In the spring of the first year of Wu Huanglong of the Three Kingdoms (229), the cold air of winter had not yet been exhausted, and a huge fleet had never been seen on the Jianye River, which immediately attracted the audience.

In the past, the foreign merchants and people who came to Jianye to trade were all small, and there was no such thing. The water official of Eastern Wu hurriedly contacted him, and it turned out to be an envoy sent by Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong.

Gongsun clan was the division of northeast China at that time, from the ancestor Gongsun Du began to run Liaodong, to Wei Taihe two years after Gongsun Yuan usurped the position of his uncle Gongsun Gong, a total of Liaodong, Lelang, Xuansu three counties, 200,000 households, 600,000 mouths. The official worshiped Cao Wei Liaodong Taishou, the general of the chariot cavalry, the fake festival, and the sealing of Guo Hou. Although it was so heavily sealed, in fact, the Liaodong area was not controlled by Cao Wei. From the beginning of Gongsun Du, the Gongsun family regarded the Northeast as private property and disposed of it arbitrarily. Gongsun Du once divided Liaodong County into Liaoxi Zhongliao County and appointed Taishou. Later, Cao Cao pursued the Yuan brothers to Liaodong and named Gongsun Du as the Marquis of Yongning, and Gongsun Du categorically said: "I am the king of Liaodong, He Yongning also!" "Show disdain for the Central Plains court. At that time, the Central Plains was in turmoil, and most of the characters avoided Liaodong, Yongliang, Jingyang, and Shuzhong, so China was weak and strong. Cao Wei focused on the south, so he treated the northeast as a "peerless region", and adopted a gentle and restrained attitude towards the Gongsun clan. The Gongsun clan also relied on the dangers of mountains and rivers, and lived far overseas, so that Yang Feng Yin disobeyed, and secretly developed his own shili.

The Gongsun clan was not inferior to the central court, and to the small states in Haidong, it was even more like appearing as a Chinese agent. Since the Han Dynasty, the counties of Liaodong \ Lelang have been the representatives of the Central Plains Imperial Court to deal with the affairs of the imperial contributions of the Dongyi countries. Unless they have special identities and circumstances, envoys from various countries do not have to travel thousands of mountains and rivers to Luoyang, the capital of China, and directly complete diplomatic ceremonies here. When the Gongsun clan came to power, they simply cut off the road between the Dongyi countries and the Central Plains court, and completely left the envoys of various countries in the territory to pay tribute, thus effectively placing themselves in the position of the suzerain. The countries do not know what to do, and they still pay tribute. It was still in the era of Gongsun Du that Du married the daughter of the sect to the husband Yu Wang Wei Qiutai to make friends. During the Jian'an period, Gongsun Kang divided the wasteland south of Lelang County into a belt county, and used it as a new diplomatic office, gathering diplomatic officials to deal with foreign affairs. So the three Koreas in the south \ the Japanese came to the court. Gongsun Kang took advantage of the internal strife in Goguryeo to attack it, destroyed its country, burned its towns, forced it to move its capital, and surrendered the rest of the people. It is through several generations of both soft and hard and civil and military efforts that he has finally established a high prestige among the Haidong countries. When it was, Juli was shocked, the husband Yu was attached, the Japanese and Han were respected, and Haidong Mo could be compared with the one, and the Xian bowed to His Majesty. The hegemony of the Gongsun clan is at its peak.

So, until the rebellion of Gongsun Yuan in the second year of Taihe, the Gongsun clan had no worries, and was eager to try, hoping to chase the Central Plains. At that time, the world was divided into three, and Wu Shu even had troops to peek into China. The Gongsun clan is located in the east of Haidong, and if you want to compete with China, you can make friends with the only one who echoes Wu Yue. With such a strategic idea, Gongsun Yuan sent the first batch of Liaodong envoys in history. Later, Gongsun Yuan sent three more "envoys to Wu".

But how did the envoys of Liaodong travel to Jiangdong?

Analyzing the map, the Yellow Sea where the fleet of Liaodong envoys traveled was dominated by counterclockwise coastal currents throughout the year, that is, from south to north on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and from north to south on the coast of Shandong\Jiangsu. At that time, although there were large ocean voyages, they were still mainly offshore voyages. In fact, until the Yuan Dynasty, most of China's maritime grain ships still took the coast, rather than the closer routes away from the coast. Therefore, it can be inferred that during the Three Kingdoms period 1000 years before the Yuan Dynasty, offshore navigation must have been more common, while far-sea navigation in northern China could only be rare. The Liaodong envoy fleet sailed along the coast without a doubt. However, the coast of Shandong\Jiangsu is the Shili range of the Wei State, so Liaodong can only take the west coast of Korea and travel slowly against the current. Then, somewhere in the southwest sea of the Korean Peninsula, turn the bow of the ship to the southwest, so that you can reach the boundary of Wu correctly. The west coast of the Korean Peninsula is a traditional navigation route, and the only way for Japanese envoys to make a pilgrimage to China is well documented in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. The Gongsun clan has a firm grasp of the Haidong countries, and should also be familiar with this route. However, on the vast sea, how can the Liaodong envoy judge, where to turn to the southwest, and how to determine the angle of turning? The slightest mistake is a thousand miles, especially for the voyager, the calculation is slightly wrong, the light will be the goods drifting, or even the death of the unknown.

For the envoys who were on an important national mission at that time, there could be no deviation at all. Otherwise, your own life is small, and it is very important to delay the major affairs of the military state. Until the demise of the Gongsun clan, Gongsun Yuan also sent an envoy to the Eastern Wu for help. Such a Liaodong envoy with such a major mission related to the rise and fall of the country, what did Gongsun Yuan rely on to ensure that nothing went wrong?

There is only one possibility: the Gongsun clan has a land supply point at this turning point of the route. The landing site is in the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula.

At that time, the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula was the Shili range of Mahan. And Mahan is the vassal state of the Gongsun clan, and the two sides have always been friendly and have never been at war. It makes perfect sense for Ma Han to help the Gongsun clan on the waterway. Then the landing supply point is also in the territory of Mahan.

But this is not the final answer, and the truth is far from that simple.

On the above, it is recorded that the place of Juhu is "Juhu is on the big island in the west sea of Mahan, and it travels by boat, and the city buys Hanzhong".

The same text appears in the biography of Dongyi. Where is the state hu? Observing the map will be clear at a glance. Ma Han was a huge shili in the south of Korea at that time, and it is said that the ancestors were the descendants of the Shang Jizi who fled from the north. Not only did it have fifty-four member states, but it also controlled twelve states in the east that were composed of Qin immigrants. In the southwest corner of the Korean Peninsula, "to the west" of Mahan, the only island that can be called Sangdae Island, which is independent of Mahan, is Jeju Island. There is a lot of trade between Jeju Island and the Korean Peninsula, and it is entirely possible for Gongsun to reach Juhu by "going back and forth by boat, and buying Korea and China in the city". Juhu, which is closer to Gangdong than the Korean Peninsula, was a more advantageous choice as a landing supply point.

A circumstantial evidence: *** great sea exploration

According to the biography of the Three Kingdoms Chronicles of Wu, shortly after the Liaodong envoy arrived in Jianye, in May of the first year of Huanglong, Sun Quan made the school captain Zhang Gang and Guan Duzhi Liaodong. We don't know their routes. As early as the Jian'an period, Eastern Wu had sent envoys to Liaodong, but they were beheaded by Sun Kang, the lord of Liao at that time. But at that time, the three-point situation had not yet been formed, and the north was far from being united. According to the performance of Cao Wei's army in the Battle of Chibi, the naval army in the north was very weak. So Soochow can sail along the coast of Shandong and Jiangsu without fear. But by 229, the north had been unified for 20 years, and the Wei army was no longer what it used to be. This can be seen from the record of Cao Pi in the sixth year of the early Huang Dynasty that "he entered the Huai Linjiang River to observe the troops with a boat division, and killed more than 100,000 soldiers and carried hundreds of miles of banners". Cao Pi proudly wrote a poem at that time and said: "Who has a wide river and water, a reed can sail", and gave such a heroic and heroic words and sentences with a weak temperament, it is conceivable that the current Cao Jun Sailor is in a prosperous state. It can be said that even if the order is not enterprising, it is more than enough. Soochow can't go the same way anymore. In the first year of Wu Jiahe (232), the general Zhou He sent an envoy to Liaodong, and on the way back, he was attacked by the Wei general Tian Yu and beheaded Yu Chengshan, which also shows this point. Therefore, opening up a new route to Liao has become an urgent issue for Soochow. Instead of exploring new routes aimlessly, it is better to follow the Gongsun clan for a trip. It is speculated that the envoy of Soochow took the return ship of the Liaodong envoy to the trip.

However, for the divided China at that time, every shili wanted to act as the sole representative of China and form a "Little China" group around him, so he invited the surrounding countries to visit, creating a situation of "all countries coming to the dynasty", so as to prove that he was the authentic China. When Wang Mang usurped the throne, he did not forget to forge several foreign envoys and offerings, which shows how important foreign authority was to the Chinese court. Liaodong subdues Haidong, and it also has the meaning of bringing foreign parties to self-pride. He severed China's ties with Haidong, and naturally he would not allow other shili to interfere. Therefore, it is conceivable how much useful information the envoys of Soochow could only obtain by taking the Liaodong ship. In fact, until the Age of Discovery, after 1400, the navigation routes were kept secret by various countries. The plight of the Soochow envoys is really understandable.

In the first spring month of the first year of Wu Huanglong (229), Sun Quan sent an expedition led by generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi to the sea to find Bozhou. Yizhou. These two islands are the fairy islands that have been rumored since ancient times, but in recent years, they have been "verified" by the people that "there is indeed a place", and among them, "it is rumored that Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu to send thousands of boys and women into the sea, and begged Penglai immortals, Xu Fu was afraid of punishment and did not dare to return, so he stopped this continent." In fact, how could the common people have verified the ancient myths, but they only discovered the "New World" overseas and used ancient terms. Let's not talk about the legendary grotesque, but say that the "New World" is rumored to have tens of thousands of people, and according to the calculation of a family of five in China, the population of the land should be more than 100,000. It can be seen that this population is exaggerated, but it should not be less than 50,000. The strange thing is that this continent "the people are always in check" and carry out trade, but the Chinese cannot reach it, "the place is far away, and it cannot be exchanged". Only in the face of strong winds can you drift to the other party's land by chance. It is said that the navigation skills of the Chinese were first-class in East Asia at that time, how could there be a route that foreigners could master but could not know? Besides, where is such a large island with such a large population and mystery? Exhibit the map, east of China, only the three islands of Jeju \ Kyushu \ Taiwan can correspond to it. This expedition only found Yizhou (in fact, it is not necessarily the Yizhou of previous folklore), and Bozhou was not found because it was too far away. This "Yizhou" is now Taiwan, and it is already the consensus of contemporary scholars. Then the island of Taiwan can be ruled out.

In the 6th year of Hirohito in Japan (815), there is this entry:

The village lord of Mu Zuo -- Ya Sun 権 Nan Gao の later ――――――――――――――― Zuojing Zhufan

Mu Zuo Ya Gong -- Ya Wang Zi Qingqing Wang Hou -- not seen――――――――― undecided surname Yamato

Ibaraki Katsu ――――― King Ya, Sun Hao, Fujia Mou Jun ―――――― Hanoi Province

Bee Tian Xue Shi -- 呉主孙権王の後――――――――――――――― and Quanguo Zhufan

These four families are all clans of the Wu Kingdom. Sun Quan's eldest son, Sun Deng, has a high character, and his descendants migrated eastward and changed their surname to Shenxia in Japan. Shenxia, a work "Mu Zuo", is the place name of the city and county of Yamato Province, after the descendants of Sun Deng moved to Japan, they took the place name surname. Whether this account is true or not, it can be seen that Soochow had direct contacts with the Wa. If it's true, the value is self-evident; Even if the order is false, it is pretended to be called by others, then one of the premises is that the status of the descendants of the Wu State is enough to elevate their identity. The age of compilation has been five or six hundred years after the fall of Eastern Wu, and the title of a descendant of King Wu is still a noble status that ordinary people admire. This can only be explained by the fact that the strong national power of Soochow had a significant impact on the Japanese and left a deep impression on their people. On the other hand, if the state of Wu and the Wa did not have diplomatic relations, and the Wa people understood that the state of Wu was based on the rumors of later generations, then they would never have revered the royal family of a strange country that had long perished. In other words, Soochow opened a route to Kyushu until its demise. Therefore, this "Bozhou" can only be Jeju Island.

However, what is the purpose of Sun Quan's exploration of Bozhou? Go to sea to explore, and Weishenme wants to send a soldier as much as ***? Some people think that it is to go to sea to capture the population. However, in combination with the foregoing, it is not difficult to find that this expedition is only one year different from the Liaodong envoy's voyage, and it is precisely after the return of the envoy. Therefore, based on the above speculation, it can be further concluded that since the previous envoy did not have accurate navigation information, the purpose of this voyage was to find the turning point of the route from Liaodong to Jiangdong based on the limited information provided by the envoy. The reason why the people of Bozhou have no contact is because the Gongsun clan has a supply point in it, thus blocking the intelligence. Soochow sent armor warriors to accompany the expedition to capture this stronghold. In this way, Soochow's unclear purpose of this expedition became a strong confirmation that the Gongson clan had a stronghold on Jeju Island. And the armor sent as many as ***, we can estimate the scale of the stronghold. However, the two generals not only lost their way, went astray, and turned to no avail, but also deceived and falsely reported in an attempt to get by, so they were directly beheaded.

Soochow's Harvest

Japan appeared very early in the history books of our country, and the oldest can be traced back to the records of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. But from the very beginning, there was a detailed description of Japan. Since then, until the history of the Song Dynasty, there have been few new changes in the Japanese chronicle. As we know below, until the Southern Song Dynasty, the impression of Japan was always that of "the southeast sea of Gaoli", and Japan's Hajj route was still from Tsushima to the south shore of the peninsula, and then northward along the coast, but the second half of the voyage did not sail to Liaodong or Luoyang in northern China, but along the coast of Jiangsu to the mouth of the Yangtze River. It can be seen from this that during the Three Kingdoms Wu period, China had absolutely no direct route to Japan. However, Japan now has a large number of archaeological evidence, such as bronze mirrors, which proves the exchange between Soochow and Wa. And as mentioned earlier, the royal family of Soochow eventually fled to Japan. How can this be explained? There is only one possibility: although Soochow did not have direct access to the Wadi, it had mastered the route from the Korean Peninsula to the Wa Kingdom. Soochow, then, must have found a landing place on the Korean Peninsula. It can be seen that although Dongwu did not find the legendary Bozhou, it was not completely nothing. Of course, this discovery doesn't have to be in the Great Exploration.

Compared with the vast East China Sea, the probability of reaching the Korean Peninsula from Gangdong is much higher than that of Jeju. Due to Ma Han's strong strength at that time and his "friendly" attitude towards the Gongsun clan, the Gongsun clan did not pay much attention to him. This creates an opportunity for Soochow to intervene. Soochow can use the traditional Chinese principle of thinness and generous giving in exchange for the trust of the Mahan people, so that Mahan can taste the sweetness and be willing to assist Soochow, so as to establish diplomatic relations with it. Of course, all this was carried out under the condition of concealing the Gongsun clan. Ma Han has one servant and two masters, left and right, which should have great benefits at that time, but it also laid the foundation for the future.

Another circumstantial evidence: the great escape of Guryeo

In the spring and March of the second year of Wu Jiahe (233), Sun Quan sent important officials such as Taichang Zhang Mi, Zhijin Wu Xu Yan, and General He Da, leading seven or eight thousand soldiers, carrying gold treasures and treasures, and nine tin preparations, and marched to Liaodong. As a result, the mission was plotted by Gongsun Yuan, Zhang Mi and others were cut off and wrapped up and sent to Luoyang for reward, nearly 10,000 soldiers were enriched into the border or confiscated as slaves, and all the treasures were collected into the inner government. To be friendly (?) The purpose of the envoy's brigade was wiped out in an instant, and he was sent to a dead end by himself, which really made Sun Quan, a purple-haired old man in the age of the sixtieth year, sincerely annoyed. He shouted angrily and declared that he would pay the debt with blood. Shang Shufu shot Xue Zong and others immediately admonished to stop it. And so it passed.

However, Sun Quan's mission was not completely annihilated. The envoys Qin Dan, Zhang Qun, Du De, and Huang Jiang escaped from Xuanwu County, crossed the Sichuan Mountains, overcame thorns and thorns, and finally arrived at the country of Juli in the east. There they received treatment and supplies from the king's "palace", and finally returned to Jiangdong with a thousand local mink skins, ten chicken skins, and 25 retinues.

However, how did these four desperate emissaries return to China?

Referring to it, we can know that the state of Juli here is Goguryeo. Goguryeo lived in the mountains and wilderness, did not learn to water, and the impoverished Soochow envoys had no ships and could not go to sea from here. If they can't turn back to Liaodong to find a ferry, then the starting point of their voyage back to China can only be the coast of Sanhan. As mentioned above, at that time, all shili in the world had a strong desire for communication with foreign countries, so this time the Soochow envoy passed through Samhan, and Wu would inevitably establish diplomatic relations with Samhan in the future. Then, starting from Samhan, we will carry out exchanges with the Japanese people. In this sense, the Great Escape of the Four Envoys not only opened the window to Goguryeo, but also opened the door to official exchanges with the Japanese and Han Dynasty, and made outstanding achievements.

But is that all there is to it? There are still some doubts remaining. It would be very strange if the four envoys went straight east after escaping the tiger's mouth. Liaodong is far north of Jiangdong, fleeing from foreign countries, and running out of food, why did the four envoys waste their strength? Especially on the way to escape, when Zhang Qun was trapped in the evil wounds of his knees and it was difficult to move, he persuaded everyone to abandon themselves and move forward, saying: "Everyone should enter the road as soon as possible, hoping to achieve something." It was as if they had already set a goal in their journey, and they were not at a loss to escape into the Desperate Plains. It can be guessed that they have long known about the Juli Kingdom in the east of Xuanwu County. They even clearly understood that it had a deep grudge against the Gongsun clan, and that "the edict was given to be captured by Liaodong", and used this kind of rhetoric to deceive the palace of Juli. And this information will not be disclosed to the Gongsun clan, so the source of the information can only be Soochow's own intelligence collection station on the Korean Peninsula. In addition, it seems that the four envoys were lucky to be able to find a ship that could accommodate 30 people and carry a certain amount of cargo along the coast of the Korean Peninsula and finally cross the East China Sea safely and return to their homeland. The plausible explanation is that they were aided by Soochow's stronghold on the Korean Peninsula on the Korean Peninsula. In this way, it can be seen that the diplomatic relations between Sanhan and Soochow came earlier, and the escape incident only provides a lower limit for us to determine the beginning of diplomatic relations between Han and Wu.

Another circumstantial evidence: an empty map

In the second year of Wei Jingchu, Cao Rui sent both land and sea to attack the Gongsun clan. Among them, Liu Xin and Xian Yu Si Yuehai pacified the two counties of Lelang in the belt, and immediately rewarded the ministers of Sanhan (the leaders of the larger tribes) with the seals of the county and the chief of the city, trying to maintain the traditional friendship. However, Mahan doesn't seem to be buying it. Later, when Gong Zun\ Liu Mao managed the two counties of Lelang and Fang, Wu Lin, who was engaged in the ministry, thought that Sanhan was the territory of Lelang, and Chen was an old Chinese people, so he planned to divide eight of the twelve kingdoms of Chen under the jurisdiction of Lelang. As a result, because the interpreter made a mistake, and Chen Zhi fanned the flames beside him, the king of Ma Han was furious and sent troops to attack the camp of Obifang Junqi. As a result, the second county counterattacked, and where Ma Han was the opponent, he was destroyed by the second county.

Gong Zun was also killed in this battle.

Since the Chinese army was at war with Ma Han and penetrated deep into its territory, breaking through his capital and destroying it, it is conceivable that it must have a deep understanding of the geographical position of the other side. However, what is still ridiculous is that although the location and direction of the Yamadae of the queen kingdom of Miaoyuan are very detailed, there is no record of the geographical location of the 78 countries of Samhan. We can imagine that when Cao Wei's officials drew a map of Haidong, the outline of the Korean Peninsula would be very complete and accurate, but there would be a blank space in it, which is difficult to fully explain even if it is understood that China attached more importance to the Japanese than Sanhan. The above facts show that even after the war, Cao Wei was not able to really control and understand Sanhan. This can only be understood as another information blockade – but not at sea – that the Wu people controlled Mahan by virtue of their stronghold in Mahan, so that Cao Wei could not gain the convincing of Samhan, and therefore could not obtain accurate information about Samhan. Besides, Ma Han, which has always been a friendly country with China and has never been at war, why did he meet with swords this time? Ma Han's sin is not deep, why does the second county have to perish? How could the victorious general, who had experienced several battles, be the first-class commander of the county Taishou Gong Zun, so that he died on the battlefield? It can be seen that this battle is not as simple as being recorded in history, and there are even elements of instigation and participation by the people of Wu State. Perhaps the "Ma Han" of Cao Wei's demise was just a state in the north of the 54 kingdoms of Ma Han. Afterwards, the Baekje Kingdom, one of the Mahan Kingdoms, arose and unified the countries, which was the powerful Baekje State in the Northern and Southern Dynasties era.

brief summary

To sum up, through the stitching of fragments of ancient books and the investigation and deduction of historical truth, we can roughly depict the diplomatic relations of Korea during the Three Kingdoms period. At first, Korea was a vassal state of the Gongsun clan, and the Gongsun clan controlled the shipping route from Liaodong to Jiangdong by establishing a stronghold in Juhu. Then, through the exploration activities from 229 to 233, Soochow did not find Bozhou, but found a landing site in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula, and thus also mastered the route from Gangdong to Liaodong, and carried out diplomacy with the Samhan Zhuwa. Ma Han began to claim to Eastern Wu, engaged in the second master, and reaped huge profits. The Gongsun clan was destroyed, and Soochow took advantage of the vacancy in Haidong to firmly control Sanhan, leaving Cao Wei incapable of intervening. He even instigated Samhan to start a war with Cao Wei and personally intervened in the war. Ma Han was eventually involved in the dispute between Wu and Wei on the Korean Peninsula, resulting in the fate of destruction.

*The exact month of arrival is not available. However, judging by the seasonal winds, the time of China Southern Airlines should be winter; Based on the time when Sun Quan sent the envoy the following year, it is roughly estimated that the conclusion of the spring of 229 is reached. This issue is not related to the grand purpose, so it is not delved into below.

Author: Yiwenzi Xiuhu Source: Youyou Community——

[Chapter 1 of the first draft of the new book]

Chapter I

The scorching sun hanging high in the air unscrupulously projected a vicious edge to the earth, although it was not yet the season of ambush, but the land of Jianghuai was placed in the furnace as always.

Lin Muyuan looked at a small forest in front of him, and suddenly recovered some strength from the hot torment, trotted into the shade of the tree like a treasure, threw the heavy backpack behind him on the ground, and sat down leaning on a tree trunk.

In the past few days, he has been relentlessly oppressed by the scorching heat every day, and he has hoped more than once that he can be as generous as he did in the 21st century, even without air conditioning and cold drinks. You know, you're wearing a dark brown linen robe with a blouse and trousers, and anyone can tell that this is not the right outfit for summer.

It's just that since he traveled to this era a year ago, he has not only gained a new identity and a special profession, but now he is also shouldering an important mission, and even his life will be worried if he is not careful. Because of this, even if the sweat-soaked linen robe is extremely uncomfortable, he can only grit his teeth and bear it silently.

Removing the kettle that was hanging on the side of the rucksack, which was already half empty, Lin Muyuan resisted the urge to drink a cow and swallowed some water in small sips. The kettle that was only filled when I left Jurong County in the early morning was not much left, and before I arrived at Jiangning, the destination of this trip, I was afraid that there would be no place to replenish water and food.

Re-corked the kettle, he let out a long breath, leaned back into a more comfortable position, squinted at the end of the woods, and involuntarily gave birth to a little melancholy and sigh in his heart. Whether it was on a steamer bound for Shanghai, or traveling with a caravan between Jiangsu and Shanghai, or sleeping alone after crossing Taihu Lake, he would feel from the bottom of his heart that his "fate" was so tortuous and bizarre before he went to sleep at night.

The inexplicable journey to Hong Kong in 1855 was already an unbelievable experience, and the experience in the months that followed can be described as a twist and turn. It's as if everything has already been arranged, even if Jihua just wants to use advanced knowledge and thinking to be an ordinary person who doesn't worry about food and clothing, he can't get what he wants, but he happened to meet a church member surnamed Hong, and he just became a protégé of this Hong priest, and this Hong priest is named Hong Renji.

Every time he sighs here, Lin Muyuan can't help but show a wry smile: "Fate" is really elusive!

If he hadn't been in a place in the northwestern suburbs of Jurong County at this moment, he would never have believed that he could carry Hong Renji's secret letter and a new-style flintlock musket to reach Jiangning, or Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, on a bumpy journey of more than 3,000 miles.

Even in the 21st century, such a fearful journey of a thousand miles will never be easy! Not to mention that it is now the stage when the war between the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing army is fierce, after Nanjing was renamed Tianjing, the area around Jiangsu and Shanghai has already become a serious military precaution, so you can imagine how great the risk of this trip is.

"Alas, I finally got to Jurong County, and this should be the land of Tianjing."

In the first few days of arriving in Shanghai, there were rumors in Shanghai that the Jiangbei camp was attacked by the Taiping army, and the situation of the Qing army was precarious. When he arrived in Suzhou a few days later, he heard that the Jiangbei camp had long been lost, and the Taiping army was now besieging the Jiangnan camp. And just yesterday evening, passing through the suburbs of Jurong County, I witnessed the rout of hundreds of green battalions retreating to the southeast in a hurry. It is not difficult to imagine that the Taiping army has already cleared the Qing army around Tianjing at this time, and according to the calculation of time, I am afraid that even the Jiangnan business has been broken.

Lin Muyuan's nerves were tense for more than ten days, and he finally relaxed a little with this self-talk.

Thinking back carefully about the reason why Hong Renji was promised to go to Tianjing to deliver the letter, there are really many ironies. Part of it is out of repayment, after all, the life in Hong Kong for the past year was completely dependent on Hong Renji's help; The other part is a momentary brain fever, always thinking that having advanced thoughts and consciousness must be able to do what others cannot; In addition, it may also be influenced by Hong Renji's religious agitation.

Although he has always been reluctant to admit that he was actually brainwashed by an ancient person, there is no need to complain now, the end of this trip is in sight, and it can be regarded as a positive result in any case. When he entered Tianjing City and presented a letter from Hong Renji to the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, he would definitely be able to get a good official rank in the Taiping Army, and he could enjoy Qingfu for a period of time first.

As soon as I thought of this, most of my previous melancholy mood was gone. Lin Muyuan put the kettle beside him, slowly closed his eyes, and imagined in his mind how to spread his hands and feet to do something great after arriving in Tianjing. After several days of tiring and nervous tension, I suddenly relaxed and had a very pleasant comfort, and I unconsciously took a nap.

I don't know how long it took, but suddenly there was a crisp sound not far away, which seemed to be the sound of a shriveled branch breaking.

Lin Muyuan woke up suddenly, his originally relaxed mental state was tense again, and he hurriedly looked around with a suspicious and alert face. The grove was as quiet as ever, and the near-evening sun was a little weak, and through the branches of the trees spread a speckled spot on the ground, which rippled and swayed with the majesty of the seeming and non-existent wind.

"It seems that I didn't just fall asleep, I also had a dream."

Taking a deep breath, Lin Muyuan didn't think much about the movement just now, seeing that the hour was not early, he thought in his heart that it was best to find a place to stay before dark, and it was best to meet the Taiping Army directly. He got up from the ground and grabbed the kettle that had been thrown aside. If you are a person with experience in the wild at this time, you will inevitably find that the surrounding environment is abnormal, and it is precisely because it is quiet that there is no sound of birds and beasts, which is the problem.

Just as he stood upright, there was a sudden muffled sound behind a tuft of grass in front of him, and a black shadow rushed towards him. Before he could react, he felt a hot wind "whoosh" above his head, and a feathered arrow was embedded in the trunk of the tree behind him.

Lin Muyuan reached out and touched his forehead, which was only an inch long hair, and then realized that the arrow just now had pierced a layer of skin, as long as he lowered it by half an inch, it was his own brain that was embedded in it.

"My ...... Mom......"

Even in the past ten days, he had to face the inspection of the Qing army's sentry posts and patrols almost every day, but he was not so panicked and scared as he was at this moment. Only when the real fate hangs by a thread, people will have the feeling of walking before the ghost gate closes. I was still complaining about the hot weather before, but at this moment, I was already scared into a cold sweat.

Instinctively, he was about to turn around and run back, but there was another "whoosh" sound in the grass, and the second arrow was screwed right on the kettle in his hand. Lin Muyuan stumbled and fell to the ground in a hurry, the kettle was crooked to the side, and the place where the arrow shaft was inserted leaked water.

The change happened so suddenly, he couldn't care about everything else, while he couldn't stop exclaiming, he hurriedly fled in the opposite direction, and he was still annoyed that he was about to go to Tianjing, but he encountered this incident at the last moment. He used all his strength to crawl on the ground in an orderly manner for a distance, and finally stabilized his body and prepared to straighten up and change to climb to run, at this moment, several figures suddenly flashed behind several big trees in front of him. Before he could see the appearance of these people clearly, several bright knives were already on his neck.

"No...... Don't kill me, I ...... I'm a Lutheran missionary......" In his panic, he blurted out his identity almost without thinking. Along the way, no matter what kind of person or thing you encounter, the identity of a missionary can provide some security. Now it has naturally become a lifesaver.

There was a noise behind him, and there was even the sound of horses' hooves and neighing in the distance.

A grove of woods that had been calm until a quarter of an hour ago suddenly appeared with a large group of heavily armed men.

Lin Mu shrank away and held his head, but still mustered up the courage to look around. I saw that these people seemed to have appeared out of thin air without warning, all of them were dressed in white long clothes and trousers, and all of them were covered with a waist-colored gown like a vest, and they also wore dark yellow scarves and hats on their heads. On the outskirts of the woods there were a few cavalry approaching, all of the horses sitting down in standard jet-black.

It can be seen at a glance from the style of dress alone that this is obviously not a Qing army. After thinking about it for a moment, you don't need to guess to know that this must be a Taiping army.

After seeing the surrounding situation clearly, he stabilized his mind a little, and secretly said that the water really washed the Dragon King Temple, and then straightened up and quickly explained: "Everyone, don't be impatient, don't be impatient, this is just a misunderstanding......" He only said half of his words, and he didn't even say the most critical words, and soon fell into a burst of consternation.

I never thought that whether it was a few Taiping soldiers holding a knife around his neck, or people who surrounded him from all directions, and even those cavalry wandering around the periphery, all of them were women. Of course, he knew very well that the Taiping Army did have a women's battalion in history, and he shouldn't have made a fuss about it, but one is that there are very few such establishments, and the second is that the women who can go to the battlefield are basically five big and three thick, and the third is almost rare officers.

Most of these female soldiers of the Taiping Army in front of them have a good figure, and their appearance is also handsome at a glance; In addition, everyone carries swords and bows, and they are also equipped with war horses of the same color, which shows that they are well-equipped; What's more, everyone wears yellow scarves and hats.

As a lover of modern history, he has deeply studied the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and earlier complained about the Taiping Army wearing yellow wind scarves and hats from top to bottom in some film and television works, because in history, only some high-ranking generals of the Taiping Army were qualified to wear such headdresses. You must know that the Taiping Army is not the Yellow Turban Army in the late Eastern Han Dynasty!

It is precisely because of these considerations that it is impossible to determine the origin of these female soldiers for a while.

Lin Muyuan looked carefully at the nearest female soldier with a knife, although the three of them were tightly wrapped in long shirts and trousers, it could be seen from the cheeks and neck that the complexion was only slightly red and not too dark, obviously not running around for a long time.

Not only that, the appearance of these three female soldiers can be regarded as beautiful, with a strong suit and a majestic look, there is a kind of sex appeal with rigidity and softness. Especially the one on the far left, who is only eighteen or nineteen years old, has a thin and meticulous face, and the clothes tied up and down highlight the graceful figure, and he really has two or three points of temperament at all. caused Lin Muyuan to take a few more looks, even at such a critical moment.

"Whore, where are you looking!"

The female soldiers didn't understand that this strangely dressed man suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his words, and was still waiting for the other party to finish speaking, but gradually found that this man's eyes were becoming more and more weird. The young female soldier on the far left couldn't help but have hot cheeks and a wave of anger in her heart when she saw Lin Muyuan staring at her, and after scolding loudly, she picked up the blade of the long knife in her hand and slammed it on her head.

"Ahh Heroine ...... I am not a thief, I am not a thief. Lin Muyuan was struck hard, and a red and swollen mark suddenly appeared on his head, he shrank up again, held his head with both hands, and hurriedly defended, "I, I just haven't seen a woman wearing a strong and stubborn edge, so I'm surprised, that's all, no offense." ”

"Look at your weird dress, and you are so oily and smooth, you must be a fine work sent by the Qing Demon."

"Hurry up and recruit from the truth!"

The two female soldiers scolded sharply while pressing the knife against Lin Muyuan's neck a little tighter.

The cold blade transmitted a biting cold, Lin Muyuan felt that the sweat he was flowing was almost about to form ice lumps, he held on to his confidence, pointed to his robe with two fingers, and pretended to say solemnly: "Sisters...... Woman, as I said earlier, I am a missionary of the Lutheran Church, from Hong Kong, and this is our Lutheran robe. In addition, it is by no means a clear demon in the next place, on the contrary, this trip is to go to Tianjing to meet Hong Tianwang and hand over the letter from his mentor Mr. Hong Yiqian. ”

The female soldiers in front of them looked at each other, and the taller one in the middle did not change his face, and said in a cold voice: "Full of nonsense, how can the king of heaven see it if he wants to." You are Chinese, but you are a foreign missionary, it is simply embarrassing. ”

Lin Muyuan couldn't laugh or cry, although there are many differences between the worship of God and Christianity, but the worship of God founded by Hong Xiuquan and others was also influenced by Christianity, how can it be regarded as the same line, how can it be turned around to belittle Christianity? However, when the saber was rattling, he didn't have the heart to explain the origin of religion to these female soldiers of the Taiping Army, so he had to continue: "This woman ......"

"What a woman, we are all Heavenly Saints!"

"Uh, well, this holy soldier, my teacher, Mr. Hong Yiqian, is the younger brother of the Heavenly King. You may not know him, but as long as you can take me to Tianjing and pass the letter from my master to the Heavenly King, the Heavenly King will naturally understand all the reasons. Lin Muyuan changed his tone, looking very sincere and meticulous.

As soon as they heard the words "the younger brother of the Heavenly King", several female soldiers were slightly stunned at first, and then their faces showed sarcasm, they naturally didn't know who the "Hong Yiqian" in Lin Muyuan's mouth was, but even if there was such a person, it would never be possible to believe it just by a few simple words from the stranger in front of him, but Lin Muyuan pretended to be decent and really funny.

"Are you all fools when we are? If you are the apprentice of the younger brother of the Heavenly King, how can you still keep the filth of the pure demon on your head. It's clearly a swindler. ”

"It seems that if you don't give you a little power, you really won't tell the truth." The tall female soldier said gloomily, and raised the long knife in her hand to slash at Lin Muyuan's shoulder.

"Slowly, slowly, you keep calling yourself holy soldiers, why are you unreasonable at all, and you say that if you cut people, you will cut people? Even if I am telling a lie, you must first prove that I am telling a lie. What's more, if I am telling the truth, how will you explain to the King of Heaven in the future if you treat me like this? Seeing that this knife was bound to see blood, Lin Muyuan couldn't help but shout and tell the truth. He traveled 3,000 miles to come here, and since he was able to deal with the heavy inspections of the Qing army along the way, he naturally expected all kinds of situations when he met the Taiping army, and these words were already expected in his heart.

The waving long knife stopped, and the female soldiers had to admit that Lin Muyuan's words were really to the point, whether it was true or not, there was no one to believe it now. The other party just got involved with the king of heaven all of a sudden, as the so-called not afraid of 10,000, just in case, in case what they said is true, how should they explain to the king?

Not only did the three female soldiers holding Lin Muyuan with knives show doubts, but the other female soldiers in the neighboring ladies also fell into a moment of hesitation, either pondering or whispering left and right.

Lin Muyuan breathed a sigh of relief, and sighed in his heart that he was fortunate that he had been prepared. Just as he was about to continue to explain and take out the letter to further confirm his identity, at this moment, a cold and crisp voice suddenly came from behind him: "What's your name?" ”

Just listening to the tone of this question, I thought it was an old and prestigious figure, but when Lin Muyuan turned around to look, he found that the person who spoke turned out to be a petite girl, who couldn't even be called a girl, at a glance the other party's age was less than fifteen years old, and her small chest had not yet fully developed, just like a little Lori. However, this little Lori's dress is very different from that of other female soldiers, the caftan is not a simple vest, but a beautifully decorated leather armor, and she wears a scarf hat on her head, but is simply wrapped in a red scarf, revealing a shoulder-length ponytail.

The girl held the hilt of the short sword tied to her waist in one hand, and a longbow in the other hand, showing a heroic posture with tight leather armor, but unfortunately her figure was too petite, and she was not tall, and it was still difficult to hide a kind of cute and naughty "little adult". Lin Muyuan noticed that most of the other female soldiers carried longbows on their shoulders or placed them on horses, but she held the longbow upside down in her hand, and vaguely realized that the person who had released arrows in the grass before should be this child.

There were two female soldiers behind Xiao Lori, one of whom was twisting Lin Muyuan's bag, which had been broken in the middle of the bag, and many clothes were exposed; The other woman carried a musket, a flintlock musket that had been hidden in her bag earlier. It can be seen that just now the bag has been thoroughly searched.

"In Shimobayashi Muyuan, Lutheran Christians."

Lin Muyuan put on a scholarly appearance and deliberately replied in a crepe tone.

When Xiao Lori and the other two female soldiers approached, all the female soldiers who had surrounded Lin Muyuan before subconsciously took half a step back, put down the blades in their hands together, and changed into a respectful posture.

Lin Muyuan caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, and his heart couldn't help but secretly tighten: Could it be that this little girl is actually their head, this is too exaggerated, right?

"You just said that you came from Hong Kong, and I don't want to ask you how you can be unscathed along the way, you said that your master Hong Yiqian is the younger brother of the Heavenly King, and Hong Yiqian is his real name?" The little girl stood still in front of Lin Muyuan, staring at Lin Muyuan with a scrutinizing gaze, and her tone was very low when she spoke, and there was a coldness in her low voice.

In Lin Muyuan's opinion, if the girl doesn't speak, her beautiful and soft appearance and thin ponytail will definitely be a very cute girl like Lori. But this low, cold, almost gloomy way of speaking should not appear in a person of this age at all, let alone a girl!

"The family teacher's surname is Hong, and the word is Yiqian." Although he was stunned in his heart, he still replied calmly.

"I know Uncle Ren, and I've heard that he is indeed in Hong Kong now." Little Lori's face did not change, and her tone seemed to freeze the frame and was still so cold and gloomy, as if it was a machine without emotion and thought.

"Oh, great, someone finally knows the teacher...... Uh, wait, you just called Uncle Ren, and you've seen him before? Could it be that you are the Emperor of the Kingdom of Heaven? Lin Muyuan reacted and immediately asked suspiciously.

Lin Muyuan really couldn't say it, he originally placed the two letters separately, how did he know that Su Songtai's letter of introduction would inexplicably get into this "Tao Te Ching", and even more unfortunately, it still fell out at this time, completely making a simple matter add a lot of unnecessary trouble at once.

The girl had just a cold and indifferent expression before, but in a blink of an eye, an astonishing aura of anger and hatred erupted, even though it was still such a beautiful and lovely face, but people could no longer find even a little bit of femininity. She didn't intend to stab Lin Muyuan to death with a sword, but the hand holding the short sword was very strong, and the tip of the sword had already pierced Lin Muyuan's outer robe and underwear, piercing into the flesh and blood.

This pain is naturally nothing to Lin Muyuan, but at this moment, he finally had an awareness in his heart, and finally understood that the biggest difference between the little Lori in front of him and ordinary people is not the lack of innocence, nor the blind indifference and gloom, but the "anger" that will never linger behind the indifference and gloom.

It's hard to imagine what kind of terrible encounters it takes to make a young girl in the prime of cardamom become so terrifying.

But now that he is in the situation of the sword and the body, he doesn't have so much heart to think about other things, but when he thinks that these female soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom are quite unreasonable, even the little Lori Prison Army who hopes to deal with the problem calmly is almost losing his mind at this time, how can he not feel disappointed in his heart?

"Hmph, if you really think I'm a fine worker, then kill me. Qing Demon is really good at arranging fine work, and before he entered Tianjing, he was recognized by a group of little girls. Anger prevailed at this moment, even though Lin Muyuan was still afraid that the short sword against his chest would penetrate deeply, but at this moment he had an urge not to vomit unpleasantly.

"Who do you say is the little!" Little Lori had fire in her eyes, and suddenly twisted Lin Muyuan's braid, and the hand holding the sword advanced even harder.

"I'm talking about you, you haven't figured it out yet, you just know how to shout and kill! Yes, it was indeed a letter of introduction signed by Shanghai Daotai, but have you read the whole text? I'm afraid that you can't recognize a few words at all, but you just recognize a Su Songtai Dao. Let me tell you, this letter of introduction was written by the Lutheran pastor, Mr. Richard Horic, who took advantage of his status as a Swiss state to ask the Shanghai Daotai to open this letter. If it weren't for this letter, how could I have come here through the checkpoints? Lin Muyuan's blood surged into his heart, and he simply didn't care about anything, and roared like a vent.

Little Lori's face was a little red, and her little chest rose and fell, like a small volcano about to erupt.

She tugged Lin Muyuan's braids, she was not as tall as Lin Muyuan, but she forced Lin Muyuan to bend down. Then he raised the short sword in his hand and struck Lin Muyuan's forehead twice with the hilt. While beating, he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Call you little girl, let you not know how to read, and make you look down on people!" ”

Lin Muyuan grinned in pain, how could a big man let you be bullied by a little girl, and the aggrieved emotions in his heart suddenly burst out. He waved his hands and struggled, trying to grab Lori's violent hands. But just as he made a move, several female soldiers around him rushed up, grabbed his hands and pressed them directly to the ground.

"Bully, well, kill me, I will never beg for mercy. Just when I Lin Muyuan has no eyes, what keeps saying that the world is one family and enjoys peace together, it is all nonsense, you are a group of unreasonable barbarians. The teacher asked me to refine my firearms, and I rushed to Tianjing to help you after a lot of hardships. What a disappointment, what a blindness. ”

Even if he was pressed to the ground by several people, Lin Muyuan still refused to give in easily, and while criticizing from the bottom of his heart, he twisted his body desperately to break free.

Little Lori was already so angry that she couldn't speak, and when she heard Lin Muyuan's frantic words, she was angry for a while.

But even so, she didn't do it immediately, she just stared at Lin Muyuan who was pressed to the ground with a murderous gaze, and her little hand holding the short sword trembled faintly because of excessive force.

"Your Excellency, calm your anger first, here...... It seems that there is a letter. ”

At this moment, the beautiful female soldier who had scolded Lin Muyuan as a "thief" picked up the Tao Te Ching from the ground, turned the page over and sewed the side of the letter, and handed it to Xiao Lori with both hands.

Little Lori took the "Tao Te Ching" angrily, but she just glanced at it casually, and then handed it back to the female soldier.

"Put it away, and we'll check the authenticity when we get back." Her chest was still heaving, but her tone was back to its normal cold state.

Lin Muyuan naturally heard what the other party said, and realized that this violent little girl believed in herself. But even so, he didn't feel relieved, he only felt that he was beaten by the female soldiers of the Taiping Army, and the evil anger in his heart couldn't be calmed down no matter what. It's just that now, even if you feel disappointed, there is no other way, since you have to continue to look forward when you get on this boat, it is never wise to jump ship halfway.

"Now, okay, let me go?" He gasped and said word by word, speaking in a tone that was no longer as frantic as before, but also full of resentment that could not be concealed.

The few female soldiers who captured Lin Muyuan couldn't get an idea, but they subconsciously reduced some of the strength in their hands.

"Tie him up first." Just as Lin Muyuan was about to stand up, the girl overseer coldly opened her mouth and gave an order.

The female soldiers hesitated for a moment, but finally complied quickly.

Seeing that the destination Tianjing is in front of you, but you have to turn back the same way, this feeling can be imagined.

Lin Muyuan originally thought that on the way back to Jurong, this kind of diaphragmatic mood would become his biggest headache. But not long after the party set out, he soon realized that what should be followed by any mood was secondary, and that all of these female soldiers had mounts, but none of them wanted to ride with him, and not only that, but he had to be trotted behind the horse's butt with a rope.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the person holding the rope is the beautiful female soldier who has talked before, and in Lin Muyuan's opinion, only the other party can be considered reasonable. During the whole trip, the beautiful female soldiers did not make it too difficult, and they would slow down their horses from time to time, so that Lin Muyuan had enough time to relax.

However, even so, there will be no sense of relief for Lin Muyuan, if he still has the strength to resist or complain, he will definitely spare no effort to take action, but after only half the journey like this, he has completely lost any desire to speak, and the only thing in his mind is to save his strength as much as possible, otherwise it will only make him more sinful and sad mentally and physically.

When I came to Jurong County again, it was completely dark.

The female soldiers did not enter the city easily, and settled in a deserted village on the outskirts of the city. The Qing army's military discipline is well known, even if the military order is in the body, it can do all kinds of evil deeds, let alone make a fortune when the army is defeated and fled. The poor people near the county seat either went bankrupt and became homeless, or moved with their families to escape their misery, or went to Changmao in a fit of rage.

Subsequently, the little Lori prison army made an orderly arrangement and sent several scouts to quietly grope around the county to inquire about the situation. Even though the Jiangnan camp has been broken by the Taiping army in one fell swoop, there are still remnants of the Qing army stationed near Zhenjiang, Guangde, and Yanziji, and there are still more than 10,000 Qing soldiers in the Jiangnan camp, even if they all retreat, it will take a while.

Chapter IV

Temporarily settled Li Wencheng and Zhang Minghan in the camp, and Li Kaifang and his subordinates still gathered in the farmhouse.

The news brought by Li Wencheng today is too important, but at the same time, it has created a series of new problems.

According to Li Wencheng's intentions, it seems that everything must be done according to his intentions, and after two days, action must be taken no matter what, if this golden opportunity is missed, the Northern Expeditionary Army will inevitably trap Cangzhou. Maybe other generals will feel the same way, but for Li Kaifang, everything is fine with Li Wencheng's breakthrough, but it is this strong attitude that has left a seemingly unobstructed obstacle in his heart.

To a certain extent, he is very inclined to Li Wencheng's Jihua this time. It is not difficult to see from Li Wencheng's talk that the other party is by no means a mediocre talent, and since this set of detailed breakthrough jihua has been formulated, it must have made thorough preparations. As for making jihua without any prior consultation, it may be attributed to extraordinary measures in extraordinary times.

"Prime Minister, take 10,000 steps back, we are not familiar with the details of this guy, even if the news he brought is true, but the breakthrough is a big deal after all, and it is not enough to prepare in just two days. Besides, is it true that I didn't notify Prime Minister Lin Cheng, isn't this tantamount to betraying Prime Minister Lin? ”

Luo Da Niu seemed a little unwilling, as an authentic peasant, he has always hated those who like to show off their readers, especially the King of Heaven has already formulated the rules of destroying the school palace and banning Confucius, even if Li Wencheng can deduce astronomy like Zhuge Liang, in the end he is just a rotten Confucian.

"Don't talk nonsense. The situation in Jinghai County is very different from our side of Duliu Town, Prime Minister Lin Cheng has sufficient troops and occupies a strong city, which is easier to defend than us. As Li Wencheng said, if our department can successfully break through, it will definitely be able to affect the defense line of the Qing Demon, and it will be much easier for Prime Minister Lin to get out at that time. Li Kaifang said seriously.

He is not greedy for life and afraid of death, blindly just seeking to let his group get out first, but seriously thinking about it from the perspective of a commander. In fact, Lin Fengxiang's location is north, and there is no way to rush to Duliu Town to meet in the first place. From the perspective of the overall breakthrough Jihua, Lin Fengxiang's continued stay will only be more beneficial to the overall situation. If the best opportunity to break through is delayed in order to seek a rendezvous between the two men, not only will Li Wencheng's 600 strange soldiers bear more risks, but it may even lead to an unfavorable breakthrough operation due to the lack of necessary cover.

"Then, are we really going to do what that kid says?" Luo Daniu asked again with certainty.

Li Kaifang admitted that he had never been a mother-in-law, but he still thought twice for a while before answering.

"So far, that's all it can be. When it is broken, it is broken. However, what I am most worried about now is not that the time is short, but that I have to tell Prime Minister Lin Cheng in advance no matter what, you must know that that person is still in Jinghai County, and I must ensure that person's safety no matter what. ”

"Prime Minister, that Zhang Minghan has already said that the candidate to lead the reinforcements this time is personally drawn up by the King of Dong, if it weren't for the improper use of people, the reinforcements would not have been a mess in Linqing. It's all this time, why do you still care about that person? If there is any mistake, the king of the east will be blamed. Luo Daniu said indignantly.

As soon as he said this, several other cronies and generals present also nodded in agreement, but a few people were still silent.

Li Kaifang suddenly turned around and glared at Luo Da Niu fiercely, and his originally melancholy face instantly turned thunderous and angry.

Even the rugged Luo Da Niu was suddenly startled, realized that he had just said the wrong thing, and quickly silenced.

"In short, I have made up my mind, and I will send someone to the county seat tomorrow to spread the word about this matter, so that Prime Minister Lin Cheng can make preparations first. Our department immediately began to arrange for the breakout deployment. Other gossip should not be mentioned. Li Kaifang coldly gave the order, at this time he was not angry but even more terrifying.

At the same time, at the end of a short street to the north of Duliu Town, several houses here have long been requisitioned into barracks. In a small mansion in front of it, Li Wencheng had just washed his face with hot water, and in such an embarrassing environment, a basin of hot water was the only luxury. Wiping his face with his sleeve, he turned around and came to the middle of the empty room, where there were only two small benches that were broken and loose, and Zhang Minghan was sitting on one of them with a solemn face.

"Sir, will Prime Minister Li believe us? For such a big thing, just a few words, I'm afraid there is some spectrum missing. ”

"Everything is ready only to the east wind, I believe that Prime Minister Li Cheng is an enlightened person and will understand the key." Li Wencheng seemed very calm as always, and he showed a kind of confidence to speak in the dark.

"I hope that as Mr. said, whether the brothers can escape this time depends entirely on Mr." Zhang Minghan said sincerely.

He admired Li Wencheng from the bottom of his heart, the defeat of Linqing and the collapse of the whole army were the moment when the dragons were leaderless and in a desperate situation, if Li Wencheng had not stepped forward to lead his brothers to break through, how could his other hundreds of brothers survive to this day?

At the beginning of the reinforcements going north, as Zeng Lichang's leader and guard, he really didn't listen to Li Wencheng's account at the beginning. However, as the war became more and more intense, Li Wencheng repeatedly made suggestions to Zeng Lichang, and each time he almost said the key point, but Zeng Lichang refused to accept it. Over time, my impression of it gradually changed.

Until the day of the Linqing fiasco, he witnessed Li Wencheng riding a horse and carrying a knife, while personally trapping the battle, while commanding the breakthrough. I never expected that a scholar who was usually powerless would become a majestic general at that moment. Since then, he has lamented from the bottom of his heart that people cannot be seen.

"Tomorrow, you will go back to Guanjiatun first, and you will be indispensable as a veteran." Li Wencheng said suddenly.

"Are you going to stay here, sir?" Zhang Minghan asked a little strangely.

"That's right. Now that the operational deployment has been fully arranged, as long as we act in accordance with this jihua, I believe there will be no big difference, and it will be the same with or without me in command. The reason why I want to stay is because I am worried that there will be people among Prime Minister Li Cheng's subordinates who will not trust him, and he will put the overall situation first in everything, so as not to lose the big because of small things. Li Wencheng explained lightly.

He had long seen that even a wise leader like Li Kaifang had a little suspicion, not to mention those generals who were born in peasants. In case Li Kaifang's subordinates are in trouble, it will definitely affect the overall situation at a critical time.

"But sir......" Zhang Minghan seemed to say something more, but when the words came to his lips, he felt that he had nothing to say.

"I've made up my mind, and you don't need to say more. As long as it's for the sake of the bigger picture, everything else can be put aside for a while. Li Wencheng said very resolutely.

That night, the whole town of Duliu began to prepare for the breakthrough.

Li Kaifang's order was not immediately conveyed to all the departments under his command, but selectively gave priority to some middle and high-ranking generals, as well as several battalions of fresh troops that still maintained their best combat effectiveness. He knew very well that the breakthrough operation needed to be kept as secret as possible, on the one hand, to prevent the enemy from gaining insight in advance, and on the other hand, to avoid internal confusion.

After months of trapped fighting, the number of wounded soldiers has increased day by day, and today it has become a considerable burden.

Although he never intended to abandon these brothers who fought side by side, the whole breakthrough was deployed too hastily, and it was difficult to ensure that those wounded soldiers with limited mobility would be cranky and cause unnecessary turmoil.

Throughout the night, the seven battalions of the Taiping Army stationed in Duliu Town were in full swing to move, and there didn't seem to be too many waves on the surface, but the turbulent undercurrent was hidden behind the calm. The remaining grain and grass materials were the first to be packed centrally; The two battalions that served as the main force sent a large number of scouts to conduct detailed surveys of the breakout route in accordance with the instructions; The southeast direction has just experienced a vicious battle, and at this time it has also begun to adjust the defensive position, rush to repair the gap in the position, and strengthen the original stronghold.

The troops, numbering nearly 7,000 men, were busy in an orderly manner under the cover of thick and damp night.

For the soldiers of the Taiping Army, the state of being trapped in the beast fighting for nearly half a year is really not good, and the military food is becoming scarce day by day, and everyone knows that it is better to go out and fight than to sit and wait for death. Therefore, the decision to break through this time, even if it seems very sudden, has played a more or less exciting role.

Chapter 5

Early the next morning, Li Wencheng and Zhang Minghan first came to Li Kaifang's Chinese military camp, which was the farmhouse where they met yesterday.

When he saw Li Kaifang, he saw at a glance that the other party's eyes were red and his eyes were swollen, and he seemed to have not closed his eyes all night, but he still seemed very energetic, and he was arranging the task of breaking through the palace with the other two Simas.

Wait for a while, and wait until Li Kaifang is busy with the military affairs at hand, and then meet Li and Zhang.

In fact, from the movements in the town last night, Li Wencheng had already seen that Li Kaifang had finally made up his mind, and it was not in vain that he took a great risk and took great pains to plan this time to meet the breakthrough of the Northern Expeditionary Army. He was not in a hurry to understand Li Kaifang's specific arrangements, but first informed that Zhang Minghan would be allowed to return to Guanjiatun today, hoping that it would be best for the Northern Expeditionary Army to send two or three contacts to facilitate the breakthrough the day after tomorrow.

"So, Brother Li, you want to stay here and break through with us?" After listening to Li Wencheng's words, Li Kaifang asked very strangely.

"Yes. In the lower part, it is just a matter of talking on paper and doing its best. The brothers of Guanjiatun are inseparable from the command of the Ming and Han brothers, and with the Ming and Han brothers in charge, they will be foolproof. Li Wencheng said politely.

Li Kaifang didn't think much about it, first, he believed that Li Wencheng's arrangement must have a purpose, second, the other party automatically asked Ying to be more honest, and third, he could also ensure the military law commitment about the fog prophecy. In addition, he also considered that Li Wencheng was a rare scholar in the Taiping Army, and he was rich in real talent and hard work, so it would not be a bad thing if he could recruit him.

"Since it is Brother Li's intention, then it is decided. I immediately arranged for two capable people to sneak back to Guanjiatun with Brother Zhang. But before that, you need to determine one thing with Brother Li and Brother Zhang, if you organize a breakthrough the day after tomorrow, when will it be? As a military general who leads troops all year round, Li Kaifang will not let go of any available details.

"The fog is up, and the southwest fire is the letter. At that time, our brothers will sneak into the Qing demon camp from Wangkou to Shuangtang and set fire to the camp as much as possible. Wangkou and Shuangtang are only more than ten miles according to this, and there are no high mountains and deep forests, and you can see fire smoke here. Li Wencheng said.

"I understand, before the fire signal, our troops can only stand still." Li Kaifang said as if there was a hidden word.

Li Wencheng didn't answer the other party's words again, what Li Kaifang was worried about, he had expected earlier, all the remarks were meaningless, and everything would disappear on the day of the breakthrough.

At noon, the Taiping military in Duliu Town began to distribute the first meal of the day. Li Kaifang is a strict and clear person, and the food arranged every day must be the same, and there are no exceptions. Even he himself is a small steamed bun, plus a bowl of rice soup with clear roots.

After lunch, Li Kaifang called Zhao An, who had been to Guanjiatun the day before, and arranged for Wang Jingsheng, the chief of his own guard, to leave Duliu Town and go to Guanjiatun with Zhang Minghan. Before leaving, Li Wencheng exchanged his Qing army outfit with Wang Jingsheng, and specially combed a braid to hide people's eyes.

After sending Zhang Minghan and the others away, Li Wencheng returned to the Chinese military camp with Li Kaifang, and he noticed that Li Kaifang's face was a little solemn.

No matter what Li Kaifang is thinking in his heart, Li Wencheng can actually vaguely empathize. He had only been in contact with the Northern Expeditionary Army for only three or five days, and Zhang Minghan did not reveal much information when he first came to contact, and his own personal meeting directly brought a breakthrough Jihua, thinking that all this was too sudden.

Even if you put aside whether the breakout jihua is reliable or not, there are also many risks in sending people back and forth to dress up and walk through Duliu Town and Guanjiatun, once someone is unfortunately recognized, resulting in the breakout jihua being exposed, where should they go next?

Although Li Wencheng can feel this way, he does not have too many worries in his heart, and in the past period of time, he has already figured out the Qing troops in the southwest, and even 600 people can lurk under the noses of the Qing soldiers, which shows the sloppiness of the overall defense line. Of course, he also did a good job of corresponding prevention, no matter who was caught by mistake, there was a new replacement on Guanjiatun's side. Before the information was revealed by the torture of the demons, the breakout operation should have begun, and everything would still be within Jihua at that time.

However, he would rather believe that nothing would happen to these people!