If Han Xin was an assassin, then Bai Qi was a brilliant swordsman.
Seeing that the Taiping Army was being attacked from behind by Leopard Tao's army, they were thrown into disarray. Bai Qi naturally wouldn't remain indifferent. He immediately ordered the Third Division, the Fourth Division, and the Fifth Division of the Dragon Xiang Army to join the battle.
In this way, the Taiping Army would face a pincer attack.
Yang Xiuqing, Lin Fengxiang, and Chen Yucheng, the three generals, wanted to organize the army to form a battle formation to resist the enemy. Unfortunately, it happened so suddenly that their efforts had little effect. Although the soldiers of the Taiping Army had been tempered for a year and were no longer pushovers, they were still not fearless in the face of danger.
In the face of the general trend, they couldn't do anything at all.
The timing Han Xin chose was too fatal. It was the time when the Taiping Army was the most exhausted and the most relaxed. The soldiers were already thinking about having a hearty meal at night after they retreated.
They didn't expect that they would suddenly face a test of life and death at this time. Fate was so cruel. It often gave you a fatal blow when you were caught off guard.
The large-scale defeat of the Taiping Army was right in front of them.
The sunset glow in the sky became more and more gorgeous. Half of the sky was dyed red.
The battle in the wilderness didn't stop at all as the night approached. Every man on the battlefield was facing a test of life and death.
Tens of thousands of soldiers of the Taiping Army were making their last struggle. The deafening battle cries reverberated in the vast wilderness and did not dissipate for a long time. They reverberated on the mottled city walls, causing waves of echoes.
On the battlefield, there were soldiers falling at every moment, falling into pools of blood, falling under the sunset.
The orange-red sunset glow was dyed with the most gorgeous color at this moment.
It was the color of life.
This was the unique sunset glow that appeared in the eyes of the soldiers at the last moment before they fell.
There was also a hint of warmth in the gorgeous glow.
The red sun hanging in the sky finally couldn't bear to watch anymore and slowly fell into the sky. Night had finally fallen, and the sky was actually filled with a few stars that were rarely seen.
The battle in the wilderness was finally coming to an end.
The battle cries were getting weaker and weaker. Outside the wilderness, there was already a sea of blood.
The warhorses were neighing, and smoke was filling the air.
More than 100,000 soldiers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were finally defeated by the two armies of Shanhai City.
The generals and soldiers either fought or fled.
Seeing that there was no hope of victory, some soldiers chose to surrender. Most of the officers and soldiers of the Taiping Army were refugees. Summoned by Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, they joined the army in order to survive.
Therefore, they valued their lives more than anyone else.
Rows of soldiers surrendered, wave after wave.
The soldiers put down their weapons and stood alone on the bloody battlefield. They were helpless and hesitant.
Even the sound of weapons falling to the ground was so ear-piercing.
This was the mourning sound of a kingdom turning from prosperity to decline.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, at its most glorious moment, was about to hit rock bottom because of this defeat. After the battle, less than a tenth of the two hundred thousand soldiers who were full of ambition remained.
Just when the battle was at its most disadvantageous, Yang Xiuqing and the other generals finally gave up their final struggle and led their elite troops to break out of the encirclement.
Unfortunately, neither Bai Qi nor Han Xin were prepared to let the tiger return to the mountain.
The most elite cavalry troops of the two legions were immediately sent out to encircle and suppress the fleeing enemy troops. It was also because of the aggressive encirclement army and the escape of their commanding general that the soldiers of the Taiping Army surrendered in despair.
In the vast night, they certainly could not outrun the pursuing cavalry troops.
Instead of that, they might as well choose to live an ignoble life.
After all, no one really cherished their lives.
It was not until late at night that this huge pursuit came to an end.
Faced with the pursuit of the two legions, the three generals of the Taiping Army also faced different fates.
Lin Fengxiang led his troops and attempted to break out of the encirclement from the southwest, but they were besieged by Shao Bu's division. His troops suffered heavy losses. In the end, Lin Fengxiang died bravely in battle. The rest of his troops could only choose to surrender.
Chen Yucheng led his troops to break out of the encirclement from the northwest, but they were pursued by Sun Chuanlin's division. Chen Yucheng, a famous general, was shot down by Sun Chuanlin's arrow and captured helplessly.
Seeing that their commanding general was captured, his troops could only choose to surrender in the end.
The only one who escaped the disaster was Yang Xiuqing.
It was Mu Guiying, a female general, who was in charge of pursuing Yang Xiuqing. Under Bai Qi's instruction, Yang Xiuqing "luckily" escaped in the chaos. In order to cover for Yang Xiuqing, her troops suffered heavy losses.
In the end, only about 3,000 soldiers escaped with Yang Xiuqing.
According to the post-battle statistics, in the life-and-death battle that took place in the evening, except for the 3,000 soldiers who followed Yang Xiuqing and a few who were lucky enough to escape into the forest at night, the rest of the soldiers were either killed in battle or surrendered.
The Southern Army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom vanished into thin air.
With the annihilation of the Southern Army, one of the pillars of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also collapsed. How far could the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom go with a broken leg?
Everything was still unknown.
The most crucial battle in the southwest came to an end.
In the vast night, Yang Xiuqing led the remnants of her troops and fled in a panic. It was not until they ran for more than 40 miles and could no longer see the pursuers that they stopped to rest with a little peace of mind.
The soldiers silently took out their dry rations and cooking utensils and began to cook. The other soldiers, on the other hand, instinctively went to collect firewood or to fetch water from the kettle.
There were also some soldiers who dragged their tired bodies to stand guard around the area.
The whole team was terribly silent.
Under the starlight, their numb and frightened faces could be seen. Their chief commander, Yang Xiuqing, didn't look well. His face was tense, as if it could explode at any time.
After a simple meal and seeing that it was already late at night, the team decided to rest on the spot.
They would set off again the next day.
After personally inspecting the patrolling troops, Yang Xiuqing dragged his exhausted body into the temporary tent to rest. Unfortunately, what had happened during the day kept replaying in his mind. He couldn't fall asleep at all.
"Phew!" Yang Xiuqing got up.
Outside the tent, it was already pitch-black. Only the twinkling stars could be seen.
Yang Xiuqing put on his coat and walked out of the tent. He looked up at the sky, a myriad of thoughts running through his mind. Somehow, the starry sky above his head seemed to be giving him a hint, making his thoughts clearer.
A gust of night wind blew over, bringing with it waves of coldness. Yang Xiuqing subconsciously pulled his cloak.
At this moment, Yang Xiuqing thought of many things.
There was Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King, and the fate of the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
This defeat made Yang Xiuqing realize that the Heavenly Kingdom seemed powerful, but in fact, it was like a castle piled up with sand on the beach. A big wave could crush it into pieces.
Thinking of this, Yang Xiuqing felt even more miserable. He was the one who sent the Heavenly Kingdom to its doom. In the dark night, Yang Xiuqing's body, which was not tall and straight, looked extremely lonely and helpless.
"What are you thinking about, General?"
Suddenly, a low voice came from behind Yang Xiuqing.
"Who's there?"
After all, Yang Xiuqing had been in the army for many years, so he still had the necessary vigilance. With a swish, the long sword at his waist had already been unsheathed, shining coldly.
He turned his head and saw that it was an ordinary soldier who looked a little unfamiliar.
"Whose subordinate are you? Why don't you stay in the camp?"
Yang Xiuqing's words were full of anger. He couldn't tolerate his subordinates being unruly.
"General!"
At this moment, the sound of Yang Xiuqing unsheathing his sword alarmed the patrolling soldiers, who were rushing over.
"General, do you know that your death is near?"
The ordinary soldier didn't have the slightest trace of panic on his face, but what he said made Yang Xiuqing's heart beat faster, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
"I'm fine, you guys continue to patrol."
Yang Xiuqing frowned. He first sent the patrolling soldiers away, then turned his head to look at the strange soldier, and said in a low voice, "Follow me." With that, he got up and walked towards the tent.
The soldier, silently followed behind.
Inside the tent, Yang Xiuqing suddenly turned around, his eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, and his killing intent was pressing. He stared at the soldier, and said word by word, "Speak, who are you?"
"Who I am is actually not important. What's important is that I can help fight you, General. "
"Humph, shameless boasting!"
"So, General actually knows that you are about to face the situation that you are about to face, right?"
"…"
Yang Xiuqing was speechless. He wasn't a fool. How could he not know how difficult the situation he was about to face would be? Thinking of the Heavenly King's cold eyes, Yang Xiuqing shuddered.
"Given the Heavenly King's suspicion of General, General has suffered a great defeat this time, and suffered heavy losses. Given the nature of the Heavenly King, do you still think that you can get away with it? "
The ordinary soldier's words were not polite at all, and he exposed Yang Xiuqing's predicament blatantly.
Hearing that, Yang Xiuqing's face became darker and darker, and he pursed his lips tightly, remaining silent.
At this moment, the soldier suddenly changed the topic and said, "General must be wondering why the Heavenly King is so afraid of you?"
"You know?"
Hearing that, Yang Xiuqing's eyes suddenly opened wide, and even his tone was a little shaky.
This question was the biggest knot in Yang Xiuqing's heart. He only promised that after entering the wilderness, whether it was to be to the Heavenly King or to the Heavenly Kingdom, he would be loyal and devoted.
He did not expect that he would be suspected by the Lord for no reason.
This feeling was really not good. Yang Xiuqing was a sensitive person, and every time he met with the Heavenly King, he would feel that there was a pair of eyes looking at him from behind.
This kind of feeling was really creepy.
However, on this night, a strange soldier revealed the biggest mystery in Yang Xiuqing's heart, how could he not be shocked?
The entire air was filled with the smell of conspiracy.
"Just a little." The soldier nodded and said, "If General trusts me, I am willing to tell you one by one."
"Speak!"
Yang Xiuqing was also not an ordinary person, and he calmed his mind and waited with rapt attention. (To be continued.)
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