In the first-class carriage, Zou Xiurong held a wine glass and drank brandy with Zhao Guanhou. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info She drinks a lot of alcohol, and she is an opponent with Zhao Guanhou, not only to mend the relationship between the two that almost had a stalemate before, but also to carry out the final mediation.

"Fourth, you are a smart person, and you won't fail to understand a lot of big truths. Now this court has lost the hearts of the people, it is a matter of time before it perishes, and the common body is what everyone wants, and you can't move against the current. To do great things, we must first take into account the overall situation, and we must not affect the fate of the entire country and nation on impulse for our own sake. You are usually a very smart person, and at this time, you must not be stupid. If we attack each other, we will only let the foreigners reap the benefits. The people of Albion say good words, but they don't really help you. ”

"Of course, they bent their horses and bows and went around in a few circles, and all they wanted was customs duties, hoping to keep the customs tax in their own hands."

"If only you understood." Zou Xiurong sighed, "You are on the Songjiang stock market, and you don't let foreigners get benefits from the country, this is where the second sister-in-law admires you very much." In this matter, since you can see the intentions of foreigners, you can't satisfy them. They want to let things escalate and you can't cooperate with them......"

"Second sister-in-law, you can't just say it to me if you take care of the overall situation, why is it that I am the only one in the world who takes care of the overall situation, and others can do whatever they want? If you talk about the overall situation, you should talk about it by everyone, so that it is fair. To tell me the truth, I will not let go of any of the arms purchased from Fuso, or the people who took a boat from outside the customs to the south to join Geming. I have already filled the labor camp to build roads and bridges for Shandong, and with the intensity of their work, the next one out of ten people may not survive, but if Shandong wants to avoid suffering for itself, it can only squeeze this part of the prisoners of war. As for the munitions, although they are not very good, they can also be used as training bullets, and I let the soldiers consume them during training. I won't give back what comes to me. Sichuan's road money, that's even more impossible, 3.5 million silver, even if the people of the Sichuan Baolu Comrades Association ask me, I won't give a single son, let alone Chen Wuwei, the governor of the Shanghai army, what qualifications does he have, take care of my head! Arrest my woman, force me to comply, don't talk to me about the overall situation at this time. My overall situation is only one, let my people go, everything is easy to discuss, otherwise I have to use force. ”

Zou Xiurong sighed helplessly, "Fourth, don't you make a child's temper, is it good?" Your second brother is trying to mediate, didn't you mess things up with such a use of force? Of course, I admit that Chen Wuwei's conditions are a little harsh, you can talk about it, you pay some, he also pays some......"

Zhao Guanhou waved his hand, "Second sister-in-law, what you said is wrong." This matter really can't be discussed. Zhengyuan opened in Songjiang, and Chen Wuwei was the governor of the Shanghai army, and the two were indispensable to deal with. He was short of food and wages, and naturally remembered the bank. It's not something to talk about, if I take one step back, he will take two steps forward, so I can't take a step back. There is no food, no pay, lack of funds, that is his own problem, and my bank, or rather the bank of Cold Lotus, has no obligation to help him. Whether it is a great cause or any other big hat, he is not qualified to ask others to support him unconditionally. This time, I just want to prop up Zhengyuan's platform and let them know that whether it is a lack of food or salary, don't beat my idea, I won't donate a penny! ”

Zou Xiurong knew that his attitude was already very resolute, and suddenly tried to ask, "What if...... If Leng He is released now, will you stop the army? ”

Zhao Guanhou smiled, raised his wine glass and touched Zou Xiurong, "Second sister-in-law, let's toast." ”

"Release? It is absolutely impossible, even if we release Chen Lenghe, he will not retreat now. In the yamen of the Liangjiang Governor in Jiangning, Chen Wuwei was full of color, pointed his finger at Lin Shuqing and shouted: "What do you mean by this, do you want to betray Ge Ming and seek peace from the imperial court?" ”

"Chen Wuwei, who are you talking about? When I was doing Ge Ming's work, you were still selling newspapers in Songjiang! Lin Shuqing glared back unceremoniously, "I raised troops to kill Ge Ming, so I never thought about recruiting An!" But can't you see the current situation here? Mr. Sun has already departed from Yankee and is about to go to Jiangning to preside over the founding ceremony. At this time, there are golden soldiers firing cannons outside, what does it look like, does it remind everyone of the Taiping Army? ”

On the same day, Hong Huoquan was founded in Jiangning, and outside was the fort of the Jin soldiers, bombarded with five artillery shots every three or five rounds. In such an environment, it is really not a good sign to establish a common orthodoxy. Xu Shaozhen, commander-in-chief of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang coalition army, was grateful to Chen Lenghe for his kindness in helping to pay the army, and within the scope of his own strength, he also protected Leng He. Coupled with Meng Siyuan's mediation, he also felt that the release of the hostages was superior, and at this time he said:

"Chen Dudu, listen to me, now the elite of the Jin soldiers are heading south, and the rout of Xuzhou is getting this news, and there is a trend of resurgence, Zhang Yuan personally supervises the division, and the pigtail soldiers have reoccupied Pukou Station. Although we have a sailor in our hands and can protect the Yangtze River, if it hires a steamer from foreigners, our river defense cannot be guaranteed. His troops crossed the river, and our army will be in a very passive situation militarily. It is better to take advantage of the presence of Deputy Meng, everyone settle the matter peacefully, and with the attitude of releasing the hostages, they will demand the withdrawal of troops from the other side. In fact, the current situation is also very clear, Ms. Chen Lenghe's attitude is very resolute, she will not help with the military salary, and she will not continue to cooperate with the new government and participate in our economic committee, I think it is pointless to continue to detain her. ”

Yu Chen Wuwei's kidnapping behavior, the commanders of other armies also had a lot of complaints, including Li Tiancai, who also belonged to the Songjiang system but came from Li Men, also said:

"I support Commander Xu's view. We are Ge Mingjun, not bandits and grass bandits, and the method of kidnapping tickets to invite the God of Wealth has a bad impact on our reputation, so that friends from all over the world do not have a good impression of us. There are even some countries that have described us in the newspapers as gangsters. This is not beneficial to our overseas work and future diplomatic relations with other countries, and I hope that Chen Dudu will think twice and make a proper arrangement. ”

Chen Wuwei's face was as usual, and in the face of the accusations, there was neither anger nor rebuttal, and of course, there was no guilt. I just lit a Luzon cigarette and smoked it leisurely, as if everything everyone said had nothing to do with me. When everyone's speeches came to an end, he said slowly:

"Everyone, listen to me. Let's do a reverse thinking first, if now, you are Zhao Guanhou, with the elite soldiers of the first division and the first association of Shandong, and the army will be killed from Shandong, and the soldiers will arrive in Pukou. Then someone sent your aunt and wife back and said to you, don't worry, your aunt and wife have no one to use, everything is fine, now you can retire from the army, can this soldier retreat? ”

The crowd was silent.

Chen Wuwei's face was even more smiling

"How can there be an arrow to turn back when you open a bow? If he comes to negotiate with me alone, I can listen to you, make a face for him, let the person go, and everyone has something to discuss. But he didn't, but brought nearly 20,000 troops, which is not a good attitude. At this point, there is no other way to think of it except to fight. Are you afraid of the enemy of a town? The Tartars we have to deal with have hundreds of thousands of troops in name, as well as elite behemoths like the Six Towns of Beiyang. doesn't have the courage to fight to the death with them, and you have to say Ge Ming, isn't this a big joke? If you don't even have the courage to wipe out more than 10,000 Jin soldiers, then I ask, where did you get the courage to deal with the six towns of Beiyang and the army in the north of the Jin Kingdom. Now that Yuan Weiting is out of the mountain, Feng Yuzhang's troops are attacking Hankou, and our comrades are fighting to the death against the Beiyang Army under artillery fire and bullets. They don't have an advantage in weapons and equipment, logistics and supplies, but they can fight to the end with blood, but what about us? The city of Jiangning is strong, and our troops are not less than the enemy, so I don't understand, what are you afraid of? ”

His words, like a dense volley of guns, swept away everything in the venue and could not speak. Chen Wu is known as the Four Champions, and when he runs a newspaper, he is good at arguing. At this time, the momentum is not good

"The fifth town has achieved the momentum of going south, and there is no reason to withdraw troops halfway. Even if we succeed in seeking peace, its troops will not attack Jiangning, and it will not be possible to revolt on the spot to join us. Then the only possibility is to turn to the Huaishang army in Anhui, and we are not beggar-thy-neighbor? And after the settlement of the Huaishang Army, the comrades in Jiangxi and even the comrades in Hunan and Hubei provinces will not be safe, and who will bear this responsibility? Moreover, the husband fights, and the courage is also. If we take the lead in making peace with Beiyang, then what morale is there to talk about, and what combat sacrifices are we talking about? We don't have to fight this battle, we will lose! ”

Xu Shaozhen coughed, "Chen Dudu, calm down, what you said does make sense." But we should still take retaining our strength and solving Feng Yuzhang's ministry as the first priority. Moreover, the Yangtze River natural risk in Jiangning is actually not enough. We have to consider a realistic question, what are we going to do if Fifth Town lands? ”

"If the fifth town lands, Chen Lenghe will not be able to let go. With her in our hands, the attack of the fifth town must be scrupulous. When firing artillery bombardment, it is necessary to consider accidental injury, and never dare to put the artillery on the Purple Mountain and bombard the city. If Chen Lenghe is released, they can bombard unscrupulously, and the thousand-year-old capital will be established as a powder, won't this help them a lot? Chen Lenghe must be released, but not now, Songjiang has a saying, it is easy to be a single, and it is difficult to escape from the door. We and he need to have a door, we have to fight a few battles with him, let him see how good we are, and then we can negotiate. In the end, people can be let go, and the fifth town will either accept the adaptation or return to Shandong, in short, we can't let it become an obstacle for us. At that point, you can talk about releasing people, and before that, you must not agree, whoever mentions releasing people is a spy sent by Dajin! We, the Shanghai Army, will never agree! ”

Chen Wuwei has many assassins under him, and the southeast is very famous. His words implied a threat, and it was obvious that whoever proposed to release Chen Lenghe again might be assassinated. In addition, his words are not unreasonable, the head of the local chamber of commerce in Jiangning, the chairman of the advisory bureau and others, even if they want to speak, they don't know what to say.

Zhu Duan, commander of the Zhejiang army, spread his hands, "Since you say so, you have to start fighting, but if you want to fight, you have to have silver." There is no promotion fee for the troops, no reward, how can this be a war? ”

Chen Wuwei smiled, "There is definitely no silver now, but there may not be no way." He picked up the white paper on the table, wrote the words 'ten yuan' on it with a quill pen, and then spread it out on the table

"Oh, stamped with the big seal of the Jiangning Governor's Mansion, who dares to say that this is not a banknote? In Jiangning, there is definitely no problem. As long as the money is raised in the future, it is always possible to cash in these white slips. Chen Lenghe...... If she doesn't hand over 3.5 million taels of silver, she can't be so cheap! ”

In the room where Chen Lenghe was under house arrest, Weng Meiqian sent away a few fellow visitors, and only talked to Chen Lenghe by herself. Seeing that there was no one around, she lowered her voice and said, "Mrs. Zhao, I have a good relationship with you, your husband really brought someone here." I heard that there is a second association in the fifth town, and tens of thousands of people and horses have been killed, and it is very majestic. It seems that your hard days are coming to an end, and our friendship ......"

"Our friendship will not come to an end, Sister Weng will definitely repay me for her help." Chen Lenghe smiled and nodded, with a hint of sweetness in his heart. 's husband, with more than 10,000 tigers and armor, came to save himself, isn't this the romance he has always wanted? The jewelry on her body was not taken away, and at this time, she took off the diamond bracelet on her hand, "This is worn by Catherine, the Empress of Emperor Capetian Napoleon, and it is my wedding gift, and now I give it to you." ”

Although Weng Meiqian didn't know who Napoleon was, the things that she wanted to use for Queen Yang were always not bad. But he still resisted the urge to take the bracelet, smiled awkwardly, and showed a mouthful of yellow teeth, "Mrs. Zhao, you are too outward...... I...... That was not what I meant. I mean, can you give my husband a few kind words in front of your husband in the future, you know, in this world, people leave one more way, it's always good......"

In Xuzhou City, Zhao Guanhou's troops got off at Xuzhou Station, and Zhang Renjun, the governor of Liangjiang, had been waiting here for a long time. Although he lost his defensive ground, he still enjoyed VIP treatment in Xuzhou.

The soldiers under Zhang Yuan took control of Xuzhou's city defenses and warehouses and used it as a temporary station. It was precisely because of such a combat unit that Anhui's Ge Ming Army did not dare to take military action against Xuzhou.

Zhang Yuan has a skill in looting, and there are a large number of military supplies in the warehouse, and there is no shortage of grain, grass and military supplies. Although he was arrogant, he was respectful to Zhao Guanhou's forehead, and after meeting, without saying a word, he handed over the warehouse. He said: "Fight Jiangning, my soldiers can be at the front!" ”

Zhao Guanhou shook his head and said: "Shaoxuan, Xuzhou is also an important place, and it is also the military station of my southern expedition. Your soldiers are there, and you can suppress the thieves. If you go, Xuzhou won't be able to keep it, won't it cut off our army's way back? Stay here, if I don't succeed, you'll have to help me. Where is the army, I'll go and pay a respect. ”

After the two met, Zhang Renjun had tears in his eyes, took Zhao Guanhou's hand, and sighed, "Guanhou, I didn't expect you to bring troops by yourself, this is great." As soon as your fifth town arrives, we have hope. I know that losing the city is a capital offense. But Jiangning's general Tie Baochen, the banner man, has fled, why should I be martyred? Besides, Rui Zheng fled to Songjiang, and I retreated to Xuzhou anyway, and I still want to recover the lost territory, which can't be wrong! ”

Zhao Guanhou nodded, "Of course this is not wrong, didn't Tie Baochen also retreat?" If you want to talk about military law, you must first cut Tie Baochen. ”

"Don't mention him, Tie Baochen has already returned to the capital, saying that he wants to ask the capital for his guilt, what kind of crime, this mess was originally made by him......"

Zhao Guanhou smiled and asked Zhang Yuan, "How is the war?" ”

"Back to Dashuai, Pukou Station is already under our control. The troops under the mark are fortifying at Pukou Station and engaging fire with Ge Ming's army. ”

"Okay, let's go to the front line to take a look, prepare to cross the river, and counterattack Jiangning."

There was only one battalion of Ge Ming's army stationed at Pukou Station, and under the repeated impact of the twenty battalions under Zhang Yuan's defense battalion, they were soon defeated. As soon as the station was lost, the entire Jiangning Jiangbei area was out of control. The rebel forces could only control the river bank, and the Jiangning troops had a medium-sized river defense fleet with 14 large and small ships and gunboats, so it was extremely difficult to cross the river.

Zhang Yuan looked at the river and was a little worried, "These sailors have rebelled, it's really hateful, even if we can collect some fishing boats, we can't fight against the gunboats......"

"It doesn't matter, in fact, it is Ge Mingjun who needs to worry about the safety of the water, not us. Look, isn't our ship already here? (To be continued.) )