Although there is not much hope, considering that the earlier you express your attitude, the better the concerns of the Wu army, the better it will be. At the same time, it also prompts Wu Chaoyue to launch the Northern Expedition as planned, and can gain more rest time for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which has suffered from civil strife. .

So Shi Dakai agreed to Hong Xiuquan's proposal and decided to send an envoy to chase the Wu army fleet to express his attitude, persuade the Wu army fleet to stop and retreat temporarily. When Hong Xiuquan contacted Wu Chaoyue, it was not too late to decide whether to retreat after finding the result. At the same time, Shi Dakai also made up his mind for Hong Xiuquan and prepared to temporarily lend the Digang between Tongling and Wuhu to the Wu army fleet to berth, so that the Wu army fleet could wait for Wu Chaoyue's order to adjust.

"It is still the Brothers of the Wing King who will choose a place. There are no heavy troops stationed in our heavenly kingdom within a hundred miles around Digang, nor are there any Heavenly Navy that can directly threaten the Little Demon's baggage fleet. Lending there to the Little Demon's fleet stationed is enough to show the friendship and sincerity of our Heavenly Demon's holy court to them. That's it."

Hong Xiuquan first praised Shi Dakai for his sincerity, and then asked the female official of the Heavenly King's Mansion to immediately write a letter of nationality, while saying to Shi Dakai with a smile: "Brother Wing King, I heard that you have joined forces with the demon soldiers of the Transcendent Little Demon to fight Qing Yao, and have had many direct contacts. They are more familiar with the situation of the Transcendent Little Demon. Otherwise, you can arrange the messenger who contacts the Transcendent Little Demon fleet, so that we are more confident."

Shi Dakai agreed without any consideration, and then he heard his confidant adviser Zhang Suimu on the spot, and arranged for Zhang Suimu to chase and persuade the Wu army fleet to temporarily station Digang, but he did not notice at all that Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao, the two hawk representatives of the Taiping Army, looked disdain and even dissatisfied with their eyes, and the cold smile that appeared on the corner of Hong Xiuquan's mouth...

Protecting more than a thousand old-fashioned grain ships loaded with food weapons, the Wu Navy was certainly unable to walk very fast. So in the evening of that day, the Taiping Clippers in which Zhang Suimou easily caught up with the Wu Navy fleet. Because the ship was not armed and took the initiative to hand over the weapons as soon as they met, Zhang Suimou was soon led to Wang Fu and Xu Lai, the chief and deputy generals of the Wu Navy.

"General Wang, General Xu, our Heavenly King and the Wing King all know your difficulties and understand your feelings. I dare to speak out even more bluntly. If the little envoy was in your position and suddenly encountered such a situation, I would definitely think that you would choose to retreat, because you must be responsible to King Zhennan and to the military and civilians under King Zhennan's rule."

"We the King of Heaven and the King of Wings know that even if we say it out loud, you will never trust our promises easily. The only way is to prove with facts that our King of Heaven is still willing to maintain a non-aggressive friendly alliance with your army after the restoration, and would rather help your army launch a Northern Expedition through seas and give a fatal blow to the Qing Dynasty court."

"...Digang is smooth and can be moored large ships in depth. There are ready-made civil docks available. Within a hundred miles of surroundings, there are no main forces of our heavenly kingdom. Only some local village soldiers maintain public order. It is safe for your army to be moored there. After receiving the order of the command of the King of Zhennan, the commander of the army, you can immediately go downstream and go to Shanghai again. There is no need to waste too much time, and it is also convenient to retreat."

"Please think about it carefully. If we have the intention to deceive you, why don't you ask you to temporarily moor in Caishiji or Dongliangshan? Our winged king Ba Qiansui chose to lend Digang to you temporarily mooring Housing, one for your safety, and the other is that your heavy ship is slow to sail. When you retreat to Digang, the speed of the fast ship we sent to contact King Zhennan had already entered Hubei and was about to contact King Zhennan. You can't wait for a few days in Digang to receive the order of King Zhennan sent from the upstream. Our winged king and the Heavenly King have a lot of good intentions. I hope the two generals will investigate clearly."

In front of Wu Chaoyue's two loyal lackeys, Wang Fu and Xu Lai, Shi Dakai's right-hand assistant Zhang Suimu gave all his strength, almost begging Wang Fu and Xu Lai to temporarily rest in Digang, giving the Taiping Army an opportunity to prove his sincerity in continuing the friendship and alliance, and not to slash hard on the friendly relations between the Wu army and the Taiping Army, which were already increasingly fragile.

Unfortunately, although Shi Dakai and Zhang Suimu wanted to dig out their hearts and let the Wu army naval army see whether it was black or red, Wang Fu and Xu Lai, who had to be responsible for Wu Chaoyue, still refused their kindness and decided to withdraw directly to Hubei, just saying that if there was a chance in the future, they would definitely thank and apologize to Shi Dakai and Hong Xiuquan in person.

Zhang Suimu was disappointed and could only retreat to the second best, saying, "Two generals, since you must insist on leaving, the little envoy dare not stop him. The little envoy just begged, after you successfully withdraw from Hubei, can you report the good intentions of our Heavenly King and the Wing King to the King of Zhennan truthfully?"

"Of course." Wang Fu and Xu Lai agreed immediately, and then Wang Fu also said: "If our fleet can retreat to Hubei unimpededly like when we came, then I will not only report your army's kindness to King Zhennan, but also ask King Zhennan to express his gratitude and give you certain compensation."

After saying that, Wang Fu, who is also good in character, added, "At the same time, I will resign and apologize. Because the retreat order was indeed issued by me privately, I delayed the plan of Zhennan King's Northern Expedition and rejected the kindness of your army. I had no choice but to resign and apologize."

After hearing Wang Fu's heart-wrenching words, Zhang Suimu felt relieved and then said goodbye and left with great gratitude. He returned to Nanjing overnight to report the news. Wang Fu and Xu Lai continued to lead the Wu Navy fleet to retreat overnight without mentioning it.

Like Zhang Suimu, after learning Wang Fu's reply, Shi Dakai, who was mentally prepared, was somewhat disappointed, but he did not think that his efforts were in vain. After reporting the negotiation results to Hong Xiuquan the next morning court, Shi Dakai said with some satisfaction: "Fortunately, Chaoyue Xiao Yao's side retreated only for the safety of the fleet. As long as we fulfill our promise and let them retreat smoothly to Hubei, Chaoyue Xiao Yao will immediately understand that we still want to get along with him and have no intention of turning against him."

Hong Xiuquan didn't speak, and waited for Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yun to shoot two guns, and then did not do as Hong Xiuquan expected. Wu Ruxiao quickly said coldly: "But in this way, the knife handle will always be in the hands of the transcendent demon. Whenever we want to do it, we can only be passively beaten, and even if we want to change hands, we have to slowly climb upstream with the Yangtze River flow."

"Brother Gu, there is nothing to worry about." Ye Yunlai also said sarcastically: "We have brother Lin Qirong from Hukou, who is in front of him. The navy in his hand is the strongest in our heavenly kingdom. Even if the demon surpasses the little demon suddenly takes action, it will be difficult to sink all his ships. There will definitely be several ships that will escape back to report the message and give us a few days of preparation."

"I can only count on Brother Lin." Wu Ruxiao nodded solemnly and sighed: "Fortunately, Brother Lin Qirong is still reliable, so there is no need to worry that he is bribed by the Super Little Demon."

"What do you mean?" Shi Dakai couldn't bear it anymore and roared angrily: "Do you have to seek death by yourself? If you are confident that you can kill the fleet that surpasses the little demon, then you go! I won't stop you from dying!"

"Winged King Eight Thousand Years old, why are you doing such a big fire?" Wu Ruxiao sneered and said, "The navy fleet in the hands of Brother Qing and I are vulnerable in front of the main fleet that surpasses the little demon. If we go, we will be destined to die in vain. But if we really make up our minds to take action, we can't do anything?"

"The solution is also very simple!" Ye Yunlai quickly explained the tactics he and Wu Ruxiao discussed in private, and said loudly: "The navy that surpasses the little demon must protect the baggage fleet and walk slowly. We have enough time to arrange preparations to prepare for Prime Minister An Qinglin's navy to prepare for battle, Huang Wenjin of Pengze is ready for interception in Madangshan, and Lin Qirong brothers of Hukou are ready for war."

"Then wait until the fleet that surpassed the little demon arrived in Anqing, Lin Fengxiang's navy waited for them to go away and then went out to follow them. Our navy rushed to help, following the fleet of the little demon from afar, and did not take action for the time being. When they arrived at Pengzema Dangshan, Huang Wenjin was on the way to intercept us. We came out from behind, and we had the turrets from both sides of the strait to help. Even if we could not destroy the main force of the navy who surpassed the little demon, we could still destroy his baggage fleet!"

"We don't have to worry about the Jiujiang Navy who surpassed the little demon came to rescue!" Wu Ruxiao added loudly: "Hukou is in our hands, and the navy of Lin Qirong's brothers stopped him. The Jiujiang Navy who surpassed the little demon will not be able to reach Madangshan for a while. We have plenty of time to annihilate their baggage fleet!"

Although the combat plan proposed by Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai was despicable, it had considerable feasibility and success. Not to mention Zeng Lichang and Li Shixian, who were in charge of military power, were moved by him. Even Shi Dakai couldn't help but be shaken when he heard this, and said intimately, "This is actually a good idea."

Hong Xiuquan never spoke, because although Hong Xiuquan was extremely eager to regain military power by relying on the opportunity to start a war with the Wu army, he would never take this plan and give this order in person. Otherwise, it would definitely lead to a confrontation with the more rational and calm Shi Dakai in advance. If the war is unfavorable in the future, the big blame will definitely be placed on Hong Xiuquan's head.

Therefore, for Hong Xiuquan, it is best for the order to start a war against the Wu army to be issued by others and initiated by others. Only in this way can Hong Xiuquan stay out of the matter when the warlords of the Taiping Army fight with Wu Chaoyue and reap profits.

At this time, Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai, the two fanatical Taiping Heavenly Kingdom hawks, could not wait to start asking Hong Xiuquan to approve their combat plan. Hong Xiuquan still didn't say anything, but just looked at Shi Dakai repeatedly with his face full of desire to speak. Shi Dakai was angry with Wu Ruxiao and Ye Yunlai, and he always pretended not to see Hong Xiuquan's reaction.

Shi Dakai refused to take the initiative and did not dare to take the blame for the full war with the Wu army, Hong Xiuquan, who had no choice but to use the excuse of not being able to betrayal and barely evaded Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao. Then he quickly changed the subject and mentioned another matter related to his plan to regain military power, saying: "All the ministers, Qin Rigang, the deposed King of Yan, has been imprisoned in the Tianjing Prison for five years because of the great defeat of Jiujiang. I think the punishment is enough and decided to let him return to office. What do you think?"

As mentioned earlier, Qin Rigang was extremely unlucky and was stripped of the title of king. In addition to the loss of Jiujiang and the death of Luo Dagang, the real key reason was that he was too close to Hong Xiuquan and offended Yang Xiuqing. Yang Xiuqing had fallen now, and Hong Xiuquan, who had turned over, wanted to release him. Unless the people in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were full and stopped him, who would stop him? So after hypocritically soliciting the opinions of the ministers, Hong Xiuquan quickly said: "Since all the beloved ministers have no objection, let's release the Qin Rigang brothers and seal them..."

"Long live the Heavenly King, be cautious."

At this time, an accident occurred. Shi Dakai, who had been angry, suddenly spoke, interrupted Hong Xiuquan's words, and said: "I think it's enough to release Qin Rigang, but I can't rush to be appointed as an official, and let him go home to recuperate for a while before talking."

Everyone in the Golden Dragon Palace looked at Shi Dakai strangely. Although everyone knew that Shi Dakai had a bad relationship with Qin Rigang, a fellow villager in Guizhou, the use of personal revenge and killing all political enemies has never been Shi Dakai's style of dealing with people.

Knowing the reasons why the brothers in the Heavenly Kingdom in the palace were confused, Shi Dakai could only explain: "I am not against re-appointing Qin Rigang, but the time is not right. Zeng Guofan, the teacher of the Transcendence Demon, happened to die at the hands of Qin Rigang. If we release Qin Rigang and re-appoint them as an official at this time, it may cause misunderstandings to surpass the Transcendence Demon, which is not conducive to our continued friendly alliance with the Transcendence Demon."

Hong Xiuquan suddenly realized, and then realized that he had forgotten to consider this key issue. The hardliners of the Taiping Army represented by Ye Yunlai and Wu Ruxiao snorted coldly. Shi Dakai, who was extremely dissatisfied, was servile to Wu Chaoyue.

Shi Dakai had a clear conscience, of course he continued to pretend that he didn't hear such dissatisfied cold snorting voices. Hong Xiuquan was reminded again. As soon as he moved, another vicious plan immediately arose, and immediately nodded and smiled and said, "It's still Brother Wing King who is considerate well. Then let's be more cautious and let the Qin Rigang be aggrieved for a while. Don't rush to let him out for the time being."

After saying that, Hong Xiuquan, who was smiling, pretended to see the ministers' reaction, took the opportunity to turn his eyes to Meng Deen, who was standing in the inconspicuous part of the middle of the Golden Dragon Palace. Meng Deen understood and nodded slightly to show his understanding.

…………

Shi Dakai certainly knew that the Taiping Army and the Wu army would have a decisive battle sooner or later, and he also knew that after the Wu army fleet retreated to Hubei, it was unlikely that Wu Chaoyue would risk launching the Northern Expedition by sea, and he would probably consider attacking the Taiping Army first. However, Shi Dakai still tried his best to continue to stabilize Wu Chaoyue and gain more rest time for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, he did not hesitate to offend his colleagues, and even bear the reputation of a traitor and coward, and firmly blocked the fanatical impulse of the Taiping Army's main war faction.

However, Shi Dakai never expected that the matter had just one day passed, and it was just the next morning court. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom inspected, Hu Hailong, the second right inspector in front of the hall, suddenly jumped out and asked himself a huge problem. He told Hong Xiuquan in public: "Long live the Heavenly King, about how to continue the covenant with the Transcendent Little Demon, my subordinates have a proposal, so that the Transcendent Little Demon can believe that our Heavenly Demon does not have any intention of being an enemy of him, and feel at ease to continue the covenant with the Heavenly Demon, and continue to send troops north through sea to buy time for the revival of our Heavenly Demon."

"What's the trick Hu Aiqing has?" Hong Xiuquan asked with an emperor-like look.

"Please send an edict to escort the abolished Yan King Qin Rigang and Chengxuan envoy Huang Wenjin to Hubei and hand over to the Little Demon to the Beyond."

Hu Hailong, who has a very bad reputation among Nanjing, caused a thrill in the palace with just one sentence. Hong Xiuquan's face also changed color and asked angrily: "Hu Hailong, what did you say? Do I want me to hand over Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin to Chaoyue Xiao Yao for forgiveness?"

"Long live the Heavenly King, please listen to the explanation of the ministers." Hu Hailong kowtowed first, and then said: "Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin have both taken their troops to participate in the Battle of Huishan to kill Zeng Guofan's old Qing Yao. They can be regarded as enemies who kill the masters who surpassed the little demon. Now, surpassed the little demon and married Zeng Guofan's daughter as the side princess. The hatred of killing the masters has become a hatred of killing the father. If the king gives Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin to him..."

"Stop!" Hong Xiuquan angrily interrupted Hu Hailong's nonsense and shouted: "In order to seek peace from the Super Little Demon, he actually wanted to hand over our brothers from heaven to him! If he spread it, how can I maintain my face? How can I maintain my face in heaven?"

In addition to Hong Xiuquan's angry, other civil and military officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the Golden Dragon Palace also accused Hu Hailong of his servitude. Many irritable tempers immediately asked Hong Xiuquan to immediately push Hu Hailong out of the hall and behead him. Hong Xiuquan also followed the public's wishes and immediately issued an edict to take him. Hu Hailong was very scared and hurried to Shi Dakai's front, holding Shi Dakai's legs and said, "Winged King Eight Thousand Years to save me, the ministers are loyal to the Kingdom of Heaven, all loyal."

"I know you are loyal, but your method is too much." Shi Dakai replied angrily.

"The Winged King Eight Thousand Sui, I haven't finished speaking yet." Hu Hailong cried and said, "I dare to conclude that the Super Little Demon will never kill Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin, but will only send their gifts back to heaven, so I suggest this! Please think about it. With the Super Little Demon's usual personality and temperament and behavioral style, how could we kill Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin whom we took the initiative to send him?"

After thinking carefully, he found that Wu Chaoyue's shameless and hypocriticality was indeed impossible to kill the enemy who was sent to his own army to his door. Shi Dakai nodded and said, "Although it is reasonable, your method is still too much. If we do this, how can we keep the face of the kingdom of heaven?"

"The winged king is eight thousand years old, we can directly issue an edict without asking the Heavenly King to issue an edict." Hu Hailong said quickly: "We can do this, and we can explain the greatness of Qin Rigang and Huang Wenjin, and persuade them to take the blame in front of the transcendent little demon."

"In this way, wouldn't it be possible to not only harm the face of our heavenly kingdom, but also to let the transcendent demon understand our sincerity, and to give the deposed King of Yan Qin Rigang and Huang Wen, who once affixed the Eastern King, the opportunity to atone for his merits and atone for his sins, and win three goals at one go!"
Chapter completed!