The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 208: The Yellow River collapsed and the Qing Dynasty fell!
"Dang, clang, dang"

After three golden bells rang out, Xiao Chaogui, who was wearing a black robe decorated with a pearl cross and sitting on a throne, suddenly shouted loudly. Then his body suddenly fell backwards, and both he and the chair turned over and fell heavily to the ground with a "bang"!
"Brother Tian, ​​please come down to earth!"

Luo Yaoguo, who was kneeling on the ground and beating the purple gold bowl, led the way with a loud shout, and then prostrated himself on the ground. Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai, Hong Xuanjiao, Hu Yihuang, Qin Rigang, Su Sanniang and others all bowed down together and shouted in unison: "Please respectfully invite Brother Heaven to come down to earth!"

There was another "bang" sound, and everyone glanced up and found that Xiao Chaogui had already stood up from the ground with his chair. At this moment, he was looking outside the sky hall of the West Palace with an extremely solemn and deep gaze.

Many senior officials from the Heavenly Palace, the Eastern Palace, the Western Palace, the Northern Palace, the Winged Palace, and the Angel Palace were kneeling outside the hall, all of them came to see Ji Du. However, the usually lively "Xiao Ji Du" now had a gloomy face and spoke in a clear and melodious voice: "Today is a military meeting, which involves confidential information. Only the second brother, the fourth brother, the fifth brother, the sixth sister, the seventh brother, the eighth brother, and the eighth brother's wife can listen. Everyone else can leave!"

If Ji Du lets go, who would dare to stay?

All those who were not called out bowed to Xiao Chaogui and then respectfully left the yard. After everyone had left, the gate of the yard was closed with a creaky sound.

"Second brother," Xiao Jidu glanced at Hong Xiuquan, "Eighth brother sent a message saying that you have a plan to march north into the Central Plains and sweep across the country?"

"That's right!" Hong Xiuquan stood up straight, his eyes as sharp as torches, staring at his good brother in heaven.

"tell me the story."

"Yes!" Hong Xiuquan agreed, and then said excitedly: "Brother Tian, ​​I now have half of Huguang, hundreds of thousands of soldiers under my command, and I can recruit millions of followers. There are more than 10,000 ships on the Yangtze River. If we can sail down the river, we can establish our capital in Nanjing and sweep across the southeast."

"If we can mobilize the troops in Wuchang and Hanyang, I should be able to lead 500,000 troops to march eastward after the new year. Nanjing should be captured in one fell swoop, and Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Suzhou, Yangzhou and other places should also be captured quickly."

"Then I will hand over Songjiang Prefecture, Taicang Prefecture and Zhejiang Province to my eighth brother to pacify. At the same time, I will gather troops and prepare food and grass with my fourth, fifth and seventh brothers. By next summer, we will raise a million troops and start the Northern Expedition to catch Xianfeng off guard!
My brother's army of one million will first cross the Yangtze River, then cross the Huai River, and divide into five routes. Along the way, we will kill the rich and help the poor, and divide the land. We will be able to sweep Shandong and Henan, and finally meet in Dongchangfu and Damingfu. Then we will all push towards Beijing. By then, Xianfeng will either learn from Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty or Chongzhen!"

Hong Xiuquan became more and more excited as he spoke, and he was almost dancing, as if he had accomplished a great task and was about to enter Beijing city in his "palanquin" carried by sixty-four people.

After he finished speaking, he looked at "Xiao Ji Du" confidently and asked, "Brother Tian, ​​do you think my plan to conquer the north will be successful?"

Xiao Ji Du said firmly: "No!"

"Why not?"

Hong Xiuquan was a little dissatisfied!
Brother Tian is not the Father after all! We are all sons of God, so who is afraid of whom?
Xiao Jidu had no magic to suppress Hong Xiuquan, so she could only convince him with reason. Facing Hong Xiuquan's disobedience, she just smiled faintly and replied, "Second brother, if you want to catch Xianfeng off guard, why do you have to attack the south first and then the north? And you have to bring millions of people with you, which is really too troublesome.

It would be better to directly lead 70,000 to 80,000 elite troops from the central, left and right armies to advance northward along the Han River to Xiangyang, and then carry two or three months' worth of food and fodder into Henan, cross the Yellow River from Wuchang Prefecture to Xiangyang by water in at most half a month, and it is only 700 to 800 miles from Xiangyang to the north across the Yellow River, which is 50 miles a day, which is also half a month.

If we are lucky enough, we will be able to reach Beijing in a month or two!"

Hong Xiuquan nodded and said, "To be honest, Brother Tian, ​​I originally wanted to make Henan my home, and then head north in one fell swoop! But you brothers thought it was too aggressive, so I changed it to Jiangnan first and then the Central Plains!"

Among the senior leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan has always been the most resolute in his attitude towards the Northern Expedition!
Historically, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's top leaders were discussing the location of the "Little Paradise", he proposed to take Henan as their home and then launch a northern expedition.

Later, after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom captured Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan once again proposed a large-scale Northern Expedition to take Beijing in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, the two Northern Expedition proposals put forward by Hong Xiuquan were not adopted by "Yang God". After all, Hong Tianwang only needed to win without doing anything, while "God" had a lot to consider.

The two plans proposed by Hong Xiuquan were to abandon his hometown, focus on the Northern Expedition, and rush directly to Beijing in one wave.

This strategy was more aggressive than Li Zicheng's. Li Zicheng at least took Xiangyang Prefecture and Shaanxi as bases, and then moved east to attack Beijing. However, Hong Xiuquan did not want a base and focused on attacking Beijing.

It would be fine if we can take it down, but if we can’t, then it’s all over!

Therefore, almost none of the kings under Hong Xiuquan agreed to do so. Xiao Chaogui nodded and said with a smile: "It is indeed reckless! There are more plains and fewer rivers in the north, and the Taiping Army has no cavalry. If they encounter a large group of Qing demon cavalry on the plains, it seems unlikely to win.

Although the Qing demons are in decline, they should still have 20,000 or 30,000 cavalry. There is no need to confront you head-on. We only need to attack your retreat, cut off your food supply, and then mobilize militia to clear the fields, which will cause your Northern Expedition Army to suffer heavy losses and retreat when the food runs out.

However, if you lead 70,000 to 80,000 elite troops to the north now, your chances of winning are much greater than if you lead a million people to the north next year. The so-called million people only include only 100,000 elite troops, and 90% of them are a mob. They are only useful for momentum, and the rest are a burden. It is difficult to raise food, and they are slow to act and difficult to issue orders.

If I were Emperor Xianfeng, I would wait for your million-strong army to enter Shandong, then order people to dig the Yellow River dam in Henan to divert the water of the Yellow River into Shandong, flooding a swamp behind your army, and then clearing the land around the route of your army's advance northward, cutting off your million-strong army's food supply. How would you respond?"

"This"

The corners of Hong Xiuquan's mouth twitched.

Why didn't he think that Emperor Xianfeng would dig up the Yellow River dam and use water instead of soldiers?
If his Northern Expedition Army consisted of 100,000 mobile and agile elite soldiers, digging up the Yellow River Dam would certainly not work. At most, the Taiping Army would retreat to Huainan, with a loss of 10,000 or 20,000 at most, and they could then march north again after two years.

The people in Henan and Shandong who suffered from the disaster hated the Qing Dynasty to death.

The next time the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom launches another Northern Expedition, with tens of millions of people in the Central Plains supporting it, what will the Qing Dynasty use to fight?
But if Hong Xiuquan led a million-strong mob to the north, the flood would occur, the food supply would be cut off, and the front would be fortified and the land would be cleared, which would mean a "million-level" rout.

In Chinese history, it would be difficult for a force that had experienced such a great defeat to make a comeback. Even if the Qing Dynasty lost the hearts of the people in the Central Plains because of digging up the Yellow River Dam, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would also lose a lot of people's hearts and fighting spirit because of the loss of millions of lives in Huguang and Jiangnan and an epic defeat.

By then, the two sides will be at loggerheads, and no one will be in a good position.

How could such a good strategy for victory be ruined?
Even though they sent tens of thousands of soldiers, they were no match for the Qing Yao cavalry. Even though they had millions of troops, the Qing Yao had to use water instead of soldiers, which was too difficult.

However, Hong Xiuquan was still a little unwilling and a little angry, and snorted, "Brother Tian, ​​then I will not go to Jiangnan. I will send 300,000 to 500,000 soldiers from Wuchang and Hanyang, go north along the Han River, and go straight into Henan. First, I will take Henan as my home, then cross the river to take Beijing and rule the world. How about that?"

As soon as he said this, Yang Xiuqing, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai who were present could not help but frown.

This king is too willful!
Three or five hundred thousand people went to Henan to settle down. Henan has suffered from floods and droughts in recent years. How could it afford to support three or five hundred thousand troops?

Moreover, there are no available water routes from Xiangyang to the north, and the logistics of three or five hundred thousand people cannot be guaranteed at all. If we cannot get food from the enemy, who knows how many people will starve to death?

After hearing what Hong Xiuquan said, Xiao Ji Du seemed to have thought of something. He pretended to pinch his fingers and performed the "Ji Du Divination". After a while, he suddenly showed a surprised expression: "Second brother, when you mentioned Henan, I thought of a big thing, a secret. Well, I will tell you now a secret of attacking Beijing with a million people and destroying the Qing Dynasty!"

Hong Xiuquan's eyes lit up and he looked at Xiao Jidu intently.

Xiao Jidu said: "If my calculations are correct, the Yellow River will change its course in Henan in two years!"

"What? The Yellow River changes its course?" Hong Xiuquan was shocked. "Really?"

Xiao Ji Du nodded and said in a deep voice, "You don't believe me anymore?"

"I dare not, I dare not." Hong Xiuquan shook his head quickly.

Xiao Jidu sighed and said, "In two years, the Yellow River will take over the Daqing River and flow into the Bohai Sea. By then, the number of people affected in Henan and Shandong will be more than tens of millions!"

He suddenly said in a mysterious tone: "If the Yellow River collapses, the Qing Dynasty will fall! If the Yellow River collapses, the Qing Dynasty will fall..."

After saying that, Xiao Jidu rolled his eyes, and Xiao Chaogui kicked his feet, and the whole person and the chair fell backwards again, and fell to the floor with a bang.

(End of this chapter)