Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 164: Great Victory at Xiufeng Mountain
The sight of rockets streaking through the sky is quite spectacular.

However, within this rare magnificence lies an astonishing murderous intent.

A rocket flew straight towards the flat-bottomed sand boat Zeng Guofan was riding on.

"My lord, be careful! The enemy soldiers are firing rockets at us!"

The guards around Zeng Guofan saw this scene and pushed Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi off the boat in panic.

Immediately afterwards, several guards also rushed to jump off the boat to escape.

Zeng Guofan could swim, but because the incident happened suddenly, he was unable to react the moment he fell into the water. He choked on water several times and kept struggling.

If it weren't for the timely help from the guards around him, Zeng Guofan might have sunk to the bottom.

Just as Zeng Guofan was being rescued by his guards, a loud explosion was heard behind them.

The rocket hit Zeng Guofan's ship, and then a violent explosion occurred.

The shock wave spread out, forming waves on the surface of the river. Zeng Guofan and others were knocked over by the waves, somersaulted several times in the river, and choked on water several times.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder. When Zeng Guofan was pulled out of the river, he had already fainted.

The braid behind his head was loose, and the wet hair stuck to Zeng Guofan's face and neck, making him look like a demon.

"withdraw!"

"Retreat quickly, let's evacuate the battlefield as soon as possible!"

Zeng Guobao rowed his boat over.

After pulling the people onto the boat, Zeng Guobao directed several guards to row the boat quickly along the river towards Dongting Lake, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to escape from the battlefield.

As for the battle situation on the battlefield?
Zeng Guobao really couldn't care less about so many things.

Zeng Guofan, who was in a coma, opened his tightly closed eyes a little and looked around cautiously.

Seeing that the ship he was on was fleeing the battlefield at a high speed, he breathed a sigh of relief, then closed his eyes again and pretended to be unconscious.

Well, as long as Zeng Guofan fainted, then he couldn't be considered to have escaped without a fight!!

……

On the other side, Chen Yucheng also shouted loudly after ordering his men to release hundreds of rockets in one breath.

"Brothers, the Qing monster has ambushed our army and is in a deadly situation. Kill the Qing monster!"

While shouting, he drew his sword and personally led his troops to kill the Qing infantry and cavalry who were stunned and in chaos on the battlefield by the sudden rocket attack.

Amid the shouts, the Tang army was in high spirits and launched a charge.

"Kill! Kill the Qing monster!"

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"Kill the demons and divide the land!"

"..."

The Tang army soldiers held up their muskets with bayonets and launched a bayonet charge towards the chaotic Qing army.

At the moment the two sides engaged in battle, the Tang army soldiers raised their guns and started shooting.

When shooting at close range, almost every shot is accurate.

The soldiers in the front row of the Qing army fell down like wheat being cut.

Immediately, grenades were thrown over.

Amid the explosions, clusters of flowers of death bloomed in the Qing army's formation.

Immediately, under the bayonet charge of the Tang army soldiers, the Qing army scattered like a swarm of bees, began to collapse and flee.

They are no match for the Tang army at all!
They even did not have the courage to fight the Tang army. Facing the bayonet charge of the Tang army, the Qing army had already weakened even before the Tang army rushed over.

Under the charge of the Tang army, some Qing soldiers, in desperation, even began to rush to jump into the Xiangjiang River behind them in an attempt to escape.

Bao Qibao, the governor of Hunan Province of the Qing Dynasty, called for organizing troops to fight back.

"Hold on! Hold on!"

"Those who leave without permission will die!!"

"..."

However, his loud calls did not have much restraining power on the Qing army.

The war has come to this point, the right thing to do is to escape for one's life. As for what should the Qing Dynasty do?
When the country was prosperous and wealthy, the Eight Banners took priority. Now that it’s time to fight for your life, do you remember us, the Green Camp?

Fuck you!

Bao Pi fled with a team of about a hundred Qing troops under his command.

In order to escape, he took the lead in hacking to death several town commanders who wanted to supervise the battle, and also killed several comrades who were blocking his way.

But as he ran, the wide Xiangjiang River appeared before his eyes.

Looking at the rushing river in front of him, Bao Xiong couldn't help swallowing.

Damn, he can’t swim.

The river is so fast-flowing, would he be able to survive if he jumped in?

I stood on the river bank and had a psychological struggle for a long time.

Suddenly, Bao Xiong saw out of the corner of his eye that Changsha's deputy general Qingde was also running away not far away.

A pair of small eyes suddenly lit up, and Bao Xiong shouted at the top of his voice.

"Brothers, the Qing Dynasty is unjust and bullies us Han people."

"We are also Han men, how can we sit idly by? Today we will turn sides, abandon the dark and join the light, capture the Changsha deputy general Qingde alive, take his head, and be heroes."

"Brothers, follow me and kill the Qing monster!"

After saying this, Bao Pi suddenly cut off the pig's tail behind his head with a knife, shouted loudly, and led his men to kill Changsha's deputy general Qingde.

He made up his mind to surrender to the Tang army, and before surrendering, he wanted to use Qingde as a token of his surrender to the Tang Dynasty!

Seeing this, the Qing soldiers behind him did not hesitate at all. They followed his example and cut off the braids behind their heads, then followed their own commander to kill Qingde.

These Qing soldiers, who had just fled in panic when facing the Tang army and did not even dare to draw their swords, suddenly became extremely brave when they faced their former comrades after their braids were cut.

A group of people rushed towards Qingde like a tiger into a flock of sheep.

When Qingde saw a Qing army coming towards him, he thought it was reinforcements.

But soon, he discovered that this so-called reinforcement not only had no braids, but was also killing his own people.

He reacted instantly and yelled angrily.

"Traitor! Rebel!"

"How dare these damned traitors rebel against the Qing Dynasty!"

"Come quickly, help me to eliminate these traitors first."

"I can't deal with the Tang thieves, but can I deal with you?"

As he spoke, he urgently summoned his personal soldiers to come for protection, and prepared to counterattack to wipe out the traitors led by Bao Xiong.

But what surprised him was that he really couldn't deal with this group of rebels.

On the battlefield, Qingde's personal soldiers were defeated by a group of ordinary soldiers led by Bao Xiong and were no match for them at all.

Soon, Bao Pi and his group fought their way to Qingde.

Bao Xiong rushed forward suddenly, hacked to death two of Qingde's personal soldiers, then put the bloody knife in his hand to Qingde's neck and captured Qingde alive.

He kicked Qingde to the ground and ordered his men to tie him up. Bao Pi stood in front of Qingde and spoke arrogantly.

"You little Tartar, have you fallen into Grandpa's hands?"

"Today, I will take your head, a Tartar, and exchange it for wealth and glory for my brothers!"

But they had just captured Qingde alive for a short time when the Tang army that was chasing them caught up.

A group of Tang soldiers, only 20 to 30 men, came charging in. Bao Xiong and his men, who had been so aggressive just now, softened instantly.

Bao Xiong ordered his men to keep an eye on his captives. He raised his hands high, his big face smiling like a flower, and shouted in a very flattering tone.

"Sir, don't shoot. I surrender!"

"I am Bao Pi, a subordinate commander of the Changsha Association. Today, I led my people to rebel on the battlefield and captured the Qing demon, the deputy general of the Changsha Association, Qing De, and surrendered. I hope you will accept my offer!"

The contrast between being arrogant at first and respectful later is quite obvious!
Upon hearing this, Zhao He, the platoon leader of the Tang army, was obviously surprised.

The Qing demon actually surrendered on his own initiative?
Doesn’t that mean that all the credit you’ve earned is gone?
However, due to the strict military laws and discipline of the Tang army, Zhao He finally did not dare to kill the Qing troops who rebelled on the battlefield in order to gain credit.

We were prepared to control the people first, and then report the matter to the generals above and ask them to make the decision.

……

Seeing the troops being attacked, the Qing cavalry also began to get restless.

Upon seeing this, Tazib decisively ordered the cavalry to break out.

In yesterday's battle, Tazibu was seriously injured. When evacuating Changsha, Zeng Guofan originally planned to let Tazibu leave with him on the boat.

But he was rejected by Tazib.

Although he was injured, he was not so injured that he could not even ride a horse, and the cavalry could not be left unattended.

Therefore, Tazibu insisted on continuing to command the Qing cavalry despite his injuries.

But just as the Qing cavalry made their move, they saw the Tang cavalry rushing into the battlefield and meeting the Qing cavalry head-on as they tried to break through.

The next moment, the crackling sound of musket fire resounded throughout the battlefield.

The moment he heard the intensive gunfire, Tazib's body couldn't help but tremble, and his face turned pale in an instant, so pale that it was frightening.

To be honest, he was traumatized by the Tang cavalry!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly, break through with all your strength!"

Tazib shouted at the top of his lungs and galloped off on his horse.

However, his injuries have not yet recovered. He might be able to walk on horseback, but once he gallops and gets bumpy, his injuries will most likely relapse.

As he ran, the wound on Tazibu's waist and abdomen opened again, and blood gushed out.

Drops of blood soaked through the armor, flowed onto the warhorse under his crotch, and then dripped down the stirrups.

As he lost more and more blood, the scenery in front of Tazib began to become blurred, and his vision kept fluctuating and jumping.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy and fell off his horse.

"General! General!!"

"Hurry up, the general has fallen off his horse..."

Before Tazib fell into coma, all he could hear were vague shouts.

He knew that it was his own soldiers calling for help.

……

Its daybreak!
As time passed, more and more Hunan warriors chose to surrender to the Tang army.

While the Tang army was recruiting Hunan warriors, it also launched an attack on the empty Changsha city.

With just one charge, without even firing a single shot, the Tang army successfully captured the fortified city of Changsha, which had been painstakingly built for a long time by Zeng Guofan, Luo Bingzhang and others.

The large flag with the word "Qing" flying over Changsha City was lowered, and replaced by a blood-red flag with the word "Tang" on it.

The big flag was fluttering in the breeze blowing from the direction of the Xiangjiang River.

Announce to everyone in and outside Changsha that Changsha has changed hands!

Li Yi did not rush into Changsha City, but continued to stay outside Changsha City, waiting for the Tang army to reorganize the prisoners of war and restore order in Changsha City.

He would not rashly enter the city until he was sure that Changsha was safe.

Soon, good news came from Xiufeng Mountain.

The Tang army's ambush at Xiufeng Mountain was a great victory.

The Tang army captured alive Luo Bingzhang, the Qing government's Hunan governor, Bao Qibao, the Hunan admiral, Qingde, the Changsha assistant general, as well as important Hunan warriors such as Tazibu, Peng Yulin, and Yang Yuebin.

Although Zeng Guofan managed to escape, the results achieved by the Tang army in the Battle of Changsha can still be called brilliant.

After this battle, the Hunan Army was strangled in the bud by Li Yi.

After all, the Qing Dynasty had lost even Hunan, so where would the Hunan Army come from?
It is worth mentioning that Qing army's Changsha deputy general Qingde was not captured by the Tang army, but was captured alive by a Qing army commander who defected on the battlefield.

Li Yi was quite surprised by this and specially ordered to summon the Qing army commander who had rebelled on the battlefield.

For no other reason than to buy horse bones for a huge sum of gold.

Li Yi wanted to encourage more Qing army generals to follow his example and rebel on the battlefield in the future by treating this Green Camp commander with courtesy and making use of his power.

Not long after, Bao Xiong was brought in front of Li Yi.

When he saw Li Yi, Bao Xiong knelt down with a plop, kowtowed and flattered him.

"I, the guilty general of the Qing Demon Changsha Assistant Commander Bao Pi, pay my respects to the king."

"May your majesty live forever and have great blessings. I have admired you for a long time. Now I have come to my senses and come to seek refuge with you. I hope your majesty will grant my approval."

Li Yi lowered his eyes and looked at the man in front of him, who had cut his braids but was still dressed as an officer of the Green Camp of the Qing Army, and spoke very gently.

"Haha, please get up quickly!"

"I am very happy that the general has abandoned the dark and joined the light, turned his back on the battlefield, and led his people to surrender. Since he has surrendered, he is our brother."

"In the future, you don't have to be so rigid in your formalities in front of me. It just makes you look awkward."

As he spoke, Li Yi personally helped Bao Xiong up.

Bao Pi was helped up by Li Yi and was touched.

Not for any other reason, just because of Li Yi's attitude towards him.

As the leader of a force spanning several provinces, Li Yi's humble attitude is quite useful to low-ranking and middle-level officers like Bao Pi.

You know, no one in a higher position has ever treated them with such an attitude before.

More importantly, Li Yi's attitude shows that his surrender has been accepted.

This made him feel relieved at once, as he had been hanging for so long.

Li Yi talked with Bao Pi for a while. In order to commend him for his contribution in turning the tables, Li Yi made an exception and gave him the position of regiment leader.

He was just required to go to the Military Academy in Guangzhou to learn how to lead troops.

When he completes his studies at the military academy, the Tang Dynasty will soon be able to gather a full regiment of soldiers and military equipment for him.

When it comes to rewarding his subordinates, Li Yi is never stingy.

After watching Bao Pi leave, Li Yi prepared to continue dealing with military affairs when Du Shun came to report.

"Your Majesty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has sent an envoy to visit you."

"Now he is asking for an audience outside our military camp!"

When Li Yi heard this, his expression changed and he asked.

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom sent an envoy to visit? Is it someone from there?"

"Hong Xiuquan or Shi Dakai?"

Upon hearing this, Du Shun began to report.

"To reply to your Majesty, it is someone from Jiangning's side."

Li Yi couldn't help but frown when he heard this, but he still nodded and said.

"Bring the person here!"

He wanted to see why Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing sent envoys to see him.

(End of this chapter)