During the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Army, we must also praise the performance of the Manchu court, in the case of the fall of half of the country, the Manchu court headed by Ci'an, Cixi and Guizi Liu, with less than 30% of the usual tax income of money and grain, cut down on food and clothing, smashed pots and sold iron, and Leng Shi always ensured that the supply of grain, grass and military supplies on the front line was sufficient, and the military salary was paid normally. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info The Qing army of Zhili was finally able to survive the Taiping army's self-chaos and turn defeat into victory and defeat the Taiping army, and the coup group in the capital actually had to take the first credit.

In terms of employing people and delegating power, Ci'an, Cixi and Devil Six are also more than ten times stronger than Emperor Xianfeng, out of inertia they were forced to take the monk prince as the commander first, and found that the monk and the prince were still muddy and couldn't support the wall, Ci'an and Cixi and others didn't even blink their eyelids, and immediately took the risk of changing the commander to let the official document go on the horse. Then the official document took the initiative to abandon the Dagu mouth, and did not hesitate to burn grain one after another, the Manchu court did not ask even a word, let alone interfere with a handsome order of the official document, and the appointment of people was bold and delegated, giving the old fox the official text enough space to play, which led to the later Tianjin victory, and the Taiping army was defeated and collapsed.

No one knows how much pressure Ci'an, Cixi and Guizi Liu and others endured during this period, how much fright they were frightened, and no one knows that when the good news of Tianjin's victory was sent to the capital, Guizi Liu just said lightly on the surface that he had won, but in fact he cried bitterly behind his back, and Ci'an and Cixi also cried wet their pillows, so excited that they couldn't sleep all night.

However, within a few days, Ci'an, Cixi, and Devil Six and others found themselves happy too early - the number one traitor of the Qing court, the number one scum among the courtiers of the Qing Dynasty, and the most evil and vicious enemy of the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, Wu Chaoyue, would be so despicable and shameless as to secretly join forces with the defeated troops of the Taiping army, and use the Taiping army as a bait to introduce the ambush circle of the Manchu cavalry, the most reliable and loyal army of the Manchu court, the main force of the Manchu and Mongolian iron cavalry, and annihilate the main force of the Manchu and Mongolian iron cavalry in one fell swoop!

"Wu transcends the traitor and does not get rid of it, and the Qing Dynasty will never have peace!" - This is the truth unanimously recognized by Ci'an, Cixi, Devil Six and all Manchu courtiers!

No matter how much you know this truth, it is useless, not to mention that the current financial and economic situation of the Manchu court is close to collapse, even if there is still enough money and food to support the Manchu court to continue fighting, the Manchu court will not be able to find a Qing army team that is sure to defeat the Wu army, let alone a general who is sure to be with Wu Yue on the battlefield.

Therefore, the Manchu court generally believed that it should first attack the Taiping army, which had been greatly damaged, and regain the land, money, grain, and population that had been robbed by the Taiping army, and then turn around and deal with Wu Chaoyue. And it is very logical that the strategic proposal to try to stabilize Wu Chaoyue first and concentrate all his efforts to deal with the Taiping army was soon put in front of the Manchu court.

The first to propose this was the friend of the devil six, the minister of military aircraft Bao Jun, out of respect for the devil six, Bao Jun mentioned this matter to the devil six alone in private, suggesting to try to negotiate with Wu Chaoyue, first try to make Wu Chaoyue temporarily truce with the Manchu court, and then make some concessions to stabilize Wu Chaoyue, lure Wu Chaoyue to attack the Taiping army that has been greatly injured, and then take advantage of the geographical advantage of the Manchu court, while recapturing a part of the wealth of the land, while reorganizing the army and accumulating strength, Finally, he will start a decisive battle with Wu Chaoyue.

At the end, Bao Jun said to Devil Liu: "Lord Gong, the lower officials know that Wu Chaoyue that traitor will definitely ask the court to punish you in the negotiations, but it doesn't matter, we can make some concessions to Wu Chaoyue in other aspects, in exchange for him to give up his harsh requirements about you, and the peace talks are not impossible to succeed." ”

Devil Zi Liu pondered for a long time before he spoke, and said with a wry smile: "Lao Bao, I know that you said such things because of your loyalty to the imperial court, I can also put my words here, if the peace talks can really temporarily stabilize Wu Chaoyue's rebel thief and lure him to attack Changmao first, the imperial court will hand me over to Wu Chaoyue rebel to let him dispose of it, I am also happy!" But Lao Bao, this trick is useless, Wu Chaoyue can't be fooled by that traitor! ”

"Why?" Bao Jun asked suspiciously: "Zhili is poor, far less rich than Jiangnan, Wu Chaoyue rebels sent troops from Hubei to Zhili, the road is far away, it is inconvenient to transport grain, and the military and people of Zhili are very supportive of our Qing court; Long hair is not popular with the people, and the land occupied is all anointed land, and now it has been greatly damaged, money and food, roads and geography, no matter from that aspect, Wu thief is the most correct to start with long hair first? With the treachery of Wu thieves, it is impossible not to see this? ”

"It's because the Wu thief is too treacherous, so he will never attack Changmao first."

Devil Six sighed and said, "Wu Thief knows very well that Long Hair is unpopular, and he can never be his opponent; He also knows better that compared with Changmao, although our Qing Imperial Court is currently relatively weak, once we relax and reorganize our armies, we will soon become an enemy that is far more difficult to deal with than Changmao. Therefore, he will not make mistakes, will not give us a chance to breathe, will only find all kinds of shameless excuses to fight us to the death, consume us alive, and then overthrow us in one fell swoop. ”

"Don't call me an alarmist." Devil Six added: "From the point of dealing with the remnants of the long hair, it can be seen who the Wu thief has to deal with first, if the Wu thief really wants to take advantage of the fire to rob the long hair first, he will definitely seize the opportunity to completely annihilate the remnants of the long hair." But not only did he not do this, but he also allowed the long-haired remnants to rest and regroup under his protection. From this point, it can be seen that the Wu thief still wants to stabilize the long hair first and deal with us first. ”

Baojun had nothing to say, and only after a while did he say hatefully: "It's all Han people who are uneven and like to engage in infighting, how can these two freaks Wu Chaoyue and Yang Xiuqing come out?" Obviously, there are so many deep hatreds and hatreds, and they don't engage in infighting, just staring at us and beating us? ”

"Wu Chaoyue, that traitor is smart, and he knows that fighting in the nest will only cheapen us for nothing." Devil Liu said casually: "Yang Xiuqing was afraid of being beaten by Wu thieves, and he knew that he was not sure that he could beat Wu thieves, so he only dared to beat us." If Yang Xiuqing had this certainty, just by virtue of Wu surpassing the geographical location of the rebels and thieves to strangle the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Changmao and Wu thieves would have already beaten out pig brains. ”

After hearing the words of Devil Liu, Bao Jun's heart suddenly moved, and he hurriedly said: "Lord Gong, since you think that Yang Xiuqing is afraid of Wu thieves and dare not start a war with him, then why don't we try to appease Yang Xiuqing, stop fighting with Changmao first, and concentrate on dealing with Wu thieves first?" ”

"Lao Bao, you can figure it out." Devil Six smiled even more bitterly and said, "Who is Yang Xiuqing?" Publicly shout out the Han people who expel the Tartars, and the long-haired leaders who will first kill the Manchurians everywhere they go! How could he possibly accept our appeasement? ”

"At this time, at that time, I don't think it's necessarily impossible." Bao Jun pointed out: "Changmao's Northern Expedition was defeated this time, his vitality has been greatly damaged, and he also needs time to recuperate and regroup his troops and horses, and now a truce with us will not only benefit him but also do no harm, but also use our hands to weaken the Wu thief, Yang Xiuqing's long-haired hair as long as he has a little brain, he will not be unable to see this." ”

"Hey, how did I forget that? Now the long-haired bandit also needs to recuperate? ”

When the devil heard this, his heart was moved, and he suddenly remembered a tactic that the Russian minister Ignatiev had discussed with him several times - to attack Daye from the Yangtze River waterway and destroy Wu Chaoyue's only industrial base! So after thinking about it for a while, the devil six pulled up Baojun, "Let's go, go into the palace to see the Queen Mother." ”

Hurriedly led Bao Jun into Cining Palace, and after seeing Ci'an and Cixi, Devil Six first said Bao Jun's proposal, and then said to Ci'an and Cixi: "Two imperial sisters-in-law, the younger brother was reminded by Lord Bao just now, and suddenly thought of a way, if this method can be successful, we can not only hit Wu Thief hard, but also let Wu Thief and Yang Xiu Qingfa turn their faces and start a war, reversing the current passive situation in one fell swoop." ”

"What's the plan of the sixth brother? Come on. Ci'an hurriedly said.

"Borrow a way from the long-haired pseudo-king Yang Xiuqing to ask for Wu!"

Devil Liulang said the key point, and then said in a hearty voice: "The younger brother has played to the two imperial sisters-in-law before, Wu Chaoyue's biggest advantage is that his Daye Iron Factory can produce its own guns, and it is not necessary to be like our Qing court, every gun and every bullet must be purchased from foreigners, not to mention spending more money, and the supply is difficult to guarantee." ”

"But if our Qing court can capture Daye and destroy the Wu thief's Daye Iron Works, then it will immediately be able to inflict a heavy blow on the Wu thief and reverse the gap between the imperial army and the Wu thief's army. Because the Wu thief is inland, there is only one Yangtze River channel to contact the outside world, it is very inconvenient to buy guns and ammunition, and it may be blocked by Changmao at any time. However, our Qing court did not have such a weakness, and it was very convenient to contact overseas. ”

"Prior to this, the younger brother had repeatedly discussed with Ignatiev, the minister of Rakshasa Russia, the possibility of directly attacking Daye by water, but he was worried that Changmao and Wu thieves were colluding very closely at that time, and sending troops from the waterway would not only be blocked by Changmao's batteries along the river, but also might lead to Changmao and Wu Thief's sailors joining forces to start a war with the Daqingshui Division, and the success was not very certain, so it was not implemented."

"Brother Bao feels that now the opportunity has come, as Lord Bao said, after the defeat of the Northern Expedition of Long Hair, the vitality has been greatly injured, and he urgently needs time to recuperate, reorganize his troops and horses, and a temporary truce with us will be beneficial to Long Hair and no harm, at the same time, the official army of the imperial court will break Daye and destroy the iron factory of Wu thief, which is also beneficial and harmless to Long Hair, as long as Yang Xiuqing, the pseudo-king of Long Hair, has a little brain, he will definitely not see this!"

"Therefore, the courtier suggested that the imperial court might as well choose a person who can speak well to see Yang Xiuqing, tell him the reason that the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, tell him that the Wu thief will start a war against him sooner or later, persuade him to negotiate a truce with the imperial court, and also take the opportunity to borrow a road from him to attack Wu."

"Once this move is successful, then our Qing Dynasty sailors and the Far East Fleet of Rakshasa Russia can join forces to directly smash Daye and destroy the Wu thief's iron factory gun bureau! At the same time, Wu Chaoyue is a traitor in anger, and he will definitely hate Longhair's move, at least he will have disputes with Longhair, and at worst he will meet with swordsmen, and fight you to the death! Because without Daye Iron Works, Wu thieves would never tolerate that Changmao could block his access to the sea at any time, and could only use force to open up the Yangtze River waterway! ”

After listening to the statement of the devil's six eyebrows and dancing colors, and discussing a few words in a low voice, he found that even if he failed to do so, the loss would only be the death of a messenger and a few followers, but once he succeeded, he would gain a lot. Ci'an and Cixi also immediately made up their minds and instructed Devil Six: "Sixth, you go and give it a try, this matter will be handled by you with full authority, and try to get it done." ”

"Also, the sooner the better." Cixi also reminded: "The newly appointed governor of Shandong, Ruilin, has repeatedly written to complain about the urgency, saying that the Bird Mouse Valley is almost impossible to hold, and strive to complete this matter before the Wu rebel army breaks through the Bird Mouse Valley, so that Taiyuan and half of Shanxi may be saved." ”

With the permission of Ci'an and Cixi, of course, Guizi 6 found the Russian minister Ignatiev at the first time and discussed with him the tactical plan of attacking the Wu army's industrial base by road, and what made Guizi 6 overjoyed was that Ignatiev, who had always been a goose plucker, not only agreed to join forces with the Qing army to attack Daye, but also made no territorial claims for the first time, just asked the Manchu court to bear military expenses and supplies, and let the Qing army sailor serve as the vanguard.

At the end, Ignatiev also said in a big way: "Gong, your Qing court has finally been smart once, in fact, you should have tried to contact the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom a long time ago and join forces to deal with that damn traitor Wu Chaoyue." The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also has their own interests, as long as they are willing to help you for their own interests, without directly using the army, only need to block the lower shipping lanes of the Yangtze River, Wu Chaoyue that damn bastard will have to go crazy. ”

The devil nodded his head again and again, thanked Ignatiev again and again, and very cleverly deliberately did not mention how to thank Tsarist Russia in the future. Ignatiev also didn't notice it, but snorted coldly in his heart: "This time there is no way, I have to let you go." Otherwise, with the current situation of your Qing court, no matter how much military aid we Russia gives you, we are not sure to eliminate Wu Chaoyue's bastard, and only by helping you destroy that bastard's industrial base, can we Russia get the greatest gain at the lowest price. ”

After the matter of joining forces with Tsarist Russia to send troops was successfully completed, Devil Six immediately began to select the envoy candidate to Nanjing, but what made Devil Six angry was that he successively selected several officials to serve as this envoy, and the parties all kowtowed and refused, crying bitterly and begging Devil Six to take back his life, saying that the long-haired bandits were unreasonable, did not understand etiquette, and they would definitely die in vain if they went, and would rather lose their official position and even be exiled to prison than serve as the envoy to Nanjing.

Here I also have to shout for these Manchu officials, it's not that they are greedy for life and afraid of death, but that Yang Xiuqing killed the Manchu officials too hard, and the Manchu banner people were all killed by the whole family, not to mention the ordinary Han officials, and even castrated many Manchu officials' descendants into slavery. With these jewels in front of them, other Manchu officials naturally did not dare to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Originally, Devil Six could also force these officials to contact Yang Xiuqing, but considering that it would be in vain to force them to death if the matter could not be done, Devil Six had no choice but to dispel this idea. As a result, just when the devil was worried about this matter, the old prince Yiyun suddenly found him and said to him: "Sixth brother, there is a servant under my door who heard that you want to find an official to go to Jiangning to contact the long-haired bandits, and ran to me to recommend yourself and want to take this messenger, have you found the right person?" If not, how about meeting him? ”

"Who is so guts? Dare to take on this errand? The devil asked with great joy.

"A six-grade director of the Ministry of Industry is called Rong Lu, Guerjia." Yi Xun replied.