"I must confess to you, Lord Sa, my brother Xiongquan does indeed have a father in the sky. He calls himself the Heavenly Father Emperor God, but one time when he was drinking with me after a meal, he blurted out the truth: his Heavenly Father is actually not the Emperor God, but there is another...... God!"
Currently speaking in the governor's office of the emperor's envoy in Guilin, it was Jiao Liang, who claimed to be Hong Daquan, the Heavenly King of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
And those who listened to his stories with their sleeves up, sitting upright on the hall, were all important officials: Sa Changyao, the Imperial Envoy from Guangxi; Zou Minghe, the Inspector of Guangxi; Xing Rong, a dismissed official who had served sentences and now served as an acting military commander; and Qin Dingsan, the acting military commander who replaced Xing Rong after he was demoted. All of them were deeply favoured by the emperor and bore heavy responsibilities for defeating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Of course, they were not strangers to whitewashing defeats as victories, killing innocent people to claim achievements, and deceiving the emperor.
Now, seeing the Taiping Army getting more and more after their victory after victory, getting stronger and stronger after being defeated time and time again, they had the sign of breaking out of Guangxi, invading Hunan, and rushing towards the Yangtze River. All of these people were worried to death—His Imperial Highness Xianfeng was already somewhat angry. He had almost sent Xing Rong this old bone to Xinjiang. Among all these people present, no one had killed as many Longmao as Xing Rong did, nor had anyone done more things that deceived the emperor!
If they can't come up with a decent excuse, then it won't just be one Xing Rong who has to go to Xinjiang to serve in the military...
And just when all these people were brainstorming for a decent excuse, this unexpected excuse... turned up on its own!
The "Heavenly Father Emperor God" mentioned by the Longmao bandit...... actually exists as a god!
And it turns out that this Heavenly Father, from up above, saw that the Longmao rebels were about to be annihilated by the Qing Dynasty's heavenly soldiers, and he even broke the "Heavenly Laws" by directly descending a bull king! Now, it's not just a matter of not trying hard enough; it's that the bull king is really tough to fight!
The question is... is this thing actually reliable or not?
Emperor...... Can we trust him?
To unify the "depositions," Sa Shang'ao invited all the qualified officials in Guilin City who were eligible to submit secret memorials to Emperor Xianfeng to his official residence today. They first studied the mooncake gift boxes together, then listened to Yuan Bao tell the story of the bull king descending from heaven, and finally listened to Hong Daquan recite his stories.
"Hong Daquan, you be honest, who is the old man in the sky with your brother Hong Xiuquan?" Sa Shang'ao suddenly interrupted Hong Daquan and asked him in a strong tone.
This question wasn't asked for nothing, but to remind Hong Daquan not to speak impulsively——Hong Xiuquan's Heavenly Father cannot be the Grand God of Heaven!
The Grand God of Heaven, also known as the Emperor God of Heaven, is a title that first appeared during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At that time, it was the greatest supreme deity, representing heaven or being equivalent to heaven!
From the Tang Dynasty onwards, emperors have been worshipping the Grand God of Heaven during their sacrifices to heaven!
If Hong Xiuquan's father in heaven is the Grand God of Heaven, won't the Qing Dynasty be doomed?
So last night when Yuan Bao came to report to Sa Shang'ao, Sa Shangtan immediately pointed out this issue and instructed Yuan Bao to go and correct Hong Daquan right away!
As for whether Hong Daquan really changed, it's hard to say.
"Is Hou......" Hong Daquan almost made a mistake, but was fiercely glared at by Yuan Bao on the side who was watching him. He had to forcefully stop speaking and reorganize his thoughts before saying, "It's Tongtian Jiaozhi!"
Tongtian Jiaozhi? Sa Shang'ao glanced at Yuan Bao, thinking to himself: Are you changing it according to the "Fengshen Yanyi"? Alright, if that's what it takes to "confer divine status," then let it be!
Hong Daquan saw Sa Shang'ao nodding, so he continued to make things up: "My brother also said that there are twelve angels under the command of Tongtian Jiaozhi nowadays... No, it's actually Tianmo! The Bull King is one of them. The one that Yuan Daren saw at Shouyi Crossing was actually its original form. He also changes his appearance from time to time and can take on human form."
"What powers does the Bull King have?" Xing Rong, who was about to lead troops to eliminate demons for the Qing Dynasty, anxiously asked.
Hong Daquan said, "The Bull King is the leader of the twelve angels under the command of Tongtian Jiaozhi, so he definitely has supernatural powers! But that's in heaven. If he breaks the Heavenly Law and descends to the mortal world, his powers can't be fully utilized. At most, he can only have a little left. Otherwise, Yuan Daren wouldn't have been able to fight him for three rounds!"
Xing Rong looked at Yuan Bao and saw that the kid was standing with his chest puffed out, looking quite proud!
However, there are two things that can be confirmed. First, a demon really did descend from heaven——This is not only verified by the mooncake gift box, but also by Xing Rong's informants in the Huai'er Army. He received reports early this morning.
Second, the demon's combat power is limited. Although it broke through Huachun's cannon array, it's no more than the level of a formidable general who cannot be matched by ten thousand men. It also didn't seem to display any particularly powerful magic arts.
It seems that Hong Daquan's claims are relatively reliable.
Xing Rong asked again, "Hong Daquan, do you know why the demon descended to the mortal world?"
"It should be because the Tongtian Jiaozhi thinks my brother is in danger, so he sent down a bull demon to protect him."
Hong Daquan was just making it up on the spot, but Xing Rong took it seriously.
Since the Bull King is here to protect Hong Xiuquan, then it's not a problem anymore...... As long as he stays away from Hong Xiuquan, he should be able to avoid the Bull King.
Sa Shang'ao picked up the "Bull King Riding" painting on the table in front of him and showed it to Hong Daquan, "Hong Daquan, take a look. Is this what the original form of the Bull King looks like?"
"Almost," Hong Daquan said, "but it's missing three pairs of wings... My brother said that the demon is in human form, has horns, and six wings."
Sa Shang'ao nodded: "Human form, horns, six wings...... Master Kong!"
"Student present."
A tall man with a pale face, wearing disheveled white beard, immediately replied, "Student present."
The scholar was named Kong Xianglin and was the chief scholar of Sa Shang'ao.
"You are skilled in fine brushwork. Draw another image of a flying bull king with six wings riding a bicycle!"
"Yes." Kong Shijie answered, took out a piece of rice paper, picked up a fine brush, and began to outline it.
Sa Shang'ao looked around at the people present and said with a bitter smile, "So it turns out that it's not that we're not trying hard enough, but that the Longmao rebels are indeed being helped by demons...... Of course, my Qing Dynasty is under divine protection, and even if there are a few demons in heaven helping the Longmao bandits, how can they be our match? However, we should not make a big deal about Longmao being helped by demons. We don't want to create panic among the people. So this matter should not be mentioned in the memorial and should be reported in individual memorials instead!"
The memorial is a public document submitted to the emperor, and it is not "encrypted." In contrast, a "memorial" refers to an official report, which also includes secret reports.
The matter of Hong Xiuquan having a father in heaven and the arrival of a Bull Demon sent by the heavens should be reported in a secret memorial!
"Yuan Bao!" Sa Shang'ao continued, "You've fought three rounds with the demon and also obtained this...... mooncake box. Just go ahead and make another effort. Take the memorial I wrote and escort Hong Daquan, the elder brother of Hong Xiuquan, to Beijing to meet with the emperor!"
"Zhā!" Yuan Bao was overjoyed at the opportunity to enter the capital and meet the emperor, and immediately performed a kane (a traditional Chinese bow).
...
Beijing, Forbidden City, outside of Qianqing Gate.
Four high-ranking officials with feathers on their hats are hurrying from the Military Office outside Longzong Gate towards the Qianqing Gate, breathing heavily. The young eunuch is walking so fast that it seems like something very important has happened.
Among the four Qing officials, the one at the front is a young man under 20 years old, with black skin and small eyes, who looks solid. Of course, his legs are agile enough, but he is still followed by several elderly gentlemen. These are all pillars of the Qing Dynasty. Walking so fast could cause them to twist their ankles.
Thinking of this, the young official asked the small eunuch leading the way: "Little Anzi, why are we walking so fast? What emergency has occurred? Sir Qi, Sir Peng, and Sir Mu are all elderly!"
The eunuch called "Little Anzi" was not very old, around a dozen years, named Andehai, and was a close confidant of Emperor Xianfeng. However, towards the young official behind him, he was still very respectful, smiling broadly as he replied, "Your Royal Highness is correct. I am indeed walking too fast. But I saw the Emperor lose his temper and feared that he might harm his health from anger. That's why I thought it best to ask Your Royal Highness and the military officials to persuade the Emperor quickly."
This "Sixth Prince" is none other than the younger brother of Emperor Xianfeng, Prince Yixin, also known as the Concubine Prince. Although he has not yet assumed a position at the Military Office, he holds a position within the inner court. Today, he was on duty in the palace. After receiving orders from Emperor Xianfeng, Andehai first went to find Prince Yixin and then went to the Military Office outside Longzong Gate to call up three military officials. They then proceeded together to Qianqing Palace.
Upon hearing that Emperor Xianfeng was raging, the three elderly military ministers were somewhat puzzled.
"Anda Gong, what kind of important matter has happened?"
"Exactly, there have been frequent good news from Guangxi in the past two days!"
"Of course, we have just recovered Xing'an and Quanzhou, and there's a big victory at the Shouyi Crossing; we killed five thousand rebels!"
"And the Concubine Prince Yixin also asked, 'Right, what's going on? How did it involve you as an Inner Court Eunuch?'"
Andehai forced a smile and said, "Your Royal Highness, the sirs, I'm not quite sure myself. All I know is that the Emperor is angry about some demonic affairs..."
"Demons?" The head military minister Qi Juzao was startled upon hearing this.
"Last year, only to be appointed as a military official," added Peng Yunzhang, who was also confused, "Demons... do they belong to the Military Bureau?"
"Yes, the Military Office manages everything!" Tuo He Luo. Mu Yin, who was also appointed as a military official around the same time as Peng Yunzhang, was an old Manchurian and knew a lot more.
Prince Yixin muttered to himself in a low voice, "What kind of demon? Could it be that there's a ghost haunting the Forbidden City?"
