Ever since Shanhai City introduced the military rank system, military rank meant life and honor to the soldiers.
The Mountain Barbarian soldiers didn't expect General Bai Qi to be so generous this time. He actually promoted all of them by one rank, which was a very great reward.
Seeing this, E Lai was also in a good mood. He laughed and said, "Brats, let's go and eat meat. If we're late, there won't be any good meat left!" As he spoke, he walked toward the camp.
"Whoosh!"
The Mountain Barbarian soldiers, who had been crouching in the corner, suddenly became spirited and ran faster than rabbits toward the camp.
"Haha!"
Seeing this, E Lai laughed like a demon.
Compared to the jubilation in Mulan Fortress, the South Camp of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was gloomy.
Their attacks had been thwarted repeatedly, and the soldiers had suffered heavy casualties. In addition, Deputy General Li Xiucheng had been captured. The series of blows had weakened the Taiping Army's tenacious nerves.
After retreating from the battlefield, the remnants of Li Xiucheng's troops ran to the commander's tent and made a scene, begging General Yang Xiuqing to send troops again the next day to rescue Li Xiucheng.
The soldiers' nonsense had completely annoyed Yang Xiuqing.
The few soldiers who had led the trouble were hung on the gate and whipped 20 times.
Seeing that their General was angry, the Taiping Army soldiers were even more silent. The entire camp was quiet, without a trace of life. The soldiers didn't dare to make too much noise even when they were eating.
Yang Xiuqing locked himself in the tent and didn't see anyone. He didn't even eat dinner. It wasn't until nine o 'clock that Yang Xiuqing suddenly informed the generals to go to the tent for a meeting.
After a while, all the soldiers gathered in the commander's tent, feeling uneasy.
The leaders were the Left General, Lin Fengxiang, and the Right General, Chen Yucheng.
The Left General, Lin Fengxiang, was a famous general of the Taiping Army in the Northern Expedition. He was also a farmer. When he joined the Taiping Army, he served as an imperial guard and was promoted to Marquis Jing Hu.
The Northern Expedition Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in a difficult situation because it was alone and they didn't have enough provisions. In 1854, they retreated south to Mound City. Ji Wenyuan died in battle, and they retreated to Dongguang Lian Town.
In February 1855, the Qing Army attacked Lian Town. Lin Fengxiang supervised the troops and fought hard, defeating the enemy repeatedly. In March, Lian Zhen fell into enemy hands. Lin Fengxiang was wounded and captured. He was later released to Beijing to die as a martyr. He was thirty-one years old at the time.
After that, Hong Xiuquan was conferred the title of Qiu Wang in Lin Fengxiang.
Although Lin Fengxiang was born in the wilderness, he was calm and collected in battle. He could lead the charge and break through enemy lines, but he could also be calm and composed, and he could give commands calmly. Therefore, he was considered a rare general in the Taiping army.
The General of the Right, Chen Yucheng, was a young general who was as famous as Li Xiucheng. Like the other generals of the Taiping army, Chen Yucheng was also a guest. He was an important general in the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was conferred the title of King Ying because he was brave and good at fighting.
Because Chen Yucheng had moles under his eyes, he looked like he had four eyes from afar.
In 1862, Miao Peilin, a traitor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was lured into a trap and sent to the Qing camp. In front of the enemy, he was awe-inspiring, steadfast and unyielding, and died a martyr's death at the age of twenty-six.
Chen Yucheng was one of the few generals in the Taiping army who was highly skilled in martial arts. Ever since he was young, he had trained hard in spear techniques. Because of his excellent spear techniques, he had even earned the good name of "Thirty Sudden Thrust".
The two of them stood on either side of him, while the other generals took their seats according to their positions.
Yang Xiuqing sat upright on the seat of honor, his face expressionless. He looked around and said in a deep voice, "Today's defeat is not enough to change the situation of the war. Our army still has the advantage in numbers and the initiative in the war. "
At this point, Yang Xiuqing paused for a moment, as if he was trying to strengthen his confidence. Then, he continued in a powerful and resonant voice, "Therefore, the generals and soldiers must not be discouraged, but they must not harbor any thoughts that they shouldn't have. I'll say the ugly words first. No matter what, no matter how heavy the price we have to pay, we must conquer Mulan Fortress. "
"We pledge our lives to the Heavenly King!"
All the generals and soldiers responded in unison, their expressions fanatical.
It had to be said that Hong Xiuquan's "brainwashing" of the generals and soldiers was really amazing.
In this regard, Ouyang Shuo was far inferior.
In the Taiping army, both the generals and the soldiers had an inexplicable and fanatical belief in the ideal world described by Hong Xiuquan.
The power of this belief was extremely terrifying.
Driven by this power, although the Taiping army had suffered setbacks for three days in a row, the morale of the army was not greatly affected. They were still full of fighting spirit.
"Good!" Yang Xiuqing suddenly stood up and said in a loud voice, "In that case, in tomorrow's battle, we must not leave any leeway. If one hole can't break through Mulan Fortress, then we'll make two or three holes. Even if Mulan Fortress is impregnable, it can't stop our Taiping army's determination to attack. "
"Fight to the death!"
Hearing that, the generals and soldiers' expressions became more and more fanatical. Even Lin Fengxiang and Chen Yucheng could not help but feel their blood boiling and their bodies full of energy.
Of course, at this moment, the generals sensibly did not mention Li Xiucheng, who had been captured. Because for the soldiers of the Taiping army, once they were captured, it was the best choice to die bravely.
No one had expected that Li Xiucheng could come out alive.
The Heavenly King had said that once the warriors in the army died, they would be able to live forever in the Heavenly Kingdom.
That was why Yang Xiuqing was so angry at what Li Xiucheng's remaining troops had done. Because those soldiers had touched the scars of the entire Taiping army.
"Retreat and get ready!"
Yang Xiuqing summoned the generals not to arrange any tactics, but to boost the morale of the army. As for tactics, in the current situation, there was no other way but to attack.
When the generals and soldiers left, Yang Xiuqing let out a long sigh.
Being in the situation, Yang Xiuqing could see it more clearly than anyone else.
If they continued to fight like this, even if they could capture Mulan Fortress, half of the southern army would be destroyed. After the fortress was captured, there would be a large army waiting for them behind the mountain.
Was it worth it to make such a huge sacrifice for a harbor?
Yang Xiuqing was skeptical about the decision made by Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King. He admitted that building warships was indeed the best way to unleash the power of cannons.
But wasn't it a little too hasty?!
The progress of the western army was not as smooth as expected. After a series of victories in the early stage, they were attacked by the enemy tenaciously.
The road to the west was in a deadlock.
At this time, it was not worth it to waste the huge southern army at the foot of Mulan Fortress. At this moment, whether the southern army went to help the western army or launched a northern expedition, it was a good choice.
Yang Xiuqing could not understand why the Heavenly King was not willing to compromise.
In fact, since the first day he showed up in the wilderness, Yang Xiuqing had vaguely felt that the Heavenly King was suspicious of him.
For Yang Xiuqing, this kind of suspicion was unreasonable. (To be continued.)
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