I'm in the Red Mansion

After receiving the military order, Fu Cha Chusheng clasped his fists towards Jia Huan and Wu Shan and said proudly, "You two, thanks to General Liu's care, I will be the first to make a contribution. Thank you, thank you!"

The smug look on his face made Jia Huan and Wu Shan almost rush up to beat him up.

Next, Fucha Chusheng waved his hand, and the Fucha army under his command rushed into the city with a roar.

These Fucha troops are also the best at fighting when the wind is favorable.

When the battle is going their way, they are almost invincible.

After they rushed into the city through the gap, intensive gunfire soon rang out from inside.

Jia Huan and Wu Shan were waiting boredly.

They believed that the battle inside would be over soon and the city would be captured.

The Fucha Army will make more military achievements.

Since crossing the river, they have not encountered any decent resistance.

It has to be said that these rebels are far inferior to the Qing army.

The Qing army was vulnerable in their hands.

Therefore, facing these rebels, these generals really did not take them seriously at all.

However, the sound of gunfire in the city lasted longer than they had imagined and never stopped.

This made several generals outside look puzzled.

The Fucha army has been in the city for so long, why hasn't the battle in the city ended yet?
Isn't this supposed to happen?

However, as time went on, the battle not only did not end, but became more intense.

Now, Jia Huan and Wu Shan's expressions suddenly became solemn.

At this moment, Jia Huan and Wu Shan naturally realized that something was wrong.

In the city, there are definitely elite rebel troops.

Moreover, the combat effectiveness of this elite army is even far beyond that of the Qing army.

Because if they had encountered the Qing army, their resistance would not have been so fierce.

Now, Jia Huan and Wu Shan could not figure out why the fighting effectiveness of these rebels was stronger than that of the Qing Dynasty?
Since you are so powerful in fighting, why do you hide it and not fight against the Qing Dynasty?
Not only them, but even Liu Xianglian's expression became solemn at this time.

Sure enough, the general was right.

The rebels are elite, and their combat effectiveness is very strong.

However, the three of them still believed that the Fucha army might pay a heavy price.

But it's only a matter of time, they will deal with the defenders in the city.

After all, the combat effectiveness of both sides is completely not on the same level.

No matter how brave and fearless you are, there will always be a moment of death.

This war lasted for a full hour.

However, an hour later, the Fucha army that rushed in was defeated and fled in a panic.

Of the 50,000 Fucha troops, more than 10,000 died in this hour.

The casualties reached 20%.

A rout with 20% casualties is already considered an elite army.

After all, not all battles are the Battle of Xiangji Temple.

In the Battle of Xiangji Temple, the casualties on both sides reached almost 60%.

This is quite rare in both ancient and modern battles.

For an ordinary army, if the casualties reach 10%, it may be defeated.

This Fucha army was originally a surrendered army, and the fact that it was not defeated until its casualties reached 20% was already a very unexpected performance.

However, Fu Cha Chusheng, the head coach, could not help but get furious.

He never expected that his men would be defeated.

Ever since they surrendered to their master, have they been invincible every time?
Which time was not invincible?

When has it ever been so embarrassing?
This battle was simply a humiliation, and it made him, a slave, lose face greatly.

If his master gets to the ears of this, how can he, as a servant, continue to live his life?

So, after a fit of rage, Fu Chachu was promoted and once again ordered his Fu Cha army to attack the city again.

If we can't take this city, then everyone will die in it.

However, Liu Xianglian stopped Fu Chachu from rising.

Because Liu Xianglian discovered that the Fucha army had completely lost its morale.

Sending them in at this time would undoubtedly be sending them to their deaths.

Next, Liu Xianglian sought out the leader of Fucha’s army and inquired in detail about the details of the battle.

Jia Huan and Wu Shan also listened attentively.

After some questioning, they learned the truth about the war in the city.

It turned out that the rebels had already been in the city and had set up layers of fortifications.

They built lines of defense using bricks, stones or sandbags.

Then, hiding behind their protection, they fought back with bows and arrows, grenades, and flintlock rifles.

As a result, the advantage of Fucha's army's firearms suddenly became useless.

The two sides entered into a brutal war of attrition.

However, because the rebels had an absolute geographical advantage, their losses were much smaller than those of the Fucha army.

After suffering continuous casualties, the Fucha army was finally defeated.

Fortunately, the rebels inside did not dare to leave the fortifications and chase out.

After all, they relied on fortifications to defeat the Fucha army.

If they left their fortifications, they would definitely not be a match for the Fucha army.

If not for this, the casualties of the Fucha army would have been even more severe.

Including Liu Xianglian, Jia Huan, Wu Shan and others, all of them started to have a headache.

No wonder the rebels behaved even more toughly than the Qing Dynasty.

It turned out that the rebels were so smart that they had completely found a way to deal with rifles through the battles between the Youzhou Army and the Qing Dynasty.

By playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, and through perfect fortifications, they actually defeated the Fucha army in one fell swoop.

In fact, if they were still sent to attack the city, their performance might not be much better than that of the Fucha Army.

Maybe they won't be defeated after their casualties reach 20%, but they will inevitably suffer a heavy loss.

At this moment, these generals finally realized.

It is people, not weapons, that determine the outcome of a war.

Of course, they were simply caught off guard by the rebels.

There is no absolutely perfect tactic in the world.

Now that they have understood the rebels' layout, they can naturally think of ways to crack it.

Next, several generals temporarily stopped attacking and began to discuss how to break through their defense.

In fact, the best way is to use fire attack.

The fire burned all the houses to ashes, and the rebel fortifications in the city naturally collapsed.

However, fire attacks are detrimental to the harmony of nature.

They are unwilling to resort to such measures unless it is absolutely necessary.

And if they push all of their troops into the city and increase their firepower to suppress the enemy, they will be able to defeat the enemy by overwhelming them with their momentum.

But if this happens, the damage will inevitably be extremely severe.

In the end, it was Jia Huan who came up with an idea to move all the cannons into the city.

Use artillery to break through their defenses and make them lose the advantage of terrain. Then, they will naturally not be our opponents.

After hearing this, Liu Xianglian's eyes lit up.

This is not a bad idea.

Cannons can be used for more than just breaking down city gates or walls.

It can also be effective against such immovable fortifications.

Next, the army attacking the city was replaced by Jia Huan’s army.

They went in first and surrounded the rebels.

Then, dozens of cannons were pulled into the city.

They aimed at the rebel fortifications and opened fire together.

Soon, their fortifications were blown to pieces, with people and horses being torn to pieces, limbs being broken and flesh being everywhere.

Jia Huan commanded the army to advance rapidly under the cover of artillery fire.

Moreover, having experienced the previous tragic failure of Fucha's army, Jia Huan did not seek quick success or act rashly.

Instead, he advanced step by step, and only after the artillery had completely destroyed a fortification would he command the army to follow.

Finally, after an afternoon of advancing, the rebels in the city were completely wiped out.

There were more than 30,000 rebels in the city, but in the end no one surrendered.

After an afternoon of fighting, Liu Xianglian and the three generals Jia Huan, Wu Shan, and Fu Cha Chusheng all fell silent.

They had not expected that there was such an elite force among the rebels.

Fortunately, the vast majority of the rebels were vulnerable.

If all the rebels had such fighting power, it would be really terrifying.

After taking the city, Liu Xianglian did not immediately order the army to continue attacking.

Instead, let the army rest for a few days before making any plans.

However, in Hengzhou, in the pseudo-Zhou imperial palace, Wu Sangui's face quickly darkened when he learned that the city had fallen, his entire army had been annihilated, and no one had surrendered.

Wu Sangui, who was already very old, looked even more frail and frail, and looked like he was about to die.

He let out a long sigh and then started coughing violently again.

Those 30,000 troops were his most loyal ones and the elite among the elites.

In addition, Wu Sangui also studied the combat methods of the Youzhou Army and formulated a perfect countermeasure.

As long as these 30,000 elite troops can hold back the Youzhou army for three days.

Wu Sangui would be able to send reinforcements and provide full support.

I believe that by then, we will be able to counter the Youzhou Army, and may even force the Youzhou Army to retreat.

After all, the Youzhou army's battle line was too long and it was difficult to transport food and fodder, so they couldn't outlast them.

However, what Wu Sangui did not expect was that his elite troops among the 30,000 elite soldiers could not even last a day and were completely wiped out.

Although he still had tens of thousands of elite troops, they were far inferior to the 30,000 elite troops who were wiped out, and they were even less able to withstand the attack of the Youzhou army.

As a result, the attack of the Youzhou army became increasingly unstoppable.

How long can his Great Zhou Dynasty last?
Could it be that destiny is really not on his side?

"Since Cong is born, why should Gui be born?"

Wu Sangui muttered a few words, and suddenly he couldn't catch his breath and started coughing violently.

Several palace maids nearby hurried forward and began to massage his back.

Wu Sangui felt as if he could not breathe. He struggled hard and suddenly fell off the bed.

Soon, his legs kicked out, his eyes turned white, and he fell into coma.

The frightened palace maids screamed and called the imperial physician to treat her.

Soon, a group of palace maids and eunuchs came in from outside.

Several imperial doctors also rushed in and tried their best to treat the patient.

However, after a long time, these imperial doctors were helpless.

I watched Wu Sangui's breath become weaker and weaker until he disappeared completely.

Even the body gradually became cold.

Several imperial doctors had no choice but to kneel on the ground and cry, "The emperor has passed away!"

There was a sudden cry in the room.

The death of Wu Sangui, the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, also caused panic throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Wu Sangui was the pillar of the Zhou Dynasty. After his death, this pillar completely collapsed.

All the civil and military officials in the court started to make their own plans.

Originally, most of these officials were abducted here by Wu Sangui.

However, for the time being, they were still the ministers of the Great Zhou. They had no choice but to push Wu Sangui's grandson Wu Shifan to the throne, and the reign was named Honghua.

This Wu Shifan was only fifteen years old.

The death of his grandfather left him with no one to rely on.

The Youzhou army was not far from their palace.

Wu Shifan was very frightened.

The morale of the emperor and his ministers was even lower.

At this time, one of Wu Sangui's trusted generals suggested, why not retreat to Yunnan?
In a panic, everyone had no better idea, so Wu Shifan readily accepted it.

At this time, Liu Xianglian also learned the news that Wu Sangui was dead.

This is a godsend opportunity, and Liu Xianglian is not willing to miss it.

So he led a large army and launched a fierce attack.

Because of Wu Sangui's death, his trusted generals also lost interest in fighting.

They either surrendered or fled in panic.

For a moment, Liu Xianglian led the army and rushed straight to the Zhou Dynasty palace with unstoppable force.

But at this time, Wu Shifan had already led his troops to flee south, preparing to escape back to Yunnan.

Seeing that Liu Xianglian's army could not be caught up in a short time.

But at this time, among the civil and military officials in the court, the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty -

This Prime Minister Qin was the original Prime Minister Qin of Daxia.

After Wu Sangui abducted him, he also appointed him as prime minister.

Prime Minister Qin found a few officials who were equally uncertain and began to brainwash them.

The Prime Minister of Qin first asked them whether they thought the Zhou Dynasty still had a future.
After following the young emperor to escape to Yunnan, can they hold on? Is there any chance for the Zhou Dynasty to make a comeback?
Several officials shook their heads.

The Zhou Dynasty is a thing of the past and will soon be destroyed. How can it have any chance of making a comeback?

Prime Minister Qin asked them again, and although these people were brought here by Wu Sangui.

But after all, they were officials in the pseudo-dynasty. Even if they were forced, would the new emperor still use them in front of the new emperor?

These officials all shook their heads again.

The new emperor would rather not use them than punish them.

Prime Minister Qin asked them again if they wanted to redeem themselves from their crimes and present a great gift to the new emperor.
Hearing this, the officials were all excited.

They also guessed Prime Minister Qin's intention, and this matter would definitely be very dangerous.

But once you succeed, the rewards will be huge.

Therefore, after some thought, they finally decided to give it a try.

But they were only civil officials and had no military power, so they could not accomplish anything.

The Prime Minister of Qin smiled slightly, and said that at this moment, perhaps few people would be willing to be buried with Zhou Chao.

We just lack a leader.

Next, Prime Minister Qin asked these officials to recruit more people who could be rebellious.

Prime Minister Qin himself tried to contact the military generals.

After all, he can step up and take charge of the situation at critical moments.

But without military generals and troops, nothing can be accomplished.

As for the Prime Minister Qin, he has always been an expert at forming cliques, gangs and factions, and handling these shady matters.

As a result, he soon formed alliances with a large number of people, including several military generals.

Next, under the command of Prime Minister Qin, these generals secretly deployed troops.

Then they besieged the emperor's palace and finally captured the fifteen-year-old new emperor Wu Shifan in one fell swoop.

Among them, two of Wu Sangui's trusted generals, seeing that the situation was not good, tried to fight back.

It’s a pity that even the soldiers under the command of these two trusted generals were not willing to accompany them to Yunnan to make a comeback.

In the end, Qin Xiang quickly stabilized the situation and began to stay in place.

And he quickly sent someone to Liu Xianglian to take credit.

When Liu Xianglian received the information, he was dumbfounded.

There were several groups, and he just called them good guys.

Is this little emperor so miserable?
Was he directly taken down by his subordinates and used for credit?

This is almost comparable to Lu Bu during the Three Kingdoms period!

And the person who did this was actually Prime Minister Qin.

Liu Xianglian had no good feelings towards Prime Minister Qin.

This old guy is a complete traitor.

And as expected, serving as an official under the rule of the new emperor, such things happened.

However, this saves me a lot of effort.

Next, Liu Xianglian sent Wu Shan to lead 10,000 cavalrymen to control the situation first, and then ordered him to bring the people back.

Liu Xianglian, on the other hand, continued to control the areas occupied by the rebels and stabilize the situation.

Then he wrote a report on military intelligence and reported it to Jia Cong.

Although there is still some finishing work to be done, the mundane tasks have basically been declared completed.

In addition to the little emperor, there are a very small number of rebels who cannot be let go. They have been captured and need to be escorted back to the capital.

Those who follow will be forgiven for their past misdeeds.

Among them were monk Geng Jingzhong and his letter.

These two people have already agreed to Jia Cong's secret betrayal.

However, Wu Sangui died before the two men turned against him.

Therefore, this back-up plan was not used.

But there is no need to arrest these two people.

Liu Xianglian ordered Fu Cha Chu Sheng to bring the little emperor, several wanted criminals, and a group of civil and military officials back to the capital.

But I stayed behind to deal with the aftermath.

In the capital, Jia Cong's life became leisurely.

In addition to handling a lot of government affairs every day, when I get home, I play with the little ones.

Although Jia Cong holds a high position of power, he has now become the number one person.

However, the tutoring of these girls was extremely strict.

They don't want to raise a playboy.

Nowadays, people like Jia Cang have already started to learn to read.

The other younger ones, though, have not received any enlightenment because they are not old enough.

But I have also started to learn the rules.

Especially Xue Baochai set rules for her daughter Qian'er since she was young.

But as soon as Jia Cong returned home, these little guys would throw all the rules aside.

With Jia Cong protecting him, no one could blame him.

This made the girls both angry and amused.

According to the Jia family's tradition, the father would discipline his son like a thief, beating him half to death at any time.

But when it came to Jia Cong, the situation turned out to be the opposite.

He never got angry with his children, and would even play hide-and-seek and house games with them...

Even the old lady, Mrs. Mei, felt that Jia Cong's doting was a little too much.

Only Jia Cong himself felt that he was completely normal.

Soon, Jia Cong received Liu Xianglian's report.

Until the young emperor was captured, Wu Sangui rebelled and was completely destroyed.

Jia Cong was finally relieved.

From this point on, there were no more obstacles on his road to becoming an emperor.

His reputation itself is very good. He is the top scholar in the imperial examination and a very filial son.

He was a great hero who fought against the Qing Dynasty and recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Later, he directly destroyed the Qing Dynasty and solved the major threat to the Central Plains Dynasty.

Now he has brought the Secret Edict and crushed the rebellion.

And all the members of the Daxia royal family were killed.

There may be some royal children who are too remote, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

The right time, right place and right people are all in place.

There is no longer any obstacle to his rise to power.

However, Jia Cong was not in a hurry.

It won’t be too late to make plans after Liu Xianglian leads the army back.

With the army in hand, Jia Cong was not panicked.

Today, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are also adjacent to Mongolia.

However, the more powerful Qing Dynasty had already been destroyed.

Mongolia has always been subservient to the Qing Dynasty, and now they dare not take any action.

Therefore, there is no need to leave too many troops to garrison in the Yanyun area.

These 200,000 troops can directly replace the three major camps and garrison the capital.

These are all his own troops.

And the original Daxia also has other border guards.

If these defenders cause trouble, it will still cause some trouble.

Of course, as long as he doesn't touch them, Jia Cong believes that they will make the best choice.

Next, Jia Cong had to start considering issues such as the safety of the palace guards.

Another month passed before Jiangnan was finally completely pacified.

Liu Xianglian left a small number of soldiers to guard the place.

He led the rest of the army back to the capital.

Jia Cong personally led the civil and military officials out of the city to welcome him, and pulled Liu Xianglian onto his own carriage to ride with him.

Liu Xianglian was greatly shocked, and could not help but feel that a man would die for his friend.

After entering the palace, Jia Cong listened to Liu Xianglian's report on military intelligence in person in the side hall.

These days, state affairs, court meetings, etc. are all held in this side hall.

Jia Cong did not use the Golden Palace.

If the name is not right, the words will not flow smoothly. Jia Cong has enough patience and restraint and will not leave a stigma on such a small matter.

After Liu Xianglian finished reporting the military situation, Jia Cong nodded.

In fact, Liu Xianglian had already reported these things to the emperor a long time ago.

It's just a formality at this point.

Liu Xianglian also brought back the ministers who were held hostage by Wu Sangui.

They were first held hostage, then joined the bandits, served as officials in the pseudo-Zhou Dynasty, and attached themselves to the rebellion.

However, when the Youzhou army was rehabilitated, they took the initiative to stand up, captured the little emperor, and made great contributions.

How to deal with these ministers, whether to reward or punish them, and whether to use them or not, all require Jia Cong to make decisions.

Before they came back, Jia Cong had discussed this matter with Kou Xiang and Lin Ruhai.

Given Jia Cong's temper, he would definitely not use this group of fence-sitters.

Moreover, traitors like Prime Minister Qin must be executed along with their entire family.

However, Prime Minister Kou and Lin Ruhai tried hard to persuade Jia Cong not to punish Prime Minister Qin but to use him in a more important position.

Jia Cong was confused by the persuasion of these two people.

Over the years, Prime Minister Qin and Prime Minister Kou have been sworn enemies.

The two fought openly and secretly, almost to the point of death.

Jia Cong never expected that Prime Minister Kou would actually plead for Prime Minister Qin. (End of this chapter)