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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 573: Different Meanings

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    Provincial Qianju Street is located on the west side of Cuihu Lake. It is a sloping street with high north and low south. It has a history of more than 100 years in Kunming and is one of the oldest streets in Kunming.  As early as the 17th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government ordered Yunnan to start making money and set up Baoyun Money Bureau here, hence the name Qian Bureau Street.

    The meeting place between Chen Yucheng and Peng Yulin was chosen at the Sanyin Guild Hall on Qianju Street. Sanyin is the representative name of Yunnan Prefecture. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Yundong Road, Yinxi Road and Yinnan Road were successively set up in Yunnan. Therefore, Sanyin Guild Hall  It also means Yunnan Guild Hall.

    Chen Yucheng arrived here early. Lin Baotong's company had been withdrawn and rested. Five other companies were newly deployed here. Another artillery battalion aimed its muzzles at the pass going down the mountain. Even if the Qing army wanted to take the opportunity to break in.  It's also impossible.

    In the Sanyin Guild Hall, Chen Yucheng and Chen Bingwen were drinking tea and chatting. It was already the third time to make tea, but Peng Yulin and others had not arrived yet.  Chen Bingwen took out his pocket watch several times to check the time, and finally couldn't help complaining: "I didn't expect that this dignified Xueshuai is also a dishonest person. It seems that our wait has been in vain."

    Chen Yucheng took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "They are all commanders of an army, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, but they are still so impatient. Haven't you heard the saying that good things take a long time?"

    Chen Bingwen grinned and said: "Soldiers should act vigorously and resolutely."

    After the two joked and waited for a quarter of an hour, the soldiers outside the guild hall came to inform them. They only learned that Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun had arrived with several personal followers.  Chen Yucheng and Chen Bingwen smiled at each other, stood up and went to the door to greet them. They each asked their soldiers to wait outside the lobby of the guild hall. In the hall, only four people, Chen Yucheng, Peng Yulin, Chen Bingwen and Li Mengqun, sat alone and talked secretly.

    After the guests and hosts are seated.  Chen Yucheng picked up the tea cup and said with a smile: "Xue Shuai, please use this tea, the best Yunnan Pu'er."

    Peng Yulin did not raise his glass, but asked a little strangely: "Didn't Shuai Chen ask me why I was late?"

    Chen Yucheng smiled slightly and said: "Xue Shuai is late for his own reason. If you want to say something, Xueshuai will naturally say it. If you don't want to say it, I won't ask."

    Peng Yulin glanced at Li Mengqun. The reason why he arrived late was that he was stopped by Li Mengqun at the mountain pass. He recalled the scene in his mind

    An hour ago, Li Mengqun stopped Peng Yulin at the trailhead and said angrily: "Xue Shuai, you can't go down the mountain!"

    Peng Yulin saw Li Mengqun and dozens of his confidants blocking the crossing.  There was a tense situation, and all the followers behind him were immediately on guard.  Seeing this, Peng Yulin shouted loudly: "What are you doing?! Put down your weapons!"

    Peng Yulin was so famous that Li Mengqun's men couldn't help but slowly put down their weapons. Peng Yulin pointed at Li Mengqun and exclaimed: "Follow me!" Li Mengqun followed, and the two came to a cliff one after another.  There were only two of them here.

    "Are you going to make an appointment to surrender when you come down from the snow-capped mountains?" Li Mengqun asked bluntly.

    Peng Yulin turned around, looked at Li Mengqun with sharp eyes and asked: "Are you going to let thousands of soldiers from the two mountains be trapped here like this?"

    "The imperial court raises troops for a thousand days and uses them for a short period of time. They receive the imperial court's food and salary, so they should be loyal to the imperial court!"

    "Does losing one's territory mean one is loyal?"

    "Confucius said to become benevolent, Mencius said to obtain righteousness, to obtain the way of death, that's how it is!"

    "Confucius and Mencius were Han Chinese!"

    Li Mengqun suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Peng Yulin in disbelief. Peng Yulin ignored Li Mengqun's gaze.  He put his hands behind his hands and looked at the sunset and said slowly: "The general trend of the rise and fall of the world and the aspirations of the people have now begun to become clear. Shaoqiao, are you determined to be loyal to the court or, as Confucius and Mencius said, put the country and the country first?"

    Li Mengqun lowered his head and said calmly: "The imperial court is the country." Peng Yulin smiled bitterly and said: "Since Shaoqiao has always wanted to come, you and I can't convince each other, so we don't need to talk about it. But what happened today is not what you and I did in vain.  Thousands of soldiers in the two mountains should not have to die. It is a good deal to trade my life for the lives of thousands of soldiers."

    Li Mengqun raised his head and said with some surprise: "Is it possible that Xueshuai just wanted to save the lives of these soldiers?"

    Peng Yulin smiled bitterly and said: "If I surrender, can I escape death? How many long-haired blood debts we have on our hands. We only have to die. To surrender is to trade my life for thousands of lives."

    Li Mengqun was silent for a moment and then said: "Xueshuai, count me in. Just trade my two lives for the lives of the soldiers on the mountain."

    ¡­¡­

    In another time and space, when Shi Dakai was trapped in the Dadu River, he also chose the path of Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun. Unfortunately, he met the dishonest Luo Bingzhang. Now, fortunately for Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun, they  The person I met was Chen Yucheng.

    Peng Yulin still didn¡¯t explain the reason for his late arrival. He and Chen Yucheng had a feeling of sympathy for each other, so they drank together.After tea, he laughed it off.

    Then Chen Yucheng said straight to the point: "Xue Shuai and Mr. Li, you must also understand the current situation. Our army has captured all the gates of the provincial capital, and the streets and markets have been completely occupied by me. The Qing troops in the two mountains are trapped and cannot escape.  "We are short of food, clothing, and medicine on the mountain, and we have to bear the bombardment of our army every day. Rather than die for the sake of death, it is better to lay down our weapons and surrender to our army."

    Peng Yulin smiled faintly and said nothing. Li Mengqun sneered at the side: "The food and grass on the mountain are enough to last for several months. The mountain pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Did you say we would surrender if we were allowed to surrender?"

    Chen Bingwen laughed dumbly and interjected: "Then why are you two here? Are you just here to have a cup of tea?"

    Li Mengqun was furious, but had no words to reply. Peng Yulin smiled slightly and said: "Chen Shuai, the imperial court ordered us to guard the land of Yunnan. It is totally unreasonable for the provincial capital to be destroyed. Although you have the advantage now, if we  If Chen Shuai wants to attack the two mountains, he will definitely have to sacrifice thousands or even more lives to do it."

    Chen Bingwen couldn't help but sneer and said: "I don't believe that the Qing army on the mountain can stop our artillery and bullets. We have millions of soldiers from the Kingdom of Heaven and more than 100,000 soldiers to attack the provincial capital. How can we care about thousands of casualties?"  ?" After a pause at this point, Chen Bingwen continued with a sneer: "We conquered the streets around the provincial capital and the city walls, annihilated and captured more than 30,000 Qing troops, and our army suffered only more than a thousand casualties. What did Commander Xu think? Two people.  Can mountains be exchanged for thousands of lives of our army?¡±

    Li Mengqun immediately retorted: "If you don't believe it, you can try attacking the mountain tomorrow. Don't be like a tortoise and just set off cannons at the foot of the mountain!"

    Chen Bingwen was not to be outdone: "If we hadn't destroyed your artillery array on the mountain, you wouldn't be ordinary people who only know how to fire artillery. If you are brave enough, you can go down the mountain tomorrow and fight openly!"

    Seeing that the two people were getting more and more angry as they talked, they both stood up and argued loudly. Chen Yucheng said warmly: "Is the battle between the two armies a battle of spirits?!" Hearing this, Chen Bingwen sat down angrily, and Li Mengqun also sat down, suppressing his anger.

    Chen Yucheng looked at Peng Yulin and smiled slightly and said: "Xue Shuai has been fighting with Yiwang for a long time in Huguang, and he once dominated for a while, but today we are really at the end of the road, and the only way is to surrender. I don't have to attack.  There is no need to fire cannons on the mountain. We only need to hold on to a few mountain crossings. In less than a month, we will definitely be able to break through the two mountains. What does Marshal Xue think?"

    Peng Yulin smiled bitterly and said: "That's true." Chen Yucheng praised: "Xueshuai is an honest gentleman. Now that the matter has become impossible, it is time to consider the lives of the soldiers. To achieve benevolence and righteousness, sometimes it is not just about righteousness, but also to treat subordinates with dignity.  It takes kindness.¡±

    Peng Yulin's eyes flashed, and he just asked lightly: "Chen Shuai's trustworthiness is also average. I don't care about Shaoqiao's and mine lives. You can wait for us to surrender, but my subordinates must keep their lives and are willing to return to the imperial court."  Those who are on the side, please be sure to let them go, and those who do not want to continue serving as soldiers and eat food, please also pay traveling expenses."

    Chen Bingwen couldn't help but sneered: "There are so many conditions for surrender?"

    Chen Yucheng waved his hand and said to Peng Yulin: "Those who don't want to be soldiers can naturally be allowed to go back to their hometowns, but if they want to go back to the Qing army in the north, it will be difficult to obey. Besides, they can't go back. Yesterday there was news  According to the news, Qujing Mansion is also in the hands of our army. All the land hundreds of miles north of the provincial capital belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven, how can they go back?"

    Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun looked at each other, and both saw horror in each other's eyes. They did not expect that the Taiping Army, while heavily attacking the provincial capital, would still have the power to attack Qujing Prefecture. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Yunnan Province fell.  .

    In desperation, Peng Yulin had no choice but to say: "Okay, Chen Shuai, if you join and don't want to be soldiers, let them go back to their hometowns. You must not force them to join the Taiping Army, nor can you use them!"

    Chen Yucheng put his hands on his hands and smiled and said: "Okay! I promise Xueshuai that anyone who is unwilling to join our Taiping Army will be released back to his hometown. I will never kill anyone indiscriminately, nor rape a young man, nor force him to surrender."  Soldiers!"

    Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun looked at each other, and after they both nodded slightly, the generals of the two armies agreed on a date for their return. They then high-fived each other in the hall and made an agreement.

    Finally, Chen Yucheng looked at Peng Yulin and said with a smile: "Don't you two ask about your own future?"

    Peng Yulin smiled bitterly and said: "Except for death, there is no need to ask more."

    Chen Yucheng smiled slightly and said: "Do you two know what happened to Li Zhong, the commander-in-chief of Zhenyun?"

    Peng Yulin felt vaguely sorry for Li Zhong. Although Li Zhong had sinister intentions at that time and allowed the Changde Qing army to move forward, when Peng Yulin withdrew his troops later, he also watched Li Zhong's troops being annihilated close at hand. Therefore, there were  ashamed.

    Seeing Peng Yulin's speechless look, Chen Yucheng continued: "Li Chong has been in prison for two months."?, has been ransomed for a large sum of money, and is now said to be living happily in the British Consulate in Shanghai.  "

    Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun were both stunned for a while. Chen Yucheng said again: "It's not up to me to decide whether you two live or die. The King of the West is very interested in meeting you two."

    Peng Yulin hummed, but there was no hint of happiness or anger. After a while, Peng Yulin and Li Mengqun stood up to leave. When they arrived at the door of the club, Peng Yulin suddenly asked: "Chen Shuai, I would like to ask, if you and I could easily  We are on the ground, will your Taiping Army surrender?"

    Chen Yucheng's smile was still so warm, but his tone was extremely firm: "Snow Commander's surrender today is forced by the general situation. If the two of us change places, I will definitely just fight to the death, because I am for  If you fight for the sake of the nation, you will die a worthy death. Xueshuai fights to the death only to be loyal to the Manchus. After death, he may not have the name of the festival for the sake of the nation. For the same death, the meaning is different, so naturally the choice will be different." (To be continued.)  )
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