Zeng Guofan fell ill partly because the battle that night had touched him too much and shocked him deeply.
On the other hand, it was because the Xiang Army had suffered heavy losses in that battle. Other than Liu Songru's troops who had been sent to pursue them, nearly five thousand people, including the defenders on River Heart Island and the Xiang Army on the shore, had died in the battle that night.
Although five thousand men was not a huge loss to the Xiang Army, which had more than a hundred thousand soldiers, it was not a big deal.
Unfortunately, the losses that night were almost all from the artillery of the Xiang Army.
Artillery could be said to be a technical branch of the army, especially those old cannoneers. Their combat ability was fed with shells from battle to battle.
They had lost veterans, and they needed to pay a huge price to make up for it.
Moreover, it wasn't just the artillery that had been lost. They had also lost a large number of cannons, especially the 20 heavy cannons that they had bought from the foreigners!
The loss of these cannons instantly caused the combat strength of the Xiang Army to drop by a large level.
At this time, the Qing court's transfer order came again.
"Marshal, the imperial court wants us to go north and wipe out the Nian Army. I think they want to completely cut off our roots!”
It was not that the Xiang army did not have capable people. The clever people of the Xiang army could clearly see through Empress Dowager Ci 'an's intentions.
Zeng Guofan himself also understood this, which was why he was sick.
"Hmph, they want us to move north, want us to leave our territory and become a guest army. At that time, all our resources, money, and food will have to rely on the supply of the Imperial Court. We can only live at the mercy of others!”
Zeng Guoquan, who had long had the intention to rebel, took the opportunity to jump out and shout,
"Brother, I think we should just rebel. We have guns and cannons. Why should we listen to them?”
"Shut up, don't talk nonsense!"
Hearing Zeng Guoquan's explicit words, Zeng Guofan reprimanded loudly,
"How many times have I told you? There is no big brother in the army, only the marshal!”
"Men, drag him out and kill him!”
The soldiers on both sides rushed in and dragged Zeng Guoquan out. Everyone in the tent pleaded for mercy.
"Marshal, please spare me!"
"That's right, marshal. General Zeng was only thinking for our brothers.”
Zeng Guofan opened his eyes and glanced at the generals who had pleaded for mercy. He found that almost all the main generals of the Xiang army were kneeling in front of him to plead for mercy. Only a few people were indifferent.
He memorized the names of these people in his heart, then pretended to be very unwilling. He waved his hand and said,
"Hmph, on account that everyone is pleading for you, I'll spare your life. However, you can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment. Men, drag him out and punish him with twenty strokes of the cane!”
The soldiers quickly dragged Zeng Guoquan out and started fighting outside.
When the generals in the tent heard that Zeng Guoquan had been beaten up, they were all furious.
In their eyes, Zeng Guoquan was fighting for everyone's rights, but in the end, he had to bear such a punishment.
The Qing court was clearly in the wrong. The Qing court wanted to weaken their power and violate their interests. If they didn't resist, were they going to wait for death?
At the thought of this, the generals 'good impression of the Qing court completely disappeared, replaced by deep hatred.
Therefore, after the meeting ended, most of the generals in the Xiang army ran to Zeng Guoquan's tent to visit him.
Among the Xiang army, especially among the young officers, there was a sense of hostility towards the Qing court.
All of this was under Zeng Guofan's close attention.
"Sir is indeed a genius. The soldiers in the army are all dissatisfied with the Imperial Court. It seems that our first step of the plan has succeeded!”
At night, in Zeng Guofan's tent.
Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan, who had been beaten up during the day, were sitting in the tent.
Other than them, there was also a young white-robed scholar.
"Hehe, General Zeng is too kind. Small tricks are not worth mentioning. You have caused General to suffer. This subordinate apologizes to General here!”
The white-robed scholar raised his wine cup and bowed slightly to Zeng Guoquan.
"A mere physical pain is nothing. As long as I can complete the great cause, I, Zeng Guoquan, will not hesitate to risk my life!”
Zeng Guoquan had a fierce personality and was not afraid of anything.
With such a personality, coupled with his relationship with Zeng Guofan and his position in the army, he was just in time to play the trick of hurting himself during the day.
"Sir, what should we do next after raising the hostility of the soldiers towards the Imperial Court?”
Zeng Guofan put down the wine cup in his hand and looked at the white-robed scholar with sharp eyes.
Of course, Zeng Guofan was ambitious. The reason why he did not dare to rebel in history was that he overestimated the strength of the Qing court.
On the other hand, he did not dare to act rashly because of the presence of the Chu and Huai armies.
Although these two armies were separated from the Xiang Army, Zeng Guofan was not sure whether they would listen to him or the court.
Therefore, if he rebelled, it was very likely that the Huai and Chu armies, as well as the Qing army, would attack his Xiang army.
Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the Xiang Army to achieve victory. In that case, it would be better to be a loyal official. At least they could enjoy their old age.
However, the situation in this life was completely different!
The battle outside Tianjing City had deeply moved him.
He had witnessed the strength of the Flame Dragon. He heard that this warship had gone south and captured Yue City. It was also expanding wantonly in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions!
The court had already dispatched Zuo Zongtang's Chu army to the south to quell the rebellion. This way, the threat of the Xiang army in the southeast would completely disappear.
Furthermore, the unrest in Guangdong and Guangxi would not only restrict a large number of Qing troops, but would also greatly damage the Qing court's national treasury income.
One had to know that most of the imperial court's trade was concentrated in Guangdong and Guangxi. The customs revenue here accounted for more than half of the imperial court's income!
With the imperial court's energy and military strength being divided, and the income of the national treasury sharply reduced, it would be very difficult for the imperial court to raise an army!
Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible for the Imperial Court to form a new army in a short period of time.
Thus, they could only rely on Li Hongzhang's Huai Army!
And if they relied solely on the Huai Army, the Xiang Army was naturally confident of victory. Moreover, Li Hongzhang was no fool!
After seeing the disparity in power between the two sides, the Huai Army might not necessarily work for the Qing court. It was very likely that they would return to Zeng Guofan, their teacher, and help him crusade against the Qing court.
Therefore, in this era, if Zeng Guofan's Xiang army wanted to rebel, the probability of success was much higher than in history!
It was because of this that Zeng Guofan was tempted!
He wanted to rebel!
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