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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 193: Ordered to Withdraw Troops

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    Lieutenant Harold maintained his calm demeanor until the end. After listening to the worried reports of Sergeant Lister and Corporal Barritt, he actually enjoyed a cup of hot coffee and said calmly: "Let all soldiers prepare to fight."  Get ready, I will send messengers to request reinforcements from Lord Wenhan in the concession. We must hold on here until we receive new orders."

    Liszt's face was sullen, looking at this rich young man who looked like a rich man. He didn't know which noble family's son he was, and he was sent to the Far East for gold plating. It would only be a matter of time before such a young man who knew nothing would kill everyone.  thing.

    Barritt felt that what Harold said was right. Soldiers have a bounden duty to obey orders. Without new orders, they could only continue to guard.

    "Then, Lieutenant, how should we deploy our troops? We lack artillery and we don't have enough ammunition." Liszt said dissatisfied: "More than a hundred people have to defend the church area and the church school respectively. This is very difficult. The rebels on the opposite side  The army will tear us apart one by one!"

    Harold wiped his mouth elegantly with a silk scarf and said: "Don't worry, sergeant, gather the soldiers. We red shirts will not retreat without a fight."

    Lister was very angry: "Lieutenant Harold, you should wake up. We also have French, Americans and Sikhs. We are just a mercenary army working hard for money, not Her Majesty the Queen's red shirt."  Legion! You should immediately send someone to ask for reinforcements, then send someone to negotiate and delay waiting for new orders or reinforcements!"

    Harold stood up with a roar and said loudly: "Sergeant, watch your words! Execute the order immediately!"

    Barry pulled Liszt¡¯s arm. Disobedience to the commander¡¯s orders in the British army would be severely punished. Liszt could only say a few words angrily through his teeth: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, a soldier loudly reported at the door: "Lieutenant Harold. The French received the order and they began to retreat."

    Harold and others were all shocked. Harold waved his fists angrily and said, "These damn French guys! I am the commander of this mercenary army! They have no right to retreat!"

    Liszt gloated and said, "Lieutenant, the French consulate must have given the order."

    Harold walked around irritably, and then bad news came again. The Americans also retreated into the city. Lister said loudly: "Lieutenant, the facts are very clear. I believe Lord Wenhan's order to retreat will be immediately followed."  Uploaded, we should consider retreating."

    Harold's hesitation did not last long.  Lord Wenhan's order to retreat finally came, and both Lister and Barritt heaved a sigh of relief. Lister was already about to turn around and go out to gather the soldiers to retreat. At this time, Harold said with a stern face: "Sergeant Lister, Lord Wenhan requested  Leave five people as observers in the church. Monitor the movements of these rebels. I hope you can stay."

    Both Liszt and Barritt were stunned.  Both of them knew what it meant to lead the team to stay.  Maybe he would be killed by the rebels, or maybe he would be caught and made a prisoner. Lister immediately understood that Harold was taking revenge on himself.

    Barrit couldn't help but wanted to say something, but Lister stopped him. He looked at Harold with a livid face and asked, "Is this indeed an order from Lord Wenhan?"

    Harold said impatiently: "Sergeant, are you questioning my order?"

    Liszt raised his head and gritted his teeth and said, "No, sir, I will bring people to stay."

    Barritt immediately said from the side: "Lieutenant. I request to stay with Sergeant Lister."

    Harold said nothing more, nodded in agreement, and then went out to lead the soldiers to retreat.

    Liszt smiled bitterly and said, "Barit, you don't need to stay."

    Barrit chuckled and said, "Do you think I stayed here because of you? You are not a pretty girl, and you are not that charming. I am curious about those rebels, so I want to stay."

    Liszt didn't say anything else. Barrete and he were good friends. It was not surprising at all that he stayed. After he told him, Liszt also discovered that he actually hoped to stay in his heart because of the mysterious rebel force.  The army also made him curious.

    Soon the soldiers in the church withdrew, leaving only Liszt and Barritt with three British soldiers. These three soldiers stayed voluntarily, and all three were loyal supporters of Liszt.

    Soon the time limit set by the rebels came. Perhaps the rebels had detected that the soldiers in the church were retreating to the city. Not all the rebels who had completely crossed Zhaojiabang came to the church. They divided into several groups and followed Ha.  Luo ZhongWei and others began to march towards the south of Shanghai City. Only a group of more than 200 soldiers and horses came towards the church with two large yellow flags.

    Five British soldiers including Lister and Barritt did not hide. Lister asked the three soldiers to observe on the bell tower of the church. He and Barritt still stood outside the door wearing neat military uniforms and holding guns, watching the rebels slowly approaching.  , only Li Shanlan accompanied the two. Other priests, priests, and Christians hid in the church and did not dare to come out.

    What is a little surprising is that the leader is still the bearded rebel officer just now, but he has changed a set of robes, and his head is no longer wrapped in a red scarf, but a yellow turban, and he is like the other rebels.  The soldiers all have their heads wrapped in red cloth, which is very different.

    After the bearded officer rode closer, he dismounted and said with a smile: "I'm glad your soldiers can retreat, so that we don't have to fight each other."

    After Li Shanlan finished translating, Liszt smiled slightly and said: "It seems that we were all fooled just now. You should be no ordinary Taipingtian official. You should be a big shot. I didn't expect that you would come to deliver the ultimatum in person. If we could have guessed at the time,  If we find out your identity and forcibly detain you, it might be possible to change the course of the war."

    The bearded officer laughed and said: "I am Xiao Chaogui, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. I know that you British people pride themselves on justice and civilization and will never detain an envoy, so I came here in person."  It was Xiao Yungui. Although he smiled handsomely, his vest was full of sweat when he went back. He personally took the risk to be the messenger of the ultimatum because there was really no suitable person in the army, and he didn't want the person he sent to be sent.  The foreigners were frightened.  He didn't want to be too tough and cause conflicts, so he had to take action on his own. Fortunately, the foreigners were still chivalrous and did not detain him as the messenger.

    Xiao Yungui's words surprised both Liszt and Barrete. They both knew that the supreme commander of the army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was attacking Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai at the moment, was this Western King. The Manchu Qing offered a reward of 100,000 taels of silver.  In his head, he didn't expect that he would dare to disguise himself and lead four guards to the enemy's camp to spread a message. Being so bold, Liszt understood that the man in front of him was definitely not as rude as his appearance suggested. This man was extremely thoughtful.

    Watching Xiao Yungui talking to Li Shanlan with a smile.  Although Liszt could not understand Chinese, it could be seen that Li Shanlan was very happy and seemed to have become friends with Xiao Yungui.  Liszt, who was somewhat alert, hurriedly asked: "Mr. Li, what did the King of the West say to you?" He was afraid that Li Shanlan would be seduced by Xiao Yungui's words and betray himself and Barritt.

    Li Shanlan said very excitedly: "The King of the West wanted to visit churches and mission schools. He said that after conquering Shanghai, he planned to expand the churches and schools. He would also open a library and a scientific research institute. The King of the West invited me to do science  The dean of the institute also wants to invite famous scholars from various countries to come to China and study together." Li Shanlan was obsessed with scientific and academic research, so he was naturally very excited when he heard such words. He didn't care what official position the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom gave him or how much money he paid.  On the contrary, if he was asked to study knowledge, the elder would not refuse.

    Liszt breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As long as the King of the West promises to protect the church and the people inside, of course he can go into the church and have a look." At that moment, the King of the West led more than ten guards and walked in under the leadership of Liszt, Li Shanlan and others.  Church.

    When Xiao Yungui saw the huge cross and the portrait of Jesus directly above the church hall, his eyes became moist.  Passing through the rows of seats, Xiao Yungui knelt down next to the baptismal pool.  Although the furnishings here were very different from those of later Xujiahui churches, he still recalled the scene of praying with his mother in the church.

    Seeing King Xi's peaceful expression and kneeling devoutly in front of the portrait of Jesus, both Liszt and Barritt breathed a sigh of relief. Barritt whispered: "God likes devout believers like King Xi, Sergeant."  , I began to like these rebels, they are all devout Christians, and apart from their different skin colors, I can't find any reason to hate them."

    Xiao Yungui prostrated himself in front of the portrait of Jesus, and more than a dozen guards behind him also prostrated themselves devoutly. Everyone put their hands on their lips and murmured something silently, much like they were praying sincerely.

    No one said anything. The pastors, priests and Christians in the church slowly came out of the hiding room, slowly gathered in front of the portrait, and prayed with Xi Wang and others.

    After a long time, Xiao Yungui slowly stood up, turned around and said loudly to the guards: "The Heavenly Father has heard our prayers, let us fight the enemy bravely, expel the Hunu, and put an end to this unfair world as soon as possible.  Let¡¯s enjoy God¡¯s grace again!¡± Everyone cheered together, and the atmosphere became very lively.

    The priests and priests in the church began to talk to Xiao Yungui¡¯s guards. These people were preaching in China. In ChineseIt was not bad, and the Taiping soldiers were very happy to communicate with these foreign brothers. They were all new to the things in the church, and the priests and priests made introductions.

    Xiao Yungui came to Liszt and said: "Sergeant, I want to set up my headquarters here so that I can better protect this place and can often come here to pray. At the same time, I heard that there are some people in the church.  There are few Western doctors, and the doctors in our army also want to communicate with them. At the same time, I want to hire Western doctors as military doctors in our army, and we will pay them."

    Liszt was a little strange. Many Chinese people were afraid of Western medicine, but the Western King was not afraid. Instead, he sent his own people to communicate with them, and he also dared to use Western doctors to treat his soldiers, which showed his open-mindedness and open-mindedness.  .  Liszt had completely forgotten that an hour ago, he was an enemy of these rebels. Driven by the Western King's warm invitation and money, Liszt, priests and priests with medical skills in the church were all willing to help Xi Wang.  The king has done something.  (To be continued.)</dd>
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