Wei Changhui's more than 200 clippers could evade Yang Xiuqing, but they could not evade Huai Haijun's eyes and ears.
Now the Yangtze River Navy of the Huai Navy is undoubtedly the overlord on the Yangtze River. The fact that the warships of the Taiping Army can still travel on the Yangtze River is only the result of the Huai Navy's acquiescence.
If one day the Huaihai Navy wants to blockade the Yangtze River, the Taiping Army will immediately have to switch to walking on two feet.
Wei Changhui secretly returned to Tianjing and asked Dong Shuheng to basically calculate the time of the Tianjing Incident.
This information quickly reached the hands of frontline unit commanders.
The first to move were the militia troops that had gathered along the canal. They boarded transport ships and began to move closer to the front line.
They will follow closely behind the main force, accept the surrender, take over the city, and maintain public order.
Let's take a look at Wei Changhui. The Northern King changed into the clothes of a military commander and mingled with Xu Zongyang's fleet.
In less than three days, Wei Changhui's fleet rushed from Nanchang to Jiangning City.
When it was getting dark, the fleet arrived at Xiaguan and met a small patrol fleet. There were more than twenty sentinels in total, with a string of red lanterns hung on them.
The four characters "Dongfu Patrol" were clearly written on it. The soldiers on the sentry boat waved a semaphore in this direction.
Xu Zongyang didn't panic at all. He ordered the fleet to stop and connect them end to end.
The Dongfu sentinel ship on the opposite side came over immediately, and the leader was a young man with a yellow scarf on his head, a yellow robe, a gold belt around his waist, a sword tied around his waist, and a command flag in his arms.
Xu Zongyang looked familiar at first glance, but he couldn't remember his name.
"I'm sorry, general, but King Dong has ordered that no ship is allowed to pass unless there is a warrant from Dong Wang's Mansion." said the officer leading the sentinel boat.
"Oh, brother, you don't recognize me. I am Xu Zongyang from Beifu!" Xu Zongyang said with a haha.
"General Xu, I'm sorry. King Dong has an order, and I have no choice but to obey it."
"My ships are all empty. I came back from Nanchang to transport military supplies. I can't let my trip go in vain. The soldiers on the front line are still waiting for food!"
"General Xu, please stop embarrassing me. How about I go to the ship to check, and then help you go to King Dong to request the order?"
"Okay, let's check it out."
After saying that, he got out of the way, and the officer came on board the ship with a dozen Dongfu soldiers.
The decks of these ships are indeed empty, except for some sailors and boatmen. However, the draft of this ship is quite deep, and this is not the case for an empty ship.
"General Xu, I have to go to the cabin to take a look."
"No problem, look, I'll go down with you."
The officer led his men, carried a lantern, and walked down the stairs to the cabin.
Forget it if he doesn't come down. When he did, he almost scared himself to death.
Oh my god! The darkness down there was full of soldiers, squatting close together in the bilge, and no one made a sound.
They were all wearing military uniforms and holding swords and guns in their arms. They were illuminated by lanterns and reflected the cold light.
The blurred faces and silence made them look like ghosts. Are they going to rebel?
Just as the leader was about to question him, he felt a chill on the back of his neck. A big knife was already raised.
"Are you...are you going to rebel?" he asked in a low voice, for fear of shocking the other party, which would cost him his life.
At this time, a man walked out from among the soldiers. He was short in stature, had a sinister expression, and was wearing the clothes of a military commander.
"Are you saying I rebelled?"
"Bei...His Royal Highness the King of the North, please see His Highness the King of the North." When the leader saw that he was the King of the North, his legs went weak and he was about to kneel down, but his neck was still stuck with a broadsword!
"Hey! Zong Yang, let go, how could you do this to your brother?"
"Huh? Are you Zhu Jin, the second supervisor of the East Mansion?"
"Yes, yes, His Highness the King of the North, little Zhu Jin, why have you returned to Tianjing?"
After Zhu Jin asked, he realized that he had talked too much and really wanted to slap himself a few times.
This Zhu Jin is Hou Qianfang's brother-in-law. He is usually a timid person who is afraid of death. It was because of his sister's pillow skills that he became the rich man of the patrol leader.
But I didn't expect to bump into the living king of hell today.
"Zhu Jin, of course I have an important mission when I come back. Your status is too low and you are not qualified to know."
"Yes, yes, yes, His Highness the North King is right, you are too talkative!"
"I am pressed for time, and you are a sensible person. You can help me bring him into Tianjing City, and of course your contribution is indispensable."
Can Zhu Jin say "no"? He doesn't have the courage!
"Yes, His Highness the North King!"
The soldiers who followed Zhu Jin down were all tied up. Only Xu Zongyang followed Zhu Jin to the deck.
"Brothers, disperse. I have already checked. This fleet is back to collect supplies under the order of King Dong."
The sentry ships outside are all under his command. These soldiers usually receive bonuses from him, so they naturally obey his orders.
In this way, Wei Changhui's fleet, led by Zhu Jin, passed several checkpoints in succession. The green light was given along the way and arrived at Jiangxinzhou.
Why go to Jiangxinzhou? Because Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang agreed to meet at Jiangxinzhou.
But when they got here, they discovered that Qin Rigang hadn't arrived yet. Wei Changhui immediately understood that Qin Rigang was probably stuck on the road like himself.
Just as he was about to send someone to respond, the sentry reported that a small boat had been spotted.
One look at the big man from a distance and knew that the person coming was Qin Rigang.
"Brother Yanwang, why are you the only one?"
"Hey, don't mention it. The interrogation in Dongfu is too strict. I didn't dare to bring more than 7,000 people in. I was afraid that you would be anxious, so I walked in first."
"Hey, what's the use of coming here alone?" Wei Changhui said, this Qin Rigang is really brainless, not as clever as Xu Zongyang.
Wei Changhui called Zhu Jin again.
"Brother Zhu, I have some brothers in the east. Please run over and pick them up!"
"King Bei, this east side is not under my control!"
Wei Changhui glared and said, "You mean you are useless?"
Zhu Jin almost peeed when he heard this. It was useless, it meant he would be dealt with.
"No, no, King Bei, I have a way. The supervisors over there will give me some thin noodles for the sake of my brother-in-law."
So Xu Zongyang took a few people and followed Zhu Jin on another trip, and picked up Qin Rigang's men again.
When these more than 10,000 men and horses gathered together, Wei Changhui was immediately full of confidence. Although Yang Xiuqing had 40,000 to 50,000 men, they were all scattered around the four cities and Tianjing.
Now there is only one way left, how to get into the city.
The closest thing to here is Yifengmen. When Zhu Jin asked, this guy didn't hide anymore this time.
"Your Highness the King of the North, Your Highness the King of Yan, Yu Wuzi, the gatekeeper and supervisor of the Yifeng Gate, is my friend. I will call him down later, and then..."
"Okay, okay! Zhu Jin, you are good. I will remember your merits."
Zhu Jin was also willing to risk everything. Anyway, he had already boarded the pirate ship and could only walk all the way to the dark side. At this time, even a fool could see what Bei Wang and the others were going to do?
For the sake of his own life, he had no time to care about his sister and brother-in-law at this time. At worst, he would go and beg Bei Wang for mercy later.
Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang came to the Yifeng Gate with more than 20 personal followers to take a look. Good boy! There is a sentry every three steps and a post every five steps. The city is really well guarded.
"Yu Wuzi, you are such a wolf and you are trying to take advantage of me."
"Ouch! Who do I think it is? It turns out to be Mr. Zhu." Yu Wuzi responded quickly. This master's brother-in-law was his immediate boss, so he couldn't offend him.
"Five sons, I have something important to do and I have to go to the city. Please open the door for me!"
"Hey! Okay! Just wait a moment. Without doubting his presence, let your men open the city gate."
Zhu Jin quickly led Wei Changhui and others in.
"Yu Wuzi, come here." Zhu Jin called from the city gate.
After a while, Yu Wuzi got into the city gate.
Suddenly, several white lights hit the necks of him and several guards.
"This..." Yu Wuzi was about to speak when he saw Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang beside Zhu Jin.
"See the King of the North, Your Highness the King of Yan!" Yu Wuzi immediately softened.
"Yu Wuzi, I have been ordered by King Tian to go to the city to handle an important matter. Will you cooperate with me or..."
"Your Highness ordered me, I must obey." When Yu Wuzi saw that Zhu Jin was with the other party, he simply surrendered. He and Zhu Jin were the same.
With the cooperation of Yu Wuzi, Wei Changhui and others quickly took control of Yifengmen.
Wei Changhui immediately sent messengers to notify the army hiding outside the city.
Under the leadership of Xu Zongyang, the army quietly approached Yifeng Gate, and then moved closer to the Dongwang Mansion along the avenue.
How could Yang Xiuqing, who was dreaming of being an emperor in the East Palace, think that someone had sneaked into Tianjing City with an army of more than 10,000 people right under his nose?
"Brother Bei Wang, should we inform the Heavenly King?"
Wei Changhui and Qin Rigang were mixed in with the army. Qin Rigang was still full of doubts.
"We don't have time. Let's wait until the Dongwang Mansion is surrounded before telling him!"
Wei Changhui felt that there was no need to say anything to the king. After killing Yang Xiuqing and then dealing with Hong Xiuquan, he, Wei Changhui, would be the one to talk in the capital today.
There is a large merchant's house not far from Dongwang Mansion, and there is a businessman living in it. This man also helps Yang Xiuqing with things.
Yang Xiuqing didn't know that this person was actually a spy from the Huaihai Navy's Intelligence Department. This was also a secret stronghold of the Huaihai Navy.
There are now hundreds of people gathered in this merchant's house. These people are fully armed and ready to go out at any time.
A commander is arranging work.
"Zhou Quan, you take 50 brothers and capture Yifeng Gate. Wei Changhui entered the city from there, so the defense there must be very weak."
"yes!"
"The rest of the people will follow me and listen to the noise. We will directly blast the back door of the East Prince's Mansion and then go in to find the rescue target."
On the river, the main force of the Huai Navy was already ready, with Peng Yulin sitting on the flagship of his Yangtze River Navy.
Lou Zhigang, on the other hand, led the main force of the special force ashore and approached Yifengmen.
After Wei Changhui entered the city, he still left a group of people to guard Yifeng Gate. He was also a veteran leading troops in war, so he naturally knew to leave himself a way out.
Arriving outside Dongwang Mansion, Wei Changhui ordered all his men to put white towels on their arms, and then quietly blocked several intersections around Dongwang Mansion.
He himself brought a team of elites, headed by Luo Gangyou and Xu Zongyang, and led by Zhu Jin to the East Prince's Mansion.
It was already very late at this time, but King Dong had not yet finished his work. He was discussing with a group of confidants about the enthronement ceremony.
At the door, Zhu Jin knocked on the door and shouted from the other side: "Supervisor Lu, I am Zhu Jin. I have something important to report to King Dong."
The supervisor guarding the gate was named Lu, but he knew Zhu Jin, the second supervisor on the left.
So without much thought, he opened a small door on the side, wanting to know what was going on so that he could go in and report it.