The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 445 Luo Yaoguo: As long as my godfather gives the order, everything will be fine (Please subscribe, please vote)
In the fourth year of the Jiayin reign of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in early winter, in Tianjing City, in the Zongli Yamen.

An urgent military advisory meeting is in progress.

The atmosphere in the small conference hall was a bit tense. The military advisors or their representatives, as well as the ministers from the Ministry of Army, Ministry of Navy, Ministry of Armaments, and Ministry of Lectures who were attending the meeting, all gathered together and stood in front of a huge sand table.

Xiang Xun, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of the Army, was holding a wooden stick and tapping on a large table made of six eight-immortal tables. On the table was a huge situation map of China's Han provinces.

The situation is not good! Otherwise, there wouldn't be an emergency meeting today.

Luo Yaoguo was in Suzhou two days ago personally checking the independent enrollment exam for Suzhou No. 1 Middle School! This exam is very difficult. Without an IQ of 130 or 140, it is impossible to pass. Because all those who take the exam must learn elementary school mathematics by themselves within a few months, relying on a tutorial material written by Luo Yaoguo himself.

Although the elementary mathematics level in compulsory education in Prussia in the 19th century was not high, they had to teach themselves from scratch and fully master it within a few months. They also had to solve the difficult problems given by Luo Yaoguo and get a score of (out of a full score of ) to be eligible to enter Suzhou No. Middle School.

Being qualified does not mean you will definitely be admitted, because the number of places is limited. After all, the teaching staff of Suzhou No. 1 Middle School is weak. There are only four full-time teachers: the principal Yung Wing, the dean of academic affairs Huang Sheng, the foreign teacher Wade-Giles, and the English teacher Tang Tinggeng. Students' daily learning still mainly depends on self-study. Even if there are teachers teaching, they teach very quickly. Moreover, the three-year course must be completed in one and a half years, and then go to college or work.
Of course, for students such as Weng Tonghe, Weng Zengyuan, Qian Zhenlun, Qian Zhenchang, Fu Shanxiang, Xue Fucheng, Sheng Xuanhuai, and Xi Zhengfu, the teaching speed of Suzhou No. 1 Middle School was not too fast, and they could definitely keep up.

Luo Yaoguo had just finished grading the papers and admitted forty-three students with great hope. Before he could preside over the opening ceremony of Suzhou No. 1 Middle School, he received news that Southern King Feng Yunshan was surrounded by the Hunan Army led by Jiang Zhongyuan in Hengshan County.

This is a bit troublesome!

The Guangdong Campaign had just begun. Luo Dagang was leading his troops to attack Shaoguan, Shi Dakai was marching into Jiaying Prefecture, and the Qing army in Guangdong was still struggling. The "Red Soldiers" in Guangdong had just begun to revolt. How come Feng Yunshan, who was in charge of the logistics of Luo Dagang's troops, was surrounded by Jiang Zhongyuan in Hengshan County?
Should we recall Luo Dagang to rescue Feng Yunshan, or transfer troops from Wuchang to rescue Feng Yunshan, or send troops directly from Tianjing?
Standing in front of the map table, after listening to Xiang Xun repeating the situation of the Huguang and Guangdong battlefields that he had known for a long time, Luo Yaoguo frowned and looked at Xiao Chaofu beside the map table: "Chaofu, what do the Western King and Western Queen mean?"

Xiao Chaogui and Hong Xuanjiao's fiefdoms were adjacent to Hunan, so they must have known about Feng Yunshan's siege earlier than Luo Yaoguo, so Xiao Chaogui's brother Xiao Chaofu must have known what the two meant.

Xiao Chaofu shook his head slightly, looking embarrassed: "Prime Minister, although the King of the West took Amoxicillin, his injury is too serious. His entire shoulder was pierced by a spear, and he lost too much blood. His body is very weak, and he has been sick recently. He can't move. But the Queen of the West said that as long as you give the order, she is willing to lead the troops to the battle!"

Hong Xuanjiao is still very nice!

Luo Yaoguo nodded gratefully, but did not give the burden of reinforcing Feng Yunshan to Hong Xuanjiao. This was because Hong Xuanjiao's ability to fight was far inferior to Xiao Chaogui's, and if Xiao Chaogui really had any accidents, only Hong Xuanjiao could help Luo Yaoguo to suppress Wuchang.
"How about sending troops from Tianjing?" Luo Yaoguo asked again.

Xiang Xun said: "Prime Minister, there are only fifteen divisions directly under the command of Tianjing. King Yi took five to form the Second Army to attack Guangdong, Zhu Ba took two to form the Third Army to pacify Zhejiang, and Yu Wanqing took half to fight Russia. Tianjing, Suzhou, Zhenjiang, and Shanghai must all leave one division behind and cannot be used unless absolutely necessary."

Luo Yaoguo had to keep a tight control over places like Tianjing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhenjiang. This was not only to protect against foreign enemies, but also to protect against domestic thieves - those being Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing!
Luo Yaoguo nodded gently: "Eleven and a half, three and a half left!"

"These three half divisions are the mobile forces we have," Xiang Xun reminded.

"What does King Dong mean?" Luo Yaoguo looked at Yang Yiqing again.

Yang Yiqing said respectfully: "Prime Minister, the situation in Jiangbei is also very tense. After Zeng Guofan became the chief of Shandong Dafang, he recruited a large number of militias from Shandong, and joined forces with Huai Army leaders such as Yuan Jiasan, Ma Xinyi, Li Wenxuan, and Miao Peilin, and may attack Yangzhou at any time. The East King means that the battle of Yangzhou is related to the survival of the Heavenly Kingdom, and he must concentrate all his troops to deal with it. However, the South King is surrounded and must be rescued. Perhaps you can consider sending a general to Wuchang to command the West King's troops to march into the hinterland of Hunan controlled by the Qing demons, forcing Jiang Zhongyuan to return to the army to save the South King. Maybe Hunan can also succeed." Yang Xiuqing's wishful thinking was ingenious. He asked Luo Yaoguo to send a general to command Xiao Chaogui's troops. What would Xiao Chaogui and Hong Xuanjiao think? Would they cooperate or not? Would they feel that they were being sidelined? Even if Xiao Chaogui and Hong Xuanjiao obeyed the order and sent troops to fight the Hunan Army for Hunan, they would attract the Qing demons in Jiangsu and Anhui to attack Wuchang, so that Yang Xiuqing could take the opportunity to expand his territory. Luo Yaoguo would have to dispatch troops to help Xiao Chaogui and Hong Xuanjiao defend Wuchang. Otherwise, once Wuchang was lost, the defense line of the Kingdom of Heaven in the south of the Yangtze River would be greatly shaken.

At that time, if Yang Xiuqing won a great victory in Jiangbei, he could naturally return to Tianjing to govern and squeeze Luo Yaoguo out.

Seeing that Luo Yaoguo did not speak, Yang Yiqing tried again: "Prime Minister, if you are undecided, why not ask for instructions from above."

Luo Yaoguo pondered for a moment, a gleam of inspiration flashed in his eyes, and he smiled slightly: "I have already asked for instructions!"

Everyone in the hall was stunned, thinking: "Did he secretly use the Tongtian Mirror to contact the Heavenly Father? I wonder what the Heavenly Father said?"

Luo Yaoguo said: "Although the East King's plan is brilliant, it is too risky. We must ensure that Wuchang is not lost, and at the same time, we must relieve the siege of the South King, and compete with Jiang Zhongyuan for the western part of Hunan. Jiangbei must also gain something."

Everyone present frowned when Luo Yaoguo said "this, this, and more". Is this what Heavenly Father instructed? That's not very clever!
"Prime Minister, our military strength is limited. It may be difficult to take care of everything if we divide our troops into many places. I suggest that we concentrate our forces." Qin Rigang reminded him, "I am willing to lead two divisions to Wuchang and ask the Western King to lend me an army. Then I can help the Southern King and fight with Jiang Zhongyuan for western Hunan."

Luo Yaoguo nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "The loyalty and bravery of Prince Yan are commendable, but I still have to listen to the 'higher-ups'! How about this, we dispatch Luo Dagang to help, let Luo Dagang go to relieve the siege of Prince Nan, and at the same time dispatch another division, led by Lin Fengxiang to Wuchang, and then let Prince Xi and his wife dispatch some troops as appropriate to cooperate with Luo Dagang to attack western Hunan."

"But what about Guangdong?" Hong Rengan, who was very familiar with the situation in Guangdong, immediately raised an objection. "It will be difficult to quickly pacify Guangdong with the army led by King Yi! Although King Yi is good at fighting, the militia of the Qing demons in Guangdong is also quite strong. The terrain in northern Guangdong is relatively complex. King Yi's army is alone and deep in the enemy's territory, and he will inevitably be caught in a tough battle. In addition, the British Governor of Hong Kong, John Bowring, is also eyeing the situation and may intervene at any time. If the war in Guangdong is stalemate, the British will take the opportunity to intervene, and the situation will be even more difficult to deal with."

Luo Yaoguo smiled faintly: "King Yi is no ordinary man. Although northern Guangdong is dangerous, it is the place where he can display his talents. Moreover, I will not let him fight alone. As for the British barbarians, I have my own way to deal with them!"

"What does the Prime Minister mean?" Hong Rengan looked at Luo Yaoguo, confused.

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "I will go to Guangdong in person and take the sea route. I will first take Xiangshan and Foshan, and then approach Guangzhou! By then, the British will not dare to act rashly when they see me personally coming. The King of Wings is in the north, and I am in the south. If we attack from both sides, Guangdong will be conquered in no time."

"Go by sea?" Hong Rengan was stunned, then frowned, "The Prime Minister means to take a steamship south?"

"That's right!" Luo Yaoguo laughed. "A steamship can travel a thousand miles a day. It will reach the coast of Guangdong in two or three days. If everything goes well, I will have returned victorious in less than a month. By then, no matter what the Qing demons have planned, we will be invincible."

"But where does the Prime Minister plan to land?" Hong Rengan frowned and asked, "Steamboats are good, but there are not many docks that can be used by ships. If the landing place is too far from Guangzhou, the Qing demons can still send troops back to support, and the battle in Guangdong may still be difficult to win quickly."

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "This is easy to handle!" He swept his eyes across the hall and said, "I am a holy angel, and Heavenly Father is my godfather. If my godfather gives an order, would the Portuguese Governor of Macau dare not obey? If he dares not to obey, he will go to hell!"

Can I still rely on my godfather for this matter? All the important officials of the Kingdom of Heaven present were speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)