What we fight for in a war is military morale, and the source of this morale is the coach. Zuo Zongtang knows the truth behind this.
The commander of an army cannot be depressed, and now that it is a civil war in the Qing Dynasty and a battle for the throne, the king of a country cannot be depressed.
Emperor Tongzhi's negative mood is very bad and directly affects the morale of the army!
"Your Majesty, please cheer up! Why do you have to lose? How can you say such ominous words? I don't see anywhere that the traitor Yi Xin has a chance to win!"
Upon hearing this, Zai Chun's eyes shone a little brighter. Others might say this as flattery, but Zuo Jigao was different. The old commander who had pacified the Western Regions was now the backbone of the imperial court.
He has become a national hero, and the people, including the ministers, worship him from the bottom of their hearts!
"Oh! Aiqing, do you think the court can still be saved?"
"What are you talking about? Long live the Lord, you are worrying too much. Yi Xin won the battle of Zhuozhou by luck. In fact, everyone knows that he won because of the conspirators in the inner circle. He won because of his age and his far-reaching layout in the court..."
"A prince who has been qualified to seize direct lineage since the Daoguang period. After three dynasties have passed, how many direct lineages do you think he must have? Whether it is exposed or hidden, I am afraid it is a huge number!"
"These forces are usually deep-lurking, but once they burst out, it will be really difficult for us to stop them in a hurry!"
"Speaking of which, I still have to admire His Majesty for being able to train the new army in advance. He can choose these simple Hakka mountain people from the Wuyi Mountain people to serve as soldiers. He even has wild Jurchens from the outer Xing'an Mountains to form the kidnap horses. This is an absolutely brilliant move!"
"If His Majesty did not have such two loyal direct descendants, and if the Xishan camp had not been reorganized by King Dun and Gordon, I am afraid that the capital would have been lost by now!"
"Okay, everything is fine! As long as we don't suffer a complete defeat and collapse! Guard the capital, guard the Yongding River, the Grand Canal, guard the lifeline of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, and leave the rest to time!"
"I have also seen Li Tuo's Yongding River defense line. The layout is very clever! Although there are leaks from insiders, this new type of fortification built on reinforced concrete cannot be easily broken through with the old methods!"
"We don't want a quick victory. Let's just fight in a stalemate! The army of General Hunchun from the Northeast is also coming. Once the reinforcements arrive, the Jaap Six will have no chance of winning!"
"What matters in war is the ebb and flow of strength. You have to grind it out slowly! Where is the weakness of the rebels now?"
"Haha...it's actually food! We are short of food, and his Japanese army is short of food at the sixth hour. He will suffer more than us if we drag him on!"
"His Majesty was wise enough to reach a long-term contract with the Chinese for food procurement, and also invited the Chinese railway soldiers to guard the Beijing-Tianjin Railway...With such a stable supply line, there will be a steady stream of food transported to Beijing from the sea. Master!"
"Haha... three months. Guiziliu will definitely not be able to hold on after three months. The food will starve him to death!"
"Sooner or later, those disaster-stricken rebels will mutiny, and then it will be a good time for us to counterattack!"
Zai Chun smiled. In fact, it was not impossible for him to think of what Zuo Zongtang said, but human nature is like this. If he thought about it, he would probably doubt himself.
If you find an authority to speak to you, you will be more confident. This is a reassurance!
"Hey... what Aiqing said makes sense, but what I'm worried about now is the Chinese. The food trade can still be maintained, but I'm really worried about the arms trade!"
"There are too many people within the Chinese community who are against our Qing Dynasty. Those people will probably try their best to cut off our food routes and arms supply..."
Zuo Zongtang shook his head, "I don't think so. Although Xiao Letian refused to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and chose to build his own power overseas, he is different from ordinary forces..."
"He can handle things clearly and knows the priorities. Your Majesty, you can rest assured that the head of state will not let it go because it is not in the interests of the Chinese people!"
"But the master is not here?" Zai Chun said worriedly.
"Then don't worry too much. Every founding king has his own unique way of controlling his subordinates. Even if he is not there for the time being, he will still have a backup plan. How can it be so easy for people to change their strategy?"
"Your Majesty, it's better to wait for the good news with peace of mind!"
He was talking about good news, but the good news came soon enough. Xiao Sixi came trotting outside and came into the hall happily holding a telegram.
"Great joy! Great joy, long live my Lord! Mr. Li from Handan sent a congratulatory message..."
"Oh? Read..." Zai Chun was extremely excited.
"Well... there is an urgent call from Handan. The Huai Army under Li Hongzhang ambushed a group of rebels at seven o'clock tonight. They surrounded five thousand rebels in the northwest of Yongnian County, at the junction of Shunde Prefecture and Guangping Prefecture..."
"The Huai army numbered 7,000, and they fought bravely to kill the enemy, relying on Heaven's grace... In the final battle, 2,300 rebels were killed, and the rest of the rebels fled north in haste!"
"In this battle, countless weapons and 80,000 pieces of grain were seized. The bones have been cast in the capital for inspection by the imperial court... All units of the Huai Army will be in strict formation, looking for opportunities to continue the decisive battle with the enemy..."
Xiao Si recited the telegram reporting the victory with joy and emotion, and a smile suddenly appeared on Zai Chun's face.
"Okay, okay... I always thought that it would be more difficult for Li Hongzhang to be deep behind enemy lines, so there has been no movement. I never thought that he was gathering strength!"
"The majesty I felt when I defeated Changmao Pingtuanzi, I can see it again now, hahaha...reward! After the rebellion is suppressed, the benefits of the Huai Army will be indispensable!"
With this good news at the end, Zai Chun was in a good mood and felt a little hungry. He ordered a meal. A late-night snack was nothing substantial, just a few porridge and side dishes, and a few cold dishes. There was also a small jug of wine.
While serving dishes to all the adults, Xiao Sixi said to Zuo Zongtang with a flattering smile, "Long live your Majesty, you really have nothing to say to the commander-in-chief. Since the war has become urgent, your majesty has stopped drinking!"
"My lord is back in Beijing today, so I made an exception to have a drink... My lord, you need to drink a few more drinks!"
Zuo Zongtang quickly bowed his head and thanked him. Just when the monarch and his ministers were in harmony, suddenly the footsteps outside sounded again, and Er Mao hurried in.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty... The Chinese have called us urgently! The embassy has just transferred us an urgent call!"
"Just this afternoon, the Chinese National Assembly passed the gold arms sales bill with a high vote... Tonight, the Tanggu Special Administrative Region has started shipping arms and food to us!"
"The first military train in the early morning will definitely reach the capital! Long live! The food and arms crisis has been solved, everything has been solved!"
ah! Zai Chun exclaimed, "Really? The Chinese Assembly was able to pass it with a high vote despite the absence of the master? Hahaha... It seems that my luck has not failed yet!"
"Full of wine, give me a full of wine... This is the best good news!"
