Chapter 55: Secret Meeting in Chizhou

  This time Wei Zhi-jun didn't bring Huang Wenjin and the others, it seems they are still under house arrest.

  Wei Zhi-jun entered Li Ming-feng's camp and said directly: "The matter that Lord Li mentioned, my brothers and I have discussed it, we agree to join the Foreign Gun Corps, under Lord Li's command."

  Wei Zhi-jun ignored Li Ming-feng's overjoyed expression and continued: "However, I have a few conditions. If Lord Li can satisfy them, we will surrender to you; if not, we will go and surrender to Zeng Guo-fan or Guan Wen."

  "You said you said" Li Mingfeng hastily said

  "Firstly, before our army is officially incorporated, we cannot lay down our arms."

  Li Mingfeng asked doubtfully: "When will it be considered officially incorporated?"

  "Wei Zhi-jun explained: 'This means nothing else, I'm just afraid that the imperial court will remember past hatred and not accept our surrender. As long as the imperial court issues a formal document, formally recognizing us, our army will be considered officially incorporated.'"

  "This is fine"

  "Secondly, we brothers advance and retreat together, live and die together. After joining your foreign gun squad, you cannot drastically reduce our troops, nor can you disperse and reorganize our troops."

  "Okay"

  "Mr. Li is indeed a straightforward person, and it would be a great honor to work under him in the future." Wei Zhi-Jun said with a smile.

  "What should General Nawei do in the next few days?" Li Mingfeng was an intelligence blind man, completely taking it one step at a time, with no understanding of the surrounding situation. Although he had received Wei Zhi's troops, this place was after all the belly of the Taiping Army, and it was very dangerous.

  "Now that we've got a grown-up on board, naturally we'll have to follow his lead. All I need to do is follow orders and I'm set." Wei Zhi-jun quickly fell into character.

  Li Mingfeng's face slightly reddened as he said: "General Wei has been through a hundred battles, you should still bring up your own suggestions."

  Wei Zhi-jun was also straightforward, ordering his subordinates to bring a map of the Yangtze River basin and several surrounding provinces. As he introduced the various forces nearby, he explained his tactical views.

  "The city of Chizhou has 50,000 elite soldiers, mostly my direct subordinates, who can be deployed at will. There are also 50,000 soldiers in the nearby dozen or so cities, who also take orders from me before I surrender to the Qing. In Jiangbei, there are three armies led by Chen Yucheng, Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian, with about 1.5 million elite soldiers. In the west, within a radius of 500 li, near Gande Jingde Town, is Yang Fuqing's territory, with about 700,000 to 800,000 elite soldiers. To the east, 500 li away, is Wuhu, which was originally Li Shixian's campsite, but recently moved to Jiangbei by Hong Xiuquan, leaving less than 20,000 people here. Going south, it's all Heavenly Kingdom forces, but there aren't any large-scale Taiping armies, with the city guards numbering at most a few thousand or as few as several hundred, none of whom are a force to be reckoned with." Wei Zhi introduced.

  "Should we hold Chizhou and wait for imperial reinforcements or should the entire army abandon the city?" Li Mingfeng asked.

  "The city of Chi is high and its pool is deep, with countless grains, grasses, and equipment. It has a place that can be defended, and it will be presented to the imperial court as a major achievement. Such great merit will soon lead to promotion and advancement."

  Li Mingfeng cursed in his heart, what a great achievement? Do you think I'm stupid? If we hold on, the greatest achievement will be yours. The court doesn't know the inside story, and the news they can get is that Wei Zhijun surrendered by offering up Chizhou. They won't say that Li Mingfeng defended Chizhou and won. However, Li Mingfeng also understood why Wei Zhiyun wanted to do this, because he was always afraid of the court resenting him for not having enough achievements, and was worried about being punished in the future.

  "Listening to General Wei's introduction, there are tens of thousands of Longhairs nearby, while our army only has 50,000, and among them, there is no lack of soldiers loyal to the Heavenly Kingdom. How long do you think Poyang can hold on?" Li Mingfeng asked.

  Wei Zhi-jun also understood that his tactics were too idealistic, in fact, it didn't take much, as long as there were a thousand soldiers loyal to the Heavenly King within the city, then this Pool State would not be able to be defended.

  Wei Zhi-jun sighed and said: "This time, I really was inspired by Li Zhao-shou's affair. Although Li Zhao-shou killed countless Qing soldiers, more than a month ago, when he surrendered, he collaborated with General Sheng Bao inside and out, presented Chuzhou, achieved great merit, and the imperial court trusted him even more, rewarding him with a third-rank official hat. I also wanted to learn from Li Zhao-shou and present Chizhou, but this place is indeed difficult to defend, which made me eager to establish my merit."

  "You're eager to make a name for yourself, I don't blame you, but life is still more important. Going north means facing tens of thousands of Taiping rebels, going west means seven or eight hundred thousand, and going east to Wuhu may only have twenty thousand, but Tianjing is only two days' journey from Wuhu, which also counts as a strong military presence. It seems that if we want to save our lives, the only option is to flee south, in which direction does the Taiping rebel force become the weakest in the south? And where is the Qing army's influence closest?" Li Mingfeng asked.

  Wei Zhi-jun was almost stunned when he heard this, a general actually said 'life is important' and 'escape' in front of his subordinates.

  It wasn't until half a response later that Wei Zhi-jun slowly replied, "That...that place...wherever there are large numbers of Qing troops, there are also large numbers of Taiping Army. If you say to find a place with weak forces to go to Min-Zhe, although there aren't many Taiping Army there, the Qing army is even fewer, almost impossible to stand."

  "Then just say where is the safest place?" Li Mingfeng asked.

  Wei Zhi-jun considered for a moment before pointing to the map and saying, "Although there are 70,000 to 80,000 troops of Yang Fu-qing in eastern Jiangxi, Zhang Yun-lan and Xiao Qi-jiang's Hunan army is also constantly trying to recover Jingdezhen. Although there are many Taiping soldiers here, the Hunan army is not few either. The Taiping army does not have an absolute advantage. If our army joins the battle, it may turn the situation around and possibly defeat Yang Fu-qing."

  Li Mingfeng narrowed his eyes and stared at Wei Zhijun, making him straighten his hair. For a while, Li Mingfeng didn't speak, and Wei Zhijun couldn't help but say: "Sir, although I have a personal grudge against Yang Fuqing, it's not to the point where I would put my brothers in danger for the sake of a personal vendetta. Going to eastern Guangdong to join the Xiang Army is not dangerous."

  Li Mingfeng's old face turned red with embarrassment at the phrase "not dangerous", he coughed and covered up his awkwardness, saying: "Well, let's go to Jiangxi then."

  Wei Zhi-jun again specifically mentioned the troops and various materials that can be mobilized, Li Ming-feng suggested that Huang Wen-jin, Liu Guan-fang, Gu Long-xian, and Lai Wen-hong four people do not need to be killed, but must be prevented from reporting. If the news of surrendering to the Qing dynasty is spread too early, it will lead to the Tianjing faction sending troops to intercept and kill, which would be dangerous.

  The final decision was made, with Wei Zhi-jun leading most of the soldiers and generals to transport supplies and advance one step ahead. A few trusted generals were left behind to continue defending Chizhou. Three days later, after Li Ming-feng and Wei Zhi-jun had gone far away, the remaining generals would lead their troops to pursue them. Huang Wen-jin, Liu Guan-fang, Gu Long-xian, and Lai Wen-hong, four generals were temporarily imprisoned, and when the remaining generals withdrew, they would be released, which was also a way to preserve the friendship of former comrades-in-arms.

  After the discussion, Wei Zhi-jun and others immediately left to open the treasury, loading grain, grass, weapons, gold and silver onto carts. In order to keep it secret, ordinary Taiping Army soldiers did not know the truth at all, they were just following orders.

  December 2, 1858 (Hamfeng eight years), everything was ready, Li Mingfeng, Wei Zhi-jun and others led the foreign gun team, a small part of the Xiang Army and 40,000 Taiping Army out of the city, heading straight for Jingdezhen five hundred miles southwest.