Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 149 We still want to serve our country, why did you surrender first?
The reason why the Qing army was defeated so easily is actually very simple.

Because the elite Qing troops in Hunan had long been transferred away by Xiang Rong, calling the remaining ones a mob was a compliment.

Naturally, he didn't dare to fight with Zhao Wu and others!
Besides, the Qing court still owed them military pay.

Being able to escape after being shot at once, rather than running away when seeing the enemy, was already worthy of the imperial food given to them by the Manchu emperor.

Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but be excited.

Zhao Wu shouted loudly.

"Brothers, kill!"

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and led his men to chase after the fleeing Qing army.

When the Qing army pursuers saw this scene, they fled even faster.

An extremely funny scene appeared on the wilderness: a cavalry of only twenty people was chasing a cavalry of more than a hundred people.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves continued to be heard, and smoke and dust filled the air.

But unfortunately, due to the physical difference between the horses of both sides, the distance is getting farther and farther.

In the end, Zhao Wu and others were unable to catch up with the fleeing Qing cavalry.

Facts have proved that although the fighting power of our Qing Heavenly Kingdom is not very good, it is still quite good at escaping.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Zhao Wu and others reined in their horses and stopped, seeing that the Qing army was getting farther and farther away.

Although they were inevitably a little disappointed that they failed to annihilate the Qing army's pursuers, they finally raised their arms and shouted.

"Wan Sheng!"

"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"

"The Qing demon is vulnerable!"

"..."

……

Zuo Zongtang was sitting in the cabin and spoke to Guo Songtao beside him with some apology.

"I'm sorry, Brother Yunxian, I'm the one who got you into trouble this time!"

Guo Songtao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"No wonder you, Ji Gao, who would have thought..."

Guo Songtao was somewhat afraid of the "thieves" in the cabin, so he did not say the second half of the sentence, but only complained in his heart.

Damn it! Who could have thought that the bandits would go to Xiangyin to kidnap two unknown people like them?
Just at this moment, Lu Jun walked in from outside the cabin and spoke.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen. You two have to bear with it for a while."

After he finished speaking, several people came up from behind him, tied up Zuo Zongtang and Guo Songtao with ropes, and stuffed cloth into their mouths to prevent them from making any sound.

In addition, the two were blindfolded with black cloth.

After doing all this, Lu Jun ordered his men to keep an eye on the two of them, then turned and left the cabin.

Not far ahead is a tax checkpoint of the Qing government.

Only after getting the tax card can they go to Guangdong.

Soon, the fleet approached the tax checkpoint.

A Qing army patrol boat came up and prepared to inspect.

Lu Jun stood up and skillfully chatted with the Qing army officer opposite him.

"Brother Ning, are you on duty today?"

"Thanks for your hard work!"

As he spoke, he threw a purse to the other party.

The Qing army captain in charge of patrolling the ships took the money bag, weighed it, opened it and took a look.

Looking at the shining silver coins in the purse, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes. Then he waved his hand to stop the Qing soldiers who were about to board the ship for inspection, and then said.

"No need to check, we are all brothers, just pass it directly."

Lu Jun said with a fist clasped.

"Thank you, Brother Ning, for giving me this favor. I'll treat you to a drink next time I come."

Upon hearing this, the Qing army commander's old face smiled as brightly as a flower and began to speak.

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

The Qing army commander naturally knew the identities of Lu Jun and others.

He often sails south with goods, and is most likely a smuggler, or he could be a spy for the Tang bandits in the south.

But what does this have to do with him?

Every time Lu Jun and others came, they would give him money, at least twenty or thirty taels of silver, or silver dollars of equal value.

He is so happy that he doesn't even have time to do anything, so why would he do something that would offend others?

Besides, even if he investigated the person, the Qing court would not necessarily promote him!

Therefore, both sides now have a tacit understanding.

You give me money and I'll let you go.

The cooperation was quite pleasant, and over time, we even developed a friendship.

Lu Jun clasped his fists towards the Qing army commander again, then waved his hand to signal his own ships to speed up and pass through.

We soon left the tax checkpoint and continued heading south.

Although Zuo Zongtang and Guo Songtao in the cabin had their mouths blocked and could not make any sound, their ears were not blocked.

You can hear everything happening outside clearly!
Listening to the conversation outside, the two couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. Has the Tang thief's infiltration into Hunan reached this point?
The imperial tax collectors let the thieves' ship pass without checking it?

Originally, they thought that if they encountered imperial officials and soldiers inspecting their ship on the way, perhaps they could be rescued.

But now it seems that it was just wishful thinking!
It's so funny. These scholars who didn't pass the imperial examinations were still thinking about serving the country, but the officers and soldiers who were paid by the emperor actually colluded with the bandits...

We still want to serve our country, why did you surrender first?

……

On the other side, the meeting in Changsha City finally ended.

The group made up their minds to set up an ambush to the north of the Yangtze River to ambush Hong Xiujiao's Taiping Army.

Jiang Zhongyuan and Jiang Zhongji led the Chuyong troops in the main battle, while Zeng Guoquan, Tazibu and others led the newly formed Xiangyong troops to assist.

We don't seek to completely annihilate the invading Taiping rebels, but we must repel them and do our best to protect Hunan.

Even the two bigwigs, Zeng Guofan and Luo Bingzhang, left Changsha and prepared to go to the front line in person to command the battle.

……

After Hong Xuanjiao led her men away from Nanyang, they headed south and soon passed through Xiangyang and Anlu and arrived in Jingzhou Prefecture.

And continue to move towards the Yangtze River!
The team stretched for several miles, with no end in sight.

Flags with huge Chinese characters "西" written on them were flying high, fluttering in the wind.

The morale of Hong Xuanjiao's troops is still pretty good.

Although after Luoyang, their morale was low for a while.

However, with the Battle of Bowangpo in Nanyang, the Taiping Army regained a city, and coupled with the rest they had in Nanyang City, their morale, even if not as high as before the Battle of Luoyang, was almost the same.

"Madam Queen, Tiger Ridge is not far ahead. After we pass Tiger Ridge, we will reach the Yangtze River in half a day at most."

A Taiping Army commander rode up on horseback to report to Hong Xuanjiao.

Hong Xuanjiao nodded immediately and said.

"Pass the order down, have all our troops speed up their march and reach the Yangtze River as soon as possible."

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and asked.

"By the way, how is the ship being prepared?"

Hong Xuanjiao wanted to lead her people by water along the Yangtze River to Tianjing, so ships were necessary.

Another military commander at the side spoke up.

"Don't worry, Madam Queen. We have been collecting ships along the way since we left Nanyang."

"The ships we have collected now are enough for us to use."

After hearing this, Hong Xuanjiao nodded and agreed.

The group continued to move forward along a tributary of the Yangtze River and soon arrived at the foot of Tiger Ridge.

The tributaries pass through Tiger Ridge and then flow into the Yangtze River.

Hong Xuanjiao and others followed this tributary of the Yangtze River and entered the low mountain called Laohuling in front of them.

After entering the mountain, the surrounding forests became gradually denser.

The temperature dropped significantly! Hong Xuanjiao tightened her cloak, feeling somewhat uneasy for some reason.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of birds circling over the mountains, and her pupils shrank suddenly.

Why don't birds land?

Is it because of how much stuff there is in the mountains?
ambush!!!

In an instant, a layer of white sweat appeared on Hong Xuanjiao's back.

But before he could do anything.

There was a burst of gunfire on Tiger Ridge. Amidst the smoke, a large number of Taiping troops at the foot of the mountain fell down.

Screams and wails suddenly rang out.

The riot was spreading through the team at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"There's an ambush! There's an ambush!"

"Qing Yao... Qing Yao is coming to kill us!"

"..."

In the chaos, the Qing troops ambushed on the mountains rushed out and headed straight for Hong Xuanjiao's central army.

Jiang Zhongyuan led the team to the front, leading a group of Chu warriors to charge forward. Caught off guard, the Taiping Army had no time to react and their formation was broken up.

On the other side, the Taiping fleet sailing along a tributary also ran into iron locks that the Qing army had placed in the water in advance, as well as a log with one end pointed upstream and the other end buried deep at the bottom of the river.

With a thud, a small boat was carried away by the river water and hit a log.

The sharpened logs dug right through the bottom of the boat, nailing it to the ground.

The iron chain was deeply embedded in the hull of the boat. Under the influence of the current, the hull was turned over and upside down in the river.

The sailors on the ship were also trapped upside down under the hull.

The Taiping Army's sailors struggled on the river.

At the same time, several more artillery explosions rang out on the battlefield, and black iron balls cut through the air and shot towards the ships on the river.

With a loud bang, a small boat on the river was hit by a cannonball. The hull instantly disintegrated and turned into pieces of wood floating on the river.

Hong Xuanjiao was startled by the sudden sound of gunfire and shouting, but she quickly realized that she was ambushed.

Although she was panicking, Hong Xuanjiao still opened her mouth and shouted loudly.

"Don't mess up!"

"Everyone, stop making a fuss!"

"Prepare to engage the enemy..."

In the chaos, the Taiping Army began to retreat, and Hong Xiujiao's orders could not be executed at all.

At the same time, the Hunan Braves led by Zeng Guoquan and Tazibu also went around behind the Taiping Army and launched an attack.

He attempted to attack the Taiping Army from both sides and annihilate it.

The ambush by Chu Yong, the entry of Xiang Yong, and the blocking on the river came one after another, and the Taiping Army was almost in a desperate situation before Hong Xiujiao could react.

Seeing the current situation, Hong Xuanjiao gave the order.

"Break out, break out with all your troops, break out to the south!"

The situation the Taiping Army is facing now is very dangerous.

On one side they were ambushed by Chu Yong, on one side they were cut off by Xiang Yong, and on the other side there was Jiang Liu.

All they can do now is break out to the south.

On Tiger Ridge, Zeng Guofan and Luo Bingzhang saw this scene and looked at each other.

Zeng Guofan smiled and said meaningfully.

"It's done!"

The reason why they did not set up blocking positions in the south while ambushing and cutting off the Taiping Army's retreat was, to put it bluntly, to surround three sides and leave one side missing.

If the Taiping Army does not run away, then it will be extremely difficult to annihilate them based on the current strength of the Hunan and Chu Yong.

Even if they prepared an ambush in advance, their chances of winning would be less than 30%.

By the time the Taiping Army reacts, the Qing Army might even turn victory into defeat.

However, now the Taiping Army retreated on its own.

As a result, their morale will inevitably be greatly reduced, and the Qing army's chance of winning is now at least 70%.

"Let all units of our army attack with full force!"

"Strive to annihilate this group of long-haired thieves!"

Zeng Guofan gave the order expressionlessly.

Immediately, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. The Hunan Braves and the Chu Braves gathered together and attacked the fleeing Taiping Army.

"Kill!"

"Kill the bandits and serve the Qing Dynasty!"

"Longhair, die!"

"..."

Zeng Guoquan was the first to rush forward, killing several people with red eyes.

As if this could comfort his dying mother!
Under the pursuit of the Qing army, the Taiping Army was defeated all the way and fled to the Yangtze River.

Along the way, countless corpses were lying along the way.

Even Hong Xuanjiao herself was covered in blood and suffered serious injuries.

Finally, the Taiping Army fled to the banks of the Yangtze River.

However, the Qing army followed closely behind.

They continued to launch offensives against the Taiping Army in an attempt to completely defeat this Taiping Army that was forced into a desperate situation.

boom! Boom boom!

Several cannons were pulled over, aimed at the Taiping Army crowd crowded on the riverside, and then fired.

After a burst of artillery fire, the riverside was a bloody mess.

Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

There was a burst of random gunfire and the riverside was filled with smoke.

Another large group of Taiping soldiers were knocked down, and screams continued.

The water of the Yangtze River near the shore was dyed red by the blood.

Gradually, some people in the Taiping Army began to surrender.

Moreover, as time went by, more and more Taiping troops surrendered...

Although most of them were once the most devout fanatics of the God Worshipping Society.

But please note that it was once!

Because, whether it was the split of the Heavenly Kingdom in the Changsha Incident or the disastrous defeat at the city of Luoyang, both greatly consumed the piety of these Heavenly Kingdom soldiers.

It is difficult for them now to have the kind of mentality to risk their lives for the kingdom of heaven.

Building a kingdom of heaven on earth is important, but if they themselves cannot survive, then the kingdom of heaven on earth will be meaningless...

Seeing this, the Qing army no longer remained polite and began to accept prisoners.

Hong Xuanjiao wanted to lead her men to break out, but failed and was captured by the Qing army in the chaos.

Zeng Guoquan took the prisoner Hong Xuanjiao and went to see his elder brother.

"Sir, I have captured the leader of the long-haired bandits, the thief named Hong Xuanjiao."

As they were talking, several Qing soldiers pushed up Hong Xuanjiao, who was tied up.

Hong Xuanjiao had her arms handcuffed behind her back by several Qing soldiers, but her face still showed an expression of resentment and dissatisfaction.

His eyes widened as he stared at the several Qing monsters around him and yelled at them.

"A bunch of traitorous dogs, with dirty hearts and rotten lungs, and no ability to give birth to sons. The defeat today is because I am not as skilled as others. You can kill me or chop me up, I will do whatever you want."

Zeng Guoquan, who was standing by, became furious upon hearing this and drew his sword, ready to chop at Hong Xuanjiao.

But he was stopped by Zeng Guofan.

"Guoquan, don't be impulsive!"

After he finished speaking, Zeng Guofan turned his gaze to Hong Xuanjiao and spoke.

"I know that you, this thief, want to provoke me so that I can kill you and save you from going to the capital to suffer."

"Haha, wishful thinking!"

"You thief, you'd better go to the capital to stand trial!"

(End of this chapter)