Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 218 Li Yi: Lead the army in person to regain the upper hand!

As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, Zeng Jinqian on the side asked in disbelief.

"Tianjing fell, the king was captured..."

"Your Majesty, are you serious?"

"Is the Kingdom of Heaven really dead?!"

Li Yi nodded slightly.

"How could I joke about something like this?"

Zeng Jinqian was shocked when he heard this, and then his energy and spirit collapsed instantly, as if someone had pulled out his spine, and his whole body became dazed and limp.

Obviously, it was difficult to accept this matter for a while.

Upon seeing this, Fan Xiyuan, the current Minister of the Interior of the Tang Dynasty, spoke up.

"Your Majesty, since the Kingdom of Heaven has been destroyed, can we call off our navy's plan to raid Fuzhou with its offshore fleet?"

Since ancient times, it has not been an easy task for a large army to go on an expedition.

Formulating battle plans, gathering intelligence, and storing food and military supplies all take time to prepare.

Therefore, although the Tang Dynasty agreed to send a naval fleet to raid Fuzhou, it was trying to share the pressure from the Qing army on Tianjing by siege Wei to save Zhao.

But we are still making preparations for the troops to be dispatched and have not had time to do so!
Upon hearing this, Li Yi nodded immediately.

"Well, send a message to our naval fleet and tell them to continue preparing to welcome the invading foreigners."

“No need to go to Fuzhou anymore!”

The Tang Dynasty decided to send a naval fleet to raid Fuzhou, simply to help share the pressure on the Heavenly Kingdom.

But now that heaven is gone, there is naturally no need to share this pressure.

Seeing this, Zuo Zongtang, who was appointed as the director of the Operations Department of the General Staff by Li Yi after resigning from his post as governor of Hunan, spoke.

"Your Majesty, the reason why the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was destroyed so quickly this time was ultimately because foreigners participated in the war."

"This means that the Qing demons are now most likely colluding with the foreigners. Then, when the foreign expeditionary forces invade our Tang Dynasty, the Qing demons may also participate and provide support from the side."

"We in the Tang Dynasty must be on guard against this!"

Li Yi heard this and nodded slightly.

"That's true."

"Since the Qing demons and foreigners can collude to deal with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, they can also collude to deal with our Tang Dynasty."

"What if the Qing army sends troops to attack Hunan at the same time as the foreign expeditionary forces invade the Pearl River Delta?"

"Then what the Tang Dynasty may have to face next is being attacked from both sides by the Qing army and the foreigners."

"How do you think the Tang Dynasty should respond next?"

Li Yi now has a plan in mind, but he still wants to ask for everyone's opinions.

Zuo Zongtang continued.

"Your Majesty, I think that after conquering Jiujiang and Nanchang in Jiangxi, our Tang Dynasty should continue its expedition to the east."

"Seek a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army in Jiangnan!"

"If so, firstly, we can eliminate the threat from the Qing army before the foreign expeditionary force arrives."

"Defeat the foreigners and the Qing army one by one! Be on guard against the possible alliance between the foreigners and the Qing army."

"Secondly, we can use this battle to boost the morale of anti-Qing patriots throughout the world who have been depressed by the fall of the Heavenly Kingdom, and let our Tang Dynasty officially take up the banner of the world."

When facing a possible united enemy, it is necessary to concentrate superior forces and defeat them one by one. This is the most commonly used tactic in military law.

Nurhaci's saying "No matter how many ways you come, I will only go one way" was also derived from this.

Li Yi heard this and nodded slightly.

“That’s right!”

"Defeating the Qing demons and foreigners who may unite one by one is indeed the best option for our Tang Dynasty at the moment."

After speaking, Li Yi pondered for a while and then made arrangements.

"Move the Second Army from Guangxi. Except for the Third Division, which will guard the newly captured Guilin, the rest of the troops should return to Guangzhou immediately."

"Mobilize the various units stationed in Guangdong and my Imperial Guard Division to immediately begin preparations for war. Once the Second Army in Guangxi returns to Guangzhou, we will immediately send troops north to Hunan - the Eastern Expedition."

"I will lead the army in person!!!"

The fall of the Heavenly Kingdom was definitely a huge blow to the anti-Qing situation in the world.

In terms of morale and morale alone, the impact is enormous.

As the King of Tang, Li Yi must personally go and get back the lost ground of the Kingdom of Heaven!
Upon hearing this, everyone bowed in unison.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Yi nodded slightly, and then continued to discuss the specific details of the troop dispatch with everyone.

After the matter of sending troops was agreed upon, everyone withdrew and went to prepare for the relevant matters required for the expedition.

Li Yi asked Zeng Jinqian to stay and talk to him alone.

"Jinqian, the fall of the Kingdom of Heaven is an established fact."

"Although I wanted to send troops to reinforce, it is too late."

"This is something that no one can change. I wonder what you are going to do next?"

"Would you like to stay in the Tang Dynasty and work for me?"

Li Yi wanted to try to win over Zeng Jinqian, and then find a way to try to win over more of the old members of the Heavenly Kingdom to serve him.

Zeng Jinqian hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but finally nodded and said.

"I am willing to die for the king!"

Li Yi nodded slightly in satisfaction, and then said.

"Then, Jin Qian will follow the Tang Dynasty's Eastern Expedition this time!"

"It is just right for Jinqian to come forward and recruit the remnants of the Heavenly Kingdom for me."

Zeng Jinqian heard this and said immediately.

"Wei Chen takes orders!"

……

The news of the Qing army's great victory in Jiangnan and the recovery of Jiangning was sent by Yiliang and others via an express route of 800 miles.

It took only seven or eight days for the victory report to be delivered to the capital. After receiving the news, Emperor Xianfeng was immediately overjoyed.

"Hahaha, okay, okay!"

"After several years, our Qing Dynasty finally wiped out the Taiping Rebellion."

"When I go to the underworld a hundred years later, I will have given an account to the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty!"

In ecstasy, Xianfeng was so happy that he choked and coughed several times in succession before he recovered.

After recovering, Xianfeng said immediately.

"An Dehai, go and tell Prince Gong Yi and the other officials of the Grand Council to come to the Yangxin Palace to discuss matters."

"Discuss how to wipe out the Tang bandits!"

Xianfeng is in a very excited mood now.

In his opinion, suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was definitely a good start for the Qing Dynasty today.

He believed that it would not take long before he could wipe out all the rebels and restore peace to the Qing Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, An Dehai bowed immediately and said.

"Yes, I obey your command!"

After receiving the order, An Dehai took his leave and left the Yangxin Palace, then instructed his godson Xiao Xia Zi to go to the Military Affairs Office to convey the order.

After giving instructions to Xiao Xiazi, An Dehai seemed to remember something and continued.

"Prince Gong should be in the Cining Palace now. I will go to the Cining Palace to invite him myself. You don't have to go."

Even though An Dehai was a favorite of Emperor Xianfeng, he did not dare to look down on Yi, the crown prince and semi-public heir to the Qing Dynasty.

Even, he wanted to do a good job for Yi!

An Dehai left the Yangxin Palace and headed for the Cining Palace.

At this time, inside the Cining Palace, on a bed, a man and a woman were embracing each other.

Of course, it was not Yi and Borjigit, but Yi and Concubine Lan.

Concubine Lan was restless to begin with, and with Yi's deliberate hooking, the two of them easily got together.

However, since Concubine Lan could not leave the palace, the Cining Palace, which Yi Neng could enter and leave openly, became the place for the two to have their secret affair.

Moreover, with the help of the Empress Dowager Borjigit to cover up, the Cining Palace was the safest place for the two people who were having an affair.

The two of them worked for a long time before they stopped. Concubine Lan was exhausted and lay on Yi's chest, enjoying the afterglow and speaking with a spring-like voice.

"Your Highness... How can you do this? I am the emperor's concubine."

"Can you be worthy of the Emperor by doing this?!"

Yi heard this and chuckled evilly.

"It doesn't matter whether I can be worthy of the emperor or not, as long as I can be worthy of the emperor's wife."

The two of them were laughing and joking, but Yi soon became angry again.

However, just as Yi was about to pick up his gun and mount his horse again, An Dehai and his men arrived outside the Cining Palace.

He also ordered someone to inform the emperor that he had summoned Prince Gong to meet him.

Upon hearing this, Borjigit was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, and immediately ordered people to urge Yi and Concubine Lan.

Yi had no choice but to stop his action of stepping forward and repaying the emperor's sister-in-law. He hurriedly dressed and left the side hall of the Cining Palace to meet Emperor Xianfeng with An Dehai.

Walking out of the Cining Palace, Yi and An Dehai walked side by side.

An Dehai couldn't help but complain.

"Prince Gong, you are too slow. The Emperor is anxious to see you!"

"We can't keep the emperor waiting for too long."

When Yi heard this, he felt guilty for having cheated on Emperor Xianfeng several times, and a layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on his head.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yi Pei said with a smile.

"I just had lunch with my mother, and I accidentally fell asleep after eating, which delayed me for a while."

Upon hearing this, An Dehai just said something meaningful.

"Prince Gong's filial piety is rare, but you should be more careful next time. You are a foreign man, and sleeping in the palace is not good after all."

The reason why An Dehai said this was because he smelled the scent of heather on Yi.

Although Xiao Anzi was a eunuch, he had served Emperor Xianfeng many times before and had smelled this smell after Emperor Xianfeng had visited his concubines.

Of course I don’t know what’s going on!

However, although An Dehai smelled the scent of heather on Yi, it seemed to him that Yi was just doing something with the palace maid in the Cining Palace and had no time to clean up.

It’s no big deal!
Therefore, An Dehai decided to pretend that he knew nothing, and even reminded Yi to remember to clean up the mess next time.

When Yi heard this, his breathing skipped a beat, but he finally spoke.

"What Chief Steward An reminded me of is that I was careless. I will be more careful next time."

As he spoke, Yi took off a jade ring from his thumb, handed it to An Dehai, and then whispered.

"Master An, please keep it. It is a small token of my appreciation."

An Dehai accepted it with a smile, not being shy.

An Dehai knew that Xianfeng was in poor health and was now addicted to opium, and he was afraid that he would not live many years.

For his own wealth and glory, he prepared to place his bets on chess in advance.

I didn't dare to hope that I could become the chief steward after Yi ascended the throne.

I only hope to continue serving in the palace!
Once a eunuch leaves the palace and loses the opportunity to serve the emperor, his fate will be extremely tragic.

Therefore, he did not reject Yi's goodwill!
The easiest way to accept the other party's kindness is naturally to accept money.

Because only when two parties have conflicts of interest can they become friends.

Therefore, An Dehai accepted Yi's gift with great ease.

……

PS: Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. I need to save some manuscripts for posting during the festival. So, I haven’t updated in the past two days. I will continue after the festival.

I'll try to pay it off within this month!

(End of this chapter)