The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 288 God said: Cross the Yangtze River and capture the salty monster alive! (Please subscribe and vote)

"Can we still lift the siege of Suzhou?"

Prince Gong Yixin immediately showed joy and looked at Zuo Zongtang with a smile.

Luo Xueyan's eyes also flashed with anticipation. The important strongholds on the east bank of Taihu Lake and outside Suzhou have now been almost taken, and only Wuxi County and Wujiang County have not been taken. However, with Li Shoucheng and Zhu Ba leading troops to besiege, and with the 12-pound cannons shipped from Shanghai, it will only take to days to break the city.

After taking Wuxi and Wujiang, Suzhou became the Qing army's last major stronghold on the east bank of Taihu Lake.

Once Suzhou is taken by Luo Yaoguo, the two prefectures and one state of Susongtai will all be in his hands!

This is the richest region in the world! If we can get it almost intact, we can develop capitalist industry and commerce based on this land.

"Of course I can solve it! I'm at least 70% sure."

Zuo Zongtang stroked his beard, laughed, and continued: "There are actually quite a few government troops in Jiangnan now, but they are divided into Suzhou, Shanghai, and Changzhou by Luo Yaoguo, making it difficult to respond. They are also intimidated by the main force of the Taiping Army in Jiangning and Zhenjiang, and dare not move. But once Yang Xiuqing leads the Taiping Army in Jiangning to the north, then our chance will come!

My strategy is that once it is confirmed that Yang Xiuqing has crossed the river, I will lead the twenty battalions of Hunan Brave Army under my command, plus the four battalions of new troops brought to Yangzhou by Brother Xueyan, to cross the river from Guazhou to the south, first meet up with the troops in Changzhou, go south and approach Wuxi, and lead Luo Yaoguo's troops to the north.

The Yifutai took the opportunity to escape, leaving only one or two thousand soldiers in Suzhou to bluff, and the main force crossed the Taihu Lake to Yixing.

When Governor Yi arrives in Yixing, I will lead the main forces of my own army and those of Changzhou to join Governor Yi. This way, we can gather 20,000 soldiers and then march to the city of Jiangning together!"

"You want to use 20,000 troops to attack Jiangning?"

Prince Gong raised his eyebrows slightly, but seeing that Zuo Zongtang still had a confident expression on his face, he asked with some doubt. Sure enough, Zuo Zongtang smiled slightly and said lightly:

"No. When my 20,000 troops reach the outskirts of Jiangning, they will find a strategic location near the Yangtze River to set up camp. They will set up a large camp and pretend to be in a protracted battle, so that the enemy will mistakenly believe that I intend to use this as a base to slowly attack Nanjing and cut off the passage from Nanjing to Suzhou and Songjiang."

Prince Gong was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of this plan. Zuo Zongtang smiled and continued:

"Jiangning is the Taiping rebels' old nest, where their families and treasures are all. If Yang Xiuqing learns that his old nest is unstable, he will definitely return to support them. In this way, Yangzhou will be saved, and Your Majesty will take the opportunity to send troops to pursue and kill them, and you will surely win a great victory. After learning that Yang Ni has returned, I will immediately return to Suzhou and Changzhou. Maybe we can recapture Wuxi and open up the passage between Suzhou and Changzhou, so that Suzhou can also be saved. If Your Majesty wins great victories in Yangzhou and Suzhou, the morale of the people in the country will be greatly boosted!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Gong Yixin finally showed a happy expression. He had already figured it out. Although Suzhou might not be saved according to Zuo Zongtang's strategy, Yangzhou could definitely be defended. As long as Yang Xiuqing's 100,000 troops withdrew from the city of Yangzhou, he could report the victory to the capital.

How much prestige would a close relative who could defeat the long-haired prince have! The emperor's health was not good, if anything happened, he could at least be the regent of the emperor's uncle under the expectation of the people.
"Xueyan, Disheng, Jing'an, what do you three think of Zuo Jigao's plan?"

Although Yi Xin already had the standard answer written on his face, he still patiently sought opinions from Luo Xueyan, Zeng Guofan and Qishan.

Luo Xueyan certainly agreed with Zuo Zongtang's strategy, but now he lowered his head silently, as if he didn't hear Yi Xin's question. Zeng Guofan said with emotion: "Ji Gao is worthy of being the Zhuge Liang of today!"

Qi Shan heaved a sigh of relief, "There is really no better way. Even if we can't save Suzhou, Yangzhou should be fine. If Suzhou can't be defended, after Yang Ni returns, we can join forces with Ji Gao and Yue Ting and the troops sent by Yangzhou to take Dantu back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Xueyan clapped his hands and laughed, "Great plan! What a great plan! Ji Gao's plan just now was quite risky, mainly because it was dangerous to recapture Wuxi and open up Suzhou. Ji Gao and Governor Yi's army had traveled hundreds of miles back and forth, and they had to fight a few hard battles. By the time they attacked Wuxi, they were already exhausted, while Luo Yaoguo was waiting for them to tire out. If Ji Gao and Governor Yi were defeated in Wuxi, the situation in southern Jiangsu would collapse, and Shanghai would be hard to survive. It would be better to retreat after Jiangning is returned." Recently, we have taken Dantu, the capital of Zhenjiang, and we will cooperate with Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River to strangle the throat of the Yangtze River. Even if we send Suzhou away, we can continue to cut off the main road between the Susong Changmao and the old nest of Jiangning, making it difficult for them to communicate. With the Zhenjiang army to contain them, the pressure on Shanghai will be much lighter. "Yixin turned his head and looked at Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guofan again. Seeing that they both nodded slightly, he immediately made a decision: "That's it. Suzhou is not needed. Ji Gao, after you meet up with Yiyueting, go to Jiangning first and then Dantu!"

"Order!"

Zuo Zongtang immediately stood up and accepted the order.

Prince Gong said with a smile: "Ji Gao, as long as Yang Ni can withdraw to Jiangnan and Dantu can be recovered, I will recommend you to be the Jiangsu Provincial Surveillance Commissioner and the Permanent Guard of Tonghai Road!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zuo Zongtang was very happy.

Yi Xin said to Luo Xueyan again, "Xueyan, I'll leave the task of containing Luo Yaoguo in Suzhou to you. After you lend them to Zuo Jigao, there will only be seven or eight thousand men left. You must be careful to deal with them and not make any mistakes. As long as you can win in Suzhou and Songjiang, the emperor will be very pleased. When the time comes, you can submit a petition to ask for Wanzhen, and the emperor will definitely agree."

Luo Xueyan was also overjoyed, he stood up and bowed with a smile: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Of course, Yi Xin did not want to give Wan Zhen to Luo Xueyan, because he wanted to submit a memorial to Emperor Xianfeng after the "Zhenyang Victory" to ask for Wan Zhen as his concubine. But he also thought about Luo Xueyan, at most he could give her a tenth princess as compensation. That was Yi Xin's biological sister, the tenth daughter of Emperor Daoguang, who was only twelve years old this year. Although she had a pointed face and was relatively dark, she was of noble birth!

If Luo Xueyan married her, he would become his concubine. The last Han concubine was Wu Sangui's son Wu Yingxiong!
With such a great grace bestowed upon him, wouldn't Luo Xueyan have to follow Prince Gong's orders from now on?

The river was surging and the morning glow was rising from the horizon, illuminating the Yifeng Gate tower with a golden glow. A man in a dragon robe and hood stood on the tower facing the glow, looking as if he was bathing in the golden light, and appeared particularly sacred and solemn.

The wide Yifengmen Street below the city tower was filled with Taiping soldiers wearing brand new yellow and red robes, holding spears, swords and muskets, singing "A Man Should Be Self-reliant" with great passion. A flag embroidered with the four big characters "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" had been raised on the Yifengmen city tower, fluttering in the wind.

As the song of "A Man Should Be Self-reliant" came to an abrupt end, Yang Xiuqing, who was standing on the tower, suddenly rolled his eyes and fell backwards. The guards of the Eastern King who were guarding him were prepared and rushed forward to help him up. Yang Xiuqing, who was being supported, suddenly shouted "Get up" again. The guards of the Eastern King quickly lifted him up, and he took advantage of the situation and jumped onto a high platform that had been prepared long ago.

At this time, the morning glow was at its brightest, and the brilliant rays of light shone on Yang Xiuqing's short and sturdy body, making him look like a god descending to earth.

When the Taiping Army soldiers under the Yifeng Sect saw this scene, they immediately knew that it was the Heavenly Father, the Emperor, who had descended to earth. They all raised their arms and shouted:
"God the Father, bless us!"

Yang Xiuqing, who had transformed into Yang God, raised his right hand and waved gently towards the people below. Thirty thousand Heavenly Kingdom soldiers bowed down together, and the Yifeng Gate suddenly fell silent!

Emperor Yang glanced down without saying a word. Everyone else also held their breath and remained silent. It was so quiet inside the Yifeng Gate that one could hear a pin drop.

It was unknown how long it had been before Yang Shen suddenly raised his right arm, pointed to the north, gathered his strength, and shouted at the top of his voice: "I am the Emperor of Heaven. I have come down to earth today to kill the Qing monster. You all listen to my command, fight across the Yangtze River, and capture the leader of the Xian monster alive. Don't be afraid of sacrifice. Victory brings glory, and death in battle brings heaven."

There had long been loud guards of the Eastern King guarding the Yifeng Gate. After listening to Yang Xiuqing's "words from God," they passed on the "words from God" one after another: "The Heavenly Father, the Supreme God, said: I am the Supreme God."

Most of the 30,000 Heavenly Kingdom soldiers were from Yang Xiuqing's direct army. More than 10,000 of them were the most steadfast brothers from Zijing Mountain. After hearing "the words of the Heavenly Father", they all became excited and shouted in unison: "Kill the Qing demons! Go to heaven! Kill, kill, kill!"

(End of this chapter)