scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 193 Turning grief into strength
It is not without reason that Fatty Lu is so anxious about the Battle of Wuchang, because the throat of the Yangtze River, which leads to nine provinces, is too important to both the Wu army and the Qing army.It is even no exaggeration to say that whoever can control the martial field between the Wu army and the Qing army can control the initiative of the entire battlefield in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River!
If the Wu army failed to conquer Wuchang as it did in history, and let the Qing army continue to control the throat of the Yangtze River, then the slow Qing court could mobilize the manpower and material resources of the whole country to supply food and grass in an endless stream through the two golden waterways of the Yangtze River and the Han River. Send it into Wuchang City, and then build Wuchang into the base camp of the Qing army's comprehensive counterattack; at the same time, the cavalry and infantry of the Qing Dynasty can also gather in this important town on the south bank of the Yangtze River very calmly, threatening the Wu army's new rear and the granary in the hinterland of Hunan at all times. , Retreat can be defended, and there is huge space for strategic recovery.

Going deeper, Wuchang is even more terrible because the water routes extend in all directions. With the overwhelming advantage of the Mite Qing water division, the Mite Qing generals can use warships to send troops to southern cities such as Chongqing, Jiangling, Yuezhou, Jiujiang, and Nanchang. Let the Wu army be defenseless, exhausted, and the deployment of troops is stretched; moreover, it can give the Wu army navy in the formation stage a fatal blow at any time, and kill the new Wu army navy in the bud, thus establishing a complete water surface advantage.The advantage of the speed and consumption ratio of water transporting grain is not beyond the reach of land transporting grain in this era.

But what if, in turn, Wu Jun can successfully capture Wuchang, the most important town in Huguang?Then the situation is naturally quite different. First of all, the Qing army has no foothold in the south of the middle section of the Yangtze River. The pressure on the new rear Hunan grain-producing area in the Wu Army's strategic plan is greatly reduced, and the Wu Army's artillery fire can also cover the entire river at the head of Wuchang City. , Delay and destroy the assembly and transfer of the Qing army. The Wu army navy planned to be trained and formed in Dongting Lake can also win valuable preparation time. The newly built navy can also transport the Qing army on the Yangtze River under the cover of land artillery fire. The fleet launched a deadly attack, thus cutting off the Qing army's waterway and food road, increasing the difficulty and cost of food transportation for the Qing army, and then when the time is right, the Wu army navy can naturally use the Yangtze River waterway to go down the river and attack the Qing army. Jiangnan cut off the water transportation, which completely collapsed the finances of the Qing court.

At the same time, the grain output of the well-developed Hubei grain-producing areas and the proportion of reserve sailors among the people in Hubei are definitely not comparable to that of Hunan, which has many mountains and few lakes.But for such an important place, Fatty Lu repeatedly reminded that the important town of the Yangtze River must be taken, and the old traitor Wu was still the same as in history, only sending the famous [-] Wu Yingqi and the famous brave and foolhardy Ma Bao, led a newly surrendered army with a serious lack of combat power to attack, but the elite with the strongest combat power were broken up and divided into groups to occupy some remote cities with no strategic significance at all. He was so angry that he even wanted to strangle this old traitor to death.

No matter how much you secretly scold Old Man Wu for being a traitor, it’s useless for being short-sighted. Fatty Lu, whose current strength is far from being self-reliant, can’t really strangle Old Man Wu to death. The war has not yet fully started, and the situation still has room for recovery. I rushed to Changsha as quickly as possible to persuade the traitor Wu to wake up, adjust his strategy to the right direction, and lay a solid foundation for the next step of exterminating the world's dogs!And the first problem facing Fatty Lu was how to cheer up the old traitor Wu who had just experienced the pain of a white-haired man sending a black-haired man to lose his son, turn grief into strength, and lead Wu Jun to fight against the mite entrenched in Wuchang City. Clean up the remnants of evil!

After galloping fast for five consecutive days, on September [-]th, Fatty Lu, who was covered in dust, finally arrived at the city of Changsha. Fatty Lu was left behind, so when Fatty Lu appeared under the city of Changsha, even Hu Guozhu, who is currently in charge of Changsha's defense, was taken aback. What happened to the East Route Army? Where is Wu Shizong? Has our East Route Army suffered a defeat?"

"Uncle, let's talk about other things slowly." Fatty Lu wiped the dust off his face and asked, "Where is grandfather? I want to see him right away."

"He's in the former governor's yamen of Pianyuan." Hu Guozhu replied smoothly, and then said nervously: "Yifeng, Lao Taishan has been in a very bad situation these days. What happened to the East Route Army? How much has it been damaged?" Troop strength? You tell me first, don’t attack Lao Taishan directly.”

"Uncle, don't worry, the East Route Army is doing well now, and it's still very good." Fatty Lu said very proudly: "Now, our East Route Army has not only captured the entire territory of Guangxi, but also captured Shang Kexi alive on the battlefield. If they are captured alive, we will be able to send Shang Kexi to Changsha City in five or six days at most."

"You took the whole of Guangxi? You also captured the old thief Shang Kexi?" Hu Guozhu's small eyes suddenly turned into bull's eyes, and he shouted in disbelief: "How is it possible? You and Wu Shizong's army combined are not worth it." With 3000 people, how could it be possible to take down the entire Guangxi so quickly? How could it be possible to capture the old thief Shang Kexi? What are you bragging about?!"

"Uncle, let's talk about these things on the way." Fatty Lu dragged Hu Guozhu up and left, anxiously said: "Take me to see grandfather, I don't know the way, let's talk about the situation in Guangxi as we walk."

"Oh, boy, don't drag me, I know, I'll take you to see Lao Taishan, but you have to tell me if you are bragging about taking the whole of Guangxi and capturing Shang Kexi alive!"

While hurriedly reporting the battle situation in Guangxi to Hu Guozhu, Hu Guozhu led the way and hurried to the Yuan Yuanyuan governor's office where the old traitor Wu stayed. Wang Shirong and others also rushed over after hearing the news, but just like Hu Guozhu, Fang Guangchen and Wang Shirong were also shocked when they saw Fatty Lu coming in with his face covered in dust, and asked in unison, "Why did you come to Changsha?" What happened to the Eastern Route Army?"

"Mr. Xianyan, Mr. Liangchen, why don't you trust our East Route Army?" Fatty Lu, who was completely underestimated, asked back very depressed, and then said impatiently: "I have already introduced the situation in Guangxi to my uncle, you can ask him Well, where is grandfather? I want to see him right away!"

"The prince is resting in the bedroom in the back garden." Wang Shirong replied casually, and then warned with staring eyes: "But you'd better not go to see the prince. The prince is sick now. If you hear that the Eastern Route Army has suffered a disastrous defeat and is in urgent need of a main force." If there is news of rescue, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Mr. Liangchen, Yifeng and the others didn't suffer a defeat!" Hu Guozhu shouted excitedly: "Not only did they not suffer a single defeat, on the contrary, they also conquered the whole of Guangxi in one go, and Yifeng personally captured Shang Kexi alive on the battlefield , will soon be taken to Changsha City as a prisoner!"

"What?! Are you bragging? Our East Route Army has only so many troops, can we take down the whole of Guangxi? Can we capture the old thief Shang Kexi alive?!" Fang Guangchen and Wang Shirong also screamed in shock, but Fatty Lu would be so anxious that he didn't bother After explaining to them in detail, he pushed them away and rushed directly into the back garden, leaving Hu Guozhu in the hall happily introducing the brilliant achievements of Wu Jun's East Route Army to them.

He strode into the back garden tightly guarded by old traitor Wu's guards. Lu Xia, the chief guard of old traitor Wu, immediately greeted him. He also screamed and asked why Fatty Lu appeared in Changsha City. Fatty Lu briefly said that he was under escort. After Shang Kexi came back to offer the captives, Lu Xia naturally screamed dumbfounded, but Fatty Lu didn't have time to explain to Lu Xia in detail, he asked Ming Wu where the old traitor's bedroom was, and rushed straight in without waiting for the guards to inform him. went in.

It may be to set off the atmosphere or mood. The bedroom of old traitor Wu is very dark, smells like herbs and is almost terribly quiet. Seeing Fatty Lu come in, the maid in the room hurried up to dissuade him in a low voice, saying that it was Mr. Wu. The traitor just fell asleep after taking the medicine, and ordered no one to see him. Fatty Lu, who was so anxious, didn't bother to care so much. He pushed away the maid and went straight into the bedroom. Lying on the bed, I could still hear a little sobbing.Fatty Lu tried his best to build up his emotions, and then he went to Old Traitor Wu's bed and knelt down on his knees, crying loudly, "Son-in-law Lu Yifeng, please greet grandpa."

"Yifeng?" Old man Wu's crooked body moved, he struggled to get up and sat on the edge of the bed, and tried to open his cloudy old eyes to look at the person in front of him. When he saw that the fat man covered in dust in front of him was indeed his grandson-in-law Fatty Lu, Mr. Wu The traitor couldn't help crying like rain, and asked with a sob: "Yifeng, why are you here? Grandpa remembers, it seems he didn't call you to Changsha?"

"Grandfather, grandson-in-law hurried back when he heard the news of the son's death." Fatty Lu replied briefly, wiping away his tears, and then hugged old traitor Wu's legs, crying loudly, "Grandfather, son-in-law, he Was he really killed? Grandfather, please tell grandson-in-law that this is not true, not true!"

"Good boy, your uncle, my son..." Seeing that Fatty Lu was so sad about Wu Yingxiong's death, the old traitor Wu was both relieved and in pain, sobbing, "He has really been killed."

"No! No! Grandson-in-law doesn't believe it!" Fatty Lu wailed loudly: "Son-in-law doesn't believe it, what a good man he is, how could he be killed like this?! He once told grandson-in-law , When he returns to Kunming, he must join his grandson-in-law and fulfill his filial piety at your grandfather's knees. Why does he not count his words and just go like this?! Grandson-in-law doesn't believe it, grandson-in-law doesn't believe it!"

"Good boy, you are a good boy..." The traitor Wu was even more miserable, and couldn't help crying loudly, holding Fatty Lu's fat head in his arms, tears streaming down his face, "But he really left, really Gone, never coming back...!"

"No!" Fatty Lu yelled hoarsely, crying wildly: "Grandfather, is this so possible? Grandfather, you have made so many contributions to the Mangou court, and you have suffered so much infamy. So cruel to do such a cruel thing?! Grandfather, tell me, how can those dogs with human face and beast heart have the heart to do such a cruel thing? Are they worse than beasts? Or have their consciences been eaten by dogs?!"

"They are not as good as beasts, and their consciences have been eaten by dogs!" Feeling sad in his heart, Old Man Wu couldn't help crying along with Fatty Lu's words, "They have a human face and a beast's heart, and they are not as good as beasts! You should bear him to be full of dogs. How loyal the imperial court is, his grandfather sent someone to pick him up, but he refused to leave, he is just too stupid! What can’t be done by those bastards full of dogs?!”

"Master, you are not filial!" Fatty Lu cried out in pain, "You clearly know that grandfather and son are struggling, but you and the second prince are the only two sons, and all grandfather's hopes rest on you alone. How can you bear to just do this?" How could you have the heart to let grandfather white-haired man send black-haired man to our Pingxi Palace without successors? You are not filial! You are not filial!"

"Little pockmarked Kangxi, I, Lu Yifeng, are at odds with you for the rest of my life! You ungrateful beast, a beast with a human face and a heart! I swear, one day, I will cut off your head and dig out your heart with my own hands. I swear, one day, I will drive all your dogs to death, and take your dog heads to comfort the spirit of the son of heaven...!"

While Fatty Lu was crying and shouting, he beat old traitor Wu's bed with all his might. Old traitor Wu was also crying loudly, hugging Fatty Lu's head, and the grandfather and grandson cried into tears.Fatty Lu suddenly shook the traitorous old Wu's legs again, crying and asking, "Grandfather, where are the Manchu dogs nearby? Are there Manchurian dogs there?! The son-in-law will personally lead the troops to settle accounts with them and take them away." I have chopped off their heads, and take their heads to the mourning hall of the son-in-law to pay homage! My grandson-in-law wants everyone in the world to know that our Pingxi palace is not so easy to bully!"

"My son-in-law wants everyone in the world to know about it! Even if Man Gou shamelessly killed our son, our Pingxi Palace will not stop there. There are countless good men in our Pingxi Palace, who can kill all the dogs in the world and wipe out the world." Smell! Our Pingxi Palace will never give in to Mangou! The blood spilled from our Pingxi Palace will be repaid a hundred times by the ungrateful Mangou! If I don’t take revenge, I swear I won’t be human——!”

Crying and roaring at the top of his lungs, Fatty Lu shook Old Man Wu's legs desperately, almost throwing Old Man Wu off the bed. Old Man Wu was not angry, but just held Fatty Lu's head and cried even more painfully, choking He said: "Good boy, good boy, as long as you have this kind of heart, it's fine if you have this kind of heart, your uncle has knowledge in the heavenly spirit, so he can rest in peace..."

Choking, the old man Wu treacherously grieved from his heart, couldn't help but burst into tears again, his body swayed and almost fainted on the spot, the maid next to him was so frightened that he hurried to call the doctor.Fatty Lu was very unfilial and deliberately continued to provoke the old traitor Wu, crying frantically: "Grandfather, grandson-in-law is not convinced! How many things have we done for Man Gou in Pingxi Palace over the years, why Man Gou still treats us like this?!"

"Grandfather, if it wasn't for you, would Mangou have been able to enter Shanhaiguan?"

"If it wasn't for you, grandfather, would Mangou and the others have defeated Li Zicheng's traitor? Could they have settled the Central Plains like a broken bamboo?"

"Grandfather, if it weren't for you, Mangou would be able to pacify the Southwest? Can it quell the remnants of the Ming Dynasty? Can it wipe out the Shuixi barbarians who have occupied the Southwest for thousands of years?!"

"Grandfather, you have done so much for Man Gou, why does Man Gou still treat you like this? Why do you want to kill your eldest son, the eldest son you have high hopes for? This tone, grandson-in-law can't swallow anything!"

"Grandfather, please give my son-in-law three thousand troops, and my son-in-law will take these three thousand dead men to seek revenge on Man Gou! My grandson-in-law will use grandfather's sword to wash Man Dog's lair with blood, and let Man Gou's blood be stained red." The Yangtze River, dye the Yellow River red, dye the sea red! Let everyone in the world know that our Pingxi Palace cannot be bullied! Let alone humiliated!"

"Grandfather, grandson-in-law, please—!"

Crying like a madman, Fatty Lu's throat was almost torn, and the old traitor Wu heard these words from Fatty Lu, and saw Fatty Lu's madness, he was relieved and sad, and he couldn't help feeling angry , the evil turned to gallbladder, and roared: "Yifeng, you are right! We Pingxi must not be bullied! Let alone humiliated! If a dog kills my beloved son, if I don't even avenge the killing of my son, am I still a human being? Grandpa will personally raise the army, and go to Man Gou with you to settle the score! Use Man Gou's blood to wash away our hatred!"

"Grandfather, let's go right away!" Fatty Lu cried and jumped up, hurriedly went to dress and shoe the old traitor Wu, and shouted: "Son-in-law will personally charge for you, grandfather, and cut off the heads full of dogs. Take their heads back and pay homage to Shizi’s grave! We’ll leave right away! Right away——!”

After being so excited by Fatty Lu, the old traitor Wu, who hadn't gotten out of bed for half a month, had no idea where it came from. He let Fatty Lu put on his shoes and pushed away the maid who came up to serve him. He put on his clothes, pulled off the treasured sword on the wall, and strode out with the support of Fatty Lu, shouting as he walked, "Send the order, the whole army is assembled, follow the old man to Wuchang City, and find the dog to settle the score! To the old man's relatives!" The son's revenge——!"

The depressed old traitor Wu suddenly became so energetic. Hu Guozhu and others who eavesdropped on the conversation between Fatty Lu and old traitor Wu in the courtyard were stunned, and rushed forward again, grabbing old traitor Wu and Fatty Lu with all their might. Trying hard to persuade—just kidding, the old traitor Wu has been lying on the hospital bed for more than half a month, and this will be supported by a mouthful of anger. When the anger subsides, the old traitor Wu will have to lie down again. Definitely have to add more.But Fatty Lu didn't care about the old traitor Wu, who was already in his 60s and was dying. He just yelled frantically: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way! If you don't fight Wuchang, grandfather and I will fight! To avenge the son, grandfather and I will avenge the son!"

"I want everyone in the world to know that the blood of our son Xiong will never be shed in vain—!"

"Crack!" Wang Shirong slapped Fatty Lu on the face, interrupting Fatty Lu's crazy roar, and roared with bloodshot eyes: "Who said we won't fight Wuchang? Who said we won't avenge the prince? Neither will you!" Look, the prince is so sick now, can he lead the army to take revenge himself? It is okay to fight Wuchang, but the prince cannot personally lead the army. If someone else goes, we can all go to the front! But the prince, we must not go now !"

It seemed that he was woken up by Wang Shirong. Fatty Lu finally came to his senses, and turned to look at old traitor Wu in the sun. Not to mention, old traitor Wu, who had just experienced the bereavement of his son and tortured by illness, would be really old now. It's very pitiful, I haven't seen you for only a few months, and I seem to be ten years older, my face is full of wrinkles, and my money braids are completely white, looking old and weak.Fatty Lu had a sore nose, and couldn't help but knelt down on his knees again, hugging old traitor Wu's legs and crying loudly, "Grandfather, grandson-in-law is not filial, grandson-in-law is not filial, I didn't expect you to be so sick, grandfather If you go out to fight, your grandson-in-law deserves death..."

After such a lot of tossing, old traitor Wu’s heart was still sad, but his sense of depression was gone, and while helping Fatty Lu, he choked up and said, “Good grandson-in-law, get up, if you’re counted If you are not filial, then there will be no filial children in this world. It doesn’t matter, grandfather is much more comfortable now, let’s go, let’s go to the hall and discuss how to avenge your uncle.”

Fatty Lu saluted and thanked him, and stood up with tears in his eyes. Everyone present was also in tears, but the traitor Wu turned around and shouted: "Don't cry! What's the use of crying? Crying can bring Ying Xiong back? Pass the order down." , Blow the trumpet to raise the account, I want to discuss with you the war to attack Wuchang, take Wuchang's blood full of dogs, and avenge my son!"

"Of course." The crowd agreed with sobs, and hurriedly surrounded the old traitor Wu and walked to the hall together. It was only at this moment that Wang Shirong took the opportunity to apologize to Fatty Lu: "Lord Lu, I'm sorry, it was a serious blow."

Fatty Lu smiled slightly, and replied in a low voice: "Mr. Liangchen, you don't have to be polite. If you don't do this, it will be really hard to end."

Wang Shirong smiled complacently, but couldn't help snorting coldly, scolding Fatty Lu for being shameless, for being able to use such a despicable method to revive old traitor Wu's spirit.But at this moment, the old traitor Wu suddenly remembered something, and quickly turned around and screamed at Fatty Lu: "Yifeng, I seem to have sent you to Guangxi, why did you come to Changsha? You and the world What happened to the Eastern Route Army led by Zong? Did you come to Changsha to seek help from the main force after losing the battle?"

"Grandfather misunderstood, our East Route Army did not suffer a defeat." Fatty Lu replied with a wry smile: "Son-in-law is not talented, and assisting my uncle not only did not suffer a defeat, but also helped my uncle sweep Guangxi, and won the whole of Guangxi in one go." It’s good to be at odds with your grandfather, although he led the main force of Guangdong Manchu into Guangxi, but he was beaten back by his son-in-law, and it’s good to have captured you alive for grandfather on the battlefield.”

"Bastard boy!" The old traitor Wu was furious, and he knocked on Fatty Lu's fat head with a chestnut, and roared, "I'm not afraid to flash my tongue if you brag! I only gave you more than 1 troops in total. Can you take down the entire Guangxi, and capture the old thief Shang Kexi alive?!"

"Tell me the truth, how much defeat did you suffer in Guangxi?! If you dare to brag, I will beat you to death!"

(End of this chapter)