?? v?_?~}A=?n? Y[?? k0?f?? $?!? O0???? bo?? ?? l0?cd?It was too much hope, but considering that the sooner he expressed his attitude to dispel Wu's concerns, the better, and at the same time, there was some hope that Wu Chaoyue would launch the Northern Expedition as originally planned, so as to buy more respite for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was suffering from civil strife. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Therefore, Shi Dakai still agreed to Hong Xiuquan's proposal, and decided to send another envoy to chase after the Wu army fleet to show his attitude, and persuaded the Wu army fleet to temporarily stop retreating, and wait for Hong Xiuquan to get in touch with Wu Chaoyue and discuss the results before deciding whether to retreat. At the same time, Shi Dakai also made up his mind for Hong Xiuquan, preparing to temporarily lend the port between Tongling and Wuhu to the Wu army fleet to anchor, so that the Wu army fleet could wait for Wu Chaoyue's order adjustment with peace of mind.

"Or the Winged King Brotherhood will pick a place, there is neither our Heavenly Kingdom's heavy troops stationed within a hundred miles of Ogi Harbor, nor is there a Heavenly Kingdom Sailor who can directly threaten the Transcendence Little Demon Baggage Fleet, lending it there to the Beyond the Little Demon Fleet is enough to show our Heavenly Kingdom's Holy Court's friendship and sincerity towards them, so it's done."

Hong Xiuquan first praised Shi Dakai's sincerity, and then asked the female officials of the Heavenly King's Mansion to immediately draw up the letter of state, and said to Shi Dakai with a pleasant face: "Brother Yiwang, I heard that you have teamed up with the demon soldiers who have surpassed the little demon to fight the Qing demon, and you have had many direct contacts, so you are more familiar with the situation on the side of the little demon. If you don't want to contact the envoy of the Beyond Demon Fleet, you can arrange it, so that we can be more sure. ”

Shi Dakai agreed without any consideration, and his henchman Zhang Suimou came on the spot, arranging for Zhang Suimou to chase and persuade the Wu army's fleet to temporarily settle in Digang, but he didn't notice at all that the disdain and even dissatisfaction of Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao, the two hawkish representatives of the Taiping Army, and the cold smile that appeared at the corner of Hong Xiuquan's mouth......

Protecting more than a thousand old-fashioned boats full of food and weapons against the water, of course, it was impossible for the Wu army sailors to go fast, so in the evening of the same day, Zhang Suimou's Taiping Army clipper easily caught up with the Wu army's sailor fleet, and because the ship was not armed and took the initiative to hand over the weapons as soon as they met, Zhang Suimou was quickly led to the Wu army's naval division Wang Fu and Xu Lai.

"General Wang, General Xu, we Heavenly Kings and Wing Kings know your hardships and understand your feelings. I dare to say even more bluntly, if the envoy is in your position and suddenly encounters such a situation, I will definitely choose to retreat like you, because you must be responsible for the king of Zhennan, and you must also be responsible for the army and people under the rule of the king of Zhennan. ”

"We Heavenly Kings and Wing Kings know that even if we break the Great Heaven, you will never believe our promises, and the only way is to prove that our Heavenly King is still willing to maintain a non-invasive friendly alliance with your army after being restored, and is more willing to help your army launch a northern expedition by sea to deal a fatal blow to the Qing Demon Court."

“…… The water flow of Ogi Port is gentle, the water depth can accommodate large ships, there are ready-made civilian wharves available, and within a hundred miles of the surrounding area, there is no main army of our heavenly kingdom stationed, only some local village soldiers to maintain law and order. It is safe for your fleet to anchor there, and after receiving the order of the commander of your army, King Zhennan, you can immediately go down the river and go to Shanghai, without wasting too much time, and at the same time it is equally convenient to retreat. ”

"Please think about it carefully, if we have the intention of deceiving you, why don't we ask you to temporarily anchor in a place like Quarry Rock or Dongliang Mountain? Our Wing King 8,000 years old chose to lend Hagi Port to you for a temporary berth, one is for your safety, and the other is that your heavy ship returns to the slower speed, and when you withdraw to Hagi Port, the clipper ship we sent to contact the King of Zhennan has already entered Hubei, and is about to get in touch with the King of Zhennan, and you will not be able to delay in Hagi Port for a few days, and you will be able to receive the order of the King of Zhennan sent from the upstream. The painstaking kindness of our Wing King and the Heavenly King is expected to be investigated by the two generals. ”

In front of Wu Chaoyue's two loyal lackeys, Wang Fu and Xu Lai, Shi Dakai's right-hand man Zhang Suimou did his best, almost begging Wang Fu and Xu Lai to temporarily rest in Digang, to give the Taiping Army a chance to prove the sincerity of the continuation of the friendly alliance, and not to slash at the already increasingly fragile friendly relationship between the Wu Army and the Taiping Army.

However, it is a pity that although Shi Dakai and Zhang Suimou were eager to dig out their hearts and let Wu Junshui see whether it was black or red, Wang Fu and Xu Lai, who had to be responsible for Wu Chaoyue, still refused their kindness, and still decided to withdraw directly to Hubei, just saying that if there is a chance in the future, they will definitely thank Shi Dakai and Hong Xiuquan in person and make amends.

Zhang Suimou was disappointed, and he could only retreat and say: "Two generals, since you must insist on leaving, the little envoy will not dare to stop it, the little envoy just dares to plead, after you successfully withdraw to Hubei, can you truthfully report the good intentions of our Heavenly King and Wing King to the King of Zhennan?" ”

"Of course." Wang Fu and Xu Lai both agreed, and then Wang Fu also said: "If our fleet can withdraw to Hubei all the way unimpeded as when we came, then I will not only truthfully report the kindness of your army to the king of Zhennan, but also ask the king of Zhennan to express his gratitude and give your army some compensation." ”

After that, Wang Fu, who is also good in character and morality, also added, "At the same time, I will resign and apologize." Because the order to retreat was indeed given by me privately, it was I who delayed the plan of the northern expedition of the king of Zhennan, and also rejected the kindness and goodwill of your army, I had no choice but to resign and apologize. ”

Listening to Wang Fu's words that were also heart-wrenching, Zhang Suimou was relieved, so he left with a thousand thanks, and returned to Nanjing overnight by fast boat to report the news, Wang Fu and Xu Lai also continued to lead the Wu army's naval fleet to retreat overnight without mentioning.

Like Zhang Suimou, after learning Wang Fu's reply, Shi Dakai, who had been mentally prepared, although he was still a little disappointed, did not think that the efforts of the army were in vain, and after reporting the results of the negotiations to Hong Xiuquan in the morning of the next day, Shi Dakai also said with some relief: "Fortunately, the Beyond the Little Demon really retreated only for the safety of the fleet, as long as we fulfill our promise and let them withdraw to Hubei smoothly, the Beyond Little Demon will immediately understand that we still want to get along with him and have no intention of turning the other cheek with him." ”

Hong Xiuquan didn't speak, patiently waited for Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yun to come to the two cannon barrels to fire, and then as Hong Xiuquan expected, Wu Ruxiao quickly said coldly: "But in this way, the knife handle will always be in the hands of the transcendent demon, when you want to do it, you can do it whenever you want, we can only be beaten passively, and even if you want to change hands, you have to slowly climb upstream against the Yangtze River current." ”

"Brother Gu Wang, there's nothing to worry about." Ye Yunlai also said in a strange manner: "We still have the Lin Qirong brother in Hukou in front, the sailor in his hand is the strongest in our heavenly kingdom, even if he surpasses the little demon and suddenly makes a move, it will be difficult to sink all his boats, there will definitely be a few boats that escape back to report the news, give us a few days to prepare." ”

"I can only count on Brother Lin." Wu Ruxiao nodded solemnly and sighed: "Fortunately, Brother Lin Qirong is still reliable, and there is no need to worry about him being bought by the Transcendence Demon." ”

"What do you mean by that?" Shi Dakai couldn't bear it anymore and roared angrily: "Do you have to find death by yourself? If you're sure you'll be able to take out the flotilla beyond the goblins, then go ahead! I won't stop you from going to your death! ”

"Wing King eight thousand years old, why are you making such a big fire?" Wu Ruxiao sneered and said: "The sailor fleet in the hands of Brother Qingwang and I is vulnerable in front of the main fleet that surpasses the little demon, and it is destined to die in vain." But if we really make up our minds to do it, what can we do? ”

"It's easy!" Ye Yunlai quickly said the tactics that he and Wu Ruxiao had discussed in private, and said loudly: "The sailor who surpasses the little demon must protect the baggage fleet to go slowly, we have enough time to arrange preparations, let the sailor of Prime Minister Lin of Anqing be ready to fight, let Peng Ze's Huang Wenjin be ready to intercept in Madang Mountain, and let the Lin Qirong brothers in Hukou prepare for war." ”

"Then when the fleet that surpassed the little demon arrived in Anqing, Lin Fengxiang's sailors waited for them to pass Anqing and walked away before they went out to follow, and our sailors also rushed to help, far behind the surpassing demon fleet, and did not do anything for the time being, and when they arrived at Pengze Madang Mountain, Huang Wenjin intercepted it, and we killed behind us, and there were forts on both sides of the strait to help, even if we couldn't destroy the main force of the sailors who surpassed the little demon, we could also destroy his baggage fleet!"

"We don't need to worry about the Jiujiang Sailor who surpassed the little demon to come to the rescue!" Wu Ruxiao added loudly: "The mouth of the lake is in our hands, there are Lin Qirong's brothers' sailors to stop it, and the Jiujiang sailors who have surpassed the little demon will not be able to catch up with Madang Mountain for a while and a half, and we have plenty of time to annihilate their baggage fleet!" ”

Although the battle plan proposed by Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai is despicable, it has considerable feasibility and success, not to mention that Zeng Lichang and Li Shixian, who are also in charge of the army, were moved when they heard it, and even Shi Dakai couldn't help but be a little shaken when he heard it, and said secretly: "This is actually a good way." ”

Hong Xiuquan never spoke, because although Hong Xiuquan was extremely eager to take back the military power by relying on the opportunity of war with the Wu army, he absolutely could not personally pat this board and give this order - otherwise, in addition to definitely causing Shi Dakai, who was more rational and calm, to turn his face in advance, once the war was unfavorable in the future, he would definitely have to buckle Hong Xiuquan's head if he took the initiative to provoke Wu Chaoyue.

Therefore, for Hong Xiuquan, it is best for the order to start a war against the Wu army to be issued by others and let others initiate it, so that Hong Xiuquan can stay out of the situation when the warlords of the Taiping Army and Wu Chaoyue fight, and reap the benefits.

At this time, Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai, the two fanatical hawks of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, couldn't wait to ask Hong Xiuquan to approve their battle plan, but Hong Xiuquan still didn't speak, but just looked at Shi Dakai again and again, Shi Dakai was angry with Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai, two crazy people, and always pretended not to see Hong Xiuquan's expression reaction.

Shi Dakai didn't accept the offer, and Hong Xiuquan, who didn't dare to take the initiative to provoke a full-scale war with the Wu army, was forced to be helpless, so he had to come up with an excuse that he couldn't be treacherous and reluctantly prevaricate Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao, and then quickly changed the topic and mentioned another matter related to his plan to regain military power, and said: "Zhongqing, Qin Rigang, the deposed king of Yan, has been imprisoned in Tianjing for five years because of the defeat of Jiujiang, I think the punishment is enough, and I decided to let him return to office, what do you think Aiqing?" ”

As mentioned earlier, Qin Rigang was extremely unlucky to be stripped of the prince, in addition to the loss of Jiujiang and the death of Luo Xuan, the real key reason was that he offended Yang Xiuqing by getting too close to Hong Xiuquan. This will Yang Xiuqing has fallen, Hong Xiuquan, who has turned over from the salted fish, wants to release him, unless the people in the court of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are full to stop him, who else will stop him? So after pretending to solicit the opinions of the ministers, Hong Xiuquan also quickly said: "Since all the Aiqing have no opinions, then release the Qin Rigang brothers and seal the ......." ”

"Long live the King of Heaven, be cautious."

At this time, an accident appeared, and Shi Dakai, who had been angry, suddenly spoke, interrupted Hong Xiuquan's words, and said: "The minister thinks that it is enough to release Qin Rigang, but he can't be in a hurry to seal the official, let him go home to recuperate for a while." ”

Everyone in the Golden Dragon Hall looked at Shi Dakai a little strangely, although everyone knew that Shi Dakai also did not have a harmonious relationship with Qin Rigang, a fellow villager in Guixian County, but this kind of thing of taking revenge for personal gain and killing all political enemies has never been Shi Dakai's style of doing things?

Knowing the reason for the confusion of the Heavenly Kingdom brothers in the palace, Shi Dakai could only explain: "The minister is not against the reappointment of Qin Rigang, but the time is not right now. It is Zeng Guofan, the teacher who surpasses the little demon, who happened to die in the hands of Qin Rigang, at this time, if we release Qin Rigang and reappoint him as an official, I am afraid that it will make the transcendent demon misunderstood, which is not conducive to the continuation of the friendly covenant between us and the transcendence demon. ”

Hong Xiuquan suddenly realized, and then realized that he had forgotten to consider this key issue, and the hardliners of the Taiping Army represented by Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao snorted coldly, and Shi Dakai, who was extremely dissatisfied, was servile to Wu Chaoyue.

Shi Dakai had a clear conscience, of course, he continued to pretend that he didn't hear such a dissatisfied cold snort, Hong Xiuquan was reminded again, and in a flash in his heart, another poisonous plan immediately came to his heart, and he immediately nodded and smiled: "It's still the Yiwang brothers who are thoughtful, then let's just be more safe, and then wronged the Qin Rigang brothers for a while, don't rush to release him for the time being." ”

After saying that, Hong Xiu, who was full of smiles, pretended to see the reaction of the ministers, and took the opportunity to turn his gaze to Meng Deen, who was standing in the inconspicuous place in the middle of the Golden Dragon Palace.

…………

Of course, Shi Dakai knew very well that the Taiping army and the Wu army would have a decisive battle sooner or later, and he also knew that after the Wu army's fleet withdrew to Hubei, it was unlikely that Wu Chaoyue would risk launching a northern expedition by sea, and it was likely that he would consider attacking the Taiping army first. However, Shi Dakai still wanted to do his best to continue to stabilize Wu Chaoyue and buy more respite for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so he did not hesitate to offend his colleagues, and even bear the infamy of a traitor and coward, and resolutely block the fanatical impulse of the Taiping Army's main battle faction.

However, what Shi Dakai never expected was that only one day had passed, and it had just arrived in the morning of the next day, and Hu Hailong, the chief inspector of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the second right inspection point in front of the palace, suddenly jumped out and gave himself a big problem, and said to Hong Xiuquan in public: "Long live the Heavenly King, on how to renew the covenant with the Transcendence Demon, Your Majesty has a proposal, which can make the Transcendence Demon believe that my Heavenly Kingdom does not have any intention of being an enemy of him, rest assured that the covenant with the Heavenly Kingdom will be renewed, and continue to send troops north by sea. Buy time for the revival of my kingdom of heaven. ”

"What is Hu Aiqing's plan?" Hong Xiuquan asked with an imperial demeanor.

"Please send an edict from the King of Heaven to send Qin Rigang, the king of abolished Yan, and Huang Wenjin, the envoy of Chengxuan, to Hubei, and hand them over to the little demon."

Hu Hailong, who has a bad reputation among the people in Nanjing, caused an uproar in the hall with just one sentence, and Hong Xiuquan's face also changed color, and he asked angrily: "Hu Hailong, what did you say?" Do you want me to hand over Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin to the Transcendent Little Demon for forgiveness? ”

"Long live the anger of the Heavenly King, please listen to your minister's explanation." Hu Hailong kowtowed first, and then said: "Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin, both led the army to participate in the battle of Gray Mountain, which killed the old Qing demon of Zeng Guofan, and they can be regarded as the enemy who killed the teacher beyond the little demon, and now he has surpassed the little demon and married the daughter of Zeng Guofan as the side princess, and the revenge of killing the teacher has directly become the revenge of killing his father, if the king of heaven hands over Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin to him, it ......." ”

"Shut up!" Hong Xiuquan angrily interrupted Hu Hailong's nonsense and shouted: "In order to make peace with the transcendent little demon, we actually want to hand over our heavenly brother to him!" If it is spread, how can I save my face? Where is the face of the kingdom of heaven? ”

In addition to Hong Xiuquan's madness, other Taiping Heavenly Kingdom civil and military officials in the Golden Dragon Hall also opened their mouths to accuse Hu Hailong's servile and servile knee, and many short-tempered people immediately asked Hong Xiuquan to immediately push Hu Hailong out of the palace and behead him, Hong Xiuquan also complied with the will of the people and immediately issued an edict to take people, Hu Hailong was terrified, and hurriedly kneeled in front of Shi Dakai, hugged Shi Dakai's legs and said: "Wing King 8,000 years old help me, Wing King 8,000 years old save me, your subordinates are loyal to the kingdom of heaven, a piece of loyalty." ”

"I know you're faithful, but you're going too far." Shi Dakai replied angrily.

"The Winged King is eight thousand years old, and His Majesty hasn't finished talking yet." Hu Hailong cried and said: "Your Majesty dares to conclude that Beyond the Little Demon will never kill Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin, and will only send them back to Heaven as a gift, that's why Your Majesty suggested this!" Please think about it, with the character and temper that surpasses the little demon's consistent personality and style, how could he kill Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin who we took the initiative to send to him? ”

After thinking about it carefully, he found that with Wu Chaoyue's shameless hypocrisy, it was indeed impossible to kill the enemy who was sent to the door by the army, Shi Dakai nodded and said, "Although the words are reasonable, your method is still too much." If we do this, what will be the face of the kingdom of heaven? ”

"The Wing King is eight thousand years old, we don't need to ask the Heavenly King to directly send an edict." Hu Hailong hurriedly said: "We can do this, we can explain to Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin, and persuade them to take the blame in front of the transcendent little demon." ”

"In this way, wouldn't it be possible not only to not damage the face of our heavenly kingdom, but also to let the transcendent demon understand our sincerity, and also to give Qin Rigang, the abolished king of Yan, and Huang Wenjin and Huang Chengxuan, who were once attached to the king of the east, a chance to atone for their sins, killing three birds with one stone!"

Crying, Hu Hailong said to Shi Dakai again: "The Wing King is eight thousand years old, Your Majesty knows that you are bent on surpassing the little demon steadily, and Your Majesty is also doing your best to help you, if you think it is feasible, Your Majesty can guarantee it, and you will definitely be able to persuade Qin Rigang and Huang Chengxuan to go and surpass the little demon on their own!" If your subordinates can't do it, they are willing to receive the punishment of five horses and divide the corpses!