scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 126
In the days when the first airship of the Pingxi Palace was successfully tested, and at the same time, the first airship of this era was successfully tested, news was suddenly received that Xiao Mazi had used the poisonous scheme to dispel the party. The first airship of the Pingxi Palace was successfully launched. It is inevitable that it will be diluted a lot at once.

There is no way, Xiao Mazi's move is too vicious. Among the three Wu Sangui running dogs in Yungui, Wang Fuchen and Shi Yugui are old people who have followed Wu Sangui for many years. Needless to say, the commander-in-chief of Youzhen, one of the four major military regions of the Pingxi Palace, transferring him is equivalent to cutting off one of Wu Sangui's limbs; although Shi Yugui's official position is slightly lower than that of Wang Fuchen, the Guizhou Zhenyuan garrison he controls is strangling to death. It is irreplaceable to live in the throat of communication between Guizhou and Hunan, and the Central Plains. If he is transferred this time, Wu Sangui's military and political control over Guizhou will undoubtedly be lost and weakened.

If the transfer of Wang Fuchen cut off one of Wu Sangui's four military arms, then the transfer of Fatty Lu cut off Wu Sangui's only arm in military technology and new technology.No one is more aware of the importance of Fatty Lu to Pingxi Palace than Wu Sangui - without Fatty Lu, how could Pingxi Palace completely reverse its weapon disadvantage against the Qing court in just three years?Without Fatty Lu, how could Yunnan and Guizhou, which is notoriously poor, have completely reversed its financial decline in just three years, and no longer need to look at Xiao Mazi's face in terms of finances?
Because of this, after the airship was secretly transferred to the valley of the Firearms Camp in Sinuiju, and when he was about to return to Mount Wuhua, Wu Sangui met Fatty Lu alone once, and said to Fatty Lu straight to the point: "Yifeng, transfer you to Daxing You should think carefully about being the county magistrate. This king really hopes that you can stay. If you are willing to resign from the imperial court and stay in Yunnan, you can choose any official position in Wuhua Mountain by yourself, and I will marry Xiaotu to you You, let you be the lonely grandson-in-law."

Fatty Lu had a frowning face, and after a long time he reluctantly replied: "Going back to the lord, of course I dream of staying in Yunnan and staying under the lord's command forever, but once I do this, the court will immediately understand that our Pingxi Palace has been in the past few years. All kinds of progress are due to the ghosts of the humble job, and a lot of hard work of the humble job will be wasted. This fact is too big and involves too much. A little careless handling will also have a great impact on the prince. Please allow the humble job to think about it for a while. Discuss with the teacher and the others, and give the prince an answer after weighing the pros and cons."

"Success, when you get back to Mount Wuhua, you can give me an answer." Wu Sangui was quite straightforward, and agreed to Fatty Lu's request immediately.At the end, Wu Sangui said meaningfully: "Yifeng, what you have done in the past few years has already proved to Gu that you and your teacher Liu Xuanchu are on the same side. Although Gu did not intend to force you to stay, Gu is still I want to remind you that a person like you is not only doomed not to be reused by the imperial court, but may also be in danger of his life at any time, I hope you can think about it clearly."

"Since the prince already understands the ambition of the humble official, then the humble official will speak the truth." Fatty Lu knelt down on both knees and said solemnly: "The humble official swears to be loyal to the prince to assist the prince to drive out the Tartars and restore our Han family. Unswerving. Even if the humble official is forced to leave temporarily or permanently in order to avoid causing trouble to the prince, the humble official will never offer a skill or plan to the Tartars for the rest of his life!"

"My king believes in you." Wu Sangui nodded, and then said: "But don't think too much, even if you insist on staying, it will bring a little trouble to Gu, Gu will not care, the pressure from the court, Gu I will carry it for you." Fatty Lu burst into tears, choked up with tears, and knelt in front of Old Traitor Wu for a long time without saying a word.

Fatty Lu’s tears have always been cheap. Basically, as long as he needs it, he can cry like ghosts and wolves at any time, but this time, Fatty Lu really has some helpless pain in it. According to historical development, Wu Sangui will have another two years at most. He was about to rebel, and now, through the painstaking management of Fatty Lu, he has carefully crafted countless advanced weapons for Wu Sangui that surpassed the times, which greatly inflated Wu Sangui's ambitions, and it is not impossible to advance the rebellion time.At the same time, Fatty Lu has also mastered a small but extremely elite direct army. He only waited until the anti-Qing battlefield to make a big splash, fish in troubled waters and wait for an opportunity to stand on his own. But at this time, Xiao Mazi gave Fatty Lu such a big The problem, Fatty Lu really doesn't know how to choose.

At the same time, Hu Liufangwang, the four great think tanks of Prince Pingxi Palace, who didn't know how to choose, of course they all hoped that Fatty Lu would resign from his official position and stay in Yunnan to develop new weapons and advise Wu Sangui, but they all understood that once Fatty Lu did this That's right, it's like telling Xiao Mazi that the Eight Banners Fushou Cream is a financial weapon that Fatty Lu deliberately created for Wu Sangui to help Wu Sangui get rid of the financial shackles of the Qing court; The fat man came out to help Wu Sangui improve his military strength and fight against the Qing court.

At that time, Xiao Mazi will not only hate Fatty Lu to the bone, but must get rid of him quickly, and at the same time will definitely bring Wu Sangui countless troubles and problems—for example, Xiao Mazi will find an excuse or use something as a threat, Forced Wu Sangui to kill Fatty Lu, how should Wu Sangui choose?Raised troops against the Qing Dynasty for Fatty Lu?Under such a dilemma, when Fatty Lu approached them to discuss countermeasures, several resourceful Pingxi palace think tanks were completely helpless.

"Yifeng, do you think this is a deliberate attempt by the Emperor Tartar to test you?" After thinking for a long time, Fang Guangchen raised a great possibility and said, "Is it possible that the Emperor Tartar is just trying to test you, to see what you are up to?" Is it related to the camp of Nule Peak? If you pass this test, you will soon be able to return to Qujing and take over Zhang Gaomo's position as the prefect of Qujing?"

"I think it's very possible." Hu Guozhu also said: "According to the information we have, Gan Wenkun has submitted a memorial to the imperial court requesting that Yifeng be promoted to the prefect of Qujing, and that Zhang Gaomo's tone is Dading. This is enough to prove that Gan Wenkun still trusts him. Yifeng is also planning to continue to use Yifeng to stare at us in Qujing. Gan Wenkun, who is close at hand, has not caught Yifeng's handle and discovered Yifeng's true position. How can Emperor Mazi, who is far away in the sky, find out? So I also think , This is likely to be a test for Yifeng by the imperial court, and if he survives this test, the imperial court may have to send Yifeng back to Qujing again."

"What if it's not?" Fatty Lu's teacher, Liu Xuanchu, is more cautious—it's okay to be careless. Liu Xuanchu is only such a proud student as Fatty Lu, so you can't let him die for nothing, right?After raising this question, Liu Xuanchu said solemnly: "Yifeng is proficient in Western learning, which was known by the emperor unintentionally. Right now, the technology of gunpowder weapons in our Pingxi Palace is advancing by leaps and bounds, although our secrecy measures have been well done. , also used some low-quality weapons to reassure the emperor-but in case the emperor just pretended to be fooled, he actually already knew our real situation, and he was already suspicious of Yifeng, who took office in Daxing near the capital. What is a tiger's mouth?"

Fang Guangchen and Hu Guozhu stopped talking, and they were really not sure how much Xiao Mazi knew about the current situation in Pingxi Palace.At this moment, Wang Shirong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Even if Emperor Mazi didn't discover the flaws of your student, Mr. Maoya, when he came to the vicinity of Gyeonggi this time, he would probably be beaten by a meat bun and never return. "

"What do you mean?" Liu Xuanchu didn't react immediately when he was annoyed, but said angrily: "Mr. Liangchen, do you think that once Yifeng arrives in the capital, he will definitely betray the prince?"

"Mr. Maoxia misunderstood, I did not doubt your student's loyalty to the lord." Wang Shirong was not angry either, but said unhurriedly: "I just said that his going to Gyeonggi to take office this time may be more or less auspicious. Mr. Mao Xia forgot that although you are a student who has the trust of Emperor Mazi and Gan Wenkun, some people in the court have always been suspicious of him. Before your student was in Yunnan, there were princes and Gan Wenkun who secretly protected him. , They can't do anything to your student, but once he reaches Daxing, where the prince can't reach him, will they be polite to your student?"

"Also, Oboi has long known that your student is actually loyal to the lord, but at present he is still asking the lord, and he is not completely at ease with the emperor, so he must keep his hand, so he did not expose this point. However, this does not It doesn't mean that he doesn't want to get rid of you as a student and cut off the prince's only arm in firearms and western learning!"

Speaking of this, Wang Shirong paused, and asked darkly: "Mr. Maoxia, think about it. Under such circumstances, what will happen to your student if he takes office in Daxing directly under the central government of the capital? He was forcibly detained in the capital, making it impossible for him to return to Yunnan for the rest of his life, which is still the lightest."

Wang Shirong's cold voice reminded Liu Xuanchu, and also made Liu Xuanchu's hair stand on end. He quickly turned to Fatty Lu and said, "Yifeng, Mr. Liangchen is right. You must not go to Daxing to take office. You should resign and stay. You can only stay in Yunnan. We can protect your safety!"

"No, Yifeng absolutely cannot resign and stay in Yunnan—at least he can't stay in Yunnan openly!" Fang Guangchen raised his white eyebrows and said seriously: "Yifeng's resignation and staying in Yunnan is tantamount to telling the court what he has done before. , are all from the prince's instruction and arrangement, and the prince's Nule Peak camp must also be related to Yifeng! At that time, the emperor of the Tartars will issue a death edict. Will Yifeng obey the order or not?! The emperor of the Tartars ordered together The prince issued the edict for Yifengsuo to enter the capital, will the prince obey the order? Or not?!"

"So, the only way for Yifeng is to stay quietly in Yunnan." Hu Guozhu said in a deep voice, "Let Yifeng go to Beijing to take up the post under the pretense of obeying the order, disappear suddenly on the way, and return to Yunnan quietly?"

"It's best to create an illusion of being killed by a thug." Wang Shirong suggested: "Get a corpse to pretend to be Mr. Maoya's student. When there is no such person in the world, the emperor will have no excuse to make things difficult for the prince. Mr. Mao Xia can also hide in Yunnan to do great things."

Hearing these words from Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong, Fatty Lu almost didn't cry—of course feigning death to escape is a good way to get out of the predicament, but in this way, he will lose a lot of personal freedom, and can only hide in the heavily guarded area all day long. The Firearms Camp has designed and produced new weapons for Wu Sangui.At the same time, without my activities in front of Xiao Mazi and Gan Wenkun, the Qujing green battalion controlled by my cousin will definitely be annexed by Gan Wenkun or Wu Sangui in a short time. By then, the money and hard work I have invested in this army in the past two years will be lost. But it was all in vain.

Asking for others is better than asking for yourself. Before Liu Xuanchu and Fang Guangchen agreed to this idea, Fatty Lu quickly started to think again, "Go to Daxing honestly to take up the post, and bet that Xiao Mazi will put himself back in Qujing soon, and his life will be in danger. , and there are too many variables, if you go there, you will not be able to come back, this road will definitely not work, and it cannot be considered.”

"According to Wu Sangui's request, resigning from office and returning to his hometown, and staying in Yunnan to work in the Pingxi Palace will not work. If Xiaomazi gets angry and forces Wu Sangui to surrender himself at all costs, that old bastard Wu Sangui may not be able to For myself and Xiao Mazi to die - Zha Rulong is a lesson of blood."

"Fake death is of course a good way to get out of the predicament, but the loss is too great, and the previous efforts will be in vain. Is there any way to get out of the predicament like this method, without letting the previous efforts go to waste? Is there any? Is there...? Is there...?!"

Thinking up to this point, Fatty Lu's heart suddenly moved, he stood up and shouted: "There is a way, I can go to other provinces to be an official! Go to Guangxi to be an official!"

"Go to Guangxi to be an official?!" The four brains of the Pingxi Palace were shocked, and Liu Xuanchu was the first to exclaim: "Are you crazy? Guangxi is Kong Sizhen's stronghold!"

"Teacher, of course the students are not crazy." Fatty Lu clenched his fists and waved, excitedly said: "Because Guangxi is the base camp of Kong Sizhen, the students want to go there!"

"It's because Guangxi is Kong Sizhen's base camp, so you're going there? What do you mean?" Liu Xuanchu was more and more confused by the whims of the proud student.

"Because the students can be sure that this time the Emperor Mazi transferred the students out of Yunnan and Guizhou. In all likelihood, this bitch did it again!" Fatty Lu gritted his teeth and said, "She has long suspected that the students are actually loyal to the prince. It’s just that no evidence has been found, so I took this opportunity to encourage Emperor Mazi to test me again. If I follow her arrangement, whether I go to Daxing to take office or resign from office, I will only fall into her trap. She has long been prepared to go back and die!"

"Even even escaping by feigning death may have been calculated by her, and she has already arranged countermeasures. If the news leaks a little at that time, not only the students will lose their lives, but even the prince will definitely be implicated."

"So the best way is for students to treat others in the same way as others! Didn't she doubt me? I'll go directly under her nose, and she can monitor and suspect whatever she wants! By the way, I'm okay." Tell Gan Wenkun that I was framed by Kong Sizhen, so I chose to do this in a fit of anger. Teacher, please ask the prince to cooperate with me in a play, take advantage of the chaotic opportunity of my sudden resignation, and take control of Qujing in one fell swoop! Gan Wenkun will definitely The situation is in chaos, and I feel that all my previous efforts have been wasted, so I will spare no effort to pull me back to Qujing, let me control Qujing for him again, and stare at the prince!"

"Even Emperor Mazi will believe that I made this choice in a fit of anger under the threat and suspicion of Kong Sizhen. He will only trust me more, and he will listen to Gan Wenkun's opinion and let me return to Qujing."

"Also, there are two advantages for me to do this. One is that even if Emperor Mazi really caught some of my flaws and planned to lure me back to the capital to make it easier for him to do so, I disrupted his plan when I arrived in Guangxi. The prince and I also had enough time to react, allowing me to secretly escape back to Yunnan. Second, even if Emperor Mazi decided not to use me anymore and not send me back to Yunnan, I stayed in Guangxi for a while, and I could still use the excuse of missing my hometown , return to Yunnan in a big way, and directly and openly serve the prince—after all, it was Emperor Mazi who abandoned me first, and I went to Mingzhu, and he is blameless!"

"In this way, I can return to Qujing when I enter, and disappear without a trace when I retreat, avoiding all the actions of Emperor Mazi and Kong Sizhen. If it goes well, I can take the opportunity to get rid of many suspicions and get Emperor Mazi even more." Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds to trust Gan Wenkun, further completely control Qujing for the prince, and lay the foundation for the prince's great affairs?"

When Fatty Lu was talking non-stop, the four brains of the Pingxi Palace were all stunned, and they were all overwhelmed by this crazy plan of Fatty Lu, but after Fatty Lu finished talking in detail and thought about it carefully, Hu Guozhu and others People feel that although this plan is crazy, it is actually extremely feasible and has a great chance of success—at least, it can avoid countless troubles for Wu Sangui.

Therefore, Fang Guangchen was the first to echo: "I agree, this is a good way to avoid the follow-up troubles caused by the prince's public leaving Yifeng in Wuhua Mountain to the greatest extent, and it can also reduce the danger for Yifeng, and further give Yifeng Leave behind the hope of a comeback."

"I also agree." Wang Shirong said calmly: "It is only a last resort to let this student of Mr. Mao Xia escape by feigning death. No one can predict the consequences. With this method that no one expected, it can disrupt the situation. All the plans of the enemy, win a turn."

"It's a good way." Liu Xuanchu was still a little worried, and said, "But, Yifeng, when you arrive in Guangxi, what if that bitch Kong Sizhen takes the opportunity to kill you?"

"Teacher, don't worry, the students will certainly not be so stupid as to work under Sun Yanling or Dai Liangchen. That is a real self-inflicted trap." Fatty Lu said happily: "Students go to Ma Xiong or Lan Yuxuan, and work under their command. Both the old general and the third general Line have a good relationship with the prince, in fact, they obey the prince's command, and students go to them, not only can they be reused, but they can also get their full protection."

Liu Xuanchu no longer objected. After careful consideration for a long time, Liu Xuanchu turned to Hu Guozhu, the number one confidant of the old traitor Wu, and asked, "General Jinwu, what do you think?"

Hu Guozhu remained calm, and after thinking about it for a long time, Hu Guozhu asked: "Yifeng, after you leave Yunnan temporarily, will it affect our firearms production?"

"Of course not." Fatty Lu replied, "Whether it's new rockets, new gunpowder or Hongyi cannons, our craftsmen in Pingxi Palace have mastered all the production techniques, even without me, they are already able to produce independently." The only thing that will be affected is probably the problem of the airship's air operation, but I can try to solve this problem while I am temporarily away from Yunnan, or contact me by letter, draw a sketch for the craftsman to produce, operate and test, or It’s waiting for me to make all the preparations and go back to Yunnan to solve it myself.”

"General Jinwu, Yifeng's temporary departure from Yunnan will be of great benefit to us." Liu Xuanchu said to the students, "If Yifeng fakes his death or resigns and stays here, it is tantamount to telling the court that our new firearms are all under the responsibility of Yifeng. It will bring countless troubles to the prince."

"I also agree with this point of view." Fang Guangchen echoed: "It took Yifeng more than a year to design and manufacture the airship, and now it is basically ready for use. We have been waiting for more than a year, and we will wait a few more months." What does time matter? And as far as I know, in order to produce the first airship, our inventory of gutta-percha has also been used up, and we haven’t had time to replenish it, which also takes time.”

Hu Guozhu still didn't rush to answer. After thinking for a long time, Hu Guozhu said: "This matter is too big. We must first obtain Lao Taishan's consent. After returning to Wuhua Mountain, let's go to seek Lao Taishan's opinion together."

After all, Hu Guozhu said to Fatty Lu again: "Yifeng, if Lao Taishan agrees with you to go to Guangxi to temporarily avoid the limelight and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback, don't go to Ma Xiong who is too close to us-be wronged and hard, go and go Line Yuxuan, he has the strongest strength in Guangxi. Even Kong Sizhen would not dare to mess around in Nanning where he is stationed. Besides, Line Yuxuan only got close to us secretly, and kept a distance from us on the surface. Fuck him There, you can avoid further suspicion from the imperial court."

"Thank you, General Jinwu, for your guidance. I understand now." Fatty Lu said excitedly: "Speaking of Nanning, I have long wanted to go there. I have studied Western culture and know that there is a big tin mine there, and the ore is of very good quality. It’s better than our Gejiu tin mine in Yunnan, and I’ve wanted to see it for a long time. However, General Jinwu, what do you mean by saying that I’ve been wronged and worked hard?”

"Hahahaha." Wu Sangui's four lackeys all laughed, and they laughed very badly.At the end, Fang Guangchen smiled and asked Fatty Lu: "Yifeng, you must have never met Yuxuan Yu in person, have you?"

"No." Fatty Lu shook his head, and replied honestly: "I just heard his name, and I also heard that he is very popular with the Guangxi army. I had an indirect contact. Last time about the Eight Banners drug, he sent someone to talk to me. I have contacted and asked me if Baqi Fushou Gao can be grown in Guangxi."

"So Yifeng, you don't have a particular interest, do you?" Fang Guangchen suddenly asked with a smile.

"What's your favorite?" Fatty Lu was confused.

"Then you will have to work hard." Fang Guangchen laughed loudly and said, "I won't tell you the specific reason here. When you see him in Nanning, you will understand everything."

Wang Shirong and Hu Guozhu also laughed, and Liu Xuanchu smiled wryly, laughing so that Fatty Lu couldn't figure it out, and he was even more puzzled, "What's so weird about this Line Yuxuan?"

………………

Although he planned to go to Guangxi to temporarily avoid the limelight, disrupt Xiao Mazi and Kong Sizhen's vicious plans, and fight for the last chance to make a comeback, but whether he can make it or not depends on whether Wu Sangui agrees to this crazy plan.After returning to Wuhua Mountain, Fatty Lu still had no way to go to Wu Sangui to beg him to agree to this plan. Wu Sangui's four lackeys had to come forward to discuss the feasibility of this plan with Wu Sangui alone—no way, Fatty Lu's move was practical. The above is to temporarily escape from Wu Sangui's control, and it is really inconvenient to come to Wu Sangui to make this request in person.

After Hu Guozhu and others went to have a secret talk with Wu Sangui, they waited for a long time in the room where they lived alone in anxiety. After waiting for more than two hours, the door of Fatty Lu's room was finally pushed open. Unexpectedly, Fatty Lu , the person who came in was not any of Wu Sangui's four think tanks, but Wu Sangui's adopted son and powerful general - Wu Guogui.

Wu Guogui looked so ugly that Fatty Lu owed him 800 million taels of silver, and instead of sitting down, he stood in front of Fatty Lu and said coldly: "Father just came to me and talked about you and Xiaotu. I am very opposed to it, but I can't go against the king's decision—so in the future, you have to treat Xiaotu better."

"You want me to treat Xiaotu better?" Fatty Lu was startled for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses, and quickly kowtowed to salute, "My son-in-law kowtows to his father-in-law..."

"Get up, don't kneel in a hurry!" Wu Guogui grabbed Fatty Lu and said viciously: "It's still early to salute, and you and Xiaotu will be officially engaged when you come back from Guangxi! Also, you go to Guangxi When the time comes, your family members can stay in Qujing City, and your uncle and I will take care of them, understand?"

"Understood, understood." Fatty Lu nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, secretly admiring Wu Sangui's manipulative means - not only promised himself a flowery granddaughter, but also detained his family in Yunnan, so naturally he didn't have to worry about what he would do. Betrayed him.

"Just understand. If you understand, follow me to see the prince." Wu Guogui dragged Fatty Lu away, and said fiercely while dragging: "Listen, after my little Tu passed through the door, I will be with your little boy from the Pingnan Palace." Grid must be big or small! Do you understand?"

"understand."

"Also, if you dare to be sorry for her and make her feel wronged, even if I try my best to be scolded by my father, I will chop you up! Do you understand?"

"understand."

"Also, my little Tu likes..., you want...."

(End of this chapter)