Since Wu Chaoyue launched a war under the banner of clearing the monarch, the most correct thing for the Beijing Coup Group was to appoint Luo Bingzhang as the governor of Shandong on the front line, replace Qingsheng, who had a mediocre talent, to preside over the war situation in Shandong, and be responsible for preventing the Taiping Army's Northern Expedition Army.

Luo Bingzhang was not willing to be a ruthless man who killed Shi Dakai in history. After taking office, he acted vigorously and quickly encouraged Shandong gentry landlords to form several Shandong regiments to participate in the battle. He also requested the Qing court to re-activate the Qing army's fierce generals Yuan Baoheng and Zhang Guoliang who were convicted of losing Xuzhou. He entrusted the important task of exploiting the people and sucking bones and marrow to form a new army. He handed over to the training and command of the powerful generals such as Yuan Baoheng and Zhang Guoliang. In the blink of an eye, he created nearly 10,000 reserve teams for the Shandong defenders, which greatly alleviated the pressure that Sheng Bao, the head coach of the Qilu Qing army, was under.

At the same time, Luo Bingzhang tried his best to persuade Shengbao to avoid the enemy's edge and minimize the decisive battle with the Taiping Army. He advocated a head-on battle with the Taiping Army with strong cities and cavalry harassed the Taiping Army's grain transport team. After accepting Luo Bingzhang's suggestion, Shengbao quickly succeeded in relied on his superior cavalry to attack the Taiping Army's grain transport team twice, which brought great trouble to Shi Dakai, who relied on land supply to the food and grass army. It also successfully slowed down the Taiping Army's northward speed and gave Luo Bingzhang time to build and strengthen the defense line of the old Yellow River.

In addition, Luo Bingzhang did two things. The first was to desperately buy a small number of peasant uprising troops in Shandong, and use the regional conflicts and conflicts of interest between the Shandong uprising army and the Taiping army to encourage them to harass the Taiping army in exchange for wealth and prosperity. The second was to spread rumors through various channels, falsely claiming that Yang Xiuqing launched the Northern Expedition was just a killing person by using a knife, and use the Qing army's hands to weaken and eliminate Shi Dakai, who had once had a rift with him, desperately dispersing the morale of the Taiping army, and attacking and shaking the fighting spirit of the Taiping army.

Not to mention, Luo Bingzhang's actions have really achieved considerable results. In addition, the combat effectiveness of the elite soldiers of the Taiping Army decreased after many dilutions. After seeing the essence of the cult of the God Cult, the collapse of faith after seeing clearly the essence of the cult of the God Cult, and the Qing army gradually adapted to the Taiping Army's specialty in crypt siege tactics, and found means of countermeasures such as deep trenches and exploration of earth veins. The Taiping Army's north speed has indeed slowed down a lot. It took the Taiping Army more than two months to attack Yanzhou alone. After the Taiping Army spent all his efforts to capture Yanzhou, the Qing army had already built an iron wall in Tai'an Prefecture in the north, forcing Shi Dakai to give up the established plan of taking Yanzhou Prefecture City to attack Jinan, and instead divided his troops to advance Dongping and Yizhou, attacked the Qing army on both wings of Jinan, attempting to lure the Qing army into division of troops to fight, and then use the main force to attack Jinan.

Shi Dakai's helpless actions made his nemesis Luo Bingzhang so excited that after receiving the news, Luo Bingzhang jumped up and shouted that God bless the Qing Dynasty and Shandong were saved! Then Luo Bingzhang did not hesitate and immediately pulled Shengbao to strengthen the defense of the Western Front and defend Dongping, Donga Hepingyin and other places. On the other hand, he deliberately relaxed the Eastern Front so that the Taiping Army's partial division could easily invade Yizhou, and then prepared to lure the Taiping Army into Qingzhou. At the same time, he went to Wen Man and Qing court to request control of the Qing army's red single fleet, Wu Quanmei's troops, who had retreated to Penglai......

…………

The active performance of the Shandong Qing army was not conducive to the progress of the Taiping Army's Northern Expedition Army. Of course, it gave the Qing court a chance to breathe, and also gave the monk prince the head of the Qing army in Zhili the opportunity to brag and show off, so that the monk prince could point fingers at the Shandong battlefield in the capital. Today, he complained about Luo Bingzhang's incompetence and tomorrow he would be punished for his victory. He boasted that if he had gone to Shandong to preside over the rebellion, he would have been able to kill all the Changmao in Shandong long ago, and would have cut off Shi Dakai's head and hung it on the gate to show it.

However, it was a pity for the monk. Apart from the generals of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia who were controlled by him, there was no choice but to mention Ci'an, Cixi and the Japanese, and even Mr. Hui, who had a good relationship with him, did not like to listen to his boastfulness, so the monk had no choice. After thinking about it, he could only stay in the Fengtai camp of his command headquarters as much as possible and torture his poor subordinates.

"The bullshit tempt the enemy to go deeper, attacked by sea and land, and the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry of our Qing Dynasty did not know how to make good use of it. They just wanted to take advantage of it. The court handed over so many troops to defeat Bao and Luo Bingzhang, which was really useless."

On this day, as usual, the monks still spitted in the central army camp and accused Sheng Bao and Luo Bingzhang of being incompetent, tortured his confidant generals Qingqi, Na Ma Shan and others. As a result, just as Qingqi and Na Ma Shan and other Manchu and Mongolian generals were almost calloused, the savior appeared outside the tent and reported that the monks and soldiers found a secret escape from Hubei scholar Lian Zhaolun who had fled back to Zhili at Dagukou. As a result, Lian Zhaolun not only did not run away, but also took the initiative to ask for a visit to the monks and princes, and said that there were any secret matters to report to the monks.

"Lian Zhaolun? Didn't that dog slave rebelled with Wu Chaoyue? Why did he come back?"

The monk was stunned when he heard the news, because the monk was not only an old friend with Lian Zhaolun, but also because Lian Zhaolun not only had excellent calligraphy, but also knew some cavalry and shooting skills. He was very prone to the monk's words and was barely considered a confidant. When he heard that Lian Zhaolun had returned, the monk did not hesitate. He immediately ordered the tied Lian Zhaolun to be put into the central army tent for interrogation. As soon as he met Lian Zhaolun, he slapped the table and shouted: "Bold thief, joining Wu Chaoyue dog thief to raise an army to rebel. You dare to come back! Do you know your crime?"

"Prince forgives the crime, and the lower officials know that the crime is." Lian Zhaolun confessed, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the monk and confessed his guilt, and said, "But the monk and the lower officials had no choice at that time. The Wu thief held a knife and threatened him. If the lower officials did not follow, they would be killed by the Wu thief. The lower officials had no choice but to be forced to follow the thief."

"Stop!" The monk roared: "You, a rat who is greedy for life and fear of death, are the officials of the court. When Wu Nigou Thief rebelled, you don't want to fight with your life and have the face to quibble in front of me!"

"Prince, the ones present at that time were either Wu Chaoyue's confidant or his accomplice and lackeys. Even if the Xiaguan wanted to fight with him, he would not be able to fight with him." Lian Zhaolun shed tears and kowtowed and said, "Xiaguan didn't think about scolding the thief and dying to repay the mercy, but Xiaguan felt it was too unworthy. He felt that he should leave a useful body and try to help the court to cut off Wu Ni and pacify the thief army. He had to swallow his anger and serve the thief!"

With tears in his eyes, Lian Zhaolun kowtowed desperately and cried bitterly, "The officials also know that even if I jump into the Yellow River, I can't wash away the crime of rebellion. The officials have nothing to ask for. I just want the prince to report the thief I have in Hubei to the court one by one before punishing the imperial court, so as to help the court master some of Wu Ni's and the truth, and to report the kindness of the Qing Dynasty. In this way, even if the officials are below the nine springs, they can have an explanation."

Seeing that Lian Zhaolun’s repentance meant to be sincere, and knowing that Lian Zhaolun had no deep friendship with Wu Chaoyue, the monk then suppressed his anger and asked, “How did you come back?”

"It was the rebel thief Wu Chaoyue who sent his subordinates back." Lian Zhaolun answered truthfully: "Wu thief knew that Xiaguan was from Shuntian Prefecture, and his family was mostly in his hometown Ninghe (Today's Jinninghe District). He was concerned about him, so he seized Xiaguan's younger brother Lian Zhaohui as a hostage and promised him a reward. He ordered Xiaguan to pretend to escape back to the north and let Xiaguan return to the capital to act as an internal supporter to spy on the military situation in the capital."

"And," Lian Zhaolun added: "Wu Chaoyue Dog Thief still knows that you have a little friendship with the prince. Let the Thief sneak into your shogunate at any cost, act as an aide for you, and take the opportunity to collect the military aircraft of the court for him. The Thief worry about the old and young people in the family, and because they are not trusted by the Wu thieves in Hubei, they cannot collect more military information for the Wu thieves, so they gritted their teeth and agreed to the Thief and took the opportunity to escape and return."

"Bitch! Traitor!" The monk's prince gritted his teeth, but he felt a little proud. This at least proved that Wu Chaoyue still attaches great importance to the monk's prince.

"By the way." Lian Zhaolun quickly added: "The Wu thief also handed over a secret letter to the criminal minister, and asked the minister to try to hand it over to the two empress dowagers, and told him that no one would be allowed to know the existence of the secret letter."

"Where is the secret letter?"

The monk asked quickly, and Lian Zhaolun also answered immediately. When the monk's personal soldiers stepped forward to search, they found a blank letter from Lian Zhaolun's arms. When the monk took it, hesitated for a while, and then hesitated for a moment. He immediately had an idea, crushing the fire lacquer without any trace, and scolded Lian Zhaolun: "What are you doing for? No letter can be kept well, why is the fire lacquer broken?"

After placing the black pot that was broken into flames on Lian Zhaolun's head, the monk was not polite and immediately pulled out the letter and opened it for a closer look. Then, as he looked at it, the monk's face, who was named by Wu Chaoyue, began to change, and his heart was a little trembling, and he said to himself: "If the two empress dowagers really want my head to appease Wu Chaoyue's dog thief, what should I do?"

Thinking of this problem, the monk subconsciously wanted to tear the letter apart. However, just tore a small hole, the monk suddenly stopped it because the monk suddenly remembered a question. It was easier for Wu Chaoyue to find someone to write the same letter on his behalf. At that time, as long as the same letter fell into Ci'an and Cixi without his knowledge, his preciousness would be even more unreliable.

After a moment of calculation, the monk Prince, who had always cared for his life, quickly made a decision that Wu Chaoyue expected. He first sent someone to temporarily detain Lian Zhaolun, then immediately rushed into the city, and went straight to Prince Hui's mansion to find Mr. Hui's old prince Mianyu, who was also named by Wu Chaoyue, and handed the letter to Mr. Hui to watch. As a result, Mr. Hui was inevitably a little scared when he saw him. After a moment of discussion with the monk Prince, he sent someone to invite the Japanese Little Demand to let the Japanese Little Demand, who was also named by Wu Chaoyue, watch this death-guiding talisman.

Of course, the smart Japanese Lion was much calmer than Mr. Hui and Mr. Monk. Although he was a little shocked to see Wu Chaoyue’s letter, he still calmly asked the monk about the source of the letter, and then asked Lian Zhaolun why he got back. Then, Mr. Six just thought about it and immediately said: "The plan of disagreement is a very shallow plan of disagreement."

"But it's also sinister." Guizi Liu added: "Wu Chaoyue has another purpose to induce us to execute Lian Zhaolun, warning the Qing officials who are still interested in the court and block their retreat."

"How do you say this?" Old Prince Hui asked in confusion.

"It's very simple. Wu Thief has long seen that Lian Zhaolun was not sincerely surrendering to him. Forcing him to stay in Hubei will not only not play any role, but may also become a hidden danger for him."

The Japanese Six replied casually: "So Wu thief simply came and went with the flow and deliberately sent Lian Zhaolun back to Beijing to make the plan of alienation, so that Lian Zhaolun, who was definitely unreliable, would hand over this letter to us, provoking our relationship with the two empress dowagers. By the way, Lian Zhaolun angered us and the two empress dowagers and tempted us to get rid of Lian Zhaolun for him. Moreover, for him, his tricks among us were the best, and it didn't matter if he didn't fall for his plan, and he would not lose any loss at all."

"Crazy dog ​​thief!" The monk prince and the old prince Hui cursed in unison, and then the old prince Hui asked again: "Prince Gong, what should I do about this letter?"

"Of course it's ruin..."

The Japanese devils suddenly stopped talking, because the Japanese devils also remembered the deadly problem like the monk prince. If Wu Chaoyue was determined to pretend to negotiate and lure Ci'an and Cixi to cut him down, then it would be difficult to write the same letter to Ci'an and Cixi before they could be sent to Ci'an and Cixi. If Ci'an and Cixi were shaken by anything, they would not even be wary of themselves in advance.

So, after closing his mouth in time, Guizi Liu couldn't help but have such thoughts, "Do you take this opportunity to test the attitudes of the two empress dowagers? See if they will be shaken? If they really have such plans, we can at least take precautions in advance?"

The most disgusting thing about the plan of disagreement is that it is difficult to solve, and the smarter the person is, the easier it is to fall into the trap. So even though he knew that Wu Chaoyue was provoking trouble, and in the case of his own life, Guizi Liu could not help but have the idea of ​​being cautious. Finally, with the big incident like the return of the Hubei scholar Lian Zhaolun from a thousand miles away, Guizi Liu could not hide it from the eyes and ears of the two palaces. After hesitating for a while, Guizi Liu changed his words and said, "Don't rush to destroy it first, invite the fifth prince and the seventh prince, and invite Gui Zhongtang and Cao Zhongtang. Let's discuss it together."

In the evening, Gui Liang, Cao Yuying, Prince Chun, and Prince Chun, who were also listed as the culprit of the coup by Wu Chaoyue, were invited to Prince Hui's mansion one after another. As a result, after everyone arrived, the Japanese Liu took out the secret letter Wu Chaoyue wrote to Ci'an and Cixi and discussed countermeasures with the culprits.

After knowing the content of the letter, Gui Liang and Cao Yuying were a little better. No matter how frightened he was, his face was at least as normal. However, the prince and Prince Chun were so calm and shouted together: "Wu Chaoyue, the dog thief, dared to provoke discord and force the two empress dowagers to be unfavorable to us?"

"Fifth and Seventh brothers are right. This is indeed a provocation, but it is also the most effective provocation." The Japanese Six said gloomyly: "If the two empress dowagers are shaken, I am afraid that all seven of us will die without a place to die!"

Gui Liang and Cao Yuying nodded slightly because they knew very well that if Ci'an and Cixi were really shaken and determined to treat them as scapegoats to please Wu Chaoyue, if they wanted to deal with them, they were saying something and stamping a seal on the edict, and then they would not even have the power to resist.

At this time, the prince who was named by Wu Chaoyue and demoted to a commoner also proposed to destroy the letter. As a result, the King of Monks, Gui Liang and others immediately said: "Prince, it's useless to burn this letter. If Wu Chaoyue's dog thief was determined to force the two palaces to execute us, there is a way to send the same letter to the two palaces to the two palaces."

The prince thought about it, and then he closed his mouth awkwardly. As a result, Prince Chun, who had not spoken over there, felt a stir in his heart and exclaimed: "Oh no! Maybe the two empress dowagers have already received such letters!"

"Seventh brother, why did you say this?" The sixth Japanese asked in shock.

"Just yesterday, Empress Dowager Cixi's younger brother Gui Xiang entered the palace and met Empress Dowager Cixi." Prince Chun quickly replied: "Because I am the Minister of the Inspector, I know about this. However, I didn't think much about it at that time. I thought it was just Guixiang's useless man who ran to ask Empress Dowager Cixi for help, so I didn't stop him."

None of the seven culprits of the coup present knew about Wu Chaoyue and Huizheng's family, nor did anyone know that Wu Chaoyue had saved Huizheng's life twice, and also saved Gui Xiang's life once in Shanghai. So after hearing Prince Chun's introduction, none of the sixth and six other Japanese people had changed their faces. The more useless Prince Hui and Prince Monk's faces began to turn gray and their legs began to tremble.

The one who can keep the most calm is of course Prince Gong Gui Zi Liu. After thinking for a while, Gui Zi Liu gritted his teeth and said, "It seems that we can only show off with the two empress dowagers. Tomorrow, the seven of us will come to the palace to pay homage to the two empress dowagers and present this letter to them to see how they react!"

"Prince, isn't this too direct?" Gui Liang asked hesitantly.

"It can only be so direct." The voice of the Japanese Lion was cold and said, "Because the dog thief Wu Chaoyue has not started the northern expedition, Changmao was temporarily blocked by Luo Bingzhang and Shengbao. Wen Xiang went to Hong Kong to ask for help from the British, but there was no news for the time being. Otherwise, if the situation changes again, our heads and official positions will not be able to be saved."

"Prince, what do we say?" Cao Yuying asked.

"If we deal with it, we can really get Wu Chaoyue's dog thief to stop the army and surrender, then ask the two empress dowagers to ask Wu Chaoyue." The Japanese Six said lightly: "I will be sentenced to death, Prince Hui, Prince Meng, and I will be sent to you and Gui Zhongtang, and the title of the fifth brother will be removed, and the seventh brother will go home and study behind closed doors."
Chapter completed!