scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 263
In fact, Fatty Lu is definitely not the only one staring at the opportunity to lead the army alone. Among the Wu army, which has never been short of veterans on the battlefield, there are definitely not a few who are qualified, capable and ambitious to take the opportunity to lead the army alone. Naturally, they will not miss this opportunity. Godsend.

It's not that all the generals in the Wu army are like Lu Fatty, who are so stubborn. Since the day they joined the Wu army, they have been holding back while using the Wu army while looking for opportunities to stand on their own. The key is that the benefits of leading the army alone are too many, prestige Needless to say, Bamian is high-ranking and powerful. You don’t have to look at the face of your boss and coach every day and don’t say anything. In addition, if you lose a battle, you can find your subordinates to take the blame. The benefits of choosing by yourself, etc., these are really very attractive to Lao Qiuba in the Wu army.

The opportunity finally came. Wu Jun blatantly played the banner of anti-Qing and Fuming, cut his braids and hair, and pulled out the hard nail in Jingzhou. Everyone knows that Wu Jun's full-scale counterattack is imminent, and there is definitely more than one way to counterattack-this point From the experience of the battle in Jingzhou, it can be easily seen that in the disadvantaged situation of using less to attack and more troops, the old traitor Wu refused to mobilize the nearby Yuezhou garrison and Wuchang garrison for reinforcements, and he did not mobilize the war. The Hengzhou garrison and Sichuan garrison with sufficient troops reinforced the Jingzhou battlefield. This was enough for the old traitor Wu not to disrupt the strategic deployment.

At present, only the old traitor Wu and his absolute cronies Hu Guozhu, Fang Guangchen and others know how many attacks Wu Jun will launch at the same time, but one thing is absolutely certain. There are definitely not enough points for coaching candidates.Because there are too many people eyeing this position, the four major Jinwu generals and the four pro-army generals are all qualified. Among the eight, except Wu Shizongyuan who must dominate all the way in Guangxi, the other seven are all squatting along the Yangtze River battlefield This means that, except for the old and frail Jinwu Empress General Zhao Zhaoyang, all of them are popular candidates to lead the army alone.

In addition, there are Ma Bao, the head of the Wu army's four great cavalry generals, Wei Pu and Tao Jizhi, who have always been trusted by Wu old traitors, and Liu Hongyi, Liu Zhifu, Gao Dejie, and Han Daren, who have performed extremely well recently. Wu Zhimao, Tan Hong, and Li Benshen in the Sichuan battlefield were all candidates for the dark horse level coaches. Among them, Ma Bao, who was good at cavalry warfare and had experience in commanding troops alone, was even more popular than the traitorous sons and nephews of Old Wu.Fatty Lu, who is still inexperienced, wants to stand out from so many candidates and get a piece of cake. The difficulty is no less difficult than fighting the Jingzhou or Wuchang battles again.

There were too many monks and too little porridge. Almost at the end of the Jingzhou War, the generals of the Wu army, who seemed to be united on the surface, began to fight openly and secretly. The most promising Wu Guogui, Xia Guoxiang, Ma Bao, Wu Yingjing, Zu Shushun and others competed every day in front of the old Wu traitor. Needless to say, Tao Jizhi, Liu Hongyi and other generals are also digging around, showing off in front of the old traitor Wu with the credit they have made all the time, and begging the old traitor Wu to give them a chance.

Even Han Daren, who was played by Tu Hai and almost lost his confidence, but because of the old traitor Wu accidentally named him the third meritorious service for capturing the Jingzhou magistrate and Tongzhi, and named him General Renwu and concurrently Bing Cao's palm seal became the third official in the Wu army who concurrently held civil and military positions, which made him rekindle his fighting spirit and ambition, and joined the battle for the head coach of the army alone, using his good relationship with Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu to flatter Wu old traitors , in an attempt to get a share of it.

Competitors have already been fighting openly and secretly at full speed, but poor Fatty Lu didn't find the opportunity to mention this matter in front of Old Traitor Wu until the day of the wedding because of the wedding preparations. Unfortunately, Old Traitor Wu's answer was ambiguous, neither Blocking Fatty Lu's hopes, he didn't hint that he would give Fatty Lu a chance. Fatty Lu stomped his feet anxiously, but he was helpless.

Fatty Lu himself is not the only one who is anxious for the opportunity of Fatty Lu to lead the army alone. Wang Shaobo, Zhu Fangdan and Li Tianzhi of Lu Fatty's direct line are also extremely anxious, and they don't want to miss the opportunity to follow Fatty Lu. The next day, Fatty Lu's absolute cronies took advantage of Fatty Lu's wedding leave to rest at home, and jointly visited Fatty Lu's house, giving advice and bad ideas to Fatty Lu, and instigating Fatty Lu to seize the commander.

Four people, Wang Shaobo, Zhu Fangdan, Li Tianzhi and Hu Tongchun joined hands to visit—since Line Yuer's identity was exposed, the lineage that Line Yuer brought to Fatty Lu from Guangxi was handed over to Hu Tongchun to lead, and the line Yuer's father and daughter The loyal Hu Tongchun naturally took the place of Line Yuer and became Fatty Lu's important assistant on the battlefield. Such a major event involved the fundamental interests of the Guangxi Wu army, so it was impossible for Hu Tongchun to ignore it.And the reasonable Wu Xiaotu saw Fatty Lu's confidantes gathered together, so he naturally understood that Fatty Lu wanted to discuss important matters with them, so he took the initiative to leave after seeing the ceremony, and went down to arrange the banquet in person, making room for Fatty Lu and his lackeys to talk in secret .

"Brother Lu, brother, I heard rumors that you are going to follow the prince to the Sichuan battlefield. Is there such a thing?" So, what shall we do? It is very unlikely that the prince will transfer us from the Wuchang battlefield to the Sichuan battlefield. If you leave, who will take care of us?"

"Who said I'm going to Sichuan?" Fatty Lu replied helplessly: "What should I do next? Should I stay with the prince or be transferred to other battlefields? Even the prince himself hasn't made up his mind yet. Who is talking nonsense that I'm going to Sichuan? Don't listen to such rumors, and be careful not to be blamed for shaking the morale of the army."

"It's just a rumor." Hu Tongchun breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said: "Brother Lu, it's not that I'm listening to rumors, you also know the situation of our Guangxi army, we are not the old line of the prince's lineage, if you don't protect us, replace us If you are active in front of the prince, let’s not say that the weapons and equipment, military pay and rations are the same as the prince’s old department, maybe one day you will be sent to be a siege squad, wasting your brothers on the city wall and the moat.”

"That's not going to happen." Fatty Lu forced a smile and comforted him: "Brother Hu, it's true that you are not part of the prince's old army, but where is the combat effectiveness of your family army, and where you go, you are all first-class main soldiers. , including the prince himself, is absolutely reluctant to use you as cannon fodder, I can guarantee this."

"I hope so." Hu Tongchun sighed, and then asked tentatively: "Brother Lu, then, on the side of the prince, did you make it known that you will lead an army alone to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty? Siege the city?"

"Yes, Brother Lu, you know the current situation better than us." Li Tianzhi also took the opportunity to say: "Hengzhou is located in the hinterland of Pianyuan, and there is no major war, but the prince has deployed [-] troops there. I plan to send troops from Hengzhou to the south of Jiangxi to open up the connection with Geng Jingzhong and completely cut off the connection between Mangou and Guangdong. The Mangou defenders there are few and weak. It is impossible for the prince to go to such a secondary battlefield. He must appoint a member The general is going to command the troops in Hengzhou——Brother Lu, you are so trusted by the prince, don’t you think of a way to find this job?"

"That's right, that's right." Zhu Fangdan nodded again and again, and then said in a low voice: "There are also northern Huguang, Anhui, Henan, and the northern Jiangxi battlefield west of Poyang Lake. They are all good places for you to flex your muscles. You just want to You have been advising others all your life as a military adviser, but you never thought about leading troops on the battlefield alone and showing off your ambitions?"

"And Guangdong!" Hu Tongchun couldn't wait to add: "Guangxi was brought down by you personally, Brother Lu. If you led the army to conquer Guangdong alone, wouldn't you be more like a fish in water?"

Li Tianzhi and Zhu Fangdan nodded together, agreeing with Hu Tongchun's opinion, but Fatty Lu smiled wryly—the battlefield that he was least likely to go to was the Guangdong battlefield that he was inextricably linked to.In the end, Fatty Lu could only helplessly say to his confidant lackeys: "Everyone, I appreciate your kindness, brothers, but you also underestimate me. How could I miss such a good opportunity? I won't hide it from you guys." Said, in fact, I have already tested and hinted in front of the prince, and I also want to lead the army to conquer Mangou alone."

"Then how does the prince answer?" Fatty Lu's confidant lackeys asked impatiently.

"I didn't answer clearly, neither refused nor agreed." Fatty Lu briefly introduced what happened at the wedding banquet, and finally said with a helpless expression: "Now I can almost be sure that the prince has indeed In order to let me lead the army alone, but my qualifications, age and experience are all put here, the prince himself may not make up his mind to let me lead the army alone, and I can't find any good way to express my heart to the prince for a while , prompted the prince to make up his mind, there is no other way to do it in a hurry."

"Brother Lu, you can issue a military order." Li Tianzhi is an old military officer, and immediately suggested: "Brother Yu also encountered such a situation in the Pingnan Palace before, but as long as you are willing to issue a military order, you can guarantee that this trip will be successful. You can grab the errand with your grasp.”

"That's a good idea, I've done it before." Hu Tongchun agreed with great joy.

"What if others are willing to issue a military order?" Wang Shaobo, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened his mouth, and said with a sneer, "For example, let's say the Dong family establishes a military order to be responsible for getting in touch with Geng Jingzhong. I bet at least ten people will stand up and make an order." A heavy military order guarantees that southern Jiangxi can be captured and join forces with Geng Jingzhong."

"Master Wang is right." Fatty Lu nodded, and said: "Our army is hoarding heavily in Hengzhou, and the blade is pointing directly at the south of Jiangxi. The main force of Mangou is mainly concentrated in Nanchang and Jiujiang in the north of Jiangxi. It is almost a foregone conclusion that our army will capture southern Jiangxi. No matter who dares to grab the position of commander, the competition for this position must be the most intense. The same is true for the other routes. Basically, there are several people staring at the position of commander in each route. Not to mention the military order, even if the head is used as a guarantee, they will not blink an eye."

Li Tianzhi and Hu Tongchun closed their mouths together, as if they had been poured with a basin of ice water, Zhu Fangdan suggested: "Master, why don't you plan to attack the lord's confidants? Use their way to persuade the lord? Among the four advisers, Mr. Mao Xia is your teacher and will definitely support you. Hu Guozhu and Fang Guangchen have always had a good impression of you and have a good relationship with you. It should not be difficult to follow their path. Even Wang Shirong, on the surface, You are at odds with the master, but in fact you still trust the master very much, and it is not hopeless for you to ask him for help. If you have their help, there should be great hope in persuading the prince to let you lead the army alone."

"I also have this plan." Fatty Lu nodded, then frowned and said, "But I'm afraid it will be too late. My teacher, Hu Guozhu, and Fang Guangchen are not in Jingzhou, and the speed of correspondence is slow. I'm afraid that when their letters are delivered to the prince, The daylilies are already cold. As for Wang Shirong, with this guy's temper... I'd follow his lead, and it might backfire."

"My master is quite right. If you follow the path of the four great counselors, three of them must be too late." Wang Shaobo nodded, and then said: "As for Wang Shirong, everyone knows his temper. You said it in front of him earlier. What, he will be able to stab the prince in front of the prince at the second watch, and he will definitely add fuel and vinegar to add some bad medicine to completely spoil the hopeful things."

"Then what should we do?" Hu Tongchun said with a frowning face: "It's not good to establish an army order, and it's not good to follow the path of the prince's confidant, so how can the prince make up his mind to give Brother Lu the opportunity to command the army alone? If you don't come up with a solution quickly, Once the list of coaches of the various armies is announced, it will be too late to say anything."

Fatty Lu, Zhu Fangdan and the others were all frowning, and they all understood that what Hu Tongchun said was true, but Wang Shaobo took his time and turned to Fatty Lu and asked an inexplicable question, "Boss, student thinks, do you feel that your thoughts are Is it in the wrong place?"

"Did I use my thoughts in the wrong place?" Fatty Lu was stunned, and hurriedly asked, "Where did I use my thoughts in the wrong place?"

"Boss, you have already said just now that you think the prince has moved to let you lead the army alone, but due to various considerations, you can't make up your mind at the moment." Wang Shaobo said slowly: "In that case, why do you You still have to go to superfluous things, what kind of military orders are you going to follow? Why can’t you let the prince think that there is a battlefield that you have to go to, no matter who you change, it is impossible to do better than you? In this way , does the prince have any other choice?"

Fatty Lu was completely stunned. After thinking about it for a long time with his teacup in his hand, Fatty Lu stood up abruptly, gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to visit the prince tonight, ask him for orders, and ask him to send me...!"

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

In winter, Brother Sun always likes to be bullied by Sister Moon, and here in Jingzhou is no exception, so it gets dark quickly. After the first watch, the old traitor Wu, who had dinner, took a cup of fragrant tea as usual and went for a walk in the back garden of the temporary Xingyuan Huashi, Wang Shirong, Lu Xia and others followed old traitor Wu to eat ashes as usual, and also followed into the back garden to accompany old traitor Wu for a walk.

The snow was heavy, and it fluttered and swayed all over the old man Wu's body, but the old man Wu still walked very slowly, as if he didn't notice the cold wind and snow. Lu Xia behind him was afraid that the old man Wu would catch a cold, so he reminded him several times He went back to his room to avoid the snow, but the old traitor Wu never heard of it. In the end, Wang Shirong saw what the traitor Wu was thinking, and stepped forward and said in a low voice, "My lord, are you still making trouble for the commanders of the various armies?"

The old traitor Wu finally nodded, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes, everyone is worried about not having good generals, but this king is worried that there are too many good generals, and he can't choose at all. The palms and backs of these hands are full of meat. This king ordered it." If you didn’t order this one or that one, if you didn’t get clicked on, do you still have any thoughts in your mind?”

"My lord, in fact, the students think that you don't need to worry about this." Wang Shirong said very considerately: "As the lord said, the palms and backs of the hands are full of meat. If you order this, the other must feel uncomfortable. No matter how much you worry about it What's the use? Since someone is destined to be happy or unhappy, why does the prince bother to take into account the feelings of the generals? It is enough to directly select the ideal candidate in the prince's mind, so why bother to take into account everyone's feelings? If you are forced to select people you don't want to use, will the real ideal candidate in the prince's mind be happy?"

The old traitor Wu was silent, only smiled after a while, and sighed: "It's easy to say, but hard to do, these people are either my king's nephews, relatives, or my king's confidantes, all of whom are loyal and have made outstanding achievements. , Is it that easy to choose between them?"

Wang Shirong was silent, knowing that this was one of the consequences of the old traitor Wu's preference for using his niece and son-in-law to rule the army. He was usually loyal and reliable, but when the real crisis came, it was not so easy to choose a choice.

"By the way, Lu Xia, did that kid Yifeng come to see you today?" Old Traitor Wu asked suddenly.

"No." Lu Xia, the guard chief of the old traitor Wu, replied respectfully: "Master Lu just got married last night, and the prince personally promised him a ten-day holiday. Today is only the third day, so Mr. Lu didn't come to pass the card today. ask to see."

"If he is really willing to take the ten-day vacation honestly, then he is not Fatty Lu." The old traitor Wu smiled again, and casually ordered: "If he comes to hand over the sign for a visit, there is no need to inform him, just let him in."

Lu Xia promised to remember, but Wang Shirong tentatively asked: "My lord, are you determined to let Mr. Mao Xia's student lead the army alone?"

The old traitor Wu didn't answer in a hurry, he just walked into the gazebo of the artificial lake, and then he said to himself: "No, this king is still not sure whether he should be allowed to lead the army alone. This king allowed him to seek a meeting, just to give him a chance, if he can convince this king that he should lead the way alone, this king will give him a chance to show his strength."

"If this is the case, then he will definitely be able to monopolize the way." Wang Shirong smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Maoya's student has such a sharp mouth, don't you know, my lord?"

"If he wants to use sweet words to deceive him into the position of coach, then he is wrong!" The old man Wu said with a sneer, "It has only been a few years since he joined the Pingxi palace? This king has used him so much, and there are already countless complaints. If this time He just wants to grab the credit and show off, so don't even think about going anywhere, just follow this king into Sichuan to fight Shaanxi and Gansu!"

"Why did your lord say that?" Wang Shirong thought to himself, "Why did your lord say that if Lu Yifeng just wanted to grab credit or show off, he wouldn't give him the chance to lead the army alone? Why didn't he say that Lu Yifeng had little seniority and little experience? The prince has already decided in his heart that Lu Yifeng is capable enough to be the coach?"

Footsteps sounded outside the gazebo. A guard walked to the edge of the gazebo and whispered something in Lu Xia's ear. After Lu Xia answered in a low voice, the guard hurried away again. Lu Xia smiled and said, "My lord, Shengming, Sure enough, it said that Cao Cao Cao Cao had arrived—Master Lu handed over a card to see him, but the general had already answered for the prince, and let him come in directly."

"It's finally here." The old man Wu smiled treacherously, and ordered: "Bring a pot of charcoal fire, and this king will meet him here."

The guards followed orders, and quickly brought a pot of burning charcoal fire, and brought old traitor Wu a thick cushion, and let old traitor Wu sit down and rest in the gazebo.After everything was arranged, Fatty Lu's already slender and fat figure appeared by the pond. After walking along the winding corridors to the gazebo, Fatty Lu immediately knelt down and kowtowed, cupping his hands and saying: " Grandson-in-law Lu Yifeng, pay respects to grandfather."

"Well, here we come." Old man Wu snorted treacherously, deliberately not letting Fatty Lu get up, and just asked directly: "It's such a cold night, you are not at home with my granddaughter, why do you come to me as a bad old man?"

"My son-in-law has a few words to say, and I want to confess to my grandfather." Fatty Lu respectfully said, "Grandpa, please rest assured, my son-in-law will not take up too much of my grandfather's time."

"Oh, then tell me." Old man Wu knocked on Erlang's leg.

"The grandson-in-law wants to make contributions to his grandfather, lead the army to fight for his grandfather, conquer Manchu and restore China, please allow him to give his grandson-in-law a chance!" Fatty Lu changed his usual habit of chattering, and answered very straightforwardly. .

"Then why did the king give you such a chance?" The old man Wu treacherously shook his feet, and asked very casually: "The king's powerful generals are like clouds, and counselors are like rain, and there are many grandparents and grandchildren who have served this king for three generations. Brave generals, why do you leave them alone and use you, a newcomer who has been under the king's command for seven years? Just because you married the king's granddaughter, Xiaotu? How many adopted sons and grandchildren does the king have, you should not Don't you know?"

"Back to grandfather, it's not because my son-in-law is arrogant, but because my son-in-law is begging for a general in the snowy night, it's because my son-in-law has three things that others can't match!" Fatty Lu replied loudly.

"Then three o'clock?" Old Man Wu raised his eyebrows treacherously.

"One is loyalty!" Fatty Lu replied loudly: "Son-in-law's loyalty to grandfather must have been well known to grandfather, so grandson-in-law will not boast here. Moreover, grandson-in-law's hatred for the Manchu court is full of hatred." The dog must kill the grandson-in-law and then quickly, and the grandfather understands better than anyone else, and the grandson-in-law leads the army, so there is no doubt about his loyalty to the grandfather! This is the first point of the grandson-in-law that others can't match!"

"Barely count." Old man Wu smiled treacherously, and asked again: "What about the second?"

"The second is ability!" Fatty Lu replied loudly: "Since my grandson joined his grandfather, in the past seven years, his son-in-law has been born and died for his grandfather countless times. No matter how hard the job is, he has never complained! No matter how much the job is Difficulties, even including the errands that the grandfather has no confidence in achieving the goal, the grandson-in-law has tried every means to achieve it for the grandfather. He has never failed, and has never disappointed his grandfather! This is the second point of the grandson-in-law that no one else can do. urgent!"

"You bastard, make it sound like you are omnipotent." The old man Wu smiled even wider, and waved his hand again: "Does this count, let alone, your others can't match the third What's the point?"

"It's wisdom!" Fatty Lu answered faster, "My son-in-law never sticks to stereotypes in military affairs and political affairs. Others can't match three!"

"Damn it!" Old Man Wu laughed and scolded, "You said it as if you were better than anyone else, do you want to say that including your grandfather, I am not as good as you?"

"Son-in-law doesn't dare!" Fatty Lu hurriedly kowtowed, flattering him and said, "Grandfather's martial arts, mighty, brave, and clever strategies are beyond the reach of his son-in-law! In the army, there is a battlefield where only grandson-in-law is competent except for grandfather leading the army himself, no matter who goes there, it is impossible to do better than grandson-in-law!"

"Damn it, you said you were fat and you were panting. When did you become so arrogant, little fat man?" Old man Wu laughed treacherously, and asked again: "Then tell me, there is no one in that battlefield except this king himself!" Apart from leading the army, only you can do it? Can it be done by anyone else?"

"Northern Jiangxi battlefield!" Fatty Lu replied loudly: "The Manchu army has now concentrated on the Shaanxi-Gansu and Northern Jiangxi battlefields. The city is defended, and there is the natural danger of Poyang Lake to rely on, so it is difficult to attack and defend! Unless my grandfather leads the main force of our army to conquer, otherwise it will be as difficult for our army to capture northern Jiangxi and go straight to the south of the Yangtze River!"

The old traitor Wu suppressed his smile and stared at Fatty Lu carefully. His eagle eyes gleamed under the light of the charcoal fire, as sharp as if they were piercing into Fatty Lu's internal organs.After a long time, the old traitor Wu asked hoarsely: "Then if the king sends you to the battlefield in northern Jiangxi, what can you do for the king?"

"Jin Ke's grandfather went straight to Nanjing, and captured the richest place in the south of the Yangtze River!" Fatty Lu also brazenly bragged, and said loudly: "Shou Ke's grandfather captured Nanchang and Jiujiang, and ensured that his grandfather's backyard is safe and sound! Contain the main force of the south of the Yangtze River for my grandfather, so that it has no time to divide the troops, and create a fighting opportunity for my grandfather's army from all walks of life!"

"If you retire, my grandson-in-law will protect the army for my grandfather, and I will never return in a disastrous defeat, causing the situation to deteriorate and ruining my grandfather's good situation! In this regard, my grandson-in-law is confident that no one can do better than my grandson-in-law for my grandfather!"

After finishing speaking, Fatty Lu kowtowed three times again, and looked up at Old Traitor Wu, while Old Traitor Wu continued to stare at Fatty Lu, but did not speak. The pavilion was so quiet that even a needle dropped on the ground could be heard clearly .

"Grandfather also believes that this is the case." The old traitor Wu finally said, and made a decision with a huge impact with a smile, "In the most difficult and important battlefield in northern Jiangxi, there is indeed no second person in our army who can You can do better than you. ——So, grandfather has decided that you will be the chief general of the Eastern Route Army."

(End of this chapter)