encountered such a situation, and even thought that there was an opportunity to besiege the city and send reinforcements, forcing one of the Qing troops in Kaifeng and Zhengzhou to fight a decisive battle with the own army in the field. However, Zeng Guoquan was the opposite, and just confirmed that Chong'an led the army to retreat east to Zhengzhou and set up camp, Zeng Guoquan, who had read history books, immediately smelled a smell of danger.

"Impossible, right? Can the chaotic party be so frustrated? But Chong'an's main waste force did not withdraw directly to Kaifeng, and chose to be stationed in Zhengzhou, how do you look like it is preparing to use that trick? Now it's spring again, and the peach blossom flood is coming soon....... ”

After thinking hard for a long time, he didn't dare to take risks easily, and considering that he was already the acting governor of Henan of the Hubei Provisional Government, and he had to think about his future governance of Henan, Zeng Guoquan resolutely gave up the established battle plan of attacking Kaifeng directly, and decided to attack Zhengzhou first, and then attack and open Fengfeng in the east. At the same time, Zeng Guoquan also sent an envoy to the north to contact Chong'an, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, and clearly told Chong'an that if he dared to fight the idea of the Yellow River, the Wu army would never accept the surrender of the Chong'an army!

Zeng Guoquan's threat was sent to Kaifeng by Chong'an as soon as possible, and after learning that Zeng Guoquan had seen through their intentions, Yinglanpo and Tuo Ming'a, who were secretly handling the matter, also immediately pulled their faces longer than donkeys, and Tuo Ming'a, who had fled back to Kaifeng from Xuzhou before, also scolded, "Treacherous dog thief, you actually saw through our plan so quickly!" ”

"I can't help it." Ying Lanpo also sighed: "Now there is no hope of destroying the Wu rebel thief army by flooding." ”

"But we can still keep Kaifeng from flooding." Tuo Ming'a said gloomily: "At this time, start digging the embankment at the mouth of the garden, and the flood will go down the Jialu River to the east, and it will be difficult for the Wu rebel army to cross the Jialu River one step, and Kaifeng City can also be as stable as Mount Tai." ”

Yinglanpo hesitated a little, and Tuo Ming'a reminded: "Yingfutai, we have no extra choice, after the Wu thief soldiers came to the city, Kaifeng City could not be kept no matter what, as the governor of Henan, what would happen if you lost the provincial capital, you should know very well." ”

After hesitating for a long time, the idea of selfishness finally prevailed, and Ying Lanpo also said in a low voice: "You can't use official documents, you can give orders verbally, and ask the most reliable person of the Chong'an faction to do it." ”

To Yinglanpo and Tuo Ming'a's great surprise, after the oral order they jointly issued was sent to Zhengzhou, it was categorically rejected by Chong'an, and Chong'an also had to tell Yinglanpo and Tuo Ming'a that it was okay for him to carry out this unconscionable order, but there must be a warrant written by Yinglanpo and Tuo Ming'a, and the order must also have Yinglanpo's Henan Governor Great Seal and Tuo Ming'a's Qincha Great Seal, otherwise even if he killed him, he would not dare to do it! -- I really can't afford to carry such a big black cauldron.

Of course, Yinglanpo and Tuo Minga did not want to leave ink and paper on this matter, but there was no way, Zeng Guoquan, who had already seen through their criminal methods, had already sent troops from Xuzhou to the north, and went straight to Zhengzhou by way of Changge, leaving little time for the Qing army in Henan. So when there was no choice, Yinglanpo and Tuo Ming'a gritted their teeth, simply met Chong'an's request, and really gave Chong'an a handwritten order to sign and seal, and let Chong'an select absolutely reliable soldiers to quietly dig up the Yellow River embankment, let the upcoming peach blossom flood wash away the embankment and pour it into the Jialu River, and use water to resist the Wu army's attack on Kaifeng.

"It's okay, anyway, the lower reaches of the Jialu River are either controlled by the Wu thieves, or they are broken by the twisted bandits, and the Huai River valley downstream is already all the territory of the long-haired bandits. And unless Chong'an has something wrong with his head, he will never dare to publicize this matter at will. In the end, Tomina and Yinglanpo comforted each other like this.

Although Yinglanpo and Tuoming's abacus played well, they forgot a very important point, that is, the current position of the Chong'an Department of the Qing Army was south of the Jialu River, and once the flood poured into the Jialu River, the Chong'an Department immediately became a lone army. So even after they sent the handwritten warrant to Zhengzhou, Chong'an still hesitated and didn't dare to do it.

"General Chong, we can't delay any longer, it's too late if we don't do it." The messenger who served as Tomin'a's own soldier urged: "Tuo Junmen explains, I want the little one to see you finish your mission and go back." You can rest assured, after the Yellow River bursts, you can immediately cross the river to the north, and on the side of the imperial court, Tuojunmen and Yingfutai will explain for you. ”

After hesitating again and again, Chong'an still didn't dare to make this decision, and under the pretext that it was easy to be exposed during the day and that he would wait until the evening to act, he first sent Tuo Ming'a's personal soldiers away, and then discussed with his henchmen: "What should I do?" Do you follow orders, or do you disobey orders? ”

"Adults, small ones think you must not do this." The henchman said in horror: "Not to mention that this is too hurtful, and you will definitely go to eighteen layers of hell after death." Even if you can be ruthless, the Wu thief army and the people of Henan will definitely not spare you, and it doesn't matter if you can cross the Yellow River and escape for your life at that time, even if we cross the Yellow River, the Wu thief army will still be chasing and killing us in the upper reaches of the river! ”

After that, his subordinates hurriedly added, saying: "Also, General Chong, don't forget that your subordinates are all local green battalion soldiers in Henan, if you ask them to do this kind of thing, they will probably not obey orders, and when the time comes, they will be in a hurry, and it is possible for them to launch a mutiny and kill you and surrender to Wu thieves!" ”

"But if you disobey the order, how can I explain to the military gate?" Chong'an hesitated and said: "He is the minister of the Qin Mission, and he has the right to live and kill, and I can't afford to pursue him?" ”

"Lord Chong, forgive the villain for saying a bold word, you don't have to explain, let alone bear it." The heart said cautiously: "The handwritten warrant given to you by Tuojunmen and Yingfutai is the best gift you can give to Wu's rebel army, if you disobey the order to surrender to Wu for this matter, you won't have the face to pursue your family in Manchu if you want to come to the imperial court." Shu Bao, Youfeng and Du Xing'a, these banner people, also mixed well with Wu Chaoyue. ”

After hesitating until it was slightly dark, when Tomin's personal soldiers came to Chong'an again to urge, Chong'an finally made up his mind and decisively ordered his subordinates to take down Tomina's personal soldiers. Then the whole army was summoned to make the shameless orders of Tomin and Yinglanpo public, and the Chong'an soldiers who were mainly the local green battalion soldiers in Henan really roared angrily, and asked to refuse to obey their orders, and Chong'an also took the opportunity to announce that he had decided to surrender to the Wu army, and the frenzied Tuo Minga and Yinglanpo were cut in two! The officers and men of the Chong'an Army, who had long been frightened by the Wu army, also immediately cheered and all supported Chong'an's correct decision.

Then, before the Wu army could reach the city of Zhengzhou, Wang Shoulin, the magistrate of Zhengzhou, had already taken the initiative to surrender under the persuasion of Chong'an, and at the same time surrendered to the surrounding counties of Xingyang and Xingze. Even Zhongmu County, which was closer to Kaifeng than Zhengzhou, surrendered to the Wu army on the same day after learning of the order to dig embankments at Tomina and Yinglanpo.

Although they repeatedly claimed that the warrant was forged by Chong'an, the seal on the warrant was carved from a radish, and they pretended to order the Qing army and regiments around the country to guard the Yellow River to prevent floods, but the soldiers and civilians of Henan, who had suffered from the Yellow Tribulation, still rushed to surrender to the Wu army, while strictly guarding the Yellow River embankment, not giving Tuominga and Yinglanpo any chance to secretly do it again, and also helped Zeng Guoquan's army directly reach Kaifeng City without a single shot. It surrounded the provincial capital of Henan on all sides.

In the rumbling artillery, Zeng Guoquan, who knew how to attack the heart tactics, bombarded the city with flowering shells and improved Congreve rockets, and shocked the enemy's military heart with powerful firepower, and at the same time used bows and arrows that were already very rare in the ranks of the Wu army to shoot a large number of letters into the city, exposing the madness of Tomina and Yinglanpo's vain attempt to flood the eastern part of Henan. He also had the idea of laying down his arms and surrendering as soon as the Wu army broke through the city.

The dying and struggling Yinglanpo and Tomin'a of course denied all the accusations made against them by the Wu army, while shouting the slogan of living and dying with the city of Kaifeng, and stubbornly resisting with the strong fortifications built in the past few years, while recruiting the Qing army that was fighting with the Twist army in southeast Henan to return to Kaifeng, and at the same time constantly asking for help from the Qing army in Zhili, neither daring to abandon the provincial capital and leave, let alone surrender in Kaicheng again.

After all, it is a provincial city that gives priority to the supply of money, food and materials, relying on the strong city fortifications piled up with resources before, as well as the Manchurian and Mongolian soldiers under the command of Tuo Ming'a to defend the city with all their might, Kaifeng City really carried it for a while, and waited for the reply for help given by the Qing army in Zhili. However, this reply made Tuo Ming'a and Yinglanpo completely desperate - while the Taiping army Shi Dakai launched a full-scale attack on the Qing army in Shandong, it also sent Chen Yucheng to lead a partial division into the Zhili Daimyo's mansion, and the Zhili Qing army was now too busy to take care of itself, so naturally they could not spare their hands to rescue Kaifeng.

In the early morning of the next day, news came from outside the city again, saying that the Qing army that had returned to Kaifeng from southwest Henan had been defeated by the Wu army Shubao in the Qixian area, and was forced to withdraw to Guide Mansion, and could no longer rescue the provincial capital. As a result, Yinglanpo cried when he heard it, and wailed Kaifeng to rest, while Tuo Ming'a was pale, and suddenly yelled at Yinglanpo: "What are you crying about? The head has a bowl-sized scar! At this point, what choice do we have but to die for our country?! ”

Ying Lanpo nodded with tears in his eyes, and took out a small medicine bottle from his arms, choked and said: "As soon as the Wu thief breaks the city, I will eat this immediately, Tuojunmen, if possible, please ask someone to bury me secretly, I don't want my body to fall into the hands of the Wu thief." ”

"Shut up, useless thing!" Tomin roared, "When is it, still thinking about your corpse?" Don't think about what else we can do for the emperor and the court before we die! ”

"But what else can we do?" Yinglanpo left tears in his eyes.

"The military supplies, grain, grass and gunpowder in Kaifeng City must not be left to Wu thieves!" Tuo Ming'a said viciously: "Even if we die, we have to take these things away, so that the Wu thief can only get an empty city!" also made Wu thieves and those thieves have no way to survive this year's spring famine! ”