Qiao Zhiqing took Hong Renji to travel in Suzhou City for a day, and after several months of governance, the economy of Suzhou City has improved greatly.The spinning mill that Pan Yongquan was preparing to build and the tobacco factory that was a joint venture with Qiao Zhiqing had completed the basic construction.After the start of construction, the two factories can provide direct employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people, not including the relevant service personnel supporting these factories, which has attracted Hong Renji's continuous admiration.What surprised Hong Renji the most was that the atmosphere of Suzhou was more civilized than that of Jinkuicheng.The women are all dressed in short clothes, generously exposing the skin of their bodies, and they don't care about the eyes of outsiders at all.The men all abandoned their clumsy robes and short coats, and all of them changed into Western-style clothes, and everyone's faces were filled with a youthful atmosphere.The last stop is Huaxing Academy, the two of them walked and chatted on the tree-lined path, just happened to meet the time when the students got out of class, each student saw Qiao Zhiqing after the teacher and student salute on the side, and there were female students gathered together to shout at Qiao Zhiqing's and Qiao Zhiqing was also polite one by one.Hong Renji is no stranger to this place, the Zhongwang Mansion that was comparable to the Heavenly King's Mansion has now been changed into a academy by Qiao Zhiqing, I don't know how Li Xiucheng will feel if he knows it, compared to Qiao Zhiqing's realm, it is an underground and a heaven, and the gradual decline of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seems to be what it should be."
Qiao Dashuai, today is really an eye-opener for this king, Suzhou City has changed greatly in your hands, aren't you afraid that these shocking reforms will be held accountable by the Manchu court one day" Hong Renji was both excited in his heart, but also inexplicably raised a trace of worry for his enemy.Qiao Zhiqing replied indifferently, "The imperial court is already rotten, which of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion can come in handy, what really supports the imperial court is only a few regiments of the Han people to train their arms, whether the imperial court can persist until the day when Qiao Zhiqing is held accountable is still unknown, and Ben Shuai will definitely not give them this opportunity." ”"So that's the case, no wonder Qiao Dashuai had to drive Li Xiucheng to Jiaxing, it turned out that he wanted to borrow his hand to drag Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, and it was really a good move."
Hong Renji didn't expect Qiao Zhiqing to be so naked and straightforward, he was more like a thief than himself.After connecting the various clues in his head, Hong Renji finally figured out Qiao Zhiqing's true intentions."
King Gan is a smart person, and Ben Shuai also needs capable people like you by his side, so Ben Shuai still hopes that after King Gan returns to Nanjing, he will seriously plan for the future of you and your kingdom of heaven.King Gan also knows Zeng Guofan's style of acting, if the city of Nanjing is captured by him, not only will your Taiping army be slaughtered without leaving behind, but even the people in the city will be implicated and give you a heavenly burial.Ben Shuai wants to be a king, he must not want to see such a scene happen" After the two sat down by a small lake in the academy, Qiao Zhiqing stared at Hong Renji closely, his tone slightly aggravated, and his words were full of undoubted kingly spirit."
I understand what Qiao Dashuai said, and this king will definitely consider it seriously after he goes back.It's not too early, we should also go back to Jinkui City, King Zhong is afraid that he has already withdrawn his troops from Wuxi City at this moment. ”Hong Renji was full of hesitation, he was not a person who was greedy for life and afraid of death, and he would not give up the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom until he had to.But he is also an idealist, and nothing Qiao Zhiqing did was not consistent with his ideals, and he couldn't help but make Hong Renji think."
Ganwang guessed well, the front line has just sent an urgent report, King Zhong has indeed withdrawn his troops from Wuxi City, and now I am afraid that he has already traveled to the territory of Huzhou Mansion, Ben Shuai will let the soldiers send King Gan and the young king back to Nanjing, Ganwang should not forget Ben Shuai's instructions today, Ben Shuai is also looking forward to the day as soon as possible."
While the two were talking, the herald sent Qiao Zhiqing the latest battle report, and at the same time there was the news that Chen Bingwen had taken Changzhou City.After Li Xiucheng withdrew his troops, the defenders in the city were defeated and fled from the north gate towards Nanjing."
That's the case, then there will be another trip with the king."
Hong Renji was stunned when he heard this, and he was happy that the life of the young king had been preserved, but he was secretly disappointed, he couldn't imagine that the loyal king who had won a hundred battles at the beginning, but now he was beaten by Qiao Zhiqing like a lost dog, and he was defeated in Huzhou so quickly.Qiao Zhiqing didn't say anything more, and ordered the soldiers on the left and right to prepare war horses, and the group rushed to Jinkui City in the afterglow of the sunset.After Hong Renji saw Hong Tianguifu, his heart was like an arrow, and he couldn't wait to return to Nanjing City immediately with the young king.But it was dark outside, so I had no choice but to stay in Jinkui City for another night, and I left Qiao Zhiqing early the next morning and ran to Nanjing City with the young dynasty.Qiao Zhiqing looked at Hong Renji's back and smiled dumbly, and secretly said in his heart, after all, he is still a member of the old Hong family, and no matter how much he cares about his family, it's just a pity that Hong Renji's talent was buried by his mediocre eldest brother.After Changzhou City was taken by the Qing army, Qiao Zhiqing's power suddenly expanded to the gate of Nanjing City, connecting Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou, and the east side of Taihu Lake belonged to Qiao Zhiqing.After receiving Qiao Zhiqing's good news, the imperial court did not react as quickly as before, on the contrary, a considerable number of ministers in the court were extremely alert to the expanding power of the Qing army.After the next dynasty, the queen mother of the two palaces left Prince Gong Yixin behind, wanting to hear the thoughts of this little uncle known as "Devil Six".The little emperor didn't know what was going on, but he was just playing around on the throne, sucking his fingers in his mouth from time to time.An Dehai carefully waited for the little emperor on the side, for fear that he would fall from the throne."
Sixth, what is the origin of this Qiao Zhiqing, who has made such a big move in Jiangnan."
Cixi took a sip of the tea bowl, rinsed her mouth and spit into the spittoon, and looked at Yixin with her eyebrows.Ci'an is generous by nature, he doesn't care much about power, everything is based on Cixi's decision, and he is not angry on the side, but he also looks at Yixin very curiously.Yi Xin thought for a while, bowed down and hugged his fists and replied, "Back to the Empress Dowager's words, Qiao Zhiqing led the Huai Army prepared by Li Hongzhang, a few days ago Qiao Zhiqing captured Suzhou, and the Empress Dowager also rewarded him as the prefect of Suzhou, but at that time he still had a small achievement, and the Empress Dowager was afraid that she didn't take it to heart."
In the past few months, Qiao Zhiqing's power has expanded rapidly, surpassing Li Hongzhang, and he also took the initiative to send troops north to Shaanxi to suppress the rebellion, and now he has occupied Changzhou City, which is only 100 kilometers away from the lair of the long-haired thief. ”"What are the ministers in the court arguing about, such a general who can fight well, is there anything you are not satisfied with" Cixi looked at Yi Xin puzzled, she didn't know much about these generals who led the troops, and when she encountered military intelligence matters, she still handed them over to the Military Aircraft Department to deal with, and only added her own opinions when the results came out."
The Empress Dowager Shengming, the ministers are worried about Qiao Zhiqing's ability to recruit and fight well, last month Qiao Zhiqing's army killed more than 300,000 Hui prisoners of war in northern Shaanxi, and the ministers are worried that Qiao Zhiqing's murderous spirit is too heavy, and it will be difficult to restrain him in the future."
Yi Xin worriedly told the truth of the matter, but he deliberately ignored Zeng Guofan's massacre of the Taiping Army, as if returning people's lives is fate, and the Taiping Army's lives are not fate."
So that's the case, it's interesting, I don't know what Prince Gong means."
Cixi's pink forehead looked at Yi Xin with a slight wrinkle, she was only about the same age as Qiao Zhiqing at this time, her complexion was still very good, she was delicate, smooth and shiny, her black hair was pulled up high, and there was a heroic spirit between her slender eyebrows and eyes, and she had a taste for every smile and smile."
Back to the Empress Dowager's words, Qiao Zhiqing is indeed a rare general, you can't do without it, but you can't guard against it, the slave thinks that he wants to be gracious and powerful, and first reward him with a second-grade top flower feather, in order to show his grace to take Changzhou City, and then let Jiangbei's Shengbao draw out a part of the Eight Banners soldiers to enter Suzhou, and defend Suzhou with Qiao Zhiqing, reminding him at all times on the side, in order to show his power to kill Hui people indiscriminately in northern Shaanxi."
Yi Xin carefully spoke her thoughts."
Prince Gong is Prince Gong, this is very in line with the heart of the mourning family, everything is handled by Prince Gong, there is a chance to mourn the family but I want to meet this Qiao Zhiqing, how did he do the position of handsome at a young age" Cixi sighed, after explaining a few words, let Yixin retreat, and constantly sketched Qiao Zhiqing's appearance in her heart, and like a little girl, she was full of longing for the meeting with Qiao Zhiqing, she became a widow at a young age, and the loneliness at night was unbearable, I am afraid that only she knows, It is also normal to hear that the legendary man moved the mortal heart.The most important point is probably only Cixi herself knows, Xianfeng Ye before his death to Cixi all kinds of precautions, first set Ci'an as the empress dowager of the East Palace, and before his death gave her a secret edict, once Cixi has any misdeeds, Ci'an can rely on the secret edict to punish her according to the rule of the ancestors.Cixi has always been cautious in front of Ci'an, and all decisions must be made with Ci'an's consent before the edict is implemented.Although Ci'an is ostensibly ignorant of the world, he is very skilled in the control of authority.Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zuo Zongtang in the court were all single-handedly promoted and reused by Ci'an, and the trustworthy people around Cixi were also free eunuchs An Dehai, so after Cixi heard about Qiao Zhiqing's deeds, she paid attention to him, in a vain attempt to borrow Qiao Zhiqing's power to consolidate her position in the harem.The blush that flashed on Cixi's face did not escape Ci'an's eyes, but she still maintained a quiet smile and did not say anything, Yixin retreated, and returned to the Tishun Hall in the east under the service of the maid, leaving Cixi and the little emperor sitting in the Warm Heart Pavilion
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