Chapter 945
: The Wind Is Whistling and the Water Is Cold
Chapter 945: The Wind Is Whistling and the Water Is Cold
The wind is slack and the water is cold, and the strong men will never return once they go!
In ancient times, there was the tragic and bleak story of Jing Ke stabbing the King of Qin. Today, there are also the Taiping Sect's daredevil warriors. Zuo Ling was furious and determined to fight to the death, but Tang Zheng, the leader of the Five Elements Banner behind him, smiled grimly.
"Left Guardian, the battle is over. We are powerless to save the situation. Look around and see how many people are left who can fight."
Looking around, the nearly 60,000-strong vanguard army has now been reduced to less than 10,000 people, all of whom are standing there in misery, and everyone is injured. Although half of the imperial guards on the opposite side have been killed, they are still as powerful as ever. They should be proud of being able to beat the most elite imperial guards of the imperial court into this state.
"You dare to disturb the morale of the army, you should be killed."
The bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at the blood-covered Tang Zheng.
"Left Protector, I fought desperately, but most of my men have been killed or injured. These are the only ones left. Look at the road behind us. Marquis Luo Yun has arranged an ambush. Leader Chu has been cut in half by Marquis Luo Yun's cavalry. If we don't find a way to break out, the main force of the Taiping Sect will be finished."
He smiled sadly. It was because he took one more look that he realized that the Taiping Sect's army was about to be defeated. If they didn't break out, they would be surrounded by the main force of Luo Yunhou's army. It would be too late.
Zuo Ling regained consciousness and looked back. On the official road in the distance, there were 20,000 troops lined up. The eastern army had been broken up, and the 80,000 elite guards led by Master Chu had also been entangled. Therefore, the retreat route was still with the 20,000 ambushing troops.
"Tang Zheng, gather all the troops immediately, turn around and charge forward, fight your way out. Sect Leader Chu should know that we still have 20,000 troops and cavalry, take them all and charge forward."
"Left Guardian, what about you?"
Tang Zheng was stunned and immediately shouted, "What is the Left Protector going to do?"
"Go quickly. This Dharma Protector will take people to meet Master Chu. Remember, be quick."
After saying this, he led his troops to the east.
Tang Zheng did not delay and led his personal soldiers to rush back to the main camp. The imperial soldiers were wearing very thick armor, which made it difficult for them to move. In addition, they had been fighting for a long time and were exhausted. If the soldiers on both sides had not held on for a breath, they would have collapsed long ago.
"Come on, brothers, let's hold on a little longer, join the brothers in the central army, fight back, and fight our way out."
"Yes, Flag Master."
Many Taiping sect members who could barely lift their swords could only hold back and quicken their pace.
East,
The last elite troops of both sides have been fighting together. The 80,000 guards of the Taiping Sect have been cut off and are fighting on their own. In this critical moment, the Dharma Protectors have gathered their troops to protect the leader of the Chu Sect. The cavalry led by Luo Yunhou has already penetrated the entire formation and is turning back.
Behind him, General Dingbei Hu Shoucheng was deeply shocked that cavalry could actually have such killing power. Luo Yunhou's elite troops outside the pass were fighting as if they were one person, without any harm. Although he had more than 30,000 cavalrymen under his command, they suffered a lot of casualties in this charge.
"My Lord, the enemy's formation has been disrupted. Should we charge at the enemy in the south?"
Hu Shoucheng was referring to the last group of Taiping Sect soldiers who had been separated and charged into the battle. Zhang Jinyu frowned and shook his head. These Taiping Sect thieves were really different. They fought to the death and were not afraid of death at all. If they charged forward again, the other side would have been prepared. Cavalry was not omnipotent.
"Don't worry. They have formed a circle and are not moving forward. This will not affect the battle. The officers and soldiers have already won the battle on the western side. Now it depends on the flank formation. The more than 100,000 soldiers will not be able to hold on. Gather the troops and charge from behind them."
Zhang Jinyu's fighting style is to take advantage of every opportunity. As long as the Taiping Sect's flank front collapses, the leader Chu will be powerless to save the situation.
"Yes, sir, prepare to charge."
With Hu Shoucheng's loud shout, more than 40,000 elite cavalrymen turned around the dock and rushed towards the left front battle formation in the east. Almost all the people from three parties were shocked at the same time because the speed was too fast.
Chu Yiyue saw this and sighed.
"This battle is not a sin. Withdraw the central army and prepare to break out."
"Yes, Master Chu, hurry up, turn back and prepare to break out."
At this time, the guards who had been separated were rebuked by the messenger. Fortunately, the army stabilized its position and began to retreat slowly. However, most of the front army was caught by General Dingnan Yin Renchang, who took the opportunity to have his soldiers stick to it tightly. Therefore, only more than 50,000 people withdrew.
But time waits for no one. Chu Yi Yue led more than 50,000 guards and began to slowly retreat. Little did he know that their departure almost caused the front army, which was still fighting, to collapse. More than half of the former crown prince Zuo Feng's more than 100,000 county soldiers had been lost. Only when they saw the support of the Taiping Sect did they barely stabilize. This departure almost made Zuo Feng's face pale.
"As expected, the people of the Taiping Cult cannot be trusted. Quickly, prepare to break out according to the plan."
Fortunately, he had a trick up his sleeve. The guards around him did not move at all, and they were all riding horses. Seeing that Luo Yunhou's cavalry was approaching, Zuo Feng gritted his teeth and had to lead his guards to quickly retreat along the Taiping Sect side, chasing after the army of the leader Chu.
This time,
Zhang Jinyu's cavalry rushed over, and the enemy's hastily prepared defense line collapsed immediately, like a piece of paper. Some of the more powerful generals even led their personal soldiers to rush towards the cavalry.
"The henchman of the imperial court, your grandfather from the Li family, is here to meet you,"
A burly, dark-faced man holding two hammers, was so powerful that even the cavalry from the Beijing camp could not get close to him.
Seeing this, Hu Shoucheng raised his eyebrows, and rushed over on horseback with his ghost-head knife in hand, chopping, slashing, and slashing. Every swing of the knife made a whirring sound, and he went straight to attack the enemy's vital points. After this offensive, the enemy was tied up and gradually had to defend himself.
the other side,
Duan Hong unexpectedly encountered a bandit general, who was riding a horse, wearing imperial armor, holding a spear, and had excellent spear skills. His attacks were continuous, like flowing clouds and water, and he actually suppressed Duan Hong and put him in danger.
"Ningbian, take people to capture that general alive. Just don't let him die."
Zhang Jinyu looked at him suspiciously and kept his guard up. As long as he survived, he could get some information out of him. Duan Hong was a good leader, but his martial arts skills were far inferior.
"Yes, my lord, I will capture him for you right away."
Ning Bian laughed grimly, raised his spear, and immediately led his men to rush over. He stabbed Duan Hong from the side and knocked him down.
"Ningbian, be careful. I don't know where this guy learned his skills from, but he is very skilled."
Although he was out of breath, he still did not forget to praise. Perhaps the two of them were a match made in heaven, and their moves were continuous and smooth. Unfortunately, the enemy general had been fighting for a long time and was out of energy, while Ning Bian was full of energy and fought more and more fiercely. After thirty moves, he swept across and hit the enemy general, knocking him off his horse. He was instantly subdued by the soldiers and taken over.
"Humph, you dog officer, if you have the guts, let's fight again."
The thief was angry and still struggled.
Zhang Jinyu found it funny, pointed around and said with a smile;
"You have already lost. There are less than 30,000 people left in the central army. Even if you want to break out, not many people can escape. Send an order, have General Dingnan continue to lead the troops to pursue, and General Dingbei cooperate in harassment. Kill as many as you can. Don't pursue a desperate enemy."
Although it sounds easy, the officers and soldiers don't have much fighting power left.
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
now,
Hu Shoucheng had already killed the rebel general, and turned back with his cavalry, cooperating with the infantry phalanx, and slowly approached the Taiping Sect's central army.
"You are Marquis Luo Yun, but you are just a kid. My master is a man of great talent and strategy, and he will definitely avenge our family."
He glared at the people around him fiercely, and finally heard a scream. The thief vomited blood and fell to the ground twitching. He had no chance of survival. Ning Bian was shocked and quickly jumped off his horse to check, but the man was already dead.
"My Lord, my Lord, the thief bit his tongue and committed suicide. He is a dead man."
Zhang Jinyu was somewhat speechless. Death warriors, whose death warriors were trained to become generals? They had money but nowhere to spend it. Their skills and courage were comparable to those of several generals in the Beijing camp. Before they could get any clues, they died. Those soldiers and horses that were comparable to those of the imperial court were all lost in one day. I wonder if the master behind them, even if he was rich and powerful, would be furious after knowing this.
"Forget it, let's just be dead soldiers. After the battle, we will clean up the battlefield immediately. I hope Song Yutian is smart enough."
When the enemy is desperate, they will fight to the death, so leaving a way out can inflict heavy casualties on the enemy.
On the official road,
General Song Yutian of Dingdong had a serious expression on his face. The Taiping Rebellion troops coming from the north had already begun to retreat, and the imperial army was still chasing them from behind. It was not certain that they could block the intersection like this.
"Kill, kill them," "Charge, avenge our brothers,"
A shout came from behind. Song Yutian couldn't believe it. He looked back and saw that the defeated soldiers who had fled from the other side of the river had turned back and attacked the soldiers blocking the road. They suddenly attacked and caught Song Yutian off guard, causing the enemy soldiers to approach and disrupt their formation.
Seeing this, the bandit troops retreating to the north were greatly encouraged and quickened their pace, charging forward. This sudden and fierce attack left the imperial officers and soldiers attacked from both sides, and for a time, they were in a stalemate.
At this critical moment, Song Yutian immediately gave orders to clear the road, and formed a circle on both sides of the road to kill with spears. Once the gap was opened, the Taiping sect members who had been fighting desperately actually rushed to the gap one after another, not caring about the imperial court's troops on both sides of the road, just to get a chance to escape first.
To the south, a fierce look flashed across Cui Jiping's eyes.
"Let them fight back and widen the entrance to the official road. Anyone who dares to escape will be killed."
At the command, the morale of the followers was instantly aroused. They swung their swords to kill the followers who escaped without any mercy. Seeing that there were still people blocking the road and the flag master was in front of the battle, the followers who escaped had no choice but to turn around and fight on both sides of the official road to make the opening bigger, so as to buy more time for the rear army.
Behind the main battlefield, there were still many Taiping rebels who were entangled with the imperial court's pursuit troops. In addition, most of the soldiers in the Beijing camp had reached their limit, and some had already begun to throw away their armor in order to catch their breath.
Therefore,
Zhang Jinyu did not give any orders to urge them on, and the cavalry still had some strength to spare. Unfortunately, the leader Chu was not a good person either, and had already deployed a defensive formation and was slowly retreating, so the cavalry did not dare to charge at full force, and only wanted to delay them and let the infantry engage in a fight.
As for the elite troops outside the Great Wall under his command, they could not be used to charge into the battle formation. Just now, he personally charged into the battle formation, which was nothing more than the final blow to lay the foundation for a great victory. As for how many casualties there were, it would depend on the generals in the Beijing camp.
"My Lord, would you like me to lead the troops over there and use the lance to throw two rounds, which will surely open up a gap?"
Just as Zhang Jinyu was watching the battlefield calmly, Duan Hong came over from nowhere, talking without restraint, eager to try.
Zhang Jinyu didn't respond well and directly stopped him from thinking.
"You seem to have a lot of free time. I told you to practice martial arts, but you just wouldn't listen. If Ning Bian hadn't saved you just now, you would still be standing here and talking."
"Uh, Lord, I know I was wrong,"
Hearing the Marquis' unfriendly tone, Duan Hong was like an eggplant hit by frost. He drooped his head.
"Okay, take 5,000 cavalry back to the camp and keep an eye on the Crown Prince. Don't leave him alone. If there is anything wrong or if any sergeant or general approaches, you can detain them on the spot. Safety comes first."
"Yes, Lord. I will take people there right away."
Duan Hong's dark face turned red. He clasped his fists and responded, then turned around and led five thousand elite cavalry back to the camp to support it.
Five thousand soldiers were left behind, quietly standing in the center of the battlefield. Occasionally, the Taiping rebels would rush into the battle line in a panic, but would be instantly killed by the elite cavalry outside the pass, adding a few more souls to their deaths.
Zhang Jinyu saw that the situation was already decided. Although there were soldiers blocking the official road to the south, the Taiping Sect fought hard to the last minute. They could not be stopped, and some of them were left behind to survive. They could not be chased.
so,
Regardless of who the master behind the scenes was, or whether they were from the Taiping Sect, those who should have left had left, and those who shouldn't have left had almost all left. This battle was considered an explanation to the court. As for the rest, they still needed to sort it out. After all, they killed one thousand enemies but lost eight hundred of their own. Nearly half a million main forces from both sides were fighting. On their side, at least nearly one hundred thousand soldiers were killed or wounded. If this happened a few more times, I'm afraid all the wealth of the court would be gone.
"Ningbian, send someone to pass the message. Once the Taiping Cult members have left, immediately surround the official road. There are still tens of thousands of remnants on the battlefield. Eliminate them as soon as possible."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
The sky gradually darkened. The fighting lasted from morning till evening. Even a strong man could not bear it. However, the men of the Beijing Camp were indeed brave.
The other is,
Looking to the west, less than half of the soldiers of the Right Guard of the Imperial Guards were left, still struggling to hold on. Although the outcome of the battle on the west side had been decided, the determined figure still shocked Zhang Jinyu. A thin line of defense stood tall, and the Imperial Guards never retreated a single step. This kind of battle loss and perseverance were comparable to the elite troops of the Beijing Camp.
Since the Right Guard of the Imperial Guard is like this, then the Left Guard will not be any worse, with a total of more than 100,000 soldiers. It is no wonder that the Supreme Emperor can sit firmly in Changle Palace. After all, who knows who the remaining people are secretly working for?
That is to say, today's battle made many things clear.
"All front troops, surround and attack them, we will surely win."
"Must win,"
"Must win."
I don't know whose subordinates shouted first, and the entire battlefield, hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly burst into high morale and began to wipe out the remaining remnants of the Taiping Sect.
The encirclement was complete, and the stubborn Taiping sect rebels were already terrified. With no other options left, they dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender. This kneeling was like an infection, and almost all of the remaining 30,000 Taiping sect remnants prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Report, Lord, the rebels have all surrendered. General Yin sent me here to ask, Lord, whether to keep these rebels."
Ok?
Zhang Jinyu came back to his senses and looked at the battlefield. He had already begun to gather the surrendered soldiers. These surrendered soldiers thought about the capital and asked,
"How did the generals in the Beijing camp deal with the surrendered soldiers in the past?"
"Well, my Lord, when the Beijing troops encircled and suppressed the White Lotus Sect in the early years, they did not take any prisoners."
As he spoke, the captain who was delivering the message saw that Marquis Luo Yun's face was getting uglier and uglier, so his voice gradually became much lower, and he quickly clasped his fists and bowed;
"My Lord, I am sorry for speaking so much. Please forgive me."
I don't know what I said wrong, but it made the Marquis unhappy. The captain quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
Zhang Jinyu's angry face was not meant for a captain to see. The so-called killing of prisoners has been a practice since ancient times. In addition, these prisoners were not ordinary White Lotus bandits, but the elite of the Taiping Sect. Perhaps, there should be the altar masters, incense masters, and even hall masters. If they were presented to the court or His Majesty, it would be a matter of honor and also to appease the court. After all, many people from the court died in this battle. If they attacked the city again, no one knew how many would die. It would be hard to say how to explain to the court.
If these surrendered soldiers were escorted back to the capital, even if the imperial court ordered them all to be killed, it would still deter the villains in the world and relieve the pressure on His Majesty.
After making up his mind, he ordered;
"It has nothing to do with you. As the saying goes, killing prisoners is unlucky. Those who are intact will be taken back for observation. As for the rest, you can do whatever you want."
"Yes, my Lord, I will pass the order right away."
The captain lowered his head, as if he was afraid of something, and left in a panic.
Zhang Jinyu shook his head and didn't say much. He was not a pedantic person. There were not enough medicines for those injured or seriously injured in the camp. They couldn't even save their own people, so how could they save the enemy soldiers? Therefore, he didn't say anything definite. He left behind some surrendered soldiers who could escape so that he could have an explanation when he returned to the capital.
Looking around, the entire battlefield was littered with dead bodies and weapons scattered on the ground. It looked really desolate. We needed to send people to collect the weapons, as they were all worth money.
"Ningbian, leave someone behind to watch over it and send someone to clean up the battlefield. The rest of you, go back to the camp and rest."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Whips were waving, and the elite cavalrymen from outside the pass returned to the camp, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
On the southern official road,
The remnant soldiers of the Taiping Sect who had fled in panic had already fled for about ten miles and were almost exhausted. Looking behind them, they saw no soldiers chasing them. The high-ranking members of the Taiping Sect then ordered the troops to temporarily slow down their march and take a breath.
Commander Zuo Feng had lost his former demeanor, and there was a flash of shock in his eyes, especially when Marquis Luo Yun led the cavalry to charge the battle formation. The unrivaled momentum almost instantly tore through the tight formation of the Taiping Sect Guards, leaving them with almost no power to fight back. As a result, 100,000 county soldiers under his command disappeared into thin air. How could he explain to His Highness when he returned?
"Master Chu, in this hasty battle, almost all of our elite troops were lost. How are we going to respond tomorrow?"
He asked coldly, Luo Yunhou is not one of those straw bag generals, since he has gained the advantage, he will definitely not let go of the opportunity. At this time, Master Chu closed his eyes and sighed;
"Commander Zuo, since going north is not an option, we can only go south. However, many things still need to be planned, so please pass the message to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
"what!"
(End of this chapter)