scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 253 Chapter 250
Because of the busy family affairs and marriage, Fatty Lu was not at the scene when news of the unfavorable war in Jingzhou came back to the decision-makers of Wu Jun, but it didn't take long for the news to reach Fatty Lu's ears—but not Hu Guozhu and Fang Guangchen The biography of the two was not passed on by Liu Xuanchu, a good teacher picked by Fatty Lu, but by Wang Shirong, the only decision-maker in the Wu army who was at odds with Fatty Lu.

Obviously, when Wang Shirong told the news to Fatty Lu, he typically had no good intentions—because Wang Shirong came here to laugh at Fatty Lu on purpose. When the old traitor Wu decided to send Xia Guoxiang as his general to attack Jingzhou, even Fang Guangchen said that Against it, Fatty Lu, who had been handpicked by the old traitor Wu as the chief general, didn't even dare to give a fart—this led to the defeat of Wu Jun's Jingzhou.At the end, Wang Shirong asked Fatty Lu in a mocking tone, what pessimism does Fatty Lu, the chief culprit, have about the bleak prospects of the war in Jingzhou?

Fatty Lu understood Wang Shirong's arrogant character very well, so Fatty Lu was not angry, but carefully read the Jingzhou battle report brought by Wang Shirong—the Jingzhou battle report that Wang Shirong wrote verbatim after reading it!And after reading the battle report, Fatty Lu quickly took the case and said: "Second uncle and father-in-law did not lose unfairly. They were too anxious this time, and they also met their opponents. Although Xu Zhidu, the general soldier of Yiling, is not well-known, Loud, but bold and cautious, courageous and resourceful, he is indeed a difficult dog traitor!"

"Lord Lu is really a filial and virtuous son-in-law, and he can indeed make excuses for his elders." Wang Shirong continued to sneer: "When crossing the river, I hurried across the river without guarding against the enemy boat coming from upstream, and was attacked by the enemy, and then rushed towards the enemy Putting gold on your face? But this is indeed a good way, putting gold on the enemy's face is indeed much better than scolding yourself for being incompetent."

"Mr. Liangchen misunderstood. The student is definitely not putting money on the enemy's face, let alone giving money to his father-in-law." Fatty Lu was not angry at Wang Shirong's sarcasm, but just shook his head, disapproving.

"Then tell me the reason." Wang Shirong finally showed some eagerness.

"Mr. Liangchen, please pay attention to the time." Fatty Lu pointed to the battle report and said: "Mr. Liangchen, please see that the second uncle and the others launched three sieges in five days, and on the fifth day, that is, yesterday morning, they were attacked by the traitor Xu Zhidu. However, the Second Uncle and the others have only spent ten days since they set off—that is to say, the Second Uncle and the others have traveled more than 400 miles from Yuezhou to Jingzhou in just over four days! Such a high-intensity rapid march, and then launched such a high-intensity siege, what does it mean?"

Wang Shirong was silent, and only after a while did he say, "General Xia Guoxiang is too anxious, and he is eager to make meritorious deeds, so Mangou took advantage of the loophole."

"That's right!" Fatty Lu clapped the battle report, and said categorically, "Second Uncle is not the only sign of anxiety. Before our Songzi army had time to cross the Yangtze River, he couldn't wait to launch three sieges, full of dogs. No matter how stupid you are, you can understand that the second uncle is eager to break the city. The traitor Xu Zhidu also seized on the anxiety of the second uncle, pretending to retreat timidly, and inducing the second uncle to rush the Songzi army to cross the river for reinforcements. As a result, the second uncle was killed Let Xu Zhi take advantage of this loophole.”

Wang Shirong was silent again, and Fatty Lu added: "And what I can be sure of is that this Xu Zhidu is definitely a courageous and courageous traitor, because after he withdrew from Yidu to Yiling, he could indeed be in Yiling with smooth sailing. I rushed to the Jingzhou battlefield overnight, but if the news of the Jingzhou battlefield is to be sent back to Yiling, it is difficult for even a carrier pigeon to arrive overnight, let alone Xu Zhidu’s marching time and preparation time. So I can Certainly, when Xu Zhidu withdrew to Yiling on the seventh day of the lunar new year, he must have expected that our army's Songzi army would cross the river in the early morning of the eighth day of the new year, so he set off in the evening of the seventh day of the seventh day and arrived in Jingzhou in the early morning of the eighth day of the new year, killing our army by surprise !"

"So, this Xu Zhidu's military style is very similar to yours." Wang Shirong said in a deep voice, "Both of them like to take the edge of the sword and are good at capturing the enemy's psychological weaknesses. When they see the opportunity, they all bet on it. If they win, they will win big." Yes, if you lose..."

"If you lose, Xu Zhi will not lose at all." Fatty Lu spread his hands and said, "Unless the second uncle or my father-in-law sees through his tricks and arranges an ambush in advance to wait for work, otherwise, even if our army does not cross the river on the morning of the eighth day, Xu To rule the capital to the top is to expose the plan, and not a single soldier will be lost."

Wang Shirong stopped talking again, and after a while, Wang Shirong suddenly exclaimed again, "No! The enemy is so cunning and tough, General Xia is so eager to advance, and the prince is now ordering General Xia to take revenge as soon as possible to save face. I am already anxious. General Xia is afraid that he will suffer a lot!"

"Grandpa, he told the second uncle to take revenge as soon as possible?" Fatty Lu was also taken aback. After Wang Shirong quickly introduced the old traitor Wu's order to Xia Guoxiang, Fatty Lu immediately cried out, got up and said, "No, I have to go see my grandfather right away." , Please take it back and tell Second Uncle not to underestimate the enemy and rush forward, but to fight steadily, and not to give Mangou any more chances to exploit loopholes."

"You can't go! I'll go!" Wang Shirong resolutely stopped him: "You are so inexperienced that you are so important to the prince, which is already very enviable. Now you are going to accuse the prince's son-in-law of incompetence and light progress. Once the news spreads In Xia Guoxiang's ears, he can't hate you to death? I'll go, it's only appropriate for me to persuade the prince."

"Huh?" Fatty Lu's eyes widened, he looked Wang Shirong up and down, and said with a smile, "Mr. Liangchen, I just found out today, so you are also very concerned about my situation and position?"

Wang Shirong blushed, and snorted, "I revealed these words and this news to you. I was afraid that the prince would pursue the information you got from. As for your life and death, it's none of my business?" He got up and strode out of the room, leaving Fatty Lu shaking his head and smiling wryly in the room.

Old traitor Wu was still able to listen to other people's advice. When Wang Shirong changed the tone of Fatty Lu's conjecture and reported it to old traitor Wu, old traitor Wu also felt that his order to Xia Guoxiang was a bit ill-considered.At the moment, the old traitor Wu did not hesitate, and immediately sent the No.2 messenger to Jingzhou to contact Xia Guoxiang, asking Xia Guoxiang not to rush to revenge, let alone continue to underestimate the enemy, and then give the enemy loopholes to take advantage of.

Fatty Lu, Wang Shirong, and old traitor Wu can be said to have good intentions, all for the good of Wu Jun, and especially for the good of Xia Guoxiang. However, what Fatty Lu, Wang Shirong and others miscalculated was that Xia Guoxiang was more anxious than they thought. It was much more serious, so when the two orders of the old traitor Wu were passed to Xia Guoxiang, Xia Guoxiang was even more impatient, and he was even more eager to regain this face-but it is not surprising, because he received the bear gift. Xia Guoxiang was slapped and scolded in front of the old traitor Wu, and now he has caused the biggest defeat since Wu Jun raised his army. If Xia Guoxiang doesn't get back the place as soon as possible, he will not be entrusted with important tasks by the old traitor Wu in the future. , it is even more difficult.

In a hurry, Xia Guoxiang couldn't help but think of the tactics used by Fatty Lu to attack Wuchang. Now on the night of November [-]th, Xia Guoxiang did the same thing. The door is digging the city wall, intending to bury explosives to blow up the city wall.But it's a pity that Tu Hai, who had already suffered from Wu Jun's big loss in Wuchang, saw through Xia Guoxiang's intentions at a glance. When Wu Jun started digging the city wall, he suddenly threw a large number of torches down the city to fight ten thousand enemies. Burned to death and injured many soldiers of the Wu army, and also detonated the explosives used by the Wu army to blow up the wall, causing huge losses to the Wu army.

Afterwards, Xu Zhidu of the Yiling Navy of the Qing Army took advantage of the opportunity of the Wu Army and Wu Guogui's eagerness to cross the river to reinforce the Jingzhou war. Xu Zhidu fleet.However, the most important thing in a water battle is the direction of the water flow and wind. It happened to be early winter, and the north wind was blowing. The right time and place were in Xu Zhidu's hands. Lin Xingzhu's navy was against the current and the wind. Because of the slow speed of the ship, Ban was intercepted and sniped by the Qing army fleet before he had time to approach the Qing army fleet.As a result, after the two water battles, the Wu Jun navy not only did not take advantage of the slightest advantage, but also did not drive away the disgusting Xu Zhidu fleet. Instead, Xu Zhidu snatched eight suicide sampans, and all the explosives on board fell into the Qing army. hand, which in turn threatened the safety of Wu Jun's fleet.

At the same time, the [-] newly recruited Qing troops led by Miqing Beizi Zhunda had also arrived in Jingmen Prefecture, and surrounded the Wu army Liu Zhifu and Yang Laijia's troops with only [-] troops. The Wan army has also arrived in Xunyang, which gradually reversed the advantages and disadvantages of the war in Jingzhou. The Wu army, which had a certain advantage, was not only at a disadvantage, but was even in danger of being surrounded and wiped out by the Qing army.But at this point in the battle, although Xia Guoxiang still wanted to continue to persevere, Wu Guogui, who was loyal to the old traitor Wu, quit. He sent two waves of messengers back to Yuezhou to inform the old traitor Wu of the war situation in Jingzhou, and asked Wu Guogui to give up. The old traitor decides.

A local battle that was sure enough was turned into a large-scale battle by the incompetent son-in-law, who gradually increased the number of troops. He missed the rare opportunity to completely destroy the Qing army's defense line in the middle of the Yangtze River. I also had to decide to leave Hu Guozhu to guard Yuezhou, lead an army of [-] to reinforce the Jingzhou battlefield, and personally command the Jingzhou battle-but fortunately, the north and south sides of the Yangtze River in Yuezhou are under the control of Wu Jun, and Wu Jun crossed Jiangxi in Yuezhou To advance, it is not necessary to cross the river like Wu Guogui's Songzi army did, and have to guard against the enemy from the upper reaches.

After finalizing this decision, Old Traitor Wu first dispatched a large number of powerful generals who are never lacking in the Pingxi Palace, and then when appointing staff officers to accompany the army, Old Traitor Wu was a little hesitant. Returned to the rear of Yunnan to assist Guo Zhuangtu in charge of cutting braids and changing the regime in the rear of Yunnan and Guizhou. Hu Guozhu and Fang Guangchen had to guard Yuezhou and the other went to Changsha to allocate grain and grass. There was only one Wang Shirong available. The manpower was too thin. When the old traitor fixed his gaze on Fatty Lu, his expression became more hesitant - two days later, it would be the wedding day of Fatty Lu and Wu Xiaotu.

"Grandfather, my grandson-in-law begs you to go with me and assist my grandfather in conquering Jingzhou." Fatty Lu saw the traitorous intentions of the old man Wu, and hurriedly stood up and danced the loyalty dance, bowed his hands and said: "The marriage between the grandson-in-law and Xiaotu can be delayed. One drag."

"It's been three years, why not?" Old Traitor Wu snorted reluctantly.

"Grandfather, forgive me, my grandson-in-law also knows that my marriage with Xiaotu has been delayed for too long." Fatty Lu hurriedly saluted and said respectfully: "But no matter how important the marriage between grandson-in-law and Xiaotu is, there is no grandfather's objection." Qing Fuming has a great cause, and now the Jingzhou War has gradually become a battle, no matter how unfilial the grandson-in-law is, he can't bear to let his grandfather and father-in-law fight bloody dogs in the front, and stay behind to enjoy the blessings?"

After all, Fatty Lu gave Old Man Wu another step, "Besides, the grandson-in-law and Xiaotu's marriage was not attended by grandfather and father-in-law. Even if the grandson-in-law and Xiaotu got married as scheduled, they would feel extremely regretful."

Fatty Lu's words were beautiful and decent, and immediately won the applause of all Wu Jun generals present. Everyone said that it was no wonder that Fatty Lu was trusted and reused by the old traitor Wu. Far beyond comparison!And the handsome old traitor Wu finally showed some smiles on his old face, nodded and said: "Okay then, you take Xiaotu with you, and when you take Jingzhou, you will immediately worship in Jingzhou City, and this king will personally give you a wedding." Officiate."

Fatty Lu hurriedly expressed his thanks, so things were going on forever. Fatty Lu and Xiaotu Wu, who had already decided to get married on November 22, had to postpone their marriage indefinitely again. The wedding that Fatty Lu prepared at his own expense was wasted. All the generals of Wu Jun and Fatty Lu’s lackeys, big and small, regretted it. Only Yuer, who had to keep his filial piety for Ling Guoan for 27 months, was secretly happy, "Fatty, the longer it takes, the more Well, it’s best to delay for another three years, I’ll get married first and make it big, and then she’ll go and make it small!”

………………

On November 12, 21th year of Qingkang Mazi, in view of the changes in the battlefield situation in Jingzhou, the main force of the Wu army, who successfully broke through the Yangtze River defense line and openly played the banner of anti-Qing and Fuming, was forced to abandon the plan to expand the results of the victory. Thirty thousand troops rushed to Jingzhou for reinforcements in order to pull out the biggest nail in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River before planning the Northern Expedition. The already panic-stricken Qing court also won a little precious breathing time.

When the news reached the capital, Kang Mazi, who was in a state of distress, yelled for God to bless him, and hurriedly delivered an edict to Jingzhou eight hundred miles away, ordering Tu Hai, La Bu, Shang Shan and others in Jingzhou City to guard the city to the death. Dead dead!At the same time, an order was issued in Shaanxi and Gansu to order Eza, the king of Duoluo County, to lead his troops south to reinforce the Jingzhou battlefield. In addition, Yanzhou, Shandong was recruited to command the Chahatai Department, the governor of Henan Province, Gong Tu, the Nanzhang garrison, and Henan Admiral Tong Huinian. All the ministries rushed to the Jingzhou battlefield for reinforcements, in order to win more breathing time for the Qing court.

In fact, there is no need for Kang Mazi to give the Jingzhou Qing army a death order at all. When the scouts heard the news that the old man Wu treacherously marched in Jingzhou, the Jingzhou guards of the Qing army Tu Hai, La Bu, Shang Shan and Xu Zhi all Both husband and wife understand that the last moment of life and death has come. If they can hold Jingzhou City and wait until reinforcements arrive, the Qing court will not only gain precious time to prepare for the war, but also take the opportunity to re-stabilize the defense line of the Yangtze River and block the Wu army to the south of the Yangtze River again. !But if Jingzhou City is lost again, even if the defeated army of Tu Hai, La Bu and others can break through by luck, then it is impossible for Kang Mazi to spare them—especially Tu Hai, who is absolutely doomed !
In view of such a situation, after hasty discussions with La Bu, Shang Shan and others, Tuhai unanimously decided to ask Beizi Zhunda's reinforcements to abandon the plan to attack Jingmen, and go south to Jingzhou at full speed to strengthen the defense force, desperately strengthen the defense of Jingzhou city, and prepare to use Jiancheng and the Wu army Take a gamble.At the same time, in order to strengthen the defense of the city and make use of the people, Tuhai repeated his old tricks, spreading rumors that the Wu army would surely massacre the city after it broke through, and forced more than [-] Jingzhou people to defend the city with all their strength in order to survive.And Xu Zhidu's "virtuous housemate" Xu, the hard-core traitor Xu Zhidu, donated all the jewelry and labor to assist her husband in commanding the Qing army and navy, and agreed with her husband to serve the country to the death and never surrender.

Because of the relationship between distance and different mentality, when the main force of the Wu army arrived at the foot of Jingzhou city on November 27, the Zhunda Department of the Qing army's reinforcements had already arrived in Jingzhou the day before. Two thousand, and the rest were all stationed in Jingzhou City under the support of the Jingzhou garrison, making the Qing army's Jingzhou garrison force reach [-], which in turn surpassed the combined strength of Wu Jun Xia Guoxiang and Wu Guogui!Xia Guoxiang and Wu Guogui felt shameless, so as soon as Old Traitor Wu's army arrived, both Xia Guoxiang and Wu Guogui went to the old traitor Wu to plead guilty, and asked the traitor Wu to punish them for their ineffectiveness in fighting.

"Get up, you can't completely blame you." Fortunately, the old traitor Wu is quite reasonable. Not only did he not punish Xia Guoxiang and Wu Guogui, but he got off his horse and helped Xia Guoxiang and Wu Guogui himself. Great battles are the most difficult to fight, and now Jingzhou Mangou has nowhere to go, and they are desperately defending the city, and it is reasonable for you to be desperate."

"Thank you father-in-law (father-in-law) for not beheading me." Wu Guogui and Xia Guoxiang both kowtowed their heads in thanks before standing up.The old traitor Wu pointed behind him again, and said with a smile, "Guogui, look, who did you bring for your father?"

While speaking, Wu Xiaotu, who came with the army, had already walked in front of Wu Guogui, bowed to Wu Guogui, and called his father with a blushing face.Surprised and delighted, Wu Guogui hurriedly asked, "Father, why did you bring Xiaotu here? Can she bear the turbulent military journey?"

"Can you not bring it? Because of Jingzhou's affairs, Yifeng has to come, and the good things between your daughter and Yifeng have been postponed again." Old Han Wu said with a wry smile: "The old man also loves this granddaughter, and I don't want her to drag it on any longer. , I’m going to let them get married in Jingzhou city after this Jingzhou is conquered... Huh?"

It was also at this point that old traitor Wu realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly asked, "Little Tu, where is your future husband-in-law? You were still together just now, why is he still not here to kowtow to your father?"

"Where did he go?" Wu Xiaotu pointed to the west side of the front, and said shyly: "Brother Lu saw the embankment just now, so he immediately brought a few soldiers and rushed over, saying that he wanted to observe Terrain, I’ll come back and kowtow to my father later.”

The old traitor Wu turned his head and looked at the place Wu Xiaotu pointed out, and found that the place Wu Xiaotu pointed to was a Yangtze River embankment in the southwest of Jingzhou. : "This little fat man doesn't even want his father-in-law once he's on a business trip. But he has a good eye. He can observe the terrain at that place, and he can really see the most carefully. By the way, does that embankment have a name?"

"Reporting to my father, that embankment is called Wanwan embankment. According to legend, it was successfully built with the efforts of tens of thousands of people." Wu Guogui replied respectfully: "This embankment is also one of the main battlefields where our army competes with Mangou, because we If the troops stationed in Junsongzi want to cross the river, they must climb this embankment."

"Oh, the old man will also find time to take a look later." The old man Wu nodded, and then ordered: "The whole army will set up camp with their backs against Taibai Lake, and send more scouts to closely inspect all the enemy's situation in Jingzhou." The generals of the Wu army brought by the old traitor Wu agreed together, and their respective command posts set up camps with their backs to Taibai Lake.

When the banner of Traitor Wu appeared under Jingzhou City, the Qing army in Jingzhou City inevitably rioted and yelled endlessly, but Traitor Wu didn't bother to pay attention at all. He just led a group of generals of Wu Army to patrol the city and observe the enemy's situation. .However, what made Old Man Wu frown and suddenly realized that the Jingzhou city defenses are indeed extremely strong, and there is no need to be wordy about the city’s high moats, deep bows and crossbows. After carefully asking about the underground situation, I learned that Jingzhou City is low-lying and rich in groundwater. Wu Jun had no hope of digging tunnels to attack the city at all.

The most troublesome old traitor Wu is the strength of Jingzhou's defenders. Thanks to Xia Guoxiang, he missed the opportunity to break the city. Now the Qing army in Jingzhou has exceeded 4, and there are [-] troops in Xu Zhidu's periphery. The elite naval divisions echoed each other from afar, making it difficult for Wu Jun's Songzi army to even cross the river. However, Wu Jun's army on the north bank of the Yangtze River was only more than [-] people, and its strength was smaller than that of the Jingzhou defenders. The disadvantage of attacking the fortified city was offset, but the strength was actually on par with the Qing army.

"This battle is not easy to fight." Seeing this scene, even the old traitor of Laoqiu Bawu, who had fought on the battlefield for decades, couldn't help but sigh.

"Father, Yifeng and the others are back." Wu Guogui who was beside him reminded in a low voice.

Old Traitor Wu raised his head and saw Fatty Lu leading a group of cavalry, and they were really rushing towards this side at full speed.People were still far away, but Fatty Lu's triumphant laughter came, "Hahahaha, grandfather, good news, good news, grandson-in-law already has a way to break through the city, already has a way to break through Jingzhou city!"

While laughing loudly, Fatty Lu had already rushed in front of Old Traitor Wu and the others, dismounted his horse in an incomparably chic manner, knelt down on one knee to Old Traitor Wu, and cupped his hands with joy on his face, saying, "Grandfather, your son-in-law is not talented. There is a plan, and we can break through the strong city of Jingzhou without using a single soldier!"

"Stinky boy, what are you bragging about?" The future son-in-law doesn't need to kowtow when they meet, but he dares to brag about such bullshit in front of himself who just suffered a defeat at the foot of Jingzhou city. Talk big to Lao Tzu! You think you are a god if you broke Jingzhou City without a single soldier?"

"Guogui, don't be angry, your son-in-law is not bragging." Old man Wu said quietly.

"Father, how do you know?" Wu Guogui was taken aback, Fatty Lu also raised his fat head in surprise, and looked carefully at Old Traitor Wu.

The old man Wu smiled and asked, "Yifeng, you want me to dig up the embankment of thousands of people and flood Jingzhou City, right?"

"Grandfather, how did you know?" Fatty Lu was even more shocked.

"I don't know your temper yet? You only seek the end when you do things, and don't use any means." The old man Wu said calmly: "Since you left us to go to the Wandi to patrol alone, the old man has already guessed, you It must have been discovered that Jingzhou City is low-lying and the Ten Thousand Dykes are high, as long as the Ten Thousand Dykes are dug up and the Yangtze River water is used to irrigate Jingzhou City, no matter how many dogs there are in Jingzhou City, it will be full of fish and turtles."

"Ah!" Wu Guogui and Xia Guoxiang exclaimed in unison, looked at each other again, and exclaimed in unison again: "Why didn't we think of this move?"

"What a great idea!" Ma Bao, who was next to him, also threw his fists and shouted, "Dig the embankment of thousands of people, and without a single soldier, you can kill the dogs in the city!"

"Then what about the people in Jingzhou City? What about the people in Jingzhou Mansion?" The old man Wu was treacherous, and asked Lu Fatty and other generals of the Wu army: "In order to break through a city, we dug up the people and gathered tens of thousands of people. What about the 10,000+ people in Jingzhou Prefecture? What about the millions of people in the downstream? Don’t forget, this is a grain-producing area. , what do the surrounding people eat?"

All the generals in the Wu army were speechless, while Fatty Lu looked up and down the old traitor Wu as if he didn't know him, almost suspecting that there was something wrong with his ears.But the old traitor Wu shouted again in a deep voice: "Propagate the decree of the orphan, for the sake of thousands of souls, no one is allowed to touch a single brick or stone of the Thousand Thousand Dykes! Jingzhou City, I must be defeated in an upright manner!"

Note: During the Jingzhou War during the San Francisco Rebellion, the old traitor Wu still cared for the common people with hypocrisy and hypocrisy, and refused to dig the embankment.It really happened in history, and it is contained in pages 179-180 and 204 of the fourth volume of "Guangyang Miscellaneous Notes".In this regard, the historical materials of the Qing Dynasty commented: The old age is already deep!Later generations Baoyi Teng commented: Strategically conservative!
(End of this chapter)