Nanjing, north bank of the Yangtze River, Pukou Wharf. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The 3,000 most elite officers and men of the Anhui Taiping Army were already ready to go, and Zhang Zipeng, the chief commander of the Tianjing Navy Division, who was under the secret order of Hong Xiuquan, had also arrived at the Pukou Wharf with a troop transport fleet, and only waited for Shi Dakai to give an order, and the 3,000 officers and men of the Taiping Army could board the ship and set off, crossing the Yangtze River to the city of Nanjing, which has now been renamed Tianjing.

Shi Dakai didn't give the order for a long time, looking at the city of Nanjing on the south bank, Shi Dakai's handsome face was full of complicated expressions, because Shi Dakai crossed the river and returned to Beijing this time, and the honor was to participate in the ceremony of Hong Xiuquan's eldest son Hong Tianguifu being crowned as the young master, but in fact, it was to carry out Hong Xiuquan's secret edict order - arrest Yang Xiuqing and his main henchmen!

Shi Dakai understands very well why Hong Xiuquan gave this secret order, in fact, not only Hong Xiuquan and other princes of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can no longer stand Yang Xiuqing's arrogance and domineering, and act arbitrarily, even Shi Dakai, who has a deep friendship with Yang Xiuqing, can no longer bear it, and feels that Yang Xiuqing is too too overbearing, and he doesn't take Hong Xiuquan and his old comrades-in-arms during the Jintian Uprising in his eyes. I also know that if Hong Xiuquan doesn't take the lead, maybe Yang Xiuqing will abolish or even kill Hong Xiuquan one day and usurp the throne and stand on his own.

Shi Dakai also has 10,000 reasons to carry out Hong Xiuquan's secret order, after returning to Anhui, Shi Dakai pioneered the local administrative system of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, opened a branch to recruit talents, rectify military discipline, restore public order, help the poor, comfort the suffering, and at the same time establish a tax law, collect taxes according to law and no longer rely on plundering for a living, so that the farmers and industrialists can work in peace, and gain high prestige At the same time, they were subjected to Yang Xiuqing's jealousy and suspicion, restrained and suppressed, and were forced to lead the army to leave Anqing, and launched the Battle of Fengyang when the time was not ripe.

After overcoming countless practical difficulties, the Battle of Fengyang was a fluke victory, and the Taiping Army under Shi Dakai's headquarters finally broke through the Huaishui defense line painstakingly managed by Yuan Jiasan, a famous general of the Qing army, and broke the main force of the Qing army in Huaibei. However, what followed was further bullying and humiliation by Yang Xiuqing, first groundlessly accusing Shi Dakai of not being able to quickly take Xuzhou, and then categorically rejecting Shi Dakai's strategic proposal to clear Anhui, and then simply deliberately beating Shi Dakai's father-in-law Huang Yukun with 300 rods in public, almost killing Shi Dakai's father-in-law on the spot.

Beat the dog to see who the owner is, his father-in-law Lao Taishan was so insulted by Yang Xiuqing, Shi Dakai is no longer angry from his heart, evil is born on both sides, Shi Dakai is really not a man.

However, Shi Dakai really didn't want to kill Yang Xiuqing, first, the past friendship made Shi Dakai unable to do this, and second, Shi Dakai was too clear - if there was no Yang Xiuqing, there would be no current Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Shi Dakai has never believed in any bullshit worship of God, naturally he does not believe that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can develop to what is given by the Heavenly Father today, and he is at a high level, of course, Shi Dakai knows the real reason why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can achieve such great success. Knowing that if there was no Yang Xiuqing, the Taiping Army would have been wiped out as early as Yong'an, and also knew that if it were not for Yang Xiuqing's strength to overcome public opinion and insist on launching the Northern Expedition into Hunan, the Taiping Army would still be a bandit in the mountains of Guangxi.

Shi Dakai knew that if there was no military command of Yang Xiuqing, a genius of Tianzhong, there would be no possibility for the Taiping army to cross Hunan in the north, conquer Wuchang, and then take Nanjing in the east, expedition to the north and south, and establish the foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Shi Dakai is confident that he is ten times better than Yang Xiuqing in winning people's hearts and governing the people, but in terms of strategy and tactics, Shi Dakai admires Yang Xiuqing from the bottom of his heart, especially in the battle of Ningzhen, which broke through the Jiangbei camp in the south of the Yangtze River of the Qing army, Shi Dakai even admitted that Yang Xiuqing's tactical command can be called art, such as the command of more than a dozen soldiers and horses acting at the same time, interspersed with outflanking and roundabout raids, which is dazzling, and finally when even the party Shi Dakai felt that Yang Xiuqing's main attack target was the Jiangbei camp, Yang Xiuqing suddenly launched a high-level encirclement and annihilation battle, more than a dozen soldiers and horses were like an iron fist, unexpectedly smashed on the head of the main force of the Jiangnan battalion of the Qing army, and at the same time broke the main force of the Jiangnan battalion, it also made the Qing army in the northern camp of Jiangbei always think that they were the main target of the Taiping army, and never dared to send a soldier to rescue the Jiangnan battalion from beginning to end!

"If I really capture the East King, no matter whether the King of Heaven kills him afterwards or not, the Kingdom of Heaven will lose a pillar, and the Qing Demon will have one less strong enemy."

Sighing this sentence in his heart, under the urging of Zhang Zipeng, who was under the secret order of Hong Xiuquan, Shi Dakai, who had no way back, still ordered to board the ship very helplessly, and crossed the Yangtze River with the descendants of the army in a complicated mood.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also had a rule that foreign troops could not enter Beijing, even if Shi Dakai was the king of wings, it was impossible to bring his own army into Nanjing City, so after crossing the river, Shi Dakai could only set up camp outside Yifeng Gate and set up a camp in the open space between Yifeng Gate and Xiaguan Wharf.

When the camp was not set up, Hong Xiuquan also sent his brother Guozong Hong Renda to personally send an edict, ordering Shi Dakai to enter the city to meet him the next day, after Shi Dakai received the decree, Hong Renda asked Shi Da Kaiping to retreat left and right, and then whispered in Shi Dakai's ear: "The secret decree of the Heavenly King, tonight the three watches are marked by three red lights on the Fengmen, the city gate is opened, and you lead the army into the city and act according to the plan." Don't worry about your back, Zhang Zipeng will control the water master. ”

"It is Chen Chengrong who guards the Fengmen Gate, he is the henchman of the East King, can you be sure to open the city gate?" Shi Dakai asked strangely.

Hong Renda laughed when he heard this, patted Shi Dakai's shoulder, and said with a wicked smile: "Six thousand years old, don't worry, Heavenly Father's divine power is omnipotent, and although Chen Chengrong is a close friend of Yang Chengrong, he is the king of heaven, so tonight, he will personally open the city gate." ”

Shi Dakai was speechless, and said in his heart: "You guys have a lot of fun with things like hooking and fighting to install inside lines, killing enemies on the battlefield and exterminating Qing demons, why don't you have dim sum for these things?" ”

In order to avoid Yang Xiuqing's suspicions, after explaining all kinds of details, Hong Renda immediately asked to leave, and when he left, he kept urging Shi Dakai to prepare early to avoid mistakes, Shi Dakai was forced to have no choice but to call Zhang Suimou and Zeng Jinqian, two absolute henchmen, after sending Hong Renda away, to discuss countermeasures with them.

As a result, it was at this time that Shi Dakai told Zhang Suimou and Zeng Jinqian his true intentions, and said: "I don't want to arrest the East King, although Yang Xiuqing is hateful, he is the pillar of the Kingdom of Heaven, if the King of Heaven takes him down, then no matter whether the King of Heaven will kill him or not, the Kingdom of Heaven will be in chaos, and it will only be a cheap demon." ”

"But if we don't do this, how can you explain to the Heavenly King, the Wing King?" Zeng Jinqian asked.

"I want to be a peacemaker and persuade them to sit down and discuss." Shi Dakai replied: "I want to take advantage of the fact that I haven't publicly turned my face yet, first persuade the Heavenly King to give up the use of force to take power, and then persuade Yang Xiuqing to sit down and negotiate with the Heavenly King, so that the two sides can make concessions and reconcile, what do you think?" ”

"Naive." Zhang replied.

"Naive?" Shi Da opened a pinch and asked in surprise: "Suimou, you say I'm naïve?" ”

"Yes, Wing King, you are too naïve in this matter." Zhang Suimou nodded, sneered and said, "Why don't you want to think about it, what qualifications and strength do you have to let the Heavenly King and the Eastern King sit down and negotiate peacefully?" Not to mention that the King of Heaven will never agree to stop, even if a miracle appears and convinces you, what will you do to let the King of the East sit down and negotiate with the King of Heaven? ”

"Just the 3,000 troops you brought with you from Gaoyou? Yes, the 3,000 elites we brought are indeed brave and loyal and reliable, but how many troops are there in Tianjing City? Once the King of the East knows the true purpose of your visit to Tianjing this time, and the army leaves the city after giving an order, how long can your 3,000 troops last? ”

Shi Dakai was speechless, and Zeng Jinqian over there also said: "His Royal Highness the Wing King, expect the Heavenly King and the East King to be reconciled as before, don't even think about it." The Heavenly King's secret decree summons you back to Beijing to arrest the Eastern King, once the matter is revealed, Long Live the Heavenly King will immediately face the disaster of death, how can he still stop? Dare to stop? Once Yang Xiuqing knows about this, he will definitely kill not only the Heavenly King, but also you! ”

Shi Dakai was even more silent, and only said after a long time: "Could it be that I have no other choice than to act according to the order?" ”

"Yes, Wing King, you have two more choices." Zhang Suimou replied: "The first is to tell the king of the east and help the king of the east to win the king of heaven in exchange for the reward of the king of the east." The second is to immediately lead the army to leave Tianjing under the pretext that the military situation on the front line has changed, and at the same time secretly show the Heavenly King that you are unwilling to help him fight the Eastern King, and force the Heavenly King to stop. ”

"Of course, neither option is perfect." Zhang Suimou added: "It is the easiest and easiest to help the East King deal with the Heavenly King, but after this incident, even if the East King temporarily rewards you, he will inevitably be more jealous and suspicious of you, and sooner or later he will find you to settle accounts." ”

"As for leading the army away immediately, there are two dangerous consequences, one is that the Heavenly King will definitely hold a grudge against you and wait for an opportunity to take revenge. The second is that the East King 9,000 years old will definitely be suspicious in his heart, and investigate the real reason for your sudden turn back in detail, once the East King 9,000 years old knows the truth, the Heavenly King will still die, and your future and fate will become unpredictable. ”

"So, there's really no turning back?" Shi Dakai groaned in pain.

"Yes, you haven't looked back." Zhang Suimou nodded and said: "In fact, just when the Heavenly King's secret decree entrusted you with great things, you had no way back, and if you told the secret at that time, the Heavenly King would die!" If you don't obey the edict, the king of heaven will want you to die! ”

Shi Dakai was in great pain, and he hated Hong Xiuquan for handing over this unlucky messenger to himself and forcing himself into a desperate situation. And Zeng Jinqian persuaded again: "Wing King, since there is no turning back, then you can simply go all the way to the black, take down the East King, and grasp more real power, while also strongly persuading the King of Heaven not to execute the East King, leave him a life, this is your best choice at present." ”

"Wing King, this is indeed your best choice." Zhang Suimou also said: "Only if you take action to handle this matter, can you hope that the king of heaven and the king of the east will save their lives together, but if someone else is replaced, then it will definitely be either the death of the king of the east or the death of the king of heaven, and maybe it may also lead to the division of the kingdom of heaven. ”

After thinking about it painfully for a long time, Shi Dakai made up his mind even more painfully, and ordered the soldiers and horses to prepare secretly, just waiting for the night to enter the city and capture Yang Xiuqing. And after giving the order, Shi Dakai slammed his fist on the table again, and lamented: "I'm sorry for the old brother at the time of the Jintian uprising! ”

…………

When Shi Dakai made up his mind to help Hong Xiuquan launch a coup d'état to seize power, Yang Xiuqing, the number one target of the coup, still didn't know anything about this, and was still thinking about how to treat Shi Dakai, the current jealous object of his former friend, after Shi Dakai entered the city the next day.

Of course, it is also a lie to say that Yang Xiuqing has no defense against Shi Dakai at all, at least at the same time that Shi Dakai set up the camp outside Yifeng Gate, Yang Xiuqing had already let his henchman Chen Chengrong take over the defense of Yifeng Gate, and also ordered Zhang Zipeng, who was stationed at the dock, to keep an eye on Shi Dakai from behind, afraid that Shi Dakai, who led the army back to Beijing, would have any abnormal movements - but Yang Xiuqing really never suspected in his heart that Shi Dakai would bring this army specifically for himself.

After confirming that Shi Dakai was honestly staying outside Yifeng Gate, and knowing the exact content of Hong Xiuquan's holy decree to Shi Dakai from the inside line of the Heavenly King's Mansion, Yang Xiuqing was even less worried, and began to think about calling the princess to spend the night tonight. However, just when Yang Xiuqing flipped over the sign of a beautiful princess, another henchman, Hou Qianfang, hurriedly came to Yang Xiuqing and said: "The East King is nine thousand years old, and General Wu Ruxiao of Zhenjiang sent someone to bring a Qing Demon official, saying that it was the person sent by the Qing Demon Tartar Emperor to deliver the decree to the Wing King 6,000 years old. ”

"What? Sent to deliver a message to the Winged King? Yang Xiuqing almost thought that he had heard it wrong, and asked in surprise: "The Qing Demon Tartar Emperor sent someone to deliver a decree to the Wing King 6,000 years old?" What are you kidding, really fake? ”

"It's true!" Hou Qianfang nodded, quickly took out a bright yellow scroll, and said: "This is the holy decree brought by that Qing Demon official, and it is indeed a holy decree written to the Wing King for six thousand years old. ”

Surprised to take the holy decree of Emperor Xianfeng and take a closer look, Yang Xiuqing, who had worked hard to learn a lot of culture, gradually began to change, and after a while, Yang Xiuqing couldn't help but exclaim, "Qing Demon, how can you know so clearly about the current situation between me and Shi Dakai?" ”

"I don't know." Hou Qianfang shook his head, he was also very puzzled by the Manchu court's knowledge of the internal affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and then asked: "King Dong, the officials sent by the Qing Demon, and this Tartar Emperor's false decree, how to deal with it?" ”

Yang Xiuqing didn't answer, and said in his heart: "Why is the Qing Demon Tartar Emperor so clear about the affairs of this king and Shi Dakai, the reason is not mentioned for the time being, but this pseudo-decree is quite reasonable, if I force Brother Shi down like this, he will be unbearable sooner or later, and he will do something foolish, and he will use too much cane blame, and he will have to give some sweetness to appease." ”

Thinking about this, Yang Xiuqing made a decision to save his life, and ordered: "Send someone to give an order to the Wing King, asking him to come into the city immediately to meet me, and say that I have something to show him." ”

Of course, Yang Xiuqing's move was to invite his former good friend Shi Dakai in, show Shi Dakai the holy decree of Emperor Xianfeng in person, talk and laugh, and take the opportunity to smile and reconcile the enmity and enmity as before, and there is absolutely no malice towards Shi Dakai. However......

However, at this moment, when there were only more than two hours left before the coup d'état, when Yang Xiuqing's invitation for Shi Dakai to enter the city to meet was suddenly sent to Shi Dakai, Shi Dakai, Zhang Suimou and others were of course taken aback, and the first thought of the subconscious was, "The East Window Incident Happened?!" ”

If it weren't for the invitation envoy sent by Yang Xiuqing to be kind enough and not show any flaws in his words, Shi Dakai would definitely be able to kill this envoy with one knife and then do it in advance, but the more he didn't find a flaw, the more frightened Shi Dakai became, for fear that Yang Xiuqing was playing with a knife hidden in his laughter, so he could only quickly find an excuse to refuse, and said: "Please go back to His Royal Highness the King of the East, just say that there is something to talk about tomorrow, the military affairs are busy, and it is not early, I will not enter the city tonight." ”

"The Winged King is six thousand years old, please think about it again." The messenger said with a sad face: "You know the temper of the nine thousand years old of the East King, and he said that he invited you into the city, and if the little one can't invite you into the city, he will definitely not be able to run away with a military stick." ”

"I have something to do tonight, and I can't get into town."

Shi Dakai still flatly refused, the envoy continued to entangle, Shi Dakai also ordered people to expel the envoy to leave, when the envoy had no choice but to leave, Shi Dakai hurriedly asked Zhang Suimou and others: "Was it discovered?" ”

"Possibly." Zhang Suimou nodded, and said: "Yiwang, it is best to prepare for retreat in advance, if there is any accident, it is of course best to cross the river directly, if not, go east to Zhenjiang, it is General Wu Ruxiao who guards Zhenjiang, he is not the sworn friend of the East King, and he may help us." ”

Shi Dakai nodded, and hurriedly ordered the army to prepare for retreat, and at the same time sent someone to Zhang Zipeng, the chief of the Tianjing Naval Division of Wei Changhui's old department, to tell him that there might have been an incident in the east window, and let him prepare to cross the river and flee north.

Shi Dakai was completely overly nervous, in fact, when the envoy returned to Dongwangfu with the news that Shi Dakai refused to enter the city immediately, Yang Xiuqing didn't care much about it, and felt that it didn't matter much to talk to Shi Dakai the next day. However, just when Yang Xiuqing was about to go to bed again, an accident happened that no one expected............

This accident came from Zhang Zipeng, the chief of the naval division who was preparing to participate in the coup, after receiving Shi Dakai's warning, Zhang Zipeng's first reaction under the shock was that he was destined to die this time, and then subconsciously remembered that Yang Xiuqing executed the enemy's favorite torture of five horses, Zhang Zipeng felt as if his neck and limbs had been strangled, and then his second reaction was to run.

"Can you run away?"

When considering this problem again, Zhang Zipeng found that even if he escaped immediately, there was little hope of survival, because Zhang Zipeng's control over the Taiping Army Naval Division in Nanjing was not strong, and at most when the coup d'état occurred suddenly, holding down the Taiping Military Naval Division for the time being would not do anything to cause chaos for Shi Dakai. But if Zhang Zipeng really dares to take the main force of the Taiping Army's sailors to directly defect or flee, then without Yang Xiuqing's orders, the Taiping Army's sailors can chop Zhang Zipeng on the spot!

"There are too few people I can pull away, I can't run, and if I run, I'll die!"

Zhang Zipeng shook his head vigorously, and then involuntarily gave birth to a vicious thought in his heart, "Fuck! Selling Yang Xiuqing is selling, selling Hong Xiuquan is not selling? At this time, if you go to inform, not only can you live, but you may also be able to get promoted and make a fortune in the same way! (To be continued.) )