Dong Shuheng led the mixed editors all the way north, bypassing Langfang and heading towards the capital. His armed march in the capital was about to begin.
On the way, they happened to meet Prince Gong and his party. Of course, Prince Gong did not know that Dong Shuheng was in this army.
Wang Xiao, as the nominal commander of this army, met with Prince Gong and his party.
Under Dong Shuheng's instructions, when Wang Xiao met Prince Gong, he acted arrogantly and was ready to give Prince Gong a blow.
"Prince Gong, right? We, the Huaihai navy, came all the way to pay for the bandit prince Qin. Why did the imperial army attack us when they came up? What kind of rules is this?" Wang Xiao said unceremoniously.
"Be brave, follow the rules when facing His Royal Highness Prince Gong..." When one of the guards around Prince Gong saw Wang Xiao not only refused to kneel down when he saw Prince Gong, but also dared to question him face to face, he immediately stepped forward to reprimand him.
They were used to being in the capital and pretending to be powerful. They didn't see any kind of official, and they didn't pay attention to foreign generals like Wang Xiao.
However, this personal guard was grabbed by Prince Gong. Yixin was not the kind of old antique who didn't know how to adapt. On the contrary, he was known for his open-mindedness in later generations.
"Haha, General Wang, it's all a misunderstanding. It must be a misunderstanding. Maybe you don't know, right? The imperial court has decreed to promote you, Mr. Dong, to the position of governor of Jiangsu and acting governor of Liangjiang. Since the imperial court has promoted you, Mr. Dong, to the position of admiral, how can you still send someone People are coming to attack you!"
Yi Xin laughed twice to ease the awkward atmosphere, and explained to Wang Xiao, who was standing across from him in a menacing manner.
He had scolded all the eighteen generations of Shengbao's ancestors in his heart. If Shengbao hadn't attacked the Huaihai Navy without permission, why would he and a little-known young admiral of the Huaihai Navy have to keep such a low profile here? Woolen cloth?
"Your Highness Prince Gong, we traveled thousands of miles northward, escorted by so many ships of the Nanyang Navy, and merchant ships were mobilized to transport supplies. We spent hundreds of millions of taels just to reach the capital to serve the king. But we haven't seen him yet. As for the bandits, they were first blocked by imperial officials in Tianjin, and then attacked in Langfang. What do you think the soldiers would think? Are we, the Huai Navy, an army of the imperial court?" Wang Xiao said aggrievedly.
"General Wang, I know that you have been wronged. I will report the matter truthfully in front of His Majesty and severely punish the Tianjin magistrate, the county magistrate and the victory guarantee." Yi Xin was cursing in her heart, but she still said it. Continue to reassure.
"Then what does the imperial court mean? Do we still need our King Qin?" Wang Xiao said impatiently.
"General Wang, the capital is safe. The bandits have been defeated by Seng Gelinqin and have fled into Tongzhou. There is no need to bother the Huai Navy."
"Then you mean to make our trip in vain?"
"Ah, no, no, the Huai Navy's ability to go north is already a sign of great merit. Your Majesty will definitely issue a decree to reward you." Yi Xin said.
"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to give you face, it's just that the brothers below are too angry. Since Your Majesty said that Your Majesty will reward us, I will make a few requests here on behalf of my brothers and the brothers in the navy. This is not too much."
"Uh... It's not too much, not too much. Please tell me, General Wang. I will definitely bring him here." Prince Gong felt extremely humiliated in his heart. He lowered his posture again and again, but Wang Xiao didn't know how to restrain himself at all. .
But people had to bow their heads under the eaves. These were demons who killed without blinking an eye. The 10,000 cavalrymen who had secured victory were defeated by them in one fell swoop.
The greatest advantage of Prince Gong is his ability to bend and stretch. He knew that the emperor did not like him, so he kept groveling in front of the emperor. He firmly believed that one day he, Yi Xin, would be able to stand up and become a man above ten thousand people.
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment while I allow you to prepare a memorial." After saying this, Wang Xiao left the room. This was a post station between the capital and Langfang. Due to the war, the room had already been empty.
Dong Shuheng chose this place as a temporary place to stay. The army also set up camp around here.
The place where Wang Xiao met Prince Gong just now was the main hall of the inn. Now Wang Xiao returned to a guest room in the backyard, where Dong Shuheng lived.
"President, I did everything you said." Wang Xiao reported.
"How did Prince Gong react?" Dong Shuheng knew that Prince Gong was nicknamed "Guiziliu" in later generations, but he was very ghostly!
"That Prince Gong seemed to be very talkative and didn't mind at all the rudeness of his subordinates. He said a lot of comforting words." Wang Xiao then repeated Yi Xin's words exactly as they were said.
"Wang Xiao, this Prince Gong is not simple. Think about it. He is the emperor's younger brother, the Prince of the Qing Dynasty. What is your status? Don't you find it strange that he talks to you like this?" Dong Shuheng said with a frown.
Wang Xiao pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "That seems to be the case, then what should we do?"
"Of course we will cooperate with him in the performance!" Dong Shuheng said with a smile, "Now the situation is stronger than the others, and we are not afraid of their tricks. As long as they can agree to the conditions." He handed over a prepared memorial.
"Well, President, as long as our fists are strong enough, we won't be afraid of them." Wang Xiao nodded and left the room with the memorial.
This prepared memorial was the goal that Huai Haijun wanted to achieve during his northern expedition. Of course, there were many exaggerated elements in it.
Since we need to negotiate, we should naturally give others room for bargaining.
After Prince Gong read the drafted memorial, he wanted to scold his mother. This Huai Haijun was really a big talker.
"Punish the Tianjin prefect, county magistrate, and Shengbao who took the initiative to attack the Huaihai Navy." This request should not be a big problem.
"It will cost 5 million taels of silver to start the campaign, and there are still 3 million taels of various military supplies." This is 8 million taels of silver. The problem is that now the court simply cannot afford so much silver.
"The Nanyang Navy established an admiral's office." There is no problem with this. It is just a matter of imperial edict.
"Plan Tianjin, Weihai, Zhoushan, Taiwan Island, and Hainan Island as military ports." This is definitely not possible. Why does a navy need so many ports? Moreover, Taiwan Island and Hainan Island are so big, how can they all be given to the navy.
"There is no official government in Tianjin and it is managed by Huai Haijun." This is not possible either. Tianjin is an important gateway to the capital and cannot be left in the hands of Huai Haijun.
"Place Zhejiang and Shandong under the jurisdiction of the Liangjiang Governor-General's Office." Dong Shuheng's ambition was really quite ambitious. After Shandong, he would reach Zhili, and he actually wanted to get involved in the north.
"Dong Shuheng serves as the prime minister of Nanyang. The prime minister involves foreign affairs and promotes New Deal reforms in the south." The imperial court does not want to deal with foreigners, so it is okay to leave it to Dong Shuheng, but reform will shake the foundation of the imperial court, and it is impossible for the DPRK and China to agree.
"The Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang has jurisdiction over the nine provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Liangjiang, Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang. The soldiers and horses work together to exterminate the bandits in the south." It is impossible for the court to agree. If he is allowed to integrate all the soldiers and horses in the south, what else will the court have to do with it? Containing the Huai Navy would be self-destruction.
Prince Gong looked at these requests carefully and felt that it was impossible for the court to agree to any of them.
But this is not his business. He might as well take these demands back and give his emperor brother a headache.
Yi Xin hurried back to Beijing with Huai Haijun's request.
But Huai Haijun still did not stop moving forward.
Shengbao fled all the way back to the camp in Tongzhou, unable to escape. He seemed to have a mental problem and said nothing. The affairs in the camp could only be decided by a few commanders themselves.
Soon the news that Shengbao provoked the Huai Navy and was defeated spread like wildfire.
The city of Beijing, which had previously been relatively peaceful, was once again in turmoil.
In just over a month since the imperial court dealt with the Huaihai Company, first the price of food soared, and then the Taiping Army came and was repulsed. Then, the Huaihai Navy came to Qinwang, but in the end the main force of the imperial army was wiped out. .
So many things greatly satisfied the people's desire for gossip in the capital. Some people were spreading rumors that the emperor had gone to Chengde, and all kinds of news were flying all over the sky.
After receiving the news of Shengbao's defeat, Emperor Xianfeng lost his temper in the palace and fell ill. The imperial doctor diagnosed him as suffering from acute internal heat.
The military ministers gathered together to discuss countermeasures. The first order was that Seng Gelinqin should not take the initiative to approach the Huaihai Navy.
This is because he is worried that Seng Gelinqin will follow in the footsteps of Shengbao.
The second order was for Seng Gelinqin to lead people to bring Shengbao to Beijing. Shengbao disobeyed the imperial edict and attacked Huai Haijun without permission. He must be captured and brought back. Then he could be handed over to Huai Haijun as a scapegoat.
At this time, Prince Gong returned to the capital and brought back Huai Haijun's request. Several military ministers shook their heads after seeing it.
No one can make this decision. Whoever makes the decision at this time may become a sinner.
"How about leaving it to His Majesty's Holy Judgment?" Finally, Ruilin suggested helplessly.
Although everyone knew in their hearts that they should not provoke Xianfeng with such things at this time, as this would only aggravate Xianfeng's condition.
But who makes him the emperor? In his position, he must bear the burden.
Everyone went into the palace to see His Majesty the Emperor lying on the hospital bed.
Xianfeng was lying on the hospital bed, his face pale. After the imperial doctor's treatment, he could now sit up on the bed, but there was still a dull pain in his heart.
Seeing several military ministers prostrate themselves on the ground after entering, Xianfeng waved his hand to signal them to get up.
"Tell me, what kind of bad news is it? I can still hold on." Xianfeng asked weakly. This time he suddenly fell ill, which made Xianfeng calm down a lot.
He recalled what happened some time ago and found that he was really a little too impatient. As an emperor, he should not be so sharp.
I don't have any heirs yet. If I have any shortcomings, the throne will fall into the hands of others. Fortunately, I am still young, and no ministers mentioned the matter of establishing a heir this time.
"Your Majesty, my brother risked his life and entered the Huai Navy camp, and met Wang Xiao, the commander-in-chief of the Huai Navy." The envoy was Prince Gong Yixin, so he had to stand up and answer.
"According to his statement, Shengbao took the initiative to attack him, while Huai Haijun only counterattacked passively."
"With a passive counterattack, the entire Shengbao Department was wiped out?" Xianfeng asked rhetorically.
"I am stupid." Yi Xin knelt down and said.
"Okay, Sixth Brother, get up. This incident is all the fault of Shengbao. I blame him for resisting the decree and starting a fight without permission." Xianfeng said.