It was already early autumn weather, but the sultry heat in Suzhou did not dissipate, and after a whole day of sweltering, an autumn rain finally fell in the evening, blowing away the suffocating heat a little.

Qian Jiang in the Xiwang Mansion in Suzhou walked out of the office courtyard of the Intelligence Department quickly, holding a few pages of paper in his hand, and hurried to the Xiwang study, only to reach the door of the Xiwang study, he couldn't wait to say loudly: "It's a fight!" It's time to fight! There's a fight over there at Dagukou! ”

Xiao Yungui and Zuo Zongtang were discussing official business in the study, and they were overjoyed when they heard this, Xiao Yungui stepped forward from behind the table, took the pages and read them. The news was a telegram sent from Shanghai, to the effect that the British and French forces had suffered a big loss in Dagu and were about to return to Shanghai.

Zuo Zongtang also said with a smile after reading the telegram: "It seems that the Manchus and foreigners can only continue to fight, and there is no room for change." ”

Qian Jiang frowned and said, "But I didn't expect the Qing Demon to be so capable of fighting, and he could actually defeat Grant's fleet." ”

Xiao Yungui smiled indifferently: "It's good that the Qing Demon wins." ”

Qian Jiang asked puzzledly, "Why did Your Highness say this?" Isn't it better to defeat the demons? ”

Xiao Yungui looked at Zuo Zongtang, and Zuo Zongtang explained with a smile: "The Qing Demon has always regarded himself as a foreign country, and has always looked down on foreigners, and the previous Jiangning Treaty was even more of a great shame. Now that the war is won, the main battle faction of the Qing Demon Dynasty will definitely have the upper hand, and then there will be a war, and there is no possibility of negotiation. ”

Xiao Yungui said with a smile: "Yes, if the Qing Demon loses this battle, the soft bones of the Qing Demon will sign a treaty with the foreigners all of a sudden, which will be a big disadvantage." Now that the Qing Demon has won, it must be jubilant, and everyone is shouting to fight again. There will be no more talk of negotiations. ”

Qian Jiang suddenly realized, Xiao Yungui pondered for a moment and said: "However, the foreigners will not give up after this defeat, and it is estimated that they will prepare for an expedition of soldiers and horses, and it will take two years to slow down, and a year will be a year sooner than a year." ”

Zuo Zongtang said: "These days are almost enough for us to complete the integration, and then it will be up to the foreigners to see how they want to stop, if they really want to threaten by force, we are not afraid of him." ”

Xiao Yungui has another plan, and it is inconvenient to talk to Zuo Zongtang and Qianjiang. Look at how late it is. Zuo Zongtang and Qian Jiang went back to their homes to rest, and Xiao Yungui went back to the house to eat.

Back in the inner house where she and Hong Yun'er lived, Hong Yun'er had already prepared a table full of meals, and was sitting at the table with Xiao Youfu waiting for him to return. I saw my wife and children sitting at the dining table waiting, and the table was full of home-cooked meals. A warm atmosphere lingered.

Hong Yun'er saw him come back and handed Xiao Youfu over to the female officer on the side, and got up to sit for him. smiled and said, "I came back early today." I'll make a table of food waiting for you, hurry up and eat it. ”

Xiao Yungui saw her smile warmly, and also smiled, pulled the hem of her clothes and sat down, and ate a few bites of food, Hong Yuner's cooking skills were really good. Very homely.

Hong Yun'er also ate it, and from time to time she served him vegetables, and asked in her mouth: "Is there any news from Dagukou?" ”

Hong Yun'er came back early from the Yamen of the Intelligence Department today, and she did not receive a telegram from Shanghai. Xiao Yungui took a sip of Sydney wine and said with a smile: "There is good news." "Immediately told the news of the battle between the Manchus and the British and French Dagukou.

Hong Yun'er also smiled after hearing this: "It is best for the Manchu Qing to win, so that they will not be sold too thoroughly." It's just that we are now inviting the attack of the British and French forces, but I am afraid that we will not have enough time, and our old classmates on the Manchu side are only afraid that they will not be able to withstand it. ”

Xiao Yungui said: "I don't think Lu Sixuan and the one in the palace will sit still, I think they must have a move." ”

Hong Yun'er said curiously: "What other tricks can they have?" Although the Manchus organized and trained a new army, after all, the time was still short, and the Manchu court was not yet in their final say, so they must be tied to their hands and feet, and they must not be the opponent of the Anglo-French alliance. ”

Xiao Yungui smiled and said: "We are the same as Lu Sixuan, we both lack time to integrate internally, I think they will definitely arrange a follow-up move, and we actually know this trick." ”

Hong Yun'er frowned slightly: "I can't think of it, you can say it quickly." ”

Xiao Yungui slowly took a bite of plum cabbage and meat, and said leisurely: "I guess they will definitely use India to make trouble for the British." ”

Hong Yun'er said suspiciously: "India? Then he suddenly realized: "You mean the Indian uprising of 1857?" ”

Xiao Yungui nodded and said: "Yes, the East India Company's high-pressure rule in India has reached the brink of danger, and now that the Manchus and the Anglo-French coalition forces in the Far East are fighting, and the Manchus are victorious, the British are bound to be annoyed and angry, they will form an expeditionary force to go to the Far East, and the British army in India must also be transferred, and the Indian servant army will also follow, which will inevitably cause the intensification of contradictions in advance." It only takes a little spark for India to burn up completely, and once a major Indian uprising breaks out, will the British still be able to send troops eastward? I expect that Lu Sixuan will definitely take advantage of this to make a fuss, even if there is no Mars, he will send someone to sneak into India to make Mars, after all, no one can say whether the animal fat wrapped in the bullets of the British army's front-loading rifled guns is made of lard. ”

Hong Yun'er laughed and said: "Yes, they must want to get it, this is their best chance to delay time, as long as it can be delayed for three or four years, we and they can be more prepared, and we will not be afraid of foreigners at that time." ”

Xiao Yungui smiled sinister and said: "I'm also afraid that they won't be able to remember, so I will ask Bai Zetang to bring a secret letter to Rong Lu, which will only write a few words about the Indian uprising, and they should worry about the rest." ”

Hong Yun'er pursed her lips and smiled: "You are really good at calculating, even beating and eliminating, not only calculating the Manchu Qing, but even the British will be overshadowed." Then the smile faded, and he sighed lightly: "But what about us?" Why is it suddenly quiet these days over there in Tianjing? ”

Xiao Yungui took a sip of wine, held the wine glass and was stunned, and said after a while: "Maybe this is the temporary tranquility before the storm, the Heavenly King and the Eastern King will do it sooner or later, just see which side can complete the preparation first." ”

While the couple was eating and talking, Qian Jiang came quickly, and once there was any new news these days, Qian Jiang was always the first to report it, which shows that the role of the Intelligence Department is becoming more and more obvious.

The news brought by Qianjiang is very simple, two days ago, the Wing King Shi Dakai and the Northern King Wei Changhui returned to Tianjing at the same time!

Xiao Yungui was a little shocked, and hurriedly asked, "How many soldiers and horses did they bring?" Qian Jiang replied: "According to the intelligence, the two kings only brought five or six hundred guards and retinues back to Beijing!" ”

Xiao Yungui's complexion changed greatly, and he couldn't help but get up and exclaimed, "Are Shi Dakai and Wei Changhui crazy?" Knowing that Yang Xiuqing was going to deal with them, he dared to return to Tianjing with only such a few soldiers and horses, they didn't know that once the two of them were charged, the soldiers and horses of the Wing Hall and the North Hall would be finished? ”

Qian Jiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "My subordinates can't guess it, it stands to reason that the Heavenly King's rebellion edict has been received by the Wing King and the North King, and it is impossible not to know the conspiracy of the East King." ”

Hong Yun'er put down the dishes and chopsticks and said, "Director Qian hasn't eaten yet, sit down and eat some first, I'll send someone to invite Zuo Xiang over, and we'll sum it up together later." ”

Qian Jiang stayed in the Intelligence Department all day long to coordinate the news of all parties, and he couldn't eat such exquisite home-cooked food on weekdays, so he sat down to eat with a few polite words, and Hong Yun'er sent the counselor of the West Wangfu to invite Zuo Zongtang to come.

After the arrangement, he saw Xiao Yungui holding chopsticks and standing there in a daze, Qian Jiang saw that King Xi did not move the chopsticks, and he did not dare to exceed the courtesy, so the two of them sat stiffly. Hong Yun'er smiled and sat down and said, "The sky hasn't fallen yet, is there anything to talk about after eating?" After a while, the food was cold. ”

When Xiao Yungui heard this, he ate it, and Qian Jiang followed suit. The effort of the meal passed quickly, no one said anything, and after the meal, the female official served tea, and at this time Zuo Zongtang also arrived.

Zuo Zongtang returned to the house and was called by the West Hall Guard, and he didn't drink a sip of tea, and after Zuo Zongtang drank tea and listened to Qianjiang finish the news, he put down the teacup and said: "Your Royal Highness, don't worry, this is the policy of the Wing King, it stands to reason that the East King will order to be sent to Wuchang, Hubei two months ago, and the Wing King and the North King have received the general order, and then they have delayed so much time on the road, it can be seen that the two kings have arranged a qiē before leaving for Beijing." With the ability of the Wing King, he must have known that if he and the North King did not return to Beijing, the East King would definitely be unfavorable to the Heavenly King, so the two kings must return to Beijing, and they must not return to Beijing with soldiers and horses, so that the East King can completely relax his vigilance. ”

Xiao Yungui frowned and said: "The East King is relieved, but they have no soldiers in their hands, even if they return to Tianjing, they will not be able to defeat the East King." ”

Zuo Zongtang smiled and said, "Since the Wing King dares to use this strategy, there must be a back-up move." Zuo guessed that the Wing King used the strategy of putting him to death and then revitalizing, and the soldiers and horses in the Wing Hall and the North Hall outside were mainly to contain the army of the East King, and the soldiers and horses of the East King in Tianjing City were only tens of thousands, and there were also soldiers and horses on the princely palaces, if they were like Qin Rigang, Hu Yihuang, and Chen Chengying, these princes opposed the East King together, and the soldiers and horses of the East King in Tianjing City did not seem to be superior. If the East King was negligent in taking precautions, maybe he would really fall in love with the Heavenly King and the Wing King. ”

Xiao Yungui suddenly realized: "I see, it is worthy of the Wing King Shi Dakai, can think of this move, as long as he and the North King return to Beijing, the East King will definitely think that the overall situation has been decided and focus on dealing with the soldiers and horses outside the Wing Hall and the North Palace, and Tianjing will be negligent in taking precautions, if the King of Heaven and many princes join forces at this time, the East King will really be in danger in Tianjing." ”

Hong Yun'er suddenly interjected: "But we can think that Yang Xiuqing can't think of it, if the Wing King's move is seen through, the Heavenly King will be in danger." ”

Zuo Zongtang smiled faintly: "As the so-called authorities are fascinated, and bystanders are clear, Zuo guessed that the East King would definitely be defeated, and it was only in these days." (To be continued......)