Chapter 148 Cheng Xueqi kills and surrenders in Suzhou (2)
The next day, Li Xiucheng summoned Gao Yongkuan, Wang Anjun, Zhou Wenjia, Wang Youwei and others again. He spoke earnestly and sincerely: My Lord is now covered in dust, and his influence will not be long. Most of you are from Lianghu, so there is no need for you to harm me. I can't stay like this with the current situation. If I have other intentions, I am a famous general in the country. Who dares to support me?
Gao Yongkuan and others looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
In the afternoon, Li Xiucheng summoned Tan Shaoguang again and persuaded him: "There are six of the eight gates in Suzhou, Gao Yongkuan and Wang Anjun, and their support is several times that of my brother. Follow me and leave here, and it will be over."
Tan Shaoguang said: I have made up my mind, and I vow to live or die together with this city!
Xiucheng sighed and handed over the power of defending the city to Tan Shaoguang. He led his headquarters out of the city from Xumen at night and stationed in the Maotang Bridge area, hoping to temporarily secure Suzhou by external control.
When Li Xiucheng left Su, Gao Yongkuan breathed a sigh of relief and said to Wang Anjun: Zhongdian left, great things have happened!
Wang Anjun said: If you look for an opportunity to kill Tan Shaoguang, Tan's tribe will be in chaos. Let Cheng and Ge enter the city. Cooperate between the inside and the outside, once and for all.
Gao Yongkuan said: "I don't know how many times I have seen Hua Ling, and I haven't seen the red or blue tops. Why be impatient? I will go outside the city in person tomorrow to meet Cheng Xueqi."
On December 2, 1863, Gao Yongkuan, Cheng Xueqi, and Gordon gathered together to discuss the transfer of Sioux City.
Gao Yongkuan said: "Does Mr. Futai approve of what we have mentioned?"
Cheng Xueqi said: "Li Shuaiye has given permission. The memorial will go back and forth from north to south. My emperor, Zhu Yu, will personally approve it. It will take some time. Brother Gao, please be patient." Cheng broke an arrow and swore an oath. If he had any second thoughts, the sky would strike with five thunders.
Gordon said: Don't worry, Mr. Gao, I guarantee it with my honor as a royal officer of the British Empire.
Gao Yongkuan said: Since Mr. Gordon took office, the foreign rifle team has maintained strict military discipline and controlled killings. Gao admires them very much.
Gordon said: You should do everything you can with just a little effort. Mr. Gao walks slowly and seems to have a chronic illness.
Gao Yongkuan sighed: After years of fighting, my whole body is injured!
Gordon said: I will order the military doctor to treat Mr. Gao's injuries.
Magani, Gordon's close friend and ever-victorious army doctor, was twenty-nine years old and handsome. Gao Yongkuan liked it very much and hoped to benefit Qin and Jin Dynasty.
Gao Yongkuan said: I have a daughter in my family, she is twenty-eight years old, I don’t know...
Cheng Xueqi hurriedly said: The predicament in Suzhou has not been resolved, so the love between children will not grow long yet. The inside should cooperate with the outside, and Su City can be defeated. I will immediately ask Li Shuai to act as a mediator.
Gao Yongkuan said: There are twenty or thirty kings under my command, some are rebellious, some swear allegiance to the kingdom of heaven, and only a few are willing to surrender. I will return to the city, give both kindness and power, and control the three armies. Tomorrow you and others can attack the city as much as possible. My troops will wrap their heads in white scarves and respond in the city.
On December 3, Cheng Xueqi and Gordon attacked Suzhou again. They attacked continuously for a day and a night, and then retreated at dawn.
King Mu Tan Shaoguang fought alone but was unable to cope with the situation. So he held a banquet and hosted a banquet for the kings at King Mu's Mansion to plan city defense matters.
Gao Yongkuan felt guilty as a thief and did not dare to attend the banquet.
Wang Anjun said: If you continue to cut off, you will suffer chaos. Yesterday, Tan was beheaded by cooperating with the inside and outside.
Gao Yongkuan said: Before the imperial edict of the Qing Dynasty arrived, the generals and deputy generals were not allowed to act rashly; otherwise, I would be like fish and meat, and everyone else would be a swordsman!
Wang Anjun said: If you don't go to the banquet, you may be suspected. Our troops are thick and we are secretly hiding outside the palace.
Gao Yongkuan said: "As soon as the door of General Tan's house is closed, we all enter the urn."
Wang Anjun said: The eight of us will stay close to Tan and look for opportunities to kill him, and great things can happen.
Gao Yongkuan sighed and said: "People say that if we can reach Long, we can look forward to Shu. We haven't yet captured Long, so we fish for the moon in the water. This is really a bad idea!"
At noon, Gao Yongkuan, Wang Anjun, Zhou Wenjia, Wang Youwei and others filed in. They all went to Prince Mu's mansion to eat meat and drink wine. After a disagreement, Wang Anjun pulled out his dagger, rushed towards Tan Shaoguang, and stabbed Tan Shaoguang violently. Wang Youwei and others rushed forward. Cut off Shao Guang's head.
Gao Yongkuan refused to do anything and simply ordered to kill nearly a thousand of Tan Shaoguang's soldiers.
After the civil strife subsided, Gao Yongkuan immediately ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome the Huai army. To show his sincerity, Gao Yongkuan sent Shao Guang's head to Cheng Xuexi.
Li Hongzhang was surprised and happy, and said to Cheng Xueqi: "Fang Zhong has a quick look, is this the head of Chief Mu?"
Cheng Xueqi said: It is true!
Li Hongzhang said: There are many similar people in the world. There was a bandit in Taicang who pretended to surrender. The bandits in Su City are huge and cunning, so we must be on guard against them.
Cheng Xueqi said: Report to Li Shuai, even if Gao Yongkuan has opened the city gate, I cannot hesitate; I can order Zheng Guokui's Kui camp and Wu Yufen's Hua camp to be fully armed and enter the city immediately to find out.
When Wu Yufen received the order, he was very frightened and said to Wu Yulan: "There are one hundred thousand soldiers in Suzhou City. If Gao Yongkuan cheats, won't the whole army of our Huazi Camp be wiped out?"
Wu Yulan said: Taicang is a lesson learned from the past and must be guarded against; military orders are like mountains and must be followed.
Wu Yufen said: The soldiers in my camp have been without pay for nearly three months. They are licking blood from the edge of their swords and are experiencing life and death. They just want to have a good time.
That night, the Huazi Battalion entered Suzhou City. Thousands of troops marched through the streets without anyone blocking them. The Wu brothers cried with joy, and then let go and robbed them wantonly.
Gao Yongkuan was furious and ordered his soldiers to prepare with guns and artillery.
At dawn, Governor Cheng Xueqi led the main force and stationed at the four gates of Lou, Qi, Feng and Pan in Suzhou.
Gao Yongkuan immediately entered Cheng Xueqi's camp and accused Huaziying of atrocities.
Cheng Xueqi said: Our army has strict discipline, and the Huazi camp dare not make any mistakes. It must be the work of stragglers. I will investigate thoroughly and kill the ruffians to vent my anger for Brother Gao.
Gao Yongkuan said: Last night in Suzhou, there were just a few stragglers, but why was there such a movement? Brother Cheng, don't act perfunctorily. You and I are both leaders of the army. Our words must be deeded, our deeds must bear fruit, and the fruit must be believed. Half of the city was left to station our troops, twenty battalions were established and paid, the officers were guaranteed to be the commander-in-chief and deputy general, and the provinces and positions were specified. When will these three items be implemented?
Cheng Xueqi said: "Li Shuai has also entered the city. I will kowtow to my brother again."
Cheng Xueqi met with Li Hongzhang and explained the situation.
Li Hongzhang said: "There are many people who surrender, and they are unwilling to surrender." What does Fang Zhong mean?
Cheng Xueqi said: At the beginning of the siege, there was no intention of repentance, and there were still many unreasonable demands. kill!
Li Hongzhang said in astonishment: "It is ominous to kill him, and to make Chang Jia's thieves go against the wind and defend them is to make an enemy. You must not do it."
Cheng Xueqi said: I know that killing and surrendering is unlucky, but if I don't kill these eight people, Su City will never be captured, even though I feel uneasy about it. I would rather betray the thief than the imperial court.
Li Hongzhang said: This matter is not trivial. Let me think about it again.
Li Hongzhang hesitated for two days and nights, unable to make a decision.
Cheng Xueqi said again: "Killing people who have betrayed you, but only benefiting the country, you have a clear conscience, and you can taint the gods and ghosts."
Li Hongzhang said: Gordon's guarantee is also troublesome.
Cheng Xueqi said: Gao and others should be punished if they approach foreigners. Foreigners have despised China for a long time! We must train our troops to strengthen ourselves, take advantage of others' strengths and eliminate our shortcomings. Our troops have been practicing the foreign affairs and the British and French orders for more than half a year. In time, after the Great Peace in the southeast, our troops went north to suppress the foreign troops, suppressed the foreign troops, and relied on Li Shuai to achieve unparalleled achievements.
Li Hongzhang said: If Gao and others, like Luo Guozhong and others, withdraw from the city and be restrained, how happy it will be!
Cheng Xueqi said: There are 50,000 Gao troops in the city, but our army only has more than 13,000. If Commander Li follows the heart of a Bodhisattva, he will cause endless disasters.
Li Hongzhang said: In one thought, life and death are two different things. May I ask Fang Zhong, do you have any other ideas?
Cheng Xueqi said: There is no other way, but to kill eight people, Suzhou can be peaceful. If Li Shuai hesitates again, Cheng will immediately resign to serve the people and will no longer interfere with human wars. Whether Cheng stays or goes has nothing to do with the overall situation; I dare to ask Li Shuai, the thieves rebelled against Taicang and pretended to surrender, brother Ji Quan almost died, Li Shuai forgot?
Li Hongzhang said angrily: This time I will follow Fang Zhong.
Cheng Xueqi said: "Li Shuai Gou listens, please follow my command."
At noon on December 6, Li Hongzhang personally hosted a banquet for eight people, including Gao Yongkuan. As soon as they were at the banquet, an officer came in from outside and gave Li Hongzhang an ultimatum, and Hongzhang gave it away. There are eight military officers, each with a crown in each hand, all with red crowns and feathers. In front of the kneeling table, Gao Yongkuan and other eight people are invited to raise the crown.
Gao Yongkuan and others were very proud. As they knelt down, eight heads rolled to the ground.
It was already past noon when Cheng Xueqi beheaded the eight kings. When he heard the sound of cannons again, all the Huai army units swarmed in, breaking down every door, searching everywhere, killing everyone, and robbing everything. When the sun sets and the sky becomes dark, the war has just stopped.
Li Hongzhang was angry and rebuked Cheng Xueqi: "You have surrendered to others, but why did you do this so suddenly!"
Cheng Xueqi said: "Li Shuai calmed down and killed eight people. The rebels were in commotion and had no choice but to kill!"
Li Hongzhang said: Burning, killing, looting, etc. are not the actions of a good general!
