Chapter 295 The Only Path to Choose (XI)
Hai Lan, deputy governor of the White Banner of Shengjing Eight Banners, saw the Green Camp troops fleeing on the Jundu Xingshan Road ahead, and shouted to the Eight Banners of Shengjing Army around him: "Brothers, catch up and kill them all."
Seeing the enemy fleeing desperately, the Eight Banners of Shengjing naturally refused to let them go and quickened their pace to chase after the fleeing enemy.
Seeing the enemy chasing them closely from behind, the Green Camp soldiers ran faster. They chased for several miles. Suddenly, a cannon sounded, and shouts of killing were heard from behind the Eight Banners of Shengjing. Hai Lan hurriedly called the men to stop, and heard a rumble like thunder from above. Before he could look up, gravel was already falling like raindrops. If a member of the Plain White Banner of Shengjing was hit, he would be killed immediately, or his bones would be broken.
Knowing that they were surrounded, Hailan dared not stay. Since the rear could not retreat, Hailan commanded the Qing army to continue to charge forward.
However, the fleeing Green Camp had already stopped, turned back, and started a fight with Hai Lan's men on the mountain road. The sound of killing was deafening, and from the top to the bottom of the slope, there were people fighting everywhere.
Seeing that the two sides were already fighting, Hailan felt a little relieved, but more regretful. If she had not underestimated the Green Camp, if she had stopped at the entrance of Junduxing instead of chasing them down like this...
There was no time for Hailan to continue to regret. The fierce battle had already shown signs of a winner. The uniforms of the Eight Banners Army and the Green Camp Army were very different. Even though they were once part of the Qing army, the only thing that was exactly the same was the rat tail on the back of their heads.
The Eight Banners Army, the master of the Green Camp, was being killed continuously, while the Green Camp soldiers were advancing step by step while killing the Eight Banners Army continuously.
Hai Lan couldn't understand this situation for a while. But there was no time for him to understand. There were shouts of killing from behind, and the Green Camp soldiers came up from behind. The Eight Banners Army was attacked from both sides and was trapped at the bottom of a slope.
Hailan watched as his subordinates crowded around him, huddled together like a hedgehog. He could only shout with all his might, "General Basai, are you willing to come out and meet me?"
Soon, the Green Camp stopped attacking and relaxed the siege. A voice came from the top of the slope, "Hai Lan, do you still have the nerve to see me?"
Hailan was a little embarrassed. Basai's words were not wrong. Hailan was originally the deputy governor of the Eight Banners in the capital. When she went to recruit Basai, she turned against him and jumped to Shengjing. She also attacked Basai from behind. She almost killed Basai. From a personal point of view, Basai had the right to scold her like this.
The current situation did not allow Hailan to be embarrassed. Hailan shouted loudly: "General, you are also a Manchu man. Can a Manchu man kill all of us Manchu men?"
Basai sneered but did not answer immediately. After a while, Basai shouted, "If you surrender, I will spare the lives of your men."
Seeing that her group was surrounded tightly, Hailan could only shout: "I believe the general's words!"
After a while, Hailan was tied up and brought to Basai. Basai looked at Hailan with squinted eyes, "Hailan, I will spare your men's lives, but you have to do me a favor."
Hai Lan knew that she couldn't refuse anymore, so she could only answer, "It's all up to the general."
At this time, there were no Qing troops loyal to Hong Zhou in the capital, and the guards at each gate were replaced by the Eight Banners of Shengjing. The Eighth, Aixinjueluo Yinsi, was the General of Fuyuan in the Shengjing court, and arrived in the capital with a large group of people .
Looking at the familiar city gate, Lao Ba felt as if he was in another world. He had spent most of his life in this city. In the Qing Dynasty, the princes were not allowed to leave the capital without an imperial decree. It was only in the past two years that Lao Ba left the capital on his own will.
Compared to the two years or earlier when he occasionally accompanied his father Emperor Kangxi on his trips as a prince, he spent the most time in the capital. Although the gate of the capital was crowded with people welcoming him, Lao Ba's mind flew back to the familiar capital of the past.
Just as he was in a trance, he saw someone coming up to the horse and saluting, "Respectfully invite the general to enter the city."
Lao Ba nodded, and entered the capital city with a huge crowd of people following him. This was the first time Lao Ba entered the city as a winner, and looking left and right, the streets were the same as before. However, his mood was completely different.
The group escorted Lao Ba directly to the Forbidden City. They saw that the central gate of the Forbidden City was wide open, and there were people and horses lined up on both sides. They actually wanted Lao Ba to enter the Forbidden City directly through the main gate.
The main gate of the Forbidden City is called Wumen. The so-called beheading at Wumen actually refers to prisoners of higher status. Ordinary prisoners were directly taken to Caishikou for beheading.
The three platforms of the Meridian Gate, east, west and north, are connected, surrounding a square square. The north gatehouse is nine bays wide, with a double-eaved yellow tiled hip roof. There are thirteen hip rooms on each of the east and west platforms, which are arranged from both sides of the gatehouse to the south, shaped like goose wings, so it is also called the Goose Wing Building. There is a double-eaved pavilion with a pointed roof at the north and south ends of the east and west goose wings. The majestic Meridian Gate is like three mountains surrounded by five peaks, and it is majestic, so it is commonly known as the Five Phoenix Building.
Lao Ba inexplicably wanted to refuse. But at the same time, he felt that he really wanted to enter the Forbidden City from the Meridian Gate. It can even be said that a long time ago, Lao Ba had been looking forward to having the Meridian Gate open for him one day.
Seeing that all three doorways of the Meridian Gate's main entrance were wide open, Lao Ba was stunned on the spot, not knowing whether to go forward or retreat.
The Meridian Gate has five doorways, but from the front, it seems to have three. In fact, there are two side gates on the left and right sides of the front, which are opened on the inner side of the east and west city platforms, one facing west and the other facing east. These two doorways extend into the platform to the east and west respectively, then turn north and go out .
Therefore, when looking from the back of the Meridian Gate, there are five doorways, hence the saying "three visible and five hidden".
Normally only the emperor could enter and exit the main gate; when the emperor got married, the empress could enter once; and the three people who passed the palace examination and ranked first, second, and third could walk out of this gate once.
Since most emperors were married when they ascended the throne, up to now, only the empress married by Kangxi, the emperor who ascended the throne for the purpose of getting married, had walked through the main gate.
Civil and military officials entered and exited through the left door, and royal family members entered and exited through the right door. The left and right side doors were usually closed. Only when the emperor held a grand ceremony in the Hall of Supreme Harmony did civil and military officials enter and exit through the two side doors.
However, all the people around were smart, and they surrounded Lao Ba and walked forward. Lao Ba knew that he should go through the right door where the royal family and nobles went, but he was still surrounded by people and entered the Forbidden City through the main gate.
Although Lao Ba had his moment, he didn't dare to do anything rash. When discussing things, he took the lead and said, "Everyone, I'm not afraid that someone will say that I came in through the main gate of the Meridian Gate. From now on, the capital is Shengjing, and this is no longer the capital."
When the people who had accompanied Lao Ba in heard this, they all looked a little embarrassed. They did have the idea of simply supporting Lao Ba, but Lao Ba's words were equivalent to openly refusing such support. Those people felt very bad.
Lao Ba did not continue the topic, but discussed how to pursue Hong Zhou. Hong Zhou retreated very decisively, first sending away important figures, including the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother. Then came the princes and ministers who were willing to leave immediately, and then the Eight Banners Army who were willing to follow Hong Zhou.
After that, the common officials entered the military capital Xing, which was close to the capital, with their families. The last one to arrive was the 60,000 green camp soldiers led by Basai, who played a decisive role in the fight against the Eight Banners of Shengjing.
When the generals of Shengjing talked about Basai and the Green Camp, they were all gnashing their teeth. When they made the plan, the generals of Shengjing had never considered that the Green Camp would be able to show such strength in the war that would decide the fate of the Qing Dynasty. It was precisely because they underestimated the Green Camp that the troops of Shengjing were unable to take the initiative to occupy Tongzhou in the end.
According to the original plan, many people in the Eight Banners of the capital joined forces with outside forces. The Eight Banners of Shengjing attacked Tongzhou, and the troops of the Fengtai camp immediately revolted, and took action from both inside and outside forces to eliminate Hong Zhou.
While they were discussing, someone brought a brocade bag to everyone. Lao Ba sighed, knowing what was inside. His subordinates opened it and revealed Hailan's head. Hailan's eyes were crooked and her tongue was hanging out. She was strangled to death and then beheaded.
Basai, the murderer who killed Hailan, also sent a letter, telling Lao Ba and others that if they fell into Basai's hands in the future, they would suffer the same fate as Hailan.
The generals in Shengjing were furious and cursed, but they could do nothing.
Since Hong Zhou had led his army to escape to Junduxing, which was close to the capital, it was impossible to catch up with Hong Zhou. Hai Lan, who was in charge of the pursuit, had used his head to prove that the Green Camp had not collapsed, and Basai, who was in charge of the Green Camp, was still able to command the Green Camp to fight back against the pursuers.
The generals in Shengjing could only discuss what to do next. The next day, someone came to report that Huo Chong in Shandong was planning to cut off the Yellow River and let it flow north.
Hearing this, the generals of Shengjing were bewildered. The Yellow River's return to the north was completely incomprehensible to them, because they never knew where the Yellow River's original course was.
At this time in Shandong, Qian Qing sat in front of Master Changxin and asked respectfully: "Since the Taoist priest let me in, can you tell my fortune for me?"
"Not counting." Master Chang Xin refused decisively.
Qian Qing was stunned. After a moment, he asked in confusion, "Since you are unwilling to tell my fortune, why did you let me in?"
The Taoist priest laughed and said, "Haha. I asked you to come in to see your recent luck. What is this called according to what Huo Chong said... eh! Now that I think about it, it's called verification."
Seeing that the Taoist priest was smiling, Qian Qing saw some sympathy in the Taoist priest's eyes and couldn't help asking again: "Master, do you know what I want to calculate?"
The forced smile on Master Changxin's face disappeared, and he replied, "Girl, the evil spirits that attack the body do not seem to be good things, but the nobles often have seven evil spirits. If they are properly controlled, the evil spirits can be used for their own benefit, just like great heroes and great heroes, who seem difficult to control, but if they are handled properly, earth-shaking achievements can be achieved suddenly. I see that you are full of energy, and you will be the highest official in the country soon."
"That's not what I want." Qian Qing decisively denied. After saying that, he was stunned, frowned and asked: "Did the Taoist hear something?"
The Taoist priest shook his head. "I am practicing metaphysics. If I rely on hearsay, wouldn't that be deceiving the world and stealing reputation? I let you in just to take a look at you, to confirm whether what I saw is true."
Qian Qing knew the Taoist priest's magic and sighed, "That is like floating clouds to me."
"Because I don't ask, I won't go." The Taoist sighed, "However, the Seven Killings Fate has a weak sense of family affection. From what I have seen, the murderous aura is too strong and will cause too much harm to young children. If you force it, I'm afraid it will be too late to regret it."
"Master, are you saying that I am unlucky towards my relatives?" Qian Qing was angry.
"If you can defeat your relatives, then you have become God's will. God's will is not something that a mortal like me can change. Even if you are the emperor, Ziwei will make people lose their heads. You are so close to Huo Chong, but have you ever seen that he wanted to be the emperor from the beginning?"
Qian Qing was stunned. After thinking for a while, he replied, "Indeed, not at all."
"The stupidity of mortals is that they think the world has a beginning and an end, or that they know the Dao has a beginning and an end. If Huo Chong only wanted to be an emperor, he would die without a burial place as a mortal. The position of emperor is just what mortals know, and it is of no value to the Dao. But you, girl, if you think that mortal affairs can be copied, you are wrong. Very wrong."
Qian Qing felt upset and couldn't help shouting, "Master, why don't you tell me a divination so that I can give up."
"It is true that the purpose of fortune-telling is to give up. But you have not given up yet, so I promise you. If you really give up, I will tell you a fortune. That's all for today."
Seeing that the Taoist priest was about to drive him away, Qian Qing didn't want to leave, so he could only change the subject, "From what the Taoist priest has seen, what changes have occurred in Ziwei Star?"
This time, Master Changxin did not shirk his responsibility and answered straightforwardly: "There is no two suns in the sky, and no two rulers in a country. Now the Purple Star has cleared up again, and only one star is visible. However, the aftermath is still ripples, and no one knows who will fall on it in the end."
Hearing this, Qian Qing thought of the deputy commander Lei Hu who went to execute the order for him. This guy must do things cleanly and neatly.
Lei Hu rubbed his nose and looked at the scene in front of him, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Outside the levee in front of us, there were turbid waves, which kept hitting the levee. This levee was Tongwaxiang.
Tongwaxiang is a famous dangerous works on the Yellow River in the Qing Dynasty. Its formation went through a gradual evolution process. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Tongwaxiang dangerous works was "more than 900 feet away from the border". After the Banchang (to the east of Tongwaxiang) was blocked in the third year of Yongzheng (1725), "there was still a dike from the first fort to the seventh fort to create a cross-Yellow River dike". The length of this cross-dike from the first fort to the fourth fort is 471 feet, which is the Tongwaxiang dangerous works.
If it were just that, it would be fine. Lei Hu did not cross the Yellow River when he escaped from Hebei. Because the Yellow River at this time turned southward when it reached the west of Shandong. Lei Hu's hometown was in Baoding. He only had to cross the small Daqing River, which was the Jishui River, and then cross the Xiaoqing River to reach Linzi, where he was destined to meet Qian Qing.
Walking along the Yellow River, we realized how dangerous it was. From the riverbed, we could see that it was already a very high hanging river, with the embankment on the back of the river generally ranging from 20 to 40 feet high, and in some places reaching more than 50 feet.
The Yellow River hangs high like a sharp blade that can cut down at any time. One of the many dangerous dams is Tongwaxiang in front of us.
This is what Lei Hu saw. What Lei Hu didn't know was that this flood was very dangerous. Perhaps because the climate suddenly warmed up, the entire north was not only as warm as spring, but even as warm as summer.
The flood season came with great force, and all rivers rose simultaneously. From January 14th to 17th, the Yellow River, Qin River, and Yiluo River all rose sharply at the same time, and the flood peaks were encountered. According to reports, the Yellow River in Wanjintan rose five times from January 14th to 16th, and the Qin River in Wuzhi also rose five times from January 14th to 17th, and the water level rose by 16 inches. At the same time, the Luo River in Gongxian rose by 3 feet at twilight time on the 16th. The water from all sources rose by a total of 18 feet and 5 inches between 10 o'clock on the 16th. The water from the three sources "flowed down at the same time and passed violently" within a few days, causing the downstream river channel to be unable to discharge in time. "From January 15th to 17th, the water level in Xiabei Hall suddenly rose, and accumulated to more than 11 feet," "the banks were flooded," and "there were many places where the embankments were level with water."
It’s just that the Qing Dynasty was in chaos at the time, so no one cared about these little things.
"It was in the unbuilt area below the three forts and above the four forts at Lanyang Station." According to Jiang Qixun's report on the 18th, after a heavy rain on June 17th, on the 18th, "the water level dropped, and the unbuilt area below the three forts at Tongwaxiang, Lanyang Station, Xiabei Hall, collapsed by three or four feet in width, leaving only a few feet on the top of the embankment." The governor of Henan Province saw the same thing on the 26th: "Who would have thought that on the 18th, the river would suddenly drop to the unbuilt area at the three forts, rushing and pouring like an arrow, and within a few hours, the embankment collapsed by four or five feet, leaving only a few feet on the top of the embankment." As a result, the water overflowed on the 19th, and at first it was still three-tenths, but by the 20th, it was completely lost.
The problem in history was in June. First, on June 18 and 20, Jiang Qifu reported that the breach was in an unfinished area below Sanbao. However, the court did not seem to believe it, so it ordered "to find out whether the breach was actually in an unfinished area and not to cover it up with excuses." As a result, Li Jun, the governor of Donghe, said after investigation that it was indeed an unfinished area and "there was no deception in the original report." However, according to the analysis of the data before the diversion, this area should be a construction site. First: During the Jiaqing period, many sluices and dams were built between Lanyang Xuntoubao and Sibao. Although some of them were silted up and abandoned later, the situation from the end of Jiaqing to the beginning of Daoguang was still: "The sluices and dams from Yueditoubao to Sibao are connected, all of which are called Tongwaxiang Upper and Lower Dams." The statement that the sluices and dams are connected proves that there are still many projects in this area. Second, when the levee from Sanbao to Sibao in Lanyang was built in the 15th year of Daoguang, the width of the levee top was very large. Most of the sections were 30 meters wide at the top and 40 meters wide at the bottom. The width of the levee top even reached 10 meters. This shows that this section is the key work that needs to be repaired and maintained. At that time, the top of the embankment was only two or three meters long without any work. Third, before the breach in the fifth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, the Tongwaxiang was a key work that was in danger year after year. Since Emperor Daoguang's reign, the work of throwing stones on the upper and lower dams and building dams with dam sluices has never been interrupted. There are many records in this regard. Here are some excerpts: In August of the 23rd year of Emperor Daoguang's reign (1843), Zhong Xiang reported: "The Tongwaxiang of Lanyang Flood in Xiabei Hall used to have three sluices at the lower end of the upper dam and three sluices at the Jizui dam... There are a total of 26 sections, and each section uses more than 180 cubic meters to more than 1,400 cubic meters of stone."
In October of the 28th year of the reign of Emperor Daoguang (1849), Zhong Xiang reported: "In the three sluices below the upper dam of Tongwaxiang, Lanyang Station, 3,332 cubic meters of crushed stones were thrown and added in the 22nd, 33rd and 27th years of the reign of Emperor Daoguang. Now 985 cubic meters of new stones have been thrown."
…
What Lei Hu had to do at this time was to ruthlessly destroy the levee and let the surging Yellow River water flow northward. At the same time, he had to try his best to block the old river course so that the Yellow River would no longer flow northward, thus completing Huo Chong's order.
