Chapter 112 Surrender
Chapter 112 Surrender
Shao Quanzhong walked around several times with his hands behind his back, then turned around and his expression became very kind.
"Shao admires your patriotism very much. Don't worry, we'll get to know each other once. If you really want to leave, I'll give you free return fare. However, you should wait on this warship first. Maybe you won't want to leave."
Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, "Siwen, take the two of you to the cabin to rest, and ask your fourth brother to come to my cabin."
Shao Quanzhong went to the VIP cabin and discussed the matter with Zhang Zhidong for a long time behind closed doors. Liao Rong was also called in to help with advice.
When Shao Quanzhong came out of the cabin, he had a letter in his hand.
"Siwen, you take this letter in person and give it to Brother Tian. Watch him read it and then destroy it. There must be no mistakes."
Zhang Siwen obeyed the order, put the letter in his pocket, took two personal soldiers, went ashore in a small boat, and headed straight for the Huai Army's right wing camp along the Yangtze River embankment.
…………
The 4,000 men of Yang Fuqing's army stood in the water for more than four hours, listening to the sound of artillery and gunfire outside the southern dike, and the shouting and screams gradually fading away. The soldiers' hearts sank.
Our brothers on the south bank of the Yangtze River seem to be under attack by other Qing demon troops. It seems they can’t come to rescue us. The morale of the Taiping Army is beginning to decline rapidly.
At the critical moment, Prince Fu Yang Fuqing groaned twice and opened his eyes.
Slowly waking up from a coma, Yang Fuqing found himself lying on a stretcher, with two loyal soldiers standing in the water, carrying him with great effort.
He sat up and looked around. Fortunately, everything was fine. He had been caught by surprise and was prepared for defeat. But now it seemed that the situation was better than expected, and most of his men were still there.
After asking a few questions, he figured out the situation. When his body gradually recovered, he jumped off the stretcher and stood in the water.
Several generals waded through the water and gathered around. Yang Fuqing drew his sword and began to boost morale.
"Brothers, Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother will not abandon us loyal believers. The King of England will temporarily withdraw his troops, but he will definitely fight back to save us! We have encountered difficult situations before, and as long as we hold on, we will definitely defeat the Qing monsters in the end!"
Seeing the Prince Fu awaken, the morale of the Taiping Army was boosted, and they all shouted, "Destroy the Qing demons and build the kingdom of heaven together!"
The morale of his men recovered slightly, but Yang Fuqing himself felt heavy in his heart.
Can the King of England come back? That's not certain. Even if he can come back, it's a long way to go to Tongcheng, and it's unknown whether he can hold out for that long.
It is unknown when the battle on the south bank of the Yangtze River will end. If the Qing monsters over there come to help, it is not impossible that the remaining 4,000 people will be destroyed.
These are the most valuable assets of my Taiping Army. They have followed me all the way from Jintian to today. I must live up to these old brothers. The burden on my shoulders is too heavy.
"Report to the King, the enemy from the north shot this piece of paper over."
Yang Fuqing opened the wet paper and saw the familiar handwriting on it, which was a little blurry. It was written in a very elegant and graceful way. "Skywalker invites you to meet me in front of the battle line to talk about the past."
Skywalker wants to meet me on the battlefield? Has that guy who is firmly against the Qing Dynasty already surrendered to the Tartars? This is too surprising.
Yang Fuqing was in a wavering mood.
Based on my understanding of Skywalker, he would never surrender to the Tartars even if he died. Even if I was wrong and he really surrendered to the Tartars, he should know clearly that no matter how much he persuaded me, I would never surrender to the Tartars. What else could he want from me?
Looking around at the four thousand old brothers soaking in the swamp, Yang Fuqing thought for a long time and gave orders to several subordinates.
"I'm going to see Skywalker. If anything happens to me, I will commit suicide and will not let them use me to force you to surrender. If I can't come back, you must lead the troops well and hold on until the King of England comes to rescue us."
"Yes!" A group of subordinates who were loyal to Yang Fuqing obeyed the order together.
Yang Fuqing took only two of his personal soldiers with him and waded northward. The water became shallower and shallower, and he walked out of the swamp 100 meters below the earth slope where the three battalions of the Huai Army's right wing were stationed, and saw Tian Xing waiting there.
Tian Xing has stuck on his long-missed beard again and put on the face-changing mask he learned from Sichuan Opera. He has transformed himself from the Wudang swordsman Tian Xing into the anti-Qing bandit Tianxing.
Seeing Yang Fuqing coming, Tian Xing opened his arms, "Long time no see, old friend—"
Yang Fuqing turned aside and said in a cold tone, "I was wrong. I didn't expect that you, Skywalker, would also surrender to the Tartars one day."
Tian Xing was prepared. He looked up to the sky and laughed, "Does the Prince have so little confidence in me, Skywalker? Even if the sea is turbulent, it can't stop me from overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty to destroy the Tartars. I, Skywalker, am a man of honor. I am not afraid of death. How could I surrender to the Tartars?"
"Then why are you here?"
"Shao Quanzhong, the commander of the Huai Army that surrounded you, is my sworn brother."
"You have sworn brotherhood with the Tartar's lackeys, so aren't you surrendering to the Tartars?"
Tian Xing shook his head and said, "Prince Fu, ask yourself, honestly, can the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom succeed?"
Yang Fuqing remained silent.
In front of others, he could still defend Heaven, but in front of Skywalker, an old friend who knew the truth about Heaven, he had nothing to say.
Ever since Prince Yi left, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was doomed to fail, and all the smart people in the kingdom knew it.
The Heavenly King acted perversely, suppressing two talented people, Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng, promoting useless people like Qin Rigang, Lin Shaozhang and Meng De'en, and condoning the two brothers Hong Renfa and Hong Renda to do whatever they want. It seemed that the great Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would not last long.
"Princess Fu, please come with me to see someone who can arrange a satisfactory way out for you."
Yang Fuqing glared and shouted, "Do you want to see your Qing Dynasty lackey brother? Even if the Heavenly Kingdom is destroyed, we have fought vigorously. Yang is a man of integrity and will never bow down and become a Qing Dynasty lackey!"
"Who said you were to be a running dog of the Qing Dynasty? With your status and reputation, if you wanted to be a running dog, the old Emperor Xianfeng would not accept you and would definitely torture you to death. I swear on the reputation of Skywalker that I am not trying to persuade you to surrender to the Qing Dynasty."
Yang Fuqing was puzzled, "Then what else can we talk about? Qing Yao and I are irreconcilable. It's either you die or I live. There is no way to compromise."
"That's not necessarily true. Can you bear to watch four thousand old brothers die with you in this swamp? Don't you want to see the day when the Tartars are destroyed?"
"And that day?"
Tian Xing patted his chest and said, "I promise that day will come, and it won't be too far away. Before that, you have to stay alive first."
Seeing that Yang Fuqing was still hesitating, Tian Xing shouted.
"Hey! What are you still hesitating about? Just come with me. I want to kill you here. Can you escape from me? You are at the end of your rope now. I show you a way out, but you are still reluctant. If you don't want to go, forget it. Let's go our separate ways!"
Yang Fuqing gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go. I'll go and see what you guys are up to!"
Yang Fuqing didn't even bring his personal soldiers with him and followed Tian Xing.
We walked eastward along the earth slope to the east embankment of the Yangtze River, passed the mud branch and Shentang, and followed the east and south embankments of the Yangtze River to Liudu Wharf, where we took a small boat and boarded the Haichang.
(End of this chapter)