Smith looked at the soldiers leaving and kept thinking in his mind. Yang Xiuqing returned to Nanjing to take charge of the overall situation, but the 50,000 troops brought by Yang Xiuqing were still there. How to deal with it? Smith turned to Li Zhen and asked: "Commander, Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng are still in Changshu County, and Qin Rigang also has fierce generals and spearmen under his command, making it difficult to defeat the rebels head-on. How do you plan to deal with Qin Rigang?"
Li Zhen looked confident and said confidently: "According to the strategy that has been set long ago, we will first alienate Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng, and then we will plot against Qin Rigang's army after we capture Li Xiucheng."
Lu Shaochuan asked hurriedly: "Commander, how can we separate you?"
Li Zhen had already planned in his heart and said directly: "I plan to sneak into Changshu County in person, change my disguise and sneak into Qin Rigang's side. In this way, I can deal with both Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng. Wait for me at Qin Rigang's place Once we have established a firm foothold, the special forces from the Sharp Blade Battalion need to sneak into the city one after another to coordinate my actions."
"No."
Lu Shaochuan and Smith refused at the same time. Their expressions changed drastically and they showed horrified looks. Li Zhen was the commander-in-chief of the army, and it was related to the future of the Shanghai army. It was taboo to take risks with one's own life.
Li Zhen insisted on his opinion and did not change his mind.
Eyes falling on Lu Shaochuan, Li Zhen said: "Lu Shaochuan, you are the leader of the group, but you are reckless and impulsive at heart, with a hint of gangsterism. If you shoulder the heavy responsibility of going to Changshu County to drive a wedge between Li Xiucheng and Qin Rigang , I must be the one collecting the bodies for you, so you just lead the army to hide and wait for my news."
After a pause, Li Zhen looked at Smith again and said: "Lu Shaochuan is Chinese after all and will not be rejected. You are an American and a foreigner. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, from Hong Xiuquan to ordinary soldiers, is very Rejecting foreigners, if you shoulder the heavy responsibility of going to see Qin Rigang, let alone alienating Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng, you will be dragged out and killed by Qin Rigang."
Li Zhen looked at the two of them and said seriously: "You can't do it, I have to do it myself."
Zhu Wu suddenly said: "Commander, I am willing to go."
At the critical moment, Zhu Wu stepped in.
Li Zhen glared at Zhu Wu and thought to himself, this kid is usually quite quiet, why is he not behaving well now.
Li Zhen cleared his throat and said calmly: "You want to drive a wedge between Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng. I want to ask you, how do you plan to drive a wedge between Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng? Although you are smart and courageous enough, this matter is not trivial." , Besides, you have to lead the special forces of the Jian Dao Battalion to sneak into Changshu County quietly. You have a mission, so you can't do it either."
Lu Shaochuan, Smith and Zhu Wu looked at each other and were speechless.
Obviously, Li Zhen didn't let them go.
But what Li Zhen said made sense, and the three of them could not refute it.
Seeing that the three of them were no longer trying to persuade Li Zhen, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have something to do, and you also have something to do. I pretended to be a Taoist priest and sneaked into the city. I need a Taoist robe, a fly whisk, a compass, a wig, and a fake beard. Anyway, I am a Taoist priest." Prepare everything you need."
Lu Shaochuan said: "Commander, is this a difficult matter? Is this a serious matter?"
A look of embarrassment appeared on Li Zhen's face, he coughed twice and looked away, and then said: "I haven't finished what I said. You still have to send someone to release the news, just say that Li Xiucheng surrendered to me. Anyway, You can make it up at will, as long as it is to throw dirty water on Li Xiucheng. The news can be bizarre or even unreliable, but when Qin Rigang wants to deal with Li Xiucheng, he will not consider the authenticity of the news and will be very happy to hear it. These messages."
Smith thought for a while and then said: "Commander, since you want to alienate, just do what you just said and directly spread the news to alienate Qin Rigang and Li Xiucheng. Why bother sneaking into the county."
From the bottom of his heart, Smith did not want Li Zhen to put himself in danger.
Lu Shaochuan immediately agreed and raised his hands in support of Smith's proposal.
Li Zhen sighed and said patiently: "Do you think Li Xiucheng is a person made of mud who can be manipulated at will? Yang Xiuqing left Changshu County, and his close confidants are still there. It is impossible that there is no back-up plan. Qin Rigang wants to deal with Li Xiucheng, but also Someone has to encourage me, and I have to go to Changshu County in person."
After hearing this, Lu Shaochuan and Smith both knew that they could not stop Li Zhen. No matter how confident Li Zhen was, they were worried that entering Changshu County was too dangerous after all.
…
Changshu County, the backyard of the county government.
In the study, Qin Rigang and Pan Qingyang were sitting there.
Pan Qingyang raised his head and straightened his chest, sitting upright, but his tone slowed down and he said softly: "Your Majesty, there is a news spreading around Changshu County, and it is related to Li Xiucheng."
"What news?" Qin Rigang asked.
Pan Qingyang immediately replied: "People say that Li Xiucheng surrendered to Li Zhen when he was captured in Shanghai. Li Xiucheng returned to Nanjing and once again gained Yang Xiuqing's important position. It was already a big cancer. Li Xiucheng was defeated in Shanghai. Li Zhen's reputation has risen, and now that Li Xiucheng has failed again, the soldiers of the Chinese Empire are even more afraid of Li Zhen."
"Not only that, Li Xiucheng's continuous defeats continued to weaken the military strength of the Celestial Empire, and also continuously increased Li Zhen's military exploits and accumulated popularity, establishing Li Zhen as an invincible god of war. Your Majesty, Li Xiucheng is If Li Xiucheng is not killed, a big mess will happen sooner or later."
Pan Qingyang's eyes were as cold as a knife, exuding a murderous aura.
Qin Rigang stared at Pan Qingyang with a stern look, with an intriguing smile in his eyes. He directly saw through Pan Qingyang's thoughts, and said with a smile: "Qingyang, these words are meaningful."
Pan Qingyang said calmly: "Your Majesty is wise."
Qin Rigang nodded slightly, showing a proud look.
Pan Qingyang added: "Your Majesty, the rumors are not credible, but there is no smoke without fire, and it cannot be groundless. The general thinks that there is something wrong with Li Xiucheng. Li Xiucheng's master Yang Xiuqing controls the court and monopolizes power, denying the prince a chance to display his ambitions. Now Li Xiucheng Xiucheng stayed in the army, just in time to hunt cattle across the mountains to deal with Li Xiucheng, thus weakening Yang Xiuqing's power."
Qin Rigang raised his eyebrows and said, "I didn't expect you to be a talented person."
Pan Qingyang immediately said: "Your Excellency teaches you well."
Qin Rigang stood up abruptly, flicked his sleeves, and said energetically: "No matter whether Li Xiucheng surrenders to the enemy or not, if Yang Xiuqing bullies me, I must pull out the nails that Yang Xiuqing planted in the army. Without Li Xiucheng, it will be difficult to control the army. You Go and deliver an order to summon all the generals in the army to discuss matters in the county hall. I want to test Li Xiucheng and see how courageous he is."
"yes."
Pan Qingyang happily agreed, saluted Qin Rigang again, and then turned and left. As the saying goes, "Wen Wu is the first, and Wu Wu is the second." Pan Qingyang claimed to be Qin Rigang's first general, and he thought he was not inferior to Li Xiucheng, but he always Being suppressed by Li Xiucheng, his heart has always been depressed. Now that he has the opportunity to kick Li Xiucheng away, Pan Qingyang will naturally not let it go.
Half an hour later, the army generals gathered at the county government.