Forbidden City, Cining Palace.

The queen mother of the two palaces sits in front of the palace, and the six gods have no owner.

The regent Yixin walked back and forth, just as anxious, and said with a surprised face: "How can this be? Li Weiguo hasn't rebelled yet, but Zeng Guofan has rebelled first? ”

Just now, they received a report letter, saying that Zeng Guofan was plotting to rebel.

At first, Yi Xin didn't believe it, but when he saw that the name of the payer was Li Yuandu, he couldn't help but believe it.

Who Li Yuandu is, others may not know, but he Yixin couldn't be clearer. Staying by Zeng Guofan's side for more than ten years, the official went to the head of the Chu Palace, and was deeply trusted and respected by Zeng Guofan, and he spoke a pivotal figure in Zeng Guofan's group, and he reported Zeng Guofan's plot to rebel, but his credibility was extremely high.

Cixi snorted coldly: "Didn't you say every day that Zeng Guofan was loyal to our Qing Dynasty? ”

Ci'an was also dissatisfied: "It is also your idea to make Zeng Guofan the king of Chu, what do you say to make Zeng Guofan grateful and loyal to the court, now it's okay, Zeng Guofan rebelled, if the court can stop his hundreds of thousands of Chu troops?" ”

Yi Xin was suddenly deflated, and said with a bitter face: "Two imperial sisters-in-law, I also looked at the loyalty of Zeng Guofan, and thought that he would be loyal to the imperial court, but I never thought that he would rebel?" ”

After a pause, Yi Xin continued: "Now is not the time for the two imperial sisters-in-law to blame me, or think about how to deal with the rebellion of Zeng Guofan, right?" ”

Cixi and Ci'an glanced at each other, and they both sighed, the two female streamers, although they are the queen mother, listen to the government, but when it comes to talking about their real strength, they have no choice.

"I don't know if Li Weiguo and Li Hongzhang also know about this, if they rebel with Zeng Guofan, it will be bad."

Cixi said suddenly: "This palace thinks that Li Weiguo should not rebel, if he rebels, he will rebel as early as when he occupies Beijing." At that time, he only said that as long as we did not force him to rebel, he would not rebel. ”

"Do you believe him?" Yi Xin couldn't help but complain: "He's just a play, if you believe him, the old sow will go up the tree!" ”

Ci'an suddenly shouted: "Presumptuous! How to speak? ”

Cixi didn't react for a while. Hearing Ci'an's roar, he suddenly understood, and there was immediately a hatred in his eyes.

Yi Xin was also dizzy and hurriedly apologized to Cixi, but Cixi has always held grudges, and this beam is settled.

At this time, the eunuch came to report, and Li Hongzhang urgently appeared outside the palace.

Cixi was angry and didn't say anything, but Ci'an asked, "Why is Li Hongzhang here?" Isn't he in Tianjin? ”

"I called him!" Yi Xin calmly explained: "After receiving Li Yuandu's report letter, I realized that something was wrong and immediately summoned Li Hongzhang to Beijing. ”

Ci'an said: "Li Hongzhang is a student of Zeng Guofan, they have a very good relationship, now Zeng Guofan is plotting to rebel, will Li Hongzhang support Zeng Guofan, do his best to serve the army, then my Qing Dynasty is in danger." ”

Yi Xin said: "I just thought of this link. Therefore, Li Hongzhang was summoned to Beijing urgently. While Zeng Guofan has not yet made a difficulty, Li Hongzhang should not know that we have received the news, if Li Hongzhang supports Zeng Guofan, I will kill him immediately. Or take him as a hostage to take over the entire Zhili Yan army. ”

When Cixi and Ci'an heard this, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, and now they can only do this.

Soon, Li Hongzhang met him. As soon as he saw Cixi and Ci'an, he knelt down and buckled his head to plead guilty.

"Minister Li Hongzhang is guilty!"

Cixi and Ci'an glanced at each other, both a little confused, and looked at Yixin. The latter then stepped in.

"What is King Yan's crime?"

Li Hongzhang had already received Zeng Guofan's "persuasion" letter, but he did not find that the letter was fake, because Li Yuandu had stayed by Zeng Guofan's side for too long, and he couldn't understand the words and tone of the conversation between Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, so the imitation was vivid, and even Li Hongzhang was easily deceived.

Knowing that Zeng Guofan was plotting to rebel, Li Hongzhang was also taken aback, and quickly convened a staff group to discuss countermeasures. The staff group headed by Zhou Fu did not approve of Li Hongzhang's rebellion with Zeng Guofan, which is not to say that Zhou Fu and others did not want Li Hongzhang to rebel, on the contrary, they have been persuading Li Hongzhang to rebel, but the motives and timing are different.

In the past, when Li Hongzhang was still very weak, he naturally looked forward to Zeng Guofan's horse, so at that time, if Zeng Guofan said rebellion, Zhou Fu and others did not hesitate to support Li Hongzhang to join. But now it is different, Li Hongzhang is the king of Yan, the minister of Beiyang and the governor of Zhili, and his strength has surpassed the king of Chu and the governor of Huguang of Zeng Guofan, and at this time he rebelled with Zeng Guofan, so there is a question of identity, strength and who will be the emperor after winning the world in the future.

Obviously, after the final overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang will inevitably go to war over the issue of the throne. Since sooner or later there will be a war, why not use the war between Zeng Guofan and the imperial army to weaken Zeng Guofan's strength?

Li Hongzhang was already ambitious, and seeking the throne was also the desire in his heart, so he followed Zhou Fu's advice and did not join Zeng Guofan.

At the same time, Li Hongzhang also met with Li Weiguo's special envoy Chen Jingnan, read Li Weiguo's handwritten letter, and learned that Li Weiguo also knew that Zeng Guofan was going to rebel, and was ready to unite with Li Hongzhang to kill Zeng Guofan together and divide Huguang equally.

This condition was very favorable to Li Hongzhang, and after the matter was completed, Li Hongzhang won Hubei, and Li Weiguo won Hunan, and the two sides had the Yangtze River as the boundary, and they would not invade each other and interfere with each other's interests.

So, Li Hongzhang was finally tempted, agreed to Li Weiguo's cooperation conditions, and then entered Beijing with Chen Jingnan.

"This is a letter from the traitor of Zeng Guofan to Wechen, who persuaded Wechen to rebel with him, and Wechen was loyal to the Qing Dynasty and would never be complicit in him."

When Cixi, Ci'an and Yixin heard this, they were overjoyed, and they were always worried about what Li Hongzhang would do if he was also opposed, but now it is good, as long as Li Hongzhang does not rebel, then there is hope for dealing with Zeng Guofan.

Especially Yi Xin, he has actually made the worst plan, if Li Hongzhang also has a bad heart, he will take it immediately, threaten Li Hongzhang's subordinates, so that they dare not act rashly, but the success rate is very low, and Yi Xin himself is not fully sure of success.

Now Li Hongzhang took the initiative to donate the letter that Zeng Guofan gave him, which is enough to show that Li Hongzhang completely broke with Zeng Guofan.

"King Yan, please get up. I don't know what King Yan is going to do? ”

Li Hongzhang immediately said righteously: "Naturally, we will immediately send troops to exterminate Zeng Guofan and his chaotic party." ”

Yi Xin said: "This king has gathered the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners Army, ready to crusade against the rebels of the Zeng State Domain, but now there is still one person whose attitude is unknown. ”

Li Hongzhang immediately thought of Li Weiguo, so he asked, "Is the regent worried that King Wu will rebel with him?" ”

"That's right!" Yi Xin nodded and said: "Since Zeng Guofan contacted you, he must have also contacted Li Weiguo, if Li Weiguo also rebelled together, we can't just deal with Zeng Guofan, but also deal with Li Weiguo, especially Li Weiguo." He has annexed the eight provinces south of the Yangtze River, and his heart is clearly revealed, he is strong, and we need to think long-term. ”

Li Hongzhang naturally knew this, and knew that Li Weiguo rebelled, and now the three vassal kings are all plotting to rebel, and they all want to be emperors, so they need to play a secret game and get rid of the weakest first. Cut down on competitors and duel it out.

Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "The regent doesn't have to worry, as far as this king knows. King Wu had no objection. If this king is not mistaken, soon King Wu will send someone to come. ”

Yi Xin frowned suddenly, feeling that there seemed to be some kind of agreement between Li Hongzhang and Li Weiguo, which made him vigilant. But at the moment, he needs to use Li Hongzhang to deal with Zeng Guofan, so he can only endure it.

"Is that true?"

Before Yi Xin finished speaking, a little eunuch came in to report. King Wu's envoy went to Beijing and asked for an audience.

"It's a good time!"

Yi Xin felt that Li Hongzhang and Li Weiguo seemed to be getting better, but they didn't expose it directly because of their face.

Soon, King Wu's envoy Chen Jingnan came to meet him.

Chen Jingnan and Li Hongzhang had already made an appointment, and immediately sent Zeng Guofan's "handwritten letter" to Li Weiguo, and directly sold Zeng Guofan.

"The queen mother of the two palaces and the regent, my prince has already said in advance, as long as the court does not persecute my prince, my prince will never rebel, let alone collude with the thief."

Cixi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said coquettishly: "If you see it, this palace will say that King Wu is an honest person." ”

This is a demonstration against Yi Xin's previous words, but Yi Xin is helpless, he doesn't believe Li Weiguo's nonsense, but now if Li Weiguo really doesn't rebel and doesn't help Zeng Guofan, it will be a good thing.

"The Queen Mother of the West has the wisdom to know people, and this king admires it."

Cixi felt that she had won, so she was willing to speak, and said to Chen Jingnan: "You go back and tell your prince that if he can exterminate the traitors of Zeng Guofan, the palace and the court will be grateful." ”

Chen Jingnan hurriedly said: "My prince said that as long as the queen mother gives an order, my prince will immediately raise a large army, destroy the traitors of Zeng Guofan, and return the Qing Dynasty to the country." ”

"That's great!" Cixi suddenly felt that she had status and strength, so she said: "Since King Wu will send troops, then please ask King Yan and King Regent to also send troops separately to exterminate the traitors of Zeng Guofan as soon as possible." ”

Cixi gave orders, and Yixin and Li Hongzhang did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly received the order.

The next thing was to discuss the matter of sending troops, but Cixi and Ci'an didn't know how to do this, so they didn't participate. Yi Xin, Li Hongzhang and Chen Jingnan said goodbye and left Cining Palace, met in the Regent's Palace, and studied the matter of sending troops together.

In fact, at this time, Li Weiguo had already secretly sent troops, and Chen Jingnan only came to Beijing in advance to mediate, sat on the charge of Zeng Guofan's rebellion, and united with Li Hongzhang to destroy Zeng Guofan, and cooperated with Li Weiguo to fight a time difference.

The three of them quickly finalized the detailed rules for sending troops, Li Hongzhang transferred the Yan army to attack Hubei from Henan and Anhui, Li Weiguo transferred the Wu army from Jiangxi to attack Hunan, and Yi Xin directly pushed off the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, whose combat effectiveness was inferior to the Yan army and the Wu army, and was in training and postponed the dispatch of troops.

Yi Xin's careful thinking is obvious, that is, he wants Li Hongzhang, Li Weiguo and Zeng Guofan to die, just to destroy Zeng Guofan, and also weaken the strength of Li Hongzhang and Li Weiguo.

For Yixin's cautious eyes, Li Hongzhang and Chen Jingnan both knew that they had already reached an agreement to carve up Hubei and Hunan provinces, so they knew Yixin's purpose, but they didn't expose it, and happily agreed.

Just when Yixin, Li Hongzhang and Li Weiguo were preparing to attack Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guofan, who was far away in Huguang, was still kept in the dark.

At this time, Zeng Guofan was wandering around the area of the Great Tomb Mountain in Wuchang Mansion with an Englishman.

The Englishman is an explorer, and a few days ago he lied to Zeng Guofan about the discovery of iron ore veins, which is a huge gain for Zeng Guofan, because Zeng Guofan also wants to develop modern industry in Huguang, before Li Weiguo and Li Hongzhang divided the large ore veins in Ma'anshan, which made Zeng Guofan's eyes very red, so when the British prospector proposed to take Zeng Guofan to take a look, Zeng Guofan agreed without thinking about it.

However, this was a trap, and the British prospectors were hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to trick Zeng Guofan and bring him to the area of the Great Tomb Mountain.

At this moment, in the area of the Great Tomb Mountain, the China S.H.I.E.L.D. has already arranged an assassination team of more than a dozen agents and three hundred elite Wu troops, among which the agents are all armed with sniper rifles with an accurate range of five or six hundred meters, ready to assassinate Zeng Guofan, and the other elites of the Wu army are responsible for cooperating with the operation.

Although the guards around Zeng Guofan were very vigilant, and a large number of sentry posts were set up around Zeng Guofan for protection, the personnel within a radius of three miles were monitored or expelled, and it was impossible for anyone to approach Zeng Guofan within a few hundred meters, which can be described as a leaky defense.

However, no matter how strong the defense is, it will be broken from the inside, and once there is an inner ghost, the impossible will become possible in an instant.

Among the several guards lurking around Zeng Guofan, there were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which enabled Li Weiguo's assassination team to deceive Zeng Guofan's guards into searching and interrogating, and successfully approached a position of one or two hundred meters away from Zeng Guofan.

Zeng Guofan was led to an open field by the British, but he had no idea that one of his legs had gone to hell.

More than a dozen elite snipers of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and more than a dozen high-precision sniper rifles aimed at Zeng Guofan at the same time, and after an order, they began the decapitation operation.

The light spots in the woods flickered, which was using the reflection of light to transmit Morse code. The information of the deputies is that the snipers in various positions are in place, respectively.

After all, Zeng Guofan was a veteran on the battlefield, and he had experienced many life and death situations, and at this time, he accidentally found the light in the woods shining and felt the murderous aura.

"What's glowing over there?"

As soon as Zeng Guofan asked, he saw a fire shining more than 200 meters in front of him, and then a gunfire rang out, and a 9mm rifle bullet hit him directly in the heart.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In addition, three more gunshots rang out one after another, hitting Zeng Guofan's body respectively.

This is to replenish the gun and ensure that Zeng Guofan will definitely die.

"Your Excellency has been shot!"

Zeng Guofan's guards woke up suddenly, shouted frantically, and pounced on Zeng Guofan, trying to block the gun for him, but unfortunately it was too late.

As Zeng Guofan's body fell to the ground, a generation of heroes fell.

"Your Excellency has been killed, arrest the assassin!"

"Kill all the assassins for me!"

Zeng's guards went crazy and rushed in the direction of the gunner.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire rang out again, but from behind and from both sides.

After the successful assassination operation, the agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D. alternately covered and retreated, and hundreds of elite Wu troops ambushed nearby, raiding the enemies who rushed madly.

After some fighting, the Wu army successfully evacuated from the Great Tomb Mountain, leaving only a few hundred corpses and more than a thousand grief-stricken Zeng Guofan guards.

In Jiujiang Mansion, the eastern section of the Great Tomb, Li Weiguo had secretly led his army to arrive two days ago, and after learning that the beheading operation was successful, he immediately ordered the Wu army to cross the border line and launch an attack on Wuchang Mansion. (To be continued.) )