After receiving the news that Wu Chaoyue was coming to Hunan to personally preside over the opening ceremony of the Zeng Gong Ancestral Hall, Chongen first breathed a sigh of relief, and then inevitably began to be nervous in his heart, because Chongen knew that in front of Wu Chaoyue, who was holding a heavy army, he had only one chance to make a move, and if he missed a blow, he would die without a place to be buried, and there was no hope of turning over. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Chong'en is also a delicate person, in order to avoid leaking the news in advance, or on the afternoon of the 28th, after confirming the news that Wu Chaoyue left on time and arrived in Linxiang in the evening of the same day, Chong'en secretly summoned his four confidant generals Actun, Ling Fang, Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin, and showed them the secret edict jointly issued by the empress dowager of the two palaces under strict secrecy - capture Wu Chaoyue and imprison him, and Chong'en took over as the governor of Huguang and took over the military power of Huguang.

Of course, the secret edict that Chongen suddenly showed made the four main generals of Hunan Fubiao dumbfounded, and they all couldn't believe that this was true for a while, but after coming back to his senses, Yang Yuebin was immediately full of ecstasy, and without hesitation, he knelt down on Chongen's knees, clasped his hands into fists and said: "I am willing to act according to the orders of Lord Futai, go to the soup and go to the fire, and break my bones, and I will not give up!" ”

Yang Yuebin, who is not a descendant, said so, and the Manchu generals Acton and Ling Fang, who had followed Chong'en for many years, of course knelt down on one knee without hesitation, swearing to obey Chong'en's orders and capture Wu Chaoyue to serve the Manchu court. Only Hu Linyi didn't rush to express his position, and asked for the edict from Chong'en's hand to watch it repeatedly, and after confirming that the seal was not fake, Hu Linyi coughed with a painful expression and said: "I really didn't expect it, I really didn't expect that the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces would issue such an edict, Wu Zhitai, he has no big fault?" The edict said that he was rampant and self-respecting in his army, these things may be a little, but they are not serious? ”

"Zhensheng, with my friendship with Wu Zhitai, I don't want to do this." Chongen said coldly: "But this is the new emperor's edict, the king wants the minister to die, the minister has to die, we, as human ministers, can only act according to the order." ”

Hu Linyi continued to sigh, his mood was somewhat complicated, and he regretted that he had to help Chong'en capture Wu Chaoyue - Hu Linyi owed Wu Chaoyue a lot of favors. However, under the reminder and urging of Chong'en and He Shaoji, Hu Linyi still dragged his sick body to get up and saluted Chong'en, stating that he would absolutely obey Chong'en's orders and vow not to betray the Manchu court. Then, Hu Linyi cautiously asked Chongen, "Chongfutai, then what should we do?" I'm afraid it won't work out of the direct use of force, right? ”

"Of course, you can't use force directly, you can only use tactics." Yang Yuebin grabbed the conversation and said: "Otherwise, let alone the army in Hubei, even those Xiangyong under Feng Sanbao, we are not sure that we can deal with it." ”

"Don't worry, how to capture Wu Chaoyue alive, this official has already made arrangements."

Chong'en smiled proudly, and then said that Wu Chaoyue had been deceived by himself to come to Hunan, and then said: "If it goes well, Wu Chaoyue's steamer will be able to arrive in Changsha this evening, and tonight the official will arrange a banquet in the Hunan governor's yamen to entertain Wu Chaoyue, and Feng Sanbao will definitely come to accompany him. ”

After saying the general method, Chong'en arranged in detail the trapping plan carefully arranged by himself and He Shaoji, let Acton lead his own soldiers to be responsible for arresting Wu Chaoyue and Feng Sanbao, let Hu Linyi be responsible for leading the Hunan army to deal with Wu Chaoyue's guards, let Yang Yuebin be responsible for leading the army to guard the Changsha Zhumen, and Ling Fang was responsible for surrounding the Hunan Admiral's Yamen and serving as a reserve.

After hearing Chong'en's absolutely feasible hands-on plan, Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin were overjoyed in their hearts, and immediately expressed their determination to act according to the order together with Ah and Ling Er. However, what made Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin even happier was still to come, and Chongen, as the acting governor of Huguang, appointed Yang Yuebin as the new governor of Hunan on the spot, and appointed Hu Linyi as the acting governor of Hubei, taking over the precious legacy that Wu Chaoyue was about to leave behind.

The plan was quickly arranged, and the only reliable Hunan Fubiao was also secretly prepared for war, but Chong'en, Hu Linyi and others waited left and right, and waited until it was dark, but they never waited for the whistle of the steamer to come from the Xiangjiang River, and Chong'en and Hu Linyi and others, who had ghosts, inevitably began to get nervous, for fear that there was something leaking there, so that Wu Chaoyue was prepared in advance.

Fortunately, when the second watch was about to be over, Chong'en sent a message from the eyeliner that had been sent to listen to Wu Chaoyue's movements, saying that after Wu Chaoyue's fleet entered Dongting Lake, it had just gone south to the waters of Junshan, and Wu Chaoyue's ship, the Daodao, broke down and was forced to return to Yueyang Wharf for repairs under the tow of two other steam gunboats.

Knowing the reason why Wu Chaoyue failed to arrive in Changsha on time, Chong'en, Hu Linyi and others first breathed a sigh of relief, and then inevitably became a little nervous, for fear that Wu Chaoyue would give up his trip to Xiangxiang because of this unexpected change, which would cause Hunan Fubiao to no longer be able to complete the operation to trap Wu Chaoyue.

On the morning of the next day, Li Hongzhang, who had been secretly excluded from the power center of the Hunan governor's yamen, returned to Changsha by boat and brought Wu Chaoyue's official document of the governor of the five provinces - in the official document, Wu Chaoyue asked Chong'en to go to Lingxiangxiang to postpone the opening ceremony of the Zeng Gong Ancestral Hall for seven days, and instead open the temple on the tenth day of the first month of March. In addition, Wu Chaoyue asked Chongen to personally lead the Hunan sailors to Yueyang to meet him, so that the Hunan sailors could be inspected by him on Dongting Lake.

"Chongfutai, Wu Zhitai, he can't help it." Li Hongzhang explained: "The steam boiler of the Brave was suddenly scrapped, and the spare boiler had to be transported from Hubei Province to Yueyang to be replaced, and it would take at least four or five days for various installations and commissioning, so Wu Zhengtai decided to let you delay the opening ceremony, but fortunately, the 10th day of the first month of March is also an auspicious day for the zodiac, and it is not a delay in the right thing." ”

Knowing that Wu Chaoyue still had to go to Xiangxiang to preside over the opening of the ancestral hall, Chong'en suddenly felt relieved in his heart, knowing that Wu Chaoyue did not have any vigilance, but Chong'en was a little strange about Wu Chaoyue's other order, and asked: "Shaoquan, why did Wu Zhengtai ask me to personally take the Hunan Sailor to be reviewed?" ”

Wu Zhitai said that he wanted to know the current specific situation of the Hunan Naval Division. Li Hongzhang also explained: "By mid-to-late April at the latest, Wu Zhitai will organize the Huguang army to march eastward, and the Hubei Navy Division will of course be the main force of the battle at that time, but the fleet transporting troops and grain also needs the protection of the Navy Division, so he wants to take this opportunity to learn about the specific situation of the Hunan Navy Division by the way, and see if the Hunan Navy Division can come in handy at that time." In this way, it would not be a waste of time for him to delay these few days in Yueyang. ”

has been secretly observing Li Hongzhang's expression, seeing that Li Hongzhang's expression is very relaxed and does not seem to be fake, Chong'en's heart is a little wider, and after a little calculation, he ordered Li Hongzhang to go down to rest. As a result, as soon as Li Hongzhang left on the front foot, Chongen asked his personal soldier captain to arrange for people to secretly monitor him closely, and then Chongen asked He Shaoji, who had been on the side, "Zizhen, how is it?" ”

"I can't see it." He Shaoji shook his head and said: "It's a little suspicious to let Yangzhi personally lead the Hunan Naval Division, just let Yang Yuebin do it directly, why do you have to go in person?" ”

"This is not very strange, perhaps he wants to show off his prestige as the governor of the five provinces, or he wants to learn about the situation in Hunan by the way without wasting time. But....... ”

Chong'en was also quite worried about this, and in the end, when it was difficult to make a decision, Chong'en simply summoned the resourceful Hu Linyi to discuss with Yang Yuebin, the current commander of the Hunan Naval Division, but Hu Linyi was very this matter, and immediately pointed out to Chong'en: "Lord Futai, you must go!" If you don't go, with the cleverness of Wu Zhitai, he will definitely be suspicious, and if he refuses to come to Changsha again because of this, how will you carry out the secret edict of the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces? ”

"Lord Futai, you should go." Yang Yuebin, who was about to be promoted, also encouraged: "Don't worry, there will never be any danger, because if you go this time, you can justifiably take the main force of the Hunan Navy Division under the command of the last general to meet him, not only has a safety guarantee, but also sees the opportunity to take him down in Yueyang." At that time, without Feng Sanbao's Xiangyong obstruction, we will be more sure of success. ”

"Hou'an's words are reasonable." Hu Linyi, who is old in the battlefield, also pointed out: "The three steamers under the command of Wu Zhitai can certainly run rampant on the water, but if they are moored on the dock, they are like decorations. At that time, if you really need Chongfutai, as long as our sailors suddenly make a move, not to mention that it is easy to set fire to those three steamers, even if they are directly captured, there is great hope. ”

After listening to Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin's absolutely reasonable analysis, Chong'en's heart was moved, although he was still a little hesitant, but he suddenly remembered a major event - Cixi repeatedly asked herself in her letters to be sure to do it before the third day of the third month of March, the specific reason is why Cixi did not say, but the officialdom old official Chongen is absolutely sure that if this time is missed, it will definitely lead to unimaginable dangerous consequences!

Pinching his fingers and calculating it, he found that the time left for him was only more than three days, Chong'en no longer hesitated, and immediately nodded and accepted Hu Linyi and Yang Yuebin's suggestion, and ordered Yang Yuebin to immediately arrange the main force of the Hunan Navy Division to prepare for departure, and let people arrange the governor's official ship for himself, and discussed with Hu Linyi and He Shaoji how to use Hunan Fubiao to secretly guard against Xiangyong, and arranged two foolproof contingency preparations. In the end, Chongen instructed He Shaoji alone: "Send someone to keep an eye on Li Hanzhang, and report to me immediately if there is any change." ”

He Shaoji understood in his heart and knew that if Li Hongzhang wanted to do something, it would be impossible not to even say hello to Li Hanzhang, who was destined to stay in Changsha, so as long as he kept an eye on Li Hanzhang, it would not be difficult to analyze Li Hongzhang's true position.

The results of the secret surveillance made Chongen and He Shaoji very relieved, and after returning to the Hunan Governor's Yamen, Li Hongzhang, who was tired from the journey, went back to the room to sleep without saying a few words to his eldest brother, and Li Hanzhang also honestly handled official documents for Chongen in the signing room, without any abnormal reaction.

After confirming this, Chong'en was completely relieved, and at noon on the first day of the first month of March the next day, he boarded the official ship and sailed to the lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River under the protection of the Hunan Naval Division, which numbered as many as seven battalions of more than 3,500 people.

After resting in Yingtian for a night, the main force of the Hunan Naval Division continued to sail north, preparing to cross Dongting Lake in a daytime and rush to Yueyang to meet Wu Chaoyue.

The itinerary is not too tight, Chong'en and He Shaoji, who like Jinshi calligraphy, in order to relieve the squeezing force and relax their minds, also discussed the rubbing collection on the official ship, and Li Hongzhang, who is also proficient in this way, accompanied him and talked with Chongen and He Shaoji. However, when they arrived at the center of Dongting Lake, there was a sudden sound of a huge whistle roaring in the distance. ”

"I don't know?" Li Hongzhang was also at a loss, and said suspiciously: "Isn't Wu Zhitai's steamer in Yueyang?" Could it be a foreigner's steamer? ”

Feeling that things were strange, Chong'en and He Shaoji could only quickly put down the rubbings of the inscription in their hands, and went out of the cabin to the deck to check the situation, but it was okay not to look at it, and when they looked at the location where the sound came from with a telescope, Chong'en's face suddenly turned a little pale - on the blue waters of Dongting Lake, there were actually three steam gunboats, flying the banner of the governor of the five provinces of Wu Chaoyue, and they were rushing straight towards the main force of the Hunan Naval Division.

At the same time, Yang Yuebin had already come to the official ship where Chong'en was seated, and asked in surprise: "Chongfutai, didn't you say that one of Wu Zhitai's small steamers broke down?" Why are all three of them coming? ”

"I don't know?" Chongen was also at a loss, and when he quickly turned his head to look at Li Hongzhang, he saw that Li Hongzhang was also confused, and he seemed to be very puzzled by this abnormal situation.

At this time, the flag bearer on the lookout reported loudly, saying that the flagship of the Wu Army's Naval Division, which was flying the banner of Wu Chaoshuai, raised the banner and asked the main force of the Hunan Naval Division to stop advancing, and asked Chong'en if he was following the order? Chong'en hesitated, and He Shaoji next to him hurriedly reminded in a low voice: "Yangzhi, Wu Zhitai has the right to restrain you, if you don't follow the order, he will definitely be suspicious, you should understand the situation first." ”

Chongen had no choice but to quickly order the Hunan Sailors to drop sail and anchor, stop advancing, and let Li Hongzhang take the fast boat to learn about the specific situation from Wu Chaoyue, but Li Hongzhang never returned, but just asked the sailors of the Hunan Sailors to bring back the news, saying that after the emergency repair of Wu Jun's sailors, the Daode had been repaired in advance, so Wu Chaoyue came here in person. He also asked the sailors to convey Wu Chaoyue's order, and asked Chong'en to immediately meet with Wu Chaoyue on the Daode to discuss the specific matters of reviewing the Hunan Naval Division.

A cold sweat appeared on Chong'en's forehead, faintly suspecting that Chong'en had no choice but to hurriedly ask Yang Yuebin: "Is it possible to let your sailors besiege those three steamers and directly capture Wu Chaoyue by force?" ”

"It's ......." Yang Yuebin hesitated, and replied after a while: "Lord Futai forgives the sin, the end general is not very sure, if it is in a narrow place on the Xiangjiang River, the end general may be a little more sure, but this is Dongting Lake, Wu Chaoyue's three steamers do not need to open fire, just the waves brought up by fast driving, you can directly overturn the sampan boat under his command!" ”

"Are you sure that the official ship protecting this official escaped back to Changsha?" Chongen hurriedly asked again.

"Lord Futai, you kill the last general." Yang Yuebin almost didn't cry, and said: "The fastest speed of the three steamers in Wu Futai can reach fifty miles in one hour, and the fleet of the last general is against the wind and water, and it is already a miracle that it can run twenty miles in one hour." ”

If you can't beat it, you can't run away, poor Chong'en Chongfutai is completely helpless, but fortunately, He Shaoji reminded in time: "Yangzhi, even if this is Wu Zhitai's plan to lure the snake out of the hole, without any evidence, he can't do anything about you, and Li Hongzhang will definitely not know about the secret edict." ”

After hesitating for a moment, Chongen gritted his teeth and accepted He Shaoji's suggestion, and took a small boat to meet Wu Chaoyue, preparing to successively Wu Chaoyue and the snake, and then find a way to get out. He Shaoji and Yang Yuebin remained in the main force of the Hunan Naval Division, continuing to control the army's precautions.

After Chong'en made this choice, of course, he was in the mouth of the tiger, and after being led in front of Wu Chaoyue, Wu Chaoyue was not polite, and directly asked Chong'en about the ancestral hall of Zeng Guofan, and said: "Chongfutai, please explain, why did the imperial court send the palace newspaper to Hunan on February 25 to announce the construction of an ancestral hall for Zeng Butang, and you had already sent to Xiangxiang as early as February 16 to let Xiangxiang build an ancestral hall for Zeng Butang?" Did you get news so quickly? ”

Chong'en was speechless, and only after a while trembling said: "This is a coincidence, the lower officials respect Zeng Gong, and Xiangxiang built an ancestral hall for Zeng Butang, I never thought that a few days later, the imperial court also happened to issue an edict to let Hunan build an ancestral hall for Zeng Butang, and the result was ......, so let the master of Taiwan misunderstand." ”

"Is it really just a coincidence?" Wu Chaoyue asked with a smile.

"It's really just a coincidence." Chongen nodded hurriedly.

"Good, grab it!"

Wu Chaoyue waved his hand, and the soldiers who had already prepared immediately pounced and took down Chongen on the spot, Chongen struggled and shouted, asking: "Wu Zhitai, what crime did the lower official commit?" Why are you taking me? ”

"You have sinned against the system." Wu Chaoyue replied with a smile: "After the martyrdom of the teacher, the official position posthumously awarded to him by the imperial court was the second rank of the military department, but without the permission of the imperial court, you asked the Xiangxiang place to build an ancestral hall for my mentor that only a first-class member deserves, ignoring the etiquette of the imperial court and openly overstepping the system, who will I not take from you?" ”

Unexpectedly, there was a small flaw here, and Chongen could only quickly change his words and shouted: "I heard the inside news of the imperial court, and my people found out in Rehe that the imperial court had given Zeng Butang a title of head, so I did that." ”

"Then the official should take you even more." Wu Chaoyue smiled and said: "As a local governor, colluding with the Beijing officials to spy on the secrets of the imperial court is a more serious crime, and of course the official wants to take you." ”

Chongen was completely crying, and simply roared: "Wu Chaoyue, the official word is two mouths, you are ruthless!" You are bigger than me, I can't talk about you! But don't forget, no matter how big your official is, I am also the governor of Hunan in the Qing Dynasty appointed by the emperor himself, you arrested me today, and tomorrow the court will ask you why, you can't show real evidence of the crime, I think how you can explain to the court?! ”

"Proof, of course I have."

Wu Chaoyue replied with a sneer, but he was also a little worried in his heart, because once Wu Chaoyue could not get the evidence that Chong'en was trying to disadvantage him, it would indeed be difficult to explain to the Manchu court-even if it was Su Shun, it would be difficult to defend him. However, at this time, Li Hongzhang, who had been silent beside him, suddenly spoke up and said, "Weiting, summon Yang Yuebin to visit you, and the evidence of the crime will be there." ”

Chongen turned his head to look at Li Hongzhang in surprise, and when Wu Chaoyue also looked at Li Hongzhang suspiciously, Li Hongzhang smiled and explained: "Weiting, since Chongfutai has brought the main force of the Hunan Navy Division to see you, if he really wants to be unfavorable to you, Yang Yuebin, the commander of the Hunan Navy Division appointed by him, must be his accomplice and knows the details." ”

"This will you have invited Chongfutai here, and sent someone to invite Yang Hou'an, then Yang Yuebin is a thief, he will definitely not dare to get on your gunboat again, there will definitely be some bad behavior, when the time comes, what does Chongfutai want to do this time, don't you know immediately? And even if Yang Yuebin took the risk to come, as long as you ask him a few words alone, it is not difficult to find flaws. ”

Wu Chaoyue slapped his forehead and woke up, and hurriedly sent someone to Xuan Yang Yuebin to kowtow to him, but Chongen yelled at Li Hongzhang: "Li Hongzhang, you ungrateful dog!" What is there about you that I am sorry for? You....... ”

"Chongfutai! I didn't do anything to be sorry for you! ”

Li Hongzhang interrupted Chong'en and said coldly: "I'm asking Comfort Pavilion to give you a chance to confess, if you are really frank and selfless, without any evil intentions, Comfort Pavilion can also prove whether you are innocent or not." ”

Chong'en still roared angrily, but Wu Chaoyue waved his hand and asked his soldiers to take him to the rear cabin temporarily, and then said sincerely to Li Hongzhang: "Shaoquan, it seems that I really blame you, don't hate me, I can't help it." ”

"It's okay, it's normal for my arms to hurt my thighs occasionally when my teeth and tongue are fighting." Li Hongzhang replied calmly.

Yang Yuebin's reaction surprised Wu Chaoyue very much, and after the order to come over and kowtow was sent to Yang Yuebin, Yang Yuebin not only did not follow the order, but even took the opportunity of the southeast wind to suddenly make a big move, and ordered the Hunan Navy fleet to rush to Wu Chaoyue's ship, trying to launch a nearboard battle to capture Wu Chaoyue and rescue Chong'en.

Seeing this scene, Wu Chaoyue couldn't help but smile slightly, and said lightly: "Fire!" Capture Yang Yuebin alive and torture the confession! (To be continued.) )