Chapter 167: The Two Parties Meeting Face to Face (Part 7)
When more than a thousand of the 20,000 Qing troops who came to suppress Huo Chong were killed and fled to their respective camps like the wind, Huo Chong thought that the battle had completed the end of the beginning and entered the beginning of the end.
The war has entered the optimal situation of pre-war planning, and all that remains to be done is to implement the completed plan. All Huo Chong can say is "be careful and don't be careless."
For the Qing army, they thought the war had just begun. Even if there were some setbacks, they knew Huo Chong's background. Finally, they could make plans based on the current situation.
Not only the military officers thought so, but also the civil officials in Jinan. When Shandong Governor Chen Shiguan heard that Huo Chong had come, he was shocked at first, but then he became happy. He had completely forgotten that he had suppressed the general two days ago with the excuse that "the thief Huo had sent his men."
In Chen Shiguan's opinion, there were 20,000 troops in the three camps of Shandong, Jiangsu, and Henan, which were more than ten miles away from Jinan City, and they were all veteran soldiers. No matter how fierce Huo Chong was, he was just a local tycoon who had just risen a few years ago, and he was also a sitting bandit.
With a strong city in front and heavy troops behind, Huo Chong would be destroyed in a moment.
Chen Shiguan ordered the gates of Jinan City to be tightly closed and all the soldiers and horses guarding the city to go up to the city walls for defense, so as not to give Huo Chong a chance to enter Jinan City when he was defeated.
After waiting for a whole day, there was no new news from outside. Chen Shiguan was puzzled. Even if Huo Chong was resisting stubbornly and the government troops could not annihilate him for the time being, they should at least send some news to Jinan City, right? Could it be that the government troops were fighting so smoothly that all their spare energy was used to pursue Huo Chong and they had no way to send anyone back?
If the Qing army generals in the three camps knew what Chen Shiguan was thinking, they would probably want to die together with Chen Shiguan.
Huo Chong 's tactics seemed extremely weird to the general. The Qing troops who retreated to the camp immediately made new arrangements, using the simple fences of the camp to place the musketeers. Even if Huo Chong's firearms were fierce, he would at least have to move forward step by step. But he didn't expect that Huo Chong, this thief, would actually start digging a hole like a mouse.
While the Qing army was waiting for Huo Chong to attack the camp, Huo Chong dug a shallow ditch around the Qing army camp, completely surrounding the Qing army camp.
When the Qing army found out that Huo Chong was doing this, they quickly organized a breakout. However, they were beaten by Huo Chong's men hiding in the ditch and suffered heavy casualties, so they fled all the way back to the camp.
Although it was only a dozen miles away from Jinan City, this ditch trapped the Qing army inside, and not even one person could escape. The Qing army had no choice but to hope that Jinan City would send reinforcements to attack Huo Chong from behind. A two-pronged attack should be able to deal with Huo Chong.
However, the next day, the Qing army sent messages to each other, wanting to invite the commanders of the three camps to hold a meeting with the general in Jiangsu to discuss how to deal with it. As a result, the people sent were killed. The three camps of the Qing army sent people to check what was going on. They were shocked to find that Huo Chong had not rested that night and dug two trenches under the cover of night, abruptly cutting off the connection between the three camps.
Now the three camps are completely separated and have become three isolated islands that can see each other.
On Huo Chong's side, the troops were transporting artillery to the vicinity of Shandong Camp, preparing to start from this camp with the smallest number of people.
Seeing the Qing army trapped in a tight siege, and knowing the power of the Han army's artillery, everyone was very excited. They worked with full energy without being urged.
The people around Huo Chong were eager to ask when he would attack. Huo Chong pointed at the artillerymen who were gradually entering the artillery positions and replied, "Let the artillerymen lead the way!"
Lei Hu was also very excited, but he looked a little depressed. Huo Chong couldn't help but look at Lei Hu a few more times.
Seeing Huo Chong's calm expression, Lei Hu simply asked the doubts in his heart, "Sir, I think your temple divination is really amazing. I have only heard that temple divination can decide the outcome, but I didn't expect it to be true. I wonder if you can teach me temple divination."
"Lei Hu, then you have to understand first, the temple plan you have in mind is different from the real temple plan. Moreover, the temple plan of our army is also different from that of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Tzu's Art of War says, "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will not be in danger. Know the heavens and the earth, and you will have an endless victory." That's what he said."
Huo Chong couldn't help but say a few words, and the people around him gathered around to listen to the excitement. Huo Chong could only stop talking and order everyone to work quickly. Although the Qing army was finished in theory, who knows what will happen in the real battle. Maybe at this time, the general of the Qing Dynasty's Northern Zhili Army, hundreds of miles away, is desperately rushing here.
Chen Shiguan, the governor of Shandong in Jinan City, could not wait any longer and sent people to contact the camp. Unexpectedly, he sent out one team and one team disappeared, and sent out two teams and two teams disappeared.
Chen Shiguan really didn't understand what was going on. At this time, he finally began to feel that something was wrong, and the development of things seemed to jump out of his imagination. However, Chen Shiguan still didn't think of a problem, or he completely forgot a fact in his overly nervous state. Huo Chong's appearance here was already beyond Chen Shiguan's imagination.
The first people to realize that the Shandong expeditionary army was doomed were not in the three camps. Although they were surrounded by Huo Chong, the generals of the three camps all observed that although Huo Chong's men had fierce firearms, they were really outnumbered. The generals all felt that if they fought to the death to break through, Huo Chong would not be able to do anything to them.
Chen Shiguan just felt that things seemed to be going wonderfully beyond his expectations, but he didn't understand what this sign meant.
The people who really understood were in the capital. After reading the latest information sent to him by the eighth brother, the fourteenth brother thought for a while and his face turned pale. He couldn't help but said loudly: "Don't these generals know that they are in a dead end?"
After shouting, Lao Shisi saw that Bage's servants were listening attentively, and immediately felt that he had accidentally said something important. However, he couldn't take it back, so he said unhappily: "Take this back to Bage, and he will tell the emperor and ministers in the court, and they will definitely know how smart Bage is!"
When the servant of the Eighth Master heard this, he didn't want to say anything. But thinking of all that his master had endured over the years, he couldn't help but said, "Fourteenth Master, do you think the Eighth Master is living a comfortable life?"
Old Fourteen, who had been imprisoned for four years, replied unhappily: "My dear brother is already the Prince of Lian, what else can the emperor do to him?"
The servant of the Eighth Master couldn't help it, so he picked out the key points of the torture that the Eighth Master had suffered over the years and told the Fourteenth Master about it. Even if he picked out the things that were really unbearable, the servant of the Eighth Master still talked for more than half an hour.
Only when he was exhausted and couldn't continue speaking did Lao Ba's servant stop to catch his breath.
However, Old Fourteen was already dumbfounded, and took this opportunity to ask, "Then...how come I don't know?"
"Eighth Master asked me not to tell Fourteenth Master, so as not to let Fourteenth Master worry about Eighth Master . Besides, with Eighth Master in the court, the Emperor will make things difficult for Eighth Master, and Ninth Master and Tenth Master outside will suffer less. Although Fourteenth Master does not go out, the Emperor will miss him even less..." When he said this, Eighth Master's servants choked up a little.
The Fourteenth Elder still didn't believe it and wanted the Eighth Elder's servants to go back. He then called the few servants and family members left around him to ask. After hearing the Fourteenth Elder's direct questions, those who could still go out occasionally said that they had indeed heard something like this.
Old Fourteen was not happy with this and shouted, "Since you knew, why didn't you tell me?"
Seeing that the Fourteenth Prince was furious, the servant dared not say a word. But the Fourteenth Prince's wife smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you have been worried every day these years. I am afraid that if I speak up, it will only cause more trouble for you..."
"What do you mean by adding to your troubles?" The Fourteenth Old Man was furious in shame, "It's already like this, and you still don't tell me. Are you trying to make fun of me? It's only because my Eighth Brother is broad-minded and doesn't bear grudges. If it were... Fourth Brother, I don't know what he would think!"
Apart from the anger of Old Fourteen at home, Old Eight's servants returned to Old Eight with Old Fourteen's comments. After hearing Old Fourteen's comments, Old Eight was really happy.
Since Huo Chong rebelled, the Eighth Brother recalled what Huo Chong had done over the years. He was sure that Huo Chong was a truly smart person. Generally speaking, smart people are those who know how to seek benefits and avoid harm. However, Huo Chong was smarter than the average smart person. He could accurately see that the Fourteenth Brother had no chance of inheriting the throne, so he judged that the Fourth Brother could become the emperor.
Huo Chong was able to see this, which showed his foresight. But Huo Chong knew that if the fourth son became the emperor, Huo Chong would have no good ending. So Huo Chong simply prepared to rebel.
Smart people often have a problem, that is, they are too eager to seek benefits and avoid harm, so once the situation is formed, they will be blown by the wind and rain like duckweed. Being able to predict the inevitable destruction of the future, but not escaping, and fighting against this terrifying future. This is not just simple intelligence. Huo Chong, who can achieve this level, is not only wise, but also has a broad mind and courage.
Lao Ba was initially hesitant about choosing to cooperate with Huo Chong. After all, Huo Chong was just a wealthy man in Shandong, not even a gentry. Compared with the Qing Dynasty, Huo Chong was just an insignificant bug and unlikely to stir up any waves. However, Huo Chong impressed Lao Ba again this time.
The Fourteenth Prince understood military affairs. Since he said that the 20,000 Qing troops sent to attack Huo Chong were in a desperate situation, it must be so.
After Huo Chong annihilated the 20,000 Qing troops, he should have kept his promise. If Huo Chong did not keep his promise, it would be impossible to get intelligence from Lao Ba next time.
Lao Ba slept well that night and woke up early the next day feeling refreshed. After having breakfast, he set out for court in the dark.
At the court, Yongzheng asked the Ministry of War about the latest situation. The Ministry of War was hesitant and vague. It was obvious that the Ministry of War also felt that something was wrong.
The Eighth Elder felt that Yongzheng shouldn't be making things difficult for him at this time, but he didn't expect Yongzheng to speak again, "Prince Lian, what do you think is going on?"
With preparations in place, Lao Ba stepped forward calmly to report, "Your Majesty, I have never fought in a war. But according to what the Ministry of War said, the rebel Huo Chong should have surrounded the government troops. Although why he dared to do so, I don't understand. But from what I have heard about the war, since the government troops are surrounded, they must respond as if they were surrounded."
"Nonsense!" Yongzheng scolded, irritated by these words.
