Chen Qice is from Taishan and is a martial artist. ￥f. ￥f. ￥f has been made by military officers for more than 30 years. Although he is already sixty, his body has always been very strong. Zhou Shixiang heard that the old general would lift a stone mill every day after getting up, and he would not stop until he lifted it ten times. The stone mill weighs more than a hundred pounds, and it is difficult for a strong young man to lift it up, let alone an old man. However, the old general's illness came urgently and severely. The sudden illness half a month ago was invited by Zhaoqing and a famous doctor in Guangzhou.

I did a lot of things, but although I didn't keep improving, it didn't worsen. I didn't expect that my condition suddenly worsened in the past two days. I was unable to get up, could not eat, and even could not speak. I was in a coma several times. The doctors all said that the old general was afraid that it would not work. On the one hand, the general Zhu Tong and others prepared for the funeral of the old general, and on the other hand, they asked someone to ask Zhou Shixiang to go there quickly, because the old general was unconscious twice in a row and recited Zhou Shixiang's name.

Zhou Shixiang has always been grateful to the veteran general. If the veteran general had not led his army to help in the battle of Xinhui, he would have probably died in battle. When the Taiping Army crossed Xiangshan, it was more likely that the veteran general would have been in charge. When the Qing army marched into Xiangshan three times, the veteran general accepted nearly ten thousand people of Xiangshan without saying a word, so that the Taiping Army could fight the Qing army without worries. Later, the Taiping Army formed a water camp, and the veteran general specially sent Zheng Chengkui to bring dozens of warships to help. In the Battle of Chaohui, if it were not for Zheng Chengkui, how could Zhou Shixiang transport the first town from Huizhou to Chaozhou to cut off the Qing army's retreat. The Qing army's retreat and food route could not be cut off, and the end of the Chaohui War would have changed as much.

Zhou Shixiang was not an ungrateful person. He remembered all the kindness of the old general and also helped the old general as much as possible. The benefits Zhaoqing Ming army got from the Taiping Army were much more than the help the old general gave to the Taiping Army. After Zhou Shixiang returned to Guangzhou, he sent someone to send a letter to the old general, telling him that he wanted to invite various Ming army forces to Guangzhou for a meeting and integrate his strength to enter Guangxi to meet the king.

The old general supported Zhou Shixiang's preparation for the king's promotion and expressed his first response. He told Zhou Shixiang that if the Taiping Army entered Guangxi to pay the king's promotion, the first thing to do was to solve the problem of food and grass transportation. Guangdong and Guangxi were connected to Liujiang, so there was no need to go by land. The navy under his command helped the Taiping Army transport food and grass and transport troops into Guangxi. It would definitely be much more convenient to go by water than to go by land, which could not only transport troops quickly, but also reduce the food and grass burden of the Taiping Army.

To this end, the veteran general ordered his subordinates to start building sand ships between 2,000 and 3,000 stones. The sand ship can walk in the river with a load of 250 to 400 tons. The bow is equipped with iron heads and dozens of large and small artillery guns are equipped on both sides. Both of them are load-load-capacity and water combat capabilities are by no means comparable to the Qing army. Moreover, the Qing army did not have an inland water naval division in Guangxi. Even if there is one, the veteran general was confident that he could crush them into slag.

The old general proposed that the waterway to enter Guangxi was quite consistent with Zhou Shixiang's intention. He ordered people to find a map of Guangxi. If the waterway is taken, it would save half of the time. When occupying Liuzhou, Xunzhou and Wuzhou, they could get help from the navy, which could attack or defend, and the food and grass were unaware of the danger of being cut off from the food route. The Ming Dynasty army was inferior to the Qing army, but this navy was countless times more than them. Although the old general's navy was not as large as the Zheng family, it was a huge thing that made the Qing army afraid of it.

Walking on the water is like a sleeping person. He suddenly fell down a pillow and a quilt, which made Zhou Shi very happy. Because he could walk on the water, he delayed a while in Guangzhou. Otherwise, he would have been busy driving a remote land route into Guangxi in Zhaoqing, setting up post roads and grain roads, and dealing with various Ming troops along the way. He would not have been able to settle down for a day in all kinds of affairs.

After receiving Chen Yonghua, Zhou Shixiang was about to go to Zhaoqing to discuss the details of his entry into Guangxi with the veteran general and see what help the navy needed. Unexpectedly, the veteran general was so ill that he had no idea about it before.

In desperation, Zhou Shixiang immediately rushed to Zhaoqing. After entering the city, he did not delay and went straight to General Linghai's mansion. When he heard that Xingping Bo had arrived, the eldest son of the veteran general Chen Shibang came to greet him. Zhou Shixiang asked about the veteran general's condition, and Chen Shibang's expression was sad, which made Zhou Shixiang feel heartbroken.

At this critical moment, if the old general died of illness, the blow to Zhou Shixiang would be very serious. With the old general, his navy could assist the Taiping Army. If the old general was not present, it would be hard to say whether the generals under his command would be willing to support Zhou Shixiang. If the Chen army split due to the death of the old general, even if Zhou Shixiang relied on force to integrate them again in the end, the time would probably be delayed, which would undoubtedly be a big trouble for the Taiping Army's Western Expedition.

With concerns about the old general's condition and concerns about the plan of the Western Expedition, Zhou Shixiang was in a heavy mood and entered the old general's ward under Chen Shibang's leadership. He found that Zhu Tong, the general of the country, and Wu Yuan, Zhou Sheng, Zheng Chengkui, the generals under the old general, were all there. Hu Deyu and others were there, and there were several family members of the old general, and several men with doctor-like appearances were there, but their faces were all ugly.

"Xingping Bo!"

Zhou Shixiang was Xingping Bo. Everyone in the house said that the title was not as high as him. Zhu Tong was the general of the royal family, and the title was not as high as Zhou Shixiang. In addition, the Taiping Army is now powerful, so everyone saluted Zhou Shixiang in public and private affairs. Zhou Shi was concerned about the condition of the old general, so naturally he was not polite to them. He bowed and returned the ceremony. Everyone knew that he was concerned about the condition of the old general, so no one blamed him for his lack of etiquette.

The old general on the sickbed was still unconscious at this moment, with a pale face, a weak breath, a white hair, and a haggard spirit. He was no longer the old general who was laughing at Tan Jiangbian that day.

"How is the old general's condition? Maybe it's cured?" Zhou Shixiang felt sad and dragged a doctor over and asked.

The doctor said, "The general is very ill and has already become a waste of ointment. It cannot be saved by medicine and stone."

When he heard that it was impossible to cure, Zhou Shixiang became anxious and asked the doctor: "You can't think of a solution!"

"The villain is really powerless."

The doctor shook his head in embarrassment. Zhou Shi knew each other and could not force him. It seemed that the old general was afraid that he would not be able to do so. He couldn't help but sigh and stared at the old general on the hospital bed, thinking a lot.

The old general was in a coma and didn't know whether he could wake up or not, so Chen Shibang asked Zhou Shixiang and others to use tea in the room. This is the way for the host to treat guests. Besides, so many people stayed in the room, the air was very stuffy, which was not conducive to the patient's awakening, so Zhou Shixiang nodded and responded. Just as he was about to go out, Hu Deyu exclaimed: "General, General, General, Wake!"

Everyone was shocked and hurried forward. Zhou Shixiang also rushed to the front of the couch and looked at the old general Su Xing with concern.

The old general opened his eyes in a daze, his eyes were turbid, and his eyes fell on the bed, as if he was looking for something. Zhu Tong knew his intentions and hurriedly held Zhou Shixiang's hand into the old general's hand.

The old general held Zhou Shixiang's hand and his eyes flashed slightly, but he did not look at Zhou Shixiang. Instead, he stared at Wu Yuan, Hu Deyu and others, his lips moved slightly, trying his best to say something, but he couldn't say it.

Seeing this, Hu Deyu choked and said, "Don't worry, General, after you leave, we will only follow Xingping Bo Order."

Wu Yuan nodded sadly, and Zhou Sheng, Zheng Chengkui and others behind him also cried and said that they would like to follow Xingping Bo Ling.

After hearing the generals' words, the old general seemed to have his heart to the ground, his eyes slowly closed, but he fainted again, but his right hand was still holding Zhou Shixiang tightly.

"Xingping Bo, this is a memorial written by the general who asked the Xiaguan to write a few days ago. You can read it yourself."

Hu Deyu handed a memorial to Zhou Shixiang. After Zhou Shixiang took it, tears came out of his eyes. This memorial was the old general's remark. He said nothing in his life, nor did he ask the court for his nephews. He only said that after his death, he begged the court to take his troops under Zhou Shixiang's command.

After completing the memorial, Zhou Shixiang was already in tears. He did not expect that the old general had already arranged everything.

Zheng Chengkui whispered behind his back: "The general got sick in the shipyard. He has never let us tell you, saying that he is afraid that you will be distracted when you know it."
Chapter completed!