Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 210 Li Yi: I want an explanation... Well, it costs more!

Li Yi knew this very well.

Since he knew the purpose of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's envoy's visit, he was still willing to meet with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's envoy, which actually speaks volumes.

From a standpoint perspective, Li Yi was undoubtedly on the side of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

To be more precise, Li Yi was on the anti-Qing side.

In the world today, there are only three anti-Qing forces that can come to the fore.

The first is Li Yi’s Tang Dynasty, the second is Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the third is Shi Dakai’s branch of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Since Shi Dakai led his troops into Sichuan, defeated the main force of the Qing army in Sichuan, and fought in Chongqing and Chengdu, he began to show a trend of lying flat.

They even rarely mobilized troops, let alone fought in Sichuan.

He looks like he's going to work in Sichuan until the end of time.

Under the premise that Shi Dakai is unreliable, the Tang Dynasty and the orthodox Heavenly Kingdom represented by Hong Xiuquan are natural allies.

Before the Tang Dynasty unified and integrated the south and completed the integration of the southern provinces, Li Yi did not want to face the pressure from the Qing court alone.

Before that, letting the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom take the lead, attracting firepower for the Tang Dynasty and buying more time for development is definitely the best choice for the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, when faced with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's request for help, Li Yi would not mind lending a hand if possible.

Li Yi didn't have to wait long, and soon Zhang Tai brought in the messenger from heaven.

The envoy from the Heavenly Kingdom who was ordered to go to the Tang Dynasty to seek help was Zeng Jinqian.

He was one of the famous Zeng family generals in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

It is worth mentioning that Zeng Jinqian had previously worked under Feng Yunshan and was quite familiar with Li Yi.

Looking at Zeng Jinqian in front of him, Li Yi asked with a smile.

"Brother Jinqian, long time no see, how are you these days?"

Zeng Jinqian bowed respectfully in front of Li Yi and then said.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be well and well!"

Li Yi nodded slightly, ordered someone to give Zeng Jinqian a seat, and then asked the question even though he knew the answer.

"I wonder why Brother Jinqian came to our Tang Dynasty on behalf of the Heavenly Kingdom?"

Although Li Yi knew that Zeng Jinqian came to ask for help, he was also inclined to help the Taiping Army.

But Li Yi knows better that it is not a business if you are the one who pushes others for something.

For the sake of the overall situation, he could send troops to support the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would also have to pay something for it.

Otherwise, wouldn't it seem that the Tang Dynasty's military intervention was too cheap?
Li Yi thought that the Taiping Army had seized so much silver from the Eight Banners of Jiangning, so it would be better to let Lao Hong use it to build the palace.

It would be better to hand it over to the Tang Dynasty and contribute to its industrial development.

What do you call this? This is called making the best use of everything!

Zeng Jinqian heard this and said with difficulty.

"In reply to your Majesty, I am here to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty on behalf of the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Right now, the main forces of the Qing demons are gathering in the south and north of the Yangtze River, attempting to capture Tianjing. The situation of the Heavenly Kingdom is precarious. I hope that Your Majesty will send troops to reinforce us, considering that the Tang Dynasty and the Heavenly Kingdom are allies."

"Otherwise, once the Heavenly Kingdom is defeated, then the Tang Dynasty will have to face the pressure from the Qing demons alone."

Zeng Jinqian's words hit the nail on the head.

To some extent, Yang Xiuqing was the primary contributor to the rapid development of the Tang Dynasty.

If Yang Xiuqing had not led the main force of the Heavenly Kingdom in the front and attracted firepower for the Tang Dynasty, it would not have been easy for the Tang Dynasty to develop so quickly.

Although the Tang Dynasty has now developed to a certain extent, it has some foundation.

However, the existence of the Kingdom of Heaven still has certain practical significance for the Tang Dynasty.

Apart from anything else, just attracting firepower is very important.

To put it nicely, Li Yi's personality is steady, but to be honest, he is a bit timid. He really doesn't want to stand out before the conditions are ripe.

Hearing this, Li Yi just shook his head and said.

"The Tang Dynasty and the Heavenly Kingdom are allies. Logically speaking, when an ally is in trouble, it is only natural for the Tang Dynasty to send troops to support him."

"However, now the Kingdom of Heaven has taken the lead in violating the agreement between the two parties to jointly attack Jiangxi."

"This makes me very embarrassed!"

"Now that the Heavenly Kingdom has breached the contract, even if I want to reinforce the Heavenly Kingdom, I am afraid that the soldiers under me will not agree to reinforce an ally that has breached the contract..."

Li Yi’s attitude is very clear, the Tang Dynasty needs an explanation!
As for what explanation?
Of course you have to pay extra!
Otherwise, could it be possible that Li Yi was coveting Lao Hong's hundreds of concubines?
Zeng Jinqian said quickly.

"Your Majesty, please listen to my explanation."

"The reason why the Kingdom of Heaven violated the contract was not intentional, but it was a helpless move."

"Now, the main force of the Qing demons has gathered in Jiangnan. If the Heavenly Kingdom does not send troops back to support, Tianjing will be in danger!"

Zeng Jinqian said this very sincerely.

Li Yi had a cold face and said nothing, while Zhang Tai on the side started to play the villain.

"Mr. Zeng."

"What the Tang Dynasty needs now is an explanation, not so-called explanations or reasons."

For the Tang Dynasty, explanation is cover-up, and cover-up is the fact.

The so-called reasons are nothing but specious arguments and are not important at all.

The only thing that cannot be fake is the exchange of real money!
Zeng Jinqian glanced at Li Yi out of the corner of his eye. Although Li Yi still had no expression on his face, there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. He immediately understood Li Yi's attitude and spoke.

"Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Heaven is willing to compensate the Tang Dynasty for the breach of contract. Two million taels of silver!"

Li Yi said with satisfaction when he saw Zeng Jinqian finally got the hang of it.

"That's fine too."

Zeng Jinqian continued.

"I hope the Tang Dynasty can send troops to help the Heavenly Kingdom out of its current predicament." Li Yi continued.

"At present, there are several provinces between our Tang Dynasty and Heavenly Kingdom. Even if I want to send troops to reinforce, I am afraid I can't do it."

Li Yi said this not to refuse or bargain.

but facts.

Now the Tang Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have no borders at all, so Li Yi has no way to reinforce the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

After all, it’s impossible for the Tang army to grow wings and fly over, right?
Zeng Jinqian heard this and spoke.

"Your Majesty, if the Tang Dynasty wants to reinforce the Kingdom of Heaven."

"There is no need to send troops to rescue Tianjing. All we need to do is to surround Wei and save Zhao."

"If the Tang Dynasty can send troops to raid Fuzhou and threaten the entire city, then the Qing army in Jiangnan will definitely send troops to support Fuzhou."

"By then, the pressure faced by Heavenly Kingdom in Jiangnan will naturally be greatly reduced."

When Li Yi heard this, the expression on his face changed.

You know what, this is actually a solution.

Moreover, for the current Tang army, sending troops to threaten Fuzhou is indeed something that can be done.

If they set out from Guangzhou and take the sea route, it wouldn't take long for the Tang army's navy to reach Fuzhou.

Although the Tang Dynasty’s navy is weak, it depends on who it is compared with.

Compared with Western powers, the Tang Dynasty's navy was undoubtedly like a toddler, very fragile.

But if we exclude the colonies of Western powers in East Asia, the current strength of the Tang Dynasty Navy is not weak but very strong in this small piece of land in East Asia.

At the very least, he could still control the Fujian Navy of the Qing army.

After thinking for a while, Li Yi spoke.

"Brother Zeng, please step back and rest first."

"Sending troops is a big deal after all. I cannot act arbitrarily. I need to discuss it with the officials in the court."

"When the Tang Dynasty has a conclusion, I will inform you immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Jinqian could only bow and speak.

"The foreign minister resigns!"

"Please make a quick decision, Your Majesty. The Kingdom of Heaven can't hold out for much longer..."

……

Sichuan, Chongqing.

Unlike Chongqing in later generations which was a municipality directly under the central government, Chongqing today is still a prefecture of Sichuan and is under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan Provincial Administration.

After Shi Dakai entered Sichuan and conquered Chongqing, he used Chongqing as his base camp.

Even his Prince Yi's Palace was located in Chongqing city.

On this day, Shi Dakai was sitting together with his younger brother Shi Xiangzhen, counselor Zhang Suimou, father-in-law Huang Yukun and others to discuss matters.

"I just received a letter from the Heavenly King. In the letter, the Heavenly King said that the Eastern King and the Northern King were both killed in the Tianjing Incident, and the Heavenly Kingdom fell into trouble. The Heavenly King hopes that I can lead the troops back to the Heavenly Kingdom and take charge of the overall situation."

"Everyone, tell me, should I agree?"

Shi Xiangzhen spoke first after hearing this.

"King Yi, you must not agree to the King's request!"

"During the Tianjing Incident, the Northern King killed the Eastern King. It was obviously instructed by the Heavenly King."

"But afterwards, the Heavenly King destroyed the bridge after crossing it and killed the Northern King."

"In this matter, the Heavenly King is completely treating the Eastern King and the Northern King as fools."

"But in the end, the Heavenly King himself destroyed the Heavenly Kingdom, and he wanted you, the Wing King, to go back and save the Heavenly Kingdom."

"King Yi, you can go back to save the Heavenly Kingdom now, but after the siege of Tianjing is lifted, I'm afraid you will be wasted and abandoned!"

To a certain extent, the death of the Northern King did calm the turbulent hearts of the people in the Heavenly Kingdom after the Tianjing Incident.

But from another perspective, it also destroyed Hong Xiuquan's political credibility.

For a politician, if he loses his political credibility, it will be difficult for what he says to have appeal.

Zhang Suimou, Huang Yukun and others on the side also spoke up to agree when they heard this.

Upon hearing this, Shi Dakai nodded calmly and then spoke.

"Everyone is right. Returning to Tianjing is indeed not a good option."

"But if we don't return to Tianjing, how will we develop next?"

After asking this question, Shi Dakai said with some emotion.

"This land of abundance is indeed a great place."

"Since the army entered Sichuan, life has become more and more stable, and the army's combat effectiveness has begun to decline significantly. This is not a solution."

Sichuan is rich in products, abundant in resources, has a large population, and has a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

It should be a good place to play hegemony.

However, precisely because Sichuan's terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack, life in this place is so comfortable.

If good times go on for too long, the army's combat effectiveness will naturally decline significantly.

Shi Dakai's troops are now facing this problem.

In order to solve this problem and change the trend of declining military combat effectiveness, Shi Dakai felt that he had to do something and could not continue to lie flat in Chongqing...

……

The second and third chapters are being coded, but it is estimated that they will not be completed soon.

Of course, there must be.

(End of this chapter)