scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 164

There was no sound in the wide and towering gold-encrusted cowhide tent. Hundreds of generals, big and small, and Prince Baylor stood upright, all pointing to the corpses of more than twenty soldiers lying flat in the middle of the tent, and standing with their hands behind their backs. In front of these corpses is the first brave general of the Qing Dynasty, the first Batulu, the chief assistant and grand master of the dynasty, Obai.Up to Yue Le and Jie Shu, who are princes, down to ordinary lieutenants and generals, they dare not even take a breath, for fear of disturbing or disturbing this powerful and meritorious commander-in-chief of the whole army.

The reason why Oboi was so dedicated, of course, was that these Qing soldiers were all killed by the mysterious weapons of the Wu army. The night before, the Qing army's plan to encircle and wipe out the Gao Dejie Department of the Wu army failed. One of the important reasons was because Gao Dejie The army used this mysterious firearm to kill Zhao Liangdong's army by surprise and became dizzy. Otherwise, as long as Zhao Liangdong's army took advantage of the favorable location to hold the Gaode Jie army for two hours, the Mite Qing Laita cavalry could rush to the battlefield for reinforcements. If the established tactical goal of annihilating the Gaode Jiejun is not achieved, the next best thing is to severely injure the Gaode Jiejun, avenge the shame, and at the same time boost morale and stabilize the morale of the army.

However, neither the main purpose nor the secondary purpose of the Qing army was achieved. What caused this result happened to be the mysterious weapon of the Wu Sangui army that Oboi valued the most. The corpse of the soldier under the mysterious firearm, can you not carefully explore the course of the battle?

Judging from the situation at the time and the wounds on the corpses of the soldiers who died in battle, these mite soldiers obviously died of gunpowder explosions. At the same time, judging from the iron sheets and horns dug out from the wounds of the corpses, Wu Jun's weapons are likely to be gunpowder packed into thin iron. In the tube, light it with fire and throw it out, the gunpowder explodes in the tube, the iron tube shatters and flies around, killing and injuring nearby enemies.The explosive shells of the Qing army's mother-child artillery are also of this type. Of course Aobai understands the principle, but the only thing Aobai doesn't understand is the explosive power of Wu Jun's gunpowder weapons.

Judging from the report of Zhao Liangdong and others, Wu Jun's mysterious firearm is not big, about the size of a flagon jug, and its weight is definitely not too heavy. An ordinary soldier can easily throw this weapon two or three times. ten paces away.According to common sense, there is definitely not much gunpowder that can be packed into such a weapon, but the power of the explosion can almost catch up with that used by the Qing army. And so much so that several corpses were simply blown into limbs, their chests and abdomen were opened, and even their internal organs flowed out. Is this the power that an explosion of one or two catties of gunpowder can produce?
"Report to the grand master, the craftsmen have rushed to make what you want." The voice of the Chinese military guard Hadaha broke the silence in the tent, and he knelt down on one knee in front of Oboi. Lang Sheng said: "According to the grand master's order, one of these two iron cylinders contains three catties of gunpowder, and the other contains two catties of gunpowder. A straw man has been set up outside the tent to test the power of the explosion at any time." .”

Ao Bai didn't answer, just picked up the small iron tube first, and after weighing the weight, Ao Bai frowned quickly - even the medicine belt tube was too heavy, throwing it thirty steps away, with a thick waist and round arms Hercules can do it, but it is very difficult for ordinary soldiers.But Aobai refused to give up, and turned to Zhao Liangdong who was beside him and asked, "Qingzhi, take a look, how does it compare with the Wu Jun firearm you saw the night before yesterday?"

"Back to Grand Master, Wu Gou's firearm is not that big." Zhao Liangdong replied tremblingly: "It was dark and he couldn't see clearly, but the general can still be sure that it's not that big, it should be smaller, maybe only half the size."

"Grand Master, could it be because our craftsmen rushed to make it, and the iron cylinder is thicker, so it is big and heavy?" Yue Le asked.

Obai picked up another fragment of Wu Jun's weapon, compared the thickness, and found that the fragment of Wu Jun's weapon was indeed thinner. He could not help but ignite the last ray of hope, and ordered: "Then try to blow it up. Come out and go to the scene." Take a look."

All the generals of Mite Qing agreed together, and hurriedly surrounded Oboi to the experiment field on the right side of the big tent, lit a fire on the open space full of grass people, and detonated the two iron cylinders containing two catties of black powder and three catties of black powder one after another , the result was naturally disappointing to Oboi, even the iron cylinder containing three catties of powder only blasted the wall of the cylinder into more than a dozen pieces, knocking down a few straw people around, far from reaching the level of Wu Jun's firearms. Effect.As for the iron cylinder containing two catties of powder, it simply exploded the iron cylinder into four or five pieces, knocking down the two straw men around it.

Seeing that the imitation explosive tube made by the craftsmen of the Qing army had only such an effect, Yue Le, who had had a glimmer of hope before, could no longer speak. Puzzled, he said: "Wu Sangui's lackeys can use magic spells? How can their firearms be so powerful?"

"Idiot!" Obai shouted coldly: "The matter has come to this point, and you still don't understand? The old thief Wu Sangui has already created a new gunpowder that is more powerful than ordinary gunpowder! Just a small amount of new gunpowder, It can exert a much greater power than a few catties of ordinary gunpowder! Old thief Wu Sangui, the heavy investment in firearms in the past few years is really worth the money. This battle will be big."

Speaking of this, Oboi looked up at the sky again, and said slowly: "There is also Lu Yifeng kid, I really underestimated you, I really regret it, why didn't I resolutely keep you back then? If I could let you go If you sincerely submit to this old man, can the old thief Wu Sangui still have today?"

"Grand Master, what does this have to do with Lu Yifeng's barbarian?" Le Erjin said unconvinced: "Listening to Grand Master's tone, it seems that Lu Yifeng's barbarian is more important than anyone else."

"Prince Shun, you probably don't know something." Yue Le explained on behalf of Oboi: "According to what the grand master knows, the old thief Wu Sangui's various new firearms were all created for him by the barbarian Lu Yifeng. The thief's Nule Mountain Firearms Camp is actually Lu Yifeng's masterpiece. It can be seen from this that this powerful new gunpowder is most likely created by Lu Yifeng for the old thief Wu Sangui."

"Is there such a thing?" Le Erjin was taken aback, and said in amazement: "That Lu Yifeng barbarian, the king also saw him last time at the New Year's Ceremony in the capital, a fat little barbarian in vain, not amazing in appearance, but still Have this ability?"

"There are even more shocking things." Yue Le said in a deep voice: "The grand master interrogated several soldiers from Sizhou last night. According to their account, the troops of the barbarians who were so tall were already entering the city, but that barbarian Lu Yifeng I don’t know where we saw the flaw, and prevented the Gaode Jie army from entering the city in time, which led to the failure of our plan.”

"It's him again?!" Le Erjin and many other generals of the Qing army changed their faces.Yue Le nodded, and said seriously: "Xiao Wang also agrees with Grand Master's judgment now, if this Lu Yifeng barbarian is not eliminated, it will become a disaster for our Qing Dynasty!"

"But if I win this man, not only will I have an extra helping hand, but the strength of the old thief Wu Sangui will be obvious, and the power of the new firearms will be immediately clear." Oboi suddenly spoke in a surprising way.

"Could it be that the grand master intends to recruit Lu Yifeng?" Yue Le asked in surprise.

"Of course I can be recruited to surrender, but it's a pity that there is little hope." Obai said coldly: "Back then, the old man took out the Lianghuai Tourist Salt Road, the world's most fat vacancy, to recruit him, and he was not tempted, let alone the emperor now. It is already necessary to kill him and then quickly, what else do you use to recruit him?"

"If the grand master has such a plan, then Xiao Wang can try it." Yue Le said confidently: "Xiao Wang also had a relationship with him back then, and getting along with him was quite pleasant, as long as the emperor can issue a favor It is not hopeless to pardon him, reward him with a high position and rich salary, and make his position prominent."

"Then you go and try." Aobai said casually: "Tell him, as long as he is willing to surrender anyway, the old man can use the head as a guarantee that all his previous crimes can be forgiven, and what else he wants, Just open your mouth, the old man will do his best to satisfy you."

Yue Le respectfully agreed, and Aobai ordered again: "Let's go away, send an order to Tuhai to lead the main force to the south to station in Huangzhou. The plan, let the old man think carefully before making a plan."

………………

Under the active retreat of the Gaode Jie army, the main force of the Qing army finally achieved the first fruitful result since the Southern Expedition - regaining Sizhou Prefecture, Guizhou, and regaining the first piece of land controlled by Wu Sangui's rebels!But this result is exactly what Aobai, Tu Hai, Yue Le and other main decision-makers of the Mite Qing do not want!The strategic plan to lure the main force of the Wu army out of Guizhou for a decisive battle not only made a little progress, but was led by Wu Jun to advance nearly [-] miles into Guizhou, which further strengthened Wu Sangui's determination to lure the main force of the Qing Dynasty into the hinterland of Guizhou for a decisive battle.

Fortunately, the front line has only advanced eighty miles, which has little impact on Oboi's strategic plan, and there is still room for recovery. However, the plan to wipe out the Gaode Jie army failed, which dealt a blow to the morale of the Qing army. But it is not unreasonable. Many generals of Qing Dynasty dare not say it in person, but they are already whispering behind their backs, "Why is Grand Master Ao so timid? Since the old thief Wu Sangui wants to fight in the hinterland of Guizhou, we have superior forces , just go in and have a decisive battle with him? Why do you want to dawdle here and be ridiculed by the world?"

It's useless to mutter any more, Oboi is not thick-skinned or dark-hearted enough in the political arena, but his determination on the battlefield far exceeds that of ordinary generals, especially when he discovers that Wu Jun's new firearms are far more powerful than himself. After that, Obai strengthened his strategic determination to force Wu Sangui out of Guizhou—the decisive battle on the open Huguang border would not only lengthen Wu Sangui's food and supply roads, but also limit the supply speed of Wu Sangui's consumable firearms. In the future, even if you lose, there will be places to run and retreat. In the decisive battle in the hinterland of Guizhou surrounded by mountains, how can you run if you lose?Waiting to be completely killed by Wu Sangui's army is true.

After firming up his determination, Aobai simply returned to the camp of Huangzhou, arranging and arranging all kinds of strategies to completely block Yunnan and Guizhou, in addition to asking Xiao Mazi to promulgate the decree of the king who entered Kunming first to attract Geng Juzhong and the monk Zhixiao. In addition to taking the bait, Obai asked Xiao Mazi and Bumble to come forward and send envoys to put pressure on Myanmar and Annan, asking them to resolutely fulfill the promise they made to Xiao Mazi and Obai—that is, to cut off the economic relationship with Wu Sangui’s army Contact, cut off the grain trade with Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, otherwise, once Oboi finds out that they face to face and back, when Wu Sangui is dealt with, he will deal with them by the way.

When Oboi was busy, Xiao Mazi's uncle, Yue Le, was not idle either. In addition to explaining to Xiao Mazi the advantages of recruiting Fatty Lu, he also dispatched a reliable spy to sneak into the Gaode Jie army stationed in disguise as ordinary people. He tried to get in touch with Fatty Lu, handed over his own letter to Fatty Lu, and waited patiently for a reply.

It took five or six days to assist Aobai and Tuhai in arranging the relocation of the Qing army's camp. When they finally settled down a little bit, the new issue of Dibao passed by on the afternoon of April 11, [-]. The transfer printing in Yuezhou, Changsha and other places was delivered to Huangzhou Daying, and sent to the important generals of Qing Dynasty separately. Got one.Seeing that nothing happened in the army, Yue Le quickly flipped through the newspaper after receiving it.

The length of this issue of Dibao is about the same as the previous issues, with fifteen pages of more than 13 words, and the content is quite rich. In addition to changing the edict of Xuezheng and the name of the newly appointed Xuezheng in each province this year, There is also the news that Xiao Mazi gave birth to the eldest son of the emperor Yinti, and there are also some sycophants from all over the world scolding Wu Sangui's memorials, and the news that the Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered Kuding to be arrested. When I saw page No. [-], a piece of news made me The tea in Yue Le's mouth spewed out, and the person jumped up, screaming: "How is it possible? How could the emperor do this?!"

Just when Yue Le was in doubt, the guards outside the door suddenly reported that General Fuyuan Tu Haitu was asking to see him. Yue Le hurriedly ordered to meet him, and went out to meet him in person. He wanted to greet him outside the courtyard, but Zeng just walked to the door However, Tu Hai limped into the room with a cane, holding a copy of the residence newspaper that had just been delivered in his hand.As soon as they met, Tu Hai immediately made gestures to hint, Yue Le understood, hurriedly drove all the guards out of the room, and closed the door himself, and had a private conversation with Tu Hai.

"Prince An, have you seen the Di Bao?" Tu Hai asked nervously.Seeing Yue Le nodded, Tu Hai lowered his voice and asked again: "What is the emperor planning to do? Why did you release Wu Yingxiong and return him to the position of Shaofu and Prince Taifu? That's not counting, why did you use this news as an official post?" Reporting to the world? What is the emperor thinking?"

"I'm also surprised about this." Yue Le replied in a low voice: "This is clearly showing favor to Wu Sangui? Could it be that the emperor has already planned to make peace with Wu Sangui?"

"If the emperor intends to make peace with Wu Sangui, then the grand master will be in danger." Tu Hai said nervously: "The banner played by Wu Sangui is on the side of the Qing emperor, and the target of killing the grand master Ao is directed at the grand master Ao. The emperor is at this critical moment. The release of Wu Yingxiong and the reinstatement of his official posts are clearly intended to use Wu Sangui's hand to get rid of Oboi. If the emperor really thinks so, then what position should we take as Oboi's subordinates?"

Yue Le has nothing to say, if Xiao Mazi decides to join hands with Wu Sangui to deal with Oboi, then the closer we get to Oboi, the worse the future will be.Tu Hai stared nervously at Yue Le's expression, then suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Prince An, you and I have never had a holiday, I want to ask you a question today, please answer truthfully! Leak a word, a word!"

"Excuse me from Tutang." Yue Le replied in a low voice.

"Prince An, you are the emperor's uncle, and you are the general of Dingyuan Pingkou. You hold the military power. If the emperor has a secret decree, it is likely to be issued to you." Tu Hai said word by word: "I beg you Prince An made it clear, did the emperor issue a secret decree to the prince, asking him to find an opportunity to get rid of Oboi, take over the military power, and then negotiate a peace with Wu Sangui?"

"No." Yue Le shook his head resolutely, and replied in a low voice: "Tutang is suspicious, how could the emperor give me such a secret decree?"

"Prince An, this is a matter of the life of the humble official, please be merciful, and don't hide it from the humble official." Tu Hai almost didn't cry, and begged: "You know, Prince An, that the humble official was obliged by Oboi. Those who were rescued from the prison had already been branded as a member of Taishi Ao's party. If something happened to the Taishi, the humble officer would not be able to escape. I only hope that Prince An will save the servant for the sake of serving the humble officer wholeheartedly. Let's die."

"Tutang, you misunderstood. The emperor really didn't give me such a secret decree." Yue Le was angry and funny, and said in a low voice: "If Tutang doesn't believe it, Xiao Wang can also swear to Tianming. Conceal the slightest bit, let Xiao Wang die under the knife and arrow, and never stand up!"

Speaking of this, Yue Le lowered his voice again, and said with a wry smile: "Besides, you also know Tutang, although I am the emperor's pro-cousin, but in the court, I am not as good as you in Tutang - the former emperor would rather Tuoguyu outsiders don't need me, so how could the emperor give me such a secret decree?"

What Yue Le said was the truth. In the Qing court, he was indeed not as popular as Tu Hai before he lost power, and the suspicion and exclusion he received were deeper than Tu Hai. How could Xiao Mazi hand over such an important and confidential matter to him? give him?After Tu Hai considered this point, he quickly said suspiciously: "Since the secret decree is not with you, Prince An, will it be with Prince Kang and Prince Shun?"

"I don't know about that." Yue Le spread his hands, and comforted him: "Tutang, don't think too much, the emperor released Wu Yingxiong and reinstated him, maybe it was because Wu Yingxiong has always treated us in the Qing court. Because of his loyalty. As you know in Tutang, when the old thief Wu Sangui sent people to Beijing to pick up Wu Yingxiong, Wu Yingxiong did not betray the Qing court. Perhaps the emperor released Wu Yingxiong and rewarded him for the sake of this. Return his official position."

"Prince An, if it's really that simple." Tu Hai said with a wry smile: "You and I both know the relationship between Taishi Ao and the emperor, and what Tu Hai dare not lie to the prince is that the emperor has actually Putting an insider next to Taishi Ao is to guard against Taishi Ao. The monarch and ministers are so suspicious, what else can happen?"

Yue Le was silent, and soon understood the real intention of Tu Hai's sudden visit to him, and at the same time, he also felt a sense of contempt for Tu Hai - no matter what, Tu Hai was rescued from the prison by Oboi , to help Tuhai get rid of the prison where he was tortured every day, even if he didn't repay him, now that Xiao Mazi had just revealed a little intention to target Aobai, Tuhai immediately wanted to get closer to the imperial party, and maybe even wanted to make him The benefactor sold it in exchange for his own glory and wealth. This kind of character is really too noble.

"No, I have to see Prince Kang." Tu Hai gritted his teeth and asked in a low voice: "Prince An, are you going? He is also your cousin, so it's easier to talk."

"I won't go." Yue Le shook his head and replied: "Whether Jie Shu has such a secret edict in his hand or not, I'm not interested. Now I just want to kill Wu Sangui as soon as possible, and get rid of this real confidant for the emperor. Big trouble."

"Prince An, it's true that the old thief Wu Sangui is the emperor's real confidant." Tu Hai didn't notice the contempt shown by Yue Le at all, and even persuaded him: "But if the emperor doesn't want to deal with Wu Sangui now, but wants to get rid of him." Another confidant's serious trouble, if you are on the wrong team, my lord, you will lose all chances."

"Get out! Get out immediately!" Yue Le was furious, pointed at the door and roared, "Get out now, you like to stand in line and stand by yourself, I, Yue Le, have no interest in that! Get out!"

Tu Hai's face turned pale, and he finally realized that his shameless act had completely angered the upright Yue Le. When he wanted to explain, he was stared at by Yue Le, who was so frightened that he dared not speak. Leaving in embarrassment, Yue Le spat heavily at his back, cursing: "Shameless!"

Furiously, he walked around the room for a long time with his hands behind his back, hesitating whether he should send a memorial to Xiao Mazi, asking Xiao Mazi to put Wu Yingxiong back in prison or to behead him, when the soldiers suddenly came in from the door and said yes When Aobai summoned him, Yue Le didn't dare to neglect, he hurriedly changed his clothes and left the city, and went all the way to the big tent of Aobai's Chinese army outside the city.When he entered the big tent again, he saw Oboi sitting alone on the handsome chair, Yue Le hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Little Wang Yue Le, I have been ordered to meet the Grand Master."

Oboi, who usually doesn't pay much attention to etiquette, was uncharacteristic this time, as if he didn't hear Yue Le's voice, he didn't ask Yue Le to get up for a long time.Curious in his heart, Yue Le raised his head quietly, and when he carefully looked at the expression on Oboi's face, he saw that Oboi was also holding the mansion newspaper in his hand, and on his cheeks covered with thick beard, it had hung up at some point. I shed two turbid old tears...

"Grand Master..." Yue Le's nose was sore, he choked up and repeated: "Little Wang Yue Le, I was ordered to meet... Great Qing Grand Master."

(End of this chapter)