After the Taiping army broke through from Yong'an, it had a relatively vague goal - to attack Guangxi, wave its army to the north, build a foundation, and create a small paradise. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 At that time, the Taiping army was seriously damaged, and was surrounded and intercepted by the Qing army, panicking like a lost dog, and it was impossible to have any clear goals, and survival was the biggest goal.

Quanzhou Xiangshan Temple, Yin Youcai for the first time to Yang Xiuqing clearly proposed to occupy Hunan and Guangxi as a base to counter the Qing court, Yang Xiuqing did not care at that time, entered Hunan from Guangxi, occupied Changsha City, and won many victories, after the sudden increase in strength, not only Yang Xiuqing began to consider the establishment of a small paradise, Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan also began to consider this problem.

Ordinary bandits still have their own territory, how can the Taiping army, which is strong and strong, not have its own territory? In the past few days, the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan has frequently convened all the kings to discuss this important event that will determine the fate of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

However, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui, and Shi Dakai each had different thoughts and were not unified in their thinking; some proposed to open up a small paradise in Hunan and Guangxi, some proposed to continue to move north to the Central Plains, some proposed to enter Sichuan from Hunan Province, and some proposed to go south to take Jinling and occupy the southeastern half of the wall.

After repeatedly discussing for a few days, he finally failed to unify his thoughts, Yang Xiuqing was also worried about this matter, Yin Youcai, who listened to it, once again proposed to use Hunan and Guangxi as the basis, he couldn't help but sneer secretly in his heart, he wanted to use the Taiping Army as a gunman, there was no door, the Taiping Army and the Qing Demon worked desperately, but they didn't make wedding dresses for others!

After a slight sigh, he said tentatively: "The pattern of Hunan and Guangxi is too small, the south of the Yangtze River is rich, and it has always been an important place for the imperial court. ”

Wave your army south and capture Jinling? Yin Youcai glanced at him suspiciously, and said, "Dongwang Mo is not joking?" ”

Yang Xiuqing was displeased, her face sank, and she said, "What does Brother Yin mean by this?" Is this king joking? ”

Since the Jintian uprising, Yang Xiuqing in the Taiping Army is one person under 10,000 people, because of his outstanding military talent, led the Taiping Army to break through the siege and win one after another, coupled with its strict management of the army, the Taiping Army is not only extremely supportive of it but also very afraid, this more than a year, he has become more and more powerful, this sinking face, has its own majesty.

Yin Youcai didn't expect that the other party actually planned to get involved in Jiangnan, so he immediately smiled and said coldly: "Wave your army to the south and capture Jinling, is the Taiping army planning to be the enemy of Yuan Qi?" ”

Yang Xiuqing really didn't know much about Yuan Qi, and couldn't help but be a little stunned when he heard this, "Isn't Yuan Qi's group training already attached to the imperial court and become a ...... Navy? Besides, what does Jiangnan have to do with Yuanqi? ”

"Yuanqi semicolons are all over the Jiangnan and large and small Fu counties, Jiangsu and Zhejiang silk reeling factories are all Yuanqi industries, Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, Jiangnan factories are also Yuanqi industries, your army wants to control the southeast, where is Yuanqi?" Yin Youcai said in a deep voice: "Yuanqi regimental training is to become the division of the imperial court - the marine corps of the Nanyang Navy, but the Nanyang Navy has always been in the hands of the Yuanqi Yi treasurer, if your army goes south to attack Jinling, Yuanqi will definitely not sit idly by, without the imperial court's order, the Nanyang Navy will take the initiative to reinforce Jinling!" ”

Yuan Qi is rich and powerful, Yang Xiuqing has naturally heard of it, but he really didn't know that Yuan Qi had so many industries in Jiangnan, and after a slight groan, he asked: "How many troops does the Nanyang Navy have?" ”

"Does the East King really plan to be an enemy of Yuan Qi?" Yin Youcai was a little surprised, glanced at the other party, and said: "The current strength of the Nanyang Navy is less than 30,000, but the King of the East should have heard that the Nanyang Navy has been fighting Annan to conquer the Japanese and conquering the Nanyang Sea over the years, and it is invincible, invincible, and prestigious, and it is not comparable to the Eight Banners Green Battalion." ”

In recent years, the Nanyang Navy has indeed played a very loud reputation, overseas battles, never defeated, and the newspapers have not been less publicized, Yang Xiuqing in the mountains and ravines of Guangxi, and often heard people mention the achievements of the Nanyang Navy, of course he knows that the Nanyang Navy is not a place where these Eight Banners Green Battalion can be compared, and the 20,000 or 30,000 navy can be described as a great threat to the Taiping Army.

After a slight hesitation, he asked, "I heard that the treasurer of Yuan Qiyi is a first-class marquis?" In addition, are you friends or foes with Yuanqi? ”

"Friend or foe." Yin Youcai said in a slower tone and said, "The East King may not know that the imperial court's attitude towards Yuan Qi ....... After explaining the relationship between the imperial court and Yuan Qi in detail, he said: "It is precisely for this reason that the imperial court did not transfer the navy nearby, but mobilized the new army of the Eight Banners from Beijing to Changsha. ”

After being silent for a long time, Yang Xiuqing said in a deep voice: "Based on Hunan and Guangxi, we will inevitably face the endless encirclement and suppression of the Qing demons, which is equivalent to using Hunan and Guangxi to contend with the whole world, and it is doomed to fail. Speaking of this, he paused before continuing: "Since Yuan Qi is suspicious of the imperial court, perhaps, we can join forces with Yuan Qi." ”

Yin Youcai knew very well that Yi Zhizhi had no intention of joining forces with the Taiping Army, but just wanted to use the Taiping Army to contain the imperial court, however, Yang Xiuqing took the initiative to propose, and he did not dare to refuse without authorization, after all, this matter was too big, after thinking about it, he said: "There are tens of thousands of shareholders in Yuanqi, all of them are gentry and businessmen in the southeast provinces, and the Taiping Army's attitude towards the gentry is ......., and the possibility of the two of you joining forces is not big." ”

"That's not a problem." Yang Xiuqing waved his hand and said with a smile: "Our Heavenly King and Nanwang are all scholars, and the reason why we didn't treat the gentry well is because the gentry in Guangxi and Hunan formed a group practice to fight against us, as long as the gentry don't go against us, we can't change our attitude." ”

Hearing him say this, Yin Youcai nodded and said, "Then send someone to test Xia Yuanqi's attitude?" ”

Yang Xiuqing said without thinking: "This is not a trivial matter, we have to send competent people to meet the shopkeeper of Yida." As he spoke, he turned his head, "The 10,000 Eight Banners New Army is coming to Changsha, when will Brother Yin's Western firearms be delivered?" ”

"Western firearms are all ordered from Western merchants, how can they be so fast." Yin Youcai paused intentionally as he spoke, and then said: "It will be the end of the year at the earliest, don't worry, Dongwang can rest assured, as soon as the goods arrive, they will be delivered immediately." ”

Coming out of the side courtyard, Yang Xiuqing slowed down, a pair of thick eyebrows also wrinkled slightly, in front of Yin Youcai, he looked indifferent in tone and demeanor, but in fact, he still attached great importance to the 10,000 Eight Banners New Army of Seng Lingqin, the reason is very simple, this Eight Banners New Army must be extraordinary, otherwise Yin Youcai would not have rushed to Changsha to report, he believed that Yin Youcai would not lie to him, and the purpose of the Nanyang Tiandi Society was also very clear, that is, to expect them to attract the attention of the Qing Demon and take care of Nanyang infinitely.

Instead, he thought about the relationship between Nanyang Tiandi and Yuanqi, and secretly wondered what was going on with this Yuanqi? Is there a possibility of rebellion? Is it possible for the two to join forces? Thinking all the way back to his main courtyard, he ordered his subordinates to invite King Nan over. In his opinion, Feng Yunshan is a native of Huaxian County, Guangdong, and should know more about Yuan Qi than him.

Feng Yunshan came quickly, and as soon as he entered the door, he said, "I heard that there will be people from Nanyang Tiandi?" ”

Although Feng Yunshan is the king of the south and belongs to his moderation, Yang Xiuqing is still very polite to him, after all, Feng Yunshan's prestige in the worship of God is extremely high, and many backbones from Guangxi were developed by him, and even he himself was introduced by Feng Yunshan, he got up and took two steps to greet him, and then smiled: "The king of the south is well-informed, the people are still in the courtyard, and the banquet is set up at night, and the king of the south is invited to accompany him." ”

"The king of the east will set up a banquet, and the king of the south will accompany us, and we can be regarded as giving enough face to the Nanyang Tiandi Society." Feng Yunshan said tentatively: "But there is good news? ”

"Sit, sit down." Yang Xiuqing affectionately beckoned him to sit down, and then said: "Yuan Qi's situation, can King Nan understand?" ”

"Yuan Qi?" Feng Yunshan was a little surprised, and said, "It has something to do with Yuan Qi? ”

"Yuanqi has a close relationship with the Nanyang Tiandi Society." Yang Xiuqing said slowly: "I want to know if Yuan Qi has the possibility of rebellion, is it possible for us to join forces with Yuan Qi?" ”

Join forces with Yuanqi? Feng Yunshan reacted as soon as he thought about it, and said, "The East King still insists on going south to Jinling?" ”

Yang Xiuqing nodded slightly: "A few opinions, it is not advisable to enter Sichuan from Hunan Province, it is easy for us to enter Sichuan, but it is difficult to get out of Sichuan." Wave the army to the north to occupy the Central Plains, now is not the time, our strength is still lacking.

Opening up a small paradise in Hunan and Guangxi seems to be quite suitable at first glance, after all, our main forces are from these two provinces, however, occupying these two provinces, we will face the endless encirclement and suppression of the Qing demon, which is equivalent to Hunan and Guangxi to compete with the whole world, how long can we hold on?

The best thing is to go south to Jinling, join forces with Yuanqi, control the southeast half of the country, and cut off the main source of wealth of the Qing Demon, so that we can at least share the world with the Qing Demon...... ”

Feng Yunshan asked without thinking about it, "What if Yuan Qi is unwilling to join forces with us?" ”

Yang Xiuqing said: "I heard that Yuanqi's relationship with the imperial court is not good now...... It seems that there is an idea of self-reliance in the South Seas. ”

"Guangzhou and Shanghai are the foundation of Yuanqi, and their semicolons are all over the southeastern coastal provinces, even if Yuanqi wants to stand on its own feet in Nanyang, it is not an overnight thing, therefore, it is impossible for Yuanqi to join forces with us, this is one of them." Feng Yunshan said in a deep voice: "Second, our holy treasury system, "Heavenly Dynasty Tianmu System", Yuan Qi will definitely not tolerate it!" ”

Yang Xiuqing was silent when he landed, indeed, the Holy Treasury System, the "Heavenly Dynasty Tianmu System" are intolerable to Yuanqi, and there is no possibility for the two families to join forces at all, that is to say, if they go south to Jinling, they will inevitably be enemies with Yuanqi, in addition to the Qing Demon, they will also have to face the Nanyang Navy with twenty or thirty thousand mighty voices.

After a while, he asked, "Is the Nanyang Navy really as powerful as rumored?" ”

Feng Yunshan looked up and thought for a while, before he said: "When Yingyi invaded the southeast coast, the Yuanqi regiment could not train 10,000 troops, so he dared to brazenly cross the sea to expedition to Dinghai, and then sent troops to recover Baoshan and Zhenjiang, assisted in the defense of Jiangning, and killed thousands of captured Yingyi.

Subsequently, Yi Zhizhi was content to prepare for the construction of the Nanyang Navy, and the Yuanqi regiment was trained to become a division of the imperial court. As he spoke, his expression was solemn, and he said in a solemn tone: "As a last resort, don't provoke Yuanqi." ”

Yang Xiuqing glanced at him and said, "It's late, we have already provoked, from Guangxi to Hunan, we haven't filled the silver money of the Yuanqi semicolon into the holy treasury." ”

Hearing this, Feng Yunshan couldn't help but smile, "Dongwang is busy with war, these little things naturally have no time to take care of, we have seized a few Yuanqi semicolons, but whether it is cash or paper money, it is pitiful, not as good as the general large households, even the same is true of the branch in Changsha, a provincial branch of Nuoda, even the banknotes with cash are less than five hundred taels of silver...... ”

"It seems that they got the news in advance, transferred it or collected it." Yang Xiuqing said slowly: "The relationship between Nanyang Tiandi and Yuan Qi is really extraordinary. ”

Feng Yunshan pulled back the topic and said: "I still agree to take Hunan and Guangxi as the foundation, first consolidate the territory and accumulate strength, as for the encirclement and suppression of the Qing Demon, we are all the way out of the encirclement and interception of the Qing Demon, are you still afraid of encirclement and suppression?" Let's kill it once, and if they are afraid of killing, they will naturally not dare to come.

In addition, we occupy Hunan and Guangxi, and there is a big benefit, in order to attract us to the Qing demon forces, the Nanyang Tiandi will inevitably continue to support us, with sufficient Western firearms, whether we expand our territory or go north in the future, we can do whatever we want. ”

Yang Xiuqing sighed for a long time, if he couldn't go south to occupy Jinling, control the southeast, and entrench in Hunan and Guangxi, I am afraid that it would be the best choice, even if he knew that he was being used as a gunman, he was helpless, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "Since it is necessary to take Hunan and Guangxi as the foundation, then it is necessary to attack the ..... of the prefectures and counties of Hunan as soon as possible." ”

"What the King of the East has seen is very true." Feng Yunshan flattered him, among the kings, what he was most worried about was this East King, even Hong Xiuquan had to concede three points to the East King many times, the reason was very simple, because the East King had a killer weapon - Heavenly Father descended to earth, this move, the East King was tried and tested, and he was never tired of it, and even Hong Xiuquan was helpless about it.

After a pause, he followed the conversation and said: "Capturing the surrounding prefectures and counties as soon as possible can not only expand the territory and obtain more supplies and troops, but also expand the strategic depth and expand the room for maneuver......." ”

"That's right, expand strategic depth and room for maneuver." Yang Xiuqing said: "Brother Yin just sent information, the Qing Demon sent a county king, Monk Greenqin, to lead 10,000 new troops of the Eight Banners who specialized in guarding the Beijing Division to Changsha at the same time.

This should be our strong enemy, our fleet before they arrived, divide the troops to capture a few more prefectures and counties, although Changsha is a big city and a strong city, but a horse and a flat river is too flat, no terrain can be used, it is not convenient to play our advantages, we have to find a good place to meet Monk Greenqin! ”