The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 525: Yang Zicheng in the West and Luo Ergun in the East (Please vote and subscribe)
When the clock in the East Warm Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation struck six, Zeng Guofan's thousand-layer cloth shoes crossed the high threshold and stepped into the East Warm Pavilion. The Hunan Army commander had just flown into the capital this morning, and his gray braids were still stained with dust and gunpowder. His eyebrows were twisted into a ball, and his cheekbones were protruding higher.

"Marshal Zeng has arrived just in time." The Holy Mother Empress Dowager's armor passed over Baoding Prefecture on the map. "Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing have already arrived in Baoding Prefecture, which is not far from our Beijing city. Li Shaoquan said that the capital is difficult to defend, and suggested that I, the emperor, and the emperor go hunting in the west together. What do you think?"

Zeng Guofan did not kowtow to Lalaner according to the old rules. He just bowed and walked to the table covered with maps to take a look. Then he looked at Li Hongzhang who had just stood up from the embroidered cushion, and said with a gloomy face: "Even if we want to hunt in the west, we must first repel the troops of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing. Otherwise, how can we go west? We can't go out of Juyongguan and go outside the pass, right? It's autumn now, and it's cold outside the pass, and there's a shortage of food. How can tens of millions of people go?"

Li Hongzhang said, "Teacher, how can there be tens of millions of people who need to escape from Beijing? I have only six elite troops under my command, and the actual number is no more than 70,000 or 80,000. Although the thirty-six beggars under your command are said to have a million, there are only 50,000 or 60,000 who can really fight. These hundreds of thousands of people will escort the emperor, the empress dowager, and the emperor out of Juyongguan, and march westward. They can reach Datong in ten days." Before he finished speaking, Feng Guifen came in quickly with a 800-li express: "The Taiping Northern Route Army is approaching Datong!"

The atmosphere in the East Warm Pavilion was stagnant. Li Hongzhang took two steps, and the soles of his French calfskin shoes made a "clacking" sound. "Yang Xiuqing has always been cunning in using troops. He must be sending a small army northward with many flags. In fact, there are not many people. His main force is all along the Baoding route! We want to break out to the south, and we will just run into him!"

Naralan'er's armor slid towards the Dagukou of Tianjin on the map. Wanzhen drew a steamship with a big chimney on the sea surface outside the Dagukou with a red brush: "Are the Taipas still outside the Dagukou?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head and said confidently, "Not yet! The one guarding Tianjin is Zhang Shusheng, he is a fierce general, and the brigade he leads is an elite force trained by French officers. They will be able to hold out for a while, please rest assured, Queen Mother."

Na Lalan'er frowned slightly, holding an enamel tobacco box in her hand, but she was complaining to Zhang Shusheng in her heart - she was now looking forward to her good brother-in-law Luo Yaoguo coming to Beijing as soon as possible!
If Luo Yaoguo came, she would most likely become the empress dowager of the Later Jin Khan, and use the Qing Dynasty's nameplate to help the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom stabilize the northwest, northeast and Mongolian grasslands.

But if Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing came first, she would be burned to death! Even if she was finally protected by Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan and went to Xi'an, she would not necessarily end up well. If they wanted to go one step further, they would eventually commit treason!

Thinking of this, Na Lalan'er had already made up her mind. She turned her eyes and stared at Zeng Guofan and asked, "General Zeng, if we send troops to fight against Hong Yang, what are the chances of winning?"

"We have a 60% chance of winning!" Zeng Guofan said, stroking his beard.

"Where are the chances of winning?" Na Lalan opened her almond-shaped eyes.

Zeng Guofan's left hand gently moved the imperial beads: "We have more soldiers and the enemy has fewer soldiers. This is the first advantage of victory! Our soldiers occupy the geographical advantage while the enemy soldiers are exhausted from traveling far. This is the second advantage of victory; our soldiers have French cannons while the enemy soldiers only have small cannons. This is the third advantage of victory; our soldiers have Mongolian cavalry and the Western-style cavalry of the Beiyang Army, while the enemy soldiers only have the Nianzi cavalry. This is the fourth advantage of victory."

Na Lalan'er frowned, "With so many chances of winning, how come all together we can only win 60%? Where is the remaining 40% of defeat?"

Li Hongzhang said in a grim tone: "There is a shortage of food and grass, the epidemic continues, the salary is insufficient, and the people's hearts are unstable, Queen Mother. Beijing cannot be defended!"

"I understand!" Naralan met Li Hongzhang's gaze and refused to back down. "I have made up my mind. Let's focus all our efforts on fighting the Taiping rebels! Li Shaoquan, transfer your troops in Tianjin as well!"

Li Hongzhang was stunned: "What about Tianjin?"

Na Lalan said: "Why not let Boyong lead the Green Camp soldiers to guard it."

Li Hongzhang was startled, turned around and clasped his fists: "Empress Dowager, think twice! If Tianjin is lost, the Taiping Rebellion will reach Chaoyang Gate in no time!"

Zeng Guofan stomped his thousand-layer cloth shoes and said, "How can it be so fast? Even if Boyong is not good enough, we can hold on for ten days or eight days. There are hundreds of miles from Tianjin to Beijing, and it will take more than three to five days to walk. With this half month, we can compare ourselves with Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing!"

He clasped his dry palms together and clasped his fists towards Nara Lan'er: "Empress Dowager, I request that Zhang Shusheng's troops from Tianjin be transferred to assist in the battle, and that Boyong lead his troops to garrison Tianjin."

Na Lalan'er's eyes swept over a rosewood box on the table beside her, which contained the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom-Later Jin Treaty" - "Concentrate all your efforts on fighting Hong Yang!" She suddenly chuckled, "Okay! Boyong will immediately lead the Green Camp to replace Tianjin, and Zhang Shusheng's troops will return to Beijing overnight. Li Shaoquan" Her eyes were like knives, "Don't let your French cannon lose to Yang Xiuqing's shabby homemade cannon."

Yingtai, the autumn wind and rain make people depressing.

The glazed tiles of Hanyuan Hall shone green in the autumn rain, and Xianfeng was curled up in the corner of the kang wrapped in a bright yellow satin quilt. An Dehai's hands were shaking as he held the medicine bowl. He always felt that the black Chinese medicine he brought from the Imperial Hospital smelled of arsenic.

"Your Majesty." Zeng Jia Linshu suddenly pushed the door wet all over, and it was obvious that he had come here by swimming. After the Yongding Gate Incident that day, this Minister of the Imperial Guards and Zeng Guofan's nominal father was not troubled by anyone - to kill the "father", you have to look at the son, even if this "father" is not real! So Zeng Jia Linshu was just suspended from his post and contemplated the past behind closed doors.

After Zeng Guofan entered the city, he not only did not punish this "fake father", but also went to Zeng Jia Linshu's house to visit him in person. The Holy Mother Empress Dowager Nara Lan'er could not touch Zeng Jia Linshu anymore, so she reinstated him and sent him home to recuperate.

However, Zeng Jia Linshu had been the Minister of the Imperial Guards, and could still talk to many of the guards. Xianfeng was still the emperor, and his former concubines had returned to the Forbidden City. With the addition of some palace maids and eunuchs who were loyal to him, his life in Yingtai was much more comfortable than that of Guangxu. During this period, Na Lalan'er was not thinking about how to kill him, so she gradually relaxed her guard on him, and today she was able to let Zeng Jia Linshu sneak into Yingtai Island in the autumn wind and rain!

Xianfeng coughed hard a few times, then used his pipe to dip into the medicine juice and wrote on the kang table: "Kill Li and seize the palace." He paused, a resentful expression on his sallow face, and then wrote: "Kill that slave girl too!"

Zeng Jia Linshu glanced at An Dehai, and Xianfeng understood and waved his hand, and the latter immediately retreated.

Lin Shu lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, the armies of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing have already reached Changyangdian. The Queen Mother has ordered Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang to send troops to Wanping City, preparing for a decisive battle with the Taiping rebels."

"Who will defend Beijing?" Xianfeng's eyes lit up, as if he saw hope again.

"Sushun!" Zeng Jia Linshu spat out a name, "Although he has pledged his loyalty to the Queen Mother, he is probably thinking of the Emperor in his heart!"

Xianfeng tremblingly took out a gold medal and handed it to Zeng Jia Linshu. The gold medal was engraved with a dragon pattern and four large, eye-catching red characters - As if I were here in person!
In the rain outside the window, a dark shadow stood there. It waited for Zeng Jia Linshu to leave before disappearing silently into the night.

Xianfeng suddenly sat up straight, picked up the Chinese medicine on the table and drank it all, muttering: "The medicine from the Imperial Hospital is really effective. Lan'er, you are still not cruel enough!"

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Na Lalan'er has been living in the Hall of Mental Cultivation with Zaichun these days, but guarding outside the door are Zeng Jiumei and a dozen female soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom who followed Chen Picheng to the north!
At this moment, young Zaichun had fallen asleep, and in the west warm pavilion, only the two sisters Lan'er and Wanzhen were whispering amid the sound of wind and rain.

All I could hear was Lalan'er speaking in her beautiful Beijing dialect: "Wanzhen, take the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom-Later Jin Treaty and leave for Tianjin tomorrow. Hide in the French Concession and wait for Luo Yaoguo to arrive. The Treaty has been signed with the seal, so it is officially valid. As for whether it can be implemented in the end, we can only leave it to fate. This is all I can do now. You will follow Luo Yaoguo in the future, and remember to serve him well!"

"Sister," Wanzhen looked at her sister with tears in her eyes, "please come with me, take the emperor with you, and join the army of King Wu. You and the emperor will be useful to King Wu, and he will definitely support the emperor to become the Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty."

Na Lalan shook her head: "I can't leave. Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan can let you go, but they will never let me leave Beijing! I can only stay as long as possible and wait for King Luo Wu to come. If he can't make it in time, I can only take Zaichun with Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guofan! I'm afraid that we two sisters can only see each other again in the next life."

Wanping City, the main camp of the Hunan-Huaihe Allied Forces.

On a rainy night, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Huang Shijie, master and his apprentice, wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, stood side by side on the city wall, looking at the stars in the sky between Changxindian and Changyangdian in the west.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s main camp was set up there. Judging from the size of the camp, there were at least 80,000 elite soldiers!

"Shaoquan," Zeng Guofan stroked his beard, looked into the distance, and suddenly asked, "Where do you want to go after this battle?"

"Shaanxi!" Li Hongzhang did not hide it from Zeng Guofan, "Shaanxi is the blessed land of my Li family! If it doesn't work out, we can continue to go west."

Zeng Guofan seemed to understand something, nodded, and asked again: "Ziying, what about you?"

Huang Shijie thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Yungui, what do you think of me going to Yungui?"

"Yunnan and Guizhou?" Zeng Guofan looked at the student, "Do you want to be the King of Pingxi?"

Huang Shijie smiled bitterly: "I am afraid I can't become the King of Pingxi, but I may be able to become the King of Burma!" He looked at Zeng Guofan again, "Teacher, where do you want to go?"

Zeng Guofan just sighed and murmured: "I still want to protect the Qing Dynasty, no matter how far it can go."

(End of this chapter)