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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 311: Unwillingness

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    Su Ji was thinking about something while walking outside the carriage, and Tao Enpei inside the carriage was also thinking about something as the carriage bumped and bumped.  After the city of Hengyang was broken, although Tao Enpei went out of the city to negotiate peace and allowed the Qing army to occupy Hengyang without any bloodshed, Tao Enpei also made plans to save most of the people in the city, fulfilling his promise to protect the people of one side as an official, but Tao Enpei knew that he was  Certain death.  Because the Qing court would not let him go, and Zeng Guofan would not let him go, but what Tao Enpei didn't expect was that Ronglu would let him go.  He reached out and touched the secret letter in his arms, and his thoughts flew back to the night before he was about to be beheaded

    The weather was so cold that night, and there was draft everywhere in the cold prison, making Tao Enpei almost stiff with the cold.  Thinking of being tortured by Ming Zhengdian tomorrow, Tao Enpei felt a mixture of emotions in his heart. Fear, disappointment, calmness, relief, all kinds of complicated emotions came to his heart. Coupled with the cold weather, Tao Enpei couldn't sleep all night.

    At this moment, the door of the cell suddenly opened. Tao Enpei was a repeat offender and was imprisoned alone in a room. No one had come before except Zeng Guofan and Guo Songtao who came to see him.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????: A young man who is no more than 18 or 19 years old was seen carrying lanterns into the cell.

    This young man was Ronglu whom he had seen in Zeng Guofan's camp. He was wearing casual clothes and a thick robe. He had a guard hanging on his chest with one arm. He also had a big bruise on his face.  Apparently injured.

    Ronglu looked at Tao Enpei's ragged appearance, as if he was not used to the smell of the cell. He brushed it a few times with his other hand and said, "Mr. Tao, I've wronged you."

    Tao Enpei moved his stiff body slightly and said with a wry smile: "A dying person. How can I feel wronged?"

    Rong Lu hummed and said lightly: "It can be seen that Mr. Tao came to surrender to Commander Zeng with the intention of risking his life to save the people of the city. Rong admires him."

    Tao Enpei shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "Zeng Shuai and Mr. Rong are both trustworthy people. They won't have much involvement after entering the city. I only hope to treat the people of Hengyang well in the future."

    Ronglu smiled slightly and said: "When the long-haired puppet king of the West first conquered Hengyang, he promised all kinds of benefits, smeared the court, and instigated many times, and people's hearts changed. This made Hengyang change. But after more than a year, the puppet king  When the king went to the east, Chang Mao behaved in all kinds of ways, and people's hearts were devastated. If it hadn't been like this, did Tao Gong think that Zeng Shuai would let the people of Hecheng go so easily?"

    Tao Enpei's expression changed slightly, and after a while he sighed: "Killing to stop killing is not a long-term strategy."

    Ronglu immediately responded: "This method is the most effective in troubled times. The easiest way to make people unite is to get rid of people who are not of the same mind as us."

    Tao Enpei was slightly startled.  I just felt that this Ronglu was so cruel and ruthless, and I was speechless for a while.

    Ronglu continued: "I came here tonight to compete with Tao Gong."

    Tao Enpeiqi said: "What is the use of a dying person?"

    Ronglu smiled and said, "I can save Mr. Tao from his birth."

    Tao Enpei groaned and said sadly: "The heart is dead, the body is useless, and living is useless."

    Ronglu shook his head and said, "Although Tao Gong said this, he still feels unwilling to do so in his heart."

    Tao Enpei was slightly startled, but Ronglu didn't allow him to reply, and said to himself: "I have made many inquiries inside and outside the city, and I have found out why Tao Gong lost his integrity and became a thief. I think the fake King of the West must be  He deceived Mr. Tao with his sweet words. Mr. Tao thought that he could meet the Lord of the Ming Dynasty and live the lives of the people, so he lost his integrity as a minister."

    Tao Enpei was speechless, but Rong Lu inquired carefully. People in ancient times valued loyalty, and he had lost the integrity of a courtier. The Taiping Army was acting erratically in Hengyang, so he felt guilty and wanted to die.

    I heard Ronglu say again: "But later when the fake Western King went east, all the promises made at the beginning were completely unfulfilled, causing Tao Gong to break his trust with the people, lose his ministerial integrity, and lose his reputation. I think Tao Gong must be unwilling to do so. I am the official.  On the contrary, we can help Tao Gong and let him go back to see the fake King of the West and question him face to face. After questioning him, I think Tao Gong will have his mind set, and he can live or die as he pleases."

    Tao Enpei's face changed slightly. He was indeed a little unwilling as Ronglu said. After the King of the West left, the Taiping Army vigorously promoted the worship of God in the city, and also recruited the holy treasury to plunder the people. Everything was exactly the same as what the King of the West had said at the beginning.  Doesn¡¯t match.  Therefore, Tao Enpei felt that he had broken his trust with the people, and he had lost his integrity in surrendering to peace. Therefore, he was determined to die, but he was still a little unwilling in his heart.  Just as Ronglu said, he still wanted to see King Xi again and listen to what King Xi had to say.

    Seeing Tao Enpei's expression change slightly, he remained silent for a moment and then asked, "Master Rong let me go privately. Is there something you want?"

    Ronglu chuckled and said, "The false King of the West is my lifelong enemy. This time I will give way to you."Mr. Tao went to see the false King of the West. I wanted to ask Mr. Tao to bring a sealed letter to the false King of the West for me.  "

    Xiao Yungui repeatedly sent Bai Zetang's dead men to assassinate Ronglu. Although Ronglu lived in the camp and was well protected, there were always oversights.  In recent days, Ronglu has been in danger one after another. Not only did many of his guards die, but he also had his left arm broken, and his head and face were bruised and swollen under the pressure of his guards who risked their lives to protect him.

    "The origins of the assassins were unknown, and when they were unable to escape after being missed, all of them committed suicide and no one was captured alive.  But Ronglu knew that he helped the Hunan army attack Hengyang this time, and Xiao Yungui must know that he was completely enemies with Xiao Yungui. If this was the case, the person who wanted his life the most must be Xiao Yungui.

    Ronglu naturally refused to kill at the slightest provocation. Although he strengthened his defense, those assassins were always as difficult to deal with as maggots on the tarsus, so Ronglu thought of writing a secret letter to Xiao Yungui.  But Ronglu himself had lost contact with Xiao Yungui, and finally he thought of Tao Enpei.

    Tao Enpei snorted and said, "What secret letter?"

    Ronglu smiled and said: "Since it is a secret letter, naturally it cannot be mentioned to outsiders. Mr. Tao is a noble man and a gentleman. I asked you to submit the secret letter on my behalf because I am reassured that Mr. Tao is a human being. If I send anyone casually, I am afraid that  Leak the secret. How about this deal? I will save your life, and you will help me deliver the secret letter."

    Tao Enpei didn¡¯t know what Ronglu¡¯s secret letter was, but he still agreed and was unwilling to die with a stigma.

    ¡­¡­

    On the bumpy carriage, Tao Enpei once again took out the lacquered letter. He took it out and read it again and again for a long time.  It is indeed difficult for a person to keep a secret. Tao Enpei asked himself and was very curious about what was written in this letter. At the same time, he was also curious about the intersection between a Manchu nobleman and a long-haired Western king. Very few people can endure this.  Out of curiosity, I didn¡¯t open and read the letter.

    But just as Ronglu expected, Tao Enpei is indeed one of the very few trustworthy people who can keep secrets.  After sighing, Tao Enpei once again took the letter into his arms.

    Ronglu found a death row prisoner to be Tao Enpei's stand-in, and then ordered someone to escort him around Jiangxi. Finally, Tao Enpei arrived in Wuhu alone.  He was thrown into the Taiping Army in Wuhu.  There were also people from Bai Zetang of the West Palace in the Taiping Army in Wuhu. Tao Enpei fell into Hengyang. Bai Zetang sent a large number of troops to assassinate Ronglu. Xiao Yungui also ordered Bai Zetang's people to find an opportunity to rescue Tao Enpei, but he did not want Tao Enpei to appear in Wuhu.

    At this moment, the news from Bai Zetang came out.  Xiao Yungui sent Song Feng and Su Ji, a group of young guards, to pick him up.

    Traveling by water from Wuhu to Tianjing, what Tao Enpei saw under the rule of the Kingdom of Heaven was similar to what he saw in Hengyang.  All businesses withered.  The people were living in poverty, and there were ruined Confucian temples, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples everywhere. His heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and he secretly wondered, could this kingdom of heaven really be just a dream?

    In Tianjing, I heard that the Tianwang Mansion and the Dongwang Mansion are more impressive than the other. Then look at the people, soldiers and civilians under their rule.  Tao Enpei almost went crazy because his clothes were in tatters. His administration was worse than that of the Qing Dynasty!

    After arriving in Zhenjiang that day, Tao Enpei suddenly felt as if he had entered another world.  From Zhenjiang to Wuxi, what you see along the way is completely different from the Tianjing side.  After the beginning of spring, farmers can be seen everywhere in the farmland doing spring plowing. Many Taiping Army soldiers are among them, helping the farmers with farm work. Everyone's face is beaming with joy.

    When Tao Enpei got off the boat in Wuxi, he asked several farmers who had returned from farming. Those farmers told Tao Enpei that now the King of the West has established Sufu Province to implement the New Deal, allocating fields to them for farming, and also giving them farm tools, cattle, grain seeds and other supplies.  After the summer harvest, you only need to pay a fixed amount of grain tax, and the rest belongs to you.  Moreover, there are many boats and merchant ships traveling along the canals in the village, and any agricultural and sideline products that I have can be sold.

    Tao Enpei also visited Suzhou a few years ago and sailed on the canal. Now when the farmer mentioned it, he noticed that there were indeed more merchant ships on the canal.

    When they arrived at a pier, they saw hundreds of flat-bottomed sand boats. Tao Enpei, escorted by Song Feng, Su Ji and others, went to the market at the pier to have a look. There were crowds of people here, farmers' department stores were fully stocked, chickens, poultry, running dogs, etc.  Bamboo baskets and baskets, delicacies from the mountains and rivers are all available. The traders come here to buy agricultural products. I heard that there are no excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. The traders only pay the commercial tax once, and the goods can pass without hindrance, so there are more merchant ships.  stand up.

    Tao Enpei was even more surprised when he saw a teacher with pigtails in the market, so he stepped forward and asked. The teacher hadn't replied yet, but others laughed at him, "Old gentleman, don't ask this question."  Sun is a scholar, but he is reluctant to cut off his braid, and he is even taxed heavily by the holy soldiers of the Kingdom of Heaven."

    Sun Xiucai's face turned red and he said loudly: "You people have betrayed your ancestors and forgotten your ancestors."My dear, I won¡¯t argue with you!  "

    An old farmer laughed and said: "Sun Xiucai, I advise you to cut off your braids earlier. Every day when you meet the holy soldiers on patrol, you have to show the receipt of paying the braid tax. Don't you feel tired? Newsprint  Didn¡¯t I say that before? We Han people used to not tie our hair in braids, so how can we say that we have betrayed our ancestors and forgotten our ancestors?"

    Amid the laughter of the crowd, Sun Xiucai hid his face and walked away without answering Tao Enpei's words.

    Tao Enpei asked Su Ji very strangely: "Brother Su, is this Sufu Province under the rule of the King of the West? Why is it different from Tianjing?"

    Su Ji nodded and said solemnly: "His Royal Highness the King of the West is implementing a new policy in Sufu Province. This applies to every province. Over there in Tianjing? I don't know what kind of rule there is. I only know that the King of the West is  His Highness brought the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the soldiers and civilians of Su Fu Province."

    After hearing this, Tao Enpei became even more unwilling. He was eager to see the King of the West to find out what was going on, so he continued to take the boat to Suzhou without further delay.  After arriving at Xushuguan in Suzhou that day, the group asked Tao Enpei to take a carriage to Suzhou City.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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