Suffering from the poor road, or when it was discovered that the Wu army's partial division had entered the mountain road of Zhangxiazhen in a big way, Baojun and Rong Lu and other Manchu magnates finally confirmed that Zhang Guoliang's army had been completely annihilated, and they suddenly fell into a panic, neither expecting that Zhang Guoliang would be defeated so quickly and so miserably, let alone that the Wu army's partial division would still insist on going north and launching an attack on Jinan after successive battles.

Jinan is already the last provincial capital city that the Manchu court can control on the North China Plain, once lost, the Qing army will lose its strategic support point on the North China Plain, so that the Wu army bypassed the Yimeng Mountains, and the Jiaodong area, which is relatively stable and rich at present, will also be immediately exposed to the Wu saber, and there is no room for the slightest mistake. Therefore, even if he didn't need to be instructed by others, Baojun, who didn't understand military affairs, immediately held a meeting in the governor's yamen to discuss the strategy and tactics of defending Jinan.

Contrary to the panicked Baojun and most of the Shandong civil and military forces who were as frightened as a frightened bird, the two assistants Rong Lu and Fu Zhenbang, who Baojun attached the most importance to, were very calm and calm, and the meeting had just begun, Rong Lu also said: "Baofutai, colleagues, although the momentum of the Wu rebel thief army is flourishing, and it is indeed killing towards Jinan, we don't have to worry about anything, Jinan must be able to hold it, and the Wu rebel thief army must also be able to retreat." ”

"Lord Rong is right, we are absolutely sure of this battle in Jinan." Fu Zhenbang also said: "Let's not say that Jinan City is high and deep, easy to defend and difficult to attack, even if we don't have these advantages, we don't need to kill Wu thieves, just with the mountain road in Zhang Xia Town, we have hope to stop the Wu rebel thief army, and persist until the Wu thief retreats." ”

"That's right, grain and grass are the biggest weakness of the Wu rebel army." Rong Lu continued: "The famine situation in Lunan is already serious, and the Wu rebel army cannot guarantee a long-term battle just by relying on the support of captured Tai'an military rations. And it's early winter now, Shandong may snow at any time, as soon as the snow comes, the mountain road in Zhangxia Town will be more difficult to walk, and it will be even more difficult for Wu thieves to transport grain north to supply the Jinan battlefield. ”

"That's not all, the situation of Wu Thief's army is definitely not better now." Fu Zhenbang also continued: "After going north from Zhenjiang, in just over a month, the Wu rebel army of more than 10,000 people expanded thousands of miles to the north, the army was tired, the soldiers were tired, and the consumption of ammunition must have been a lot, and it had reached the end of the crossbow. Hu Huaizhao, the traitor, dared to wave his army to the north, and took the narrow mountain road to fight Jinan Jiancheng, which violated the taboo of the soldiers who entered alone, if we can't win this battle, we really have no face to live in the world from top to bottom. ”

Fu Zhenbang and Rong Lu's encouragement and encouragement have also had a great effect, at least they have restored some confidence to Baojun and the other Shandong civil and military forces, and they are no longer as afraid and desperate as before the meeting. However, when Baojun asked how to resist the enemy, Rong Lu and Fu Zhenbang had a huge disagreement, and they did not give in to each other, insisting that their tactics were the most correct, and they also believed that the other party's tactics were the way to death, which was destined to give Wu Jun a chance to create a miracle.

"Of course, it's to hold the city with all your might!" Rong Lu hurriedly said: "Shrink the troops, rely on the fortifications to stick to the city wall, or in ten days and half a month, there will definitely be problems with the grain and grass on the side of the Wu rebel thief army, forcing the Wu rebel thief army to take the initiative to retreat." ”

"You must not give up the initiative and passively defend the city!" The old military affairs Fu Zhenbang and Rong Lu had completely opposite opinions, and said loudly: "We must concentrate our forces and make every effort to defend the Gushan Station north of Zhangxia Town, only by guarding this choke point, can we ensure the safety of Jinan and Changqing City." ”

"General Fu, to say something offensive, how can you, an old military officer, be so confused?" Rong Lu asked very strangely: "Although the area of Gushan Station is dangerous, there are no strong city wall fortifications to defend, how can it be possible to stop the foreign guns and cannons of the Wu rebel army with some temporary simple fortifications?" Concentrating forces there to fight a decisive battle with the thief army is not just the opportunity to give the Wu rebel army a chance to inflict heavy losses on our main force in the field battle? Once Gushan can't be defended, our main force has suffered heavy losses in the field, how can we defend Jinan? ”

"Lord Rong, you only know one thing, but you don't know the other." Fu Zhenbang, who didn't like Ronglu very much, retorted and said: "There is no city wall in Gushan, but once we give up Gushan, we will be completely passive, if the Wu rebel thief army is willing, it can either attack Changqing directly, or take the road of fried rice shop to directly attack Jinan, when the time comes, we will not only be in a passive position in tactics, but also have to divide the troops in our hands into two, and at the same time stick to the two cities of Changqing and Jinan, weaken the combat power by themselves, and give Wu thieves the opportunity to break the city." ”

Speaking of this, Fu Zhenbang paused for a moment, and then continued: "Therefore, our best choice at present is to stick to Gushan Station, and rely on the favorable terrain there to resist the Wu Rebel Thief Army, so that the Wu Rebel Thief Army can't play any tricks, but can only attack Gushan Post with all its might." At that time, as long as we hold Gushan Station, it is equivalent to guarding the two cities of Jinan and Changqing at the same time! ”

"General Fu, but what if we can't defend Gushan Station?" Rong Lu asked with a smile.

"The narrowest part of the road in Gushan is only about 20 zhang wide, if our main force can't even hold there for a long time, then we don't have to fight this battle, it's better to just lay down our weapons and let the Wu rebel army cut it down." Fu Zhenbang replied with a sneer, and said: "And if we take 10,000 steps back, even if Gushan really can't hold it, we can slowly retreat with the narrow road, retreat back to the city and continue to defend the city, and there will never be a danger of being hit hard by Wu's rebel army." ”

"Then why can't you just defend the city and take risks in the field?" Rong Lu continued to refute and said: "General Fu, you have fought for so many years, don't you know that the most dangerous thing on the battlefield is your own defeated soldiers, and the soldiers who die under the trampling of your own defeated soldiers are often more killed by the enemy directly?" There are no strong fortifications in Gushan, do you dare to rule out such a danger? ”

"Let my headquarters be in front and retreat in the back, and I will guarantee it!" Fu Zhenbang replied a little angrily, and said: "Lord Rong, you don't want to talk about it on paper, if you want to hold Jinan and Changqing, you can only concentrate the main force to hold Gushan!" ”

After all, he was just a young man in his twenties, and after being accused by Fu Zhenbang of talking on paper, the arrogant Rong Lu inevitably had some anger, and said angrily: "General Fu, I know that you are a veteran of the battlefield and have rich experience in the battlefield, but you can't take risks with our soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, do you know that once we can't hold Jinan City, what kind of result will it be, and the entire Jiaodong can't be saved!" ”

"On paper." Fu Zhenbang laughed again and said, "Lord Rong, do you think it will be safe to collect troops and return to the city and only defend the city?" After taking Gushan, Wu thieves only need to play a feint trick to attack the east and west, do you defend Jinan or Changqing? ”

"Okay, okay, don't make any noise. Let the old man say a few words, let the old man say a few words first, it's all for the sake of the court's major affairs, what's there to quarrel about? ”

Seeing that the situation was not right, Baojun could only quickly stand up and play a round, first persuaded Rong Lu and Fu Zhenbang to argue more and more fiercely, played a few rounds, and then said: "Weiping, Zhonghua, what you two said is very reasonable, or else, let's compromise, let our main force defend the city, and divide a partial division to guard Gushan?" ”

"Okay!" Fu Zhenbang agreed without thinking about it, and said: "Please ask Baofutai to let the last general lead the headquarters to guard Gushan Mountain, and send me two or three battalions to help, and the last general will be sure to hold Gushan Station for a long time!" ”

"No way!" Rong Lu resolutely objected and said: "Our troops are already thin, how can we still divide our troops again and again? Isn't this a chance for the Wu rebel army to break our Jinan army in each way? ”

"That's right, it shouldn't be divided." Fu Zhenbang sneered and said: "But if you want to concentrate your forces, the best way is to use the main force to defend Gushan!" ”

The problem was put in front of Bao Jun, and after quickly drinking Rong Lu who tried to refute it, Bao Jun, who did not understand military affairs, pondered for a long time before he said: "Wei Ping, although the old man also knows that with your battlefield experience, it must be good to advocate sticking to Gushan." But you also know that our current strength is too thin, and Jinan City is too important to our current Qing court, so the old man didn't dare to take this risk, so he could only listen to Zhonghua's steady advice and choose to collect troops to defend the city. ”

Seeing that Bao Jun always chose his own safe tactics, Rong Lu was of course triumphant, but Fu Zhenbang was in a hurry, and quickly explained the importance of Gushan's throat to the Jinan battlefield, and strongly implored Baojun to take back his fate, adopt his seemingly risky but actually more secure tactical suggestions, and was willing to make a military order for holding Gushan's throat for a long time. But it's a pity that Bao Jun didn't dare to take risks, and secondly, he trusted Rong Lu, who was also a Manchurian, and still didn't accept Fu Zhenbang's request.

The anti-ear advice was not accepted, Fu Zhenbang had no choice but to sigh in public: "Alas, giving up Gushan is equivalent to giving up the initiative." Look at it, now it is difficult for us to decide whether we are even the main defender of Jinan or Changqing, Wu thief wants to fight Changqing and Changqing this time, and wants to fight Jinan and Jinan, but we can only be helpless. ”

It was only the morning of the next day, and Baojun began to regret that he had not listened to Fu Zhenbang's tactical advice - because Gushan suddenly sent a fast horse to report, saying that the Wu army had sent two battalions of troops to travel lightly and quickly, and risked bypassing Zhang Xia Town to take the Gushan small post station, and the Qing army in Gushan post was too weak because the troops were too thin, and they did not dare to fight hard with the Wu army of two battalions at all, so they could only abandon this small post station and retreat to Jinan.

"Oh no, I didn't expect that Wu Thief would attach so much importance to Gushan Xiaoyi, and would rather take the risk of bypassing Zhang Xiazhen than take Gushan Station first, he shouldn't listen to Zhonghua."

It was too late to immediately understand that Fu Zhenbang was right, the throat of Gushan Station with steep terrain had been taken by the Wu army, and if he wanted to get it back, not only must he dispatch the main army, but he may not have this certainty, so Baojun had no choice but to continue to implement Rong Lu's tactical suggestions and make every effort to shrink the army to defend the city. And after the news spread, Fu Zhenbang was of course full of sneers, and Rong Lu was full of embarrassment, and was forced to admit that he really didn't expect Wu Jun to attach so much importance to Gushanyi.

…………

Rong Lu, a rising star who finally emerged in the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was embarrassed by his occasional mistakes, and Zhang Yinqing, the son of Zhang Guoliang, who was forced to accompany the Wu army north to attack Jinan, was also led by Wu soldiers to Hu Huaizhao, the commander of the Wu army's partial division, during a temporary rest on the way of the Wu army. After meeting, Hu Huaizhao, who looked a little thief-eyed, asked Zhang Yinqing with a head and face: "How is it?" Figured it out? Would you like to serve our King of Zhennan? ”

"Now that you have been captured, of course you are at the disposal of the general." Zhang Yinqing replied with a wry smile.

"That's a reluctant answer." Hu Huaizhao didn't smile, and said: "But it's useless if you are reluctant, there is an errand handed over to you, you have to do it for me, otherwise, your father Zhang Guoliang ......." Hehe, I heard that Zhang Gongzi is a filial son, so you don't need me to talk nonsense. ”

"Please General Hu command, the sin will do his best." Zhang Yinqing replied helplessly.

"Happy!" Hu Huaizhao applauded and laughed, and then said: "You must be able to do it, bring my letter of surrender, and go to Changqing City to persuade the defenders there to surrender, so that the rebellious army in Changqing City knows how our rebel army treats the prisoners well." ”

"This sin will be done." Zhang Yinqing nodded, and said: "But General Hu, after the sin general enters Changqing City, whether he can come back to see you again is not up to the sin to decide." ”

"It's okay, I don't need you to come back, as long as you send the letter of persuasion." Hu Huaizhao smiled and said: "Anyway, I must take Changqing City, of course, it is best for the rebellious army of Changqing City to take the initiative to open the city and surrender, if you refuse to surrender, you will wait for me in Changqing City, and then rescue you when I take Changqing City." ”

Zhang Yinqing agreed, Hu Huaizhao was overjoyed when he heard it, and immediately instructed Zhang Yinqing to go down and get ready, and when he arrived at Gushan Station, he would carry a letter of persuasion to Changqing to persuade him to surrender. Then it was time to say goodbye to Hu Huaizhao and leave, Zhang Yinqing vaguely found that something was wrong, and said secretly: "Strange thing? Why did you ask me to deliver a letter of persuasion? If you really want to persuade us to surrender in Kaicheng, the Qing army of Changqing can send an ordinary prisoner at will? Why do you have to send me, one of the more important captives? ”

"Also, why did you explain this to me on the way? If I want to prepare in advance, what do I need to prepare for this? Send a letter of persuasion, you can leave at any time? Why let me know sooner? ”

There were doubts in his heart, Zhang Yinqing naturally quietly raised his vigilance, and the result was not what Zhang Yinqing expected, when it was time to rest at night, sure enough, there was a personal soldier of Hu Huaizhao who came over to slip around, and it happened to be an acquaintance and good friend with the soldiers of the Wu army guarding Zhang Yinqing......

"Brother Zhen, why did our handsome man pass this little mess over today and tell him to do something?"

"Tell him to send a letter of persuasion to Changqing City, and persuade the rebellious party over there in Changqing to open the city and surrender?"

"Persuade the rebellious party of Changqing to surrender? How to send him? This little rebel party is Zhang Guoliang's son, and it can definitely come in handy in other places, how can you ask him to send a letter? How could we, Hu Dashuai, be such a shrewd person, be so confused? ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yinqing, who was lying next to him and pretending to be asleep, suddenly knew that the key was coming, and he pretended to be more like a sleeping person, and then naturally, of course, Hu Huaizhao's personal soldier said: "Of course our Hu Dashuai will not be so confused, and there is another more important reason why he sent this little chaotic party to deliver the letter." ”

"What is the reason? Let's hear it. ”

"I can't say it, this thing must not leak out."

"Brother Zhen, please, you know that my mouth has always been the strictest, and I will never let anyone else know about it."

couldn't resist the repeated begging of acquaintances and good brothers, Hu Huaizhao's personal soldier had no choice but to whisper: "Listen, you must not say it, our Hu Dashuai is preparing to attack the east and the west, and deliberately sent this little chaotic party to persuade him to surrender, so that the chaotic party feels that we attach great importance to Changqing, and is ready to take Changqing first and then go to Jinan, and trick the chaotic party into transferring the army to Changqing to strengthen the troops, and then we will suddenly take the road of fried rice shop and go directly to Jinan City to kill the Jinan rebel party by surprise!" ”

"Wow! So that's it! Our Hu Dashuai, really amazing, so smart! Now we can definitely spend the winter and the New Year in Jinan City. ”

The low exclamation of the Wu soldiers was so fake that Zhang Yinqing, who was pretending to be asleep, almost didn't laugh, and Zhang Yinqing came to the conclusion that the purpose of the Wu soldiers was to borrow their own mouths to let the Qing troops in Jinan and Changqing hear their so-called clever plan! However, naturally, a new problem was put in front of Zhang Yinqing, should he ignore Zhang Guoliang's life and death, and truthfully report these situations to the Shandong Qing army?