Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

As Shi Dakai had expected, Zeng Guoquan's troops did not arrive at the foot of Wusong Mountain until noon on the third day.

Seven days had passed since they set out from Tianjing to arrive at the foot of Wusong Mountain. During these seven days, Zeng Guoquan led the Hunan Army to advance nearly 400 miles. The long march made the Hunan Army soldiers complain in pain and exhausted.

General Liu Songshan, standing nearby, whispered, "Sir, we can't keep advancing like this. Otherwise, when we reach Anqing, let alone attacking the city, our exhausted army won't even be able to defend itself against the Hunan Army!"

Zeng Guoquan frowned and replied, "Songshan, you should know that if we don't seize the opportunity to advance, once Shi Dakai has established a foothold in Anqing, he will become a real threat to the imperial court. Do you think anyone in our Hunan Army is sure of victory against Shi Dakai?"

this……

Liu Songshan sucked his tongue. He had been with Zeng Guofan and his brother for a long time, and was no stranger to Shi Dakai. The two had fought each other more than a dozen times, and he had long since experienced Shi Dakai's formidable power. A sure victory? Of all the military commanders in the entire Qing Dynasty, no one dared to claim a sure victory against Shi Dakai! That guy was so powerful that even Zuo Zongtang said that the only person in the Taiping Army who frightened him was Shi Dakai!

Even the extremely domineering Zuo Zongtang kept his distance from Shi Dakai, let alone others!

Liu Songshan finally said, "Sir, although what you said makes sense, we still need to maintain our fighting strength. Expending troops to attack far away is a taboo in military strategy, not to mention that we are facing Shi Dakai. Sir, please think twice."

Zeng Guoquan was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Okay, tell the soldiers to work harder. Once we pass Wusong Mountain, the army will stay at the foot of Wusong Mountain for half a day to regroup. Then we will split into three groups and raid Anqing. This time, we must recapture Anqing for me no matter what!"

Zeng Guoquan gave an order and led a vanguard of more than 20,000 troops into Wusong Mountain.

The Taiping Army had been waiting here for nearly two days, and finally their opponent arrived. Seeing the large group of Qing troops slowly entering Wusong Mountain, the Taiping Army became excited. It was finally time to take action, and finally to avenge the soldiers of Tianjing and the Heavenly King. But that King of Hell Zeng was in there!

Seeing that the Hunan Army's front troops of more than 20,000 men had entered Songshan, the commander Fu Zhongxin gave an order, and more than 20 artillery pieces of the Taiping Army opened fire at the same time, and the shells went straight to the Qing Army's artillery team!

Boom boom boom!

Earth-shaking explosions shook the sky and shook the entire Wusong Mountain. The Qing army was completely unprepared and was still marching with their heads down. Especially the artillery of the artillery camp, which was slowly advancing under the pull of mules and horses, and the gun covers on the gun bodies had not yet been removed!

At this moment, the shells fell straight down, and the explosions made the entire artillery battalion miserable, and bursts of ghostly howls rang out!

Not only the artillery battalion, but also the newly equipped musket battalion suffered the Taiping Army's desperate bombardment. One by one, the Hunan Army was swept into the sky by the violent explosion and died!

Zeng Guoquan was shocked. Ambush, there is an ambush of the Taiping Army here. We were careless, too careless!

Zeng Guoquan stamped his feet anxiously and roared, "Order the entire army to retreat immediately, retreat! Retreat from Wusong Mountain!"

But how easy is it to withdraw at this time?

The Taiping Army had ambushed a large number of soldiers at the eastern pass of Wusong Mountain. Nearly two thousand people emerged from the rocks and jungles, holding bows and arrows or bird guns and muskets in their hands, and launched a violent attack on the Hunan Army, completely blocking the Hunan Army's retreat. This road was blocked!

The Hunan Army launched two attacks in succession, but they were both beaten back by the Taiping Army on the mountain! They couldn't break through the Taiping Army's defense at all!

Liu Songshan said anxiously, "Sir, the road behind us has been blocked by the Taiping rebels. We can't get out at all. Now we have no choice but to move forward and get out of Wusong Mountain first!"

Zeng Guoquan shouted, "Order the cavalry to clear the way ahead. We must fight our way out and charge out!"

As soon as Zeng Guoquan's order was issued, Shi Dakai began to command the Taiping Army to launch a fierce attack on the Qing army's center. Feather arrows with flames shot towards the foot of Wusong Mountain, directly igniting the gunpowder, sulfur and other flammable materials at the foot of Wusong Mountain. The fire shot up into the sky. The Hunan Army was beaten in Wusong Mountain, screaming and fleeing everywhere. The entire Hunan Army was in complete chaos!

Zeng Guoquan's heart was completely shrouded in shadow. His momentary carelessness had caused tens of thousands of people to fall into an unprecedented danger. He was really too foolish. If he had listened to Songshan's advice and set up camp outside Wusong Mountain, he could have escaped the disaster. The victories in these years made him a little proud, and he forgot that he was facing the most cunning Shi Dakai!

However, it is too late to say anything now. The most important thing is to fight their way out. They must fight their way out. Only by fighting their way out of Wusong Mountain can the Hunan Army have a way to survive. If they stay here, the only outcome will be annihilation!

Zeng Guoquan was about to order a charge when Liu Songshan beside him said urgently, "Sir, we can't charge forward!"

Zeng Guoquan was stunned and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Liu Songshan replied, "Sir, if we break through the defenses and enter the west side of Wusong Mountain, we will be completely separated from General Bao behind us. Shi Dakai will then gather a large force to encircle and annihilate us one by one, and we will be in an even more dangerous situation than we are now!"

Zeng Guoquan was shocked. Yes, Liu Songshan was right. Once he broke out of the encirclement, he and Bao Chao would be separated by the entire Wusong Mountain. At that time, it would be easier for Shi Dakai to defeat them one by one!

Liu Songshan continued, "Your Excellency, I suggest we hold our troops in place and try to avoid the attacks by hiding behind the rocks. We can send our elite troops to launch a counterattack up the mountain to suppress the Taiping rebels' attack! We are waiting for General Bao to come to our aid. He has over 10,000 men behind him. As long as we hold out for a while, they will surely attack us from behind. By then, with the help of our internal and external forces, we still have hope of turning the tables. I believe Shi Dakai won't have too many troops!"

Yes, Shi Dakai left Sichuan with only 50,000 men, some of whom stayed in Jiujiang and the other part was stationed in Anqing. The number of troops that could be used to attack the Hunan Army would definitely not exceed 30,000. It was impossible to surround a larger force with a smaller one!

Zeng Guoquan gritted his teeth and replied, "Okay, order the entire army to counterattack. Order the artillery battalion and the musket battalion to launch an all-out attack on the Taiping Army!"