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On the morning of the 8th of February, Vézé and his team finally passed through the uninhabited Dayao Mountain and made a detour to a tall mountain peak beside the official road. They stepped on the moss-covered rocks and were surrounded by the biting cold mountain wind. Looking down, they could see a winding road extending into the distance. Looking into the distance, the road was faintly discernible under the cover of the forest and mountain ridges, but they could clearly determine the existence of the road.
Zhang Yingchen had a talent for identifying directions, so he was selected by Vézé and entrusted with the important task of determining the direction. As a local, it took Zhang Yingchen a long time to truly convince himself that the road in front of them wasn't a small path, but the official road that Zhang Yingchen, a local of Yong 'an, was familiar with. However, Zhang Yingchen had never stood so high and so close to the official road before. He felt an indescribable sense of familiarity and unfamiliarity.
Vézé, a foreigner, was actually able to lead everyone to the official road through a road that they had never traveled before. More importantly, Vézé said yesterday that they would reach the official road in a day at most. Zhang Yingchen, who was dizzy and disoriented in the middle of the mountain, naturally didn't believe it. When they really arrived at the official road, Zhang Yingchen was both happy and surprised at the result.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Wilbur looked at the official road in front of him quietly. Wei Changrong, Zhang Yingchen, and the other decarchs stood beside Vézé. Behind them were the soldiers who had arrived at their destination after much difficulty. The mountain wind was very strong, causing the long hair and tails of these warriors to dance in the air.
Wei Changrong stabbed the spear in his hand into the mountain rock and took a step forward, trying to look down the cliff. Vézé grabbed Wei Changrong and said, "Be careful. We're already here. Don't let anything happen just because of a moment of happiness."
Hearing this, Wei Changrong immediately retreated and nodded, "Fourth Uncle is right. I was not careful enough."
Zhang Yingchen knew that Wei Changrong was a rather impulsive person who liked to take risks. He did not expect him to be so serious at this time.
Vézé ordered, "Everyone, split up and find a way down the mountain. Yingchen, you stay behind." With that, Vézé took out his account book with a map drawn on it and asked Zhang Yingchen to help him determine the direction.
He watched as Vézé skillfully manipulated the charcoal, sketching out the direction of the mountain road and the terrain near the official road. Zhang Yingchen was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. Of course, the map naturally had Zhang Yingchen's credit. The cross on the top right corner of the map was determined by Zhang Yingchen. However, Zhang Yingchen was talented in identifying directions. For him, as long as he looked at the sky according to the time, then looked at the mountains and the appearance of the trees, Zhang Yingchen would be able to accurately determine the direction.
This ability had been praised by many people around Zhang Yingchen, but he had never received such high praise from Vézé. More importantly, no one had ever been able to do as much as Zhang Yingchen did with Vézé.
When Vézé was halfway through his drawing, Zhang Yingchen couldn't help but feel a strong sense of envy. He asked tentatively, "Wei Sima, I wonder if you can teach me how to draw."
"Do you really want to learn?" Vézé answered without turning his head.
"Yes!" Zhang Yingchen had naturally made up his mind, so his answer was very firm.
Hearing such a firm tone, Vézé turned to look at Zhang Yingchen and stared at Zhang Yingchen with a sharp gaze. Zhang Yingchen didn't know what Vézé meant, but he also looked back at Vézé with a firm gaze. Vézé was very satisfied with Zhang Yingchen's attitude. He smiled and said, "Yingchen, if you want to learn, then learn well. If you learn better than me, I have high hopes for you!"
These words were far beyond Zhang Yingchen's imagination. Learning from others was a big deal. Learning from others required great sincerity, but teaching others required all sorts of excuses. However, Vézé seemed to be very happy that Zhang Yingchen wanted to learn how to draw. This was simply the opposite. Zhang Yingchen was 23 years old this year, four years older than Vézé. Because he came from Tian Di Hui, Zhang Yingchen had dealings with many friends in Jianghu. He suspected that Vézé was just a young man who said it casually. However, Vézé's attitude made Zhang Yingchen feel that it was not like that. In the following time, Zhang Yingchen was completely focused on this matter. Until Vézé finished drawing, neither of them spoke.
Wei Changrong and the others had already found the way down the mountain. Everyone set up camp in a col about half a mile away from the official road. The forest was deep and the grass was dense, so it was very hidden. However, Vézé was unexpectedly not at ease. He sent his brothers to several places on the official road to personally see if they could see the situation inside the camp. Only then did they start to set up camp.
The camp was simple. The tails of two spears were fixed on the ground, and the heads were tied together. A spear was mounted on these two pairs of support points, tied with straw ropes, and covered with cloth. It was a tent that could accommodate six people. It was cold now, and squeezing together would also keep them warm, so the brothers had no objections.
As a local, Zhang Yingchen and a few brothers untied their hair, wrapped their headscarves tightly, and went out to explore the way.
In this day and age, there was no modern communication equipment, so exploring the way depended on walking. Zhang Yingchen, Wei Changrong, and the others left for a day without any news. Naturally, Vézé did not stay idle. He led the troops to make comprehensive preparations for the ambush and the retreat route. Early in the morning of the 9th of February, Zhang Yingchen hurried back.
"I saw the Qing Yao grain transport team! They will be here by noon at the latest. "Zhang Yingchen reported nervously.
"Really? What are the Qing Yao grain transport team carrying? Wei Changrong asked impatiently. If it weren't for the fact that the ambush camp was more than a mile away from the official road, and Vézé had ordered everyone to keep their voices down, Wei Changrong would have started shouting.
"Who cares what they are carrying? Once we kill the Qing Yao army, everything they are carrying will belong to us! "Vézé laughed.
The other brothers also nodded in agreement in high spirits.
The Qing Army's grain transport team swaggered around, and Zhang Yingchen and the others soon discovered them. Seeing Vézé's confident look, and seeing the crowd brimming with joy at the opportunity to ambush the Qing Army, Zhang Yingchen immediately added worriedly, "There are more than two hundred Qing Yao soldiers!"
This was obviously a wet blanket, but it didn't work. Wei Changrong replied boldly, "So what if there are more than two hundred of them? My fourth uncle and seven other brothers seized eight artillery batteries in a row. If we follow him to ambush the Qing Army, we will definitely be able to kill the Qing Army. "
Zhang Yingchen had heard of Vézé's story, but it was just hearsay. He couldn't help but add, "We only have 26 brothers."
Even so, Wei Changrong's confidence wasn't shaken at all. He patted Zhang Yingchen's shoulder and said, "Listen to my fourth uncle!"
Meanwhile, the other soldiers began to ask Vézé, "Wei Sima, how are we going to fight?"
Zhang Yingchen was a little desperate. After all, this was a one-versus-ten battle. Vézé might be able to fight ten people at once, but Zhang Yingchen didn't believe that he could do the same. After repeatedly emphasizing the number of Qing Army, the veteran soldiers of the Taiping army were still so confident. Zhang Yingchen couldn't help but feel that perhaps Vézé and Wei Changrong were really good at fighting. In fact, Zhang Yingchen didn't want to spend so much effort to cross the mountains and return empty-handed.
Even if it was an ambush, Zhang Yingchen and the others observed the Qing Army and found that the Qing Army didn't seem to be on guard. Vézé didn't let his guard down just because of that. He immediately came up with a few plans with his brothers to deal with different situations.
After confirming the plan, the troops immediately took action. And this operation was actually to move all the items that were not needed during the battle to a hidden location and hide them first. Vézé's explanation was that they would leave after the raid and try to pack as little as possible when they retreated. The resources that they couldn't bring with them couldn't be taken away by outsiders. They had to hide them first and come back for them when they had the time.
After the preliminary preparations, the troops laid in wait at the prepared position. The ambush position was set up on the side of the official road. After a careful search, it was found that the ground was about 20 meters away from the official road, and the ground was basically flat. The troops wore hats made of grass and put on grass coats. Lying in the grass, Zhang Yingchen personally looked at the ambush position under Vézé's orders. However, he could only see a large patch of thick grass. There was no one in sight. This time, Zhang Yingchen was relieved.
The position was well-prepared, but the brothers realized that something wasn't right the moment they set foot on it. The official road was, after all, an official road. Even though there weren't many people during the war, it wasn't to the extent that no one used it. In order not to expose the ambush position, the brothers lay in the position and couldn't move. Although they were wearing grass coats for concealment, the brothers were wearing cotton jackets seized from the Qing Army and had a lot of grass under them. Even if they couldn't move, the cold air was still hard to resist.
According to Zhang Yingchen, the Qing Army would arrive at the ambush position before noon. However, the Qing Army's grain transport team was so slow that they didn't show up even after noon. Wei Changrong couldn't help asking Zhang Yingchen in a doubtful tone, "Did you give yourself away and let Qing Yao notice something?"
Before Zhang Yingchen could refute, Vézé interrupted Wei Changrong, "Yingchen is used to our marching speed. According to our marching pattern, they should have arrived long ago."
This time, Wei Changrong didn't say anything. Zhang Yingchen glared at Wei Changrong angrily, but didn't refute. After all, it was Zhang Yingchen's prediction that went wrong. Even if Vézé explained for Zhang Yingchen, the mistake was real. Fortunately, in order to prevent any changes, Vézé asked everyone to bring a bamboo tube of rations. When he realized that something was wrong, he ordered everyone to eat another meal. At least there wasn't too much deviation. But as he chewed on the cold rice mixed with soybeans, Zhang Yingchen didn't want to look left and right. He believed that the brothers on his left and right would look back at him with unkind eyes.
About an hour later, the brothers on the high ground finally came down to report that the Qing Army had appeared on the official road. Similar to what Zhang Yingchen had reported, the Qing Army had hired a team of pack horses.
Similar to Zhang Yingchen's report, the Qing Army had hired a team of pack horses. The pack horses were made up of about fifty to sixty Yunnan horses. Including the pack drivers and the Qing Army who were responsible for escorting the goods, there were more than two hundred people. Vézé's team only had twenty-six people. Twenty-one of his brothers used spears. Five of his brothers used matchlocks.
The Qing Army didn't discover the Taiping army, who were carefully hiding in the grass. They didn't even observe any places where they could set up an ambush. On the contrary, Zhang Yingchen, who was hiding in the ambush position, had his eyes fixed on the Qing army's grain transport team. He found that the defense of the Qing army was extremely lax. The pack teams hired by the Qing army were taking care of the horses. They did not want the horses to waste too much energy, so their speed was rather slow. As for the Qing Army, they maintained the same speed as the animals, walking lazily. It was unknown what rank the Qing Army's main force was led by. In any case, there were quite a few guards around to protect them. It was just that they couldn't see who they were escorting. Almost every member of the Qing Army had a gun. It was certain that they were part of the Qing Army's Green Camp.
The Taiping army was no stranger to the Qing Army's guns. Vézé's team had five captured matchlocks from the Qing Army. Not only were these guns heavy, they were also complicated to operate. Firing a gun required more than ten steps. Even a skilled marksman in the Qing Army could only fire two shots in a minute. Moreover, the heat dissipation of the gun barrel was very poor. After firing five or six shots, the marksman had to wait for the barrel to cool down before he could continue firing. The best way to deal with these guns was to suddenly get close to the Qing Army, giving them no chance to fire. This was the main point of Vézé's battle plan.
Not long after the Qing Army's main force passed by, Zhang Yingchen's eyes lit up. The pack horses at the back were actually transporting cured meat. Zhang Yingchen's eyes could barely see the Qing Army and the other pack horses. The cured meat occupied almost all of Zhang Yingchen's attention. At this moment, Zhang Yingchen heard the sound of more than one person swallowing saliva. Thinking about the possibility of eating meat after defeating the Qing Army, Zhang Yingchen suddenly felt the courage to fight.
Just as he was thinking about this, Zhang Yingchen felt his shoulder being tapped. Turning his head, he saw Vézé turn his head and whisper: "Pass on the order, prepare to charge!"
They were about to fight the Qing Army with real swords and spears. Zhang Yingchen immediately felt his heart beat violently. Just as he was getting excited, he saw Vézé glare at Zhang Yingchen: "Pass on the order, prepare to charge!"
Only then did Zhang Yingchen understand that Vézé wasn't just speaking for Zhang Yingchen, he wanted Zhang Yingchen to pass on the order to the brothers beside him. He hurriedly turned his head and whispered to the brothers lying in ambush: "Pass on the order, prepare to charge!"
The order was passed on one by one. Just as the whispers were getting further and further away, the order was passed on to the rest of the troops. There was a sound in the grass, and Vézé suddenly stood up from his hiding position. Flinging off the straw hat and clothes on his body, Vézé raised the spear in his hand high in the air and roared: "Brothers, charge with me!" Without looking back, Vézé raised his spear and charged towards the Qing Army.
Seeing Vézé take the lead, Zhang Yingchen collected his thoughts and stood up to follow Vézé. Zhang Yingchen was about 165 cm tall. In the Manchu Qing era of Guangxi, he was definitely not short. Vézé, on the other hand, was about 170 cm tall and had long legs. Zhang Yingchen found that he was already using all his strength to charge, but the distance between him and Vézé was getting farther and farther. Beside him, there was someone who quickly overtook Zhang Yingchen and ran in front of Zhang Yingchen. That person was Wei Changrong, who was about the same height as Zhang Yingchen.
The ambush position was less than 20 meters away from the official road. In less than half a minute, Vézé had already charged into the Qing Army, who were completely stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Zhang Yingchen had heard Wei Changrong boast about Vézé's bravery many times. In the previous battle, the Qing Army had been annihilated while fleeing, so there was nothing special about winning. Seeing that Vézé was able to charge at the front of the group, Zhang Yingchen agreed that Vézé was indeed "brave". Now, Zhang Yingchen could confirm with his own eyes whether or not Vézé was an expert in martial arts like the rumors said.
Zhang Yingchen, who was running behind Vézé, saw Vézé dash into the Qing Army group and thrust his spear out like a viper, piercing the throat of a Qing Army soldier right in front of Vézé. By now, Vézé had already steadied himself. He gently twisted the spear and pulled back his arm. Fresh blood gushed out from the wound on the Qing Army soldier's neck.
Without even looking at this hopeless enemy, Vézé turned around and roared, "Kill!" Vézé thrust his spear into the throat of another Qing Army soldier.
Only a moment slower than Vézé, Wei Changrong had already rushed to the front of the Qing Army group. He shouted, "Kill!" The spear in his hand stabbed into the abdomen of a Qing Army soldier beside him. Another Taiping army soldier behind Wei Changrong rushed to the front of Wei Changrong and kicked the Qing Army soldier who had been stabbed by Wei Changrong in the chest. The Qing Army soldier screamed and let go of Wei Changrong's spear, falling backwards.
More Taiping army soldiers were already on the main road. They cooperated well with each other. Those who were as agile as Vézé could single-handedly take care of the enemy, while those who were too fierce but not skilled could only deal with one Qing Army soldier in two or three. In the blink of an eye, five or six Qing Army soldiers died on the spot.
Before being assigned to work under Vézé, Zhang Yingchen had always been a soldier in the city defense unit and had no experience in field combat. Even though he had received some combat training under Vézé, Zhang Yingchen was still frightened by the powerful combat strength displayed by his comrades.
While Zhang Yingchen was watching his comrades fight, Vézé had already stabbed four enemies to death. The Qing Army never expected to encounter such a fierce enemy. Zhang Yingchen saw with his own eyes that the Qing Army soldiers were so scared that their faces turned ashen and their bodies trembled. They didn't even realize that the flintlock in their hands had fallen to the ground. Facing such an enemy, Vézé did not hesitate, nor did he show any mercy. He attacked the throats of the Qing Army soldiers. A few steps forward, he stabbed another two Qing Army soldiers to death.
"Zhang Yingchen, have you seen enough? If you have, then start killing Qing Yao! " Wei Changrong was following behind Vézé and had just finished off another Qing Army soldier. He turned his head and roared at Zhang Yingchen.
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