When Jiang Ning first came down, things were really complicated.
Dong Shuheng originally wanted to talk to Yang Ximei and wanted her to come out and help Huai Haijun.
If Yang Ximei is activated, then the people of the former Dongwangfu group should feel more at ease.
Letting Yang Ximei become an official also has another effect.
According to the custom of the original Taiping Army, it was normal for women to serve as officials. There were many female officers in the original Taiping Army.
Female champions like Fu Shanxiang are very talented and capable in their own right.
Through Yang Ximei bringing a group of former Taiping Army female officers into the Huaihai Navy's administrative system, it can gradually open up the situation of women serving as officials within the Huaihai Navy. This will be helpful for the women's liberation movement that Dong Shuheng will promote.
Dong Shuheng promotes women's liberation not because he is a feminist, but because this is the need for the development of productivity in the future.
However, Dong Shuheng has been a little busy these days. Yang Ximei also has no time, and Yang Xiuqing's funeral has not been completed yet. Therefore, the planned meeting never took place.
In the past few days, a lot of things have happened. The Huaihai Navy is on three fronts, and it is unstoppable.
The fastest one is the Jiangxi front. The Nanchang side was originally garrisoned by Wei Changhui.
Now it's better, Wei Changhui took all the best soldiers and generals to Tianjing. After the Huaihai Navy called, the remaining people heard that Wei Changhui was dead.
In addition, people from the Dongwangfu came to ask for surrender, so most of them chose to surrender to the Huaihai Navy.
The Second Division of the Huaihai Navy, which was originally prepared for a siege, was very disappointed. After only a few battles, the battle line was pushed to the junction of Jiangxi and Hunan.
This suddenly caused the Hunan Army in Hunan to panic and be at a loss. Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, quickly sent someone to negotiate with the Huai Navy. He was relieved after receiving a promise from the Huai Navy that they would not cross the border.
As a veteran official, Luo Bingzhang naturally knew about the matters between Huai Haijun and the imperial court.
But Luo Bingzhang was not a foolish and loyal person. As the governor of Hunan, he only wanted to keep Hunan safe.
As for the conflicts between the imperial court and local governments, Luo Bingzhang did not want to interfere.
Most officials in ancient China understood the principle of being wise and protecting oneself, no matter how good or bad the official was.
Luo Bingzhang was honest throughout his life and was known as "the most upright official in the late Qing Dynasty". He rectified the administration of officials and benefited the people, and was deeply supported by the people.
Historically, he was as famous as Zeng Guofan and was known as "the East and the West". Therefore, although Zeng Guofan is unable to leave, Hunan is still very stable. This is all due to Luo Bingzhang.
Luo Bingzhang was both worried and happy about the Huaihai Navy's defeat of the Taiping Army.
Fortunately, the Huai Navy is still nominally an army of the imperial court. They can still get along with each other according to the rules, unlike the Taiping Army, which is a life-and-death battle.
The worry is that the Huaihai Navy is stronger than the Taiping Army. Judging from the development of this army over the past year, its expansion rate is too fast.
Moreover, his leader Dong Shuheng acted extremely domineeringly, destroying the elites of the imperial court at will.
Luo Bingzhang really had a headache on how to get along with each other in the future.
Fortunately, Zuo Zongtang, who was in charge of Hubei Province in the north, had a good relationship with him. Luo Bingzhang admired Zuo Zongtang's talent very much and recommended Zuo Zongtang many times. The two of them were considered close friends.
There is another thing that worries Luo Bingzhang. Although Zeng Guofan is worried about Ding, his influence on the Hunan Army is still there. His younger brother Zeng Guoquan still controls the command of the Hunan Army.
This Zeng Guofan had a strong desire for power and was quite extreme in his actions. Luo Bingzhang did not like him.
As for how to get along with Huai Haijun? Luo Bingzhang only knew that Huai Haijun would retaliate, so he could only try not to offend him.
Although the Huaihai Navy in the middle route encountered resistance, Shi Dakai's main force was on the Hubei front line. The rear was empty of troops.
In addition, the middle route attacked cities along the river. Huaihai Navy's artillery was easy to transport, and with the support of naval guns, the city and territory were captured extremely smoothly.
But Shi Dakai was very tough. Even after seeing the letters from his family, he still refused to give in.
He also vowed to avenge Hong Xiuquan in front of the three armies. He also threatened that even if he came here with the heads of his family members, it would be useless.
The offensive of the Luzhou First Division on the northern front was quite unsatisfactory.
After all, Luo Dayou was a famous general in the Taiping Army, with very strong commanding and combat capabilities.
What's more important is that Luo Gang has dealt with the Huai Navy. He knows that the Huai Navy's strength lies in their weapons and equipment.
Therefore, he formulated a strategy of not being able to escape. This caused Huai Haijun to encounter a lot of resistance in the early offensive.
Wang Congzhi had to stop his troops and wait for the artillery from behind to attack the city.
Luzhou government office is now the headquarters of Luo Gang.
"Report to the Inspection Master, a group of people were caught outside the city, claiming to be from Tianjing." A personal guard ran in and said in Luo Gang's ear.
"Oh, bring it in quickly." Although Luo Dayou was ostracized in the Taiping Army, he was still very loyal to Hong Xiuquan.
This may be because he was born in the Heaven and Earth Society, and people in the world are the most loyal. Luo Dayou is such a stubborn and persevering person.
After a while, a young man with a bandaged arm was brought in holding a child.
This young man's hair was loose and unbraided, and he looked like a beggar.
"Who is your Excellency?" Luo Dayou thought this person looked familiar.
"Luo Jiandian, I am Huang Hao, the Prime Minister Zuo of the Heavenly King's Mansion!"
The person who came was none other than Huang Hao, who had escaped from Tianjing City.
That day, when he was escaping with Hong Xiuquan, he was ambushed by a special force and Hong Xiuquan was killed by a bomb.
Huang Hao was far away from the sedan and was not affected. In the chaos, he snatched the baby from Queen Lai's arms. It was Hong Xiuquan's son, four-year-old Hong Tianfu.
Huang Hao grabbed Hong Tianfu and left the main force with a few close guards and ran away.
He knew that Huai Haijun would definitely not let them go once he discovered them.
At this time, if he followed the large army and took Hong Xiuquan's concubines with him, he would naturally not be able to run fast, and he might be caught in the end.
As for why Hong Tianfu should be overtaken, it is because now that Hong Xiuquan is dead, Hong Tianfu should inherit the throne.
If he had Hong Tianfu in his hands, he would be able to give orders to those who were loyal to Hong Xiuquan in the future.
Huang Hao's hard work over the past year has indeed not been in vain, and he has become much more mature than before. He did make a good move this time.
"It's really Mr. Huang." Luo Dayou identified it carefully for a long time, then found someone to bring a towel and handed it to Huang Hao to wipe it, and then he recognized Huang Hao.
"Master Huang, what is the news from the Huaihai Navy that the King of Heaven has passed away?"
"Luo Jianzhan! You must avenge the King of Heaven!" Huang Hao heard Luo Gangzhong ask, his knees softened and he knelt down to the south, crying over and over to Luo Gangzhong.
In his account, the Huai navy burned, killed, and looted the city of Tianjing, committing all kinds of evil. He himself heroically led the Tian Wang family to break out of the encirclement, and even aired the wounds on his arms, saying that they were caused by blocking the gun from the Tian Wang.
Hong Tianfu has been taught to be quite obedient by him these days, and he also cried with him.
Luo Dayou was a temperamental person. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but shed tears. He clenched his hands so tightly that his fingertips almost broke the flesh of his palms.
"Prime Minister Huang, Luo has been greatly favored by the King of Heaven, and this revenge must be avenged."
Luo Gang made up his mind to let Huai Haijun hit his head and bleed badly under Luzhou City.
"Oh, Luo Jiandian, this is His Highness the Crown Prince. Huang is incompetent. The Crown Prince has been wronged these days."
Only then did Luo Dayou notice the children around Huang Hao.
He had also met Hong Tianfu. The original Hong Tianfu was white and fat. Over the past few days, the child had lost some weight, but he could still tell that it was Hong Tianfu.
Luo Dayou had also met Hong Tianfu, and when he took a closer look, there was no doubt that it was him.
Huang Hao didn't dare to lie about this kind of thing. Hong Tianfu was four or five years old, and many people had seen it.
"Wei minister pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."
At this moment, Hong Tianfu was still in a daze. For such a young child, it was impossible for his spirit to remain normal after such a big blow.
It stands to reason that a child of this age has received a lot of education and naturally knows some basic etiquette.
Now Luo Dagui paid homage to him, but he had no reaction.
"Luo Check, the prince was frightened and has not recovered yet. Please let him rest first."
"I'm guilty. It's because I didn't think carefully. Come here, prepare a room, some water, and give His Highness the Crown Prince a bath and rest."
Luo Gangyou found a few confidants and female officials and asked them to take His Royal Highness down to rest.
The child still watched the woman get closer. When a female official came to lead Hong Tianfu, he did not resist.
Huang Hao stayed where he was and did not follow.
"Prime Minister Huang, don't you go and take a rest?"
"I'm not busy, Luo Dianqiang. I have something to say to you, Dianqiang."
"Prime Minister Huang, please speak."
"Luo Dianqian, are you preparing for a decisive battle with Huai Haijun in Luzhou?"
"This is natural. If Huai Haijun does such a thing, Luo will naturally fight with them to death."
"So, what's the chance of winning at Luo Checkpoint?"
"There is no chance of winning. The Huai Navy's artillery and muskets are sharp. Luo has no chance of winning. But if the Huai Navy wants to capture Luzhou City, it will have to shed its skin." Luo Gangyao said firmly, he was ready to fight to the death.
"Luo Dianqian, Huang admires your bravery, but now that the prince is here, we, as ministers, must preserve this bloodline for the king!" Huang Hao said.
Huang Hao went to Luo Dingyang instead of Shi Dakai. First of all, it was because Luo Dingyang was loyal and his position was not high. He could still talk things over with the prince.
Secondly, to the west of Luzhou is Lu'an, and beyond that is Runing Prefecture in Henan. To the south of Runing Prefecture is the Dabie Mountains, and to the northwest is Henan Prefecture.
He planned to let Luo Gang lead the army to enter Henan from here and break away from the Huai Navy.
Huang Hao knew that now they did not have the strength to fight against the Huai Navy. Instead, after entering Henan, they would be like a dragon entering a deep pool, and it would be much easier to turn the tide.
"What does Mr. Huang mean?"
"I think we should avoid Huai Haijun's attack. Ensuring the prince's safety is our top priority right now. It is better to retreat westward into Ruyang Mansion, Henan. That is not the jurisdiction of Huai Haijun."
"Henan is now depleted of military strength, and the main force of the Qing court is in Liaodong to besiege the King of Liao."
"We enter Henan and fight towards Luoyang. We will at most encounter some green camps on the way. There, we can rebuild the Kingdom of Heaven. Let the prince board the plane in Luoyang. After we unify the north, we will come back to seek revenge from the Huai Navy."
I have to say that Huang Hao’s suggestion is very reasonable.
This point coincides with Luo Gangzhi. When Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing were about to send people to the Northern Expedition, Luo Gangzhi had suggested that the Kingdom of Heaven should invade Henan.
Taking Henan as the base, we then sent troops across the river to the north and headed straight for the capital.
So when Huang Hao made this suggestion, Luo Gangyang agreed without even thinking about it.
However, now that the Huai Navy has surrounded Luzhou City on three sides, it is necessary to make some calculations before withdrawing the troops.
In the capital, the news that the Huaihai Navy had recaptured Jiangning had also spread, and some people even set off firecrackers to celebrate.
But the big guys in the capital, including Emperor Xianfeng, were not happy. The Huaihai Navy drove away the Taiping Army in one battle. No matter what the outcome was, the process was too easy.
According to the spies' report, the Huai Navy took advantage of the civil strife in Tianjing to start the war and did not suffer any losses.
The original plan to use the Taiping Army to consume the Huai Navy failed again, and Xianfeng could only watch the Huai Navy grow bigger.
However, after thinking about it, Xianfeng still issued an order to commend the Huai Navy. At the same time, he also issued secret orders to the military and political officials of Henan, Shandong, and Zhejiang provinces, asking them to step up training of local new armies and strictly prevent the Huai Navy from crossing the border.
In order to balance the Huai Navy, the Qing government just ordered each province to form a new army on its own. The power to charge lijin was completely delegated to the local governments.
In order to prevent Han officials from becoming powerful, the Qing government specially selected a group of Manchus to serve as admirals in local areas and control local military power.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty has always paid attention to controlling local power, but because of the emergence of Dong Shuheng, the current Manchu Qing Dynasty structure has begun to go astray.
The power of local governors is getting bigger and bigger, and many local governors are beginning to develop in the direction of warlords.