Chapter 154: Vow to pluck the wool from the imperial court
Chapter 154: Vow to pluck the wool from the imperial court
Shao Quanzhong grabbed Zhang Zhidong's sleeve and said, "Brother Zhang, I must participate in the siege of Nanjing. I want to be the first to enter Nanjing. You must give me a good idea, otherwise I won't let you take the exam."
Shao Quanzhong began to use the rogue tactic of Liu Qi asking Zhuge Liang for a plan to protect himself, and then pulling the ladder out after climbing up the roof.
Zhang Zhidong sighed and shook his head. "Our Huai Army's intelligence network is mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and we have not yet expanded to Sichuan and Yunnan and Guizhou. I have no idea about Luo Bingzhang's siege of Shi Dakai in Guizhou and Sichuan. Without intelligence support, it would be useless even if Zhuge Liang came in person."
Seeing that Zhang Zhidong was at a loss, Shao Quanzhong rolled his eyes and said, "Brother Zhang, let me tell you a story. Just listen to it. I made it up. You may have an idea after listening to the story."
Shao Quanzhong began to do what a time traveler does best, telling the story from Shi Dakai's defeat at the Dadu River to Li Xiucheng's capture and killing, and Hong Tianguifu's death in Nanchang.
Zhang Zhidong listened with a smile, knowing that his lord was fabricating a story and beginning to reveal the secret.
Ever since Shao Quanzhong successfully predicted the Hunan Army's disastrous defeat at Yuhuatai, Shao Quanzhong and Zhang Zhidong decided to stay in Tongbai and not move. Their delaying tactic of using the excuse of having no horses was successful, and Zhang Zhidong had become more confident in his lord's ability.
But this is a normal world, without any fantasy elements. Shao Quanzhong revealed the secret, but no lightning struck, and no heavenly soldiers or generals came to stop him.
After listening to the "story", Zhang Zhidong closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. When he opened his eyes, a cold light flashed in his slender eyes.
Shao Quanzhong slapped his thigh and said, "It's done, the military advisor has a plan."
Tian Xing, who was listening in, was already familiar with Zhang Zhidong's tactics, and laughed, "Who are we trying to trick this time?"
As Zhang Zhidong told his story, Shao Quanzhong and Tian Xing breathed in the cold air, making a small contribution to the warming of the Little Ice Age.
My goodness, this time Luo Bingzhang, Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan are all in the same boat.
Shao Quanzhong hosted a grand banquet for Zhang Zhidong, and respectfully and warmly sent him off to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination, and even escorted him to the speedboat.
"Brother Zhang, you must come back after you pass the imperial examination. The Huai Army needs you. I can't do it without you."
Zhang Zhidong laughed loudly, "I can't bear to let you go. How can I miss the great achievement of conquering Nanjing?"
Zhang Zhidong changed into a long gown and a silk hat with a red tassel, and stood at the bow with his long sleeves fluttering in the wind, as stylish as Zhuge Liang. The single-masted speedboat sailed eastward.
After seeing Zhang Zhidong off, Shao Quanzhong finally remembered the passerby who had delivered the letter to the court. He was just an ordinary clerk who delivered letters to the court.
The clerk from the capital city could not be neglected. He rushed to deliver something to you for 800 miles, and was so tired that he almost vomited blood, but Shao Quanzhong still gave him 200 taels of silver according to the rules.
The clerk took the silver and talked to Shao Quanzhong about the reward. "This time the court gave you a generous reward by sending you to the mountainous areas of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou to suppress the roaming Guangdong bandit Shi Ni. This made you lose the opportunity to besiege Nanjing. I feel very sorry for you."
Shao Quanzhong did not expect to be promoted when he wiped out the main force of the Nian bandits led by Zhang Lexing, but the reward he received was unexpectedly generous.
Shao Quanzhong enjoyed the treatment of a bannerman. He was rewarded for his small achievements and promoted twice to the position of Anhui Provincial Surveillance Commissioner and General of Shouchun Town. He was awarded the Double-eyed Peacock Feather and the Second-Class Light Cavalry Commandant.
Shao Shucai was promoted to the second-class light cavalry commander, and his two wives and Shao Ma were promoted to the second-class imperial consorts.
This overly generous reward was definitely an advance reward for Shao Quanzhong's contribution to the capture of Nanjing, and it was a summary reward.
According to the court's estimate, Luo Bingzhang reported in the memorial that Shi Dakai led an army of 30,000, which was moving rapidly between the mountains in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, making it extremely difficult to encircle and blockade them.
It would probably take Shao Quanzhong several years to go to the southwest. It was estimated that even if Nanjing was destroyed, Shi Dakai, who was wandering around, could not be caught.
Shao Quanzhong, you have worked hard, so I will give you this year-end bonus in advance. Song Le, the battalion officer of the Shuzi Battalion of the right wing of the Huai Army Infantry, used his superb gun skills to snipe and kill the leader of the Nian bandits, Zhang Lexing, from two miles away, and was promoted to deputy general.
The reward was generous this time, and Song Lao San, the only one who was rewarded by Shao Quanzhong, also took advantage of it. He was the last one among his confidants to be rewarded, and he was promoted to deputy general directly, surpassing all his fellow military generals.
Shao Quanzhong had already seen the reward for himself, but he was angry about not having the opportunity to capture Nanjing, so he sneered at the reward from the court - no matter how high the reward was, it could never match the merit of capturing Nanjing.
Now with Zhang Zhidong's strategy, he felt more confident and was smiling happily.
I made a good profit this time, and then I will go to Sichuan to make more, and finally I will break into Nanjing to make a bigger profit.
It is Shao's style to take advantage of the imperial court and take advantage of every opportunity.
"This time, Yinghan fell into a trap of false surrender, which resulted in the death of the monk king. The court will demote Yinghan to the lowest position and make him a commoner, never to be employed again."
Shao Quanzhong felt a little sorry for Yinghan. After all, he was the prefect of Suzhou, and was a subordinate of himself, the former governor of northern Anhui. It was a bit hard for him to let his subordinates down.
However, since the monk king died in battle, someone must take the blame.
My little shoulders can't bear it, brother. Brother Yinghan, you are a bannerman, you have broad shoulders. If you can carry this big pot, at least you won't be in danger of your life, right?
Shao Quanzhong was in a good mood, and he specially led the clerk to the military training ground, and asked Song Laosan to perform his amazing skill of hitting the target with every shot from two miles away. This proved that his battle report was not bragging, and Song Laosan's promotion to deputy general was well deserved.
After sending the clerk away, Le Sen asked whether they should break camp and set off for Sichuan.
Shao Quanzhong waved his hands. "No hurry, no hurry. Didn't we set up a minefield between Xuchang and Tongbai to stop the Nian bandits? We have to clear the mines anyway. Stay for two more days."
This was Shao Quanzhong's habitual lie. Zhang Lexing, who was captured this time, was one of his own. Unlike Chen Yucheng, who would not cry until he saw the coffin, the Huai Army did not really lay mines, but just pretended to do so.
After spending another half a month "clearing mines" in Tongbai, the Huai Army slowly returned to Fengyang on the grain transport fleet.
We need to rest in Fengyang for another month. I have already reported that the casualties were minor, but we lost 500 men, so we have to "rest for a while".
Fortunately, Zeng Guofan did not urge him to go to Sichuan. It was fine as long as he went there in the end. Could Shi Dakai's scabies be compared with Hong Xiuquan's?
Anyway, you won't come back to compete with me for Jinling, so you can delay as much as you want. Do you dare not go?
The team was resting in Fengyang, and Le Sen took great pains to drive 20,000 horses back by land. The horse team moved slowly, and the canal boats had to transport black beans as feed all the way. It was estimated that it would be good if they could reach Fengyang after the rest.
Shao Quanzhong was impatient to stay in Fengyang, so he led his men back to Jiangyan, recruited another fifty naval children, and sent them to Ma Han in Zhenjiang.
Ma Han became the principal of the Zhenjiang Naval Academy and was training the sailors of the Haichang.
He has almost trained these sailors from cargo ship sailors into full-fledged navy soldiers.
The training of officers cannot be relaxed. The number of young students studying in the UK will not increase. They are the ones who will be the captains of large ships in the future. Captains of small ships and officers attached to large ships should also be trained, right? Then we can do it ourselves.
After recruiting the children, Shao Quanzhong went to the Hailing Arsenal to inspect the reproduction of Gatling machine gun bullets and Williams rapid-fire cannons.
Before he could even look, his subordinates came to report quickly, "Master Qiao, please come over quickly. Urgent military information: Li Xiucheng led an army of 200,000 to break through the siege of Nanjing, crossed the river to the north, and entered the territory of our Northern Anhui Province."
(End of this chapter)