The town of Longtan was in ruins, the city was devastated, emitting puffs of heat, and a few smoke could be seen everywhere, hovering and lingering, and finally disappearing into the sky.

Li Zhen's army was stationed outside the city and was resting.

After chasing for a night last night, the army was as tired as a dog, and when he returned to Longtan Town, he was even more exhausted, and fell asleep. I slept until dawn, the sun hung in the sky, and it was already three poles of sunshine. At this time, it was already the height of summer, the weather was getting hotter, and the soldiers were waking up one after another.

Lu Shaochuan rubbed his face and ordered the soldiers to prepare for food.

After eating, Lu Shaochuan patted his stomach and said, "Marshal, Yang Xiuqing withdrew with Lars's army, and the war is over, what will we do next?" Longtan Town and Xiashu Town are empty, and there is no strength to defend, so it is better to take them temporarily as our source of supplies. In fact, you can also take Dongyang Town, the three towns rely on each other, and the strength is even stronger. ”

Li Zhen shook his head and said: "We only brought 8,000 soldiers from Guangdong, and this time we brought out more than 2,000 people, which is not a lot of people. If you continue to occupy the city, the army will gradually weaken, which is not in line with the current drive. Next, I will temporarily give up fighting with the Taiping army and withdraw to the Jiangbei camp first! ”

"Ah, you're going to retreat?"

Lu Shaochuan exclaimed, with an unfinished expression on his face. The battle with Yang Xiuqing was cool, but Lu Shaochuan was not happy yet and didn't want to go back to the camp.

Li Zhen glared at Lu Shaochuan, his eyes were cold, and immediately made Lu Shaochuan wilt. Li Zhen ordered in a deep voice: "Immediately send an order to go down, rest for half a day, and set off in the afternoon to return to Jiangbei camp." ”

"Yes!"

Lu Shaochuan reluctantly responded, got up and went to give the order.

The army rested for a long time, and in the afternoon set off and headed for the camp in Jiangbei.

……

After Yang Xiuqing returned to Tianjing, the news of the defeat spread quickly. The so-called good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles, and the news of Yang Xiuqing's defeat was flying all over the sky, and everyone in the city knew the news. The people were talking, and the high-level leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were also surging.

Heavenly King's Mansion, in the main hall.

Hong Xiuquan was wearing a dragon robe and was sitting in a precarious position. He looked up at a tall and thin middle-aged man standing beside him and asked, "Xu Yuan, what do you think of this defeat of the East King?" ”

The middle-aged man's name is Xu Yuan, and he is one of Hong Xiuquan's henchmen.

Xu Yuan bowed slightly, and said without humility or arrogance: "The East King has been defeated and returned, the generals have been killed and wounded, and the foundation has also been affected, this is the best opportunity to weaken the East King." ”

"Oh, what do you think should be done?"

Hong Xiuquan touched his nose and asked with a smile.

Xu Yuan arched his hand and said: "Back to the East King, if you want to remove the rights of the East King, you don't need the prince to make a move." There are two suitable people in Tianjing City, one is Qin Rigang, the king of Yan, and the other is Wei Changhui, the king of the north. Wei Changhui, the king of the north, is known as 6,000 years old, and he is second only to the king of heaven and the king of the east, but the power of the king of the east leans towards the government and the opposition, and he uses the 'heavenly father' to suppress dissidents, which makes the king of the north breathless. As long as the King of Heaven has a secret decree, the two of them will take action and do things for the King of Heaven. Now that the Eastern King's lineage has been damaged, it is a good time. If you let the East King slow down, he will never be able to seize this opportunity in the future. ”

Hong Xiuquan thought for a while and said: "This matter is handed over to you, this king wants to achieve the goal of deposing Yang Xiuqing's rights, and then detain him, you can plan carefully." ”

Xu Yuan said: "Don't worry, the Heavenly King will definitely complete his humble duties." ”

Hong Xiuquan narrowed his eyes and waved his hand.

Xu Yuan turned around and left the main hall, and when he walked out, the corners of his mouth had already hooked up a smile. When Yang Xiuqing presided over the government, he took over all the power, and as Hong Xiuquan's henchman, he didn't have much power, not even oil and water. Only by getting rid of Yang Xiuqing can he have more rights and more benefits.

……

East Prince's Mansion, Study.

Yang Xiuqing was dressed in a dragon robe and gown, sitting upright, restoring his former grandeur and extremely domineering. He glanced at Fu Shanxiang, who was standing in front of him, and said, "Prime Minister Fu, let's talk about the movements of this king after entering the city." ”

Fu Shanxiang said: "The hearts of the people in the city fluctuate and have a certain influence. ”

Yang Xiuqing looked up at Fu Shanxiang and said, "You know that's not what I'm asking. ”

The corners of Fu Shanxiang's mouth twitched slightly, and he said slowly: "Back to the East King, Qin Rigang, the King of Yan, and Wei Changhui, the King of the North, did not move, and the officials in the court did not connect in tandem, so there was no problem. ”

Yang Xiuqing nodded and said, "Go ahead, I'll clear my mind." ”

Fu Shanxiang retired, leaving Yang Xiuqing alone in the study.

After Fu Shanxiang left, Yang Xiuqing let out a long sigh, his face showed tiredness, and he no longer had the domineering spirit just now. He rubbed his sour face and considered what would happen next to stabilize the situation in the DPRK. The army in his hands was damaged, and his influence was also affected, so he was a little worried, so he asked about the situation of the Northern King and the Yan King.

The two of them didn't move, and he was a little relieved.

……

Jiangbei camp, the gate of the camp.

Huang Shihai got the news that Li Zhen led the army back, and waited at the door with Yang Banhou, Smith and others. Seeing Li Zhen leading the soldiers in sight, Huang Shihai immediately greeted him.

Huang Shihai stood in front of Li Zhen, raised his hand and saluted: "Handsome! ”

Li Zhen said: "Let's go, enter the camp first." ”

The army returned to the camp, and Li Zhen asked the generals and soldiers who rushed back together to rest. He returned to the camp tent, immediately summoned Huang Shihai to the camp tent, and asked, "Shihai, how is the development of the soldiers?" ”

Huang Shihai was full of energy and said happily: "Marshal, the development momentum of the army is gratifying, and all aspects are on the right track. The most gratifying thing is that the last general recruited a middle-aged man named Zheng Zaoru, who is from our Guangdong, and this person once organized a regimental training of the Dongxiang General Bureau last year, and was awarded the title of secretary of the cabinet for supporting and suppressing the uprising of Lu Lingfei and Huang Fu of the Red Turban Army. It's just that the imperial court didn't reuse it, so it stayed in Guangdong. This time, Zheng Zaoru went north to look for an opportunity, and happened to meet us to recruit people, so Mao recommended himself, and the last general tried it, this Zheng Zaoru is indeed talented, and very eloquent. ”

Li Zhen muttered, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he thought of the source of Zheng Zaoru.

Li Zhen knew that this person was not Zheng Zaoru's great achievements, but through Sun Yat-sen. Li Zhen has read the book "The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen", and the first content of it is "To Zheng Zaoru", which is about Zheng Zaoru. Because of this article, Li Zhen learned about Zheng Zaoru and learned about Zheng Zaoru's situation.

Historically, in the eighth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1869), Zheng Zaoru was hired by Li Hongzhang to Shanghai as the assistant of the Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, the prime minister, and supervised the manufacture of guns, ammunition, machines, ships and docks; In the fourth year of Guangxu (1878), Zheng Zaoru served as the Tianjin Customs Road; In the seventh year of Guangxu, Zheng Zaoru sent an envoy to the United States, Sri Lanka (Spain), and Peru as a minister with the rank of Sanpin.

The biggest highlight of Zheng Zaoru's life was the period when he was in the United States, in order to safeguard the interests of Chinese workers and overseas Chinese, he continuously made representations to the President of the United States, and became the most admired person of overseas Chinese and Chinese workers at that time.

Li Zhen didn't expect a diplomat to come to his army, and said happily: "Quick, call someone in." ”

Huang Shihai nodded and ordered the soldiers to pass the order.

ps: The third watch is completed, and the work is finished;