Chapter 64: The Battle of Jingdezhen (6) Each with Their Own Plans

  "Indeed, Li young brother, you are now a deputy general of the imperial court, haha!" Gong Cheng said with a smile.

  Li Mingfeng asked what was going on, and Gong Cheng told him the whole story from start to finish.

  After the Battle of Sanhe, Zeng Guofan was grateful for Li Mingfeng's rescue of Zeng Guohua, so he petitioned to have Li Mingfeng enfeoffed. Du Xing'a left Li Mingfeng as a rear guard in the end, which led to Li Mingfeng's 'total defeat', so he also felt guilty and asked for rewards for Li Mingfeng.

  Normally, Li Mingfeng's achievement is not worth mentioning. This year, there are many people who have made contributions in the war. However, relying on the face of Zeng Guofan and Du Xinga, the court also recorded this achievement.

  As they died in battle, the law generally grants a higher official title. Anyway, the person is dead, and enjoying some high-level treatment doesn't matter. Li Xubin was originally the governor of the province, but after his death, the court promoted him to be the governor-general. Other martyrs of the Hunan Army were also rewarded with titles. Li Mingfang benefited from the prestige of the Hunan Army and was granted the title of deputy general.

  Deputy general is from the second product, with the same level as Bu Zhengshi, that is, Zhang Yunlan, Xiao Qijiang and other generals who have been fighting for many years and have made countless achievements, are only fourth-grade Dao officials. Li Mingfeng was able to be initially appointed as deputy general, which is absolutely a shocking news. Of course, this kind of promotion usually only occurs in the case of posthumous promotion.

  According to the memorials of Zeng Guofan and Du Xing'a, Li Mingfang should be a general under the command of Governor-General He Guiqing of the Two Rivers, so the imperial court sent the order to the yamen of the Governor-General of the Two Rivers. This matter was a good thing for He Guiqing, as Li Mingfang's death in battle gave him face. Therefore, He Guiqing also did not make an untimely memorial saying that the foreign gun troops actually did not listen to his dispatches. Once the imperial court's awards and promotions were issued, they could not be withdrawn or changed, even if after some time, news came out that Li Mingfang had not died, the imperial court would not be able to withdraw its decree.

  Li Mingfeng had no interest in the deputy general position, but Kou Cheng, who had always been dissatisfied with the imperial court, was surprisingly enthusiastic and talked endlessly about the topic of deputy general.

  Li Mingfeng couldn't help but ask in puzzlement: "Gong big brother, since I've known you, you've always been respectful and distant from court affairs. Why are you so concerned about this empty position this time?"

  Gong Cheng said with a hint of anger: "You idiot, you're really stupid beyond help"

  Li Mingfeng didn't know which sentence he asked wrong again, so he just lowered his head and remained silent.

  "When you were in Shanghai, wasn't the most annoying thing that the scale of the foreign gun team was restricted and there was no solution for food and salary? Now you have a deputy general title, although it's a virtual job, but also an official appointed by the court. So He Guiqing, for the sake of face, lied to the court saying that your foreign gun team is under his command, then you just follow along and climb up, and call yourself the deputy general of the Two Rivers Governor's Office. At that time, this foreign gun team would be He Guiqing's men, and he would have to pay silver to support them." Gong Cheng said.

  "Isn't He Guoqiang that stupid? I told him to take out the silver and he did?" Li Mingfeng asked.

  "He wouldn't be foolish to take out silver, but now the three provinces under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi, which one is under his control? The whole of Anhui is occupied by the Longhairs, only a few cities in the northwest of Jiangxi are under the imperial court, but they are still controlled by Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army. Jiangsu is even more so the location of the Heavenly Capital, where the Longhairs are most prosperous. He Guiqing, this Governor-General of Liangjiang, actually controls less territory than a prefect."

  Gong Cheng sat in a large chair, pointing to the map hanging in the tent and said: "Jiangxi and Anhui are not mentioned for the time being. Even if Jiangsu is defeated by the Qing army, He Guiqing will have to take the blame. If they win, he won't get any credit because who let him have no soldiers? He can't even ask for merit. If you show enough obedience to him, Li brother, he will definitely try his best to satisfy your conditions. Because he needs the foreign gun team to protect the few remaining cities for him and also needs the foreign gun team to help him win more battles."

  Li Mingfeng listened more and felt that this matter was feasible, and finally couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, Gong big brother indeed has a deep understanding of these people's temperament!"

  Gong Cheng ignored Li Mingfeng's flattering words and continued to say: "He Guoqiang wants to learn from Hu Guang Governor Wen, although Wen has repeatedly made military achievements and received many awards from the imperial court. In fact, he doesn't have any soldiers or horses, what he relies on is nothing but the Xiang Army. Since Wen can rely on the Xiang Army to gain fame for himself, He Guoqiang would be happy to let the Foreign Gun Team achieve merits for him."

  Two people talked about the洋枪队 for a long time, and Li Mingfeng recounted the events of the past month. After listening, Gong Cheng furrowed his brow and said: "Now there are nearly 40,000 Longhairs, and the Qing army is also around 40,000 people. However, the Longhairs still have the geographical advantage, while the Qing army's command is not unified. In my opinion, even if we're optimistic, the chances of winning are only fifty-fifty."

  Li Mingfeng replied: "I also know it's hard to win, but without reinforcements, we can only fight hard."

  Gong Cheng heard this and said somewhat displeased: "In my impression, you were a pretty cunning guy, why did you become so stupid after coming here?"

  "Is there? Did I do something wrong again?" Li Mingfeng asked with some guilt, in front of Gong Cheng, his certain thoughts were indeed too childish.

  "Why do you want to fight so hard? Even if Jingdezhen is taken, and Yang Fuqing is killed, the Xiang Army generals will be promoted and get rich. Wei Zhijun can avenge his hatred and also get promoted, but what can you, Li Mingfang, gain from this?" Gong Cheng asked.

  After hearing this, Li Mingfeng suddenly realized. His position in the foreign gun team was awkward, so the imperial court would never give him a real job, and now he had already picked up a deputy general, and if he made another great achievement this time, it was unlikely that he would be promoted to a higher rank. Moreover, Li Mingfeng's ambition was not focused on this.

  Now he is attacking Jingdezhen, completely because of the need to escape, and ran from Chizhou to here, this is just passing by. The reason for attacking the city is entirely due to the instigation of Wei Zhi-Jun and Zhang Yun-Lan. From a benefit analysis perspective, if they win, Li Ming-Feng won't gain anything, but if they lose, even his life might be in danger.

  "What's good about it? Now that I'm already here, I can't just run away with my tail between my legs." Li Mingfeng asked.

  "You and I are both eating the foreigners' rice, Zhang Yunlan, Xiao Qijiang and the like will never look up to us, their letting you go support Wei Zhijun today is a clear proof. What's the use of talking about benevolence, righteousness and morality with them? Younger brother, if you want to stand firm, you can't be too concerned with these things, everything should put benefits first." said Gong Banlun.

  Li Mingfeng bowed to Gong Cheng and said: "After being taught by you, Li Mingfeng will never be sold like today again."

  Gong Cheng nodded in satisfaction, and the two of them discussed again how to deal with the three generals of Xiang Army, and they didn't finalize their plan until midnight.

  On the second day morning, the two people set out separately as planned.