Guangzhou, the Governor's Mansion of Guangzhou.

Li Hongzao rushed here from Shanghai, with excitement and joy.

The Governor of Liangguang, a position that countless people have been jealous of, has now fallen to Li Hongzao, who was appointed by King Wu, and has been reported to the imperial court and approved.

Behind this was Li Weiguo's provocation to the imperial court, and even the regent Yixin had to swallow his anger and agree to Li Weiguo's recital.

Everyone knows that this means that the imperial court acquiesced to Li Weiguo's control of Liangguang.

Li Hongzao waited outside for a while, and did not summon him until Li Weiguo had finished a military meeting.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Li Weiguo worrying about a document.

"You're here, and I'll hand it over to you in the future!" Li Weiguo said with a smile.

Li Hongzao hurriedly said: "Thank you for the grace of the king, and your subordinates can only smear their livers and brains, do their best, and die." ”

"I'm relieved of your abilities!" Li Weiguo nodded slightly, affirming Li Hongzao's ability, so he handed him the document and said, "Look at this, what do you think?" ”

Li Hongzao carefully took the document, read it quickly, and was immediately surprised: "Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang seem to be desperate, the Taiping Army is much weaker than we expected, if it continues like this, Tianjing City will be broken in less than half a year!" ”

The intelligence is about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the first-hand top-secret information provided by the China S.H.I.E.L.D. Bureau, because Li Hongzhang was named the minister of Beiyang, the Hunan army ate gunpowder, and the only thing that can overpower Li Hongzhang is that the Hunan army takes the lead in breaking through the capital and obtaining the qualification to be crowned king. As a result, the Hunan army desperately defeated the Taiping army, and the Huai army was not to be outdone, resulting in the war between the two sides reaching unprecedented levels in terms of scale and intensity, and the Taiping army was much inferior to the previous in terms of equipment and combat quality, so there were heavy casualties, and the positions outside Tianjing were almost all lost, and the situation was very critical.

This is not the result that Li Weiguo wants. He originally estimated that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could hold out until at least 1864, so taking advantage of this time, Li Weiguo decided to annex the five southeastern and southwestern provinces under the pretense of Dao Warfare, and now only got the three provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, and Yunnan and Guizhou were planning to annex it, but suddenly got this news, which immediately made Li Weiguo embarrassed.

"We all overlooked one thing, although Shi Dakai did not leave the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in fact, Shi Dakai had already broken with Hong Xiuquan. It is simply impossible to go to reinforce Tianjing. The million Taiping army, and 200,000 are in Shi Dakai's hands, and they are all the real elite of the Taiping army, so re-analyzed, the Taiping army in Hong Xiuquan's hands is only 800,000 at most, and the good and the bad are uneven, no wonder they showed signs of defeat so quickly. ”

Li Hongzao quickly proposed: "The kings of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces should be postponed for the first time, and the Hunan army and the Huai army must not be allowed to take the lead in breaking through Tianjing and gain a firm foothold south of the Yangtze River." ”

"Not bad. We can not care about the Taiping army, but the Hunan army and the Huai army are different, and they are a huge threat to us. Li Weiguo agreed, but frowned again: "It's just." If Yunnan and Guizhou provinces cannot be taken at this time, they will not be able to realize the strategy of encircling Huguang. ”

The two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are a key link in Li Weiguo's battle plan, because Yunnan and Guizhou are the rear of Huguang. The main forces of the Hunan army were concentrated on the eastern front, attacking Jiangxi and Anhui. Li Weiguo was prepared to quickly send troops from Yungui once war broke out. The front and rear formed a flanking attack posture on Huguang, and ate all the military strength of Zeng Guofan in Huguang in one go, and unified the provinces south of the Yangtze River.

Li Hongzao persuaded: "But you often say that plans can't catch up with changes. If the capital is about to be broken today, if the king does not return to the army to participate, and let Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang get Tianjing, it will be like a nail in our throat. ”

Li Weiguo sighed, the battlefield was always changing rapidly, forcing him to revise his plan.

Just when Li Weiguo was about to give up the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, he suddenly received a report from the guards, saying that Zhang Kaisong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, was coming.

"Why is he here?"

Li Weiguo couldn't help but be stunned.

Li Hongzao suddenly showed joy on his face, and hurriedly said: "Congratulations to the king, this is a great opportunity, if you control Zhang Kaisong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, then Yungui can be decided." ”

Li Weiguo suddenly came to his senses, so he immediately summoned Zhang Kaisong.

Zhang Kaisong, as the dignified governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, actually went to Guangzhou to see Li Weiguo in person, which was a taboo for the imperial court.

However, Zhang Kaisong had no choice, he had been driven to a dead end.

Originally, Zhang Kaisong was the governor of Yungui, and everything was very stable, but since years ago, his dream has been shattered, because Yungui was attacked by the Taiping army, and it is the most effective Shi Dakai department in the Taiping army.

200,000 Taiping troops invaded Yunnan and Guizhou, and suddenly the army of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces was defeated again and again, Zhang Kaisong also suffered, the imperial court successively reprimanded him for supervising the war, and Zhang Kaisong was the only Han governor, recently because of Li Weiguo's series of actions, the court did not believe in the Han people even more, so Yi Xin gave Zhang Kaisong an ultimatum, if he lost the city and lost the land, and then lost the battle, he would be the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Zhang Kaisong was very aggrieved, although he was the governor of Yungui and a big man, but among the nine governors of the imperial court, Yungui was the poorest, so it was his turn to be the governor. That's it, if you don't have money, you can't recruit troops to buy weapons, how can you stop the wolf-like Taiping Army, not to mention Shi Dakai, the most powerful in the Taiping Army.

Zhang Kaisong knew very well that he couldn't beat Shi Dakai no matter what, since Yixin had already issued a death order, and if he couldn't beat him, he would be removed from his position as governor of Yungui, so Zhang Kaisong would have to find another way.

Originally, Zhang Kaisong also planned to send someone to bring the silver to the capital to do some activities, to see if he could mix up with good errands, but the governor of Yungui stopped doing it, and it was okay to give a richer governor as a pawn. It's a pity that it backfired, those "masters" in the capital didn't spit out bones when they ate people, and Zhang Kaisong's hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were quickly lost.

Zhang Kaisong was so angry, and when he was about to give up, he learned the news that Li Weiguo was going south, especially Li Weiguo's blatant control of Fujian and Liangguang and three provinces, which was clearly a rebellion, but the imperial court didn't even dare to let go of a fart, and even acquiesced, and even as long as the officials nominated by Li Weiguo, the imperial court immediately approved it without hesitation.

Zhang Kaisong has experienced officialdom for many years, and he knows too well the minds of those "masters" in the capital, and he is a typical bully of the soft and afraid of the hard. Since he can't get a good job on Yixin's side, and the governor of Yungui can't be done, if he dedicates Yungui to Li Weiguo, will he be promoted by Li Weiguo? You must know that Li Weiguo's market is bullish!

made up his mind, Zhang Kaisong came to see Li Weiguo.

"Chen Yungui, Governor Zhang Kaisong, see King Wu Chitose, Chitose Chitose!"

As soon as you enter the door. Zhang Kaisong knelt on the ground and bowed three times to Li Weiguo, 10,000 times more respectful than his father.

"Lord Zhang is exempt!"

"Come on, show Lord Zhang! Look at the tea! ”

Li Weiguo didn't know what Zhang Kaisong's purpose was for coming to see him at first, but for the sake of the other party kowtowing to him several times, he was still polite.

"Thank you for the seat and tea!" Zhang Kaisong sat honestly on the side, and only sat on half a stool with his buttocks, looking very respectful.

Li Weiguo asked, "I don't know if Lord Zhang came to see this king?" ”

Zhang Kaisong immediately knelt down again, and cried with a handful of snot and tears: "Please ask the king to save your ministers!" ”

"Why? Lord Zhang, please get up quickly, and you can tell me anything about it. If this king's ability is, he will naturally help you! Li Weiguo was stunned for a moment, and suddenly guessed a few points in his heart.

So Zhang Kaisong told Li Weiguo about his "hardships", and wanted to ask Li Weiguo to send troops to help him defeat Shi Dakai, saying that he would serve Li Weiguo as a dog and horse.

Li Weiguo did not know: "This, Lord Zhang does not know, this king led his troops south this time to recover Macao and drive away the Portuguese invaders. This rebel army in Yungui is not suitable for this king to interfere. The court will blame it. ”

Zhang Kaisong thought to himself that the other party was young, but he was an out-and-out old fox, and he said that he had done his best, and he even pretended to be. Led troops to recover Macau? Trick the devil to go. Until now, you have not sent troops to Macao, but have annexed Fujian and Liangguang, and even the imperial court has pretended to be dead, will you worry about blaming?

Although Zhang Kaisong has a black heart in his heart. But he didn't dare to refute, so he had to say more clearly: "Your Majesty, as long as the king is willing to send troops to help his subordinates in difficulty." His subordinates will be grateful, and in the future, if the king is sent, his subordinates will definitely go up the sword mountain and go down to the sea of fire. ”

If you are really sleepy, someone will send a pillow!

Li Weiguo saw that Zhang Kaisong had expressed his determination to serve him, and his heart was suddenly overjoyed, and he said: "Lord Zhang is polite, you and I are officials in the same dynasty, and we should take care of each other." ”

Zhang Kaisong suddenly showed joy, hugging Li Weiguo's big thick legs, why worry about having no future.

He hurriedly thanked: "Thank you, your subordinates are willing to hand over all the power of Yungui's soldiers and horses to the prince, and your subordinates only hope to stay in front of the prince every day and listen to the prince's teachings." ”

Li Weiguo teased, secretly thinking that this Zhang Kaisong is loyal quickly, but the ghost believes that you like to listen to lessons in front of you every day.

"You have this heart, this king is very happy, Governor Yungui, you continue to bear it, and this king will settle other things for you!"

"Thank you, Lord Wang! Your Majesty is grateful! Zhang Kaisong was so happy, he almost jumped up happily, thinking that you are awesome and want to remove Lao Tzu, this time see how you can withdraw? You withdrew Lao Tzu on the front foot, and His Royal Highness King Wu immediately promoted Lao Tzu as the governor of Yungui again, and he didn't want to be angry with you.

Seeing that Zhang Kaisong was about to get carried away, Li Weiguo suddenly coughed, which frightened Zhang Kaisong to be honest.

"Tell this king about the officials of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, as well as Shi Dakai's situation!"

"Huh!"

Zhang Kaisong knew that Li Weiguo was asking about business, so he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly told Li Weiguo everything he knew about Shi Dakai.

For Zhang Kaisong's careful thinking, Li Weiguo fully understands that when the water is clear, there are no fish, and at this time, he doesn't want to be sideways, and it is important to control Yungui as soon as possible. As for Zhang Kaisong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, let him do it for a while, and then change people when he has time in the future, and now the top priority is to use Zhang Kaisong's power to control the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, and at the same time deal with Shi Dakai's elite Taiping army.

"Are you strong?"

Hearing Zhang Kaisong say that he practiced the tactics of clearing the wilderness in Yunnan, even if he couldn't beat Shi Dakai, he didn't leave a grain of grain or a copper plate for Shi Dakai, if it wasn't for the river water in Yungui flowing through other provinces, Zhang Kaisong would even want to poison the river.

"Y-yes!" Zhang Kaisong carefully looked at Li Weiguo's expression and replied, afraid of saying a wrong word.

Li Weiguo asked in surprise: "You came up with a solution?" ”

"Yes—yes! His Majesty doesn't understand military affairs, and I heard that the strong wall is very effective when the war is clear, anyway, the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are poor, and the common people have nothing of value at home. Zhang Kaisong replied weakly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"I didn't think you still have some use, well done, this king has to praise you!" Li Weiguo suddenly smiled.

Zhang Kaisong suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. With an expression that scared me, he immediately smiled and said: "Thank you for your praise, if your subordinates can listen to the king's teachings every day, they will definitely do better in the future." ”

Li Weiguo smiled bitterly, this guy is really good at climbing the pole, but he is still worthy of recognition, so he nodded and said: "It's good to be aggressive!" As long as you are enterprising, this king will not treat you badly! I think you have also heard that the officials under the king's account need to be honest, and whether you were a corrupt official or a clean official in the past will no longer be held accountable. But in the future, he became an official under the king's account. You need to be clean. ”

Seeing Zhang Kaisong in a daze, Li Weiguo comforted him again: "Don't worry, this king's account implements a high-salary and incorruptible policy, and you will not be short of money to spend." ”

High salary?

Zhang Kaisong only listened to the word "high salary", and automatically ignored the maintenance of honesty in the back. However, he still quickly nodded yes, but he didn't dare to make a mistake.

After asking everything that should be asked, Li Weiguo sent Zhang Kaisong back first, assuring him that he would raise an army to enter Yungui in the near future, and let him prepare in advance.

Zhang Kaisong left happily. Li Weiguo immediately convened a military meeting to discuss the matter of marching into Yunnan and Guizhou and encircling and suppressing Shi Dakai.

When the generals heard that they were going to encircle and suppress Shi Dakai, they all geared up. And the strategists heard that the governor of Yungui had implemented the tactics of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness. Shi Dakai's troops have begun to run out of food, which is a great opportunity, but it depends on the battle.

Since ancient times, the soldiers and horses have not moved the grain and grass first, and Shi Dakai led the elite of 200,000 Taiping troops to the west of Yungui. On the one hand, it is to avoid going to Tianjing to rescue Hong Xiuquan, and on the other hand, it is also to open up a new base for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which is consistent with Li Xiucheng's strategy. Before Li Xiucheng persuaded Hong Xiuquan to give up Tianjing, but unfortunately Hong Xiuquan was used to living a luxurious life and was reluctant to leave Tianjing, which led to Tianjing being besieged.

However, Shi Dakai never expected that Zhang Kaisong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, would use the tactics of clearing the wilderness with strong walls, causing the Taiping army to attack Yungui and have to search for food everywhere, but he often ate the last meal but did not eat the next meal.

In February of the third year of Tongzhi, Li Weiguo personally led the Wu army of the four towns into Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and while taking over the military and political power in Yunnan and Guizhou, he launched an attack on the Taiping Army's Shi Dakai Department.

At the beginning, although Shi Dakai's troops had 200,000 troops, they dealt with the weak Yunnan-Guizhou-Qing army for a long time, causing the Taiping army to be very light and scattered, and the troops were scattered in order to find food everywhere. As a result, when the Wu army suddenly invaded the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the Taiping army was taken by surprise and lost more than 50,000 people in just two months.

Shi Dakai was shocked, hurriedly reduced his forces, and gathered the main force in Zunyi, Wujiang, in an attempt to rely on the danger of Wujiang to resist the Wu army.

However, Shi Dakai ignored one of the most critical problems, that is, there was food for the remaining 150,000 troops, and he thought that the deployment of 20,000 troops could protect the only granary, but he did not expect that the combat effectiveness of the Wu army was far beyond Shi Dakai's expectations.

The Shanghai army that Shi Dakai encountered during his Eastern Expedition was still using bulky muskets, but now the Wu army has all been reequipped with advanced rifles and infantry guns, and its combat effectiveness is simply instantaneous compared to before.

In April 1863, the 33rd town of the Wu army successfully carried out a forced crossing in the upper reaches of the Wujiang River, and penetrated directly into the rear of the Taiping army at the fastest speed, raided the granary of the Taiping army in Suihua, and burned the only grain of the Taiping army.

Shi Dakai was shocked, the marching speed of the Taiping army he was proud of was simply pediatric in front of the Wu army, and the Wu army carrying guns and bullets across the country was obviously faster than the Taiping army carrying knives and guns.

The Suihua granary was burned down, the Taiping army was in turmoil, and Shi Dakai had no choice but to give up Zunyi.

In May 1863, Shi Dakai and his 100,000 Taiping troops were driven all the way to the Dadu River by Li Weiguo's Wu army. On the other side of the river is the border of Sichuan, there is no Qing army stationed, Shi Dakai ordered to prepare more rafts, ready to cross the river the next day, but that night heavy rain fell in the sky, the river water swelled, unable to sail.

Three days later, the governor of Sichuan was invited by Li Weiguo to lead the Qing army to set up defenses and block the Taiping army from crossing the river.

In front of the Dadu River, which has not been encountered in a hundred years, the early rise of the water is blocked, and behind is the main force of the Wu army like a wolf and a tiger, Shi Dakai has sent troops to rush to cross the boat and destroy people, and then he launched a breakthrough to the Wu army, but all of them were beaten back, and several breakthroughs were unsuccessful, but tens of thousands of people were killed and wounded.

The worst thing was that the last grain and grass were also exhausted, and Shi Dakai suddenly fell into a desperate situation.

Li Weiguo remembered that Shi Dakai in history was defeated in the Dadu River, and now he can repeat history with Li Weiguo's participation, which has to be said to be a miracle.

Thinking that Shi Dakai accepted surrender for the sake of the lives of his subordinates, Li Weiguo suddenly had the idea of surrendering Shi Dakai in his heart.

Shi Dakai is a talent, if he can be used by me, he will definitely be able to achieve greater achievements.

So, Li Weiguo sent someone to negotiate with Shi Da.

Sure enough, Shi Dakai, as in history, took the initiative to surrender to Li Weiguo after receiving Li Weiguo's guarantee that he would not kill the prisoners.

Shi Dakai was able to survive, and his existence suddenly brought about great changes in the entire history of modern China, which Li Weiguo did not expect. (To be continued.) )