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Zeng Guofan was not mistaken, for the Hubei army has never marched into Jiangxi in a big way, there are some voices in the Manchu court, before Emperor Xianfeng asked the official to expand the army, and he also wanted to transfer troops from Hubei to the east to suppress the Taiping army. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

But it's okay for Wu Chaoyue, according to the administrative system of the Manchu court, the governor is in charge of the military, the governor is in charge of civil affairs, and the governor has the final say on whether to send troops out of the province to fight, and the governor only has the right to suggest and no decision-making power, so this pressure is pressed on Hua Shana, Wu Chaoyue has a conscience to help Hua Shana share the burden, and if he doesn't have a conscience, he doesn't care about Hua Shana, and he can't take Wu Chaoyue. -- By the way, because the establishment of the Hubei New Army belongs to Fubiao and is a direct army of Wu Chaoyue, even Huashana has no right to transfer and dispatch.

After receiving Yang Wending's letter requesting to send troops to reinforce the Jiujiang battlefield, Wu Chaoyue immediately took the letter to Hua Shana, suggesting that Hua Shana send Wang Guocai to lead more than 3,000 green battalion soldiers stationed in Tianjia Town to the east to reinforce the Jiujiang battlefield, not only to help Zeng Guofan, but also to give an explanation to the Manchu court.

Hua Shana, who has always been obedient to Wu Chaoyue's words, rarely did not agree immediately, and after thinking for a while, Hua Shana also said to Wu Chaoyue: "Weiting, sending the Hubei Green Battalion to reinforce the Jiujiang battlefield is a good thing to help the Qing Dynasty, and it stands to reason that the old man should not stop it." But the old man must ask you, if we do this, will it cause Changmao to launch another expedition to the west, and attract swords and soldiers for our Huguang? ”

Knowing that Hua Shana didn't want to burn the flames of war to the door again, Wu Chaoyue replied calmly and said: "There is this possibility, but this may be very small, the main force of long hair is currently attacking cities and plundering land in southern and northern Jiangsu, and it is difficult to return to the division in a hurry, and that area is a notoriously rich place, with the character of long-haired mud legs, telling them to put down the fat in their mouths and turn around to gnaw hard bones, it may be very small." ”

After all, for the next step in the future, Wu Chaoyue added, saying: "And this is also a great opportunity to consolidate the security of Huguang, the geographical location of the mouth of Jiujiang Lake is very important, if we can take the opportunity to take these two cities and firmly control them, then it is equivalent to the establishment of a peripheral barrier outside Huguang, not only can buffer the role, but also can we ensure that the communication with Jiangxi is unimpeded, can be attacked, retreat can be defended, and fully grasp the strategic initiative in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River." ”

Although he didn't understand military affairs, Hua Shana was indeed a rare capable official, and after a little calculation, he asked two more questions, "So, is it possible for us to take Jiujiang and Hukou?" Also, are there enough soldiers and horses for the seven battalions to dispatch the kingdom? ”

Wu Chaoyue pointed to the mouth of the lake on the map with his finger and said, "As long as we can take the mouth of the lake first, then Jiujiang will be broken." Although Wang Guocai's soldiers and horses are not many, he only needs to be responsible for helping the Hunan army besiege Jiujiang after arriving in Jiujiang, so that the Hunan army can free up their hands to attack Hukou on a large scale, which is barely enough. ”

"Then send troops." Hua Shana didn't think about it and ordered: "Be safe, in addition to dispatching the garrison of Tianjia Town, send another 3,000 Eyong to the kingdom to help, you are good at it militarily, you arrange this matter, and the old man only needs to sign and use the seal." ”

With Hua Shana's full support, Wu Chaoyue, of course, unceremoniously immediately dispatched troops, first immediately went to order the kingdom to send troops, and then selected six more decent battalions from the temporary workers Eyong formed by Guan Wen and Hua Shana successively, and sent them out of the province as the second batch of reinforcements. At the same time, Wu Chaoyue naturally had to explicitly order these Eyong to be directly commanded by Wang Guocai, and not give Teacher Zeng the opportunity to encircle and buy them.

In addition, in order to avoid Yang Xiuqing's misunderstanding, Wu Chaoyue naturally had to secretly contact Rong Hong, and let Rong Hong ventilate to the Taiping army, which had been maintaining secret trade contacts with Daye Iron Works, explaining that this time the troops were sent to give an explanation to the Manchu court. also hinted that if Yang Xiuqing has anyone who doesn't like his eyes, he can just put it on the Western Front.

After Wang Guocai arrived at the Jiujiang battlefield with seven battalions of green battalion soldiers for reinforcements, Mr. Zeng had no choice but to reluctantly agree to the Shizi Battalion to go south alone, but after Li Wen'an and his son happily took the Shizi Battalion south to the hinterland of Jiangxi to pick up credit, Mr. Zeng still categorically rejected the tactical suggestion of hitting Hukou first, insisting on hitting Jiujiang first and then Hukou. In the letter to Hua Shana and Wu Chaoyue, Mr. Zeng also took the opportunity to raise the big problem of complicated battalions and inconsistent orders of the front-line army, and suggested that a front-line commander-in-chief should be established to unify orders for combat.

Zeng Guofan's request made Hua Shana, who had a very good temper, roll her eyes, and sighed to Wu Chaoyue and said: "Weiting, the old man finally understands why you can't get along with Zeng Butang, and finally understands that when you were in Hunan, the Hunan Green Battalion rushed into your teacher's house and shot and injured Luo Futai also pretended not to know, as far as your teacher's temper is concerned, no matter which province you put it in, the governor of that province can't tolerate him!" ”

"Flower making table, this is just the beginning, we will still suffer in the future." Wu Chaoyue smiled bitterly and said: "It's not nice to say, you have to take care of your body in the flower table, and I will have a lot of things to do with you as a teacher in the future." ”

"It makes sense, the old man has to be mentally prepared for this first." Hua Shana also made a joke, and then asked Wu Chaoyue: "We want to hurry up to the Jiujiang Lake Pass to defend the safety of Hubei, and your teacher wants to take the opportunity to control the reinforcements we sent, so what can we do?" ”

Wu Chaoyue frowned, and replied hesitantly: "It's not easy to do, I know the teacher's temper too well, if we don't make concessions and hand over the reinforcements to him to command, he will definitely not fight according to our requirements." But if we want to hand over the reinforcements to his command, the thirteen battalions we sent first, I am afraid that most of them will have the surname Zeng in the future, and the younger generation really has no choice this time. ”

"Since there is no way, then don't waste your energy trying to figure it out." Hua Shana waved his hand and said with a sneer: "Didn't Zeng Butang want to compete with us for patience? That's better, it's a great thing to spend more money, money and food, the old man doesn't believe it, and he is not afraid of being accused of being a protracted person and a laborer. ”

The old officialdom Hua Shana has this patience and confidence, but the young and vigorous Wu Chaoyue does not have such patience, especially Wu Chaoyue's current purpose is to kill Teacher Zeng as soon as possible to solve the hidden dangers, as well as to incorporate the group of elite soldiers and strong generals under Zeng Guofan, in this case, Wu Chaoyue of course does not want to let Teacher Zeng continue to use any security tactics to fight the battle in a stubborn village, only let Teacher Zeng move quickly and adopt some more radical and risky tactics, so that love is most in line with Wu Chaoyue's purpose and interests.

While racking his brains, Wu Chaoyue has of course maintained close contact with the front line, keeping abreast of every move on the battlefield at the mouth of the Jiujiang Lake, and Yang Wending and Wang Guocai also behaved very competently, not only reporting the front-line military situation every day, but also sending a large number of scouts to reconnoiter the front-line enemy situation, exploring the geography of mountains and rivers, so that Wu Chaoyue can also know the front-line situation well in the Hubei provincial capital, giving Wu Chaoyue the opportunity to remotely command the Jiujiang battlefield.

During this period, the two steam paddle steamer gunboats ordered by Wu Chaoyue from the British were finally sent to the Hubei provincial capital under the personal escort of Xiao Baoling, and at the same time, Nie Shicheng's mother, as well as Wu Chaoyue's wife Yang Yuru and his daughter who had never met - Shanghai has become an isolated island and may face the disaster of war at any time, but it is safer in the Hubei provincial capital, so Wu Lao comprador insisted that Nie's mother send her granddaughter-in-law and great-granddaughter here.

Having had enough of the daughter who was lucky enough to not inherit his thin characteristics too much, Wu Chaoyue then remembered to thank Xiao Bao Ling, and Xiao Bao Ling took out a bank deposit slip and handed it to Wu Chaoyue while being modest, and said with a smile: "Wu, this is what Mr. Ali Guo asked me to bring to you." ”

"What is Mr. Ali Guo giving me the money for?"

Looking at the deposit certificate issued by the Shanghai Favorable Bank, Wu Chaoyue was confused, and Xiao Baoling smiled in an increasingly proficient Chinese: "Wu, you are really a gentleman who treats money like dung, have you forgotten that you and Mr. Ali Guo have signed a contract for joint exploration of gold mines?" It clearly says that you can make three percent of the profits in the gold mine that you found. ”

"I forgot." Wu Chaoyue patted his head, and then hurriedly thanked Xiao Bao Ling: "Thank you, dear Mr. Bao Ling, please be sure to convey to Mr. Ali Guo for me, thank him for his noble character, I have forgotten things, he not only kept remembering, but also took the initiative to send me silver." ”

"No problem, I'll bring the words for you." Xiao Baoling agreed, and then said with a smile: "Wu, I can assure you that I am also a person of high moral character, and I very much hope to sign a similar contract with you. ”

Wu Chaoyue understood and asked with a smile: "Dear Mr. Bao Ling, you are also interested in investing in exploration and mining gold mines?" ”

"Of course, in this world, there are probably not people who are not interested in gold." Xiao Baoling smiled and said: "Wu, you must also know that my father is the Governor of Hong Kong and Minister Plenipotentiary in China, and he has the power to mobilize the British ** team and fleet in the whole of East Asia. ”

Wu Chaoyue blinked his triangular eyes and did not speak, and what he was thinking about in his heart was, of course, the super-large gold mine in South Africa that led to the outbreak of the Boer War. Xiao Bao Ling smiled and didn't speak, knowing that Wu Chaoyue was a smart person, and he knew that Wu Chaoyue would never dare to refuse his request now. After weighing the pros and cons, Wu Chaoyue replied: "I only know the last place, but the gold mine is not in East Asia, or even in Asia." ”

"It's okay." Xiao Baoling said with a smile: "Wu, have you forgotten that we in the UK have a title called the Empire on which the sun never sets, as long as it is on the earth." ”

"Find that gold mine, you will become the Sunset Empire, and eleven countries will join forces to pit you!" Wu Chaoyue muttered in his heart, and said with a smile: "Dear Mr. Bao Ling, there is no need to rush this matter, let's discuss it slowly, please come into the city, I have already asked someone to prepare a sumptuous banquet in the governor's yamen for you to catch the wind and wash the dust." ”

Xiao Bao Ling laughed heartily and immediately accepted Wu Chaoyue's invitation, but on the way into the city, Xiao Bao Ling proposed another intention for himself to come to Hankou, that is, he hoped to establish a consulate in Hankou, Wu Chaoyue promised to make a request to the Manchu court on behalf of Xiao Bao Ling, and said with a smile that as long as he was still in Hubei, whether there was a consulate in Hankou or not was actually the same, Xiao Bao Ling admitted this with a smile, and talked with Wu Chaoyue very happily.

It was destined to be a busy day, after being busy with foreigners and sailors, busy with wives and children, and finally busy until the evening was ready to rest, before Wu Chaoyue entered Yang Yuru's room to make up for the arrears of public food for many days, the soldiers reported that there was a messenger from Zeng Guofan asking to see him. Wu Chaoyue was furious when he heard this, and shouted angrily: "Tell him to come back tomorrow!" It's definitely a matter of warship artillery, maybe I still want to fight the idea of the steam cannon ship I just got my hands on, my teacher, it's gone! ”

After paying the public rations for the night, when he saw the messenger sent by Mr. Zeng the next day, on the letter presented by the messenger, Mr. Zeng really asked about the time of handing over the guns of the warship promised by Wu Chaoyue, and inquired about the price and equipment of the steam gunboat.

waved his hand and sent the messenger down to wait for a reply, and then Wu Chaoyue sighed at Zhao Liewen: "It's over, my teacher is really completely hopeless, he spends my money every day to eat my food, and if he doesn't fight well, forget it, and he is greedy enough to want me to give him a few steam gunboats for nothing, he really didn't let my silver fall from the sky for no reason?" ”

Zhao Liewen also let out a long sigh, and no longer had any interest in talking to Wu Chaoyue about this topic that had been repeated I don't know how many times, but just asked, "Then what are you going to do?" ”

Wu Chaoyue pursed his lips and calculated, and after a while, Wu Chaoyue gritted his teeth and said viciously: "You can't continue to get used to me as a teacher, write back to him for me, don't mention anything about the warship artillery, just tell him the tactics we discussed before to attack the mouth of the lake, and he will understand in his heart!" If he pretends to be confused, let Yang Wending bring it up directly! ”

With the intelligence support of Yang Wending and Wang Guocai, Wu Chaoyue and Zhao Liewen had already thought of a way to take Hukou, and this method was formulated in view of the special terrain of Hukou and the deployment of the Taiping Army's troops -- in order to ensure the blockade of the waterway, Huang Wenjin, the general of the Taiping Army's Hukou, did not garrison the main force in Hukou City, but chose to be stationed on the mountainside of Shizhong Mountain, and the naval division was stationed on the water surface of the mountain, and a garrison was stationed in Meijiazhou, which was across the water. However, the scout report provided by Wang Guocai clearly pointed out that the Taiping army did not attach importance to the defense of the top of Shizhong Mountain, and at the same time, there were many roads in the back mountain that could go directly to the top of the mountain, and as long as the Hunan army sent an army to land, and at the time of the battle, the surprise troops were highlighted to seize the top of Shizhong Mountain, and they could condescendingly smash the camp of the Taiping army and attack the Taiping army's Linjiang fort from behind. (Historically, Li Xubin's tactics of breaking through the mouth of the lake.) ）

These terrain characteristics were repeatedly confirmed by Wu Chaoyue to Wang Guocai, and at the same time, the information provided by Wang Guocai also showed that the woods around Zhangjiaba were suitable for ambushes, and there were also roads to detour back to the back of Shizhong Mountain.

After Zhao Liewen ghostwrote this battle plan so detailed that even the landing and marching routes were sent to the Jiujiang front, Zeng Guofan, who could no longer ask for benefits from his disobedient protégé, really pretended to be confused and deliberately did not take out this battle plan for the generals to discuss. After Yang Wending waited for two days and saw no movement, he followed the order of his son-in-law, and Yue Yu proposed it at a meeting where all the generals of the Hunan army gathered, and suggested that Zeng Guofan adopt it.

In the face of this successful and great battle plan, none of the generals of the Hunan army with different surnames did not agree with it, and even Zeng Guoquan was eager to try, strongly persuaded Zeng Guofan to accept it, and volunteered to serve as the vanguard of the surprise attack. However, Zeng Guofan still shook his head again and again, and said: "It's too risky, if it is detected by Long Hair, the army we sent to attack will immediately be besieged, and there is a risk of annihilation." In particular, our water forces do not have an advantage, and if the plan fails, it will be difficult to connect with the troops who should land and return to the camp. ”

The generals of the Hunan army still insisted, but Zeng Guofan still didn't listen, and when Yang Wending came forward to persuade him, Zeng Guofan also said slowly: "The strength is insufficient, and I am not sure of this." Unless the Pavilion sends his Inspector to help me, there may be a chance of success. ”

When Yang Wending helplessly sent Zeng Guofan's reply to Wu Chaoyue in a letter, Wu Chaoyue could be regarded as cultivating quite a deep city mansion, and finally couldn't help but smash the table and scolded his mother, "Old thing!" You'd rather die than suffer a loss, and try your best to take advantage, don't you want to change it for the rest of your life? Inch in, kick your nose in the face! The white-eyed wolf that can't be fed! ”

"Weiting, if your teacher doesn't fight, we will fight!" Zhao Liewen was also completely unbearable, and proposed: "I don't need you to go out in person, tell Huang Yuanlong (Huang Dasha) our battle plan, and ask him to dispatch the Second Corps!" It's really not good, ask our sailor to take action, and cooperate with Liu Kunyi's Zhuangzi camp is also sure! ”

Wu Chaoyue did not immediately accept Zhao Liewen's angry proposal, because Wu Chaoyue was worried that his dispatch of the Hubei New Army to attack the Taiping Army might lead to Yang Xiuqing's misunderstanding, destroy the favorable situation between the main forces that had been formed with great difficulty, and provoke the main force of the Taiping Army to counterattack, and was forced to face the Manchu court in vain.

"Yufutai, Huazhitai sent someone to send a note, saying that it was for you to take a look."

The sudden sound of the pro-soldier interrupted Wu Chaoyue's calculation of trying to contact Yang Xiuqing to know the purpose of sending troops, and he was very puzzled about how Hua Shana could hand him a small note, Wu Chaoyue hurriedly took the note handed by the pro-soldier, but when he opened it, he only saw it at a glance, Wu Chaoyue immediately shook his whole body, and then immediately laughed out loud, "Hahahaha!" God help me, Mr. Zeng, I'll see what you do this time! ”

"What are you so happy about?" Zhao Liewen came up very puzzled, but only glanced at it, and Zhao Liewen couldn't help laughing wildly, "People are not as good as heaven!" Zeng Butang, see what you do this time! ”

The note that made Wu Chaoyue and Zhao Liewen both laugh wildly only had five words on it - Zeng Linshu was critically ill. (To be continued.) )