Today, Wang Lin finally understood what it meant to be a scale dog rather than a person in troubled times. It turned out that the so-called troubled times that he had thought in his mind and read in books were just jokes that had been whitewashed countless times.
No wonder the Confucians of all dynasties since the Northern Song Dynasty tried their best to weaken the country's military power, but never allowed the generals to become more powerful. It turned out that what they were guarding against was warlord chaos.
Those ancient scholars from thousands of years ago had really seen troubled times and knew what it was like in that era when people were not human!
By this time in the late Qing Dynasty, there were gradually signs of warlordism, and social order had begun to collapse!
If the previous Qing Dynasty was a society where the people were severely exploited and lived in poverty and backwardness but still had some order, then the current Qing Dynasty is a chaotic world where even the last order has been broken and the people's basic right to survival cannot be preserved!
Is Li Hongzhang a cruel and murderous pervert? No, he is also a scholar, so why did he do what he did today so cruelly?
In fact, it was just a matter of taking advantage of the situation and pushing the situation to this point. Such an action would be most beneficial to him and this force.
Li Hongzhang watched everything in front of him from a distance on the high hill. When he saw that no one could stand up on the battlefield, he sighed and put down the telescope.
"Hey... it's a disaster. I don't want it to be like this, but for the survival of our power, I can only rely on this method to get through it!"
"The imperial court has asked me to send troops several times, and Emperor Tongzhi has already doubted me. I can't do it unless I make some contributions!"
"I know you are also very unjust, but there is nothing we can do. The Han people have finally gained some military power. We can't go back!"
"There are thousands of ways to overthrow the Manchu Tartars. You, Xiao Letian, have your choice, and we also have ours, but in the end it is still the same way. The more guns the Han people have in their hands, the stronger our power will be. In the future, Only in the future will we have more say!”
"What Zuo Jigao did was wrong! It was easy to raise more than 100,000 Han elites, but you stayed in the Western Regions. You made the Qing Dynasty feel relieved, but the power of the Han people in the Central Plains was even smaller..."
"You are doing it for your own reputation, regardless of the Han family's foundation for the next thousand years!"
"How about Marshal Zeng? There was also the massacre after Jinling was conquered. This was not because the Marshal was murderous, but because he wanted to use this method to unite the morale of the army and show the world the power of the Hunan Army!"
"The ones you kill are the hairy remnants, but the ones you scare are the Tartars in the Forbidden City!"
"Perhaps I, Li Hongzhang, will not be able to see the destruction of the Qing Dynasty until my death, but as long as I keep this army of Han generals in my hands, these tens of thousands of Han men will become tens of thousands of families..."
"There are endless descendants. If we give them more rights now, we will contribute to our future career!"
"In troubled times, where are the ghosts who died unjustly? People who achieve great things cannot love their children!"
"Send a telegram to the capital immediately to report victory!"
Li Hongzhang rode his horse and left the battlefield without even looking back. How could a person of this level care about thousands of lives? It was considered benevolent and righteous for him to come to the war in person to express his condolences.
Wang Lin and others also resumed their steps. After the sky turned dark, the remaining civilians finally continued to move forward. They walked around the slaughterhouse and were so scared that they did not even dare to breathe.
Even if the Huai army unloaded another hundred thousand shi of food, they didn't dare to protest at all. Wang Lin was like a plague chicken beaten by frost at this moment, no longer as domineering as before.
Master Qin tried to persuade him along the way, "Hey... Young Master Wang, I was the same as you before. I was also a big bannerman in the capital. I followed the prince and were all bullies. I have never been bullied!"
"At that time, I felt that I was not afraid of anything. I served my master well and everything else was useless! When I followed my master and beat disobedient slaves to death, I had so many ways to kill people!"
"I thought I was ruthless, but when I saw it on the battlefield...fuck, I was so scared that I peed my pants!"
"The army kills people in a planned, organized and efficient manner without any emotion at all... I thought I was brave and ruthless, but in fact I am just a stinky gangster..."
"These people in charge of the army are the descendants of the Heavenly Killing Star. They are the reincarnations of Asura!"
"Get used to it, it will be good if you see more in the future... You really should have seen the Battle of Zhuozhou. Tens of thousands of corpses were spread out on the ground. There were so many ways to die... The cannons blasted over and everyone was gone. , Blood is raining down from the sky, and pieces of meat!”
vomit……
Wang Lin finally stopped vomiting, but he couldn't hold it in. Master Qin described it vividly again, and vomited it out directly on the horse.
Li Hongzhang's play was completely performed by Zai Chun, who lived in the Forbidden City. He really couldn't do it if he didn't act, because just this afternoon, Zuo Zongtang, who had been away from the capital for a long time, had returned to the capital by airship.
After the Battle of Zhuozhou, Zai Chun fell into a deep fear. He repeatedly asked to take Zuo Zongtang back. The more famous generals he had on his side, the more confident he felt.
But Zuo Zongtang wants to stabilize the situation in Baoding Prefecture. This is the capital of Zhili and cannot be taken by the rebels. If the capital of Zhili is lost, the people of Zhili will be completely in chaos.
Fortunately, Guiziliu knew how to balance and did not send troops to Baoding Prefecture. The garrison in Baoding Prefecture could only protect itself and could not take the initiative to attack!
After Zuo Zongtang took care of the matters at hand, he returned to the capital by airship. On the way, he hovered over the Zhuozhou battlefield for an hour and carefully deduced the battle situation at that time.
In the end, all he got was a sigh!
"Cough cough cough... Zuo Aiqing, are you back... How are you? Give Marshal Zuo a seat, pass on the banquet, pour wine to ward off the cold... cough cough cough..."
Emperor Tongzhi received Zuo Zongtang late at night and even gave him wine and a banquet. This kind of courtesy was beyond the standard, which made Baojun, Fuqing and others who were accompanying him envious.
Zuo Zongtang quickly stood up and bowed his head to thank him. Zai Chun hurriedly asked the old commander to stand up and said, "Get up, don't do such nonsense, what are you kowtowing for?"
"I don't know if I can sit down in this country in the future. I will be content if I can leave a whole body behind...cough cough cough!"
Zuo Zongtang was stunned. He hadn't seen Zai Chun for a long time. When he saw him today, it was like seeing a half-dead person. Zai Chun was still as high-spirited as when he first ascended the throne.
At this moment, my face is flushed, I keep coughing, my whole body is sick, and there are some red bumps on my chin and neck!
What's even worse is that Zai Chun's mood is so bad, he has no self-confidence at all!
"Your Majesty, cheer up!" Zuo Zongtang suddenly shouted loudly, "How come your Majesty is thinking about death? I flew back from Baoding Mansion and inspected the battlefield all the way. Why didn't I see that we were bound to lose?"
