scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 223 Adventure
In the afternoon of the next day, which was also February 12th in the 29th year of Kang Mazi, when the afternoon was approaching evening, Fatty Lu once again came to the temporary Xingyuan of the traitor Wu, wandering back and forth in front of the Xingyuan Gate with his hands behind his back and a sad face. For a long time, he didn't say a word, and he turned a blind eye to the people who came in and out of Xingyuan Gate, which made the guards in front of the gate bewildered, and the leading guard captain couldn't help but stepped forward and asked: "Master Lu, do you want to see the prince? Would you like me to pass you a waist card?"

"What? You haven't handed me my badge yet?" Fatty Lu asked in surprise.

"Lord Lu, don't make jokes, when did you give me your badge?" The guard was startled, and tremblingly said: "It's not a joke to delay the military situation, Master Lu, why don't you walk around here for half a day?" Shi Chen, when did you give me your waist badge? Also, your waist badge seems to be hanging around your waist, right?"

"What?" Fatty Lu was also taken aback. He looked down and found that his waist card was indeed still hanging on his waist. He couldn't help but patted his fat forehead and said angrily, "Look at me, I'm so absent-minded, I forget everything when I concentrate on it." , I thought I had already handed you the badge, and I was still here waiting for the prince to summon me. Brother Wang, I am really sorry, I was thinking about the military situation, so I misunderstood."

"Lord Lu, your absent-mindedness is too serious, isn't it?" The guard couldn't laugh or cry, so he hurriedly said: "Master Lu, please give me your waist card, and the villain will inform you."

"Thank you." Fatty Lu quickly took off his waist badge and handed it over, but when the guard reached out to pick it up, Fatty Lu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Forget it, I'd better ask to see General Jinwu, please Brother Wang pass it on to Zuo Jinwu for me." Give me a call and say I'm begging to see you."

The guard agreed, and rushed in to report, but with Fatty Lu's current status and favor in the Wu army, other people's request to see him depends on the mood and urgency of the old traitor Wu and Hu Guozhu. It's a formality.Soon, the guard rushed out again, saying that Hu Guozhu was acting as an official document in the signing room, and asked Fatty Lu to go in directly. Fatty Lu thanked him, and slipped two taels of silver into the guard's hand before entering with his hands behind his back. Arriving at the temporary residence of the old traitor Wu, he planned a vicious trick and slowly walked to Hu Guozhu's signing room.

Entering the signing and deposit room, Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong were both in the room, and they were also surrounded by piles of various official documents. More than [-] assistants were busy in the book office, and the voices of discussing official affairs and asking whether to approve the official documents were endless and lively. It's like a vegetable market.Fatty Lu first cursed Old Man Wu for being a traitor so he could find such a loyal and useful son-in-law, and then he stepped forward to salute.

"Yifeng, are you here?" Hu Guozhu put down the brush in his hand, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and asked wearily, "What's the matter?"

"Back to Uncle, I have some thoughts about what happened yesterday, and I want to talk to you and Mr. Liangchen alone." Fatty Lu replied: "My nephew wants to hear your opinions first, and then decide whether to report it to grandfather. "

"Okay, I've been sitting all day, and I just want to go out for a walk." Hu Guozhu agreed, greeted Wang Shirong and explained the errand, and led Fatty Lu and Wang Shirong out of the signing room, and went to the back garden together walk.

It was getting dark, and there was no one in the back garden, which made it convenient for Fatty Lu and the others to have a secret conversation. As soon as they reached the pond where there were no outsiders, Fatty Lu introduced in a low voice, "Uncle, Mr. Liangchen, my nephew is going to see you today." Geng Juzhong and Monk Zhixiao, talked with them for most of the day, and got out of their mouths a lot of secrets about Jingnan Palace and Pingnan Palace. Combined with the situation of the southeast army we have, we figured out a rough plan. I have no idea, and I am worried about the consequences, so I want to ask for your opinions before deciding whether to report to my grandfather."

"Then listen to what you said, and be more careful." Hu Guozhu nodded in agreement.

"It's like this. My nephew and son-in-law learned about it from Shang Zhixiao." Fatty Lu introduced in a low voice: "The conflict between Shang Kexi's old man and his eldest son Shang Zhixin may be more acute and intense than what we understand and analyze. Shang Zhixin advocated imitating our army and separatist Guangdong to stand on his own; Shang Kexi, the old thief is loyal to the Manchus. His son Shang Zhixiao inherited the throne, and after Shang Zhixiao had humiliated the old man Shang Kexi several times, the old man Shang Kexi planned to change his sixth son, Shang Zhidian, to be his eldest son, but because Shang Zhixin's wings were full, Shang Kexi's old man Things didn’t dare to act rashly.”

"In addition, according to our detailed investigation information, when Shang Kexi was captured by us, Shang Zhixin took the opportunity to kill more than 120 of Shang Kexi's cronies headed by Jin Guang and Huang Zhangsi, and placed 13 Shang Zhidian brothers under house arrest. Judging from the fact that Emperor Mangou sent Yue Le to lead the army to protect the old thief Shang Kexi from returning to Guangdong, Emperor Mangou was already worried that after Shang Kexi returned to Guangdong, Shang Zhixin might not obediently return the power. That's why Shang Kexi arranged for a shrewd and capable assistant and an absolutely reliable army to help the old thief Shang Kexi regain power and achieve the goal of containing our army's Eastern Front, Geng Jingzhong and Zheng Jing at the same time."

"In view of these circumstances, my nephew can conclude that after the old thief Shang Kexi returns to Guangzhou, there will inevitably be a struggle between the old thief and his son Shang Zhixin. Will obediently hand over power, there will definitely be turmoil in the Pingnan Palace for a while! Shang Kexi, the old thief occupies the righteous position, Shang Zhixin controls the actual power, and it will definitely be difficult to tell the winner in a short time!"

"It makes sense." Hu Guozhu nodded, then sighed: "It's a pity that Shang Zhixin is also a whore who wants to be a whore and wants to build a memorial archway. He wants to separate Guangdong and stand on his own, but he doesn't have the courage to directly pull out the banner. He just wants to hide Picking up cheap behind our backs, and not being the rafters. Otherwise, as long as he is willing to raise his flag to stand on his own or join our army, we can help him kill his father and stand on his own!"

"Don't count on this." Fatty Lu said helplessly: "My brother-in-law, I also know it very well, is shrewd and capable in small matters, and decisive in killing, but in major events, he is just like his father Shang Kexi. He is selfish to the extreme, he just wants to live under the wings of a dog and enjoy the glory and wealth, and talking about national righteousness and family and country affairs with him is playing the piano against the cow."

"Don't say it's useless, talk about the situation in Fujian." Wang Shirong interrupted roughly.

"The situation in Fujian is simpler." Fatty Lu was not angry, but patiently introduced: "Geng Jingzhong's youngest son is both the eldest son and the eldest son. Geng Juzhong, who threatened Geng Jingzhong, has already defected to our army, and the entire Jingnan Palace is already under Geng Jingzhong's absolute control. Therefore, if Geng Jingzhong raises the flag to rebel against the Qing, there will be no major internal problems. It is beneficial to our plan to use Geng Jingzhong to consume a lot of national power."

"Of course, Geng Jingzhong's internal problems are not without problems. According to Geng Juzhong's account, the cohesion of the generals at the grassroots level of the Fujian army does not seem to be high. When Geng Juzhong and Geng Jingzhong competed for the throne, the acquisition of the generals at the grassroots level was very smooth, but Geng Juzhong It's just that the second son has limited power and money in his hands, and he hasn't been able to buy too many grassroots generals. It can be seen that after Geng Jingzhong raised the flag to fight against the Qing, if the war goes well, he may be able to control the troops everywhere. , but if the war is unfavorable, the situation may be difficult to say."

"It doesn't matter much." Hu Guozhu said with a sneer: "We don't want Geng Jingzhong to restrain the main force of the dog for a long time. As long as there are seven or eight months, our main force can calmly raise troops. At that time, as long as he can If you are alive, you will definitely get our reinforcements."

"My nephew thinks the same way." Fatty Lu echoed, "The main force of Mangou is currently being restrained by us on the Yangtze River battlefield, and the rest of the army is scattered in various places to guard places. The newly recruited army lacks experience and combat effectiveness. The flag is rebelling against the Qing Dynasty. In a short period of time, it will be difficult for the Mangou court to give him a fatal blow. As long as there are no major accidents in his interior, it will definitely not be a problem to contain and consume Mangou for half a year."

"Then what exactly are you going to do?" Wang Shirong asked.

"Go in three steps." Fatty Lu held up three fingers and said in a dark tone: "The first step, our army shows the enemy's weakness, let Man Gou misjudge the timing of our full-scale attack, and lure Man Gou to divert his attention. The idea of ​​getting rid of Geng Jingzhong first, which is easy before difficult, puts more pressure on Geng Jingzhong."

"How to show that the enemy is weak?" Hu Guozhu asked.

"My lord, please present a memorial to the court of Mangou." Fatty Lu replied in a low voice: "It is said that the lord is going to move the Pingxi palace to Pianyuan Hengzhou in order to manage the five provinces for Emperor Mangou. Emperor Mangou please approve it." , In addition, the Emperor Mangou was asked to allocate money and food for the relocation of the palace. And it also created public opinion among the people, making everyone think that grandfather was planning to move the palace. "

"In this way, and we have indeed built a palace in Hengzhou, the Emperor Mangou and the Mangou court will inevitably have an illusion, or think that the prince's grand ambition is only to separate the five southwestern provinces, or that the prince will not be able to do so in a short time. There will be a full-scale northern expedition, so that we will take our army lightly, and put our minds on the dangerous southeast Fuguang. Even if this plan fails, Man Gou will think that since the prince is going south to Hengzhou to settle the mansion, it is difficult to make big moves in a short time, no matter what There will be some slack, and it will be of great benefit to our army's sudden attack in the future."

"This plan is very clever, and I can agree on behalf of my father-in-law." Hu Guozhu said happily: "I will take care of my father-in-law to persuade my father-in-law to submit this memorial."

"Thank you, Uncle." Fatty Lu thanked him, and said with a wry smile: "The first step is the simplest and safest. Even if we fail, we will have no loss. But the second and third steps are different. If you are not careful, the consequences It's unimaginable."

"Let's talk about it first, let's talk about whether to go or not." Hu Guozhu ordered.

"The second step is to take advantage of our secret alliance with Geng Jingzhong." Fatty Lu lowered his voice and said slowly: "Please grandfather send an envoy to Fujian to meet Geng Jingzhong and make such a request to him... , because this request is not difficult, and it is of great benefit to Geng Jingzhong, so he must agree, as long as he follows the law, our third step will be effective."

"At the same time, we can also get in touch with Zheng Jing and ask for his help, because Geng Jingzhong's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty is beneficial to Zheng Jing, and Zheng Jing will definitely agree to cooperate with us in order to please his grandfather more. As for the envoy My nephew and son-in-law have already made up their minds about the candidate for Geng Jingzhong's envoy, so I will use my nephew's master Wang Shaobo, he will definitely be able to do it."

"The next step is the most crucial third step. Please, my lord, send... to Guangdong to feign surrender to Shang Kexi, the old thief and Yue Le, and then use the father-son conflict between Shang Kexi and Monk Zhixin... At that time, Once Shang Kexi and Yue Le fall into the trick, they will definitely have the idea of ​​capturing the thief first, and then go to the predetermined location to set up an ambush, and the envoys we sent to Geng Jingzhong will take the opportunity..., and Zheng Jing's ambush Also take advantage of the opportunity, in this way, Geng Jingzhong, Shang Kexi, and Yue Le misunderstood each other, in order to be the first to attack, there will inevitably be a firefight!"

"And after the fire is over, regardless of the victory or defeat, in order to survive, Geng Jingzhong must immediately raise troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty, consume the full force of the country for us, contain the main force of the full dog, and put the full dog into a multi-line battle. Our army will take the opportunity Sit back and reap the benefits, profit from the chaos!"

By the time Fatty Lu finished speaking, Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong had already opened their mouths, staring at Fatty Lu for a long time, unable to say a word.After a long time, Hu Guozhu patted Fatty Lu on the shoulder and said, "Nephew, my uncle really convinced you. Even if my uncle wants to break his head, he will definitely not think about it. come out!"

"Uncle's praise, nephew and son-in-law are ashamed." Fatty Lu frowned and said with hypocritical modesty: "What my nephew and son-in-law are most worried about now is that this chain scheme is too complicated and too dangerous. As long as Shen makes a slight mistake, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"It's really dangerous." Wang Shirong said with a gloomy face: "At the very least, the person you plan to send for a false surrender is unreliable. With his character and personality, as long as he shows a little flaw, he will be discovered by the two old foxes Shang Kexi and Yue Le." , you can sell us all right away!"

"That's right, this person is absolutely unreliable, and he will definitely betray us." Fatty Lu nodded vigorously, and said with a smirk: "However, this is exactly what I hope—sometimes, death is well used, The effect is better than ordinary emissaries!"

"Are you going to use him as a deathbed?" Wang Shirong's heart shuddered.

"Mr. Liangchen, do you still feel sorry for such a person?" Fatty Lu grinned grinningly, spread his hands and said, "Instead of wasting food to support such a person, it is better to let him work for the prince once. If he can hide it from Monk Yue Le, it is gratifying It's his luck. If he can't hide it from Shang Kexi and Yue Le's eyes and sells us out, then he deserves what he deserves, so why should we feel sorry for him?"

"Fatty, you're really ruthless!" Wang Shirong cursed from the bottom of his heart, then turned to Hu Guozhu and said, "General Jinwu, the plan proposed by Mr. Maoya, a student, may succeed, but if it fails, our loss will be too great." It’s too big. First of all, our relationship with Geng Jingzhong will definitely deteriorate, and maybe it will be completely broken. Secondly, if this plan fails, it will not be so easy for us to recruit enemy generals. Therefore, the students think that General Jin Wu should think twice! "

"Yes, risks and opportunities come together!" Hu Guozhu sighed, staring at the moonlit lake for a long time before Hu Guozhu turned to Wang Shirong and asked, "Mr. Liangchen, in your opinion, is this plan worth a try?"

"Students really dare not express their views." Wang Shirong smiled wryly, "It's too risky. If you are a little careless, the consequences will be disastrous. But this plan also has hope of success. If it can be successful, it will be very beneficial to our army. The benefits can be said to be endless! So students don’t support it, but they definitely don’t oppose it either.”

"Yifeng, what about you?" Hu Guozhu turned to Fatty Lu and asked, "You came up with the plan, how sure are you?"

"Back to uncle, nephew and son-in-law don't know either." Fatty Lu smiled bitterly, "To tell you the truth, because of weighing the pros and cons and calculating the details, my nephew and son-in-law stood in front of Xingyuan gate for half an hour before, but he forgot to hand over his waist. Asking for an interview with a card, I just can't make up my mind whether to suggest that my grandfather adopt this strategy."

"I can't make up my mind." Hu Guozhu sighed, turned back to look at the pool under the moonlight, and said hesitantly: "If something goes wrong with such a complicated and dangerous plan, who will bear the consequences?"

"You don't have to hesitate anymore, the old man will bear the consequences! Just follow this plan!"

Suddenly, Old Traitor Wu's familiar voice sounded behind him. Fatty Lu, Hu Guozhu, and Wang Shirong, who were standing side by side by the pond, were all taken aback. Then the four guards stood behind them.Hu Guozhu, Fatty Lu and the others hurriedly saluted. Hu Guozhu asked tremblingly, "Father-in-law, when did your old man arrive? Why didn't the sons-in-law hear the news?"

"When Yifeng first proposed the first step plan, the old man had already stood behind you, but you were so engrossed in what you said, so you didn't notice it." Old Han Wu said with a treacherous smile: "As for you standing behind you The soldiers at the gate of the garden are not allowed by the old man to spread the word."

"It turns out that the sons-in-law are at a loss, please forgive me." Hu Guozhu heaved a sigh of relief, secretly glad that the few of us were honest and didn't say anything bad about old man Wu behind his back, otherwise, old man Wu would be a traitor. This expression will definitely not be so kind.

"Get up, what is the need for forgiveness?" The old man Wu waved Hu Guozhu, Fatty Lu and the others to stand up, and said with a smile: "The plan proposed by Yifeng just now, I have heard it from beginning to end, and I think it is worthwhile. try!"

"Father-in-law, but..." The old traitor Wu was so decisive suddenly that Hu Guozhu was taken aback.

"Needless to say, I know the consequences. The big deal is that Geng Jingzhong and the old man turned against each other. What's the big deal?" The old man Wu waved his hand, put on his ugly face, and said seriously: "Take this opportunity, the old man also tells you an experience, This old man has exchanged his blood for experience - on the battlefield, the most dangerous is not the enemy, but the so-called allies and companions! The most reliable is not the so-called allies, only yourself!"

"Back then in Songshan, the old man trusted his comrade-in-arms Wang Pu and was ready to join forces with him to break out of the siege, but he left the old man and took the lead and ran away, alarming the slave-building army that surrounded the old man, causing the tens of thousands of troops directly under the old man to be wiped out. The old man managed to escape back to Ningyuan by himself! Later on the Miyun battlefield, the old man also went deep into the army and took the lead because of his trust in his comrade-in-arms Fan Zhiwan. In the end, he left the old man and led the army and ran away alone, leaving the old man to fight alone and suffer the first battle in his life. The second disastrous defeat! From that day on, this old man swore a poisonous oath that in the future, on the battlefield, he would never pin his hopes on his comrades-in-arms, and could only put all his hopes on himself!"

"This is true for comrades-in-arms, let alone allies?" The old man Wu paused, and asked meaningfully: "Besides, Geng Jingzhong, an ally, ask yourself, is it reliable? Is it trustworthy?"

Hu Guozhu, Fatty Lu, and Wang Shirong were all dumbfounded, all with a humble look that had benefited a lot, and finally Hu Guozhu flattered him: "Father-in-law Shengming Zhuzhao, if an ally like Geng Jingzhong is reliable, when we raised troops on the side of the Qing Dynasty, we sent The envoys from Fujian who contacted him will not disappear mysteriously for no reason."

"That's right! If he really wanted to help the old man, he would have already raised his army by then, so why bother playing the shameless trick of making the old man's envoy disappear mysteriously?" The old man Wu applauded treacherously, and then snorted coldly: "Since such an ally is unreliable , then even if there is no such ally, what's the big deal? Riding a peak to figure out such a clever plan for the old man, so what's the point of using him to death? Why do we have to let our Pingxi Palace throw our heads and blood in the front , Let a waste like him pick cheap peaches in the back?"

"Grandfather Shengming." Fatty Lu quickly flattered him, "There is also such an example in the West. There is a Western country called Italy that is like this. If he turns against his allies, the allies only need 3 people to sweep him away. If he remains neutral, The allies only need to deploy [-] troops to prevent him, but if he fights side by side with the allies, then things will be troublesome—the allies have to send [-] troops to protect him, and to fill the gaps left by his fiasco!"

"Is there such a strange thing?" Old Man Wu laughed treacherously, "But it's not surprising. I have seen many such troops before. In my opinion, Geng Jingzhong is probably similar to this kind of people."

Hu Guozhu and the others laughed in agreement, and at the end, Hu Guozhu hurriedly suggested: "Father-in-law, you are determined to adopt this plan, so in my son-in-law's opinion, you should let Yifeng go to Guangxi again, and arrange command in the nearest place. It can prevent some contingencies.”

"Yifeng, can you walk away from Jiji Mountain?" Old Traitor Wu turned to Fatty Lu and asked.

"Temporarily leaving for a month or two is not a big problem." Fatty Lu replied: "The samples of firing pin guns and bullets have already been produced. Mr. Xianyan is better than his son-in-law at how to mass produce and save costs. , there won’t be any surprises if you think about it. As for other things, we can wait for grandson-in-law to come back.”

"Then you go." The old man Wu thought of the fact that Fatty Lu left Yunnan for Guangxi last time and did not delay the production of firearms. He immediately agreed, and then ordered: "Hurry up and perfect the details of the plan. Prepare that general to come to see me and let him be our deathbed!"

Note: The 12th year of Kang Mazi is a lunar new year, not only on February 29, but also on February [-].

(End of this chapter)