In the Zhenjiang City Twist Army Barracks, Zhang Zongyu bit the head of the nest made of stick noodles with a bitter face, and did not chew it in his mouth, and rushed into his stomach with the water when he picked up the water bowl."
Damn, if we continue like this, if we don't wait for the Qingzi army to attack the city, we will be starved to death."
Zhang Zongyu scolded Luo Sanyuan, a henchman in the tent, angrily, and swallowed all the rest of the nest in one bite."
Brother Zhang, listen to the meaning of the general banner master, Hong Renji will lead a large army to relieve the siege of Zhenjiang in the near future, and I don't know if it's true" Luo Sanyuan was born in a scholarly family, and his father was a poor teacher, so he gave him this name in order to hope that he would win Sanyuan in the future.He has been familiar with Zhang Zongyu since he was a child, and after Zhang Zongyu's uncle Zhang Lexing raised troops against the Qing Dynasty, no one expected that he would also follow Zhang Zongyu to participate in the rebellion of the Twist Army and become a professional rebel."
What do you expect Hong Renji to do if he is so powerful, why would he invite us to Nanjing, now we should also think about our own future.I heard that the Qing army's policy of surrendering troops is good.Like Chen Bingwen, the general who attacked us outside the city, he used to be the king of the Taiping army, but now he is following the rumors of the Qing army. ”Zhang Zongyu took a few bowls of cold water and drank a few bowls of cold water to cushion the hunger in his stomach.The soldier outside had been gnawing on the bark for a few days, and the top nest head he could eat was already very good."
What Brother Zhang said is that we fought against the Hunan army in the past, when did we suffer this loss.Its more than 20,000 brothers broke through for several days in a row, suffering as many as 5,000 casualties.Fighting against the Qing Army, we could not give full play to the advantages of cavalry.I have heard many rumors that the Qing Zijun is for the poor, and what kind of land reform is being carried out in Suzhou now is to distribute the land of those landlords and old wealth to the poor brothers in the village. ”Luo Sanyuan couldn't stand the hunger, so he picked up the water scoop and took a few sips of cold water to eat."
And how is this possible" Zhang Zongyu frowned in disbelief, in his heart, he always felt that Qiao Zhiqing and Zeng Guofan were all the way, and they both relied on raising soldiers to make war money."
It is true that Suzhou City has recently carried out land reform and reclaimed wasteland, and many Henan people have migrated there."
According to reliable sources, they did get a share of the land, and the government provided the peasant army and cattle, and did not have to pay any taxes for three years.Now that the news has spread among the Twist Army, it is conceivable that the brothers' morale is weak. ”Luo Sanyuan wiped the water beads on his mouth, and he couldn't wait to get a piece of land himself, so that his wife could live a small life peacefully.Zhang Zongyu was silent and stopped talking, if it was really according to what Luo Sanyuan said, let alone the army's morale, I am afraid that even a mutiny may occur."
Report, tell the banner master, the alliance leader has something important to call you over."
Suddenly, the voice of the herald came from outside the tent, and there must have been something big going on."
Let's go, go over and take a look, I'm afraid the old man won't be able to stand it."
Zhang Zongyu straightened his armor, put on a helmet and ran to Zhang Lexing's military tent with Luo Sanyuan.At this time, the tent was already crowded with generals of all sizes, and all the banner owners had basically arrived.All the generals were talking to each other, and their faces were full of sadness."
Everyone, stop talking," Zhang Lexing coughed dryly, waved his hand at the seat and continued, "According to the latest news from the spies on the front line, there has been another large-scale military movement of the Qing Army in the direction of Nanjing, and at noon there have been six or seven warships full of soldiers passing through Zhenjiang. ”"Ah, what can I do, the Qingzi Army is serious this time.""
Yes, they besieged us but did not attack, they must have forced us to surrender, and I am afraid that we will attack this time.""
I'm afraid that the Qingzi army is coming to rush to King Gan's reinforcements this time, and it seems that we can't expect King Gan to break through.""
That's right, the brothers have eaten wild vegetables for a few days, and they don't even have the strength to wield knives for a long time."
Before Zhang Lexing finished speaking, all the generals in the audience began to talk about depression."
Yu'er, what do you think of this" Zhang Lexing usually values this nephew the most, and his Huozi Banner is also the only elite force in the Twist Army."
Judging from the current situation, the situation is really not optimistic.We also have two ways to choose, one is to fight with the Qing army, and then be a hero to protect the country in Nanjing.One is to surrender to the Qing army, let others slaughter, and life and death are all subject to the decision of Qiao Zhiqing alone. ”Zhang Zongyu responded with a cold face with a clenched fist, as the chief general of the first army, he definitely did not have the mentality of surrendering without a fight, everything was not at the last moment, and it was a coward's performance to surrender lightly.Zhang Lexing was silent for a while, struggling in his heart, in fact, he saw the situation in Zhenjiang City more clearly than anyone else.Today's Zhenjiang is like a pile of gunpowder, which may explode at any time.He didn't think about surrendering, Qiao Zhiqing besieged but did not attack, and it was precisely because he was forced to make a decision.But in the past, he just held a punishing conference, and later not only did not kill Qiao Zhiqing, but let all the heroes of the rivers and lakes be taken by him for his own use.He was afraid that Qiao Zhiqing would settle accounts after the autumn, but he would desperately break through and still have a glimmer of life."
Alliance leader, give orders, no matter what, the brothers will follow you."
Wang Youquan, the banner owner of the wooden flag, knelt on the ground with his fists in his hands and took the lead in asking for his life.His wooden banner defended the east gate, and the navy of the Qing army came to bombard it for a while, and now his men are like frightened birds, and they all lie on the ground and dare not move when they hear the sound, and he will really go crazy if he continues like this."
Give the order, alliance leader, our brother will follow you."
All the generals knelt on the ground to ask for battle, full of broken and shipwrecked postures, everyone was honed in the war, and there was no reason to retreat in times of crisis."
Okay, since the brothers can't wait, the leader of this alliance will no longer hesitate, this Zhenjiang City doesn't want it, King Gan will lead 30,000 elite soldiers tonight to meet us outside the city, at that time we and King Gan should join forces outside, the leader of this alliance does not believe that our 130,000 men and horses are no match for the 10,000 people of the Qingzi army.The leader of this alliance said again, even if he fails, he can't let Qiao Zhiqing underestimate our twisting army. ”Zhang Lexing stood up, arrogantly gave an order, and finally decided to desperately break through, the generals have a natural distrust of the imperial court in their hearts, many generals in the Taiping army were liquidated after surrendering, since everyone has a glimmer of life, they will not lay down their arms and let others slaughter."
The last will obey."
The generals finally breathed a sigh of relief and were ready to face the choice of fate.In the Qingzi army outside Zhenjiang City, all the soldiers raised their guns on the position and cheered, and at this time their commander personally drove to the front line, holding binoculars outside the fortifications, calmly checking the defense situation in Zhenjiang City.After sending Ma Xun away, Qiao Zhiqing did not return to the palace, but directly followed the lieutenant division to the front line in Zhenjiang by ship.The whole Zhenjiang City was surrounded by the Qing army like an iron bucket, and the entire distance around Zhenjiang City for one mile was erected with tripwires, fences, and trenches more than one meter deep, all of which were inserted with bamboo sticks."
Dashuai, don't worry, Zhenjiang City and Danyang City are in the same situation, and the last general will guarantee that they will go out of the city and surrender in a few days."
Chen Bingwen introduced the situation to Qiao Zhiqing on the side, patting his chest and assuring."
I can't wait, Hong Renji is rushing here with 30,000 elite soldiers, the Twist Army in the city will definitely make a move, and we will start to enter the state of battle now to prevent the Twist Army from dying and struggling."
Qiao Zhiqing put away the binoculars and turned around and walked towards the military tent with the generals, and all the Qingzi troops along the way enthusiastically raised the steel guns in their hands and shouted loudly, "The Qingzi army will win, the Qingzi army will win." ”Nearly dusk, the drums in Zhenjiang City suddenly thundered, and the military horn sounded.The shining flames in the city soared into the sky, and suddenly rushed out of the gates like fire dragons.The battlefield was instantly drowned out by the sound of horses' hooves, and the ground shook people's lungs."
Left sentry ready.""
The right sentry is ready.""
The Qing character army immediately heard a loud military order, and all the soldiers were loaded with bullets, lined up in a dense formation, and opened in a fan-shaped defense, layer after layer.The lightning flashed and thundered, and I don't know where there was a rumbling cannon sound."
Boom, boom, boom" The outside of Zhenjiang City was covered by dense artillery fire in an instant, and in the dark night, like a brilliant firework, the fire dragon that rushed out of the city densely passed.Streams of gunpowder smoke bulged upwards in the shape of mushrooms, and the ears of the people with the huge explosion shook with it.The twisted army that had just rushed out neighed and wailed all over the field.But the fire dragon still did not stop, but fiercely charged towards the gun array of the Qing army in the face of artillery fire."
Ready, launch.""
Fire" "" The dense array of guns suddenly erupted into his roar, and clusters of flames erupted, like fishing nets crocheted by fire in the night sky, towards the oncoming black cavalry.Qiao Zhiqing was holding a telescope on the high ground and looking at the killing in the distance like purgatory on earth, the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching, and he sighed secretly in his heart, "Why bother?"
"This gang of twisters is too ignorant, and the handsome man clearly wants to give them a way to live, but they have to do a death struggle." ”Chen Bingwen stood behind Qiao Zhiqing with a melancholy face, he himself surrendered from the Taiping Army, whether it was the Taiping Army or the Twist Army, he had always had a sympathetic psychology, and it was not a pleasure to slaughter a group of Han compatriots like this."
You don't know Zhang Lexing, he started by selling illicit salt, that kind of opportunistic psychology is extremely heavy, and the most enthusiastic is the gambling mentality, until the last moment, they will not easily give up what they want in their hearts.If he wins the bet, he can look forward to following Hong Renji to the top, and the temptation is too great. ”Qiao Zhiqing smiled lightly and explained lightly.The fire dragon in the distance had been blocked by the barricade, and the fire dragon that rushed up from behind quickly expanded towards the wings, but it only took a moment to disappear into the bullet net.Outside the city, a bleak autumn wind suddenly blew, and the wailing and neighing of horses whistled in the wind, like the whine of heaven and earth
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