Feng Yunshan was not surprised by Yang Xiuqing's reaction at all, he also had this idea when he first heard this proposal, after all, everyone knew that the two provinces of Nanyang were easy to be content, and without a strong navy, if they went to the Nanyang Islands, they could only be at the mercy of Yi Zhishan. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, after talking with Yi Zhi** a few times, he calmed down and pondered carefully, and he had to admit that this was indeed the only way for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to survive.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom can be said to be the center of two powers, one is the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, and the other is the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, in terms of military affairs, Yang Xiuqing's prestige is much higher than Hong Xiuquan, and he is also more clear about the contrast between the three forces of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Imperial Court and Yuan Qi.

After a slight pause, Yang Xiuqing directly asked the question he was most concerned about, "How could Yuan Qi suddenly join forces with the imperial court?" Is it because of the Northwest? ”

Feng Yunshan nodded and said, "Yi Zhixiang has had a long talk with me a few times, a big war broke out in Western countries, and Yuan Qi took this opportunity to send troops in the northwest, not only to recapture the territory occupied by Russia, but also to prepare for a big expansion in the northwest, so Yuan Qi was eager to stabilize the country. ”

"We didn't provoke Yuan Qi, what do we have to do with sending troops from the northwest?" Yang Xiuqing said angrily, but after thinking about it, he reacted, and Yi Zhizhi was content that he was afraid that the Taiping Army would take advantage of the opportunity of Yuanqi's dedication to the northwest expansion to develop rapidly.

Feng Yunshan glanced at him and said, "Now that we are divided into three parts of the world, our strength is the weakest, Yuan Qi is already full-fledged, and there is no need to use us to contain the ...... of the imperial court." ”

Although Yang Xiuqing is illiterate, he likes to listen to books, and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be said to be familiar, so he immediately said without thinking: "Then let's form an alliance with the imperial court and fight Yuanqi first, is it possible?" ”

"Impossible!" Feng Yunshan said slowly: "Yi Zhishu neither claimed the king, nor did he divide the country, let alone establish a country, but actively supported the imperial court, such as resisting foreign insults, expanding the territory overseas, providing huge loans for the imperial court, giving money to help the victims to build rivers, sending troops to consolidate the frontier, and so on.

These are obvious to all in the world, unless Yuan Qi openly rebels, otherwise the imperial court will not dare to risk the disapproval of the world to crusade against Yuan Qi, let alone join forces with us to crusade against Yuan Qi, and it is impossible to form an alliance in secret! When it comes to alliances, we can only form an alliance with Yuanqi, and we have no choice. ”

We have no choice, but Yuanqi can be left and right! Yang Xiuqing sighed secretly, he was disdainful of Yi Zhicontent before, but now it seems that that kid is the real hard stubble, he couldn't help but scold, "The dog that bites people doesn't bark, it's not wrong at all!" ”

Feng Yunshan nodded in agreement, "Dongwang is indeed not wrong at all, in fact, since we started in Jintian, we have always been used by Yi Zhicontent, the Nanyang Tiandi Hui Huang who provided us with Western firearms in Jintian, and the Yin brothers who provided us with Changsha City in Quanzhou Xiangshan Temple to defend the emptiness, Dongwang still remembers, right?" ”

Yang Xiuqing was very impressed by those two people, and he said in disbelief: "Are they all Yuanqi's people?" ”

"Not bad." Feng Yunshan bowed his head and said: "One of the two is called Huang Dianyuan, and the other is called Yin Youcai, both of whom are capable generals who are easy to be content. ”

Yang Xiuqing felt a chill when she heard this, and only after a while did she grit her teeth and say: "Good means, turning your hands into clouds, covering your hands for rain, and playing with us all in the palm of your hand, I really underestimated that guy before!" ”

Feng Yunshan asked himself if he had paid enough attention to Yuanqi, but he didn't expect that he still underestimated it, and sighed lightly before he said: "Heaven and Earth Society and Qinglian Sect are also under Yuanqi's orders, and now Yuanqi has really controlled eight provinces and ...... including Nanyang, Fujian and Zhejiang, Liangjiang and Guangdong. ”

Yang Xiuqing listened to it for a long time and couldn't do anything, they fought to the death with the Qing demon, and it took a few years to control the two provinces of Hunan and Guangxi, but Yuan Qi controlled the eight provinces quietly, thinking of this, he secretly wondered, and couldn't help but say: "Yuan Qi is now asking for money and money, soldiers and soldiers, and territory and territory, what else can Yi Zhizhi endure?" What's the point of going to the Northwest? ”

Hearing this, Feng Yunshan showed a wry smile, "According to Yi Zhi's contentment, first the outside and then the inside, and surrender without a fight." ”

Yang Xiuqing looked at him confused and said, "What do you mean?" ”

"That kid has a high vision and great ambitions, and what he sees in his eyes is not only the corner of the Qing Dynasty, but he wants to compete with Western powers for hegemony." Feng Yunshan said slowly: "The East King might as well think about it, what will happen after the Yuan Qi of the Northwest expands significantly? After the king of Nanyang and the king of the southeast, there is also a king of the northwest, and the first battle in the northwest can train at least more than 100,000 lions of tigers and wolves, plus more than 100,000 new troops on land and sea in the country, what will the court do against Yuanqi? Isn't this thousands of miles of land at your fingertips? ”

Yang Xiuqing nodded slightly, and said, "It is worthy of being a businessman, and he has a good calculation." ”

Feng Yunshan stared at him and said, "Now that the enemy is strong and I am weak, what is the plan of the East King?" ”

"The Kingdom of Heaven can have today's situation, it is fought step by step, we also have 600,000 troops now, how can we give up easily?" Yang Xiuqing said slowly: "The Wing King has led an army of 200,000 to the south, let's fight first." ”

Feng Yunshan's heart jumped, "Dongwang shouldn't want to fight Guangdong, right?" ”

"Exploring the real and the false." Yang Xiuqing glanced at him as she spoke, "Nanwang is worried that he will annoy Yuan Qi and cut off the back road?" ”

After a slight sigh, Feng Yunshan pondered and said, "Actually, Yi Zhishu is not willing to meet our soldiers..... After a pause, he continued: "Yi Zhizhi promised us that if you don't want to go to the South Seas, you can do it, and Yuanqi will organize a fleet to send us to Australia or Africa, the Americas, ........" ”

"Can you believe that?" Yang Xiuqing sneered and said, "There are millions of people in the Heavenly Kingdom, how big is his fleet?" ”

"It can be transshipped from Annam, Qiongzhou, Luzon, Java." Feng Yunshan said in a deep voice: "Over the years, Yuan Qi has been organizing large-scale immigration to Nanyang, and has a strong transportation capacity, and he still has the ability to transport hundreds of thousands of people. ”

After a pause, he continued: "The war is about money and food, not to mention us, even the Qing court can't compete with Yuan Qi, and it is not a wise move to preserve its strength and go to a foreign land." ”

Hearing these words, Yang Xiuqing was really a little moved, and he was silent for a long time before he said, "Let's take a look." ”

Qingshan Town, the camp of the water division.

Chen Hongming walked quickly into the Chinese army's tent with a telegram, and when he saw Yi Zhi, who was standing in front of a large map, he hurriedly stepped forward and excitedly reported: "Principal, there is a call from Guangzhou, Britain and France have formed an alliance with Turkey, and on March 27 and 28, they declared war on Russia one after another, and the war has expanded!" ”

For Yi Zhifen, this is expected, he turned around indifferently and took the telegram and glanced at it a few times, then put the telegram on the table, turned around and looked at the map again, seeing him so indifferent, Chen Hongming was very strange, seeing that he was looking at the map of Liangguang, he couldn't help but say: "The principal is worried about the war in Guangxi?" ”

lit a cigarette, and Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "Do you know anything about Shi Dakai?" ”

Although Chen Hongming is the commander of the Yangtze River Naval Division, he has been in Wuchang for many years, and he knows the war between the Qing army and the Taiping army well, and he groaned slightly, and he said: "Back to the principal, Shi Dakai is a famous general in the Taiping army, he attaches importance to opening up base areas, uses troops changeable, is good at insight into the situation, grasps the transition between attack and defense, is good at concentrating troops for large-scale sports warfare, and is also good at skillfully using geographical advantages, luring the enemy into depth, winning by surprise, and defeating the strong with the weak, which is really a rare general." ”

Yi Zhifu nodded slightly, Shi Dakai is indeed a rare general, and this person is not as ambitious as Yang Xiuqing, if he has the opportunity to be included in the account, he is also a general who can take charge of himself, but this person is loyal, I am afraid it will be difficult to get into the wish.

After a slight sigh, he said: "What is the purpose of Shi Dakai's southward journey?" ”

"It should be to consolidate the Taiping Army's base in Guangxi in order to strengthen strategic depth and room for maneuver." Chen Hongming said without thinking: "If you want to test the reality of Guangdong, the Taiping army will not delay until now, they should know very well that there are heavy troops on the water and land arteries from Hunan to Guangdong and from Guangxi to Guangdong. ”

After all, the Nanyang Navy entered Guangxi with less than 20,000 troops, and the Green Battalion of Liangguang and Yunnan-Guizhou, and the 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Guangdong Navy Division were only stationed at the junction of the two provinces, so the Taiping Army would not have sent 200,000 troops to the south under the condition of being overwhelmed by large soldiers, or did the Taiping Army have already decided to abandon Changsha?

After hesitating, Chen Hongming said: "The principal led two regiments to enter Nanning Mansion with Wei Wenwu, and Tang Zaosheng led two brigades to force Guilin, but to attract the attention of the Taiping army?" ”

"That's what it means." Yi Zhi said with a full jaw: "There is also a bluff to contain the Taiping Army's Guangxi strength and lure the Taiping Army to divide its troops, but Shi Dakai led an army of 200,000 to the south, which is still a bit unexpected." ”

Chen Hongming said slowly: "Tang Zaosheng has retreated to Hexian, Wei Wenwu has returned to Qinzhou, and although Shi Dakai has a large number of troops, he is a light soldier in a hurry, and he is categorically unable to enter Guangdong. ”

Yi Zhixiang naturally knows that the firepower configuration of the Marine Corps, especially the configuration of a large number of howitzers, is not comparable to the Taiping Army at all, and in terms of intelligence, communications, logistics and supply, it is far from being comparable to the Taiping Army.

Retracting his thoughts, he picked up the telegram and said: "The original text is forwarded to Yili, Wuchang, Jingshi, and Shanghai." ”

"Yes." Chen Hongming answered, turned to leave.

Jingshi, Old Summer Palace, Fangbi Cong.

There are many bamboos in Fangbi, and the front yard is covered with an awning, the courtyard is full of strange stones, and the green bamboo is blowing, even in summer, it is cool and pleasant, Mu Zhang'a Cha walked into the bamboo forest from the scorching sun, but he did not covet this coolness, but hurriedly walked into the room.

"Slave Muzhang Agong please Saint Ann." After Mu Zhang'an, he walked to the white felt carpet in front of Xianfeng and knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, Wuchang has called, Britain and France have declared war on Russia at the end of March, and the Crimean War has expanded. As he spoke, he raised the telegram with both hands over the top.

After taking the telegram and looking at it a few times, Xianfeng said with a smile: "I was really guessed by Yi Zhifen." ”

"Your Majesty, the Crimean War has expanded ......." Mu Zhang'a said slowly: "Yi Zhishu can accurately predict the outbreak of war and the expansion of the war, then the result of the war will not be wrong, and Yuan Qi's dispatch of troops to the northwest should be a foregone conclusion." ”

Xianfeng nodded, now even his prediction of Yi Zhizhi is extremely convincing, not convincing, he can accurately predict that Russia and Turkey will break out in the Balkans a few years ago, and Britain and France will also enter the war, expanding the war into a big war in Europe, not to mention the Qing Dynasty, I am afraid that no one in Europe can make such an accurate prediction! Yuan Qi's ability to rise so rapidly in a short period of time is really not without cause.

After retracting his thoughts, he said: "What do you think of Yi Zhi's battle plan to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army?" ”

Groaning slightly, Mu Zhang'a Cai said: "The main force of the Nanyang Marine Corps is directly from Wuchang to Changsha, simple and direct, easy to know and dare to do this, relying on the strong combat power of the Marine Corps, if Hong Yang sticks to Changsha, it is right in the middle, the slave is only worried, Hong Yang abandoned Changsha and transferred to Yunnan-Guizhou ....... ”

This is what Xianfeng is most worried about, the biggest loophole in the entire combat plan lies in this, Xiangxi has become the base of the Taiping Army, and it is impossible to penetrate into Xiangxi with heavy troops to block, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Eight Banners Green Battalion is impossible to resist the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Taiping Army, once the Taiping Army enters Yungui, and then wants to completely exterminate it, it is not an ordinary difficulty, and once the war breaks out in the northwest, Yuan Qi is afraid that he will give up encirclement and suppression, which is a big disaster after all.

"Your Majesty." Mu Zhang'a kowtowed lightly, and said in a deep voice: "The slave earnestly prays that the emperor will allow the local governor to intercept the money, recruit the village warriors, and form a group training, so that even if Hong Yang leads his troops into Yungui, he will definitely have no place to stand." ”

Hearing this, Xianfeng secretly smiled bitterly in his heart, to put it bluntly, the loophole in this combat plan is to promote the decentralization of local governors, even if he knows that it is easy to be content This is deliberate, but he has to be obedient, very simple, he can't afford to take this risk, he must buy time to release power to local governors before the Taiping army enters Yungui, otherwise it will be an afterthought!

It's not that he hasn't thought about it, he just gave power to the governor of Yungui, but he was really worried about what tricks Yi Zhixin would play, if he was forced to give power to local governors because of changes in the war situation, he was afraid that this ninety-five honor would become a joke of the world!

When Mu Zhang'a saw the battle plan in the report, he already understood the meaning of Yi Zhi's contentment, but what else could he do besides pinching his nose obediently? Moreover, he also took care of Xianfeng's face, and took the initiative to plead, of course, this power cannot be recovered in the future, and he still has to carry this black cauldron, which is really bitter and unspeakable! Fortunately, Yi Zhixiang did not enter Beijing to join the military aircraft, otherwise his position as the chief military aircraft would not be guaranteed!

Just groaned slightly, Xianfeng said slowly: "Let's go down to the next excerpt." ”

This is to leave him a clear evidence, Mu Zhang'a was full of bitterness, but he had to beat his spirit, and said loudly: "The slave obeys the order." ”