Taiping Army, Western King Camp.
"What? That angel can calculate and control?"
In the grand hall of a temple that had been converted into the central camp of the Western King, Xiao ChaoGui, a man with a robust figure, was speaking to Hong Xuanjiao, who hurriedly arrived looking somewhat flustered.
Hong Xuanjiao nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, he's very accurate! He even knew that my biological father's surname is Huang, and my foster father's surname is Yang..."
Xiao ChaoGui was still somewhat skeptical: "Could it be that Su San'niang told him?"
Hong Xuanjiao was a bit angry: "Brother, how dare you suspect my eighth brother? He is a genuine angel!"
Xiao ChaoGui gave his wife a stern look with apathy: "He's real, so why am I, your Godson-in-Law, fake?"
Hong Xuanjiao snorted, "Whether or not you believe my eighth brother's words is up to you..." However, he predicted that I might have to become a widow soon!"
"You'll be a widow? Then what about me..." Xiao ChaoGui was not amused, jumping up abruptly, "Is this kid cursing me?"
"Curse you?" Hong Xuanjiao sneered, "Have you been discussing the matter of light troops rushing to Changsha with East King recently?"
"How do you know?" Xiao ChaoGui was taken aback, "Did I not tell you?"
Hong Xuanjiao coldly said, "My eighth brother predicts that you will be heavily wounded and killed by a canon in Changsha city!"
"What? Another cannon hit... And a fatal injury?" Hearing the word "cannon," Xiao ChaoGui sucked in a deep breath.
He had already been hit by a cannon once during the battle outside of Yong'anzhou's city wall, sustaining serious injuries and nearly dying. It took several months of recovery. Although his body had healed, his reputation was hard to restore—his physical form was supposed to be a special descension from the Heavenly Brother, and it shouldn't have been injured!
"Isn't Jesus, the Heavenly Brother, supposed to be all-powerful and invincible to weapons? How could he be seriously injured?" wondered Hong Xuanjiao. "You, who are a descendant of the Heavenly Brother... Are you really authentic?"
So, after the battle in Shuidu Village, Xiao ChaoGui, who could have matched Yang Xiuqing's power, had fallen somewhat from grace. He knew his prestige had diminished, and he stopped pretending to be possessed by the Heavenly Brother. Over time, he became the second-in-command under Yang Xiuqing.
With his health greatly improved recently and feeling a bit restless, Xiao ChaoGui wanted to boost his popularity by making a few moves. So, he discussed with Yang Xiuqing whether they could take advantage of the opportunity that all the Qing (rebellious) forces in Hunan were blocking the main force of the Taiping Army along the Xiangjiang River. He proposed to lead several thousand elite soldiers on a stealth attack, taking a detour northward to bypass cities fortified by Qing forces along the river and steal into Changsha. However, Yang Xiuqing had not yet given his approval.
He never expected Lu Yaoguo to have calculated that Xiao ChaoGui would die in Changsha city!
Now Xiao ChaoGui was really alarmed!
"Scared, are you?" Hong Xuanjiao leaned in close to her husband and whispered, "My eighth brother's prediction is accurate; if you can survive the danger in Changsha, you will..."
"What will happen...?" Xiao ChaoGui's heart went up in his throat as he looked at his wife, fearing that she would say something like 'inevitable death'.
Hong Xuanjiao glanced at her burly husband, giggling, "You will become the ruler of the three cities in Wuhan! In the future, Wuchang Prefecture, Hanyang Prefecture, and Hankou Town will be ours!"
"Is that... true?" Xiao ChaoGui's eyes widened in disbelief.
Hong Xuanjiao looked at her husband: "Brother, whether it's true or not, it's worth a try! Postponing the attack on Changsha won't cause much harm... But becoming the ruler of the three cities in Wuhan is an incredible fortune!"
Xiao ChaoGui nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's worth trying!"
"Since that's the case," Hong Xuanjiao said, "let's go to see East King early tomorrow morning!"
"What do we need to see the East King for?" Xiao ChaoGui was taken aback.
"It's to tell East King the result of my attempt with my eighth brother!" Hong Xuanjiao told Xiao ChaoGui, "We'll also push for you to take charge of the secret march on Changsha and talk to East King about your dominion over the three cities in Wuhan... This is what the angel predicted! Whether East King believes it or not, you believe it, so this matter must come true!"
"Do you mean... to lay all your cards on the table with East King?"
Hong Xuanjiao nodded in agreement: "Yes! To lay all your cards on the table with East King, this eighth brother who has been sent by God is truly an angel and can divine the future, posing the greatest threat to him. Therefore, East King must currently lure you, and you can use this opportunity to ask for a post in Wuhan, while still maintaining your position in Wuchang."
"You're just a punching bag ranked third or fourth when you're with the Emperor and East King. But if you can govern Wuchang, that's when you'll truly be a monarch in command!"
"Yes!" Xiao ChaoGui laughed, "Now it's East King who needs me... I want to be a king in my own right! Ha ha ha!"
......
"East King, East King......I won't be leading the attack on Changsha!"
"Brother Four, my husband can't go to Changsha because..."
At dawn, Yang Xiuqing was listening to a report from one of his subordinates, who was reading the military dispatch sent by Wu Ruxiang's army deployed on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. Just as Xiao ChaoGui and Hong Xuanjiao, his wife, burst into the temporary Eastern Palace, saying "Don't go to Changsha," which confused Yang Xiuqing.
This Eastern King Yang had just learned that the Qing (rebellious) forces on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River had retreated to the prefectural capital of Lingling, so he was thinking about approving Xiao ChaoGui's plan for a light cavalry raid on Changsha. Even if they couldn't capture Changsha, forcing the Qing forces in Lingling to return would do!
But he hadn't even had a chance to inform Xiao ChaoGui of his decision when the latter announced his reversal, stating that he didn't want to go.
What's going on here?
"All of you, step back!"
Yang Xiuqing waved his hand to have his entourage step back, giving him space to scold Xiao ChaoGui—just because "Jesus" is disobedient doesn't mean "God" can't spank him!
"Brother-in-law Xiao, sixth sister, what's going on?" Yang Xiuqing asked indignantly.
Hong Xuanjiao took over the question, "Fourth brother, you didn't ask me to find out about the eighth brother's true nature?"
"Oh, what did he say?" asked Yang Xiuqing.
"He said he can divine the future," Hong Xuanjiao replied, "And even predicted that I might become a widow in the near future!"
"Will you become a widow?" Yang Xiuqing's eyes bulged, as he turned to look at Xiao ChaoGui. "Brother-in-law Xiao, your physique..."
"My body is fine, but... the angel, the eighth brother, has predicted that I will be killed by a cannon at the gates of Changsha City!" Xiao ChaoGui said with a look of fear in his eyes. "So I think I should not go to Changsha."
"What? Calculated by the eighth? He knows astrology?" Yang Xiuqing was taken aback.
"Yes," Hong Xuanjiao said, "He can really predict the future and calculate with great accuracy. He also predicted that my husband will have great good fortune as long as he survives the danger in Changsha City."
Yang Xiuqing squinted his eyes and asked, "What kind of good fortune?"
Xiao ChaoGui smiled and said, "Being the ruler of Wuhan's three cities! Fourth brother, isn't this kind of good fortune enough?"
"The ruler of Wuhan's three cities?" Yang Xiuqing was taken aback again. He thought: So if that's the case, we'll win our advance north against the Qing troops easily!
Xiao Chaogui laughed again and said, "Fourth brother, look at me, your ruler of the three cities in Wuhan..."
Yang Xiuqing looked at Xiao ChaoGui and saw that the latter was expectant, but he wasn't quite sure how to respond.
This Hong Xuanjiao was obviously the one he had sent to investigate Lu Yaoguo's true nature, and Xiao ChaoGui was also a card in his hand that he planned to use against Lu Yaoguo. How could this turn out like this? How could Lu Yaoguo just forget everything by simply calculating that Xiao ChaoGui and Hong Xuanjiao wanted to become the rulers of the three cities in Wuhan?
This Ro Angel... is more formidable than imagined!
Just as Yang Xiuqing was thinking about this, there was a sudden announcement outside: "Your Majesty the Divine Angel Four thousand years old requests to see you!"
When he said angel, the angel arrived!
Yang Xiuqing turned to look at Xiao ChaoGui and Hong Xuanjiao, who were both quite surprised, and hesitated for a moment. Hong Xuanjiao was the first to recover; she said to Yang Xiuqing, "Fourth brother, he should be coming about the matter of my husband possibly dying in Changsha. You should see him!"
Xiao ChaoGui nodded in agreement and said, "Fourth brother, this is a good idea. You should see him, and perhaps he can also give you a prediction or two?"
Yang Xiuqing huffed: "I am the fourth son of God, and I have God's protection. I don't need his calculations! However, he is still an angel sent down to help us, so we should see him at least once... Announce!"
Upon hearing Yang Xiuqing call out a "announce," Luo Yaoguo, who was standing outside the courtyard gate, picked up his robe and trotted in. As soon as he entered the room and before he saw Yang Xiuqing, he noticed the towering Xiao ChaoGui and asked in haste, "Brother-in-law Xiao, has Sister-in-law Hong told you about the prediction that you will die by cannon fire at the gates of Changsha?"
"She has said it!" Xiao ChaoGui nodded. "I came to see East King this morning specifically for this matter. I won't go to Changsha!"
"That's a good decision," Luo Yaoguo said, "A gentleman should not stand near danger, let alone when my brother-in-law will have the responsibility of defending the key position upstream from Tianjing on behalf of heaven?"
"Tianjin? Tianjin Pass?"
"Not, the capital city of our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"
"Oh?"
"Ahem!"
Yang Xiuqing watched as Luo Yaoguo and Xiao ChaoGui were chatting away, and couldn't help but cough twice – these two had no manners, could they ignore him, the representative of the Lord God on Earth as the King of the ninth level?
Luo Yaoguo heard Yang Xiuqing cough, and then pretended to be surprised. He quickly turned around and bowed deeply to the East King, who was sitting on a too master chair: "Younger brother greets Fourth brother."
Yang Xiuqing looked at this "little brother" with a thick brow, big eyes, and slightly taller than Xiao Chaoji, frowning and asking, "Eighth brother, can you really divine the future?"
"Yes!" Luo Yaoguo nodded, "This is called prophecy and divination. As an angel, how could I not know it? However, my prophecy is not always accurate. Generally speaking, the overall direction is correct, but the details are often unpredictable."
Yang Xiuqing looked coldly at Luo Yaoguo: "Predict where the under heavenly paradise of our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is located."
Luo Yaoguo answered without hesitation: "It's right here in Nanjing... The capital of the Qing Dynasty, also known as Jingling!"
Yang Xiuqing heard this answer, feeling both shocked and delighted. He was shocked because Luo Yaoguo's prediction about the location of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom matched his own expectations... and he was pleased because Luo Angel had revealed such an important matter to him, suggesting that the other party was willing to cooperate with him.
Since there can be cooperation... there's something to discuss!
