The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 114: Lord Bai, it’s your turn to take the blame!

"Just in time!"

Shengbao clapped his hands and said with a smile: "I can use these thousands of long-haired vanguards to test the power of the holy bombs!"

After hearing this, Luo Bingzhang frowned.

Ever since the Taiping Army captured Yong'an Prefecture, he had been reading military reports from the front lines every day, and thought he had a relatively good understanding of the Taiping Army's situation.

Thousands of elite Taiping troops were no small number! Even if Shengbao's 1,000 Eight Banners soldiers and Fucheng's 3,000 Gansu-Shaanxi Green Camp soldiers were stacked together, they would not be able to withstand a good beating.

But before Luo Bingzhang could speak to dissuade him, Zuo Zongtang asked flatteringly: "How does Lord Sheng plan to wipe out these thousands of Tai Maos? How can Lord Luo cooperate with him? Although Lord Luo is not familiar with military affairs, he is also wholeheartedly fighting against bandits for the country!"

No knowledge of military affairs and cooperation?

When Luo Bingzhang heard these two words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He was just the acting governor of Hunan, while Shengbao was the assistant minister of military affairs, a mediocre deputy imperial commissioner. Moreover, Shengbao led a thousand Beijing flag troops and three thousand Gansu and Shaanxi green camp troops to Changsha, and the troops on hand were twice as many as Luo Bingzhang's Fu Biao.

Moreover, his job of "assisting in military affairs" was to help the Imperial Commissioner Sai Shang'a with military affairs to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Now the Taiping Army was about to come to Changsha, and Sai Shang'a was far away in Quanzhou and could not come to Changsha to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Wouldn't Shengbao have to help?
Therefore, it was natural for Shengbao to take over the defense of Changsha. If Shengbao was willing to take over, Luo Bingzhang could take advantage of the situation and send a memorial to Beijing, in which he would give Shengbao the menial job of acting governor of Hunan on the grounds that Shengbao was weak and sickly and did not understand military affairs, and he would just take on the title of assistant in military affairs.

If Shengbao won, he would still share the credit and return to Beijing to be an official. If Shengbao was defeated, or even died, the assistant military officer had no responsibility to defend the territory, so there was no need to hang himself in the governor's office.

After figuring out the key, Luo Bingzhang immediately bowed to Shengbao and said with a smile: "Ke Zhai, I am just a scholar, how can I compare with you in both civil and military affairs? Now Hunan Province is full of long-haired bandits, and I am a dismissed official and it is difficult for me to command the three armies. Why don't you take over the defense of Changsha? I will then report to the emperor and ask you to act as the governor, and I can help with military affairs."

When Shengbao heard this, he was immediately moved.

Although it was only an acting post and unlikely to be promoted to a real post, it was still a resume after all! He would have worked as a governor in the future, and it would be much easier for him to be promoted to a real governor.

After thinking about this, Shengbao was already tempted. After pretending to refuse for a while, he agreed to take over the responsibility of Changsha City's defense first.

As for acting governor, the emperor's order is needed.

After finally handing over the defense of Changsha, Luo Bingzhang was in a good mood. He asked Shengbao casually, "Ke Zhai, what's your brilliant plan? Why don't you tell me about it?"

Shengbao thought for a moment, and a plan suddenly came to his mind. He smiled and said, "Mr. Ru, I am going to use a plan to open the door and kill the thieves!"

"Open the door and kill the thief?" Luo Bingzhang was stunned.

Shengbao smiled and said, "Mr. Ru, the so-called opening the gate to destroy the thieves means opening the Huangdao Gate, luring the long-haired thieves into the Huangdao Gate Street in Changsha City, setting up an ambush on the Huangdao Gate Gate and on both sides of the street, and bombing the long-haired thieves with fire mines. If the demon personally leads the troops as the vanguard, it will be a good opportunity to kill him in one fell swoop!"

ah.
Luo Bingzhang was stunned after hearing this.

Does "open the gate to destroy the thieves" mean opening the city gate to let the thieves in and destroy them? But if they fail to destroy them, won't Changsha be given away?

Are you still a Shengbao if you do this? Don't become a loser!
Luo Bingzhang quickly turned his head to look at Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang was also shocked by Shengbao's "brilliant plan" and thought to himself: "Oh no, it seems that I still overestimated this Shengbao! I heard that this Shengbao is a rare talent among the Manchus, both civil and military, with a noble family background, and is also the confidant of Prince Gong. I thought he was always better than the old and confused Sai Shang'a, but now it seems that he is far inferior.

What do you mean by opening the gate to bring in the thieves outside the city to kill them? Does he think that there are fewer thieves in Changsha than outside the city? No, I have to think of a way to preserve the strength of the Hunan militia gathered in Changsha. The safety of Hunan in the future depends on them. "

Thinking of this, Zuo Zongtang bowed slightly and asked Sheng Bao, "How do you plan to lure the enemy?"

Shengbao stroked his beard and thought, "The merit of luring the enemy is also a merit, but I can't let those Hunan barbarians take it for granted. I don't want this merit from the Eight Banners, so I'll give it to the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp!"

"I intend to send 1,500 elite troops from the Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp out of the city to lure the enemy out."

As soon as Shengbao finished speaking, Fucheng, the general of Xi'an Town, stood up, bowed and said, "General Fucheng is willing to lead his elite troops out of the city to meet Chang Mao!"

Shengbao nodded and said with a smile: "Well, you are indeed a good man of Manchuria! But you must remember that you are leaving the city to lure the enemy, not to kill them! Don't get addicted to killing and drive away those thousands of long-haired bandits."

"Don't worry, sir. I know what I'm doing!" Fucheng had a smug look on his face, and it was obvious that he did not take the Taiping Army seriously.

Zuo Zongtang looked at the Manchu general with some sympathy, and then asked respectfully: "I wonder how many soldiers and horses does Sheng-sama need to set up an ambush on Huangdao Street inside Huangdao Gate? Do you also need to deploy defenses at Derun Gate and Liuyang Gate on both sides of Huangdao Gate, just in case? And... Tianxin Pavilion to the east of Huangdao Gate is the key to Changsha City's success or failure, and it must be guarded by elite troops!"

When he mentioned Tianxin Pavilion, he gave Luo Bingzhang a wink again.

Luo Bingzhang immediately understood what Zuo Zongtang meant, took over Zuo Zongtang's topic, patted his chest and said: "Ke Zhai, I am still acting as the governor of Hunan, and I can still command the patrol officers. Why don't you let my patrol officers guard Tianxin Pavilion!"

Upon hearing this, Shengbao nodded and said with a smile, "That's good. Tianxin Pavilion, Hunan Governor's Office, and the other city gates besides Derun Gate and Liuyang Gate will be under Ru Weng's patrol. A thousand eight banner troops and fifteen hundred elite Gansu-Shaanxi Green Camp troops will be enough for the ambush inside Huangdao Gate."

"Aren't 1,800 Bannermen and 1,500 Green Campmen a little too few?" Luo Bingzhang said, "There are still several thousand militiamen in Changsha City. Although they are not very elite, they are still a lot of people."

"Not a small number," Shengbao said with a smile, "The Gansu-Shaanxi Green Camp has cavalry and is good at fighting, so they have never been a match for the Southern Army. Besides, the 1,500 men from Fu Zongzhen will not lose many if they lure the enemy. Including them, there are a total of 1,800 banners, and the 3,000 Gansu-Shaanxi Green Camp includes 500 cavalry from the Shaanxi-Gansu and Eight Banners, 800 muskets made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 20 mother-and-child cannons, more than 1,000 muskets made by Xi'an Prefecture, and dozens of small cannons!
There are also a thousand explosive bombs that can destroy demons!

With such elite soldiers and generals, plus my plan of setting an ambush by opening the gate, are you afraid that we won't be able to kill those few thousand long-haired bandits?"

It seems to have some strength!
Zuo Zongtang nodded slightly, thinking: "Those weapons and horses are quite good, better than the horses and weapons owned by the Xianghu disciples and the Changmao. Let's see how they perform on the battlefield!"

Zhuzhou Town.

"The rent is heavy, the interest is high, and it is difficult for poor people to survive these days. Open the gates early to welcome peace, and all the officials will be happy. Kill the Qing demons, slaughter the evil gentry, and open the city gates to welcome peace."

The song of "Welcome Taiping" rang out in this big town on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. Large groups of Taiping Army soldiers carrying muskets, spears, swords and shields, with their chests puffed out and their bellies bulging, welcomed the poor people who came into the city and sang "Welcome Taiping" together as they marched through the city in a mighty procession.

Luo Yaoguo, the commander of this elite Taiping Army, the Angel of Taiping, the main general of the upper army, and the chief lecturer of the God Worshipping Society, stood on a towering city wall and was arranging for his "gold medal lecturer" Wang Yan, the Dark Hall officer Zhang San, and the Dark Hall female officer Xu Xianggui and others to establish a chamber of commerce and a farmers' association in Zhuzhou Town, open a branch church of the God Worshipping Society, and mobilize the poor people to rebel.

He has done similar things many times and is very familiar with it. However, the "counter-situation" in Changsha Prefecture is a little different from that in Chenzhou, Guiyang Prefecture, and Yongzhou Prefecture. It's not that good!

(End of this chapter)