Just as Britain and France were preparing for an expedition, a great uprising broke out in India, which was very unpleasant to the British. The conflict between the British army and the Indian army has a long history, and when the East India Company ruled India, due to the lack of strength of the British army, it had to hire locals as soldiers, which was the Indian army or the Sipayi Regiment. The soldiers were mostly "native soldiers", while the officers were Britons trained in specially established schools. By 1856, the three British colonies of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta each had their own troops, and the total number of "native soldiers" had far exceeded the British army, with a total of 200,000 Sipa soldiers, while the British soldiers had only 40,000.

For a long time, the East India Company treated the Sipas fairly unfairly, with very low wages, and they had to pay for their own travel and baggage when they participated in expeditions, such as to Afghanistan or Burma to help the British in colonial expansion. In particular, in early 1856, he went on an expedition to Burma to participate in the Anglo-Burmese War, and according to Indian tradition, if he went to Burma, he would lose his caste and be expelled from his community. Many soldiers were very unhappy about this. After the battle, the East India Company began to revoke some of the original rights of mercenaries, reduce their salaries, and stipulate that they could not be promoted beyond sergeants. In contrast, the British soldiers lived in comfortable houses, while the Indian soldiers lived in rudimentary tents.

Therefore, when three months after the end of the Anglo-Burmese War, the British issued a conscription order again and sent the Sipayi Regiment to form an expeditionary force, the soldiers of the Sipayi Regiment were very resistant and dissatisfied. At this time, a rumor circulated within the Sipayi regiment that the East India Company had applied lud, a mixture of lard and butter, to the carton packaging of rifles (rifles). Since Hinduism regarded cattle as gods and avoided beef, while Islam regarded pigs as filth, soldiers had to bite through the paper of rifle bullets with their teeth before reloading. Thus. Soldiers who possess both faiths refused to use the bullets. The East India Company claimed that this was a rumor and had replaced it with a new bullet with wax lubricant. But Indian soldiers still suspected that the lubricating oil was not clean and refused to bite off the lubricant-coated bullet casings used in the new guns.

This was followed by an escalation of tension between the soldiers of the Sipayi Regiment and the British officers, and a soldier of the 34th Regiment, after not knowing who had been bewitched, attacked his British sergeant like a madman, killed another sergeant major, and then shot himself in an attempted suicide, but was sentenced to death. The East India Company's decision to cancel the 34 regiment as a collective punishment intensified the contradictions. Caused discontent among the soldiers of other regiments.

When Grant's fleet returned to Hong Kong, news of a major uprising broke out in India. Grant had to stop his planned attack on Canton and instead split a fleet to India to support.

The great Indian uprising quickly spread to two-thirds of the entire territory of India, and the arrogant British had to stop their expeditionary plans and instead transfer their troops to India to suppress the rebellion. And the French because of the temporary halt of the British. They also had to choose to suspend the expedition, and the British could not be assured that the French would complete the expedition alone.

As a result, a great Indian uprising dragged down the Anglo-French expedition. It gave both the Manchus and the Taiping army precious respite.

……

Since Shi Da opened the tiger's mouth to escape. Wei Changhui was like sitting on pins and needles, and he couldn't sleep at night. He urgently ordered Qin Rigang to lead 15,000 soldiers and horses to pursue the Wing King. And, be sure to put Shi Dakai to death.

But later, Qin Rigang's soldiers and horses were defeated by the Wuhu battalion led by Shi Dakai in Wuhu, and Qin Rigang was not the opponent of the famous wing king Shi Dakai at all.

After the news came back, Wei Changhui was angry and afraid, and he couldn't sleep peacefully. Fortunately, Shi Dakai then led the troops to abandon the Wuhu camp and went to Anqing, and Qin Rigang led the remnants to occupy the Wuhu camp, which made Wei Changhui breathe a sigh of relief.

But Wei Changhui's good mood did not last long. Half a day later, the king of the west issued a message, and the news of raising troops to serve the king and exterminating the northern traitors came, which frightened Wei Changhui and sat on the ground. Shi Dakai was enough to give Wei Changhui a headache, and now the King of the West finally showed his hideous fangs, which made Wei Changhui even more frightened. Since the king of the west flew to capture Changsha, the aura of the god of war of the king of the west has almost eclipsed all the famous generals of the kingdom of heaven, the elite of the soldiers and horses of the west hall is even more enviable, and the wealth of Sufu Province is also unmatched.

At this time, Wei Changhui suddenly realized that his wishful thinking that he could replace Yang Xiuqing and control the power of Tianjing was actually just a joke. But he was unwilling to be killed like this, so he continuously convened his cronies to discuss countermeasures.

On the main hall of the North Palace, a group of confidant generals and strategists of the North Palace gathered together, the North King had a cold face, and the generals were also panicked, but no one spoke. Wei Changhui saw that his subordinates were so afraid, and in a fit of rage, he threw the teacup on the ground and said angrily: "On weekdays, I provide you with food and drink, and the rewards are continuous, but now I want you to find a way, why are they all dumb?!" ”

The generals were silent, and the strategist Liu Naixin stiffly offered a plan: "Shi Dakai, the tiger also!" If you let the tiger return to the mountain, it will hurt people. Xiao Chaogui, the hero of the world, led the troops to the west, and was unstoppable. If we add Yang Fuqing's troops to the south, we will be attacked on three sides. The best way out is to force the king of heaven to write an edict of pardon, and send a person who can speak well to see the king of the west in writing, to know the righteousness, explain the pros and cons, and the king of the west and the king of the north were moved by the love of the king of the west and the king of the north, hoping to be attached to the west temple and save his life, so he stopped the army. ”

Wei Changhui roared angrily: "Nonsense! Attached to Xiao Chaogui, don't you know that Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui wore a pair of pants back then? The two of them teamed up to oust Feng Yunshan from power, and now Xiao Chaogui wants to avenge Yang Xiuqing, do you understand?! Let me belong to the West Palace, it is not the same as sending my head to Xiao Chaogui! ”

Liu Naixin saw Wei Changhui angry, his face turned pale, everyone knew that in the past month, Wei Changhui was very tyrannical and killed people at every turn. One night three days ago, Wei Changhui asked his concubine Chunfeng to wash his feet. Chunfeng accidentally cut a piece of flesh skin with her fingernails. Wei Changhui was furious, saying that Chunfeng intended to murder him, and he was tied to the courtyard and beaten to death. The day before yesterday, his escort Li Quan accidentally misfired the musket on his back. Wei Changhui insisted that he intended to assassinate the king and kill him, and he strangled him to death. Yesterday. He personally inspected the city defenses and found several brothers napping in the cave. Wei Changhui was furious, saying that they had left their posts without permission, and ordered them to be beheaded together. The most infuriating thing was that the brigade commander here said a few good words for them, and Wei Changhui insisted that this brigade commander was covering up his own kind and tearing him up for public display. The list goes on and on. In short, every day he kills people under the pretext of establishing obscenity.

Liu Naixin was very afraid that Wei Changhui would kill himself in a fit of rage. But fortunately, after Wei Changhui got angry, he didn't use the killing machine, but just shouted angrily: "Let's talk about the middle strategy!" ”

Liu Naixin swallowed and foamed, and then said in a trembling voice: "The middle strategy is for us to give up Tianjing and lead the troops back to Luzhou." Refuse to defend Jiangbei Huaishang. ”

Wei Changhui was even more furious and shouted: "Lead the troops back? Isn't everything we're doing here in vain?! Wouldn't it be the same if you return to Luzhou, and you will be requisitioned by the army of the West Temple?! How can I win against Xiao Chaogui and Shi Dakai? Shouhuai, you might as well call me suicide! Liu Naixin listened. Quickly knelt at Wei Changhui's feet. He kept begging: "Your Highness spare your life, Your Highness spare your life!" ”

Wei Changhui sneered and said, "What's the other strategy?" Liu Naixin stiffened his head and said: "Your Highness! Is this a good idea...... That is, shrinking the soldiers and horses to defend Tianjing, coercing the king of heaven to respect himself, and commanding the whole country in the name of righteousness, are you still afraid that some people will not accept it? And the king of the west was held hostage in Tianjing's house. Let the King of the West not dare to cross the thunder pool by half a step. As he spoke, he peeked at Wei Changhui, only to see that he sometimes frowned, sometimes his face was stiff. At last. Finally, his facial features stretched and he smiled.

Liu Naixin was bold and continued: "There is a lot of money and grain in Tianjing, as long as you can hold Tianjing for half a year, the Qin Wang Army will definitely work hard and pay for it, and the grain and grass will be insufficient, and it will retreat." Follow His Highness to replace the King of Heaven and justifiably command the Kingdom of Heaven. ”

I have to say that Liu Naixin's strategy is completely used to make up the numbers, and it is simply unrealistic to stick to Tianjing, even if Wei Changhui can replace Hong Xiuquan in the future, who will listen to his orders? But Wei Changhui was fascinated by the desire for power at the moment, "Okay! You can say that again! Wei Changhui turned around the hall twice and said to the strategists: "I can't hide it, I also thought about it." To be honest, what kind of thing is he Hong Xiuquan? There is no distinction between good and bad, right and wrong are not clear. I, Wei Changhui, were full of blood, eradicated the Dongsin for him, and relieved him of the siege, but he took a bite instead, saying that I disobeyed the order and killed innocents indiscriminately, which is not counted, and secretly asked the surnamed Shi to kill me. You say, "Who can not be chilled?" "That's what it's saying, it's saying it's true." All the strategists echoed together, but they were already thinking about a way out, and it seemed that Wei Changhui had no intention of surrendering or letting the city go.

After Wei Changhui returned to his seat, he continued: "Throughout the ages, this country is everyone's country, and the world is everyone's world. Those who are virtuous live in it, and those who are not virtuous are lost. Hong Xiuquan is greedy for wine, there is no distinction between good and stupid, and he has lost the virtue of a monarch. I am the most suitable king for him. What do you say? All the counsellors fell to their knees and said, "Hurrah, hooray, hooray!" His Royal Highness replaces the Heavenly King, it is really well deserved! ”

Wei Changhui had a colorful face, laughed nonstop, and asked everyone to sit on either side of him. After laughing, Wei Changhui frowned again. The counsellors asked, "Why is Your Highness so sorrowful?" Wei Changhui said, "It's easy to say, but it's hard to do." How can we make Hong Xiuquan fall into our control? ”

The advisor Xu Ping said: "Your Highness must not repeat the mistakes of the East Sin. When he suffered a loss, he suffered from the word 'slow', and fell for Hong Xiuquan's 'delay's strategy'. Hong Xiuquan is scheming, and Meng Deen, Chen Chengrong, Hu Yihuang and others around him are scheming. If you can't do it softly, it's better to solve it by force. The Heavenly King's Mansion should be captured and Hong Xiuquan placed under house arrest, so that His Royal Highness can coerce the Heavenly King to order the princes. Several strategists also chimed in: "The best policy, the best policy." ”

Strategist Liu Naixin said: "No, no!" When everyone heard this, they were stunned and asked, "Why?" Liu Naixin shook his head and said: "The people are the foundation of the country, the civil and military are the trunk of the tree, and public opinion is the pioneer. Judging from the humble position, although the situation is urgent, it is not an urgent need, and it is better to lay a solid foundation so as not to give up halfway. ”

"Would you like to say something quickly?" Wei Changhui became impatient again, and Liu Naixin continued: "Why isn't Yang Xiuqing in a hurry to usurp the throne? However, he saw that the time was not yet ripe, so he did not dare to act rashly, so that he was not thoughtful, so he fell for Hong Xiuquan's plan to delay the army. According to Yang Xiuqing's prestige and power, he still doesn't dare to act rashly, let alone His Royal Highness? According to the view of humble duties, we must first grasp public opinion, win the hearts of the people, and try our best to pull the officials and the people to our side. ”

He paused and said, "Admittedly, it's easy to say, but it's hard to do. However, Your Highness, don't forget the power tricks, it is not okay to let it go. You can choose a day to invite hundreds of civil and military officials to discuss the matter, especially the most prestigious Hu Yihuang and Chen Chengrong, and be sure to invite them to attend. At that time, His Highness will use both soft and hard, both hard and soft. If there is a non-compliance, you can make an example. If the goal is achieved, His Royal Highness can issue a joint proclamation with the hundred officials, telling the military and civilians, etc., that everyone will know. Let them know why the king of the north wants to replace the king of Yao, and whose decree they will obey in the future. This is called justification and winning the hearts and minds of the people. At that time, His Royal Highness controlled the civil and military officials, Hong Xiuquan was alone, and the Heavenly King's Mansion was self-defeating. Hong Xiuquan sees the general trend, what can he do? Wouldn't it be in the hands of His Highness to kill and survive? Further, this also laid the foundation for His Highness to be the emperor in the future. ”

"High! It's really high! Wei Changhui was full of praise and rewarded Liu Naixin. Then he announced in public: "That's it!" (To be continued......)