Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 229 Fu Ji: He who knows the times is a hero!

Both Lu Xianji and Zhao Yuming's expressions changed drastically, and they followed Li Hongzhang to another section of the city wall.

After they arrived at the corresponding position, they looked outside the city and saw Fu Ji surrounded by several bandits, standing outside the city and shouting loudly at Luzhou City.

"Brothers, the Tang army is coming, Luzhou can no longer be defended, everyone surrender!"

"I, a Manchu, have surrendered. Why are you Han people still being stubborn? You are not from the Eight Banners. Is it really worth it to sacrifice your lives for the Eight Banners' kingdom?"

"Everyone surrender, the Tang Dynasty soldiers will definitely treat you well!"

Fu Ji shouted at the top of his lungs until he was hoarse.

Although they were not very close, the Qing soldiers on the Luzhou city wall could still hear what Qing Fuzhi was shouting.

Hearing Fu Ji's call, the faces of the Qing soldiers changed.

Because Fu Ji's words really touched their hearts.

Yes, even Fu Ji, the governor of Anhui who was born in the Banner, surrendered. What reason did these Han soldiers have to continue to defend Luzhou?
Is it really worth risking your life to defend the Eight Banners' territory?
Fu Ji outside the city continued to shout at the top of his lungs.

"Lord Lu, is Lord Zhao on the city wall?"

"Listen to my advice, surrender. The king of the Tang Dynasty is eager to recruit talented people. As long as you are willing to surrender, you will definitely be given high positions and generous salaries in the future..."

"He who knows the current affairs is a hero!"

The expressions of Lu Xianji, Zhao Yuming and others on the city wall kept changing.

They had to admit that even they were moved by what Fu Ji said.

"Lord Lu, with Fu Ji's actions, Luzhou may be undefendable. What should we do?"

Zhao Yuming said in a panic.

As Fu Ji persuaded the troops to surrender outside the city, the morale of the Luzhou defenders began to waver.

The soldiers guarding the city looked at them with something strange in their eyes.

Who knows, he might be planning to capture them and then surrender to the Tang Dynasty and ask for reward.

Hearing this, Lu Xianji subconsciously looked around.

Before he could say anything, Li Hongzhang on the side spoke up.

"Sir, why don't you surrender?"

"If Luzhou can't be defended, Anhui will probably fall too. We are from Anhui, and our clans, relatives, and lives are all in Anhui. Even if we don't consider ourselves, we have to consider our clans, relatives, right?"

"Don't hesitate at this time, you must act decisively!"

Li Hongzhang was just that kind of person towards the Qing Dynasty.

Loyalty is definitely there.

Otherwise, he would not have planned to ruin his family to help the country in order to organize the Anhui militia.

But not even the die-hard fans.

Otherwise, he would not have decided to surrender now when he saw that things were hopeless.

Well, you know, the Southeast Mutual Protection in history was initiated by Old Li.

It's hilarious to talk about how loyal old Li was to the Qing Dynasty when he came up with the Southeast Mutual Protection and stabbed Cixi in the back at a critical moment.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Li Hongzhang planned to destroy his family property to help others and train militia was that he just wanted to climb up the ladder.

Since things were now hopeless in the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang decided to try a different track.

Maybe it will be done?

Anyway, all he wanted was to climb up. As for whether it was in the Tang Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, it didn’t matter.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianji was about to scold Li Hongzhang for being daring, but when he turned around, he saw Zhao Yuming standing beside him also looking at him eagerly.

Although Zhao Yuming was the governor of Anhui and held great power, matters such as surrendering the city were not something he could decide alone.

It would be great if we could get Lu Xianji's support.

Further away, the soldiers guarding the city also looked over here.

Although they didn't say it explicitly, their attitude was clear.

If you, Lord Lu, do not surrender, we will use you as a token of our allegiance.

Lu Xianji opened his mouth and finally spoke.

"The Tang army is coming, and Luzhou is in imminent danger."

"As officials, how can we sit back and watch the people of Luzhou suffer from war? For the sake of the people of Luzhou, we don't mind bearing the bad reputation of surrendering the city."

Lu Xianji is not the shameless Fu Ji outside the city. He still has some dignity.

Although he surrendered, he insisted that he was not afraid of death or greedy for fame and fortune.

But it is for the consideration of the people of Luzhou.

Zhao Yuming on the side also nodded in agreement.

"Yes, for the sake of the people of Luzhou, we, as officials, don't mind even if we are criticized."

Although they are usually corrupt and bend the law for personal gain, today, at this moment, they are all officials who are wholeheartedly considering the people of Luzhou.

Also, whoever dares to stand up and oppose surrendering the city at this time would be ignoring the people of Luzhou for the sake of his own personal reputation.

Lu Xianji, Zhao Yuming and others could then kill him openly and legitimately for the sake of the people of Luzhou!

Upon hearing this, several other officials also spoke up and agreed, saying that they were willing to bear the infamy for the sake of the people of Luzhou.

Lu Xianji took a deep breath and turned to Li Hongzhang beside him and said.

"Jianfu, you will represent me and Lord Zhao to go out of the city to discuss surrender with the Tang army outside the city."

"Tell the Tang army outside the city that unless they promise to maintain military discipline after entering the city and treat the people of Luzhou well, I would rather die with the city than surrender to them."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongzhang nodded with a happy expression. "Don't worry, sir. I understand."

Li Hongzhang knew that this was Lu Xianji's opportunity to give him a chance to show off.

Otherwise, an opportunity like this one, such as negotiating surrender, which is risk-free and can help him accumulate experience, would not come to him so easily.

……

Outside Anqing City!

The roar of heavy artillery rang out, and the Tang army's siege troops completed the landing under the cover of artillery and rockets.

Rush towards Anqing City!
boom! Boom boom!

Several shells were fired in succession, and the solid shells created holes in the walls of Anqing.

Even the city gate tower was blown down by the concentrated artillery fire.

Under the cover of artillery, the Tang army's siege troops began to attack the Anqing city wall.

"Kill!"

"Kill the demons and divide the land."

"Long live the Tang Dynasty, long live the king!"

"..."

Outside the entire city of Anqing, there were earth-shaking shouts of killing everywhere.

Li Yi was watching the battle through a telescope when a communications soldier came running over from a distance.

The communications soldier ran up to Li Yi and spoke.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Luzhou in Jiangbei."

"A great victory in Luzhou. Our army successfully captured Luzhou, an important town in Anhui, and captured a number of Qing troops..."

When Li Yi heard this, his expression was surprised at first, then delighted.

Since the main force of the Taiping Army marched eastward in the first year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, the provincial capital of Anhui Province was changed from Anqing to Luzhou by Emperor Xianfeng.

Moreover, Luzhou is also the important logistical base of the Qing government in Anhui. Almost all the grain and fodder from all prefectures in Anhui are first gathered in Luzhou and then transported to Anqing and other places.

If Zhang Lexing and his men could successfully capture Luzhou at this moment, it would indeed be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty.

I can’t say anything else, but at least when the Tang Dynasty launched its eastern expedition, it no longer had to worry about the Qing army in Jiangbei disturbing the Tang army’s food supply.

Taking the battle report from the communications soldier, Li Yi began to read it, but his expression gradually became strange.

Because in this battle report, Zhang Lexing and Chen Chengrong gave a very brief description of the Battle of Luzhou.

[Fu Ji, the governor of Anhui who was of Manchu descent, abandoned the city before the battle began. After leaving the city, he was captured alive by the Tang army. In order to save his life, he decisively came forward to persuade the Tang army to surrender Luzhou. Subsequently, Luzhou surrendered.]

Li Yi was a little surprised. This Fu Ji is really a talented person!
He originally thought that Zhang Lexing and his men would have to pay a lot of bloodshed and sacrifice if they wanted to capture the fortified city of Luzhou.

I never thought that this war would be fought in such a trifling way.

There is really something wrong with what our ancestors said. It is true that an incompetent general can lead to the exhaustion of the entire army!

In addition, what surprised Li Yi was that he saw a name that he was quite familiar with in the list of surrendered officials from Luzhou.

Li Hongzhang!
Wow, that’s interesting!
Unexpectedly, even Li Hongzhang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

After closing the battle report, Li Yi spoke.

"Pass the order down, and immediately have the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Military Law send people to Luzhou to discuss the merits of our troops in the battle of Luzhou."

"And redeem the reward as soon as possible!"

The war was still going on, but Li Yi sent people to prepare for the discussion of merit, which was actually an extraordinary act.

The reason was simple. After all, Zhang Lexing and his men were new surrenders, and the capture of Luzhou was their first time to make contributions in the war for the Tang Dynasty.

Compared with the other parts of the He Tang Army, they do not have enough trust in whether the Tang court will reward their merits in quality and quantity.

In this situation, whether it is to appease the hearts of the generals of the Nian Army or to increase their enthusiasm to continue working for the Tang Dynasty, the credit must be paid as soon as possible.

If you have to make an exception, then make an exception. Don’t keep people waiting for too long.

After saying this, Li Yi continued to give instructions.

"In addition, send a message to Luzhou and ask Chen Chengrong and Zhang Lexing to send the Qing officials who surrendered in the battle of Luzhou to me."

Li Yi did this for two main reasons.

One was to use Fu Ji, a Manchu provincial governor who voluntarily surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, for political propaganda in order to gain the upper hand in the Tang Dynasty's subsequent eastern expedition.

After all, even the Manchus surrendered, so why would the Han people fight?
As long as one-tenth of the Qing troops in Jiangnan had such an idea, the subsequent eastward expedition of the Tang Dynasty would be much easier.

The winning rate can be increased by several percentage points out of thin air!

The second reason was that Li Yi wanted to meet Li Hongzhang, this famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, and see how capable this guy who was known as the Bismarck of the East was.

Well, Li Yi’s stamp collecting addiction has struck again.

As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, the communications soldier beside him clasped his fists and left to convey Li Yi's orders.

At the same time, accompanied by a loud rumbling sound, a gap was blown in the Anqing city wall.

The Tang army's siege troops followed the gap and rushed into Wang Anqing city in a mighty manner.

After a while, the Qing army flag on the top of Anqing City was lowered.

Instead, there were large red flags with Tang characters on them.

The big flag fluttered in the wind, and the red flag seemed to be dyed red with blood.

(End of this chapter)