Chapter 64 Shao Quanzhong's Evil Hands
Chapter 64 Shao Quanzhong's Evil Hands
The attackers were wearing foreign military uniforms, and the Bai brothers were quite frightened.
Now that he saw the army leader wearing the official uniform of the Qing Dynasty, he felt much less nervous.
Although most of the officials in my Qing Dynasty are not good people, they are easier to communicate with than foreigners.
The two Hongmen heroes had no heroic spirit at all. They fell to their knees as soon as they entered the room and said, "Sir, please spare my life. Sir, please spare my life."
Shao Quanzhong said kindly, "Stand up, don't be so scared. Am I such a cruel person? Come here, take a seat!"
You are not cruel? We both saw with our own eyes that twelve Liu family members were just executed on the spot.
The prisoners actually had seats? The Bo brothers had no idea what Shao Quanzhong was up to, so they sat down trembling, daring only to touch the edge.
Shao Quanzhong sighed, "Alas, I led people to attack your village because I was ordered to do so. I had no choice.
I used to be a gangster, but now that I’m wearing this official uniform, I have no control over my own affairs.
Red flowers, green leaves, and white lotus roots, the three religions are actually one family. Shao always remembers the friendship of his friends in the martial arts world and will save them if he can.
Not long ago, I recruited Liao Rong, the leader of the Triad, into the Huai Army. He is also a brother of your Hongmen, right? "
"Captain Liao? I've heard of him. He's a higher level martial artist than the two of us."
It sounded like there was hope of being rescued, so the two Hongmen descendants immediately took advantage of the situation and tried to build connections.
Shao Quanzhong sat on the armchair, patting the armrests, "As for you two, as long as you are willing to submit to the court, I can spare your lives.
If you make contributions, I will recruit you as an official soldier. What do you think?"
The two men knelt down again and kowtowed, "We are willing to submit to the court, we are willing."
"That's good.
The court is in a difficult situation now. The main forces in Jiangbei have been transferred to fight Chen Yucheng and Zhang Lexing. How can they have the time to waste with you Qing Gang and Hongmen?
You are just doing smuggling to make a living, and I can understand that.
To be honest with you, I don't want to lose soldiers to fight against you guys. It's totally meaningless.
I am now planning to recruit Hou Boqiu on behalf of the imperial court. You two should pass on a message to him. If this is accomplished, you will have made great contributions."
The Bo brothers patted their chests and said, "We must persuade Hou Boqiu to change his mind!"
The two of them were still very confident that they could persuade Hou Boqiu to accept the amnesty.
If you can become an official, who would want to risk their life to be a bandit?
"Okay, this is my handwritten letter to Hou Boqiu, take it with you.
If Hou Boqiu can turn against the enemy, I will recommend him to my adoptive father as the ambassador of the Salt Permit Inspection Office, an eighth-rank official."
"No problem. I'll take care of it."
Even though he was an eighth-rank official, he held salt permits, which was very lucrative. Moreover, he could get the money legitimately and sleep well. Isn't it much better than selling salt illegally at the risk of losing his head?
The Bai brothers left in great joy, and Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Let's stay in Baijiawei and stay here for a few more days."
…………
Hou Boqiu was the bully of Guazhou and of course he controlled Guazhou, but Hou Boqiu did not live in Guazhou City.
Guazhou City changed hands repeatedly between the Taiping Army and the Qing Army. The main reason for its ruin was not that Guazhou City was too big. "Jingkou and Guazhou are separated by a river." Guazhou is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. It is a strategic location between the north and the south. It is a thousand-year-old town with a city wall circumference of more than 1,500 feet.
Hou Boqiu was the leader of a private salt dealer. He had more than 600 soldiers under his command and controlled more than 2,000 followers in seven towns. Even if all of them went up to the city, they could not fill up the walls of Guazhou.
There is no way to defend Guazhou City.
To the east of Guazhou City, there is an Acropolis with a circumference of several hundred meters. It is called Guiliu City. It is basically a castle-like structure, suitable for stationing troops.
If Hou Batian controls Guiliu City, he will control Guazhou.
In Guiliu City, Hou Batian held Shao Quanzhong's letter in his hand and slammed the table, "Someone, push these two traitors down and chop them off!"
The Bai brothers were horrified, "Boss Hou, this is unfair.
We had all been released, but we came to deliver the letter out of loyalty to you, Boss Hou, and for your future.
Boss Hou, wouldn't it be better to be recruited as an official? Don't be so stubborn. Hong Xiuquan gave you the title of Grand Marshal of the Two Rivers and Two Lakes. It sounds like a bandit title. How can you be sincere?
He has conferred titles on more than 2,700 princes. The officials of the Longhai are worthless, and they are not as real as the officials of the imperial court."
Hou Boqiu sneered, "Can you trust the promises of the imperial court? They tricked me out of Guiliu City and killed me with a single blow. Who can I go to for justice?"
"It's different. Lord Shao always keeps his word. He wants to recruit you for the sake of his friends in the martial arts world. He is not afraid of beating you."
“Push it back!”
Hou Boqiu looked at the two brothers with a smile, "Did Shao Quanzhong scare you?"
"Boss, Boss, he is really amazing. We at Baijiawei couldn't hold out for even a quarter of an hour before we were captured.
Haven't you heard that he even wiped out the foreign rifle team? If you don't accept the amnesty and provoke him, and he really attacks you, you really won't be able to defeat him."
Hou Boqiu rolled his eyes and said, "Come here and tell me how you two losers got into trouble."
After listening to the two people talking and gesturing, Hou Boqiu began to sneer, "They don't have cannons, right? No wonder they want to recruit me, they are scared by the 21-foot-high wall of Guiliu City.
Humph, Guiliu City is not Qiweizi. I have four hundred muskets in my hand. Your engineers can't rush over to bury the gunpowder.
There are firing holes on the battlements, so your suppressive fire is useless."
Hou Boqiu stroked his chin and said, "If Shao Quanzhong wants to recruit me because he can't do anything to me, then he may be sincere."
Hou Boqiu walked back and forth for a long time with his hands behind his back.
He was not afraid of Shao Quanzhong's attack, but he was really attracted by the position of ambassador of the Salt Permit Inspection Office.
After rolling his eyes and thinking for a long time, Hou Boqiu slammed the table and said, "Go back and tell Shao Quanzhong that if he really wants me to surrender to the court, it is not impossible to discuss it, but he must show sincerity.
I didn't force him to come to Guiliu City to see me. I took my men to camp by the canal and negotiate with him across the river.
If he dares to come to my camp to see me, I will believe in his sincerity!"
The Bai brothers left with sad faces. Isn't this embarrassing for Lord Shao? How could a sixth-rank military officer, worth thousands of gold, enter your bandit camp? Forget it, forget it. This is not something we can control. Let's go back and report.
After watching the two men leave, his subordinate came over and said, "Dragon Head, I think Shao Quanzhong is sincere. He is just a warrior, so he doesn't have so many tricks."
Hou Boqiu laughed, "I think so too. It's ok for him to ask someone to deliver a message, but why would someone who can't even write well learn how to write a letter to surrender?
Look, his signature, 'Shao Quanzhong's handwriting', the word 'ink' is written wrong."
(End of this chapter)