After listening to Chen Alin and Li Xianchi's whispered introduction, Lin Afu finally understood Liu Lichuan's brainless words, and then, in addition to being shocked, Lin Afu, who was relatively reliable, of course hurriedly persuaded: "Brother Yuan, don't be confused, now that the Qing Demon is besieging the city, if we have internal strife with Prime Minister Zeng and them again, and the Qing Demon takes the opportunity to attack the city, then how can we parry?" ”

"Afraid of a ball! It's a rainy day these days, and the Qing demon can't attack the city! Liu Lichuan is very good at seizing the opportunity of the favorable climate, and said: "As long as we move fast enough and catch Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang to force them to hand over their military power, even if the Qing Demon really comes to attack the city, we don't need to be afraid!" ”

Lin Afu still shook his head again and again, repeatedly persuading Liu Lichuan not to be impulsive, but Liu Lichuan resolutely refused to listen, and finally was annoyed by Lin Afu's nagging, Liu Lichuan simply scolded: "It's useless for you to object!" You also saw the situation just now, if you didn't happen to come in and make trouble, Zeng Lichang would have already turned his face with me! In this situation, even if we don't do it, Zeng Lichang's side has to do it first! Are you trying to make us die? Or do you want Zeng Lichang and them to die? ”

"Brother Yuan, listen to me, there is still hope for reconciliation." Lin Afu persuaded hard: "Not to mention that the letter is very likely to be fake, even if it is true, Zeng Lichang just moved his mind and was ready to do it immediately." Just now, you and Zeng Lichang were just arguing over words, and they quarreled a few words, as long as you confess your guilt to them and make amends, there is still a possibility of getting back together. ”

After that, Lin Afu hurriedly said: "Brother Yuan, if you want, the younger brother can apologize to Prime Minister Zeng on your behalf and make peace for you, the younger brother and Prime Minister Zeng and Prime Minister Xu have always gotten along well, I will come forward to make peace, and they will definitely give my little brother this face." ”

To Lin Afu's surprise, after listening to his volunteer, Liu Lichuan not only did not refuse, but on the contrary, he rolled his eyes and calculated, and after thinking for a while, Liu Lichuan also said: "It's okay, then you can go and give it a try to see what kind of attitude he has in Lichang." ”

"Brother Yuan, did you agree?" Lin Afu asked in surprise.

"If it weren't for the fear that Zeng Lichang would make the first move, I wouldn't want to take this risk." Liu Lichuan waved his hand and said: "You go now, say more good things for me, just say that I was confused just now, now I have figured it out, Zeng Lichang and they don't want to stay in Suzhou, but don't mention the letter, if you mention it, it may force Zeng Lichang to be anxious, and we have to pretend to be confused when we should pretend to be confused." ”

When Lin Afu heard the joy, he hurriedly agreed, and Liu Lichuan, in order to show his sincerity in making amends, also took the initiative to ask Lin Afu to send thirty Mini guns that he had just bought from the French to the Taiping Army............

I couldn't guess the attitudes and positions of Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang and other Taiping Army commanders, and when he came to the command department of the Taiping Army to ask for a meeting, Lin Afu was still worried that Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang would not accept his peace, and insisted on being inseparable from Liu Lichuan. But Lin Afu soon found that he was completely worried, and after the door soldiers sent the news of Lin Afu's request to see Lin Afu into the door, Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang, whose official ranks were four levels higher than Lin Afu, actually welcomed Lin Afu out of the door and invited Lin Afu into the lobby with a smile on their faces.

The guests and hosts made a decision, and the flattered Lin Afu of course immediately explained his true intentions, and expressed his attitude that Liu Lichuan had repented of saying those disrespectful words just now, and no longer wanted to drive Zeng Lichang and others to Suzhou, and finally Lin Afu also said very sincerely: "Prime Minister Zeng, Prime Minister Xu, Brother Yuan and we are all rough people in the gang, and we have no sense of proportion, this time I said it seriously, in the final analysis, it is because there have been more conflicts between our soldiers in the past few days, Brother Yuan has a violent temper, and he said those angry words on impulse." There are a lot of you two adults, please bear with me, and don't blame you. ”

"Brother Afu, it's not right for you to say this." Zeng Lichang laughed and said, "When there is still a fight between teeth and tongue, let alone people? They are all brothers of the kingdom of heaven, is it too much to say that they are to blame? It's okay, it's okay, it's the past, just let him pass. I was a little impulsive just now, so let's make an appointment to have a good drink at a place another day, and this thing will be as if it never happened! ”

Lin Afu was overjoyed, and hurriedly thanked Liu Lichuan, and asked people to give thirty mini guns to Zeng Lichang as a thank you gift, Zeng Lichang accepted it with a smile, thanked him very sincerely, and then personally sent Lin Afu, who was relieved, out of the door. However, after Lin Afu left, when Zeng Lichang returned to the hall, the first thing he did was to ask Xu Zongyang, "What do you think?" ”

"Hiding a knife in a smile." Xu Zongyang sneered and said: "This is Liu Lichuan's consistent method, when he was doing things in the Qing Demon Army, he also used this hand to coax Wu Jianzhang's old demon to be happy, and he didn't watch out for him, giving him the opportunity to take over the city." The more he is like this, the more careful we must be, and we must not repeat the mistakes of Wu Jianzhang's old demon. ”

After that, Xu Zongyang also said: "In my opinion, it is best for us to act according to the discussion just now, and it is better to strike first, and not give him a chance to strike first." ”

"When will you do it?" Zeng Lichang asked again.

"The sooner the better." Xu Zongyang replied: "I heard Zhou Lichun and those locals say, the weather in the past few days is called the rainy day, there is rain almost every day, the Qing demon side can't attack the city, the sooner we start, the more advantageous, even if there is any accident, you can also use the rain to help calm down." On a rainy day, everyone's guns are useless, and none of us have to be afraid of white-knuckle battles! ”

Zeng Lichang nodded, thought about it a little more, and quickly said: "Then tomorrow, tonight, we will call Zhou Lichun over to discuss, pull him over, and ask Liu Lichuan to drink in Zhou Lichun's camp tomorrow, which is a neutral territory, he will definitely not be suspicious, take him down when he gets there, force him to hand over the military power, Shanghai is ours!" ”

…………

It's time to take a look at the situation on Lin Afu's side again, after happily returning to the headquarters of Liu Jiajun, Lin Afu of course immediately reported the good news to Liu Lichuan, introduced Zeng Lichang and Xu Zongyang's generous position, and also took the opportunity to persuade Liu Lichuan to continue to show sincerity and completely make up for the rift between Liu Jiajun and the Taiping Army.

Seeing Zeng Lichang so magnanimous, Liu Lichuan was of course also overjoyed, and said after a little calculation: "Brother Afu, if not, you work harder, set up a good banquet in your camp tonight, invite Prime Minister Zeng or Prime Minister Xu to have a good drink with you, and also discuss the matter of joining forces to form a military law team by the way." After you and they have discussed the matter of the military court team, and the relationship between us and Prime Minister Zeng has been further eased, I will personally go to Prime Minister Zeng to ask for guilt. ”

Lin Afu, a bad person, agreed, and hurriedly asked about the specific details of how to join forces to form a military law team, Liu Lichuan waved his hand and said: "You are in charge of this matter, as long as you don't let our brothers suffer, and in the future, the affairs of our military law team will also be in charge of you, I can trust you!" ”

Happily thanked Liu Lichuan for his trust, Lin Afu hurriedly went to act according to Liu Lichuan's orders, first went back to his camp to arrange a table of good wine and food, and then personally went to the Taiping Army headquarters to invite Zeng Lichang to the camp for a banquet. But what Lin Afu didn't know was that behind him, there was actually Liu Lichuan's eyeliner quietly staring at him............

In the current situation, Zeng Lichang will not accept Lin Afu's invitation unless he is stupid, but when Lin Afu said that if Zeng Lichang can't spare time, it is okay to invite Xu Zongyang to the camp to the banquet, and he also took the initiative to explain that he was ready to discuss the formation of a military law team, Zeng Lichang was inevitably a little shaken, and said secretly in his heart: "Only one of me and Prime Minister Xu Cheng?" Isn't it really a Hongmen feast? If it weren't for the Hongmen Banquet, it would definitely be okay to go, and you could appease Liu Lichuan in turn? ”

Of course, Xu Zongyang also had Zeng Lichang's thoughts, in order to seize the city, Xu Zongyang took the initiative to stand up, said that he accepted Lin Afu's invitation, and went to the back hall under the pretext of changing clothes, and asked Lin Afu to wait in front temporarily. After Lin Afu happily agreed, Zeng Lichang also followed up in the back hall with a comprehension, and whispered to Xu Zongyang: "Be careful. Although this Lin Afu seems to be very sincere, he is still cautious. ”

"It's fine." Xu Zongyang said in a low voice: "As long as Prime Minister Zeng is still in our army, Liu Lichuan will not dare to mess around." I'll go to the banquet and give Liu Lichuan a reassuring pill for them so that they can do it tomorrow. Prime Minister Zeng, you took the opportunity to contact Zhou Lichun to discuss tomorrow's major events. ”

Zeng Lichang nodded, and instructed Xu Zongyang to bring more personal soldiers and secret weapons, and then returned to the front hall to be polite with Lin Afu. After a while, Xu Zongyang changed into civilian clothes and came out, and went to Lin Afu's camp for a banquet with a joke, and Zeng Lichang immediately asked the soldiers of the army to prepare a banquet, and at the same time sent someone to invite Zhou Lichun to come to the camp to attend the banquet.

Of course, Zhou Lichun would not refuse Zeng Lichang's invitation, and after happily agreeing, Zhou Lichun also brought his baby daughter Zhou Xiuying over to the banquet together. Of course, Zhou Lichun was flattered by this, and hurriedly called his daughter out to give Zeng Lichang a salute, nodding his head and flattering.

The sky was already slightly dark, and after praising Wu Xiaocomprador's good looks and being a great beauty, Zeng Lichang just wanted to invite Zhou Lichun into the door, but he never thought that a group of soldiers from Liu Lichuan's army appeared at the end of the street, and pushed a few heavy artillery pieces to the front, and at the same time, the Taiping soldiers guarding the street came to report again, saying that Liu Lichuan sent Chen Alin to send five new artillery pieces and matching shells to the Taiping army. Zeng Lichang was overjoyed when he heard this, and said secretly: "Okay, it seems that Liu Lichuan really wants to be soft, and it will be more convenient to do it now." ”

Five new artillery pieces and matching shells are not shabby gifts, since Liu Lichuan sent such a heavy gift, the gifts are still exchanged, Zeng Lichang of course stayed outside the door to wait, and asked someone to prepare wine and dinner for Chen Alin and others in advance, and Zhou Lichun's father and daughter naturally stayed outside the door and waited together. As a result, it didn't take long for Chen Alin to lead a team of Liu Jun soldiers to Zeng Lichang, and as soon as they met, he clasped his fists and said: "The last general, Chen Alin, has seen Prime Minister Zeng, and the last general is ordered by Liu Jian to send five French artillery pieces to Prime Minister Zeng, please don't be too meager, be sure to accept it." ”

"Mr. Chen is too polite, if this is also a meagre, then there will be no heavy gifts in the world." Zeng Lichang laughed and said: "Mr. Chen, please hurry up, it just so happens that Zhou Lvshuai is also here, we won't get drunk today." ”

"Thank you Prime Minister Zeng, but I'm not busy." Chen Alin shook his head, and suddenly knelt down on one knee to Zeng Lichang, clasped his hands into fists and said, "Prime Minister, the last general will still ask you for guilt!" The day before yesterday in the concession, the last general had contact with the mortal enemy of the kingdom of heaven beyond the little demon, at that time, although the last general sternly refused to surpass the little demon's envelope bribe, but afterwards he was careless and forgot to report the matter to you, the prime minister! The last general should be damned, please surrender to Prime Minister Zeng! ”

"Mr. Chen, I already knew about that." Zeng Lichang laughed even more, and while holding Chen Alin with his own hands, he said with a smile: "President Chen is loyal and refuses to surpass the shameless bribery of the little demon, and I also know this." In this matter, Mr. Chen ...... you. ”

Zeng Lichang's words couldn't go on here, because when Zeng Lichang helped Chen Alin to get up, Chen Alin's left hand suddenly grabbed his right wrist, and his right hand quickly pulled out the revolver from his waist, pointed at his chest and shouted: "Don't move!" ”

"Don't move!" Chen Alin's subordinates, who were all nodding their heads just now, also moved faster than one another, either pulling out their revolvers or raising their rifles, quickly pointing at the Taiping soldiers next to them, and kept yelling, "Don't move!" Don't move! ”

It was too late, it was fast, and when he saw that Liu Lichuan's carefully arranged decapitation tactics were about to succeed, Chen Alin suddenly reached out to a delicate and soft man, grabbed the revolver with one hand, his thumb against the hammer, and the other four fingers and palms tightly held the revolver. Chen Alin was shocked and subconsciously pulled the trigger, but the hammer couldn't move, the runner couldn't move, and the bullet naturally couldn't shoot and killed Zeng Lichang!

The opportunity to capture the thief and capture the king first will not appear, and between the lightning and flint, Zeng Lichang, who has been in battle for a long time, has also come to his senses, flew up and kicked Chen Alin in the stomach heavily, kicked Chen Alin into the air, and his buttocks fell backwards on the sand, and then Zeng Lichang quickly pulled out his revolver, and fired several shots at Chen Alin without thinking about it, Chen Alin was shot in the chest and abdomen one after another, and he couldn't see it alive.

More gunshots rang out quickly one after another, and Chen Alin's subordinates, who reacted quickly, immediately fired at Zeng Lichang one after another, one of which also hit Zeng Lichang's thigh, but Zeng Lichang's subordinates also reacted quickly, and protected Zeng Lichang with their bodies while shooting back, Zeng Lichang hurriedly retreated, shouting loudly and ordering the soldiers to fight back with all their might.

There are a lot of people needed to carry artillery and shells, and Chen Alin naturally brought a lot of soldiers in his name, but after all, this is the territory of the Taiping Army, and when the Taiping soldiers on guard around heard the gunshots and rushed to reinforcements, Chen Alin's subordinates only had the option of escaping. Zeng Lichang ordered the whole army to assemble for battle, and at the same time sent someone to order Huang Shengcai to immediately lead the army to the West Gate to rescue Xu Zongyang, but it was also relatively safe that Zeng Lichang noticed that Chen Alin rescued him It was Zhou Lichun's beautiful daughter Zhou Xiuying.

"Miss Zhou, save your life, and your true appearance will be rewarded in the future." Zeng Lichang thanked him, and noticed Zhou Xiuying's posture with a gun, so he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Miss Zhou, can you make the foreign gun not sound if you do this?" ”

Zhou Xiuying nodded and didn't speak, and a red glow flashed on her pretty face - when she learned this trick from someone, Zhou Xiuying paid a lot of money.

Zeng Lichang only asked curiously, and then immediately said to Zhou Lichun: "Zhou Lvshuai, it's too late to explain the matter to you in detail, in a word, Liu Lichuan is going to attack us, we can only fight back!" You immediately go back to your camp to prepare for the war, in case Liu Lichuan sends troops to attack your camp, how to deal with it next, I will send someone to contact you! ”

At this time, Liu Lichuan, who had been prepared for a long time, had already launched an attack on the headquarters of the Taiping Army, and the Taiping Army hurriedly responded to the battle, so they could only rely on the fortifications to resist stubbornly and wait for their companions to gather for help. Seeing that the situation was critical, Zhou Lichun didn't ask much, and immediately agreed, picked up his daughter and ran to his camp, while Zhou Xiuying followed her father back to the camp, and pouted in the direction where Wu Jun Lianyong was stationed, and said secretly: "Shameless!" Nine percent of this is you're behind the scenes! ”

At the same time, Du Wenzao, another of Liu Lichuan's cronies, had already taken Liu Lichuan's token and led a team of soldiers to rush directly into Lin Afu's camp, and also directly rushed into the hall where Lin Afu and Xu Zongyang were drinking, and without saying a word, he raised his gun and pointed it at Xu Zongyang, shouting: "Don't move!" ”

Finding out the plan, Xu Zongyang once wanted to pounce on Lin Afu and take him as a hostage, but unfortunately there was a table between Xu Zongyang and Lin Afu, and he yelled and just jumped on the table, Du Wenzao had already pulled the trigger and shot, hitting him in the flank and seriously injuring him, and at the same time, the soldiers brought by Du Wenzao also shot again and again without saying a word, killing and wounding several of Xu Zongyang's personal soldiers who brought Xu Zongyang to the hall, and Xu Zongyang's personal soldiers outside were also shot and disrupted by Du Wenzao's subordinates who seized the opportunity, and failed to rush into the hall to rescue Xu Zongyang.

It was only after the soldiers took down the seriously injured Xu Zongyang that Du Wenzao showed Liu Lichuan's warrant to the stunned Lin Afu, and said loudly: "Brother Afu, don't ask more, all this is what Brother Yuan meant." Now gather your men at once, guard the gates and the camp, and we'll take care of the rest!" ”

After that, Du Wenzao immediately asked people to tie up Xu Zongyang and carry him away, but it was only when Du Wenzao went out that Lin Afu, who was a little slower, completely came back to his senses, slammed his fist on the table, and yelled: "Brother Yuan, you are confused!" ”

At the same time, the news of the failure to capture Zeng Lichang has also been sent to Liu Lichuan by the soldiers of the Liu Army, hearing the bad news, Liu Lichuan's face turned pale, and he made up his mind with just gritted his teeth, and ordered Li Xianchi to attack the Taiping Army headquarters with all his might, and at the same time implement some established plans, while taking out a letter that had already been written, stuffing it into the hands of his confidants and soldiers, and instructing: "Immediately take this letter out of the city, go to the Qing demon in the southwest of the city to meet Young Master Wu, and dedicate the letter to him, Let's just say that I have already captured the long-haired Prime Minister Zeng Lichang in the city, and ask him to dispatch the demon to pick me up immediately! Help me kill the longhair! (To be continued.) )