scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 224
Fatty Lu is really inaccurate in seeing women - otherwise, he would not choose the notorious old man who raped his youngest daughter as his wife, let alone that transgressive Yu Xuan.

Looking at the leadership, Fatty Lu's eyes are even more inaccurate - there are really few people in this world who can choose a family slave with three surnames like Old Traitor Wu as his assistant!Since ancient times, there have been those who have chosen the faint king as the object of assistance, some who have chosen the powerful minister as the object of assistance, and some who have even chosen the heroine or even the eunuch as the object of assistance, but the ratio of those who choose the slaves of the three surnames as the object of assistance is really not high. high.

But when it comes to watching dogs and especially traitors, Fatty Lu's small mung bean eyes can be said to be extremely accurate. For example, Fatty Lu predicted in front of old traitor Wu and Hu Guozhu's son-in-law that it is gratifying for the old traitor to return. After Guangzhou, there will definitely be a conflict between the flesh and blood and his biological son Shang Zhixin - as expected, after Shang Kexi returned to Guangzhou under Yue Le's protection, he and his biological son immediately had a complete relationship.

In order to take back the military power in his son's hands, the old traitor Shang, with the support of Yue Le, General Shu Shu of the Guangzhou Mite Camp, Chief Soldier Bai Yindali, and Du Tong Niyahan, expelled more than a dozen of his son's confidantes from the army at one go. and released 13 brothers including Shang Zhidian who were imprisoned by Shang Zhixin, and took them as the core to take over the vacated military positions.Shang Zhixin is not to be outdone, and with the support of his brother Shang Zhijie, Wang Guodong, Shen Shangda, Zhang Yongxiang, Zhang Yongxuan and other cronies, he starts an open contest with the traitor Shang Lao.

Tit-for-tat quarreled for a long time, and Shang Zhixin, who has not yet formally inherited the king's title, was wronged after all. In addition, he did not have the courage and determination to completely tear apart his face with his father, let alone kill his father and stand on his own. He could only make major concessions. On the premise of keeping the four absolute cronies of Wang Guodong, Shen Shangda and the Zhang family brothers, he was forced to agree to the personnel adjustment of the old traitor, and his strength was greatly weakened.

This is not over, what makes Shang Zhixin furious is still behind, the old traitor Shang just took control of the nearby Guangzhou army, and immediately threw out the second trick that Kang Mazi personally arranged and had planned for a long time-adding the sixth traitor to the old traitor Zi Shangzhidian was the Great General of Pingnan, commanding the entire Guangdong army in honor, while Shang Zhixin, the eldest son, was only granted the title of General Fighting Against Bandits, ranking under Shang Zhidian, and had to obey the orders of his sixth brother in honor.In rage, Shang Zhixin not only refused to accept the official position conferred by Kang Mazi, but also slammed the door and left on the spot, even refusing to perform the minimum kowtow to thank him.

The eldest son despised Kangxi's master so much, and the old traitor Shang was naturally furious. If it wasn't for Yue Le's calm pull, the old traitor Shang might have ordered an army to be dispatched on the spot to fight with the army loyal to the eldest son.Fortunately, Yue Le tried his best to persuade him, saying that the current enemy is present, and Guangdong is in danger. If there is another civil strife at this time, it will definitely give the old traitor Wu and Zheng Jing an opportunity. For Shang Zhixin, we can only take it slowly, and we must not act too hastily Only then did the old traitor Shang barely suppress his anger, and with the support of civil and military officials loyal to Qing Qing, he started a struggle for power with his eldest son.

But it's a pity that after one concession and even suffered two big losses, Shang Zhixin also learned to be good, and he grasped the direct line of the army very tightly, and didn't give the traitor Lao Tzu any chance. Qing also jumped out and shared a lot of pressure for Shang Zhixin - Zu Zeqing not only refused the old traitor Shang's order to transfer himself to the Chaozhou government far away from the Wu army, but also refused to go to Guangzhou to meet the old traitor Shang under the pretext of being sick And Yue Le, at the same time, also used the excuse of preventing pirates from harassing, blocked the big and small passes of Gaozhou Prefecture, and put on a firm attitude against the old traitor and Yue Le by force.

A small local general dares to be so rude. If it were someone else, the old traitor Shang and Yue Le would have already raised their knives and killed people, but who is Zu Zeqing?Old traitor Wu's first cousin!Wuzhou in the north of Gaozhou and Lianzhou in the west are both directly controlled by the Wu army. If the traitor Shanglao and Yue Le dare to use force to solve the Gaozhou problem, Zu Zeqing may have taken the Gaozhou army with him before the troops left Guangzhou. He went to his cousin to eat and drink.Therefore, although the old traitor Shang and Yue Le wanted to peel Zu Zeqing's skin and cramps in their hearts, in order not to make the situation worse, they could only swallow their anger and tolerate Zu Zeqing's arrogant behavior, and even sent envoys with The gift went to Gaozhou to visit Zu Zongbing who was "sick in bed".

The power of role models is inexhaustible. A local commander-in-chief dared to be so arrogant just because he had a relationship with the traitor Wu, and even forced the traitor father and Prince Mangou to humble themselves.As the son of the eldest son, Shang Zhixin inevitably regretted his weakness and bullying, and also tightened his control over the army of the direct line. At the same time, he couldn't help but send secret envoys to communicate with Wu Shizhong in Guangxi and Zu Zeqing in Gaozhou to consolidate their friendship. , Be prepared to bet on both sides and wait and see the situation.As a result, the atmosphere in Guangzhou will inevitably become even more tense. The Old King's Party and the Prince's Party are at war with each other, and they are almost enemies to each other.

At this extremely tense moment, a new incident occurred. The Pingnan Palace made a detailed investigation, and the old traitor Wu made another major personnel adjustment for the Guangxi Eastern Front. General Guidong returned to Guangxi to lead the troops of Wuzhou, Xunzhou, Yulin and Pingle; his deputy was Geng Juzhong, a general from the Jingnan Palace, and General Wuzhou and asked him to be named Xingyihou. A posture intended to strengthen the strength of the Wu army in Guangxi.

"Request troops immediately, go to Wuzhou and fight to the death with that bastard!"

Hearing this news, the old traitor Shang inevitably jumped up and yelled, he wanted to personally raise the Guangdong army again, to fight to the death with his unfilial son-in-law, to avenge his shame!Fortunately, the old traitor Shang finally has a Yue Le who can stop his reckless actions, Yue Le hurriedly pulled him back, "Lord Shang, please calm down, calm down! The situation in Guangdong is complicated now, internal and external troubles are everywhere, and there is a rush to take revenge. Not only does it have little chance of winning, but it may also make the already complicated and dangerous situation even more complicated and dangerous!"

In any case, Yue Le finally caught the old traitor Shang, and then turned to the fine work and asked, "How many soldiers did Lu Yifeng's thief bring south this time? Where is it probably now?"

"Returning to your lord, Lu Yifeng's dog thief brought very few troops this time, only [-] cavalry." The reporter replied truthfully: "But the speed of going south is very fast, almost day and night. It may have already arrived in Wuzhou City."

"Such a small force?" Yue Le was stunned for a moment, and asked in confusion: "There are only five hundred cavalry, what can they do? This time, old thief Wu Sangui, what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd?"

"My lord, will Lu Yifeng's bastard mobilize troops from Guangxi?" Shang Zhidian, who has recently emerged from the Pingnan Palace, hastened to speak, showing off his knowledge, "Dropping troops from Guangxi can save time and money for marching. Marching food and grass can also keep the army from getting too tired."

"Although the words are reasonable, but in this way, the combat effectiveness of Wu Dog's army will inevitably be weakened?" Yue Le frowned and said: "The main force of Wu Dog in Guangxi is only more than [-] people. Recruiting recruits, the army has expanded to about [-]. Although the number is large, the combat effectiveness is obviously insufficient. The remaining Ma Xiong's army and Lu Yifeng's dog thief can't command. A deadly threat?"

"Could it be that Wu Gou has no intention of attacking Guangdong, but just intends to strengthen the defense on the eastern front to prevent us from going west?" Shang Zhidian raised another possibility.

"This kid still lacks Shang Zhidian's letter." Yue Le squinted at Shang Zhidian, sighed in his heart, and patiently explained: "This is absolutely impossible. If Wu Gou only intends to strengthen the defense on the eastern front, then as long as he sends An ordinary general can do it. Lu Yifeng's status in Wugou's army has skyrocketed recently, and he has the tendency to become the right-hand man of Wu Sangui's old thief. Wu Sangui's old thief will never send such an important assistant to such an insignificant from the place."

"Then...?" Shang Zhidian finally showed his true colors, scratching his head and said in distress: "Then what is the purpose of Wu Sangui's old thief sending Lu Yifeng's dog thief to Wuzhou Mansion?"

"Whatever his plan is!" Old Shang treacherously waved his hand and shouted, "My lord, in my opinion, since Lu Yifeng's dog thief came to my door to kill me, if we don't do it, the world will only laugh at me, my lord." Please sit in Guangzhou, and the old man will lead an army of [-] to fight to the death with that bastard!"

"My lord, please calm down." Yue Le sighed and persuaded helplessly: "You are eager to avenge your shame, Xiao Wang understands, but the current situation in Guangdong is here, don't say [-] troops, just move out With [-] troops, there will inevitably be chaos."

"In addition, our Qing court has signed an armistice treaty with Wu Dog. The old thief Wu Sangui still respects the emperor as the emperor and calls himself a minister. The emperor also continues to recognize the old thief Wu Sangui as a minister. Jinkou Yuyan allows the old thief Wu Sangui to take charge of the five provinces A government of military and civilian affairs, and promise never to invade each other! Your lord, if you attack Wuzhou at this time, no matter whether you get revenge or not, the old thief Wu Sangui can accuse you of taking the lead in starting the war again. Long live the emperor will not let you go! "

Considering the consequences of re-igniting the war, the old traitor Shang was completely discouraged——Kang Mazi finally used more than 2000 million taels of silver to buy the respite of the truce. Now the reconstruction of the army has just begun, and everything is not ready yet. , he took the lead in starting the war again, and Kang Mazi pursued it, and might really want to skin himself.

"Also." Yue Le took a good look at his words and said in a low voice: "My lord, the people you sent to welcome back the little princess have already set off, and there will be an answer in a few days. If you start to take revenge now, won't that make our previous arrangement come to naught? Besides, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for us if Lu Yifeng came to Wuzhou at this time? If Little Gege could bring his only son back to Guangdong, wouldn’t it be much easier for us to recruit him?”

The old traitor Shang had no more words to say, and after a while he asked feebly: "Then according to Prince An's opinion, what should we do now?"

"Patience, wait and see." Yue Le replied in a deep voice: "Xiao Wang has a hunch that the old thief Wu Sangui sent Lu Yifeng to Wuzhou at this sensitive moment to face our army head-on. There must be a major conspiracy behind it! We must Pay attention to his every move, strengthen the inside, and don't let this slippery loach take advantage of it!"

"Well, let Miao Zhixiu lead an army of [-], reinforce Fengchuan, and closely monitor Lu Yifeng's every move." The old man Shang replied weakly.

"There is also the eldest prince." Yue Le reminded softly: "Old prince, pardon Xiao Wang's blunt words, with Lu Yifeng's character as a thief, he will never take the blame for invading Guangdong by rekindling the war. He will attack us from within, and let us fall into civil strife, and he will reap the benefits, and his biggest breakthrough may be the eldest prince with whom he has a good friendship."

"That's right!" Old Shang's treacherous Mung Dou's eyes flashed fiercely, and he beckoned No.13 son Shang's uncle (the name was correct) and whispered in his ear: "Starting today, you will personally lead fifty capable soldiers, Pretend to be ordinary people, divide into groups, and monitor your elder brother Shang Zhixin day and night. Once you find him in contact with Wu Gou's people, report it immediately no matter what time! In addition, send orders to the whole army, pass in Guangdong, and gates in Guangzhou , we must strengthen the interrogation, and strictly prevent Wu Gou from sneaking in!"

........................

The precautionary efforts of old traitor Shang and Yue Le had achieved certain results. At least the emissary sent by Shang Zhixin to contact Fatty Lu was caught in Fengchuan by old traitor Shang's hard-core running dog Miao Zhixiu.But it is a pity that when the emissary was arrested, the secret letter written by Shang Zhixin to Fatty Lu was destroyed by the emissary in time - chewed into pulp and swallowed it into his stomach, Shang Zhixin insisted that the letter was to condemn Fatty Lu for capturing his father-in-law Therefore, the old traitor Shang and Yue Le also have nothing to do with Shang Zhixin. How can they criticize Shang Zhixin without evidence?
What puzzled Old Traitor Shang and Yue Le was that Fatty Lu had never sent a secret envoy to Guangzhou when he was only two days away from Guangzhou by water. It can be proved that Fatty Lu's emissary did not see Shang Zhixin, and established a communication channel with Shang Zhixin.But old traitor Shang and Yue Le were also frightened by Fatty Lu's treachery and viciousness, and they didn't dare to relax in the slightest from the beginning to the end. They just desperately strengthened the investigation and search, and did not give Fatty Lu's spies a chance to sneak into Guangzhou.

Hard work pays off, and on March 12th, 28, Kang Mazi finally caught the big fish, and the fish was so big that even the old traitor Shang and Yue Le couldn't believe it—the man who closely monitored the movement of Wuzhou The old traitor Miao Zhixiu, the hard-core running dog Miao Zhixiu, caught Lu Fatzi's deputy and the second prince of the Jingnan Palace disguised as an ordinary businessman from a wooden boat going down the river when he was checking the passing ships on the Pearl River. ——Geng Juzhong!
What shocked the old traitor Shang and Yue Le was still behind. Miao Zhixiu learned from Geng Juzhong's interrogation that Geng Juzhong was not the envoy sent by Fatty Lu to contact Shang Zhixin, but Geng Juzhong carried Wu Jun on his back and disguised himself Became a wood merchant, escaped from Guangxi and came to Guangzhou, his purpose was to surrender to the Qing court anyway!

Shocked and shocked, such a fat fish came to the door by itself, it is naturally impossible for the old traitor Shang and Yue Le not to meet him in person.One day later, when Geng Juzhong was escorted back to Guangzhou City and then into the Pingnan Palace, Old Traitor Shang and Yue Le joined hands to meet immediately. Kneeling down, weeping loudly, "Uncle, my nephew finally saw you. My nephew thought that I would never see you again in this life. Uncle, my nephew knows that I was wrong. I beg my uncle to see you before we are gone." For the sake of the generational friendship between the Geng family, please forgive my nephew just once!"

Crying, Geng Juzhong kowtowed desperately, kept slapping himself, and cursed himself for being useless. He was blinded by lard and would surrender to Wu Gou. He helped Wu Gou do countless sins. Guilty of the land, guilty of the old traitor of the Qing court monk, begging the old traitor Shang for the sake of the friendship between the Geng and Shang families, and also for the sake of knowing how to return from the wrong way, to spare my life, in Kang Mazi Say a few more good words for yourself with the mite Qing court, and give yourself a chance to make meritorious deeds.I regret what I have done in the past, and I am heartbroken.

Seeing Geng Juzhong crying like pear blossoms and rain, Old Traitor Shang and Yue Le were skeptical, after Yue Le whispered a few words in Old Traitor Shang's ear, Old Traitor Shang then said: "Nephew, get up!" Come on, don't cry, since you know your way back and you can correct your mistakes, as long as you sincerely correct your mistakes and can correct your past mistakes, then for the sake of the Shang Geng family's family friendship, the old man will naturally say a lot of good things in front of the Holy One , please forgive your previous sins for the sake of your atonement."

"Uncle Xie, Uncle Xie." Geng Juzhong kowtowed again and again, until old traitor Shang called to stop again and again, Geng Juzhong wiped his tears and stood up, tremblingly peeping at Yue Le.

"Second prince, do you know who I am?" Yue Le asked with a smile.

"Could it be that your lord is Prince An?" Geng Juzhong cautiously asked tentatively.

"Yes, I am Yue Le." Yue Le nodded with a smile, and then corrected with a smile: "However, because of my ineffectiveness in combat, this king has been demoted by the emperor to the county king."

"Sure enough, it's Prince An. The guilty minister, Geng Juzhong, pays respects to the prince." Geng Juzhong hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, and said flatteringly: "Prince An, the criminal has admired you for a long time, Lu Yifeng, brother Lu... oh no, Lu Yifeng dog thief has said in front of criminal officials more than once that among the kings of the Qing Dynasty, the only person he fears and fears is you."

"He has won the award, but this king also feels the same. Among the Wugou army, the only person I am afraid of and afraid of is him." Yue Le smiled modestly, and asked again: "Second prince, are you doing this anyway? Returning, one thing is very strange to me, the dog thief Wu Sangui treated you well, and even asked you to be named Marquis of Xingyi from the imperial court, why did you leave him and surrender to us?"

"Back to the lord, Wu Sangui is a thief, he is unfair!" Geng Juzhong yelled angrily, "They are all the second princes who have surrendered. He asked for the title of Duke Shunqing for Shang Zhixiao and brother Shang, and the one who asked for the title of me is only a marquis. , and the sinful minister hated his foolish behavior back then, so he resolutely returned anyway."

"It's really just like this?" Yue Le asked: "Just for these things, are you going anyway?"

Geng Juzhong hesitated for a while, and finally said coyly: "Prince An Mingjian, there are indeed some other reasons for the return of the guilty minister anyway. The old thief Wu Sangui employs cronyism and only likes to promote his cronies, old subordinates, relatives and nephews. Surrendered generals don't look down on them at all, except for some money and food to support them, they don't give them any other power. Not only the guilty minister, but also his uncle's second prince and General Sun Yanling and Sun Yanling's brothers are all very regretful now, regretting us all. Back then, I believed the nonsense of that bastard Lu Yifeng, but I was blinded by lard and did something wrong."

"There is one more thing that the guilty minister can't be more angry about." Geng Juzhong added in a low voice, "That bastard Lu Yifeng, when he arrived in Fujian five years ago, he was just a county magistrate who just took office, and when he saw the criminal minister, he just kowtowed and didn't speak. But now the old thief Wu Sangui let him ride on the head of the guilty minister, giving orders to the criminal minister, calling the criminal minister back and forth like a servant, the more the criminal minister thought about it, the more troublesome he became, so he resolutely said no back."

"Is that so?" Yue Le pondered in his heart, saying that it is true that Wu Sangui likes cronyism, but his sons-in-law, nephews, sons-in-law, and cronies are all up to the task. They are either brave or resourceful. They have gathered stars, and there are many pillars with both civil and military skills. Why should these reliable talents not be used, and reuse an unreliable idiot that surrendered?Could it be that Geng Juzhong, an idiot, really surrendered anyway?
"Uncle, lord, if you don't trust the guilty minister, the guilty minister will have a way to prove his sincerity anyway." Geng Juzhong suddenly spoke again.

"Then how do you plan to prove it?" Yue Le asked doubtfully.

"Criminals can lead the way for you and help you break through Wuzhou City!" Geng Juzhong said surprisingly, "There are only three or four thousand troops in Wuzhou City now, and the troops drawn by Lu Yifeng's dog thief and Wu Shizong's little thief from all over Guangxi have to be returned. It took a while to arrive in Wuzhou, and it was the emptiest time. Therefore, when the criminal minister left Wuzhou, he had already made an appointment with several old ministries of the year. As soon as uncle your army came to the city, they would immediately open the city gate and greet the prince. You dedicate this Guangxi portal."

"Are you sure?" The old traitor Shang asked pleasantly: "Wuzhou is in Guangxi, and you are a general from Fujian. How could there be your old troops in Wuzhou?"

"Uncle didn't know something. My nephew was confused for a while and led the Fujian army to surrender to Wugou. The soldiers from Fujian and other places were scattered and reorganized." Geng Juzhong explained: "So in Wuzhou City, not only There are soldiers from Fujian and Guangxi, and uncle your old soldiers from Guangdong, but Wuzhou is close to Guangdong, and Wu Gou is afraid that the soldiers in Guangdong will miss their hometown and family and flee, so the soldiers from Guangdong are the fewest, and the soldiers from Fujian and Guangxi are the fewest.”

"Prince An, this is a good opportunity." Shang Kexi was overjoyed, and quickly turned to Yue Le to suggest: "Taking advantage of this good opportunity, let's find an excuse that we can explain to the imperial court, and ask Nephew Juzhong Xian to lead the way to take Wuzhou City Take it back. At that time, as long as we can capture the dog thief Lu Yifeng alive, or kill the dog thief on the battlefield, and get rid of this serious trouble for the Lord, the emperor will forgive us no matter how serious our sins are."

Yue Le didn't answer, his eyes were like lightning eagles, but he just stared at Geng Juzhong. Under the gaze of these two sharp eyes, although Geng Juzhong could still maintain his composure, his expression remained the same, but his pair of thick, short and fat legs still couldn't help it trembling slightly......

(End of this chapter)