Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Taiping blood

Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 122: Praying for Luck

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    The sky was not completely bright the next day, and inside the Taiping Army camp on Huayao Mountain, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom led his subordinates to pray, and by the way, they also prayed for this siege.

    After hearing that the Northern Route Army was also blocked by the river bank yesterday, Xiao Yungui and Zuo Zongtang discussed for a long time, but could not find out what was wrong with the unsuccessful attack. In the end, Zuo Zongtang just said, it is up to others to plan the attack.  Everything depends on God.  Only then did Xiao Yungui realize that as an excellent general, he could learn military affairs, strategy, leading troops, forming formations, etc., but luck could not be learned.  Throughout history at home and abroad, many battles in which a small number defeated a large number were full of generals' luck. For example, in the Battle of Guandu, if Xu You had not taken refuge in Cao's army and knew where Yuan's army was garrisoning grain, the outcome of the war would have changed.  Therefore, war is always full of factors that are beyond human control. The combination of these factors is luck, which the Japanese call military luck.

    Xiao Yungui thought that his character and luck were not good, and he couldn't solve the problem after much thought, but Lin Fengxiang reminded him.  Later, Lin Fengxiang came to report that the tunnel had been completed. By the way, tomorrow was the day of worship. Although it was wartime, it was time to lead the entire army in prayer.  Lin Fengxiang bluntly said that there are some discordant rumors circulating in the army now, that is, before the war started, the King of the West did not lead everyone to pray before the war, so the war occupation was not smooth.

    After hearing this, Xiao Yungui was overjoyed. He had believed in Christianity before. Although he had not been formally baptized, he prayed devoutly before every exam, hoping that God would bless him.  It's the same this time. Maybe I sincerely pray to the Heavenly Father to put luck on my side. The cave siege has reached the final moment, so don't let anything happen again.

    So before dawn, Xiao Yungui led the entire army to pray and pray before the battle.  After the ceremony, I watched the military officers go to comfort and encourage the soldiers. Whether they were veterans or new recruits in central Hunan, everyone listened quietly with pious solemnity on their faces. Gradually, the fear on people's faces gradually faded.  , the panic disappeared, replaced by enthusiasm and excitement.  At this time, Xiao Yungui somewhat understood that he was holding a sharp weapon. If used well, the soldiers could find a strong spiritual sustenance and faith. In the face of the cruel war of blood and fire, only strong spiritual sustenance and faith can  Dispelling fear and helplessness makes people fearless, which is why the Taiping Army is not afraid of physical combat but the Qing Army is very afraid.

    Looking at the busy missionary officers of various armies, Xiao Yungui seemed to see the military chaplains in the Western armies of later generations, and also the shadow of the political commissar of the Japanese army in later generations. Another question came to his mind. If he wanted to completely control an army, what would be needed?  It is these officials, not just the generals Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang.  Maybe a few trusted generals will have some effect, but the effect will definitely not be greater than the effect of these lower-level officers.  Xiao Yungui plans to think carefully about how to use these officers to control his army after this battle. Their success or failure and the direction they lead will definitely affect the future of this army. Does Xiao Yungui need an army chaplain or a political commissar?  Woolen cloth?  Or a combination of the two?  He couldn't think about that much at the moment. After the prayer, he could only focus on the war.

    Also getting up early like Xiao Yungui was He Chun in Hengzhou City. He was woken up by his subordinate Geshiha from the warm bed of his concubine. He Chun scolded the eighteenth generation ancestor of the puppet king of the West, the long-haired thief outside the city.  After all, if it weren't for this fake King of the West, why would I have to work so hard to get up early?

    Yesterday, the Taiping Army's siege was conducted with heavy thunder and light rain. It was not like the life-hungry Changmao bandits in the past. He Chun estimated that the thieves in the south of the city were waiting for the Changmao in the north to attack the city together.  At dusk yesterday, the Taiping Army had set up a pontoon bridge on the Cao River in the north of the city to cross to the south. Hechun sent a troop led by Staff General De Liang out of the city to attack the Taiping Army on the north bank to build a pontoon bridge. However, the Taiping Army on the other side set up wooden boats and bamboo rafts.  He ferociously forced the crossing to the south bank, and the Taiping Army's artillery array assisted the battle on the north bank. De Liang fought for three hours but could not break through the temporary camp built by the Taiping Army on the beach, so he had to retreat into the city.  Subsequently, the Taiping Army accelerated the construction of the bridge. It was winter, and the slow, shallow and narrow river also helped the Taiping Army. At dusk, the pontoon bridge was built, and the Taiping Army brigade on the north bank began to cross the river.

    Therefore, He Chun did not dare to be careless. All fools knew that the Taiping Army would launch a fierce offensive today. Both the south and north of the city would be attacked by the Taiping Army at the same time, so he got up early to arrange the defense in the city.

    The north of the city was guarded by General De Liang, while He Chun focused on the south of the city, because there was the long-haired puppet Western King's flag in the south of the city, so this must be the focus of the Taiping Army's attack.  After inspecting the north of the city, He Chun was quite reassured by Deliang's deployment. There were sufficient defense equipment. Deliang also captured many strong refugees from the city and went to the city to help defend the city. The number was far more than the Taiping Army outside the city.  Not afraid of a strong attack by the Taiping Army.

    After the inspection, He Chun led a group of Geshhars to the south of the city. When they were still far away from the south gate, they heard a muffled sound, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to be shaking. A hugeAmidst the sound, more than ten feet of the city wall in the south of the city was exploded, and gravel and dust filled the entire south of the city.

    He Chun was startled by the sudden explosion. The green horse stood up in fear, and lifted He Chun off the horse, who was also a little dazed.  Goshiha was shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to help Hechun, who had fallen into a daze. Fortunately, Hechun was not seriously injured after a visit.

    He Chun ignored the pain in his body and stared at the city wall in the south of the city in stunned silence. Before the dust dissipated, he could vaguely see that a section of the city wall more than ten feet in the south of the city had collapsed. The cheers and shouts of the Taiping Army outside the city could not be heard.  The eardrums are flushed, the son of a bitch, the long-haired thief is actually trying to attack the city in a hole!

    During the Battle of Guilin, the Long-haired Thieves used this trick, but the underground of Guilin City was solid rock and could not be dug, so the Long-haired Thieves' cave attack failed, but the subsequent attacks in Daozhou, Quanzhou, and Chenzhou  In several battles, Changmao used this trick.

    He Chun drew out his saber and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Order the whole army to come forward and block the gap! Use people to fill the gap. Go forward bravely and be rewarded with a tael of silver. If you retreat, behead without mercy!"

    After He Chun's general order was quickly spread, the Qing army in the south of the city had no choice but to block the gap. On the one hand, it was for the reward of silver, and on the other hand, it was worried that the Taiping army would kill them all after the city was broken.  He Chun's Qing army had been fighting with the Taiping Army in Guangxi for a long time. Everyone's hands were stained with the blood of the Taiping Army. Knowing that there was only a dead end in the hands of the Taiping Army after the city was broken, they immediately swarmed to block the gap.

    But it seemed that the Taiping Army outside the city had not attacked in time. When the Qing army gathered in the gap, a second loud noise was heard, and the thousands of kilograms of red medicine buried in the lower tunnel of the Taiping Army also exploded smoothly.  The sky was filled with broken limbs and scarlet dust. The Qing army screamed and fled in all directions. Even He Chun who was close to the gap was knocked down by the air waves.

    Accompanied by huge cheers and shouts of killing, the Taiping Army outside the city shouted: "Long live the Kingdom of Heaven! Kill the demons and eliminate the demons!" and began to swarm into the gap.  The bloody gap was covered with dead bodies of Qing soldiers, fierce fires ignited, and waves of feces stench wafted up.  It turned out that the explosion just now ignited the kerosene stored by the Qing army in the south of the city, and a fire broke out in the gap. However, the Taiping army still swarmed forward, covering the fire with the masonry and dust of the collapsed city wall, and then broke into the city.

    Under the protection of more than a hundred Geshiha, Hechun fled to the north of the city in panic.  He Chun's face was full of horror. When he looked back, the south of the city was already a bloody storm. There were broken Qing troops fleeing north. The morale that had been gathered slightly was completely crushed by the second blast. The south of the city could no longer be defended.  Even if we do, the north of the city cannot be defended.

    He Chun, who had regained consciousness a little, hurriedly gathered his defeated troops and headed for the west gate. He could not go to the east either. The east was blocked by the Xiangjiang River, and he could not escape in a hurry. He could only look to the west and run towards Qidong County.  In the panic, he couldn't care less about Deliang. Someone had to stay and break up the family. Hechun betrayed Deliang without hesitation.

    He led more than a thousand defeated soldiers to flee out of the west gate in panic, and He Chunbu fled along the official road to Qidong County like a bereaved dog.  Arriving at Mo Shitang, a few miles away, a Taiping army of more than a thousand people ambush and charged out. The leader was Taiping veteran Zeng Tianyang.

    He Chun's Qing army was already frightened. They were rushed by the Taiping Army and fled after a fierce attack. The Taiping Army pursued them all the way to the bank of the Cao River. Zeng Tianyang looked at He Chun who was wearing official uniform and pursued him.  After chasing them to the Caohe River, fortunately He Chun's subordinate Ge Shiha bravely resisted, and He Chun and a few cronies were able to grab a bamboo raft from Yizhou Bay and escape to the north bank.

    It turned out that after Li Kaifang, Li Yiwen, Zeng Tianyang, and He Zhenchuan crossed south yesterday, they received an order from Xiao Yungui, ordering them to divide their troops and rush to the west of the city to ambush at night, because Zuo Zongtang calculated that once there was a breakthrough in the south of the city, there would be Qing troops in the city.  Those who fled west were ambushed in advance.  Sure enough, as soon as the south of the city was broken, He Chun fled westward, but was intercepted and killed by Zeng Tianyang's ambush soldiers, only escaping with his own life.

    The fighting in the city continued until the afternoon. Seeing that they could not escape, Deliang led more than 2,000 Qing troops in the north of the city and fought against the enemy. However, under the attack of the Taiping Army in the south and north of the city, Deliang resisted for three hours and finally surrendered.  He died in battle in the north of the city, and his more than two thousand Qing troops were wiped out.  The strong refugees he captured were angry at the Qing army's brutality and fled in all directions as soon as the Taiping army attacked. It did not have any effect. Instead, the morale of the Qing army was lost and they were quickly destroyed.

    After entering the city and wiping out the last Qing army, Xiao Yungui hurriedly ordered each army to guard the city gates, stabilize the people in the city, and open the official warehouses to release grain to the people.  Looking at the bags of money, grain, cloth, red medicine, equipment, shotguns, artillery and other baggage packed everywhere in Hengzhou, Xiao Yungui's eyes shone and he cursed viciously regardless of his image: "Damn it, I'm rich!"

    Xiao Yungui's joy did not last long. Just when he ordered Zuo Zongtang to take people to count the supplies, Zhu Xineng reported urgently outside the south of the city, saying that a large group of Qing troops from Leiyang were coming to Hengzhou, which was not far from Hengzhou.  The state is no more than forty miles away.
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report