The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 237: Dispatching troops, it’s time for Xiaodao to perform on stage! (Please subscribe and vote)
"Old Mother Throwing Thunder!"

In the carriage, Wu Jianzhang, who had just left the Lao Dexi Restaurant, started cursing - he was cursing the British Consul Alcock and Vice Consul Wade.

"These two British guys are really worthless. I usually feed them so much money, and now they want to take advantage of my misfortune and rob my customs office. It's a pity that I approved so much land for them to expand the concession! I am really blind!"

"Master Wu, it's all right!"

Luo Yaoguo was calm and not angry at all - he was a "devil" and it was impossible for him to treat foreign brothers sincerely. Moreover, he had already "calculated" how the British would seize the concessions and customs during the "Small Knife Society Uprising", making it difficult for Wu Jianzhang, who was truly pro-foreign, to be an official.

"What are you talking about?" Wu Jianzhang looked anxious. "Those two British guys said they were going to make a deal with the Holy Angel Luo Yaoguo of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to sell us out! Don't think they are just talking nonsense, they will really do it!"

"Oh? Really?" Luo Yaoguo asked with interest.

"They will!" Wu Jianzhang gritted his teeth and said, "I know these foreign devils too well. Not only the British, but the Americans will also do business with Luo Yaoguo! It's hard to say about the French. They would have done it, but since this year, the French leaders in Shanghai have suddenly become devout Catholics!"

"Got it, don't worry. I have my own way to deal with it." Luo Yaoguo nodded and began to think in his mind: "The Holy Angel of King Wu, Luo Yaoguo, must be happy to do business with the foreign brothers in England and America! The problem is who will pretend to be Luo Yaoguo? They all know me, Luo, so we have to find someone they don't know, who looks a bit like a devil. Got it!"

After deciding who to play the role of the "devil," Luo Yaoguo suddenly frowned and said to Wu Jianzhang, who was cursing, "Sir Wu, your customs office is outside Shanghai County, right?"

"Yes!" Wu Jianzhang nodded and said, "It's on the bank of the Huangpu River outside Xiaodongmen."

Luo Yaoguo frowned and said, "Lord Wu, you have to be careful!"

"Be careful? Be careful about what?" Wu Jianzhang immediately turned his head and looked at Luo Yaoguo nervously.

"Be careful that they may occupy your customs office!" Luo Yaoguo said.

Wu Jianzhang was shocked when he heard this, then shook his head: "Not really."

"We must be on guard against others!" Luo Yaoguo said, "The Taiping Army is about to attack us. When that happens, we will be facing the Taiping Army in the front. The British will collude with the Holy Angel of King Wu and stab us in the back. They will send troops to block the concession and prevent your people from entering the concession to collect taxes. They will also seize your customs office, leaving you, the Supervisor of the Jiang Customs, with no place to collect money. What will you do?"

"Then, what should we do?" Wu Jianzhang was at a loss for a moment.

What he feared most was probably that the customs office would be taken over by foreigners!

As a "Westernization talent", if even his own government office was taken away by foreigners, what value would he have? If he had no value, he would really become a fat piece of meat that everyone could cut.

"Of course, we have to find a way to prevent the foreigners from snatching away the goods!" Luo Yaoguo smiled coldly.

"We can't let the foreigners snatch it away?" Wu Jianzhang looked at Luo Yaoguo, "Is it possible?"

"Of course it's possible!" Luo Yaoguo leaned close to Wu Jianzhang's ear and whispered, "I'll arrange a company of guards to protect the Customs Office for you, and make sure no one can rob it! Sir Wu, only if they lose more than they gain, will these foreign devils cooperate with us!"

"Xueyan, you won't anger the British and call in soldiers, will you?"

When Wu Jianzhang heard Luo Yaoguo say that he wanted to fight the foreigners, he was filled with fear. It seemed that this big comprador was still afraid of foreigners after all.

"I'm not afraid of being provoked!" Luo Yaoguo snorted, "If you stick your head out, you'll get a knife. If you hide your head, you'll also get a knife! When dealing with foreigners, you can't just tolerate and retreat. This will only make them think we're easy to bully. If you lose the Jianghai Customs Office without fighting, my source of pay will be controlled by the foreigners, and your official hat will also be in their hands. If you want to compromise, you will only retreat again and again. In the end, you won't get enough guns, ammunition and military pay even if you sell out your country. You will inevitably be at a loss and ruined. It's better to fight the foreigners. At worst, you can join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"What? Join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Wu Jianzhang's eyes widened. He was a big comprador and a big capitalist! Could he also worship God?
Luo Yaoguo said in a gentle and persuasive way: "Sir Wu, do you know how a lord like you and I, who have a few troops and territory, can maintain our wealth and status in troubled times?"

"How?" Wu Jianzhang asked. "First, you can't hand over your capital until the dust settles; second, you have to stand on the side of the victor!" Luo Yaoguo said, "If the foreigners really want to send troops to cause trouble for the Qing Dynasty, it means that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be the final winner. Think about it, if the foreigners send troops to attack the Qing Dynasty, doesn't that mean they support the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? How can the Heavenly Kingdom not win?"

"Foreigners help the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Is that possible?" Wu Jianzhang felt incredible.

"How is it impossible? Maybe the devil or angel is real?" Luo Yaoguo looked at Wu Jianzhang with a burning gaze, "So, we have to invest in time with our capital so as not to lose our title! Lord Wu, don't forget that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit! If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is established, the Qing Dynasty will be a thief!"

"If you don't lose the title, you will be a king or a bandit." Wu Jianzhang's eyes lit up, and he suddenly found a smooth road appeared in front of him!
When Luo Yaoguo saw the change in Wu Jianzhang's expression, he knew that the Qing Dynasty had lost another loyal minister, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would soon have another "holy comprador".

When Luo Yaoguo and Wu Jianzhang returned to Tongshunxing in the same carriage, Wang Kuiyi and Cheng Fupei had been waiting there for a long time.

Both of them had expressions of anxiety and fear on their faces, with tears glistening in their eyes. It was obvious at a glance that something serious had happened.

Cheng Fupei bowed and said, "Lord Luo, Lord Wu, the entire city of Jiangning has been broken into by the Taiping!"

Wang Kuiyi, on the other hand, looked as if he had lost his parents. He wiped away his tears and said, "According to the spies, after the Taiping rebels broke into the city, they also massacred the entire city. Several thousand Eight Banners garrisons were slaughtered."

"Is this really true?" Wu Jianzhang took a breath of cold air.

Even he, a layman in military affairs, knew that the capture of the entire city of Jiangning meant that the Taiping Army's 100,000 main forces were completely liberated.

If they launched a large-scale expedition to the east at this time, Zhenjiang and Changzhou would definitely be lost. With Yiliang in charge of Suzhou, perhaps it could still be defended. While the Taiping Army was besieging Suzhou, they would definitely send troops to Taicang to attack Shanghai. Thinking of this, he immediately turned his head and looked at Luo Yaoguo meaningfully.

Luo Yaoguo then pressed the issue: "Did our spies get this information? Is it reliable? Has Lord Yi learned about it?"

"Our spies risked their lives to find out, and the news is absolutely reliable!" Cheng Fupei replied, "Lord Yi probably doesn't know about it yet. After all, Zhenjiang is under siege, and the outer areas of Jiangning have long been under the control of the Taiping Army."

This news was just sent by Chen Chengrong to tell Wang Kuiyi and Cheng Fupei, so it is absolutely reliable. And it also matches the time when Jiangnan Mancheng was captured in history as Luo Yaoguo knew it - the resistance of Jiangning Mancheng was actually not worth mentioning, it was captured at the same time as Jiangning City. The Eight Banners soldiers guarding there can only be said to be defeated at the first touch, and there was no tenacious fight at all, they were pure waste. However, this bunch of waste was still slaughtered by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing! It is estimated that there will be no good end this time, these two will not exchange those wastes for silver.

For Luo Yaoguo, the news that the entire city of Jiangning had been breached was the best time window for Shanghai to start taking action.

Because Yiliang will certainly know the news of the fall of Jiangning City soon, and by then the Qing army in the entire southern Jiangsu will be in panic, which is the best time for the Xiaodao Society to take action.

Luo Yaoguo could take advantage of the fact that the news of the fall of Jiangning City had not spread and lead his troops out of Shanghai to rescue Jiangning - he was the prefect of Jiangning, so it was natural for him to do so.

Once he left, the stage for Xiaodaohui to perform was vacated.

Luo Yaoguo nodded: "Okay! It seems that it is time for me to send troops!"

"Send troops?" Wu Jianzhang was stunned. "Who to fight?"

Luo Yaoguo shook his head: "I won't fight anyone. I'll just send out troops to put on a show for Yiliang, Shengbao and the others to see! Besides, I'm the prefect of Jiangning, so of course I'll go and lift the siege of Jiangning after I've trained the troops!"

Therefore, I have decided to send troops to relieve the siege of Jiangning in three days!"

He clasped his fists towards Wu Jianzhang again and said, "Sir Wu, I'll leave Shanghai to you! Also, can I send a company of soldiers to the customs office outside Shanghai County?"

"Okay, okay! This way I can go back to the Susongtai Dao Yamen in the county town and guard it with peace of mind." Wu Jianzhang knew that Luo Yaoguo was not really going to fight the Taiping Army to the death, so he breathed a sigh of relief, and then patted his chest and said, "Brother Xueyan, don't worry, I'm here!"

(End of this chapter)