Also a veteran general of the Wu army, Meng Huo always felt that his status in the Wu army in Shanghai was inferior to Deng Siyuan. Not only was his prestige inferior to Deng Siyuan, but Zhou Tenghu, the commander of the Wu army in Shanghai, also obviously attached more importance to Deng Siyuan.

However, this is not surprising. When Wu Chaoyue went north to serve the king from the sea, he allowed Deng Siyuan to stay in Shanghai. When the Xiaodaohui Uprising suddenly broke out and was surrounded by the Taiping Army, Deng Siyuan not only successfully protected the Wu army's ammunition depot and arsenal, proving his talents and loyalty, but also took the lead in forming a deep friendship with Zhou Tenghu, so his relationship naturally became closer. At the same time, when Meng Xi was under Wu Chaoyue's tent, he was somewhat concealed by the glory of famous Wu army generals such as Huang Dasha and Cao Yanzhong. The reputation and influence in the minds of Wu army soldiers in Shanghai were naturally somewhat affected.

Unfortunately, although Meng Huo also understood these objective reasons, he was not willing to accept this situation. He always hoped to have a chance to prove that he was no worse than Deng Siyuan, and he hoped to prove that he was stronger than Deng Siyuan and more worthy of being entrusted with heavy responsibilities. This is also human nature, and it is not surprising.

Meng Hu finally waited for this opportunity, and couldn't wait to seize this opportunity. He led the elite troops of three battalions to advance westward to reinforce Qibao. With sporadic wars still on the battlefield, Meng Hu never considered any caution to slow down the marching speed. Relying on the elite soldiers' equipment, he advanced at the usual marching speed as usual. It was only after meeting a small group of Taiping troops near Qibao that Meng Hu slowed down the speed and advanced carefully.

However, Meng Huo also had the capital to do so. Seeing that the Wu army was not advancing in combat formation, the small Taiping army that Meng Huo encountered first wanted to attack and have some luck. As a result, the Taiping army attacked and fired the first row of guns. Before it could charge, it was immediately hit by the dense bomb rain of Wu soldiers from Meng Huo's troops, and they fled in a panic.

Then, before the elite Wu army led by Meng Huo entered the Qibao battlefield, all the Taiping Army troops who had been cruising outside the Wu army's defensive positions had withdrawn their own positions. No matter how little one dared to find all the elite Wu army equipped with firing needle guns and breech guns, the frontier positions of the Taiping Army also turned into a defensive state, for fear that the Wu army under Meng Huo took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on the self-armed army.

Seeing this, the Qibao Wu army, which had been fighting with the Taiping Army for many days, was of course very happy and motivated to open the camp gate to welcome Meng Huo's troops into the camp. The old subordinates Xu Dali and Huang Jiacai also immediately ran to Meng Huo to greet their worries and greet them, and made a clear statement that they would firmly obey the command of the old boss. However, Meng Huo was quite regretful, and very regretful that the Taiping Army did not dispatch a large group of troops to intercept the army into Qibao Camp, missing a good opportunity to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions.

Meng Huo was still at the back. At noon, the Taiping Army outside Qibao suddenly gave up its frontier positions and retreated back. It soon broke off contact with Qibao Wu Army and directly withdrew the main camp of the Taiping Army located in Sijing. At the same time, the camp of the Taiping Army Lu Shunde Division located in northeast of Sijing also built a large-scale construction to strengthen the fortifications.

The scout reported the news to Meng Hu. Without using Meng Hu to analyze it, his old subordinate Xu Dali was already rushing to say: "Brother Meng, it seems that Changmao is going to adjust his tactics. He should want to advance in another direction and dare not fight us head-on on the Qibao battlefield."

"They are smart." Huang Jiacai also said contemptuously: "We already have four elite battalions in Qibao, and we have battalion defense fortifications to defend. We also want to win Qibao by force on the frontal attack. Even if Li Xiucheng, the big Changmao, came in person, wouldn't be sure."

Meng Huo smiled, acknowledging Xu Dali and Huang Jiacai's analysis and judgment, but regretted even more. He sighed and said, "I hope Changmao's next attack direction is too far away from Qibao, otherwise we will have to wait this time."

I don't know that Meng Fei was eager to fight with the Taiping Army to prove his thoughts, but out of respect for his old boss, Xu Dali and Huang Jiacai and other generals quickly agreed. Meng Fei felt regretful and remembered that Lu Shunde was preparing to lure and kill several Taiping Army generals in the future. He hurriedly ordered the strengthening of surveillance of Lu Shunde's military camp. At the same time, he told him that if a Taiping Army envoy requested contact, whether it was coming publicly or in secret, he would accept it and report it to him immediately. Xu Dali and others agreed to the promise and immediately forwarded Meng Fei's orders and did not mention it.

After being reported by Meng Hu, after Shen Shi in the afternoon, a Taiping Army secret envoy dressed in a civilian dress was taken into the camp of the Wu Jun Qibao. The visitor not only claimed to be Lu Shunde's brother-in-law Lu Jixiang, but also brought Zhou Tenghu's previous secret contact with Lu Shunde to prove his identity. Meng Hu was overjoyed when he heard the news and immediately ordered the summons. After meeting Lu Jixiang, he showed his trump card and said that he already knew about Lu Shunde's secret request for surrender. He asked directly: "How are General Lu's preparations? When will he take action to capture and kill Changmao's Great Success?"

"Go back to General Meng, you can do it no matter when." Lu Jixiang said respectfully: "My brother-in-law has already arranged it. You can find excuses to invite Li Xiucheng's confidant generals to go to our camp to take action. Take their heads and bring the army to surrender to General Meng. Brother-in-law sends a young man to see General Meng. He just wants to make an appointment with General Meng. Please prepare in advance, General."

Meng Huo was even more happy when he heard this and quickly considered when Lu Shunde would take action to the safest and most beneficial for his own army. Unexpectedly, Lu Jixiang continued: "General Meng, my brother-in-law sent a young man to contact you. In addition to agreeing with the general, he also wanted to discuss a major event with you."

"What's the big deal?" Meng Xi asked casually.

"General Meng, are you interested in joining a bet with my brother-in-law?" Lu Jixiang asked carefully, and said more carefully: "If you have this interest, General, my brother-in-law might be able to give Li Xiucheng's head to you directly!"

Meng Huo's heart was trembling, and subconsciously looked at Lu Jixiang's expression carefully. Seeing that although Lu Jixiang's expression was a little scared and timid, there was no trace of fake performances. Then Meng Huo asked, "How to bet?"

"Go back to General Meng and join forces to attack Li Xiucheng's camp." Lu Jixiang's voice was very low and he said, "If you are willing, you can send troops to sneak attack my brother-in-law's camp tonight. At that time, my brother-in-law pretends to be unable to stop you from killing us. Then my brother-in-law will be defeated and retreat to Li Xiucheng's camp with his confidant army. As long as Li Xiucheng is deceived, open the camp gate and let my brother-in-law's army enter his camp, and wait for General Meng and your pursuers to catch up with Li Xiucheng's camp, my brother-in-law can take the opportunity to take action, and join the general inside and outside to kill your army into Li Xiucheng's camp, and directly cut off Li Xiucheng's head!"

In fact, before Lu Jixiang finished speaking, Meng Hu had already understood Lu Shunde's plan, and his heart had already started to pound, and he almost blurted out that he wanted to join forces with Lu Shunde to take the risk. Because the tactical plan proposed by Lu Shunde was an opportunity that Meng Hu had seen when he was ordered to reinforce the Qibao battlefield, and had already thought about this tactical plan that could turn the world around in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, Meng Huo was quite calm. In addition to continuing to observe Lu Jixiang's expression and reaction carefully, he asked with caution: "General Lu didn't make an appointment with us Zhou Futai to ask for surrender, why did he suddenly change his mind?"

"General Meng misunderstood. It was not a change of mind. It was his brother-in-law who said that this opportunity was too rare." Lu Jixiang quickly explained: "My brother-in-law said that because General Meng, you personally brought the elite troops to reinforce Qibao, forcing Li Xiucheng to change his plan. He dared not attack Qibao head-on and withdrew other Heavenly troops. Only my brother-in-law's army happened to be stuck between General Meng and Li Xiucheng. There is a great hope of killing Li Xiucheng directly. The opportunity is rare, so my brother-in-law asked General Meng if you are willing to take this bet."

"My brother-in-law also said that if General Meng feels it is too risky or has any concerns, he will never force it and continue to do it according to Lord Zhou's requirements. This is my brother-in-law's letter, please read it."

Explaining the reason why Lu Shunde suggested a surprise attack on Li Xiucheng's camp, Lu Jixiang took out a personal collection of Lu Shunde's letter and submitted it. Meng Ying asked his personal soldiers to take it and hand it over. Seeing that the content of the letter was similar to Lu Jixiang's verbal introduction, the main content was just one more thing Lu Shunde dared to guarantee that more than 70% of his subordinates would follow him, and the core main force could also ensure that he would fully obey his command orders.

In addition, Lu Shunde suggested that Meng Huo should attack Li Xiucheng's camp tonight to avoid the long night of dreams. Li Xiucheng made other defense adjustments to make up for this loophole.

"Can it be a fraud to lure the enemy?"

Meng Hu had such concerns, but when she thought of killing Li Xiucheng directly and completely reversed the situation in Shanghai, Meng Hu couldn't help but be beating in her heart and breathing was a little rapid. In addition, she hesitated for a while and was eager to prove her in front of the soldiers of Wu army and the gentry and the people of Shanghai. Meng Hu still made up her mind...

"War is a risk! Wealth and honor are in danger, and bet on this!"

…………

Meng Hu, who was eager to achieve great achievements, finally made a risky decision. Unfortunately, what Meng Hu never dreamed of was that just two hours after he made this decision, Li Xiucheng, who was in Sijing, not only knew that he was going to launch a sneak attack, but also knew that he planned to send troops to attack Lu Shunde's camp at the third update tonight, and then drove Lu Shunde's defeated army to Sijing before the fourth update to open the gate of his main camp.

Of course, the person who informed him was Lu Shunde himself. In order to reward his brother-in-law for risking to go deep into the Wujun camp twice to cheat, Lu Shunde also sent Lu Jixiang to Li Xiucheng to report. However, after learning the good news that he had succeeded in the fraud step by step, Li Xiucheng did not immediately show his joy and reward Lu Jixiang. On the contrary, he carefully interrogated Lu Jixiang in detail about the detailed experience of meeting and conversation with Meng Hu. When Lu Jixiang truthfully explained that he had verbally introduced Lu Shunde's plan and plan before submitting a letter, Li Xiucheng interrupted Lu Jixiang and asked: "You first talk about your brother-in-law's plan, and then present your brother-in-law's letter to the demon general Meng Hu? Is this the order?"

"Returning to King Zhong Qiansui, the order is like this." Lu Jixiang replied honestly.

Li Xiucheng finally showed some joy in his eyes, and asked again: "So, before you present your brother-in-law's letter to the demon general Meng Hu, he had already believed that you were Lu Shunde's messenger and allowed you to speak in front of him on behalf of Lu Shunde?"

"The Qiansui Shengming of King Zhong, it is indeed like this." Lu Jixiang said quickly: "As soon as the young man met the demon general Meng Xi, the demon general took the initiative to tell him that he knew that my brother-in-law took the initiative to surrender."

Li Xiucheng smiled, and Li Shuxiang, the capable counselor next to Li Xiucheng, also smiled, and bowed to Li Xiucheng with a smile and said, "Congratulations to King Zhong, Congratulations to King Zhong, the demon general Meng Yu is so anxious, it seems absolutely true."

Li Xiucheng smiled and first ordered Lu Jixiang to upgrade his official positions twice, and then ordered his personal soldiers to lead Lu Jixiang down to receive the reward. Then, after Lu Jixiang happily left, Li Xiucheng turned to Li Shuxiang and said with a smile: "Give orders and act according to the original plan. Tonight, not only will I annihilate the elite troops of Shanghai demon soldiers for me, but I will also have to take the Seven Treasures of the Demon Soldiers for me."

Li Shuxiang smiled and said that when she was about to send an order for Li Xiucheng himself, she never thought that a personal soldier would come in outside the tent and presented a document to Li Xiucheng, saying, "Report to King Zhong Qiansui and Ren Tianan's military information, please read it."

Ren Tianan of the Taiping Army was Li Xiucheng's son-in-law Cai Yuanlong, and he was also the temporary naval commander of Li Xiucheng's army. Of course, Li Xiucheng took the military information report immediately. What made Li Xiucheng quite angry was that the military information report sent by Cai Yuanlong was only to report the current ship situation and defense situation of the Taiping Army Navy, and there was no important matter. So Li Xiucheng was not polite, and cursed in front of outsider Li Shuxiang: "This Cai Yuanlong has taken the wrong medicine. There is nothing wrong to report to me what kind of steamship is operating normally. How many small boats have been arranged to protect the dock?"

"Your Highness, Ren Tianan took the wrong medicine." Li Shuxiang smiled and said, "I saw that our Heavenly Kingdom army was fighting so smoothly on the land, Ren Tianan was also anxious and wanted to take the steamer ship directly into the Huangpu River as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the Heavenly Kingdom army directly conquered Shanghai from the land, what other opportunities would he have to make meritorious service?"

Thinking of the importance of this battle, Li Xiucheng suddenly realized it. He smiled first, and then ordered the personal soldiers who came to submit official documents: "Go and tell Cai Yuanlong's messenger and ask him to bring a message back to Cai Yuanlong, and ask Cai Yuanlong to look forward to the steamship ship first, don't give the demon soldiers a chance to attack, wait patiently. If it goes well, in another two or three days, he can take the steamship ship into the Huangpu River and show off his skills."

The personal soldiers took the order and left, and Li Shuxiang next to him smiled and said, "King Zhong Qiansui, in fact, you can tell Ren Tianan directly and let him take the steamer into the Huangpu River tomorrow. Tonight we wiped out the elite outside of the demon soldiers, and tomorrow the steamer will attack the Huangpu River, which can just hit the morale of the demon soldiers and facilitate our next battle."

"No hurry." Li Xiucheng shook his head and said, "Anyway, the distance is not too far. It will be too late to introduce the elite demon soldiers into our encirclement first, and then give Cai Yuanlong the order. Otherwise, if the order is issued and the demon soldiers are not deceived, then our joke will be a big deal."

As he said cautious words, Li Xiucheng's eyes were full of pride, as if he had seen the entire Wu army under Meng Huo's troops wiped out, the Taiping army seized the seven treasures, and then the Taiping army's steam fleet rushed into the Huangpu River and concentrated its firepower to bombard Shanghai City...
Chapter completed!