Guo Zhiqi left Guangzhou, and when he left, Zhou Shixiang personally went out of the city to see him off, but whether this scholar was really willing to help him ask Yongli for the title of prince, and whether he really believed him, Zhou Shixiang was uncertain.

Before Guo Zhiqi left, he asked to see Geng Jimao and Li Shutai, and Zhou Shixiang agreed. Geng Jimao, who had been under house arrest for many days, heard that Guo Zhiqi, a scholar and scholar of the Yongli Imperial Court, wanted to see him, and he was so excited that he almost cried.

Guo Zhiqi and Geng Jimao did not let Zhou Shixiang's people be present when they met, so Zhou Shixiang didn't know what Geng Jimao and Guo Zhiqi said. When he saw Li Shutai, Guo Zhiqi allowed Zhou Shixiang's people to be present, but the two did not say anything.

Guo Zhiqi wanted to persuade Li Shutai to surrender, but Li Shuitai insisted on not complying, and after bitter words, Guo Zhiqi could only leave with regret, and from beginning to end, Guo Daxue did not have any accusations and scolding against the Qing Dynasty, the governor of Liangguang.

This makes Zhou Shixiang very strange, although Geng Jimao is also surrendered, but after all, he is reporting for him anyway, not surprisingly, the Yongli court must canonize this "King of Jingnan" who came back anyway as the two-character prince of the Ming Dynasty, just as the Qing court is about to canonize the Qin King of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Kewang is expected to be the righteous king of the Qing Dynasty. This is a political gesture, so Guo Zhiqi has a better attitude towards Geng Jimao, who is about to become the prince of the Ming Dynasty, but Li Shutai is the son of the great traitor Li Yongfang, who has fought more than 100 battles for the Qing court since entering the customs, and his hands are stained with the blood of Ming Dynasty officials and people, and his people will never surrender.

After thinking about it, Zhou Shi couldn't understand it, so he could only attribute it to the fact that Guo Daxue respected the enemy.

The news of the Qing court's attack on Guizhou made Guo Zhiqi worry about the safety of the southwest. In his words, he wanted to ask Zhou Shixiang to divide a group of troops and horses to cooperate with the Ming army in Zhaoqing and Gaozhou to attack Guangxi, in order to contain Zhao Butai, the general of the Qing expedition to the south of Guizhou, and the national security department of the Guangxi Governor's Line, and reduce the pressure on the king of Jin. Of course, Zhou Shixiang refused this request, and he was about to face the Jidu army, where could he divide his troops to Guangxi at this juncture.

Guo Zhiqi seemed to know that his request was a bit difficult for a strong man, and after sighing, he asked Zhou Shixiang to hand over Hong Shiming to him and take it to Kunming. Zhou Shixiang also did not agree to this request, Guo Zhiqi was disappointed but not angry, as long as Zhou Shixiang took care of Hong Shiming, he could not treat him harshly because his father was Hong Chengchou.

After deciding to leave Guangzhou. Guo Zhiqi wrote letters to some of the old volunteers he had recruited along the coast, asking them to come to Guangzhou to accept Zhou Shixiang's moderation, and then left with Qin Rong. Guo Zhiqi went directly to Qinzhou from Xinhui. Qin Rong went to Zhaoqing.

Zhaoqing is where Yongli ascended the throne that year, and the meaning is more important than Guangzhou, and Li Chengdong wanted to take Yongli back to Guangzhou anyway. But the Guangxi officials who followed Yongli at that time were worried that the emperor would not have their seats in the imperial court after he went to Guangzhou. Therefore, he resolutely opposed, and finally Emperor Yongli returned to Zhaoqing.

The main purpose of Qin Rong's visit to Guangzhou this time was originally to serve as a front station for the governor Lianchengbi, so as to implement the matter of Lianchengbi and the return of the Qinzhou and large and small official mansions to Guangzhou, but now there is no need to mention this matter. Although Qin Rong has a stubborn personality, he is also self-aware, knowing that he has offended this Xingping uncle who has tens of thousands of soldiers, and it is impossible for the governor to return to the station in his own hands, so he chose to go to Zhaoqing. Let's see if Chen Qice and Zhu Tong are willing to let the governor return to station.

After Guo Zhiqi and Qin Rong left, Zhou Shixiang and Song Xianggong held several meetings in the Military Marshal's Mansion. It is mainly a matter of sending troops after the deployment year, focusing on the mobilization of grain and grass and the people in each county. In the past few days, he went to Shi Yuanling's place once, and rested in Lin Wan'er's room for two nights.

Since Shi Yuanling's incident, Zhou Shixiang felt that he couldn't stand Lin Wan'er, so on the night Wan'er just arrived in Guangzhou from Xiangshan, Zhou Shixiang took the jade carved carriage to her room. That night was naturally a "battle", fortunately, Wan'er was not a new wife, and after a "fight", Zhou Shixiang actually asked for mercy, and secretly said that people should not be good-looking, and Wan'er had a heart that had been in turmoil for a long time under her lovely appearance.

It is already the nineteenth day of the lunar month, and there are eleven days to go before the New Year, and the business in the city of Guangzhou, which had been stagnant due to the arrival of the Taiping Army, has been revitalized, and the city has faintly begun to have the joy of the New Year.

After abruptly rising in the morning and accompanying Lin Wan'er to walk around the southern city, Zhou Shixiang was going to go to the Yuexiu camp after lunch to see how the second town was preparing for the dispatch of troops, but as soon as he picked up the bowl, Hu Qili's urgent report from Huizhou arrived

Hu Qili suffered a defeat, and three days earlier his lieutenant general Han Chaozong was defeated by Wu Liuqi's troops at the Jiazimen Station northeast of Jieshiwei, suffering more than 2,000 casualties. After Wu Liuqi won the victory of Jiazimen, he immediately took advantage of the victory to occupy Jieshiwei, and Han Chaozong led more than 1,000 remnants of the army to retreat, and Lu Feng asked Hu Qili for help. After receiving Han Chaozong's call for help, Hu Qili rushed to Lufeng with the elite soldiers of the superintendent on the one hand, and sent people to Zhou Shixiang for help on the other hand.

Hu Qili couldn't help but ask for help, because this time Wu Liuqi could be said to have poured troops into attack, counting seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses, of which three or four thousand were elite soldiers of his descendants. Wu Liuqi prepared for this attack for more than a month, and unexpectedly hit the Han Dynasty sect, so that Hu Qili's largest mobile force was disabled, and in a hurry, he didn't have time to transfer back the soldiers and horses scattered in Huizhou counties, so he could only lead more than 1,000 old main forces of Guishan to reinforce Han Chaozong.

Hu Qili feared that Wu Liuqi's attack was likely instructed by the Qing court to prepare for the upcoming Jidu army, in order to burn the war directly to Guangzhou, not to Huizhou or Chaozhou. His lips were cold, and he had no possibility of surrendering to the Qing army, so he could only hope that Zhou Shixiang would lead the main force of the Taiping army to reinforce him.

The war in Huizhou disrupted Zhou Shixiang's original plan to send troops after the New Year, and considering that in case Huizhou was occupied by Wu Liuqi, Guangzhou would face the threat of Jidu's army after the New Year, Zhou Shixiang immediately decided to send troops to the east.

The main force of the Eastern Expedition consisted of the first and second towns, artillery battalions, and cavalry brigades, with a total of more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. The third town is a reserve stationed in Huizhou Prefecture to govern and return to goodness, and the fourth town is deployed to defend Guangzhou and ensure the safety of Guangzhou together with Shuiying.

After the order to send troops was issued, the trainees of the military training center immediately returned to their units, and in addition to the personnel who remained on duty, the instructors also set off with the troops. At the same time, he ordered Zhao Ziqiang, a thousand households in Nanhai, Wang Zhaoxing in Foshan and Hu Mingyi in Xin'an, and other generals of the green battalion to lead their troops and horses to Guangzhou to participate in the Eastern Expedition.

Zhou Shixiang deliberately named Geng Zhongde and Shang Keyuan, and asked the two admirals and deputy envoys to lead the instructors of the training center to form a teaching team and be assigned to the military marshal's mansion to listen to the investigation.

Song Xianggong suggested holding a pledge meeting to boost the morale of the army and the people. Zhou Shixiang promised to come down, and the oath was to sacrifice the flag, and there must also be a document for sending troops.

"Take Li Shuotai's head and sacrifice the flag, and ask Hong Shiming to make a military inscription."

Zhou Shixiang didn't want to arrange this matter

The twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, the small year, the auspicious day of the zodiac, the sword soldiers.

As soon as the morning dawned, the drums and horns sounded in unison, and the officers and men of the first town, the second town, the artillery battalion, and the cavalry brigade gathered in the Yuexiu camp drove from the barracks to the colonel. In addition to the main force of the Taiping Army, more than 3,000 independent battalion soldiers adapted from the original green battalion soldiers were also arrayed in the school field.

The military was solemn, silent, and everyone watched quietly and waited for Zhou Shixiang's arrival. At three o'clock, Zhou Shixiang was dressed in armor and led a group of generals out of the north gate of Guangzhou, and the guards held high the flag in front, and hundreds of cavalry in full armor and red cloaks followed.

Three cannon shots swept through the air, and the trumpeter raised his long horn high, and there was a "woo" sound, and the echo of the empty peaks and mountains curled.

In the cheers of more than 20,000 soldiers, Zhou Shixiang ascended the general's platform, slowly glanced at the three armies, his face was full of determination and confidence, waved his big hand, and shouted: "Swear to sacrifice the flag!" ”

Li Shutai knew that he could not escape death, nor did he struggle, nor begged for mercy, nor was he afraid, so he let the executioner hold him down. At first, he did not kneel, but he pressed it, but he still did not kneel, and the executioner was helpless, and hit the joint of his hind leg with the back of the knife. Under the pain of the heavy blow, Fang's knees fell to the ground, and his head was still raised high, showing contempt.

Zhou Shixiang snorted coldly, what a hero to die for!

Tie Yi strode up to the stage with a solemn expression, and said loudly to the executioner: "Open the knife-sacrifice-flag!" ”

Then three more cannons rang out, and Li Shutai's bloody human head rolled down on the damp grass, his eyes wide with anger, still unwilling.

"Soldiers, stand and listen to the marshal's dispatch of troops!"

Under the gaze of more than 20,000 pairs of eyes, Hong Shiming, who was dressed in the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty's six-grade chief, had a pale face, stepped onto the general's platform tremblingly, and after a helpless glance at the north, he opened the troop dispatch document that he had written only last night.

Zhou Shixiang looked at Hong Shiming coldly, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, if the Qing court knew that the Taiping Army's troop dispatch document was written by Hong Chengchou's son, but it didn't know how to look at Hong Chengchou, and how Hong Chengchou looked at himself.

Well, it seems that the fourth letter to the family of peace should be sent, I don't know if Mr. Hong will be very relieved to see his son's letter of safety.

After Hong Shiming read the text he had drafted with a bitter face, he let out a long breath, and he didn't know whether to cry or laugh about his current situation.

More than 20,000 soldiers cheered, most of them did not know who Hong Shiming was who read the inscription for them, they only knew that they were going to go on the expedition with the commander. This cheer is heartfelt and unwilling, but whether they want to or not, at this moment, they are all Taiping troops, and they have only one choice, that is, to fight with the Qing army to the end.

Suna, as the drummer specially named by Zhou Shixiang, hammered the drum with excitement, and with the sound of the drum, a group of Taiping troops drove out of the school field and marched towards the east without looking back.

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month of the eleventh year of the Yongli of the Ming Dynasty, the Taiping Army sent troops to the east to conquer Wu Liuqi, the general soldier of Chaozhou in the Qing Dynasty, opening the prelude to the Battle of Huizhou. (To be continued.) )