Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Luzhou City was captured by the Taiping Army after only one day of defense.

This was completely different from the expectations of Bi Chengzhao, the governor of Anhui Province, and Li Xubin, the commander of the Hunan Army cavalry.

Despite the fall of the city, Bi Chengzhao led the Anhui army in an attempt to put up a stubborn resistance.

However, they were no match for the Taiping Army's elite troops.

Many Anhui military officers and soldiers chose to surrender directly.

Especially after the Taiping army explicitly offered to lay down their weapons and avoid death, they naturally became unwilling to continue fighting the Taiping army.

The Xiang Army cavalry attempted a breakout, but were instead surrounded and annihilated by the Imperial Guard outside Luzhou City.

Of the six thousand Hunan Army cavalry, nearly half were shot dead. The rest, their leaders, chose to surrender.

This allowed the Taiping Army to capture several thousand more warhorses, enough to form three or four more cavalry battalions.

The Battle of Luzhou not only greatly shocked the Qing army, but also greatly surprised the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army.

In the Taiping Army's original battles, siege warfare was often very difficult, and even if they defeated the Qing army, they would often pay a heavy price.

However, the formidable firepower displayed by the Royal Guard made their sieges and captures incredibly easy. Even the strongest walls couldn't withstand the explosions of gunpowder.

The dense machine gun fire and mortar shells, in particular, made the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army extremely envious.

After this battle, Wing King Shi Dakai sent another telegram to Hong Tian, ​​hoping to reorganize the troops of the Western Expeditionary Army and requesting that they be equipped with the same weapons as the Imperial Guard.

Hong Tian also made it clear that after this battle, the Western Expeditionary Army would select two corps to be reorganized into two infantry divisions.

Although Shi Dakai hoped to reorganize all eight armies of the Western Expeditionary Army into infantry divisions, he also knew that the weapons production capacity of the arsenal was limited. Being able to reorganize two armies first was already quite good.

Once the Daye Iron Mine was captured and its iron and copper ore were fully exploited to address the resource shortage, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's weapons production speed might be greatly improved.

The capture of Luzhou dealt a near-fatal blow to the Qing army's strength in Anhui Province.

Shi Dakai ordered the 6th, 7th, and 8th Armies to advance northward and capture Yingchuan Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture, and Sizhou in Anhui Province. The remaining 3rd and 4th Armies, along with the 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard Corps, were to advance westward along the Yangtze River to attack Huangzhou Prefecture in Hubei Province. After capturing Huangzhou Prefecture, they were to continue westward to attack Hanyang Prefecture and Wuchang Prefecture, aiming to crush the Hubei army in one fell swoop.

General Chen Yucheng, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps and commander of the 1st Infantry Division, handed over his troops to Chief of Staff Brigadier General Liu Yiming and set off back to Tianjing City.

The 3rd Infantry Division of the Guards Corps has already begun to be formed. Furthermore, the 4th Infantry Division will be formed in the second half of the year.

As the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps, Chen Yucheng was responsible for the management, training, and combat of the entire Imperial Guard Corps.

The command of the specific infantry divisions below will also be handed over to other generals.

Brigadier General Liu Yiming, the division chief of staff, is undoubtedly a very good candidate for division commander.

General Chen Yucheng also hoped to take this opportunity to give Brigadier General Liu Yiming more opportunities to demonstrate his abilities.

When Chen Yucheng returned to Tianjing City, he brought along the six brothers of the Li family.

After the northern part of Luzhou was captured, the Li brothers were also taken prisoner by the Taiping Army.

However, Hong Tian had already given Chen Yucheng orders to bring the Li brothers to Tianjing City. He also specifically instructed Chen Yucheng to treat them well.

This made Chen Yucheng realize that Hong Tian was trying to recruit the Li brothers.

This greatly surprised the Li brothers.

It's important to understand that Li Hanzhang, the eldest son of the Li family, currently only holds the title of prefect. Li Hongzhang previously only held the title of provincial inspector. Why would the high-ranking officials of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom treat them so well?

They witnessed firsthand that Bi Chengzhao, the governor of Anhui Province, was beheaded immediately after being captured.

Li Xubin, the commander of the Xiang Army's cavalry, was riddled with bullets.

What merit or ability did they possess to warrant such treatment from the Taiping Army?

Since they were already there, the Li brothers had no other choice.

On April 9th, after the Li brothers arrived in Tianjing City, they were taken to wash and tidy up.

Subsequently, he was taken to the Heavenly King's Palace to meet the Heavenly King.

"This humble subject, Li Hanzhang (also known as Li Hongzhang, Li Hezhang, Li Yunzhang, Li Fengzhang, or Li Zhaoqing), pays his respects to His Majesty the Heavenly King!"

The Li brothers behaved very respectfully in front of Hong Tian.

Although Hong Tiancai is only seven years old, he is still just a little kid.

But even a seven-year-old superstar is still a superstar!

One order was all it took to have those brothers beheaded.

Already prisoners, they had already decided that survival was their top priority.

Otherwise, if all the brothers were killed, the Li family line would end.

Although the Li brothers were all scholars with official titles, they weren't bookworms who had lost their minds; they knew how to assess situations and act accordingly. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to climb to such high positions in another timeline.

"Please rise, everyone!" Hong Tian's voice rang out.

Hong Tian was also sizing up the Li family brothers.

Li Hongzhang, in particular, was a key focus of his attention.

Li Hongzhang was one of the four most famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, alongside Zeng Bohan, Zuo Zhongtang, and Zhang Zhidong.

Furthermore, in Hong Tiantian's view, Li Hongzhang was the most capable of the four famous ministers.

Zeng Bohan, needless to say, had his official hat stained red with the blood of millions of Han Chinese. All high-ranking Taiping soldiers captured by the Xiang Army were executed by slow slicing, without exception. Countless Taiping soldiers and civilians were also killed. Especially the captured female Taiping soldiers suffered inhumane treatment.

Li Hongzhang, though a bit greedy, was truly capable!

During the decades when the Qing Dynasty was teetering on the brink of collapse, Li Hongzhang, this paperhanger, did everything in his power, scraping together funds from all sides, to keep the Qing Dynasty afloat for a little longer.

Putting aside the issue of greed, Li Hongzhang's abilities are undoubtedly commendable.

Especially in the late Qing Dynasty, which official wasn't corrupt?

Li Hongzhang was simply a bit more greedy.

Hong Tian believed that with a well-implemented system of supervision over officials, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could completely help Li Hongzhang correct this problem.

At that time, Li Hongzhang will become one of the most important ministers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"I have long heard that the six brothers of the Li family are all exceptionally talented. Our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom takes it upon itself to expel the Manchus and restore the Han dynasty. I hope that all the brothers of the Li family can join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and work hard to realize this great cause!" Hong Tian said bluntly.

The Li brothers had some guesses about this.

However, they did not agree immediately.

They had all previously served the Qing government and were on the opposite side of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, our fathers have passed away, and we are observing mourning according to the rites. We are afraid we will be unable to serve Your Majesty," Li Hanzhang said.

Hong Tian shook his head: "You are all currently in mourning, which is indeed understandable. However, even the Tartars can suspend mourning periods. So can I!"

The six Li brothers did not expect Hong Tian to be so resolute.

"I have great faith in your talents. You would only be wasted by the Tartars. As long as you are willing to join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, I promise to wipe the slate clean of everything that happened before."

Li Hanzhang, I hereby appoint you as the Governor of Anhui Province, responsible for the pacification and development of the province. In the Heavenly Kingdom, this is already a second-rank official position.

Li Hongzhang, I hereby appoint you as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for establishing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handling all diplomatic affairs of the Heavenly Kingdom. Of course, at present, the Heavenly Kingdom does not have many diplomatic matters to deal with. Therefore, I will have you assist the Prime Minister in handling other affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a first-rank official in the Heavenly Kingdom.

Hong Tian offered two positions.

Both Li Hanzhang and Li Hongzhang stared wide-eyed, never expecting Hong Tian to offer such a high price.

Official positions of the second rank and the first rank!

This was something they had never even considered.

It should be noted that before the mourning period, Li Hanzhang had been given the title of Prefect, which only made him a fourth-rank official.

Li Hongzhang was given the title of Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, but that was only a third-rank official position.

The conditions offered by Hong Tian are far too generous; he's giving away too much!