Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 365 Shi Dakai's Thoughts

The reason why Li Yi is targeting the Netherlands and Spain.

On the one hand, it is because the strength of these two countries is not very strong and they are easier to bully.

On the other hand, it’s because they are right under their noses.

In Li Yi's vision, the entire South Seas will be the inland sea of ​​the Tang Dynasty in the future.

If he wanted to achieve this goal, the first thing he had to do was to clear out all the Western barbarians who had invaded Southeast Asia.

The Netherlands and Spain, which had long been established in Manila and Batavia, were naturally the first to bear the brunt!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong immediately clasped his fists in response.

He immediately took his leave and prepared to convey Li Yi's orders.

At the same time, Li Yi continued to fall into deep thought.

Now that the war in Crimea has started, can we start our plan to sell arms to both sides?

Well, this is something I need to think about carefully.

……

Gansu, Liangzhou Prefecture!

After receiving arms assistance from the Tang Dynasty, the Taiping Army's progress in suppressing the rebellion was significantly accelerated.

In just a few months, the Taiping Army defeated the rebel army several times, wiped out those evil cultists who were possessed by the devil, and now has pushed the front line to Liangzhou Prefecture.

The rebels were defeated one after another and retreated all the way to the Western Regions.

After suffering heavy losses, it has become a failure.

If the army had not had difficulty in supplying when advancing westward again, Shi Dakai might have led his troops into the Western Regions and completely wiped out the rebels.

On this day, Shi Dakai was convening all the generals to discuss matters in the city of Liangzhou.

In a meeting hall, all the Taiping Army generals gathered to discuss matters together.

Zhang Suimou stood up and said.

"The latest news from Lord Huang is that the Qing demon chieftain Yi took advantage of the Yellow River bursting again and the Tang army's full efforts to rescue the disaster, and led the main force of the Qing army southward in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on the Tang army."

"But they were ambushed by the Tang army in advance and annihilated on the south bank of the Yellow River. Even the bandit chief Yi was captured by the Tang army."

"Then the Tang army launched a northern expedition from Shandong and marched towards the capital along the canal."

"The latest news is that the capital has been captured by the Tang army."

"Generals, please tell me, what should our Heavenly Kingdom do next?"

When everyone heard this, their faces turned serious.

Chen Yun, a general under Shi Dakai, spoke indignantly.

"Lord Yi, I thought that once the Tang army finished their war against the Qing monsters, they would attack our army next."

"Please ask King Yi to order the troops to return and prepare to fight the Tang army."

"In my opinion, the Tang army is nothing to be afraid of."

"The reason they were able to be invincible all the way was simply because they took advantage of my Kingdom of Heaven."

"If it weren't for our Heavenly Kingdom that defeated all the elite Qing troops in the front, how could the Tang army have conquered the world so easily?!"

Strictly speaking, what he said is not wrong.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the reason why it was able to break out from Guangxi and capture Guangdong was because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom attracted away the main force of the Qing army.

The reason why the Tang army was able to capture Hunan so easily was because the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom marched eastward to the south of the Yangtze River, and the main force of the Qing army in the south was attracted to the south of the Yangtze River.

Hunan becomes empty!

Before the Tang army attacked Jiangnan, the Qing army also fought with the Taiping army first, and then faced the Tang army.

In other words, the Qing army that the Tang army encountered when attacking Jiangnan was still in a state of low health.

The same is true of this Northern Expedition.

First, the Taiping Army fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing Army in Julu and won a great victory, and then the Tang Army launched the Northern Expedition.

In the eyes of those who do not understand the situation, the Tang army was indeed taking advantage of the Taiping army along the way.

It was understandable that Chen Yun felt somewhat dissatisfied.

After hearing this, Shi Dakai still sat there with a stern expression, not saying a word.

Because of Chen Yun's words, he thought carefully about what had happened in the past few years.

Then, the more he thought about it, the more he felt like the character in the play who preceded the king.

As for who is the king destined by destiny?
Of course it’s the person who is currently in the capital, sitting high on the throne!
For some reason, Shi Dakai thought of Li Yi's face, which always had a smile on its face and was very kind to everyone.

Suddenly, he felt a strong sense of powerlessness in his heart.

He didn't want to accept his fate, but how could man defeat God's will?

Seeing that Shi Dakai remained silent, the Taiping Army generals began to speak.

"King Yi, please give the order!"

"Yes, King Yi, as long as you give the order, we will return to fight the Tang army and fight for the world."

"Yes, King Yi, we are not afraid of the Tang army!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Shi Dakai finally raised his head, smiled bitterly, waved his hand and said.

"That's it, that's all!"

"The Tang army has already occupied most of the eighteen provinces within the Great Wall. All the fertile and prime lands have come under the rule of the Tang Empire. The general trend of the world has been determined."

"No matter what we do, it's too late. In the end, it will only increase casualties and make the people suffer more war disasters."

“Not worth it!”

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Because they heard clear intention to retreat from Shi Dakai's words.

Zhang Suimou couldn't help but speak.

"Lord Yi, our Heavenly Kingdom still has tens of thousands of elite soldiers who dare to fight and are able to fight. Even if we face the Tang army, we can still fight."

"It doesn't end here!"

The reason why he chose to follow Shi Dakai was because he valued Shi Dakai's ability to accomplish things and wanted to gain the credit of following the emperor.

Now that he saw Shi Dakai actually wanted to give up, he felt unwilling to do so.

Upon hearing this, Shi Dakai just shook his head and said.

"You all should know how powerful the Tang Dynasty's weapons are."

"The killing effect of those muskets and artillery is truly amazing."

"Our army has been able to win big victories against the rebels recently, largely because of the support of arms and weapons from the Tang Dynasty." "If we fight against the Tang army, we will no longer have these arms and weapons support in the future."

"Once we lose these advanced weapons, even if our army can fight the Tang army, the casualties will probably be huge."

"Brothers, you have followed me, Shi Dakai, all the way to now, and enough of you have died."

"Rather than gamble our brothers' lives for the illusory chance of victory, let's wait and see."

"It would be better to take advantage of the fact that we still have some strength now and have a good talk with the Tang Dynasty to seek prosperity and wealth for our brothers."

"Everyone has fought with me, Shi Dakai, for so many years, it's time to enjoy yourself."

Shi Dakai was actually unwilling to accept this.

But he knew that he was no match for the Tang army.

Coupled with Li Yi's good reputation for treating surrendered generals and ministers well, this made Shi Dakai make the decision.

Accept your fate and stop struggling!
Use your strength to exchange for wealth and glory!
After hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The key point now is not that they don’t have the courage to fight the Tang army, but that they cannot win even if they fight hard. If this is the case, is there any need to fight?
Shi Dakai took a deep breath, looked at Zhang Suimou, and then said.

"Mr. Zhang, please go to the capital on my behalf to discuss the matter of surrender with the Tang Dynasty."

"The future treatment of the brothers will all depend on Mr. Zhang."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Suimou first gave a bitter smile, but still spoke.

"Wei Chen obeys your orders."

……

Henan, Kaifeng Prefecture!

Huang Yukun, the governor of Henan Province of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was meeting with Li Hongzhang, the special envoy sent by the Tang Dynasty, in the government office.

The two sat opposite each other, with tea and cakes on the table in front of them.

Huang Yukun's face was solemn.

"I wonder why Lord Li came to my kingdom today?"

Li Hongzhang picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and said calmly.

"I came here today on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty to persuade the Kingdom of Heaven to surrender."

"Now that the two capitals of the north and south and most of the world have been taken over by our Tang Dynasty, the change of dynasty is a foregone conclusion."

"Your Majesty does not wish to commit more crimes, so he ordered me to come and meet with Master Huang to discuss the matter of recruiting the Heavenly Kingdom to surrender."

"The Kingdom of Heaven is an ally of the Tang Dynasty. If the King of Wings is willing to lead his people to surrender, His Majesty will certainly use him in a high position, and his soldiers will all enjoy wealth and glory."

Huang Yukun's expression changed when he heard this, but he still spoke.

"What if my kingdom of heaven refuses to surrender?"

Li Hongzhang spoke with a firm look and an unquestionable tone.

"Then we can only fight!"

"Although Your Majesty does not wish to commit more crimes, if the Kingdom of Heaven does not understand the general situation and ignores the general trend of the world, the outcome will only be decided on the battlefield."

Huang Yukun began to question.

"The Kingdom of Heaven and the Tang Dynasty are allies. If the Tang Dynasty mobilizes troops against its allies, isn't it afraid of being accused of betrayal by the world?"

Li Hongzhang said with a sneer.

"The unification of the world is the general trend and the direction of history. No one should go against it."

"In the face of the unification of the world, a piece of paper is nothing!"

Li Hongzhang's words were very direct, but they were also true.

In the face of the great issue of unifying the world, everything else is not worth mentioning.

As long as one can accomplish the great cause of unification, he is a hero even if he betrays his friends.

Huang Yukun's expression kept changing when he heard this.

"So, this is why the Tang Dynasty sent more troops to Caozhou?"

Li Hongzhang did not hide it and nodded directly.

"Indeed."

Huang Yukun's expression froze and he took a deep breath.

"Okay, I understand!"

"But this matter is of great importance. I cannot continue to do this. I need to report it to King Yi."

Li Hongzhang nodded and said expressionlessly.

"Within a month, the Tang Dynasty needs a satisfactory answer."

"Otherwise, we will have no choice but to mobilize the army!"

Huang Yukun said with an unpleasant look upon hearing this.

"Why is the Tang Dynasty so anxious? Can't they wait even for such a short time?"

Li Hongzhang shrugged and said with a helpless tone.

"I am not in a hurry."

"But all the soldiers in the army are willing to fight. Some of them can't wait any longer."

"If it weren't for your majesty's suppression, it might not be me who came to Kaifeng now, but the army of my Great Tang Dynasty that was on the Western Expedition."

Huang Yukun felt very depressed when he heard this.

But there is nothing we can do!
Because, with the current national and military strength of the Tang Dynasty, it does have the capital to say this to him.

But he didn't dare to refute!
There is no way to refute it!

Huang Yukun took a deep breath and then said.

"I will send someone to report as soon as possible."

"But I don't know what the attitude of King Yi will be."

Li Hongzhang just nodded and said after hearing this.

"In that case, I will take my leave now."

"I will come back to talk to Lord Huang when there is news from King Yi."

After saying this, Li Hongzhang prepared to leave.

Huang Yukun nodded and politely stood up to see the guest off.

He sent Li Hongzhang out of the government office and stood in front of it, watching Li Hongzhang and his men riding away on horseback with a complicated look in his eyes.

The overall situation in the world has been determined. Is the Kingdom of Heaven really going to end?

(End of this chapter)