You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 190 Oh no, Ao Bai has woken up!

The scene of crossing the Jingjiang River on its north bank.

The two weary scouts finally returned.

"Reporting to the General, Sun Kewang is implementing a scorched-earth policy in western Hunan. There are no grain ships or soldiers on the river."

"Good~ You have done well, each of you will be rewarded with 200 taels of silver and promoted two ranks. You may leave now."

"Thank you, General."

The scout was filled with gratitude.

The reward is very generous!

Logically speaking, the reward was a bit excessive and did not conform to the regulations of the imperial court. The ordinary soldiers were overjoyed; who doesn't like a generous superior?

The Eight Banners officers surrounding Jiang Qingyun were also somewhat encouraged.

"May Heaven bless the Qing Dynasty! At this critical juncture, the two traitors, Sun and Li, have actually turned against each other."

"Yeah yeah."

"Heaven has eyes, our army's chances of victory have greatly increased!"

Everyone was chatting animatedly.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhongcheng couldn't help but stand up. Now, as the father of the General of Dingyuan, his status in the army has risen rapidly, and he can now command the Eight Banners soldiers as grooms.

He spat first to make sure his voice was loud and clear.

……

"Gentlemen, how can you say it's the will of Heaven? It's clearly the General who orchestrated this, secretly using a series of extremely complex strategies to make the two traitors, Sun and Li, suspicious of each other and even engage in armed infighting."

"I believe this credit should go to the General."

The crowd chuckled.

Old Jiang spat out a mouthful of phlegm, and everyone else ended up with a mouthful of phlegm in their throats.

Wrong!

Jiang Qingyun nodded with satisfaction. Father has finally matured. Father has a lot of room for improvement!

suddenly~
A rider galloped in.

"Report! Lord Ao, he, he..."

Jiang Qingyun's heart tightened.

What happened to my brother?

"He woke up, but he didn't speak."

Instantly, the air turned chilly.

Jiang Qingyun cursed inwardly, but his face showed great joy, and he uttered some words that seemed to come from a high position.

"Excellent! My elder brother is a full-fledged general appointed by the imperial court. Gentlemen, he has awakened. Shouldn't I step down?"

Dead silence~
No one dared to utter a sound at the scene; this was a matter of great importance, concerning taking sides.

Beiletunqi was the first to step forward, and bowed.

"In that case, why don't we go back to Jingzhou first to check on the General's recovery before making a decision?"

Jiang Qingyun remained silent, observing the reactions of the crowd.

The old man held the knife handle and remained silent.

Standing behind his father, Lieutenant General Zheng Siwei revealed a fierce glint in his eyes and snapped the blade back off.

Suleda, a second-class imperial bodyguard, slowly drew half of his sword, the sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard clearly reaching everyone's ears.

The brother-in-law picked up the copper rod.

The shrewd father-in-law took two steps to the side, reaching his hand into his waist as if he had a hidden weapon.

Zhou Cang climbed onto his warhorse, took out a small flag, and waved it from side to side. Dozens of feet away, a guard of horses composed of officers from the Military Command surrounded him.

……

The atmosphere was tense.

Jiang Qingyun's back was covered in cold sweat; the consequences of internal strife were terrifying.

Since transmigrating, his situation has been very delicate. With the protection of the imperial power, he can command the bannermen as easily as driving chickens and dogs. However, if he shows any obvious rebellious intentions, the bannermen will obviously not help him.

The pro-independence camp is much the same; they've always been a bunch of opportunists.

He had no title or fiefdom, and being in the capital, developing a private army was out of the question.

My experience before the journey taught me that the platform is very important.

Currently, I need the Qing court as a platform.

……

Sulda was the first to speak: "Your Highness, I think there's no need for that."

Tunqi shook his head:

"The decisive battle is of great importance. General Ao is the Dingyuan General appointed by the imperial court. He has participated in more than a hundred battles, large and small, since Liaodong. He is very experienced. If he is the general, our army will have a greater chance of winning."

Sureda's eyes were practically spitting fire:

"More than 3000 of our troops have crossed the river, and a major battle is imminent. How can we change generals on the eve of battle? Even if Lord Ao is now fully conscious, what about his broken leg? Are we supposed to send our commander to the battlefield in a wheelchair? What will our army think? What will the enemy think?"

Jiang Qingyun nodded slightly. "Sulda, your future is definitely bright."

He only spoke after the guards had surrounded him.

"My relationship with Lord Ao is like that of brothers, but fate has played a cruel trick on me. Alas, being a general is not my true desire. I should yield the position to a more worthy person. By the way, has the Ming army on the other side made any unusual moves?"

Zheng Siwei immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I will go and take a look."

After a while, he ran back.

"The Ming army has been mobilized. The Ming army has already been mobilized."

Everyone was speechless.

Jiang Qingyun nodded solemnly.

"Gentlemen, things have come to this point. Let's finish this battle first, and then immediately change commanders. I'm exhausted. If I step down, I'll go to Wuchang and visit some brothels."

"Yes, sir." Everyone assumed that the general was just being unrestrained and acting erratically, and did not associate it with poisoning.

……

In late spring and early summer, the Jingjiang River becomes noticeably more turbulent.

Looking down at the rolling river, Jiang Qingyun decided to keep a backup plan before boarding the boat.

"Jiangbei".

"The end will be here."

"All ships are under your command. Without my orders, no ship may move at will, and no one may cross the river at will."

"As ordered."

The command center personnel departed from the shore in two separate boats, one in front of the other, as a safety measure.

Jiang Qingyun stared in horror at the large ship carrying the dissidents led by Beile Tunqi, which was ten feet away.

Who is singing?

"General, no."

"is it?"

He shook his head in confusion, as if he heard a siren singing.
Turning his head again, he saw Shunzhi standing under the mast.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry. Even if the whole world is against you, I will stand by your side."

"Is that so? I'd like to know why the whole world is against me?"

No, that's not right.

Jiang Qingyun slapped himself hard across the face. *Smack!* Instantly, the hallucination vanished.

Beside him, his father stared at him in horror.

"Are you really poisoned?"

"Yes."

"You weren't faking it that day?"

"it is true."

Jiang Zhongcheng was shocked. He had always thought that his madness was an act, after all, his son was cunning.

……

The large ship docked, and the soldiers disembarked.

The Qing army set up camp, while the Ming army remained motionless. The two sides coexisted peacefully, and the busy day passed just like that.

Jiang Zhongcheng arrived that evening.

As soon as I lifted the curtain, I saw my son squatting there, intently studying a bag of crushed herbs.
"General, are you alright?"

"Father, war is a continuation of politics."

"What kind of medicine is this?"

"A miracle drug. Take it, and cowards will become warriors, and idiots will become wealthy and powerful."

"Yun'er, I feel like something's wrong with your mental state right now. I... I'll go find a doctor, shall I?"

"Stop! Father, remember this: there are no fathers and sons in the army. At home, you can call me Yun'er and I won't argue with you. But now, what should you call me?"

"General."

"Father, during the decisive battle, Tongzhou Town will be the supervisory team. You need to make sure that orders are strictly followed.

"Whoo."

Jiang Zhongcheng was terrified; his son's words were strange.

next day~
The Qing army continued crossing the river.

Noon.

"Report! The Ming army is launching a major invasion."

"The force numbered 50,000, including war elephants and cavalry, and they were fighting against the Jin vassal's banner."

A dull blast of bull horns rang out.

Dozens of high-ranking officers from the Eight Banners waited in orderly rows outside the main tent.

"Greetings, General."

"Get up."

"General, please inform me of your battle plan?"

"Ok?"

Jiang Qingyun was taken aback. What deployment?
Everyone was taken aback. You don't have a deployment map? Beile Tunqi's face turned red, and he was about to curse.

……

Just as everyone's emotions were about to spiral out of control, the drums suddenly sounded, and the divine sound emanating from those cowhide drums, each taller than a person, was breathtaking.

Jiang Qingyun was jolted awake and immediately broke free from the lingering illusion.

Oh no, I'm hallucinating again.

He looked at the angry crowd below, burst into laughter, and appeared confident.

"If the enemy wants a decisive battle, I will avoid battle. If the enemy avoids battle, I will seek battle."

"A day of truce, a day of letting him cool off."

"Order the three armies to defend their camps to the death and never leave the camps. If the Ming army attacks, retaliate with powerful bows, crossbows, firearms and cannons to drive them away."

After saying that, he turned and went back to his tent.

He realized he was in big trouble; it turned out he had been in a state between being lucid and not lucid for the past few days.

He poured the antidote left by Wu Yong into his mouth, then picked up the teacup on the table and gulped it all down, trying to recover his normal state of mind as soon as possible.

"My lord, a secret letter has been sent from Jiangbei."

Expand it and take a look.

"Lord Ao's condition is unstable, sometimes better and sometimes worse. He went up to the roof again yesterday evening."

(End of this chapter)