The vast Poyang Lake water connects to the sky, and the waves are surging and competing first; the river connects the sea and the mind is broad, nourishing the spirits in the Poyang Lake year after year, Poyang Lake inherits the water of Gan, Fu, Xin, Rao, and Xiu the water of the five rivers and connects to the Yangtze River. In the abundant water season, the waves are surging, the vast and vast, and the water and the sky are connected; in the dry water season, the water falls on the beach, the dry water is a line, the wild grass is lush, and the reeds are bushes; the peaks and ridges on the lakeside are stretched, the sandy mountains are undulating, the fertile wild fields are thousands of miles away, migratory birds fly, cattle and sheep wander.

At this time, thousands of ships of all sizes were moving northward in an orderly manner on the river surface of Poyang Lake.

"Magistrate Hu is really determined. He can collect thousands of ships within seven days, which solves my urgent need!" Li Yunzhong praised Hu Mengjun's father, but thought in his heart that he was looking for death when Magistrate Hu knew his identity.

Hu Mengjun scratched his ears and head anxiously, reminding him: "Your Highness also has my credit for this."

Why doesn’t His Highness the King of Han appreciate me? He still remembers what Zhong Lin said at the beginning, and those who were praised by His Highness were ranked third and fourth ranks.

"Your greatest contribution is to persuade your father to surrender and make him willing to be a spy! Are you not worried that he will be beheaded by the Qing court?" Li Yunzhong cursed with a smile.

Hu Mengjun was not worried about the safety of his magistrate's father: "What are you afraid of? Although Poyang County has entered a little by little by Nanchang, it is only easy to walk on water. There is no navy in Nanchang City, and there are also rural brave men disguised as Han troops in the city. Don't say that the Qing army has no courage to fight, even if the Qing army attacks, my father can hold on to reinforcements."

Looking at the beautiful lake, white cranes, goshawks, white-headed harriers and other animals, Li Yunzhong couldn't help but ask: "Do you know the history of this Poyang Lake?"

Since Hu Kuan took over as the magistrate of Poyang County, Hu Mengjun has noticed Poyang Lake. He has long been confident in this knowledge and replied excitedly: "In ancient times, Poyang Lake had many titles such as Pengli Lake, Penglize, Pengze Lake, Yanglan Lake, Gongting Lake and other titles.

One is "Pengli Lake". Pengli is a very ancient name for the marsh. The article "Yuzhang County Pengli" in the "Han Shu. Geography" states: "Pengli Lake is in the west". There is another saying: "Peng is a big one, and Li is a gourd." It describes Poyang Lake as a big one.

The second is "Yanglan Lake", which is named by some people who have personally experienced the treacherous winds and waves of Poyang Lake. Li Gang's poem "Pengli": "The world spreads Yanglan and Zuoli, and there is no wind and white waves like a mountain rising." Song Yujing's poem "Yanglan": "Pengli has been dangerous since ancient times, and the soup runs through Houwei. The source is long and the clouds float together, and the sky is endless. It is said that May is in the intervening month, and a yin arrives. Hurricanes are in the sea, and the remaining power is choking thousands of miles away. Thousands of orifices are fighting for anger, and the waves are madly powerful."

The third is "Gongting Lake", which originally specifically refers to part of Poyang Lake in the southeast of Xingzi County. It is named after the Gongting Temple next to the lake. Later, it refers to all of Poyang Lake..."

Seeing that he was as fluent as an entrustment, Li Yunzhong quickly interrupted his long speech: "Stop... Are you memorizing or enjoying the scenery? A good Poyang Lake will become a common thing in your mouth. It would be a pity if your talent is wasted. So, go to the ship behind to help me persuade Li Hongzhang to surrender those people. Even if you successfully persuade someone to surrender, I will also have a lot of rewards!"

Finally hearing the word "reward", Hu Mengjun excitedly said: "What official position is Your Highness going to reward me? The magistrate or the governor!"

Governor! Li Yunzhong was speechless, kicked Hu Mengjun in the ass and laughed and scolded: "Damn! Governor! You really dare to think about it. Listen, you little official, there are four people in it. Your official position is now a sixth-rank official. If you persuade one of you, I will upgrade you to another level. If you succeed, I will add another level to you. That is, you will upgrade to the third level... Hello, wait, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Looking at Hu Mengjun's back, Li Yunzhong smiled and shook his head, hoping that Hu Mengjun could persuade Li Hongzhang to surrender to this stubborn.

The golden crow fell westward, and the moon rabbit came eastward. Before I knew it, the sky gradually became darker. On the dark blue sky, a crescent moon ejected a cold and cold glow. The thin clouds were faintly hidden, the stars were brilliant, and the stars were scattered. A milky white sky river ran across the sky, shining brightly on the lake surface.

"Your Highness, there is an Anhui messenger coming to pay homage." Looking at the Han King enjoying the beautiful scenery, Zhao Laoqi approached Li Yunzhong carefully and whispered reminder.

Li Yunzhong withdrew his gaze and turned around and said, "Let's go and see where the main force of the Anhui Seventh Army has arrived."

In the cabin, Jiao Liang and Zeng Shuiyuan sat opposite each other. Li Yunzhong sat on his head with his will and asked to the messenger: "Who is the hero?"

Ding Ruchang's legs were trembling excitedly, and he did not dare to look up and bowed, saying, "The last general is named Ding Ruchang, who is the deputy general guarding Hukou. He is ordered by the commander of the army, Li Desheng, to welcome His Highness."

Li Yunzhong said quietly: "Ding Ruchang! Don't be nervous, do you say Li Desheng has arrived in Hukou?"

Ding Ruchang became more and more nervous and said tremblingly: "Yes, Your Highness, the commander of the army led the vanguard to Hukou after receiving the order from the King of Han. The main force of the Seventh Army was led by Commander Liu Cai. He has left Anqing and arrived in Pengze County in Ming Dynasty."

"Haha...Okay, Zeng Guofan is hard to fly this time. Hukou County can still stick to today?" Li Yunzhong planned to seize Zeng Guofan's retreat and wipe him out in Jiangxi.

A row of sweat appeared on Ding Ruchang's forehead and said quietly: "Hukou County can hold on for about two days, and the Hunan Army also learned to use blasting methods to attack the city. As a result, a large gap was blown up on the north wall. If our army hadn't had a lot of explosives, Hukou would have been lost long ago."

It seems that it can only be defeated. Li Yunzhong is a little sorry. The Hunan Army can cut off the connection between Jiujiang and the downstream by breaking through Hukou. In that way, Jiujiang must not be defended, and the Qing army can attack Anqing along the current. Then Nanjing is in danger, and it will really affect the whole body with one blow.

"Order the vanguard to accelerate its marching and strive to enter Hukou County before noon on the Ming Dynasty. Never let the Hunan Army capture Hukou!" Li Yunzhong decided to fight quickly. He had not returned to Nanjing for a long time.

Zeng Shuiyuan stood up and said, "As for orders, we will lead our troops to support Hukou first."

Under Hukou City

Zeng Guofan had a big temper at the officials of the camp. The officials of the camp were all panicked. The general was angry with his own people. This was something that he had never seen before.

"A small Hukou County, my army of tens of thousands of troops could not capture it after half a month! Have you become greedy and afraid of death and dare not fight to the death? Where did the spirit of decisive death in Wuchang go?" Zeng Guofan slapped the table and cursed for half an hour.

Guo Songtao whispered: "It's not that our army is not fighting hard, but that short-haired is too brave. Do you still remember the five hundred foreign gun team? It delayed our army for two hours and had to destroy the guns before dying. It would rather commit suicide than be captured. This is the difference between short-haired and long-haired."

Liu Rong was still scared when she remembered the scene at that time and continued: "Changmao can win battles and has high morale, but once it is defeated by our army, the soldiers will have no intention of fighting and fleeing. This is the way for several of them to preserve their strength. However, Shortmao is united and does not arrogant when winning, and does not abandon them when defeating. Not only can they win battles, but they can persist to the end after defeating. Our Hunan Army has not reached this level either."

Seeing that they were ambitious and devastated by others, Zeng Guofan asked: "Do you have a way to deal with it? In this small Hukou County, there are only two thousand soldiers, and our army surrounded it several times, which is useless? How can we win if we fight against the main force of Changmao?"

Luo Zenan said: "Since the strong attack cannot be achieved, I will persuade the surrender. Hukou County is in a dangerous terrain, and there are only two thousand people in the city, which means that the status of the defenders in the city is not high. We lure them with high officials and generous salaries. Even if they do not surrender, their combat power will decline. Our army will take the opportunity to attack fiercely and will surely break through Hukou County!"

Finally, he heard a practical solution. Zeng Guofan smiled and praised: "Zhongyue can stand alone! I will write a letter to send someone to the city. You go down to let the soldiers accumulate energy. Ming Dynasty said that early in the morning, if the short hair in the city does not surrender, you will attack the city immediately. Short hair reinforcements are coming. In this battle, you will either die or I will die. I hope everyone will take care of it!"

Li Desheng looked at Cheng Xueqi who wanted to sleep but didn't dare to sleep, and kept pinching his thighs and said with a smile: "We take turns to stay at night, you go to bed for a while, I'll stare at it."

Cheng Xueqi shook his head desperately and said sternly: "Since the commander entered Hukou County, you have not had a rest. You should go to bed first. I can withstand it. It's already dark, and the enemy troops under the city should not attack the city anymore. Just guard the gap in the city."

Li Desheng looked up at the sky and said to himself: "To be honest, I didn't agree with Lin Qirong's recommendation to be a battalion officer. It is extremely difficult to get promoted in the Han army. Apart from the King of Han, there is no one who can be promoted from white to the position of regiment commander in just one year. You are the first one. Lin Qirong reads you correctly. You are the competent commander. Maybe the Han King will arrive in two days. If you can seize the opportunity, you will be the next Li Xiucheng!"

Cheng Xueqi has also heard of Li Xiucheng's legend. He has become familiar with Li Desheng these days and asked very much: "I heard that Governor Li has been a battalion official under your command. Is this true?"

Looking at the officers next to him who were pricking their ears, Li Desheng was not afraid of others' remarks and admitted readily: "Yes, when he was in Guangxi, he was a battalion commander under me. Unexpectedly, when he was in Nanjing, he was promoted so quickly. He was first a division commander, and now he was promoted to governor. We old commanders and we still have to salute him when we attend the military meeting!"

Cheng Xueqi enviously said: "Wouldn't that be so majestic, he is only twenty-nine years old!"

I am twenty-three years old this year, and I have six years left, so I will definitely catch up with Li Xiucheng! Cheng Xueqi instantly became more energetic.

Seeing Li Desheng showing loneliness, Cheng Xueqi comforted him: "The general worked hard and made great contributions, the King of Han was wise, and the rewards and punishments were fair. This time, he would definitely be promoted to the general's official position. When the general becomes the governor and the minister of the court, don't forget the young one!"

The reason why Li Desheng risked his life to enter Hukou so early was that he hoped to see the King of Han early and hoped to be promoted to governor Dangdang: "I accept your auspicious words, and I hope the King of Han can arrive at Hukou early!"
Chapter completed!